Michael Gove writes: The Spectator asks only one thing of its writers: that they entertain. Susanna Gross, who wrote our bridge column in this space for 25 years, never failed. She played the game expertly, and with panache, representing England in international competitions. But formidable as her skills at the table were, she was even
The world’s top players prepare their openings in astonishing detail. Powerful chess computers, accessed via the cloud and thus available to everyone, make the process of analysis vastly more efficient than it used to be. Positions which once would have taken days to analyse ‘by hand’ can be explored exhaustively in an hour or two.
Wei Yi-Kacper Piorun, Fide World Cup, Goa 2025. Which surprising move enabled Wei to gain a decisive material advantage? Email answers to chess@spectator.co.uk by Monday 17 November. There is a prize of a £20 John Lewis voucher for the first correct answer out of a hat. Please include a postal address and allow six weeks
Competition 3425 was prompted by Gill Hornby, a biographer of Jane Austen, telling an audience at the Cheltenham Literature Festival that Jane’s sister Cassandra did the novelist’s reputation a favour by burning most of her letters, and if that hadn’t happened she might have been cancelled: ‘She has become this very vague, hazy figure, like
Unclued lights (one of two words, the others paired) at length have something in common. Across 1 Faced bombs near end of life (7) 11 Museum spending pounds to acquire English works (6) 12 European body said to be a biblical tribe (7) 14 Losing sides destroy poetic inspiration (5) 15 First person on chimney
The combined fleets of France and Spain met that of England at TRAFALGAR (13) on 21 October 1805. Vice-Admirals NELSON (30) in the VICTORY (27), and COLLINGWOOD (16dn) faced Vice-Admiral VILLENEUVE (19), in the BUCENTAURE (12), and Admiral GRAVINA (22). A COLUMN was later erected in Nelson’s honour. First prize Jamie Thomson, Hungerford, Berks Runners-up
