Life
Clashes of the titans
A thumping physical confrontation testing mind, muscle and sinew to the ultimate degree, and from which there could only be…
My obsession with litter is bordering on mental illness
It’s no good. I’ve tried to resist it, but I’ve succumbed. I’m now a full-blown litter Nazi. Whenever I leave…
My obsession with litter is bordering on mental illness
It’s no good. I’ve tried to resist it, but I’ve succumbed. I’m now a full-blown litter Nazi. Whenever I leave…
Squeezed middle
It’s a tough old business, this racing. Hayley Turner is the best woman rider we’ve ever seen in this country.…
Squeezed middle
It’s a tough old business, this racing. Hayley Turner is the best woman rider we’ve ever seen in this country.…
Bridge
The cheating scandal rages on. The latest to be accused is the world’s number one-ranked pair, Fulvio Fantoni and Claudio…
High life
Serena Williams, according to some commentators the greatest woman who has ever graced this earth of ours, will complete the…
Low life
There is something repulsive about the sea, especially when seen from the altitude of the upper decks of a monstrous…
Real life
Exciting news. We might be expecting. I say might because I haven’t done a pregnancy test yet. I thought about…
Long life
I remember Sidney Blumenthal from my time in Washington in the late 1980s when I was there as the first…
Bridge
The bridge world continues to be electrified by the scandal that Janet wrote about last week. Lotan Fisher and Ron…
Checkmate me in St Louis
The Sinquefield Cup in St Louis, one of the strongest tournaments of all time, has been convincingly won by the…
Puzzle no. 378
Black to play. This position is a variation from So-Aronian, St Louis 2015. How can Black conclude the attack? Answers…
Bennboozled
In Competition No. 2914 — which was inspired by a speech given by the late Sir Keith Joseph in which…
2228: Unfair
One unclued light (ignore its umlaut) is the home of a team known by a name which is another unclued…
To 2225: Category
1D, 3, 15D and 40 are fictional TIGERS (30) created by 20, 35, 4A and 12. Extra letters in clues…
My own modest proposal: designer babies for the poor
I’ve just written an essay for Quadrant, an Australian periodical, in which I propose a controversial solution to the problem…
Battle for Britain
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Eugenics for your email
You won’t read much about Sir Francis Galton nowadays because, while it’s inarguable that the man was a giant in…
Dear Mary
Q. I regularly travel on the Ashford-St Pancras train and usually put my case on the seat next to me…
Stewed Siena
The Indian summer was still fending off the mists and mellow fruitfulness. But the autumn term was about to begin;…
Credible
In a wonderfully dry manual of theology on my husband’s bookshelves, written in Latin and printed in Naples in the…
Battle for Britain
Got something to add? Join the discussion and comment below.
Checkmate me in St Louis
The Sinquefield Cup in St Louis, one of the strongest tournaments of all time, has been convincingly won by the…
Puzzle no. 378
Black to play. This position is a variation from So-Aronian, St Louis 2015. How can Black conclude the attack? Answers…

























