Life
Bridge
I’ve never forgotten a conversation I had some years ago with the talented, blunt-talking Norwegian player Espen Erichsen. We were…
Berlin
This weekend the Candidates tournament commences in Berlin to decide the challenger who will face Magnus Carlsen for the world…
no. 496
White to play. This position is from Mamedyarov-Savchenko, Moscow 2015. White’s forthcoming tactic led to a decisive material gain. What…
Six plus
In Competition No. 3038 you were invited to provide a (longer) sequel to the six-word story ‘For sale: baby shoes,…
2349: Novel
Clockwise round the grid from 3 run the names (7,4,5,6,8,8,5,6) of four characters in a novel followed by the initials…
to 2346: the name of the game
The unclued entries are all names for pontoon; extra words in 27, 31, 33, 34 and 36 needed the letters…
We are being destroyed by tribalism. Let’s get rid of it
Amy Chua’s latest book, Political Tribes: Group Instinct and the Fate of Nations, is a difficult read for anyone who…
The Battle for Britain
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Knighting Bradley Wiggins so early was just asking for trouble
The incomparable Roger Bannister, whose passing marks the end of our links with a vanished age of sporting innocence, could…
Dear Mary: My daughter’s new boyfriend isn’t on Facebook – how do I snoop?
Q. Recently I held a party at which some people were meeting each other for the first time. One social-climbing…
As restaurants go, it’s important – and it knows it: the River Café reviewed
Jilly Cooper’s fictional hero Rupert Campbell-Black has ‘never been to Hammersmith’. I have but I wish I hadn’t. I love…
We’ve been saying ‘wrap up warm’ for a thousand years
In June 1873, Oswald Cockayne shot himself. He was in a state of melancholy, having been dismissed by King’s College…
Taki’s guide to style
Gstaad They have busy eyes and the set of their mouths is that of a hungry carnivore. Their hands are…
From the First Battle of Ypres to Brexit
Poperinghe, Bailleul, Wytschaete, Gheluvelt, Ploegsteert, Messines, Zonnebeke, Passchendaele. The other week I grandiosely claimed that I have been reading about…
We are only one thank you away from killing one another
‘Good afternoon, my name is Bradley, and how may I be of help to you today?’ After you’ve spent ten…
How do you solve a problem like fixed odds betting terminals?
You can tell by the tone of the jokes how most occupations are regarded and we’ve all heard the traditional…
Bridge
No February blues for me. The past couple of weeks have been the most exciting and interesting (bridge-wise) I could…
Bunratty
This year’s tournament at Bunratty in Ireland was the celebratory 25th in the series and I was invited to deliver the…
no. 495
White to play. This position is from Tiviakov-Jones, Bunratty Play-off. White’s next led to a decisive material gain. What did…
A to B
In Competition No. 3037 you were invited to take a song by Abba or the Beatles and rewrite the lyrics…
2348: It’s a trap
Clues are given according to alphabetical order of their answers. Each of thirty-two clues comprises a definition part and a…
to 2345: Counterclaim
The puzzle’s NUMERICAL DESIGNATION (3 41) is preceded by 7A and followed by 7D 12 33 37 to form the…
World Book Day is here again. God help us
For parents of primary school children, the first Thursday in March has got to be the worst day of the…
The Battle for Britain
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Why I’m not on board with quiet carriages
Every now and then I try to invent a new scientific unit. I’ll never come up with anything as good…
