Life
Everyone’s doing a mea culpa these days — except me
The faux Leonardo that sold for 400 million greenbacks — plus a 50 million fee for Christie’s — was a…
Treble doubles, shattered glass and a copper on the doorstep
The door to Trev’s flat was open so I walked in and found him on the sofa watching TV. He…
Dr Google’s verdict? Anthrax poisoning
Six months into the renovations and I have so much dust in my lungs I have had to give Stefano…
My hot tips for the jump season
Richard Johnson may already have 100 winners in the bag, and Paul Nicholls may already have banked £750,000 worth of…
Bridge
When I first started playing tournament bridge there were relatively few European sponsors. The US was buzzing with sponsored teams…
Alekhine’s heir
Garry Kasparov was without a doubt Alekhine’s creative heir. The 1985-2000 world champion said himself that he became entranced at…
no. 484
White to play. This is from Alekhine-Feldt, Blindfold Simultaneous, Tarnopol 1916. White has sacrificed a knight. Can you spot his brilliant…
Let us pray
In Competition No. 3025 you were invited to submit a Lord’s Prayer for the 21st century. One of my…
2337: Millefeuille
Unclued lights are connected to a theme word (which does not appear), three in each of three different senses. Two…
to 2334: sweet variations
Four types of CAKE (37) were given UPSIDE-DOWN (5): 10D, 20D, 31D and 33D. Four other types of cake were…
Why did Paperchase bow to a few bug-eyed Corbynistas?
Last Saturday, the high-street chain Paperchase ran a promotion in the Daily Mail offering two free rolls of wrapping paper.…
The Battle for Britain
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Farmacy’s food is the worst I have eaten in London
Farmacy, which opened last year, is London’s most fashionable ‘clean eating’ restaurant; it is, therefore, a restaurant for people who…
Let’s give young Ben Foakes a chance to sweep out the Ashes
So the Ashes has finally got over the line, and not a minute too soon. At the time of writing…
Mary answers your problems: The tactful way to get rid of a drunk guest
Q. I was recently at an informal dinner given by two dear friends, but returned home seething with rage against…
When Kingsley Amis needed a new insult, he reached for the taboo
‘It’s up there on the shelf you can’t reach,’ said my husband in an unhelpfully helpful tone. The ‘it’ was…
Despite everything, America is beautiful — especially at West Point
What is left to say after the church shooting in the Home of the Depraved? Those killed in Texas included…
Was there pleasure at Passchendaele?
At ten to eleven we filed outside the church and assembled in the graveyard around a small cenotaph commemorating the…
Life is tough at the bottom of the equality heap
The incident I am about to recount I make no judgment about, other than that I believe it tells us…
Bridge
I spent last weekend glued to Bridge Base Online, watching the 16th European Champions Cup taking place in Latvia, and…
Alekhine’s anniversaries
Alexander Alekhine was one of the two world champions (the other being his fellow native Russian Mikhail Botvinnik) who won,…
no. 483
White to play. This position is from Alekhine-Supico, Blindfold Simultaneous, Lisbon 1941. Can you spot White’s remarkable finish, which is…
Brown studies
In Competition No. 3024 you were invited to submit a short story in the style of Dan Brown. This comp,…
2336: Irrelevant
Each of four unclued lights is the result of an action that may be described as 7 (hyphened), a definition…
to 2333: Unchangeable
Answers to clues in italics are SET IN STONE (38). Resulting entries at 1, 2, 14, 25 and 43 (in…
