The Times - UK (2021-12-21)

the times | Tuesday December 21 2021 11

MindGames

© PUZZLER MEDIA

Divide the grid

into square or

rectangular

blocks, each

containing one

digit only. Every

block must

contain the

number of cells

indicated by the

digit inside it.

Enter each of

the numbers

from 1 to 9 in

the grid, so that

the six sums

work. We’ve

placed two

numbers to get

you started.

Each sum

should be

calculated left

to right or top

to bottom.

From these letters, make words of

three or more letters, always including

the central letter. Answers must be in

the Concise Oxford Dictionary, excluding

capitalised words, plurals, conjugated

verbs (past tense etc), adverbs ending

in LY, comparatives and superlatives.

How you rate 18 words, average;

24, good; 28, very good; 32, excellent

8975 5123

68521 3241

9857 31

93 213 31

(^8268952)
25198 78
13 798 89
13 7986
7421 79513
9213 7421
PEBBLE
O A
U BAT
N OU
DEVOUR
NF
M
D R A T I
A A S
S T A R V E
E D R
G Y M
1 Michael Bond 2 Smoke and fog 3 Russian Empire
4 Southampton 5 Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles
6 Borstal 7 Shin splints 8 A Trip to the Moon 9 FUBU,
which stands for “For Us By Us” 10 Liberal Party
(of Canada) 11 Laura Mulvey 12 Jennifer Higdon
13 Robert Zajonc 14 Liverpool FC 15 John Grisham
1 Bxf7+! Rxf7 2 Nc4! and,
remarkably, the black queen is
trapped. White will emerge with
a decisive material advantage
Buskin (b) A boot worn to
make an actor appear taller
(Brewer’s)
Beadroll (b) A list of people for
whom prayers are to be offered
(Collins)
Cithara (c) A lyre-like
instrument (Chambers)
Kakuro 3070
Futoshiki 4111 Lexica 6142
Cell Blocks 4346 Set Square 3073 Lexica 6141
Suko 3365
Train Tracks 1510
Chess — Winning Move Word watch
1 Pint
2 Prise
3 Rector
4 Reminder
5 Abridging
Quintagram
Quiz
Easy 33; Medium 436; Harder 6,242
Brain Trainer
Yesterday’s answers
chum, churn, cru, cue, cum, cur, cure,
ecru, ecu, emu, erhu, hue, hum, menu,
much, mun, munch, muncher, mure,
neum, rheum, ruche, rue, rum, rumen,
run, rune, urn
times2 Crossword No 8780 Brain Trainer
Just follow the instructions from left to right, starting with the number given to reach an answer at the end.
ANSWER
EASY 51
ANSWER
MEDIUM^94
ANSWER
HARDER 156

• 12

+ 54

• 9 x 4
  
  
  • 98
  
  
  
  

x 5 – 209

40%

OF IT

• 86 x 4

/ 4

OF IT

+^1

/

OF IT

(^23) /
OF IT
(^45)

• 54
  x 4 + 998


• 12 + 17


• 887

• 12

/ 2

OF IT

+^1 / 5

OF IT

+^1 /

OF IT

(^79) / 2
OF IT
+^1
/ 4
OF IT
+^1 /
OF IT
(^56)

