Did you make any new year’s resolutions? High on most people’s lists – along with shedding a few pounds – is to exercise more. But what about mental fitness? It’s a lot more fun than getting sweaty in the gym – and all it requires is taking up bridge. Bridge really is the best mental
Doing your job, and not a jot more – ‘quiet quitting’ – became one of the buzzphrases of 2022. In The Spectator, Stephen Daisley lauded this as the philosophy of the clear-eyed pragmatist, not the layabout, and wondered when more young employees would cotton on. Was Magnus Carlsen thinking along the same lines? For the time
White to play. Dubov-Sarin, World Rapid Championship, 2022. Dubov’s next move turned the attack up to 11, inducing instant resignation. What did he play? Answers should be emailed to chess@spectator.co.uk by Monday 9 January. There is a prize of £20 for the first correct answer out of a hat. Please include a postal address and
In Competition No. 3280, you were invited to submit an updating of W.H. Auden’s ‘Night Mail’ entitled ‘Email’. ‘Night Mail’ was written to accompany a section of the excellent 1936 documentary about the London to Glasgow Postal Special directed by Basil Wright and Harry Watt (who described Auden as looking like a ‘half-witted Swedish deckhand’).
To start off the New Year, the unclued lights (one of two words) share a common feature. Across 11 A female, for example, talked of items for discussion (6) 14 It happened during the 70s (5) 15 Regularly reveal art of great wordsmith (5) 16 Our Fraser getting hold of 111 (6) 17 Article aboard
‘MANY A TEAR HAS TO FALL’ (10/30) is the first line of It’s All in the Game whose tune, originally called ‘MELODY IN A MAJOR’ (1D), was composed by Charles G. Dawes, a future NOBEL LAUREATE (40D/2) and was often played by FRITZ KREISLER (30/6). TALLEST (34): It’s ALL in the game (TEST). DAWES (diagonally
