Life
Real life
Speeding down the farm track from my little country retreat, I came across the gamekeeper in his Defender. I wound…
Long life
When I was a child, growing up in Hertfordshire just after the second world war, my parents employed a cook…
True gamblers
Not having the odd £100,000 to spare, I had never before joined the world’s richest owners and their bloodstock agents…
Bridge
It’s difficult for non-players to imagine the extent to which bridge hands can torment us. I’ve spent hours this week…
The 16th?
Magnus Carlsen is seeking to become the 16th world chess champion in a line that includes such giants as Bobby…
No. 289
Black to play. This is a variation from Svidler-Nepomniatchi, Novgorod 2013. Svidler avoided this position, despite the fact that White…
Postscript
In Competition 2820 you were invited to supply a postscript to any well-known novel. This challenge was suggested by…
2136: Howdunit
Six of the unclued entries (one of three words, three of two words and one hyphened; all in Chambers apart…
To 2133: FM
Initial letters of superfluous words in clues give titles of ALBUMS (29D) by FLEETWOOD MAC (39). 8A, 25, 33 and…
Family matters
The first sign that something was wrong with Ludo was when he complained of a tummy ache. This was after…
Dave
Got something to add? Join the discussion and comment below.
Smart cars
Someone in New York told me this story. I admit that I didn’t believe it when I first heard it.…
Dear Mary
Q. One of my oldest and best friends, who has lived up north for years, begged me to let her…
The romance of fall
The fall: one of the few instances where American English is superior to English English. ‘Autumn’ has a comfortable charm,…
Mind your language
‘Bare? Extra? What does it all mean?’ asked my husband, sounding like George Smiley in the middle of a particularly…
The romance of fall
The fall: one of the few instances where American English is superior to English English. ‘Autumn’ has a comfortable charm,…
True gamblers
Not having the odd £100,000 to spare, I had never before joined the world’s richest owners and their bloodstock agents…
Smart cars
Someone in New York told me this story. I admit that I didn’t believe it when I first heard it.…
High life
New York He came from a wealthy background but was always in trouble. His parents were not particularly religious, but…
Low life
I’d booked a private one-to-one session with her for an hour on the afternoon of the day she flew in.…
Real life
‘Hello, good morning, my name is Gavin Moneypenny, and I’m your customer service representative for today and I’m pleased to…
Long life
Given that more than 9,000 innocent Italian civilians, many of them women and children, died in Nazi massacres during the…
Wild life
Wizards inland from the little Somali port of Barawe bewitched a person to come to them by banging a nail…
Bridge
The season got off to a very bad start for my team — and continues in much the same vein.…
Maecenas
Andrew Paulson, an American who lives in London, has been responsible for a remarkable chess revolution over the past year.…
