A feast of bridge is looming! Tromso in Norway is host to the Open European Championships starting on Saturday, and wild horses couldn’t stop me going. We kick off with mixed teams and pairs and I will bring you the news next time. Meanwhile congratulations to Willie Coyle and Graham Orsmond who won the third
In serious competitive chess the play is regulated by time limits for completion of the moves. In the mid-19th century, players could take as long as they wished over their moves. This proved unsatisfactory and it was recognised that time needed to be rationed and the failure to meet time control would result in the
In Competition No. 2903 you were invited to provide an extract from an article in an interiors magazine featuring some paint-colour names of your own invention that rival the ludicrousness of the real-life likes of ‘potentially purple’, ‘salty tear’ and ‘likeable sand’. High points in a patchy entry were Adrian Fry’s ‘Dresden licht’, John O’Byrne’s
Unclued lights (one hyphened) are words from a poem whose subject appears in the completed grid. A clued light is an anagram of the poet’s name and must be shaded. Elsewhere, ignore an accent. Across 7 Pass through range heading west (3) 11 Any chap can empty nappy (6) 14 Gigs annoy heartless
The theme word is CLIMBER. All unclued lights are therefore entered going upwards. There are three different types of climbers: plants (1, 8 and 22), mountaineers (4 and 27) and social climbers (14 and 18). First prize Andreas Fabian, Dunsden, Oxon Runners-up Hugh Aplin, London SW19; Sandra Speak, Dursley, Glos
White to play. This position is from Vachier-Lagrave-Caruana, Norway Blitz 2015. How did White finish off at once? Answers to me at The Spectator by Tuesday 30 June or via email to victoria@-spectator.co.uk or by fax on 020 7681 3773. The winner will be the first correct answer out of a hat, and each week
