Good news for bridge if the Open World Championships in Orlando are anything to go by. Far from dying, it is spawning and nurturing young players who are making their mark spectacularly. In the first two tournaments (Open Teams and Open Pairs) Michal Klukowski (22) won his fifth world title on the Zimmermann team and
The Batumi Olympiad ended as a great success for the teams from China, which captured the gold medals in both the open and women’s sections. England finished a most creditable fifth in the open, behind USA (silver) Russia (bronze) and Poland, our best result for decades. Meanwhile the bitter contest for the Fidé (World Chess
In Competition No. 3069 you were invited to provide a spoof version of the song ‘My Favourite Things’ for the constituency/demographic of your choice. I decided to set this comp after stumbling across the Rodgers and Hammerstein classic recast as it might have been sung by an elderly Julie Andrews (‘Maalox and nose drops and
All the unclued Across lights are of a kind, as are all the unclued Down ones. They can be paired appropriately, and can be confirmed in Brewer. Across 4 What’s blocking criminal courts I bet around five? (11) 11 Land adviser returning to wharf without question (7) 16 Suave young socialite leaves broadcasting (5,
The twelve unclued lights can be arranged into the sequence yielding phrases from ‘First’ to ‘Twelfth’. First 21, Second 24, Third 4A, Fourth 37, Fifth 30, Sixth 15A, Seventh 3, Eighth 9, 19 Ninth, Tenth 34D, Eleventh 25, 29 Twelfth. ‘Second’ in the solutions at 8D and 17D indicates the sequence. First prize Norman
White to play. This is from Pace-Aguilar, Batumi Olympiad 2018. How did White finish off crisply? Answers to me at The Spectator by Tuesday 16 October 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 six weeks
