Zia Mahmood has never been the most punctual man — but I wonder whether he’ll ever be late for a bridge tournament again? He and his partner Jan Jansma were favourites to win the European Open Pairs in Ostend last week. In the final, they were neck-and-neck with the German player Sabine Auken and her
A disturbing pattern has emerged in the games of world champion Viswanathan Anand. As White in the Ruy Lopez he has begun to disregard in serial fashion the precept that ownership of the bishop pair, against two opposing knights or knight and bishop, tends to confer a major advantage. Not only do the bishops act
In Competition 2804 you were invited to supply a poem containing as many ingenious rhymes as possible. Ogden Nash, one of the great rhymesters of recent times, said, ‘I think in terms of rhyme, and have since I was six years old.’ And though rhyme may fall in and out of favour, its power is
The unclued lights (one of two words) are of a specific kind. Ignore all accents. Across 1 H-E-X? (5) 4 Series of numbers causing confab about 1 and 101 (9) 10 In an alienating way, first disproving 4 = 4. See? (10) 11 Shaver heard to be one on the way up? (6) 14
The twenty-two lochs which did not fit into the grid are, in order of their appearance in the story: Ainort, Awe, Eynort, Katrine, Eck, Nevis, Sunart, Cluanie, Eil, Hourn, Assynt, Maree, Melfort, Affric, Long, Tummel, Frisa, Treig, Tuath, Striven, Ericht, Alsh. First prize Charles Hastings, Upper Woolhampton, Berks Runners-up David Carpenter, Sutton Coldfield; Roderick
Black to play. This position is from the game Nimzowitsch-Tarrasch, St Petersburg 1914. With both bishops trained on White’s king, what is the best way of ploughing up White’s defences? Answers to me at The Spectator by Tuesday 9 July or via email to victoria@spectator.co.uk or by fax on 020 7681 3773. The winner will be
