Life
Ship ahoy
The Evans Gambit was invented by a British naval officer of the early part of the 19th century, Captain W.D. Evans,…
no. 528
White to play. This position is from Khmelniker-Harari, Isle of Man 2017. How did White make the most of his…
Mary, Mary…
In Competition No. 3070 you were invited to provide a poem with the title ‘When I Grow Up I Want…
2381: Step changes
1 Across and 45 Across form a phrase, and the other unclued entries form a word ladder linking them, by…
to 2378: Boundary
LIMES (22), a term for a boundary of the ROMAN EMPIRE (7 30), is a DEFINITION (19) of five items…
Why are faceless accusations allowed to end men’s careers?
On 11 October 2017 an anonymous Google spreadsheet began doing the rounds of American newspapers and magazines — a document…
The Battle for Britain
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The terrible injury toll of modern rugby
Eddie Jones’s sorrows as England’s rugby coach certainly keep coming in big battalions. Now the giant battered No 8 Billy…
Dear Mary: My friend’s cooked breakfasts make me gag
Q. My fiancé and I spend many great weekends with another couple. I am a vegetarian and quite particular about…
Breakfast for idiots: it was the wrong time of day for a visit to Gazelle Mayfair
I couldn’t find Gazelle. I walked up and down Albermarle Street, in which Oscar Wilde once plotted his own doom…
Mind your language: Woman, women, womxn
When I say that it has given comfort to my husband, you can judge how foolish the Wellcome Institute was…
Partying with the Clintons
Gstaad The bells are ringing, the bells are ringing, ding dong, ding dong. The cows are down from up…
A pub brawl certainly livened up a boring football match
I told Oscar to wait outside and I went in and said to the barman: ‘Would it be all right…
The law of acronyms
Teacher training is terrific fun. Oh yes, I am thoroughly enjoying myself on my evening course at Guildford College. Don’t…
A no-deal Brexit could cripple horse-racing
Racing is full of risk-takers, not least those who fork out hefty sums to buy yearlings or unraced two-year-olds. Back…
Bridge
Good news for bridge if the Open World Championships in Orlando are anything to go by. Far from dying, it…
Eastern promise
The Batumi Olympiad ended as a great success for the teams from China, which captured the gold medals in both…
no. 527
White to play. This is from Pace-Aguilar, Batumi Olympiad 2018. How did White finish off crisply? Answers to me at…
Favouritism
In Competition No. 3069 you were invited to provide a spoof version of the song ‘My Favourite Things’ for the…
2380: Dedover
All the unclued Across lights are of a kind, as are all the unclued Down ones. They can be paired…
to 2377: Service book
The twelve unclued lights can be arranged into the sequence yielding phrases from ‘First’ to ‘Twelfth’. First 21, Second 24,…
Shouldn’t the police be chasing down theft and assault, not thought crime?
West Yorkshire Police hit the headlines twice this week. First we learned that the fourth-largest force in England and Wales…
The Battle for Britain
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A non-stop flight to Perth showed me that better beats bigger
A few weeks ago I flew to Sydney to speak at a conference. The first leg was on the new…
My long gossipy letters to an old friend get just a few words in response
Q. An old friend shares aesthetic sensibilities and tastes in people. Hence we have sustained a highly enjoyable correspondence over…
