How many times have I said ‘You are soo lucky’ to whichever expert opponent had brought in a tricky contract. ‘Every card would be wrong for me.’ Well ofc it would because sometimes you have to work out in which order to take your chances, which involves planning the play from dummy going down until
Lawyers in a courtroom, it is said, should not ask questions to which they do not already know the answer. Chess players are well advised to adopt a similar attitude to pawn endgames – steer clear unless you can anticipate the outcome with certainty. In endgames with more wood on the board, overlooking a nuance need
White to play. Adapted from an example in Capablanca’s classic manual Chess Fundamentals. Only one move leads to a win for White. Which? Email answers to chess@spectator.co.uk by Monday 17 June. There is a prize of £20 for the first correct answer out of a hat. Please include a postal address and allow six weeks
Comp. 3353 invited poems about ‘dining and dashing’ – thanks to Paul Freeman for the suggestion. There was a very large postbag/inbox full of delicious offerings and I am especially sorry not to have had room for W.J. Webster condemning the crime for its name alone: ‘it isn’t just pedantic/ To say its source is
The unclued lights (one of three words) are of a kind and can be verified in Brewer, whose spelling is used. Across 1 Small horn from moulding left indoors (8) 6 Love being in a home on the water (6) 11 Vauxhall model almost off course (5) 13 Cooked lamb, say, is
The unclued lights are ten recent Archbishops of Canterbury, with 7D being the solution of two words. First prize Alana Thompson, Dumfries Runners-up Julian Downton, Bucks Cross, Devon; Clive West, Old Windsor, Berkshire
