English Chess Forum

Set piece

A clue in the METRO a few days was a bird needin' air?

Following advice from a cryptic solver I do the obvious/easy ones first and then do the trickier ones.
This one got a 20 second thought before moving on.

The Chandler house is a shrine to Chess and Puffins (tea towels, mugs, pictures, cushions, fridge magnets, egg cups...)
My crazy daughter even has a Puffin tattooed on her arm! and yet I only 'got it' after getting the 'i'.

Geoff Chandler wrote: ↑

Wed Aug 04, 2021 10:00 am

The Chandler house is a shrine to Chess and Puffins (tea towels, mugs, pictures, cushions, fridge magnets, egg cups...)
My crazy daughter even has a Puffin tattooed on her arm! and yet I only 'got it' after getting the 'i'.

I believe that Jeremy Clarkson has a soft spot for Puffins.

There is one crossing the road not far from me.

Two from today's Sunday Times Cryptic 4969.

Black's Tal? Ignore opening and just castle! (8)
- A - M - - - L
Tal World Champion 60 years ago but scarcely a household name here. Of course, you don't need to know anything about chess to solve the clue.

Musical compositions from Kings? (6)
- I - C - S
Just basic chess nomenclature needed here. I suppose a non-cryptic solver would think CAROLS.

Today's Times Cryptic; "Something to eat when one of the minions entertains king (5)"

Prawn

Sunday Times 29th August

Fellow in tie carrying book (10)

STABLEMATE

Definition: STABLEMATE (=fellow)
Cryptic: B (abbreviation for book) inside STALEMATE (=tie)

I mention it because we folk use 'draw' not 'tie' for stalemate. I suppose it is a tie, so fair enough. Other definitions are available, e.g. impasse.

My local free advertiser paper had the following crossword clue this week - "Adolescents throw knight in river (5)"

Teens

Reg Clucas wrote: ↑

Sun Sep 12, 2021 4:02 pm

My local free advertiser paper had the following crossword clue this week - "Adolescents throw knight in river (5)"

+ Mike Alderson's answer TEENS

It's quite something to expect solvers of a non-specialist cryptic crossword to know N for knight.
Setters of The Times crossword expect it too.

Friday 24th September Times:
1ac First to move the panel, shifting piece of junk (5,
WHITE ELEPHANT - anagram of 'the panel' (shifting) following the required chess knowledge - white first to move. I hadn't seen that before in a cryptic crossword.

Paul Habershon wrote: ↑

Sun Sep 26, 2021 8:44 pm

Friday 24th September Times:
1ac First to move the panel, shifting piece of junk (5,
WHITE ELEPHANT - anagram of 'the panel' (shifting) following the required chess knowledge - white first to move. I hadn't seen that before in a cryptic crossword.

That's supposed to be (5, eight) but it came out with a smilie that I tried to edit out - unsuccessfully. Weird! It was the number eight on my preview.

Paul Habershon wrote: ↑

Sun Sep 26, 2021 8:44 pm

Friday 24th September Times:
1ac First to move the panel, shifting piece of junk (8, 5)
WHITE ELEPHANT - anagram of 'the panel' (shifting) following the required chess knowledge - white first to move. I hadn't seen that before in a cryptic crossword.

That worked, but (5, didn't. Very odd. Clever, this new technology.

Paul Habershon wrote: ↑

Sun Sep 26, 2021 8:49 pm

Paul Habershon wrote: ↑

Sun Sep 26, 2021 8:44 pm

Friday 24th September Times:
1ac First to move the panel, shifting piece of junk (5, 8)
WHITE ELEPHANT - anagram of 'the panel' (shifting) following the required chess knowledge - white first to move. I hadn't seen that before in a cryptic crossword.

That's supposed to be (5, eight) but it came out with a smilie that I tried to edit out - unsuccessfully. Weird! It was the number eight on my preview.

Ticking "Disable smilies" would have done it, as you can see.

Ian Thompson wrote: ↑

Sun Sep 26, 2021 9:29 pm

Ticking "Disable smilies" would have done it, as you can see.

That is helpful and valuable advice, but aren't smilies supposed to be there only when you ask for them?