Life
Advance planning
One way to improve your results is to develop a specific opening repertoire and learn it thoroughly so as to…
no. 548
White to play. This position is a variation from Mamedyarov-Li Reufeng, PRO League 2017. This game also started with White…
Spring villanelle
In Competition No. 3092 you were invited to submit a spring villanelle. The villanelle lends itself to themes of loss…
2402: Test pilots
Eight unclued entries are of a kind. A 9-letter word for their position must be highlighted in the grid. …
to 2399: Lines of Work
The unclued lights form the folk rhyme ‘Tinker, tailor, soldier, sailor, rich man, poor man, beggar-man, thief’. A.A. Milne (MILNE…
Now – as in the Soviet Union – making a joke can be a dangerous, life-changing mistake
I was surprised to learn that the novelist Milan Kundera celebrated his 90th birthday on Monday. I had no idea…
Battle for Britain
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Have referees just given up?
Sometimes you fear for Neil Warnock. The embattled Cardiff manager is 70 and operates at level 11 all the time;…
Dear Mary: how can I stop my husband from hijacking my punchlines?
Q. A woman I’ve known for years is getting divorced and rings me every day to talk about it. I…
The joy of garlic and easy listening: Pucci in Mayfair reviewed
I grew up in south-west London in the 1970s when Italian restaurants had exposed brick walls and paper tablecloths in…
‘Shame’ is no longer one’s greatest fear, it’s offence culture’s default response
In 1663, just before Samuel Pepys visited the stables of the elegant Thomas Povey, where he found the walls were…
My prescription to make New York happy again
New York This place feels funny, a bit like Beirut, where Christians, Jews, Muslims, Druze and encamped Palestinians live…
I’m making a cave disco in the south of France
I’ve swapped my carer’s tray in Devon for a barrow and spade halfway up a cliff in the south of…
You should train your man like you train your Labrador
‘This clean sock regime is really annoying,’ said the builder boyfriend, as he rummaged through his newly inaugurated top drawer.…
Will horse welfare become racing’s Brexit?
As jockeys, trainers, punters and media folk gathered at Newbury on Saturday to say farewell to Noel Fehily, the ultimate…
Bridge
Susanna and I don’t play on the same team very often, but once a year Fiona Hutchison puts together a…
Fischer favourite
A favoured line of the great Bobby Fischer was to meet both the French Defence (1 e4 e6) and the…
no. 547
White to play. This position is from Fischer–Myagmarsuren, Sousse Interzonal 1967. How did Fischer conclude his attack in fine style?…
Cringe benefits
In Competition No. 3091 you were invited to submit toe-curlingly bad analogies. This is an idea shamelessly pinched from the…
2401: Sign here please
The unclued lights are of a kind and all have to be ignored in the completed grid. Across 1 …
to 2398: All steamed up
The unclued lights are the names of FAMOUS STEAM TRAINS including the pairs at 14/15 and 17/30. First prize Jenny…
Jordan Peterson and mob rule at the University of Cambridge
On Monday, the vice-chancellor of Cambridge university, Stephen Toope, issued a statement defending the decision of the divinity faculty to…
The Battle for Britain
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The uncountable problems with innumerate Brits
Alevels, from the perspective of a ‘choice architect’, are a disaster. While pupils are free to pick and mix freely…
Dear Mary: how do I stop my minister giving sermons about Brexit?
Q. I belong to a religious congregation whose minister is politically minded. Every time I attend a service, I am…
