Have I mentioned that I played for England in the Camrose? And not for the first time either. Sadly this year we had to substitute Espen Erichsen, who was in Australia, and that sub was man of the moment, Alex Hydes. Now I am not going to list Alex’s many recent successes because, as my
Looking at the first 12 games of the 2018 Carlsen-Caruana World Championship, which all ended in draws, I saw a statistical blip where others saw an ossified match format and the death of classical chess. But nobody could decry the drama at this year’s Women’s World Championship, in which reigning champion Ju Wenjun from China saw off a
Black to move. Javakhishvili–Adams, Gibraltar 2020. Adams has a few plausible moves here, including Rf1, Rf3+ and Rxf7, but only one of them wins. Which is the right one? Answers should be sent to ‘Chess’ at The Spectator by Tuesday 4 February or via email to victoria@spectator.co.uk. There is a prize of £20 for the
In Competition No. 3133 you were invited to provide a passage about food written in the style of a well-known author. Douglas G. Brown’s ‘Observation on a Vegetable That Was Probably Unknown to Ogden Nash’ struck a chord: ‘Kale consumed raw/ Gets stuck in one’s craw;/ But kale, marinated,/ Is still overrated’. Nick Syrett and
Eight unclued lights are of a kind with the 3 of the 30. Elsewhere, ignore two accents. Across 1 Nick is sound (5) 10 Category containing almost pure red rose (rambling) (10) 11 Universal spirit and life-force in Chinese city (6) 14 Lass did it, backed not by Pabulum (5) 15 Bill brightened retired
The statement, ‘HINDSIGHT IS ALWAYS (10/17) twenty-twenty’ was made by the FILM DIRECTOR (48/21) BILLY (4) Wilder (suggested by the title). His works include SOME LIKE IT HOT (1A/23D) and The APARTMENT (44). TWENTY-TWENTY (diagonally from 12) was to be shaded. First prize C. and A. Snelson, Leyburn, N. Yorks Runners-up Catherine Stekly, Guernsey;
