2443: Middle of the road solution
Each unclued light is a genus name of a TREE (i.e. ‘middle of the road’ = (s)TREE(t)). Cornus was also allowed at 2 Down.First prize John Honey, SurbitonRunners-up Ben Stephenson, London SW12; D. Page, Orpington
Miscellaneous
Saturday
No. 3137: By George
In Competition No. 3137, to mark the 70th anniversary of George Orwell’s death, you were invited to submit a short story with an Orwellian flavour. This challenge was inspired by an entertaining thread on Twitter started by @-rcolvile, who asked for ideas for sequels or spin-offs when Orwell’s work goes out of copyright next January. Among the suggestions that elicited the most ‘likes’ were @NickTyrone’s ‘a sequel to Animal Farm in which all the non-pig animals console themselves with the idea that at least they “won the argument”.’ An honourable mention goes to Nick MacKinnon, whose twist on Nineteen Eight-Four sees Winston consigned to a Room 101 that is the
Wednesday
Bridge 29 February 2020
Bridge experts are a lovely lot. They give their time freely and generously to encourage and teach students and bring bridge to a wider, young audience. Prof Sam(antha) Punch organised a terrific pro/am event last week for 76 pairs and raised more than £50k for her Keep Bridge Alive charity. The Young Chelsea BC is launching a major drive to recruit young players by offering to teach bridge to every student in London — all 375,000 of them! Bright young stars India Leeming (who is running the YC youth initiative) and Shazaad Natt are organising a teaching weekend, and up at Acol Stefan Skorchev ran his annual Invitational Pairs
Saturday
Confidence tricks
Three consecutive losses in a tournament is dryly termed ‘castling queenside’, in reference to the chess notation for that move (0-0-0). Carissa Yip went one worse, starting with four demoralising zeros at the Cairns Cup in St Louis this month. The 16-year-old American was the lowest ranked player in the elite women’s all-play-all tournament, so it wasn’t about to get any easier, and her experienced opponents were surely looking to capitalise. In the fifth round, she bounced back in style with a win over seven-time US women’s champion Irina Krush. ‘Someone told me that I should just fake it till I make it,’ Yip explained after the game. Those were
Bridge 22 February 2020
I’d love to be a fly on the wall when the Rimstedts and their children get together over supper. One thing’s for sure: when the discussion turns to bridge, no other family in the world could match them. The parents, Magnus and Ann Rimstedt, are well-known Swedish players; they imparted their love of the game to their eldest two children, Cecilia and Sandra, when the girls were growing up in the small village of Halmstad. Both women are now celebrated internationals, in particular Cecilia, 31, who last year won the European women’s championship. The sisters, in turn, taught their younger twin brothers when they were just five. You may have
Britain is booming – despite Brexit
After the vote for Brexit, it was often said that our departure from the EU was most likely to harm the very people who voted for it: the industrial workers of the Midlands and North. Didn’t they know that a vote for Brexit would, in itself, lead to 500,000 more job losses? Couldn’t they see that Nissan was bound to wind down its operations in Sunderland and move business to mainland Europe? Almost four years on, it’s safe to say that most of the economic doom-mongering was nonsense. This week’s figures on jobs and earnings show that, since the referendum, employment is up by one million — and it is
3136: Love me don’t
In Competition No. 3136 you were invited to submit a lonely hearts ad guaranteed to send those looking for love running in the opposite direction. This assignment was a nod to the charmingly idiosyncratic personal ads that have appeared over the years in the London Review of Books — ‘They call me Naughty Lola. Run-of-the-mill beardy physicist (M, 46)’; ‘I like my women the way I like my kebab. Found by surprise after a drunken night out and covered in too much tahini’ — which proved such a hit that they’ve been collected in two volumes. In an entry where the flatulent rubbed dandruff-sprinkled shoulders with the gout-ridden and the
2442: Don’t nod solution
ROTAVATOR (4A), NAURUAN (12), DEED (25), DEIFIED (36), MALAYALAM (39), REIFIER (4D), TERRET (15D), and REPAPER (18) are palindromes as is 2442, the NUMBER (3) of the PUZZLE (30), and its title. First prize Neil Mendoza, OxfordRunners-up Duncan Milroy, East Molesey, Surrey, Alison Latham, London EC1R
2445: In other words II
41, 1A, 10 (seven words in total) is a description of a phenomenon. Remaining unclued lights, including one of two words and three of three words, either singly, paired or as a trio, form four examples of this phenomenon. All are confirmed in the ODQ (8th ed.) Across 11 Leaf parts of liana ice destroyed (8)12 Agreed drug hidden in grass must return (4)13 Fish, internally cold and blue (4)14 Split lip — scare for breathing orifice (8)16 African statesman’s vengeance on criminals (6)18 It’s complete in French flag (6)20 With hi-hat, Mary’s beaten uneven beat (9)21 In trouble, on digging into posh spread (7, three words)22 After dessert, king’s
Wednesday
Highlighted Restaurant of the month from The Luxury Restaurant Guide
Moncks lies in the beating heart of Mayfair and its myriad of art galleries, high-fashion and businesses. Explore a small part of Mayfair’s history. The idea behind Moncks of Dover St is simple, to create a great neighbourhood restaurant and bar in the heart of one of the world’s most prestigious locales. It serves time-honoured classic dishes using the finest produce, so that something seemingly simple is satisfying and delicious. Spectator Members offer : Members and their guests receive a complimentary Butler’s Tipple signature cocktail on arrival, when ordering a minimum two courses per person. Offer valid : For lunch and dinner from midday to 10pm Simply click here to be
Coffee House Shots Live: Budget Special
Wednesday 11 March 2020 | 7 p.m. | £25 for subscribersEmmanuel Centre, 9-23 Marsham Street, London SW1P 3DW Budget 2020:What will Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s first Budget tell us about the future of this government – and the direction of conservatism? Join The Spectator’s Fraser Nelson, James Forsyth and Katy Balls, and Rachel Woolf, co-author of the Conservative party manifesto for the 2019 election, as they discuss the Budget just hours after it’s announced. We’re pleased to offer a special subscriber discount, saving you £10 off the ticket price. Recent events have sold out, so do book now to avoid disappointment.
