Life
Carlsen vs Nakamura
Facing Magnus Carlsen, you have two problems. The first is obvious — he’s the best player in the world. The…
Kiwi Life
‘Trustworthy, accurate and reliable news stories are more important now than ever. Support our newsrooms by making a contribution.’How wonderfully…
Bad news from my oncologist didn’t spoil my joyous reunion with my grandson
The Moulinards had inhabited the old stone hilltop house for centuries, ekeing out a hard living among the sun-baked boulders.…
How to have a happy old age
Gstaad Birthdays at my age are for the birds, but always a good excuse for a party. Messages of…
Spare a thought for next year’s A-level students
Three years ago I was contacted by an official at the Department for Education to see if I was interested…
My ‘virus’ turned out to be arthritis
‘Hallo! You was callin’ us about appoint…MENT!’ said the lady at the scanning unit of my local hospital in broken…
Dear Mary: how do I confront a work colleague who has bad BO?
Q. My son is having his 30th birthday next weekend and has invited 50 friends to a garden party. We…
Soave, an original sin-free wine
‘The Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day’: surely one of the most beautiful images…
Why ‘The’ Queen should not be capitalised
I complained mildly seven years ago that the Court Circular, the official source for the doings of the British monarchy,…
Bridge | 22 August 2020
There are some experts — like my friend Sally Brock — who think Blackwood is an overrated convention, and that…
Why it pays for a jockey to follow the rules
Lester Piggott was famous for pinching other jockeys’ rides. He used his friendship with owner Ivan Allan to have Luca…
2471: Inky
The unclued lights can be associated with an undisclosed quality. All associations can be found in Brewer and/or Chambers. Alphabetical…
2468: noah entry? solution
The puzzle’s number 2468 was printed above the grid, hence ‘The theme is confirmed by the information provided.’ Letters deficient…
The danger of following ‘the science’
I have decided to divorce my wife after 31 years on scientific grounds. Though perfectly happy, on reassessing my original…
Tutti-bam! Frutti-boom! Musical double dactyls
In Competition No. 3162 you were invited to submit double dactyls on stars of popular or classical music. Fans of…
The Battle for Britain | 22 August 2020
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No. 618
Black to play. McShane–Anand, World Rapid Championship 2017. While executing my last move, 51 Qf4-f3, attacking the h5-pawn, I got…
Streaks of brilliance
Last week, snooker ace Ronnie O’Sullivan won his sixth World Championship at the age of 44, a full 19 years…
Aussie Life
I’ve always been a bit of a ‘prepper’. Pre-2020 that’s something I would’ve never admitted. It’s embarrassing to say I…
How to fight a good war
Serifos There’s no high life here, only family life, so I’ve been hitting the books about great Greeks of…
Would this Marseille-bound flight be the death of me?
‘There’s no need to wipe down your tray table,’ screeched Heidi, chief steward of the ‘amazing team you have looking…
The joy of pickling
We have beans, peas, potatoes, tomatoes, butternut squash, plums and strawberries growing in our garden. I dug up and replanted…
2470: Express route
The unclued lights from 1 Down to 44 are of a kind with 4 overrunning a barline into 22. Ignore…
The Battle for Britain | 15 August 2020
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No. 617
Black to play. Efimov–Bronstein, Kiev 1941. Normally White seeks glory in the King’s Gambit, but here Bronstein scored a lightning…
