The EBU’s Premier League is upon us again, the pain of relegation ever-present as my team battles it out in the second division to try to finish in the top two and earn promotion. After two of the three rather endless weekends (a triple round-robin if you please) we are lying well and… let’s hope
Tigran Petrosian seized the world championship from Mikhail Botvinnik in 1963, defended the title against Boris Spassky in 1966 and only relinquished it against the same dangerous opponent three years later. In individual play he defeated every other world champion whom he met over the board and in chess Olympiads he twice earned the gold
In Competition No. 2869 you were invited to submit a poem on any theme as it might have been written by the diminutive, myopic warden of New College, Oxford Revd W.A. Spooner, whose gift for mangling words bequeathed us such comic gems as ‘The Lord is a shoving leopard’. Not everyone was laughing, though. ‘Am
Nine unclued lights each contain a different 20 from the same source. The title suggests a further such 20. Elsewhere, ignore an accent. Across 1 First off clochards rummaged Mac’s valises (8) 8 Eastern sailing boat or ship in poem declaimed (4) 12 Carnal caper giving sensuous diversion (10, two words) 13 Buffaloes perhaps
The END (19) of Rameau, a great COMPOSER (1A) of OPERAS (6) and for the CLAVECIN (1D), occurred in PARIS (37) CCL (25) years ago, on 12th September 1764. Born in DIJON (21), he was a friend of VOLTAIRE (26) and an enemy of ROUSSEAU (41). RAM (29) and EAU (31) were to be shaded.
White to play. This is from Petrosian-Rosetto, Portoroz 1958. White’s knight is threatened and appears to lack a safe escape square. What did Petrosian have in mind? Answers to me at The Spectator by Tuesday 21 October or via email to victoria@spectator.co.uk or by fax on 020 7681 3773. The winner will be the first
