Long life
I was born in England, and this is where I've lived and worked. But that's not the whole story
Bridge
Many top bridge players are also keen poker fans, and when a poker star infiltrates their backyard there is a…
Double trouble
The importance of pawn structure cannot be overestimated when planning chess strategy. Although Philidor (18th century) understood the importance of…
No. 332
White to play. This position is from Nimzowitsch-Rubinstein, Berlin 1928. White’s passed pawn and active pieces guarantee a winning advantage.…
Selfie
In Competition No. 2865 you were invited to compose a poet’s elegy for him or herself. This challenge took you…
2180: Superfluous
Each of nine clues contains a superfluous word. Initial letters of these words spell a word which can be read…
To 2177: Amaze
Songs by KATE BUSH include WUTHERING HEIGHTS, HAMMER HORROR, HOUNDS OF LOVE and CLOUDBUSTING in the perimeter, and (defined by…
Caught in Alex Salmond’s tractor beam
The SNP leader's magnetism could almost convert me to his cause
They don’t make footballers like Roy Race any more
The Melchester Rovers star has plenty to put in his memoir
My little plutocrat
It’s the next logical step in the redevelopment of London as a playpen for plutocratic families
Burkean activism
‘For those who are political advocates within Palestine itself, I will never know the bravery that comes with putting your…
Scotland always was a foreign country
It’s tempting to look for parallels between the Scottish independence vote and our own republican referendum.
Brown Study
Troy Bramston (‘Gorton vs McMahon: the secret memo’ 30 August) joins a long line of journalists who keep repeating the…
Islamist barbarity can have widespread appeal
For some, democracy unleashes illiberal and totalitarian forces
Time to cull this plague of dunces
The proposed university changes will discourage many students from signing up. Good.
Culture Buff
It’s chamber orchestras at 20 paces. Both the Australian Chamber Orchestra and the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra have recently announced their…
And one more for the road
9-12-12— See the spacer died. —Wha’ spacer? —The Sky at Night fella. —Bobby Moore. —Patrick Moore. —That’s him, yeah. Did…
Homage to Simenon
One hundred years ago an 11-year-old boy called Georges Simenon was getting accustomed to the presence of the German army…
Mynheer Wouwermans
From the long ride, fresh trees licked by enough blue light to cross-patch antique trousers, we come at last past…
