Let’s face it, part-score contracts can be a bit of a yawn. When browsing through bridge books or bulletins, I always skim over part-scores to read about games and slams – that’s when my adrenalin gets going. And I must admit, it’s the same at the table: the higher the contract, the more alive I
The other day, a top computer chess engine demolished the world no. 2 Hikaru Nakamura in a series of online blitz games by a 14-2 margin. Nothing unusual in that; computers have played at superhuman levels for decades now, to the point where scoring two points out of 16 counts as an achievement. But those
White to play and draw. The conclusion of an endgame study composed by Frédéric Lazard in 1946. Which move allows White to salvage a draw from this position? Email answers to chess@spectator.co.uk by Monday 19 May. There is a prize of a £20 John Lewis voucher for the first correct answer out of a hat.
Competition 3399 called for a traditional bedtime story updated for the 21st century.We’re tight on space, so I’ll pause just to give a special mention to Ross Haggart before awarding the £25 vouchers to those below. ‘The sky is falling!’ cried Chicken-Licken. Ducky-Lucky, thinking this might be fake news, waddled off to do some fact-checking.
The unclued lights share a common feature, while two trios from among the clued Down solutions do so to a lesser extent. Ignore an acute accent. Across 1 Give confidence when not at sea, reportedly (6) 7 Tolerated, having cut through undergrowth and fouled (6) 13 River horse, so to speak (5) 16 County not
The unclued lights are stations on the Far North railway line from Inverness to Thurso and Wick. First prize Lesley Gibbons, Twickenham Runners-up Peter Dean, London W8; David Carpenter, Sutton Coldfield
