Life
Gnomic
Zurich has been the scene for the latest clash between the titans of chess. Over a mere four days in…
No. 397
Black to play. This position is from Shirov-Nakamura, Zurich 2016. Black is winning easily but now finished with a fine…
Country music
In Competition No. 2936 you were invited to propose lyrics for a new British national anthem. Tom Shakespeare recently suggested…
Your problems solved
Q. Former colleagues, with whom I got on very well in the context of the office, are buying a house…
The grim irony of Walsingham
As you came from the Holy land Of Walsingham Met you not with my true love By the way as…
High life
One reason I do not tweet, text, use Facebook or Instagram, and only wield a mobile when a landline is…
Long life
There are still four months to go before the vote, but I already feel quite exhausted by the Europe referendum…
Long life
There are still four months to go before the vote, but I already feel quite exhausted by the Europe referendum…
Low life
I was diagnosed with prostate cancer with metastases in April 2013. It was a bit of a shock, but when…
Low life
I was diagnosed with prostate cancer with metastases in April 2013. It was a bit of a shock, but when…
Special status
‘Special status?’ said my husband. ‘You mean like executioners, butchers and undertakers in Japan?’ I hadn’t suggested that, but had…
Real life
The last time I bought a set of tyres in south London I came away not quite knowing whether I…
Vote ‘leave’ and stop the blurring of Britain
I don’t remember the last European referendum being nearly as dramatic as the current one. In 1975, we were being…
Vote ‘leave’ and stop the blurring of Britain
I don’t remember the last European referendum being nearly as dramatic as the current one. In 1975, we were being…
The 5 per cent of people who get to decide everything
What happens when 95 per cent of people like something, but 5 per cent of people prefer something else? You might think…
Bridge
Over the years, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking, and canvassing opinion, about what to lead from AKxxx (or…
Britain’s determination to kill itself makes my blood boil
Gstaad The locals here in the beautiful Saanen valley are split over the migrant crisis. Switzerland does not belong…
My afternoon with the French Foreign Legion
In the Foreign Legion’s Museum of Memory at Aubagne, near Marseilles, I examined the kit, weapons and uniforms from the…
Victorian south London plumbing is pure evil
My upstairs neighbours are terribly nice, but too naive to be allowed to renovate their flat in peace. The two…
I rallied to the call of the newly created Independent — and never regretted it
It had been many years since I had seen anything of Andreas Whittam Smith, but he popped up on the…
Inside the mind of a racehorse trainer
There are now two Kings of the Marlborough Downs. Leading jumps trainer Alan King has long trained top horses at…
Bridge
Pierre Zimmermann, Monaco’s uber-sponsor, has put another unmissable, thrilling tournament in the calendar. The first European Winter Games gave those…
Rocky 14
The 14th Tradewise tournament at Gibraltar ended in a triumph for the American grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura. Naka, as he is…
No. 396
White to play. This position is from Anna Muzychuk-Salem, Gibraltar Masters 2016. How did White conjure up a decisive material…
Valentine’s triolet
In Competition No. 2935 you were invited to submit a Valentine’s triolet. A famous example of the triolet is Frances…
