Here I sit, in hot, sunny, glorious France, pretending to be on holiday but feigning lots of headaches so I can nip up to my computer. BBO is showing the second World Mind Games which started last Friday in Lille. In each Group the 16 teams play a complete Round Robin and the top four
Marcel Duchamp was the strongest chessplaying artist the world has seen. He defeated a number of master players, including Koltanowski, the Knight’s Tour expert and exponent of blindfold play, and represented France in the Chess Olympiad. Chess permeates his work; there is even a chessboard pattern concealed beneath his work Étant donnés in the Philadelphia
In Competition No. 2759 you were invited to submit a well-known poem rewritten by another well-known poet. You were outstandingly good this week and there are lots of unlucky losers. Honourable mentions to Graham King, Janet Kenny, Jerome Betts, Barbara Smoker and Gerard Benson and a hearty pat on the back all round. Those printed
The crossword is of the usual barred pattern and is symmetrical whichever side is uppermost. The Across clues are presented in order and precede the Down clues. Three solutions are hyphened, and one is of three words. Solvers are required to insert the bars; clue-numbers are not required. — Former Foreign office abroad revealed in
The unclued lights (including the pair at 36/9) are islands on the ORKNEYS (an anagram of ‘Yonkers’). Solvers had to highlight the three letters HOY of the solution at 39D (Ahoy), which is ‘a call’, hence the wording in the preamble. First prize M. Williamson, Chelmsford, Essex Runners-up Mrs Pamela Bealby, Stockton-on-Tees; Robert Hinton,
White to play. This position is from Duchamp-Smith, London 1928. Can you spot White’s artful conclusion? Answers to me at The Spectator by Tuesday 21 August 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 hat, and each week I shall
