Of all the competitions and tournaments available in this country, the one that somehow means the most is the Gold Cup. We have won it twice and the thrill is immeasurable. We have also been knocked out in round one and the worst part was knowing what we would be missing, in terms of matches,
The London Grand Prix at Simpson’s in the Strand finished in a triple tie between the three grandmasters Topalov, Gelfand and Mamedyarov, who ended in that order after a tie break. Britain’s Mickey Adams performed creditably after being granted just one day’s notice that he was playing, while the top-ranked US Grandmaster, Hikaru Nakamura, experienced
In Competition No. 2767 you were invited to imagine what the ‘famous last words’ of any well-known real or fictional character, alive or dead, might be/have been. Voltaire’s parting shot, when invited on his deathbed to forswear Satan, is purported to have been: ‘This is no time to make new enemies.’ Oscar Wilde’s final flourish
Part of a literary work (13 words) goes clockwise around the perimeter starting from square 1. Remaining unclued lights are anagrams of five words which make up a key image from the work. Letters in the twenty unchecked perimeter squares could give: DIT WHERE I CHIDE and SEDUCE. Elsewhere, ignore one apostrophe. Across 10 One
Five unclued lights were to be VOWELLED (28) in a UNIQUE (2) way: CATAMARAN (4A), GEE-GEE (3), DISINHIBIT (39), BOOBOO (31) and SURUCUCU (21). First prize Albert Fowler, Bexleyheath, Kent Runners-up J.S. Roberts, Rodmell, East Sussex; C.G. Millin, Ramleaze, Wiltshire
White to play. This is a variation from Grischuk-Gelfand, Fidé Grand Prix, London 2012. White has a number of tempting continuations but only one leads directly to mate. What is it? Answers to me at The Spectator by Tuesday 16 October or via email to victoria@spectator.co.uk or by fax on 020 7681 3773. The winner
