Summer finally appeared like magic on Saturday, 16 July. Did I fire up the barbie? Did I relax with a Pimm’s soaking up a few rays? Did I go for a gentle walk? Did I heck. I went to play the London Congress Swiss Pairs tournament and found myself, along with 160 other whey-faced bridge
Sergey Karjakin, the challenger for Magnus Carlsen’s world title later this year, has announced in Bilbao, where he is contesting an elite tournament, that he wants to launch his challenge ‘anywhere but the USA!’ His stance poses an awkward problem for the World Chess Federation, which does not seem to have even contemplated an alternative
In Competition No. 2957 you were invited to submit a poem with a title that is a twist on that of Keats’s sonnet ‘On First Looking into Chapman’s Homer’. There was a fair amount of doubling-up this week: while G.M. Davis and Tracy Davidson decided to speculate on what the first perusal of an Ann
Seven unclued lights (all real words) are names of 22 (hyphened) minus one letter. The missing letters give GROWN-UP. Across 4 Game Charlie (athletic chap with a heart problem) (9) 10 Pro shinned nastily getting painkillers (10) 11 Rosy Lee and fellow almost dance (6, hyphened) 12 Secure university members axed watchman (7, two
The unclued lights are anagrams of words meaning ‘blessing’, hence 43A MIXED BLESSINGS. The words are 11A AGREEMENT, 31A BENISON, 34A CONSENT, 40A BOON, 10D PERMISSION, 13D GODSEND, 15D SANCTION and 27D DARSHAN. First prize Ian Dempsey, Oldwick, New Jersey Runners-up Dr Simon Shaw, Goosnargh, Lancs; Rhidian Llewellyn, Minchinhampton, Glos
White to play. This position is from Najer-Buhmann, Dortmund 2016. How did White make the most of his g7-pawn? Answers to me at The Spectator by Tuesday 26 July or 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 and allow
