Life
Solution to 2456: So American
Unclued lights are marches by John Philip SOUSA, as hinted by the title: 4/1A, 14/12, 20D, 33A/17, 37/29/26, and 41…
Puzzle no. 606
Tamas Fodor — Michael Adams, Hull 2018. White to play. One from the puzzles section of Smerdon’s book, which I…
The Battle for Britain
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Bridge
One of the drawbacks of online bridge is the lack of après-bridge fun — those spontaneous drinking sessions where we…
Real life
We arrived at the country store with only three minutes to closing time so our chances of scoring horse wormer…
The turf
Horseracing in Britain, which was suspended by coronavirus on 18 March, is due, as I write, to resume on Monday…
Low life
When I first came to this village, I was told that one of the bars was a ‘communist’ bar and…
Spick and span
I Hoovered on Saturday (or vacuumed as they say in newspapers eager to avoid using a trademark) while my husband…
Why aren’t liberals fighting for liberty?
It has become a commonplace among social psychologists that one of the characteristics that unites conservatives is our sensitivity to…
Bridge
Well, what can I say? I have been nowhere. Seen no one. Done nothing. Unless you count watching damaging amounts…
2458: Bardicarum
The unclued Across lights are of a kind, as are the associated Down ones. Across 1 Friendship revealed by American…
Low life
The most visible local landmark is a solitary two-headed Jurassic mountain called Le Bessillon, six miles long and 800 metres…
Dear Mary
Q. My goddaughter was getting married in July but due to Covid-19 this has been postponed. I had already chosen…
Puzzle no. 605
White mates in two moves against any defence (composed by Walter Pulitzer). Steinitz admitted he could not crack this within…
Only the worst will survive
What does a critic do when her genre collapses? Mostly I panic. I speak to restaurateurs who believe that without…
Real life
When people ask me what I did during lockdown, I would like to give an inspiring answer, apart from growing…
The Battle for Britain
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When actions speak louder than words
For all the abuse heaped on the Behavioural Insights Team early in the crisis, let’s not forget that the only…
Solution to 2455: Shadow boxing
The unclued lights are the four Labour MPs who stood for election as Labour’s leader to succeed Jeremy Corbyn: 11,…
Lockdown lit
In Competition No. 3149 you were invited to tweak an existing book or poem title for lockdown and provide an…
Steinitz Memorial
I like a memorial tournament. It’s true that the champions they celebrate may be less skilled than their modern counterparts.…
High life
Gstaad The staff are back and all is well, as they used to say long ago in faraway places. The…
Puzzle no. 604
Aronian–Vidit, Online Nations Cup, May 2020. Vidit has just captured axb3 en passant. Aronian’s next move revealed a powerful concept.…
High life
Gstaad Hippocrates is known as the father of Western medicine and he discovered and named a disease known as ‘micropoulaki’…
Low life
France is divided into a red zone and a green zone. We’re green. Green for go. From this morning we…
