Life
High life
Gstaad The American newspaper that prints only news it sees fit to poison good things recently announced ‘The end of…
Low life
The catheter stung exquisitely when I lay down. So I stood up. All night I stood by my hospital bed,…
Real life
My gay best friend is cheating on me with another woman. I saw him with her the other day and…
Long life
In February each year the Oldie magazine gives ‘Oldie of the Year Awards’ to people who show unusual vigour and…
Bridge
The Night of the Stars charity bridge event, held in West London a couple of weeks ago, was every bit…
War fever
It is a little known fact that Emanuel Lasker, the German world chess champion, who reigned from 1894 to 1921,…
No. 305
White to play. This position is from Teichmann-NN, Simultaneous Display, Berlin 1914. Can you spot White’s fine finish? Answers to…
Fifty-something
In Competition 2838 you were invited to submit a short story entitled Fifty Shades of whatever you chose. It was…
2153: Selling
Each of thirteen clues contains one misprinted letter in the definition part. Corrections of misprints spell a phrase involving a…
Solution to 2150: Content
‘To fill the hour — that is happiness’ (given by initial letters of superfluous words in clues, and 3 4A)…
Death does not become us
Shortly after Bob Crow’s death was announced on Tuesday, Nigel Farage sent the following tweet: ‘Sad at the death of…
Battle for Britain
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Three minds are better than one
A good human chess player with a good computer trounces the best human or computer playing alone
Dear Mary
Q. Is there a tactful way to keep one social offer on hold while waiting to see if you have…
The spirit of Armenia
It is impossible not to sympathise with Armenia. It has spent much of its history between the hammer and the…
De-escalate
‘What we want to see,’ David Cameron said last week, ‘is a de-escalation.’ Or, as the Tanaiste of Ireland put…
The spirit of Armenia
It is impossible not to sympathise with Armenia. It has spent much of its history between the hammer and the…
Three minds are better than one
This month Daniel Kahneman turned 80. Long revered among experts in the decision sciences, his work reached much wider public…
High life
Damn, damn, damn! It has to be me, and all these years I’ve been thinking it was Hollywood. By the…
Low life
I’ve had a medical procedure that is ‘likely’ to leave me impotent. A nurse is coming around dishing out Tramadol,…
Real life
A letter arrives from David Cameron, asking me to vote by post in the European elections. Presumably he means vote…
Long life
The new mayor of New York, who despite his name (Bill de Blasio) claims Irish ancestry, is boycotting this month’s…
Commercial approach
British racing is such a quirky minefield that some were surprised when in 2011 the authorities chose Paul Bittar, a…
Bridge
Now and then an event enters the annual bridge calendar and becomes an instant ‘must play’. TGRs Auction Pairs is…
Varsity match
On Saturday 8 March the 132nd Varsity match between the teams of Oxford and Cambridge will see Oxford seeking to…