• 899
  Across
  1 Turning point (5)
  4 Annual calendar (7)
  8 Informal word of phrase (13)
  9 Trifling annoyance (8)
  10 Bean protein (4)
  12 Thick stick as weapon (6)
  13 Authoritarian
  government (6)
  16 Part of a goblet (4)
  17 Causing horror (8)
  20 Draw (a crowd, etc) (7)
  21 Zodiac sign (5)
  22 Supernatural being (5)
  23 Doesn't go to bed (5,2)
  Down
  1 Large ocean (7)
  2 VAT in full (5-5,3)
  3 Anxious; in difficulty (8)
  4 Sharpness of thought (6)
  5 Fermented honey drink (4)
  6 Capital of Kenya (7)
  7 Punctuation mark (5)
  11 Light brown sugar (8)
  14 Becomes less
  unbalanced (5,2)
  15 Free of charge (6)
  16 Top of the head (5)
  18 Leaves out (5)
  19 Spice; club (4)
  Solution to Crossword 8779
  T2 CROSSWORD No 8780
  1 2 3 4 5 6 7
  8
  9 10
  11
  12 13 14
  15
  16 17 18
  19
  20 21
  22 23
  TREASURECHEST
  A G A E O X I
  STOPGAP METRE
  M T U M R R
  AIR OPTIONAL
  N I B E D D
  IMPOSE COUPLE
  A T F R A J
  POSITIVE TOE
  E R N N I C
  DOGMA INSPECT
  I A T S P N E
  TENDERHEARTED
  Cell BlocksNo 4347
  © PUZZLER MEDIA
  Polygon Set SquareNo 3074
  Please note, BODMAS does not apply
  Killer Moderate No 8074 Solutions
  Killer Tough No 8075
  As with standard Sudoku, fill the grid so that every column,
  every row and every 3x3 box contains the digits 1 to 9. Each set
  of cells joined by dotted lines must add up to the target number
  in its top-left corner. Within each set of cells joined by dotted
  lines, a digit cannot be repeated.
  Need help with today’s puzzle? Call 0905 757 0143 to check the
  answers. Calls cost £1 per minute plus your telephone company’s
  network access charge. SP: Spoke, 0333 202 3390 (Mon-Fri 9am-5.30pm).
  Cluelines Stuck on Sudoku, Killer or KenKen? Call 0901 293
  6263 before midnight to receive four clues for any of today’s
  puzzles. Calls cost £1 plus your telephone company’s network
  access charge. SP: Spoke, 0333 202 3390 (Mon-Fri 9am-5.30pm).
  The vast majority of the time, it’s
  the declarer who squeezes a
  defender (or two). It’s rather nice
  when the boot is on the other foot.
  Take this 2NT deal from the
  from Herts and Essex's Green
  Point Congress Swiss Pairs, kindly
  sent to me by Gary Hyett. West,
  Alan Cooke, led the ten of dia-
  monds, declarer winning the king,
  and at trick two leading the queen
  of hearts, covered by the king and
  ace. East ducked the ten of hearts
  and won the third heart with the
  jack, West discarding a club.
  East, Hyett, cleared the dia-
  monds (the queen and ace crash-
  ing) and declarer cashed the two
  long hearts. At trick eight, declarer
  led the queen of clubs (where a
  low club to the king would have
  been wiser).
  West won the ace of clubs and
  cashed the three diamond winners.
  Here is the ending as West led the
  last diamond.
  East discarded an easy club,
  while declarer’s choice was more
  painful. If declarer discarded the
  king of clubs, West could cash the
  promoted jack of clubs before his
  partner scored the last trick with
  the ace of spades.
  In practice, declarer discarded a
  spade to bare his king. However,
  West was now able to lead the jack
  of spades at trick 12. East won the
  ace felling declarer’s king, and
  scored the last trick with the pro-
  moted queen.
  That was two down, declarer
  failing to garner a single black-suit
  trick. Yes, the bidding was flawed;
  and yes declarer’s failure to play a
  club to the king (as opposed to
  leading the queen) was flawed.
  However, that doesn’t detract from
  the beauty of the black-suit
  squeeze pulled off by the defence.
  [email protected]
  Contract: 2NT, Opening Lead: ♦ 10
  Dealer: South, Vulnerability: Neither
  N
  W E
  S
  1 ♣(1) Pass 1♥ Pass
  1NT(2) Pass 2NT(3) End
  (1) Playing Strong Notrump and Five-card
  Majors.
  (2) Showing 12-14.
  (3) Not a great choice in truth. If North
  deems the hand to be of invitational
  strength facing 12-14 — a reasonable valu-
  ation as the shape is good and there are
  some decent intermediates — North should
  bid out the shape via 2♠; there may be an
  eight-card major-suit fit (or, as here, both).
  S W(Cooke) N E(Hyett)
  ♠AQ10
  ♥J64
  ♦J652
  ♣ 432
  Pairs ♠ 9852
  ♥A10985
  ♦A7
  ♣Q9
  ♠K743
  ♥Q73
  ♦KQ
  ♣K1065
  ♠J6
  ♥K2
  ♦ 109843
  ♣AJ87
  N
  W E
  S
  ♠AQ
  ♥-
  ♦-
  ♣ 3
  ♠ 98
  ♥-
  ♦-
  ♣ 9
  ♠K7
  ♥-
  ♦-
  ♣K
  ♠J
  ♥-
  ♦4 (led)
  ♣J
  Bridge Andrew Robson
  A R B O R E T U M C O P
  R A A R I O I
  C O L O G N E L I N G O
  H A A L G N
  I N D O C T R I N A T E
  C N Y G E
  B R E A S T P R O P E R
  R L A A R
  I N D I A N S U M M E R
  T R U C S B
  A M O N G E X E C U T E
  I W H N L M E
  N U N T E D D Y B E A R
  Sudoku 12,873
  Killer 8072
  Sudoku 12,874
  Killer 8073
  Sudoku 12,875
  Quick Cryptic 2030
  KenKen 5455
  Codeword 4463