Life
Puzzle no. 628
White to play. Wade–Korchnoi, Buenos Aires, 1960. Bob Wade’s next move prepared a surprising and decisive breakthrough. What did he…
The turf
With or without the crowds, nowhere does racing like Cheltenham. The four winners, including her first Group One shared equally…
Dear Mary
Q. I would welcome your advice on a tricky family matter. For my 70th birthday earlier this year my brother…
2481: Octet
19 across (two words) is commonly associated with an octet. Each member of the octet defines one further unclued light.…
Aussie Life & Language
Michael Scammell Coming out of Melbourne lockdown is like coming down from drugs. Or more precisely coming down from the…
Low life
My last NHS scan showed a shadow on a rib. The scan report couldn’t decide between a new cancer metastasis…
Solution to 2477: Rendezvous
The unclued lights take an extra letter to make BRAMBLING (1A), BUDGIE (12A), STARLING (14A), REDSTART (23A), BRANCHER (27A), TURACO…
High life
New York It’s nice to finally be in the Bagel, a place where the cows have two legs and no…
Real life
The girl in the posh soap shop put her right arm out, palm flat in my face, and shouted: ‘Stand…
Bridge
When (if) the world returns to normal and live bridge tournaments resume, there are two things I will miss after…
Wild life
Exmoor I am heading to Exmoor for the first time since I was last there in 1977 — and as…
Sweet surrender
It’s over. Magnus Carlsen’s undefeated streak in classical chess has finally come to an end, after 125 games. It is…
Puzzle No. 627
Black to play. Sjugirov–Paravyan, Russian Higher League, October 2020. A piece for a pawn down, Black’s follow up was subtle…
2480: Warning
Solvers should heed a warning when deducing ten symmetrically placed unclued lights (two of three words and one of two…
Economies of scale
In Competition No. 3171, a challenge suggested by a kind reader, you were invited to submit a requiem in verse…
Devolution is a failing halfway house
One of the things I hadn’t anticipated about the pandemic is that it would turn me into an English nationalist.…
The Battle for Britain
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Thanks for nothing, Pickford
You might hate the Premier League for its determination to suck all the money out of football, but at least…
Dear Mary
Q. An old friend offered to treat me to a birthday lunch, provided I choose and book the restaurant myself.…
Ivy league
Oxford is not an easy city to homogenise; but that doesn’t mean you can’t try. I found a vast shopping…
Adrenochrome
QAnon, the conspiracy theorist’s conspiracy theory, teaches that President Donald Trump is in secret warfare with a worldwide network of…
Aussie Life & Language
Simon Collins I have been wondering what whale tastes like. There must be quite a few Australians who know. After…
High life
New York New York, New York, once a wonderful town/ The people are crap and the mayor’s a clown/ The…
Real life
‘I can’t put it off any longer. She’s dying and I don’t think I can ignore the inevitable. We’ve got…
Low life
‘Yes, I will have a coffee,’ said the van driver. He’d driven down to the south of France from Devon.…
