Life
Squeezed middle
It’s a tough old business, this racing. Hayley Turner is the best woman rider we’ve ever seen in this country.…
Squeezed middle
It’s a tough old business, this racing. Hayley Turner is the best woman rider we’ve ever seen in this country.…
Bridge
The cheating scandal rages on. The latest to be accused is the world’s number one-ranked pair, Fulvio Fantoni and Claudio…
Serena Williams is an all-time great – but is it wrong not to declare her the greatest?
Serena Williams, according to some commentators the greatest woman who has ever graced this earth of ours, will complete the…
The only one who set a bad example on the high seas was Taki
There is something repulsive about the sea, especially when seen from the altitude of the upper decks of a monstrous…
Exciting news: I haven’t done a pregnancy test yet but we may be expecting
Exciting news. We might be expecting. I say might because I haven’t done a pregnancy test yet. I thought about…
Sidney Blumenthal: peddler of tired old clichés about British politics
I remember Sidney Blumenthal from my time in Washington in the late 1980s when I was there as the first…
Bridge
The bridge world continues to be electrified by the scandal that Janet wrote about last week. Lotan Fisher and Ron…
Checkmate me in St Louis
The Sinquefield Cup in St Louis, one of the strongest tournaments of all time, has been convincingly won by the…
Puzzle no. 378
Black to play. This position is a variation from So-Aronian, St Louis 2015. How can Black conclude the attack? Answers…
Bennboozled
In Competition No. 2914 — which was inspired by a speech given by the late Sir Keith Joseph in which…
2228: Unfair
One unclued light (ignore its umlaut) is the home of a team known by a name which is another unclued…
To 2225: Category
1D, 3, 15D and 40 are fictional TIGERS (30) created by 20, 35, 4A and 12. Extra letters in clues…
Let the poor have designer babies on the NHS
I’ve just written an essay for Quadrant, an Australian periodical, in which I propose a controversial solution to the problem…
Battle for Britain
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Email needs eugenics
You won’t read much about Sir Francis Galton nowadays because, while it’s inarguable that the man was a giant in…
Dear Mary: A horrid woman accused me of hogging a spare train seat
Q. I regularly travel on the Ashford-St Pancras train and usually put my case on the seat next to me…
Siena shows that northern Italy is just better at getting drunk
The Indian summer was still fending off the mists and mellow fruitfulness. But the autumn term was about to begin;…
Why would Jeremy Corbyn want to be credible when he can be incredible?
In a wonderfully dry manual of theology on my husband’s bookshelves, written in Latin and printed in Naples in the…
Battle for Britain
Got something to add? Join the discussion and comment below.
Checkmate me in St Louis
The Sinquefield Cup in St Louis, one of the strongest tournaments of all time, has been convincingly won by the…
Puzzle no. 378
Black to play. This position is a variation from So-Aronian, St Louis 2015. How can Black conclude the attack? Answers…
Bennboozled
In Competition No. 2914 — which was inspired by a speech given by the late Sir Keith Joseph in which…
Dear Mary
Q. I regularly travel on the Ashford-St Pancras train and usually put my case on the seat next to me…
Stewed Siena
The Indian summer was still fending off the mists and mellow fruitfulness. But the autumn term was about to begin;…