I have a pet theory, based not on hard data but on insights from postmortem chitchat. My theory says that novices and experts, when facing evenly matched opponents, make roughly the same number of screw-ups in a game. The difference is that the novice’s oversights will be far more significant. The novice walks into checkmate,
White to play. This is a variation from Mirkovic-Gluzman, Belgrade 1991. Which move allows White to gain a decisive material advantage? Email answers to chess@spectator.co.uk by Monday 29 July. There is a prize of £20 for the first correct answer out of a hat. Please include a postal address and allow six weeks for prize
In Competition 3359 you were invited to present an account of a historical event as football commentary. There were enough Battles of Hastings and Waterloo to fill a page but it seemed necessary to include some other deciders. Since so much footballese relies on war metaphors, it all gets quite confusing. I was sorry not
The unclued lights, two of which accommodate two theme words, can be sorted into four trios of related words, each forming a reducing chain of 6, 5 and 4 letters. Across 11 Disentangle one French composer (7) 14 Department having some bargain dresses (5) 16 Annoying children – crazy right through (5) 19 Surfer returned
The unclued lights are French words or phrases which include a colour: 2, 10/32, 21A/7D, 21D, 28/8, 36/11, 37/8 and 38/15. Bleu at 8 does double duty, and ‘noir’ and ‘noire’ are the two forms. First prize Jeremiah Carter, Cambridge Runners-up Ian MacDonald, East Grinstead, W Sussex; C.R. Haigh, Hassocks, W. Sussex
