Like many people, I assumed that online bridge would fade away once people began playing face-to-face again. I’m so glad I was wrong. The social aspect of the game is, of course, largely lost online, but on the other hand, quite apart from the convenience, it’s a great way to improve; I always replay hands
English grandmaster John Nunn was the top seed in the over-65 section at the World Senior Championship, held in Italy last month. A series of crisp attacking games put him in the lead with 6.5/7. But an uncharacteristic miscalculation in round eight saw him lose a miniature against Danish grandmaster Jens Kristiansen. Going into the 11th
White to play and mate in two. Composed by van Beek & Wurzburg, 1909. This is one of the problems solved by Nunn at the 2019 World Solving Championship. Please note that because of the Christmas printing schedule this is not a prize puzzle. Last week’s solution 1 Qxd3 and Black resigned: Qxd3 2 Rf7+
In Competition No. 3278, you were invited to supply a well-known writer’s response to the question what makes the perfect citizen? In 1970, as part of a school project, a ten-year-old wrote to Charles M. Schulz to ask him a similar question. But the boy asked what makes a ‘good’ rather than ‘perfect’ citizen, and
An anniversary (1A, three words) today offers ten unclued entries, all of whose unchecked and cross-checking letters spell out HAHA! DRY GINS ASSURING TRASHY ANAGRAMS. Across 9 State welcome hosted by Oscars (4) 11 Stanza in excessive, unending Ave Maria delaying mass (6,4) 12 Bash old boy, a grass (4) 18 Pulling evenly, stripped part of
The numbered unclued lights reveal that ‘Lester Piggott won the Epsom Derby nine times’. Empery (10) and Nijinsky (21) were two of his winning horses. First prize Stephen Smith, Messing, Colchester, Essex Runners-up Andrew Dymond, London SE24; Belinda Bridgen, London NW8
