I’ve recently been reading Daphne du Maurier’s novel Rebecca to my children, and while it’s every bit as enjoyable as I remember, I’ve been bristling with embarrassment at the unflattering references to bridge in the first few chapters. The narrator is a paid companion to the grotesquely snobby Mrs van Hopper, who, we are told
Gawain Jones has fought his way to the no. 1 position on the UK ranking list by a series of recent successes in the world team championship, the Reykjavik Open, and now by scoring first prize in the Sigeman closed invitational tournament in Malmo, Sweden. Gawain’s live rating is now 2,709, ahead of Howell and Sadler
In Competition 3100 you were invited to pen an ode to Alexa or Siri. A recent Unesco study claimed that submissive female-voiced virtual assistants perpetuate negative, out-dated gender stereotypes, and this assignment did seem to bring out the unreconstructed roguish side in some. You know who you are. The winners below earn £25 each.
Clues are presented in strict alphabetical order of their solutions. Solvers have to assign the solutions to their correct places in the grid jigsaw-fashion. A) A French messenger’s unending rage (4) Unaltered first principle that’s non-British (4, two words) Far off (4) B) Litter from Mark outside vehicle (8) C) Sinclair gets off
The unclued lights (with the pair at 37/26) are orchestral CONDUCTORS. First prize Elisabeth Johnson, Toronto, Canada Runners-up Gareth Davies, Langstone, Newport; Peter Gregson, Amersham, Bucks
Black to play. This position is a variation from today’s game, Hillarp Persson-Jones, Malmo 2019. How can Black conclude the attack? Answers to me at The Spectator by Tuesday 4 June 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
