Life
The turf
A woman I once encountered at the dining table whose prime years were clearly behind her described herself as ‘approaching…
Bridge
The first week of July is heaven for those of us who don’t normally hear the words ‘bridge’ and ‘holiday’…
New in chess
New in Chess is one of the world’s leading chess magazines. At one time or another, every contemporary champion and…
no. 466
White to play. This position is from Quparadze-Uzunoglu, Cesme 2017. Black is hoping for counterplay on the a1-h8 diagonal but…
Cat call
In Competition No. 3007 you were invited to submit a poem about Larry, the Downing Street cat. Larry came to…
High life
I switch personalities at Spectator parties, depending who the guests are: for our readers’ tea party, I am a warm…
My wife’s revenge has me at break point
Fifteen years ago, when I was The Spectator’s drama critic, Caroline used to complain that she had become a ‘theatre…
To buy cheap art, buy architecture
Of the 375,000 listed buildings in England only 2.5 per cent are Grade I. Half are churches; many are otherwise…
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…
