Did you know that a ‘heartbreaker’ is a real term in bridge? It’s described in The Bridge Player’s Encyclopedia as ‘a hand which fails to live up to one’s original expectations’.But that’s way too flat a definition. A heartbreaker causes emotional distress; it hurts. That might sound a bit dramatic to non-players, but bridge is
Vishy Anand’s eyes lit up as he described a beautiful variation from his game with Shakriyar Mamedyarov, played at the European Club Cup in Mayrhofen, Austria this month. The first diagram shows a variation which could arise if Mamedyarov had tried 33…Bg5!? 34 Rxc4 Bxe3+. (See left game) 35 Kf1 is tempting, since 35…Bxc4 36
White to play and mate in two. Composed by Bruce Leverett, Chess Life, 1968. What is White’s first move? Answers should be emailed to chess@spectator.co.uk by Monday 17 October. 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 prize
In Competition No. 3270, you were invited to submit a short story entitled ‘The Queue’. As well as inspiring this challenge, the queue to file past the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II during her lying-in-state in Westminster Hall spawned countless jokes and memes, obsessed crowd psychologists and became the top trending topic on Twitter. It
The unclued lights (three of two words, one of which has an apostrophe) are of two kinds. Across 6 Eat away with genial wraith oddly (4,2) 12 Antibiotic disguised in nice pill (10) 14 He raises stock for reactor (7) 15 Second chapter on king and almost utterly mad literary character (4,6) 16 Medic enters
Each unclued Across light (including the pair at 16/7) is a SWEET and the unclued Down lights can be preceded by SOUR. First prize Steven Lodge, Bridgwater, Somerset Runners-up Diana King, Leeds; A. Weir, Broughty Ferry, Dundee
