I am so useless in defence it’s embarrassing. My partners all say the same thing: slow down and think. I say: ‘I don’t know what to think about.’ In the 2-card ending, I unerringly play the wrong card, which brings on the annoying response: ‘You knew Declarer had a heart and a spade left.’ Well,
As statues are scrutinised, the tensions that existed within historical figures are thrown into relief. You can admire Churchill’s leadership and criticise his imperialism. Beyond politics, whether one can or should separate the art from the artist is a well-trodden critical minefield. How to appraise the work of sculptor Eric Gill, whose corporeal forms can
White to play. Tolush–Aronson, Moscow 1957. Strangely, this quick win was once wrongly attributed to Alekhine. How did White exploit the exposed position of the Black queen? Answers should be emailed to chess@spectator.co.uk by Monday 22 June. There is a prize of £20 for the first correct answer out of a hat. Please include a
In Competition No. 3153 you were invited to recruit a well-known children’s writer to explain Covid-19 to their young audience. Designer Jim Malloy’s reimagining of Dr Seuss titles for the coronavirus age — Oh, the Places You Won’t Go!; Docs in Smocks — gave me the idea for this challenge and though I had high
The seventeen entries with definition-only clues are to be treated according to a symmetrically disposed theme which has to be highlighted. Other clues are normal; all enumerations are of entry lengths. Across 1 Bothers about losing, initially, eight pounds (6)7 Help senior NCO when cutting hair (6, two words)11 Wallop maker (10, hyphened) 13 A
22D was TABLEWARE, and the quotation from Ralph Waldo Emerson reads: ‘The louder he talked of his honour, the faster we counted our spoons.’ First prize Oenone Green, Feltham, MiddlesexRunners-up Stephen Saunders, Midford, Bath; Len Coumbe, Benfleet, Essex
