There can’t be a bridge tournament much more enjoyable than the one we have just played in Madeira. It starts with three days of Pairs (292 pairs registered) followed by three days of Teams (129). My teammates Thor Erik Hoftaniska and Christian Bakke came second in the Pairs but more was to come. We played
‘I kind of played old man’s chess in that game,’ said Magnus Carlsen, after winning a game against S.L. Narayanan, a top Indian grandmaster, at the Tata Steel Rapid in Kolkata last week. ‘No long variations, just positional chess.’ None of his moves would have come as a great surprise to his opponent, while Narayanan’s
Black to play. Erigaisi-Dubov, Tata Steel India Blitz, November 2024. Dubov chose Rg4-e4, overlooking a tactical shot that would have won the game. What was the winning move? Email answers to chess@spectator.co.uk by Monday 25 November. There is a prize of £20 for the first correct answer out of a hat. Please include a postal
In Competition 3376, prompted by news that avocado bathrooms are back in vogue, you were invited to compose poems about interior decor trends of yesteryear. Reading them, bubble chairs and spider plants swam before my eyes. Jane Smillie’s list deserves a mention: Artex and lava lamps, bamboo and tie dye,Pop art and sideboards and stereo
Eight unclued lights are of a kind. Across 5 Al Gore eats by the truckload (6) 9 Dim and confused, fell in and died (3-7) 14 Boxer from Hayle is oddly knocked out (3) 16 Case of invertebrate found in hydrochloric acid (6) 17 March with nudists’ leader in buff (5) 18 Tramp about with
The unclued lights are four female winners of the Nobel Prize for Literature. First prize Angela Robinson, Brighton, East Sussex Runners-up Elizabeth Knights, Walton Highway, Wisbech; Andrew Vernalls, Milton Common, Thame, Oxon
