Life
Battle for Britain
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Stormy Petroff
Alexander Petroff (1794-1867) is often remembered as the first great Russian chess master. He became the strongest player in Russia…
No. 372
White to play. This position is from Howell-Sokolov, Staunton Memorial 2009. How can White finish off his attack with a…
Open and shut case
In Competition No. 2908 you were invited to submit a comically appalling opening to an imaginary novel. Thanks are due…
Your problems solved
Q. I have learned that someone I much admired in youth is about to become single again. I only have…
Young guns
The Honourable Society of Odd Bottles began proceedings with a report on the activities of our junior branch. These youngsters…
High life
We all agree that a world without manners would make this a pretty grim place to live. Offensive informality is…
Long life
I was wondering what to write about this week when I suddenly realised that exactly 40 years ago this Saturday…
Long life
I was wondering what to write about this week when I suddenly realised that exactly 40 years ago this Saturday…
Low life
After Trev had mugged the mugger in the toilet we moved quickly on to another club. The Double O is…
Low life
After Trev had mugged the mugger in the toilet we moved quickly on to another club. The Double O is…
I love it that you…
I had never heard the Country (Red Dirt) singer Wade Bowen before, although his latest album Hold my Beer (Vol 1)…
Real life
‘No, I do not do WhatsApp.’ That’s pretty much all I ever seem to say to people nowadays. They ask…
Trouble withthe neighbours
A few years ago, I got a bit fed up with receiving Christmas cards from my friends designed to show…
Trouble withthe neighbours
A few years ago, I got a bit fed up with receiving Christmas cards from my friends designed to show…
Let’s pay for the BBC content we use
What follows is a proposal for reducing the BBC licence fee and improving the corporation’s output while saving the British…
The Greece I once knew is now just a myth
I think back to my Greek childhood and longing for the once cosiest and most romantic of cities overwhelms me.…
Safety tip: don't try to steal Trev's phone
‘I’ve lost my phone,’ yells Trev. We’re in a club. He’s come charging on to the dance floor to tell…
Challenging parking tickets is my crack cocaine
‘Cydney, we are not moving to Cobham!’ I told the spaniel in my best outraged Margot Leadbetter voice. What a…
Smartphones are wonderful – until they take over your life
The smart phone is a wonderful thing. We are never out of touch anymore, neither with friends nor with the…
The man who takes the stress out of training horses
For all their formidable physical presence, racehorses spook easily. A sudden gust of wind flapping a plastic sack, a page…
Bridge
Moving house is traumatic but moving bridge club is worse. Young Chelsea left Barkston Gardens, its home for over 30…
Arachnid
Sadly, Michael Adams, for many years Britain’s leading grandmaster, will not be playing in the British Championship, which starts next…
No. 371
Black to play. This is from Williams-Hawkins, -British Championship 2014. How can Black finish off his attack with a fine…
Tube lines
In Competition No. 2907 you were invited to imagine that poets, living or dead, had been recruited to compose verse…
