Live bridge is back. It kicked off two weekends ago with Eastbourne’s Swiss Pairs. I went with my friend Ollie Burgess, and although numbers were down, things were as they’d always been: the same familiar faces and scarcely a face mask in sight. But after competing online for so long, it felt strange — like
‘Exchange chess’ (also known as bughouse) is the chess equivalent of a three-legged race. It is played in teams of two, on adjacent boards with opposite colours, and it works best when nobody takes it seriously. The only essential rule is that when you capture an opponent’s piece, you hand it to your partner, who
White to play and draw. The conclusion of an endgame study composed by J. Hašek (1951). Black is preparing a queen infiltration via a6. But with the right move, White can ensure that is not fatal. What should White play? Answers should be emailed to chess@spectator.co.uk by Monday 23 August. There is a prize of
In Competition No. 3212 you were invited to provide a spiel that a well-known character from the field of fact or fiction might give in their capacity as a tourist guide to a capital city or notable monument. In a hotly contested week, I was sorry not to have space for P.C. Peirse-Duncombe’s Tristram Shandy
The unclued lights, two of two words and the others as four pairs, are of a kind. Across 6 Rickety car – one cut off during July (6) 10 House-doctor, game to assist poor maintenance of biological conditions (12) 11 Ten expressions of 14 – just small amounts (5) 14 Appreciation from US actor (6)
The unclued lights are the eleven England footballers who LINED UP at the kick-off of the Euro FINAL on 11 July. The shaded squares from top to bottom reveal the manager, GARETH SOUTHGATE. First prize James Dowson, Throwley, Kent Runners-up Steve Reszetniak, Margate, Kent; Helen Walton, Romsey, Hampshire
