For those of us who are prone to anxiety before playing in big tournaments, there are plenty of self-help books to turn to. They don’t specifically address bridge, of course, but the lessons have universal application. Among my favourite authors is Martin Seligman, the celebrated ‘father of Positive Psychology’. Whenever I sit down to play,
Viswanathan Anand left the spectators in awe at the Superbet Rapid earlier this month. The ‘Tiger of Madras’, as he is sometimes known, was awarded a wildcard spot to the second leg of the Grand Chess Tour in Warsaw, which began just a couple of days after the first leg ended in Bucharest. At 52,
Black to play. Bacrot-Anand, Bastia Rapid 2001. A spectacular blow from Anand prompted Bacrot to resign. What did he play? Answers should be emailed to chess@spectator.co.uk by Monday 30 May. 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
In Competition No. 3250, you were invited to submit a sonnet to Mammon. It was ‘Epigram for Wall Street’, attributed to the oft-impoverished Edgar Allan Poe, that prompted me to set this moolah-themed challenge. In a large, thoughtful and winningly varied entry, there were echoes ranging from Keats, Milton and Barrett Browning to Gordon Gekko.
Clockwise round the grid from a point to be determined run the names of four knights (2,5,5,5,5,8,5,3) followed by what they are (two words). A clued light tells how many 35 they have amassed between them, while a pair of unclued lights indicate a 17 linking all four. Across 8 Wearing medal one accepted
The unclued lights were all extinct species. PTERODON was an acceptable variation at 5 Across. DODO was to be deleted from the final grid. First prize Jason James, Cambridge Runners-up Ian Shiels, Leeds; Hugh Schofield, Paris, France
