Life
Bridge
Have you ever been told by an expert that a bid you’ve made is foolish, badly judged or plain wrong?…
On the brink
The last great tournament to have been completed before the outbreak of war in 1914 was St Petersburg, which saw…
No. 317
Black to play. This position is from Mieses-Alekhine, Mannheim 1914. Can you spot Black’s subtle winning move in this endgame?…
Proverbial
In Competition No. 2850 you were invited to invent proverbs that sound profound but have no meaning. This was an…
2165: Not far off
According to a quotation (in ODQ) by a person whose surname is an unclued light, an area of five letters…
to 2162: Stand in
Superfluous letters in definitions form the phrase HOLD THE FORT. Thematically created entries at 5, 10, 17, 19 and 38 are defined…
I used to think I was a Nietzschean superman. Now I know I'm just a dad
In The Wolf of Wall Street, there’s a poignant shot towards the end in which we see an FBI agent…
Battle for Britain
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How user-friendly is your house?
Old Glaswegian joke: ‘Put your hat and coat on, lassie, I’m off to the pub.’ ‘That’s nice — are you…
Dear Mary: Is there a polite way to ask for the return of a handbag full of cash?
Q. A friend regularly hires a stall at a general neighbourhood market in order to sell surplus second-hand clothes and…
The soul of a lurcher and the secret of a capon
A county, a house, a dog — and a bottle. Somerset: men have delved and farmed and built here for…
Square meals didn't start in Nelson's navy – but you could get one in a gold-rush town
I never dare go with my husband to any restaurant that uses square plates or he will play up the…
Cutting the capon
A county, a house, a dog — and a bottle. Somerset: men have delved and farmed and built here for…
How user-friendly is your house?
Old Glaswegian joke: ‘Put your hat and coat on, lassie, I’m off to the pub.’ ‘That’s nice — are you…
Why don’t any of the sisterhood take up the banner of poor Noor Hussain’s wife?
New York Here’s a question for you loyal readers: if a hubby asks his wife to cook him a hearty…
Two narcissists trapped in one static caravan
I was two days alone in the caravan and no signal or reception of any sort. It was like a…
How I finished writing my novel
In the end, I threw my mobile phone into a sack of Chudley’s dog biscuits. It was the only way…
Sorry, Tara Erraught, but the age of the fat lady singing is over
London’s opera critics have been roundly condemned for suggesting that a female singer’s personal appearance could make her unsuitable for…
Will racing waste its Scoop6 jackpot?
Eight people became millionaires last Saturday, collecting £1,342,599 each when the Scoop6 bet, which had been rolled over for 12…
Bridge
It is always exciting when a strong new team’s tournament enters the calendar, and the inaugural Balaton Invitational, held outside…
Close run
Although world champion Magnus Carlsen clearly secured first place in the Gashimov Memorial tournament, he did not have things all…
No. 316
Black to play. This position is a variation from Mamedov-Motylev, Gashimov ‘B’ Group 2014. How does Black conclude his kingside…
Lines on the Beeb
In Competition No. 2849 you were invited to submit a poem in praise or dispraise of the BBC. The entry…
Blank crossword
Solvers must create the barred grid for themselves; the resulting grid is symmetrical whichever side is uppermost. When submitting an…
to 2161: Appellation contrôlée
The unclued lights begin with DOC (the Italian abbreviated equivalent of APPELLATION CONTRÔLÉE). First prize Dennis Cotterell, Carlisle Runners-up…
