I’m just back from Beijing, where I’ve been playing in the Hua Yuan Cup, an invitational tournament for the eight top-ranked women’s teams in the world. It’s a wonderful event, with generous prize money, and I got lucky: a member of the England team, Gillian Fawcett, couldn’t come, so I subbed. To say it
‘Poor indoor air quality hampers cognitive performance significantly’, concluded a recent study in the IZA (Institute of Labour Economics). Of course, ‘fresh air is good for you’ fits squarely in the category of things you knew already, but the research was specifically about chess: ‘An increase in the indoor concentration of fine particulate matter (PM2.5)
In Competition No. 3120 you were invited to submit a poem reflecting on the Apollo 11 moon landing written in the style of the poet of your choice. Cath Nichols’s enjoyable entry looked back on the lot of the Apollo wives through Wendy Cope’s acerbic eye. Nick MacKinnon was also an accomplished Cope impersonator:
19 October marks a milestone (hinted at by 19/26/20) for a person whose real forenames are given by 1A (three words). The other unclued lights (including two of two words, one being a toponym) suggest the titles of four of his works while the puzzle’s title suggests the title of a fifth. His real surname
The unclued lights are all constructed (as opposed to natural) languages, also known as conlangs. First prize Magdalena Deptula, Eton, Berks Runners-up Trevor Burford-Reade, Harrow Mrs Ashley, Shoreham-by-Sea, West Sussex
White to play, Black to win. Shirov-Caruana from the Isle of Man. Caruana threatens 53… d1=Q 54.Qxd1 Qxb2 mate. Shirov resigned, rather than try 53.Bf7-b3 to block the b-file. What finishing touch had he foreseen for Caruana? Difficulty: Moderate. Answers via email to victoria@spectator.-co.uk by Tuesday 22 October. There is a prize of £20 for
