It’s the beginning of May and I have a feeling I am about to write the same opening sentence as I have for the past eight years: the Schapiro Spring Foursomes is undoubtedly the best teams tournament in England. Held in Stratford, it’s a double knockout format and this year it was won by Alexander
World champion Magnus Carlsen has taken first prize in the Norway tournament at Stavanger which finished last month. Carlsen had dominated proceedings but was briefly derailed by a loss to the triple Olympiad gold medallist Levon Aronian of Armenia, who eventually emerged as the runner-up. As so often, Carlsen pulled a rabbit out of the
In Competition No. 2947 you were asked to submit a poem in praise of old age. Old age gets a bad rap. Only the other week, in these pages, Stewart Dakers questioned our obsession with chasing longevity given the decrepitude and indignities of that final furlong. Here was your chance to put the case for
One clue lacks a definition part; its answer is a film title. One unclued light (three words) is the title of a song in the film, and one unclued light (two words) is the name of its singer. The first word of the song’s title defines three unclued lights, and its third word defines three
SHAKESPEARE — indicating the action required to create 9, 11, 32, 18 plus 24, and the puzzle’s title — is the name of Matthew Arnold’s poem from which the perimeter quotation is taken. First prize Peter Wilson, Kettering, Northants Runners-up Miriam Moran, Pangbourne, Berks; John Light, Addlestone, Surrey
White to play. This position is a variation from So-Kasparov, St Louis 2016. What is White’s quickest kill? Answers to me at The Spectator by Tuesday 17 May or via email to victoria@spectator.co.uk or by fax on 020 7681 3773. There is a prize of £20 for the first correct answer out of a hat.
