Being on lead against a grand slam is bad for your blood pressure. So much is at stake (not least, having to face the self-satisfaction of your opponents). Luckily, there is a rule of thumb which obviates the need to stress too much: always lead a trump. This is sensible advice: it’s normally the best
The London Classic gets underway this weekend in Olympia. The line-up is formidable, including the world champion Magnus Carlsen, his predecessor Viswanathan Anand, and Sergei Karjakin, who challenged Carlsen for the title last year. The remaining contestants are as follows: Lev Aronian, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Fabiano Caruana, Wesley So, Ian Nepomniachtchi, Hikaru Nakamura and Michael Adams.
In Competition No. 3026 you were invited to submit topical double dactyls. The double dactyl was dreamed up in 1951 by the poet Anthony Hecht and the classical scholar Paul Pascal. My well-thumbed copy of Jiggery-Pokery, a wonderful 1967 compendium of the form edited by Hecht and the poet John Hollander, reveals with pride
The unclued lights (one of two words) are of a kind. Elsewhere, ignore three accents. Across 1 Unethical point of an Aesop fable (6) 11 Improve, making Oriel, accommodated by a fellow (10) 13 3 in Casablanca in the wet season (5) 14 This psychotherapist poor Leonard can’t take on (5) 15 Oration about province
The unclued lights are COMPUTING terms. First prize D.A. Henderson, Almonte, Ontario, Canada Runners-up Robin Muir, Compton, West Sussex; Ian Shiels, Bramley, Leeds
White to play. This position is from a variation from Carlsen-Aronian, London Classic 2012. Black had already anticipated what was in store here and had resigned. What had he foreseen? Answers to me at The Spectator by Tuesday 5 December or via email to victoria@spectator.co.uk. There is a prize of £20 for the first correct
