The one bridge resolution I made years ago was that if you have a 5-4 fit in a suit, play for the drop (i.e. play for the outstanding cards to be 2-2) unless there is a huge reason not to. The one time I deviated from my resolution was in Hungary, in a very strong
In 2021, Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura caused a stir with their ‘Double Bongcloud’ opening, in an online game which began 1 e4 e5 2 Ke2 Ke7, soon agreed drawn. Their act of flippancy, clearly spontaneous, drew a mixed response of laughter and tutting, but that game was unofficial and had no competitive significance. Similarly, at the
White to play and mate in two moves. Composed by Ivar Godal, Ideal-Mate Review, 1983 Email answers to chess@spectator.co.uk by Monday 15 January. There is a prize of £20 for the first correct answer out of a hat. Please include a postal address and allow six weeks for prize delivery. Last week’s solution 1 Bxe5!
In Competition No. 3331 you were invited to write a resentful note of departure on behalf of a well-known figure from the field of fact or fiction. This challenge, set some time ago owing to seasonal production deadlines, was prompted by Suella Braverman’s splenetic broadside, but I decided to widen the brief beyond the political
Twelve unclued lights may be grouped into three quartets and their unchecked letters spell out ask engineering-academy.gov.uk; each quartet comprises two natural pairs. All unclued entries are normal words, one is in Merriam–Webster and one is thematically linked to its quartet via a Broadway musical. Across 1 Maybe PC speed unit cut after unexpectedly taking
The word chain, starting (say) at 1 Down is: USEFUL, FULMAR, MARMOT, MOTHER, HERMIT, MITTEN, TENREC, RECUSE and then back to USEFUL First prize J.J. Morris, Upper Nash, Pembrokeshire Runners-up Jean Whitney, Perry Barr, Birmingham; Stuart Hall, Mickleton, Gloucestershire
