Have you ever made a bid based on the assumption that your partner has forgotten your system? It’s not as unreasonable as it might sound. Everyone forgets bits of their system now and again, and if a bid doesn’t make sense to you, that could well be why. Even so, it’s an uncomfortable dilemma: whether
When I select puzzles to accompany this column, I stick to the plain vanilla. The stipulation must be short and sweet, and one move solutions must be accepted (though I like to include a few further words of explanation). Alas, a thousand such puzzles can never do justice to the wondrous ingenuity of chess composers.
Le-Sindarov, Budapest Olympiad, September 2024. White’s next move induced immediate resignation. What did he play? Answers should be emailed to chess@spectator.co.uk by Monday 23 September. There is a prize of £20 for the first correct answer out of a hat. Please include a postal address and allow six weeks for prize delivery. Last week’s solution
In Competition 3367 you were invited to write a formal poem about the Brothers Gallagher (Noel and Liam). This comp was set before we had quite reached Oasis saturation point; possibly we’re beyond that now. There were more entries than usual and they were roughly equally split between those that expressed great joy at the
The eight unclued lights are of a kind. Across 1 One slandering and misrepresenting our claimant (11) 7 Purpose of Maoism oddly forgotten (3) 11 Trees concealing old furrow (6) 13 Bitterness of soldier on the radio (7) 15 Signature is tamper-proof, to some extent (5) 17 Sturdy or, conversely, broken? (6) 18 French here
The unclued lights are the surnames of the ‘Queens of Crime’ and of their famous detectives: 1A/16, 19/15, 29/32 and 38/42. First prize G.R. Snailham, Windsor Runners-up Bill Ellison, Caversham, Reading; John and Di Lee, Axminster, Devon
