Life
Lord of the flies
It is often said that the great chessboard artist, Polish Grandmaster Akiba Rubinstein, was afflicted during tournament play by an…
No. 283
Black to play. This position is from Rotlewi-Rubinstein, Lodz 1907. This is the conclusion of one of Rubinstein’s most famous…
Genesis
In Competition 2814 you were invited to describe how a great writer stumbled upon an idea that he or she…
2130: Elusive
Each of 23 clues comprises a definition part and a hidden consecutive jumble of the answer including one extra letter.…
Solution to 2127: Dire straits
Twelve unclued lights are names of ARTISTS which are ANAGRAMS (9) of superfluous words in clues. First prize E.…
Toby Young: Why do so many people want me to take on Andy Slaughter?
I was at a surprise birthday party for a member of the cabinet last week when a Conservative minister spotted…
Dave
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My mansion tax solution: hit rich foreigners. But no one else
I am surprised no more attention has been given to Martin Vander Weyer’s suggestion in The Spectator two weeks ago…
Dear Mary: The rules of wearing a dressing gown
Q. What to do when you are an unwilling eavesdropper in a train carriage in which people you know assume…
What it's like to drink a 118-year-old wine
Marcher country, the Jura lies to the east of Burgundy and the contrast is marked. Burgundy: the very name is…
Mind your language: the dark side of squee
Oxford Dictionaries have been adding some rather silly words to their online resources, such as phablet (‘a smartphone with a…
The patriarch of wines
Marcher country, the Jura lies to the east of Burgundy and the contrast is marked. Burgundy: the very name is…
Hot Candy
Cape Peron was my easiest choice for our Twelve to Follow. When Henry Candy smiles his gentle smile, as he…
A mansion tax that monkeys would understand
I am surprised no more attention has been given to Martin Vander Weyer’s suggestion in The Spectator two weeks ago…
Taki: perhaps Obama should read All Quiet on the Western Front
I used to see him in El Morocco, the most famous nightclub of its era during the late Fifties and…
Jeremy Clarke: War games on Polzeath beach
We picked up the key to the caravan, let ourselves in, ascertained the phone signal situation (none) and went to…
Melissa Kite: hands off my single occupancy discount, Lambeth Council
Some call me paranoid, but I don’t think one can be suspicious enough when it comes to the activities of…
Alexander Chancellor: what’s wrong with the word ‘toilet’?
I am embarrassed not by people using ‘non-U’ expressions but by people who still care about such things
Bridge
Holiday over – and I hopped on the plane home dribbling with excitement. I was going straight to Young Chelsea…
Anon anon sir
Nowadays it is standard, when publishing a chess game, to give the names of both players. This was not always…
No. 282
White to play. This is from Johnson-Anon, internet game 2013. Black’s problem is that his king is marooned in the…
Poetic pitch
In Competition 2813 you were invited to submit an application in verse, from the poet of your choice, for the…
2129: Dumpynose
The unclued lights, individually (each of two words), or paired, are of a specific kind, verifiable in Brewer 17th Edition…
To 2126: Word Building
The chain of anagrams is as follows: 40, 8, 18, 25, 22, 23, 21D, 19, 1A First prize Robert…
Toby Young: I'm thinking of going into politics
The Hammersmith Conservative Association will shortly be looking for a candidate to run against the sitting Labour MP in 2015…
