Bidding would be so much easier if you didn’t have opponents. Imagine if you and your partner were given a clear run, without interference from those pesky players on either side. But that’s not bridge. Getting in your way is what opponents do – at the highest level possible. Having to judge whether to bid
Promoting a pawn is a moonshot on the chessboard. A new queen is a literal game-changer, so when a humble pawn becomes far advanced, it is worth moving heaven and earth to get it over the line. Ditching a rook or a bishop is a small price to pay for a coronation. One game from the World
White to play. Cheparinov-Rapport, World Rapid Championship 2023. White found an elegant combination to make use of the passed pawn on f7. What did he play? Email answers to chess@spectator.co.uk by Monday 22 January. There is a prize of £20 for the first correct answer out of a hat. Please include a postal address and
In Competition No. 3332 you were invited to supply, in verse form, a retraction of beliefs previously believed in passionately. You weren’t obliged to step into the shoes of a real poet but many chose to and some smart, entertaining about-turns included Robert Schechter’s ‘Palinode on a Grecian Urn’: ‘Truth is beauty,’I said smugly,but lived
The unclued lights (one of two words, and the remainder when paired correctly) are of a kind, verifiable in Brewer. Ignore two apostrophes. Across 7 Scottish seagull’s gullet (3) 13 Pull back leading troops president recalled (7) 15 Chocolate powder run over in taxi (5) 16 Overwhelmed, Laura was hampered a bit (5) 17 Reporters on
The first prize of £100, three prizes of £25 and six further prizes of The Dictionary People by Sarah Ogilvie (Vintage) go to the following. In addition, the first four winners will each be sent a bottle of champagne. First prize Jennifer Church, Oxford Runners-up Greg Watson, Great Chesterford, Saffron Walden; Jill Briggs, London W14 ; L.J.