An evening with Prue Leith
Tuesday 24 March 2020 | 7 p.m. | £25 for subscribersEmmanuel Centre, 9-23 Marsham Street, London SW1P 3DW Join renowned chef and Great British Bake Off judge Prue Leith as she chats about her career in food with her niece, pastry chef Peta Leith, and her nephew Sam Leith, The Spectator’s literary editor. We’re pleased to offer a special subscriber discount, saving you £10 off the ticket price. Recent events have sold out, so do book now to avoid disappointment.
No. 592
Black to play, Kateryna Lagno–Ju Wenjun, February 2020. Material is approximately balanced, but White’s king is in serious danger. What was Ju’s next move, which prompted immediate resignation? Answers should be sent to ‘Chess’ at The Spectator by Tuesday 25 February 2020 or via email to victoria@spectator.co.uk. There is a prize of £20 for the first correct answer that is pulled out of a hat. Please include a postal address and allow six weeks for prize delivery. Last week’s solution 1 Ra5! (idea 1…Nxa5 2 Rc8+). Black tried 1…Qg4+ but resigned after 2 Kf1 Nd8 3 Ra8Last week’s winner Roderick Adams, Midlothian
Saturday
Beasts of the board
The Dutch artist Theo Jansen has a unique speciality. His ‘Strandbeest’ (beach animals) are kinetic sculptures, which he likes to set free upon a windswept beach. Fashioned from plastic tubes, bottles and the like, these imposing skeletons appear to ‘walk’ along the seafront with a gait at once laboured and graceful: a compelling synthesis of engineering and art. When I first watched this magnificent spectacle on YouTube, I was immediately reminded of the cold, gusty walks along the beach at Wijk aan Zee, the town in Holland where the annual Tata Steel tournament is held. (Curiously, Jansen hails from Scheveningen, a seaside resort which lends its name to a variation
2444: Ones in the country
The unclued entries (three of two words, and two hyphened) share an origin Across 1 Put an end to fight where you get a pinch (8) 12 Gold chain found in tangle (5) 14 Produce eggs to value somehow (7) 17 Panic in the manner of commandos (5) 22 Francophone settlers take from simple country folk (8) 23 Page turned by rotter investigating brother (7) 24 Note winning score for Japan (6) 25 Page to agitate author (6) 27 Former half of double-cross, presumably (7, hyphened) 29 Destroyer keeps daughter in custody (8) 33 Old images featuring body art in Saudi Arabia (6) 34 More devious concerning one hiding gold
No. 591
White to play, Dubov–Artemiev, Wijk aan Zee 2020. White is pressing here, but Black seems to have everything covered. Which subtle move allowed Dubov to force a quick resignation? Answers to ‘Chess’ at The Spectator by Tuesday 18 February or via email to victoria@spectator.co.uk. There is a prize of £20 for the first correct answer out of a hat. Please include a postal address and allow six weeks for prize delivery. Last week’s solution 49…Bxd1 50 g6! forces a pawn through, e.g. 50…hxg6 51 h7! wins.Last week’s winner Bernard Golding, Earsdon, Whitley Bay
Bridge 15 February 2020
The annual Icelandic bridge tournament, held in Reykjavik at the end of January, is one of the best on the international circuit. Two days Pairs and two days Teams, it attracts players from all over the world, including the US. This year the most interesting ‘new pair’ was the Grossack brothers, Adam and Zach. In August Adam attained the rank of Grand Life Master at the remarkable age of 27, and the following day his younger brother Zach followed suit, making him the youngest GLM on record. They didn’t play together (both partnered sponsors) but, IMHO, they are destined to become one of the strongest partnerships in America, which means
2441: To and Fro solution
FRANCIS THOMPSON, born in PRESTON, wrote THE HOUND OF HEAVEN and a poem, AT LORD’S, remembering the run-stealers that flicker to and fro, and his HORNBY and his BARLOW LONG AGO. First prize D. Rosendorff, Coogee, NSW, AustraliaRunners-up Peter Hampton, Wimborne, Dorset; Margaret Shiels, Edinburgh
3135: Just the job
In Competition No. 3135 you were invited to submit an application letter for a job at No. 10 from a fictional character of your choice. This challenge was inspired by the PM’s chief special adviser Dominic Cummings’s suggestion, in a recruitment ad, that the ideal candidate for one of the positions on offer might resemble ‘weirdos from William Gibson novels like that girl hired by Bigend as a brand “diviner” who feels sick at the sight of Tommy Hilfiger’. The parade of hopeful candidates included George Smiley, Gregor Samsa, Bertie Wooster and Toad of Toad Hall, all of whom were pipped to the post by the winners below who
Thursday
The Spectator’s sales hit an all-time high of 83,000
A few months ago, The Spectator became the fastest-growing current affairs magazine not just in Britain but in Europe. Magazine industry figures are out today and we’re delighted to announce that in the second half of last year, each issue of The Spectator sold 83,020 copies, up 8.9 per cent on the year. This is an average for the six months: the figure now is significantly higher. In April, we’ll become the first magazine in the history of publishing to print a 10,000th issue: we’ll do so with sales at an all-time high. What’s driving our success? We have the best writers – Rod Liddle, Matthew Parris and Charles Moore,
