Bridge has always been a game of highs and lows, but what happened to Janet de Botton and her partner Artur Malinowski at the Easter Championship Pairs was more like being strapped to a rollercoaster. It started when everyone was staring at the computer screen waiting for the final results. The top three pairs —
I learn from The Problemist, the organ of the British Chess Problem Society, that the polymath Dr Jacob Bronowski also composed chess problems. According to the article I read, Bronowski was born in Lodz, Poland, in 1908, grew up in Germany and then became an undergraduate at Jesus College, Cambridge. He was a mathematician, biologist,
In Competition No. 2892 you were invited to submit an irregular quatrain in which you bring together two people from the world of the arts and then add a couplet describing the consequences. Two competitors paired Tolkien and Graham Greene, with not dissimilar results. Here’s D.A. Prince: If J.R.R. Tolkien Met Graham Greene Would a
Four of the unclued lights (one of two words) and an unclued pair are of a kind, and can become the remaining unclued lights, including a pair. Across 1 This song of praise would become heathen with a change of note (5) 6 Failure of old skinflint at university (7, hyphened) 11
The theme is CATS; the unclued Across lights are breeds of cats and unclued Down lights and TOPCAT (which had to be highlighted) are cats in literature or film. First prize Ray Nolan, Droylsden, Manchester Runners-up M.D. Conway, Amesbury, Salisbury; Glyn Watkins, Portishead, Bristol
Black to play. This is from Cochrane-Staunton, London 1842. How did Staunton exploit his menacing build up of pieces on the kingside? Answers to me at The Spectator by Tuesday 14 April or via email to victoria@spectator.co.uk or by fax on 020 7681 3773. The winner will be the first correct answer out of a
