The past couple of weeks have been the first since the New Year that we haven’t played a tournament of some international prestige, so I am going to go back to the Lederer weekend at the end of February, London’s premier invitational event. It was held at the extremely elegant RAC Club in Pall Mall,
The Candidates tournament to determine the challenger later this year to world champion Magnus Carlsen is now well underway in Moscow. Early indications favoured the former champion Viswanathan Anand, the new young talent Sergei Karjakin, and Lev Aronian, Olympiad gold medallist, all of whom scored in the opening rounds. The main victim of their initial
In Competition No. 2939 you were invited to submit a poem about a famous person and an unlikely pet. There’s plenty of inspiration out there in the real world. A photograph from 1969 shows Salvador Dalí emerging from the subway, his rather dejected-looking pet anteater in tow. And then there is Gérard de Nerval, who
11/22, 36/1D, 48/2, 9/30 and 17/46 combine to form anagrams of the titles of five works (four of two words, one of three) by a writer whose name will appear diagonally in the grid and must be shaded. Across 1 Moll producing sauce or gravy (5) 6 Jolly sister shampooing (7) 12 Small
In line with 10A, other unclued lights were anagrams of US states: 17A ILLINOIS; 29A MARYLAND; 35A UTAH; 7D TEXAS; 9D OREGON; 18D MINNESOTA; 33D MAINE. First prize Paul Davies, Reading, Berkshire Runners-up D.P. Shenkin, London WC1; Mrs J. James, Harrow, Middlesex
White to play. This position is a variation from Anand-Topalov, Fidé Candidates, Moscow 2016. White can capture the black bishop, but how can he do better? Answers by Monday 21 March via email to victoria@spectator.co.uk. There is a prize of £20 for the first correct answer out of a hat. Please include a postal address
