The Times - UK (2022-04-28)

the times | Thursday April 28 2022 15

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

four 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 11 words, average;

15, good; 22, very good; 29, excellent

79 689 67

2654897 89

48 157 31

96 156897

79 8975

1798 97

398615 69

12 689 89

76 2897564

98 197 97

P N O T

R U E H

I U A

S O R R O W

R O

A N T

S

TAX

OC

BARBER

EE A

YDUNG

After 1 ... Qxf4+! the main point

is that 2 Qxf4 Bb2+ 3 Kb1 Rxd1

is mate. White tried 2 Kb1 but

2 ... Rxd1+ 3 Qxd1 Bd2! 4 c3

Qxe4+ 5 Qc2 Qe1+ won

Cyathus (a) A cup used to

scoop wine from a bowl

(Collins)

Isagogic (a) Introductory

(Chambers)

Sprechgesang (a) A

vocalisation between speech

and song (OED)

Kakuro 3162

Futoshiki 4203 Lexica 6326

Cell Blocks 4456 Set Square 3165 Lexica 6325

Suko 3475

Train Tracks 1617

Chess — Winning Move Word watch

1 Adam

2 Inhabit

3 Consult

4 Account

5 Antonym

Quintagram

1 Earth 2 Ikea 3 Railway 4 Notting Hill 5 Brighton

6 Homeland 7 Ivor Novello 8 Suzi Quatro 9 Málaga

10 Operation Mincemeat — the body was that of a

homeless man named Glyndwr Michael 11 Chisel

12 Antonin Artaud 13 Uziel Gal — original name

Gotthard Glass 14 Alec Bedser. His record was broken

in Adelaide by Brian Statham 15 Bay leaf or laurel leaf

Quiz

Easy 122; Medium 676; Harder 5,818

Brain Trainer

Yesterday’s answers

arak, arty, away, awry, carat, cart, craw,

kara, karat, kart, kata, kyat, rack, racy,

rata, tack, tacky, taka, tawa, track,

trackway, tray, wack, wacky, wart, warty,

wary, wrack, yaar, yack, yarak, yatra

times2 CrosswordNo 8890 Brain Trainer
Just follow the instructions from left to right, starting with the number given to reach an answer at the end.

ANSWER

EASY 18

ANSWER

MEDIUM 45

ANSWER

HARDER 248

• 7

+ 74

x 9 75% x 2

OF IT

x 3 + 66

+ 975

• 87

25% x 3

OF IT

x 2

x 3 /^4

OF IT

3

40%

OF IT

+ 12

• 78

25%

OF IT

x 2

+ 14 – 8 x 2

x 3 /^2

OF IT

+^1 / 3

OF IT

+^1

/ 12

OF IT

11

+ 887

Across

1 Dense; agreement (7)

5 Thin circular object

(C, not K) (4)

8 Instrumentalist (6)

9 Understood by few (6)

10 Huge (8)

12 Sod; territory (4)

13 Triple (9)

17 Passport endorsement (4)

18 One authorised to sell

alcohol (8)

20 Time of great danger (6)

21 Fastening device (6)

23 Prison room (4)

24 Artillery subunit (7)

Down

2 Rectangle (6)

3 Remunerate (3)

4 Carried goods (5)

5 Athletic event (9)

6 Soldier on guard (6)

7 Central mountain group (6)

11 Actors' run-through (9)

14 Join up (6)

15 Ferocious (6)

16 Roundabout route (6)

19 Venomous snake (5)

22 Small measure of spirits (3)

Solution to Crossword 8889

T2 CROSSWORD No 8890

1 2 3 4 5 6

7

8 9

10 11 12

13 14

15 16

17 18 19

20 21 22

23 24

D L E C K P

ROOTS SLAV ISH

U W S T S L O

MAGNETO SCORN

U R X R O E

PEAK TEACADDY

D A H K U

OVERSHOE CRAB

U H U X A A

TIARA SWELTER

C I M E N I G

REDRESS OZONE

Y E D N N E

Cell BlocksNo 4457

© PUZZLER MEDIA

Polygon Set SquareNo 3166

Please note, BODMAS does not apply

KillerGentle No 8276 Solutions

KillerTough No 8277

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).

Michael Byrne of Manchester

made two brilliant 3NT contracts

in the quarter-final of the 45th

World Team Championships for

the Bermuda Bowl against the pow-

erful Switzerland. Here is the first.

At the other table, East had not

managed to mention diamonds

(having opened a light 1♥). West

led the queen of spades and

declarer made a comfortable over-

trick. Byrne received the two of

diamonds lead (the Swiss East-

West pair leading low from any

three cards in partner’s suit to

show the count). East inserted the

nine and declarer won the king.

It had to be right to force out the

ace of hearts to establish three extra

tricks and, at trick two, declarer led

the queen of hearts. East won the

ace and continued with the jack of

diamonds to declarer’s queen.

Declarer is up to eight tricks —

three hearts, two diamonds, ace-

king of spades and the ace of clubs.

The unthinking play after cashing

the hearts is to run the queen of

clubs, hoping to make 12 tricks if

East has the king (but going down

if West has it — he has a third dia-

mond to lead to his partner).

However, East cannot have the

king of clubs for one simple rea-

son. East, a passed hand, has

turned up with the ace-jack-ten of

diamonds and the ace of hearts: no

room for the king of clubs (or he’d

have opened). Declarer cashed the

jack of hearts and, after observing

West discard, found the key play of

exiting with a third diamond.

East had to cash his diamond

winners — or declarer could suc-

ceed by playing on clubs. After

those three winners (declarer and

dummy throwing clubs), East

switched to a spade.

Declarer won the king of spades

and crossed to the king-ten of

hearts. On that last heart, West

had to find a discard from the

queen-jack of spades and the king-

five of clubs. If he discards a spade,

dummy’s ace-ten are promoted; if

he lets go a club, declarer can lead

dummy’s to his ace of clubs (felling

the king) and enjoy the jack. A

wonderful suicide squeeze (a

defender squeezing his partner).

[email protected]

Contract: 3NT, Opening Lead: ♦ 2

Dealer: East, Vulnerability: East-West

N

W E

S

Pass

1NT(1) Pass(2) 2♣(3) 2♦(4)

Pass Pass 2NT(5) Pass

3NT(6) End

(1) Showing 15-17.

(2) Would bid at a different vulnerability.

(3) Stayman, asking for four-card majors.

(4) For the lead — I like it.

(5) Balanced game invitation by Kieran

Dyke. Note, if he judged his hand to be

game-forcing, he would bid 3♦ (East’s suit)

to show concern about East’s diamonds.

(6) Clear to accept given the two diamond stop-

pers (♦KQx now almost as good as ♦AKx).

S(Byrne) W N(Dyke) E

♠ 53

♥A9763

♦AJ1094

♣ 3

Teams ♠A102

♥K1084

♦ 83

♣Q1096

♠K6

♥QJ2

♦KQ7

♣AJ874

♠QJ9874

♥ 5

♦ 652

♣K52

Advanced

Bridge Andrew Robson

E M P H A S I S T A P E

A I A U E A

S T E P L Y R I C I S T

C O P H T

S H R A P N E L N A I L

L U I M

S P R E A D S E Q U E L

R X R U

N O V A A C A D E M I C

T N S L S

V E N D E T T A P U S H

G E I R R U

B E A R C O M P O S E R

Sudoku 13,167

Killer 8274

Sudoku 13,168

Killer 8275

Sudoku 13,169

Quick Cryptic 2122

KenKen 5565

Codeword 4573