Life
Bridge
Here’s one of my favourite hands from the European Open Championships — although it caused David Gold to spend the…
no. 465
White to play. This is from Nepomniachtchi-Korobov, Khanty-Mansiysk 2017. Black’s king is clearly in desperate trouble. What is the most…
Laughing matter
In Competition No. 3006 you were invited to submit a sonnet that takes as its opening line Keats’s ‘Why did…
2318: Groundwork
One unclued light (four words) is the title of a 40 recorded by 43 (two words). This title forms a…
to 2315: Trunk call
4, 40, 43, 1, 3, 16 and 17 were all examples of PORTMANTEAU words, into which are packed the sense…
Dear Mary
Q. Is there an etiquette regarding security gates? My wife and I were invited to dinner by new neighbours who…
I nourish my dream of a fat pill
As good conversation should, the talk meandered from the serious to the playful. One of the serious topics was overseas…
The Battle for Britain
What to read next: The Battle for Britain | The Battle for Britain | The Battle for Britain | The…
Low life
The hen party was seated at an outside restaurant table under the plane trees when I arrived. They sat with…
Pride of lions
‘Are they all gay too?’ asked my husband, waving the Sunday Telegraph with its headline ‘Pride of Lions’. He had…
Queen’s gambit
International master Andrew Martin is the head of the English Chess Federation Academy. He is well qualified for this post,…
Real life
‘What do you think it means?’ I asked the builder boyfriend as we stood in front of the sign. A…
High life
I was going through my paces in Hyde Park, sweating out the booze, raising the heartbeat with short wind sprints,…
The keys to the kingdom await
Give them all peerages as far as I’m concerned: if you can pick up a gong for bunging a few…
The trouble with diversity training
Is diversity training snake oil? According to its proponents, women and minorities are not competing with white men on a…
The turf
Having spent three quarters of my life covering politics and the other quarter following racing, I am often asked what…
Bridge
The European Open Pairs, the final event in Montecatini, was a long and arduous five-day slog, three of those days…
Brought to book
In Competition No. 3005 you were invited to take your inspiration from Anthony Lane’s terrific ‘The Book of Jeremy Corbyn’,…
2317-370
The subtraction reveals the link between the unclued lights which saw light then. Three unclued lights consist of two words,…
to 2314: 4÷4=8
One of the unclued 4-letter lights is placed in the very middle of another to form each of the four…
Dear Mary
Q. ‘Alfred’ is a friend of 30 years’ standing who has just married for the first time. Alfred retains all…
Cold foam and spindly legs
Bibendum is a hushed restaurant on the first floor of the Michelin House on the Fulham Road. (Bibendum is the…
High life
A funny thing happened on my way to lunch last week. I opened the Daily Mail and read a few…
The Battle for Britain
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Low life
Up on the fifth floor the wind was like thunder. Wild gusts shook the window glass so violently I thought…
