Life
Tal order
As I write, the Mikhail Tal Memorial tournament in Moscow is still underway. The Dutch grandmaster Anish Giri stormed into…
The Battle for Britain
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Tal order
As I write, the Mikhail Tal Memorial tournament in Moscow is still underway. The Dutch grandmaster Anish Giri stormed into…
no. 429
White to play. This is from Tal-Botvinnik, World Championship (Game 12), Moscow 1961. Tal’s next move did not force an…
Creation story
In Competition No. 2968 you were-invited to take the title of a short story by Ted Hughes, How the Whale…
Dear Mary: Your problems solved
Q. A family of five from Brazil who are close friends of mine are visiting London next week. They have…
Eat, drink and be worried
We were surpassing Sydney Smith. His idea of heaven was pâté de foie gras to the sound of trumpets. Our…
High life
New York Back in the Big Bagel once again preparing for the greatest debate ever, one that will decide the…
Long life
In olden days, before the internet arrived, shopping was quite simple. You’d go into a shop and buy something, and…
Long life
In olden days, before the internet arrived, shopping was quite simple. You’d go into a shop and buy something, and…
Low life
The first and only time I went to a meeting of Sex Addicts Anonymous, this chap stood up and gave…
Low life
The first and only time I went to a meeting of Sex Addicts Anonymous, this chap stood up and gave…
Critique
‘Americans,’ said my husband in much the same tone that Betsey Trotwood said ‘Donkeys’. It was his way of explaining…
Real life
After a year dealing with estate agents I can only say: a plague on all their houses, except the one…
A good read… but I don’t buy the plot
I’m writing this from the Conservative Party Conference in Birmingham where the mood is buoyant, to put it mildly. Everyone…
A good read… but I don’t buy the plot
I’m writing this from the Conservative Party Conference in Birmingham where the mood is buoyant, to put it mildly. Everyone…
Let there be light, and at better times of day
We already drive on the left, give road distances in miles and drink pints. So one good feature of Brexit…
Bridge
It often strikes me that learning to bid is just like mastering a language. As you take on new conventions…
Low life
I stood in front of the mirror in the £61-a-night hotel room in Paddington, buttoned my polyester dinner jacket and…
2280: Acorns
The unclued lights are of a kind, verifiable in Brewer. Ignore one apostrophe. Across 1 Top for one dining…
Bridge
TGR’s rubber bridge club is a bit like the set of your favourite soap. You have the regulars, of varying…
Eddie Howe for England
The name of Jozef Venglos won’t mean much to most of us apart from a few Aston Villa completists with…
No. 428
Black to play. This position is a variation from Gelfand-Mamedyarov, Tal Memorial Blitz 2016. Black has various strong moves but…
I know an anti-Tory pact won’t work
I appeared on Radio 4 with Shirley Williams recently and as we were leaving I asked her if she thought…
Pens, sex and potatoes
I hoped that Bronte would be filled with Victorian writers licking ink off their fingers and bitching about Mrs Gaskell…
