Life
No. 725
White to play. Mamedyarov-J. Polgar, Fide World Blitz, Dubai 2014. Black is lagging in development, and her last move, 10…Nb8-d7,…
Awestruck
‘I can comprehend Alekhine’s combinations well enough; but where he gets his attacking chances from and how he infuses such…
Bridge | 22 October 2022
High-level online bridge tournaments started almost as soon as lockdown began. It was going to take more than a worldwide…
Aussie life
I have barracked for the Essendon football team since I was a youngster. Amongst the mementos of my childhood days…
Language
Now we tiptoe carefully into the area of the derogatory and offensive – those being the words used by the…
Will I be PayPal’s downfall?
Dan Schulman, the president and CEO of PayPal, gave an interview earlier this year entitled: ‘The thing that separates good…
Moules mouclade, as big a hit as Beyoncé
Mussels were probably the first thing I ate as a child that I knew at the time was ‘an acquired…
2574: A Chinese – solution
Each unclued Across light (including the pair at 16/7) is a SWEET and the unclued Down lights can be preceded…
The problem with Liz Truss’s ‘growth, growth, growth’ slogan
‘You’re easily pleased.’ said my husband when I told him how satisfying I found a chance discovery. It was about…
A wine company after Roger Scruton’s heart
‘Golden’ is often used to describe the hue of some wines in the glass. But there is another resemblance. Gold…
Dear Mary: how can I snoop on my neighbour’s house?
Q. I am at the stage of my life where I am often sending presents to newborn babies. These presents…
No. 724
White to play and mate in two. Composed by Bruce Leverett, Chess Life, 1968. What is White’s first move? Answers…
We’re all victims in the Bagel now – even me
New York That Kim Kardashian dame being fined by the Securities and Exchange Commission for a ‘pump and dump’ scheme…
Me and the builder boyfriend are going to go without hot water
‘I’d like my money back please’ was what I was waiting to tell British Gas, if they ever stopped the…
The genius of bottomless brunch
I’m rather fond of the many service stations on the M4, since I am convinced they are all named after…
Switchback
Vishy Anand’s eyes lit up as he described a beautiful variation from his game with Shakriyar Mamedyarov, played at the…
The making of a Classics winner
For a Radio Four programme she was hosting Clare Balding once had the idea that it would be fun to…
The 100-year-old opiate had lost none of its potency
Our neighbour Michael is a keen and knowledgable attender of vides-greniers, the equivalent of our car-boot sales. His focus is…
Bridge | 15 October 2022
Did you know that a ‘heartbreaker’ is a real term in bridge? It’s described in The Bridge Player’s Encyclopedia as…
Spectator competition winners: short stories entitled ‘The Queue’
In Competition No. 3270, you were invited to submit a short story entitled ‘The Queue’. As well as inspiring this…
The Battle for Britain | 15 October 2022
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2577: Light and dark
The unclued lights (three of two words, one of which has an apostrophe) are of two kinds. Across 6 Eat…
Aussie life
Recent reports of a WA man being killed by a kangaroo have been syndicated by foreign news agencies for much…
Language
The word ‘they’ has two legitimate uses and one illegitimate use. The first proper and legitimate use is as the…
The lessons of New York’s carnage
New York I am seriously thinking of visiting a shrink (just kidding) as I now have definite proof that I…
