They say a two-way finesse is never a complete guess: there are always clues to be gleaned from the bidding and play. That’s not strictly true, as the great Giorgio Belladonna once demonstrated at a tournament when, after a long think, he turned to a kibitzer and asked him to toss a coin. But even
If you love chess enough to play hundreds of tournaments you will, sooner or later, play like a numbskull. You lick your wounds, go to bed, and hope the engine belches into action the next day. As a wise man once told me, the great comfort of a knockout tournament is that if you play
White to play. Erigaisi-Azarov, Baku 2023. The Bh6 looks in trouble, but Erigaisi found a powerful move to decide the game in his favour. What did he play? Answers should be emailed to chess@spectator.co.uk by Monday 21 August. There is a prize of £20 for the first correct answer out of a hat. Please include
In Competition No. 3312, you were invited to supply a contribution to a book of recipes invented by fictional characters, entries being for the Carrollean, Dickensian or Shakespearean sections. Commendations to Martyn Hurst and Jon Robins, both of whom provided Uriah Heep’s recipe for humble pie, and to Mike Morrison’s Hamlet (‘Sous-vide or not sous-vide,
Eleven unclued entries may be connected from 38 to 17, their unchecked letters spelling out CHAIN’S PAIRS, WE AGREE? Across 1 Maximum animosity reported (4) 3 Vineyard by cross (4) 5 Losing starter, rubbish service is behind (6) 9 Again communicate on mobile in van (10) 16 Mostly free car
Unclued lights are some laureates of the Nobel Prize in Physics. There were two CURIEs (35). The clued name was Max BORN (8). The title is an anagram of NOBEL PRIZE. First prize Sid Field, Stockton on Tees Runners-up David Carpenter, Sutton Coldfield G. Asher, Bucknell, Monmouthshire
