Puzzles & games

Bridge

Bridge

The 51st European Championships, which are being played in Dublin, started last week, and at the time of writing England are doing brilliantly in all three classes: Open, Ladies and Seniors. Very sadly, Alexander Allfrey and his partner, the incomparable Andrew Robson, one of our pairs in the Open, had to pull out and reserves

Chess

Chess: Don’t panic

The proliferation of short draws in the recently concluded World Championship match has led to some hysterical proposals to adjust the format which decides the supreme title in chess. For the record, Viswanathan Anand of India, the defending champion, retained his title against Boris Gelfand of Israel with ten draws and one win each in

Puzzle No. 223

Black to play. This is from Anand-Gelfand, rapid-play play-off, World Championship, Moscow 2012. Gelfand eventually lost, but he had a clever chance here to make a clear draw. How? Answers to me at The Spectator by Tuesday 26 July or via email to victoria@spectator.co.uk or by fax on 020 7681 3773. The winner will be

Competition

Competition: Fallen angels

In Competition No. 2751 you were invited to paint a portrait in verse of Ladies’ Day at Royal Ascot. In his Turf column last year, Robin Oakley wondered what the poet who, in 1823, described ‘the Thursday goings-on as “Ladies Day …when the women, like angels, look sweetly divine”’ would make of today’s proceedings. Well,

Crossword

Crossword 2065 solution

AND could be found in the grid connecting NAME & ADDRESS, HERO & LEANDER, and BANGERS & MASH, so 19 and 21 were connected by THE and had to be GOD SAVE and KING. First prize P.L. Macdougall, London SW6 Runners-up Roderick Burgess, Cantsfield, Canforth, Lancs; Sheelagh Abbots, Chirk, Wrexham

Crossword 2068: Hard case

One unclued light is an utterance prompted by a discovery. One unclued light is the occupation of the person to whom the discovered item belonged; the remaining unclued lights are features of the item. The name of the speaker, concealed in one column, and the item itself, concealed in another, must be highlighted.  One unclued