The Sunday Times May 22, 2022 27
NEWS REVIEW
CODEWORDKENKENTETONOR2x 106 15 + 6 4 x 15 51 x 1
13 x 3 40 x 9 9 + 40 6 x 1550 + 7 3 + 13 7 x 50 22 + 10
51 + 1 106 + 2 15 + 4 22 x 10350 3252 108 19 22057 1660 5139 360 49 90212 21SUDOKU 1483
SUDOKU WARM-UP
KILLER SUDOKU
LAST WEEK’S SOLUTIONS
buckets, each marked with a
different whole number of
litres capacity between 10
and 20 litres. He calculated
that he could exactly empty
the tank, but only by using
all three buckets and
completely filling each bucket
a different number of times.
He filled and emptied eachbucket the calculated number
of times but the tank still
contained 6 litres of water,
because the smallest bucket
had a dent that reduced its
capacity by 3 litres.
What were the marked
capacities of the three
buckets?Peter Good
The Plumber’s Buckets
A plumber was trying to
empty a tank containing 100
litres of water using three
TEASER 3113
Sally Brock
Junior bridge around the
world is arranged into
different age groups: Under
16, Under 21 and Under 26.
These are all open to young
men and women but in
addition there is an Under 26
women category. For my sins,
I am the English squad leader
of this group.
Generally speaking,
training is done by the age
group squad leaders. I try to
support the U26W in other
ways, mainly by trying to
make sure that each pair has a
mentor — someone to help
them develop their bridge.
At the end of last year I
arranged a face-to-face
training session for the U26
women. We had several guest
speakers providing coaching
on various topics. Today’s
hand is from the defence
module, presented by David
Burn. Start by covering up the
West and South hands.
Both vulnerable, Dealer SouthWest leads the three of
diamonds to East’s ace. How
should East defend?CHESS
Age is no barrier in chess. After
decades dominating the British
weekend tournament circuit,
those two battle-hardened
warriors, Mark Hebden and
Keith Arkell, continue to impress.
Now aged 64, Hebden edged
out his friend and long-time
rival Arkell to win the English
Senior 50+ Championship.
Hebden’s effort below —
against the English Women’s
50+ Champion — is typical of
the controlled and relentless
playing style that has brought so
many victories over the years.
White: Mark Hebden
Black: Natasha Regan
Chessable English 50+
Championship,
Kenilworth 2022
Trompowsky Attack
1 d4 Nf6 2 Bg5 Hebden is a
specialist in various 1.d4
openings. 2...e6 3 e4 h6 4
Bxf6 Qxf6 5 Nc3 Bb4 6 Nge2
c5 Black’s pieces are not ready
for action in the centre. 6...d6 is
a more flexible alternative. 7 a3
cxd4 A second more serious
mistake. Black is now doomed
to passivity. 7...Bxc3+ 8 Nxc3
cxd4 9 Nb5 appears strong for
White, though after 9...Qe5 10
Qxd4 Qxd4 11 Nxd4 the
endgame is tenable. 8 axb4
dxc3 9 Nxc3 0-0 10 Bd3 Nc6
11 b5 Ne5 12 0-0 g5 Taking
control over the kingside dark
squares is understandable, but
developing the c8-bishop was
an urgent priority: 12...d6. 13
b6 a6 14 Be2 Ng6 15 Qd6
White obtains a long-term bind.
The c8-bishop is entombed.
15...Qe5 16 Rfd1 f5 17 exf5
Qxf5 18 Kh1 Nf4 19 Bf1 Rf6 20
Re1 Qxc2 21 Ne4 Rf5 22 Qd4
Nd5 23 Bc4 Ne7White is clearly on top. Hebden
seizes the moment, unleashing
a simple yet devastating tactic.
24 Bxe6+! dxe6 25 Qd8+ Rf8
25...Kf7 26 Nd6+ is also fatal. 26
Qxe7 Qxb2 27 Rac1 Qg7 28
Qd6 Rf7 29 Rc7 Rxc7 30 bxc7
a5 31 h4 a4 32 Qd8+ Qf8 33
hxg5 hxg5 34 Re3 a3 35 Rf3
Black resigns White’s attack
finally breaks through.
Spot the Move 1324:
White to play.Giri-Praggnanandhaa,
chess24.com 2022. White has
a nominal material lead.
Which enterprising move
increases the advantage to
decisive proportions?Send your solution (first move only), to Sunday Times Spot the Move 1324,
The Sunday Times, PO Box 29, Colchester, Essex CO2 8GZ, or email to
[email protected]. The first correct answer drawn after next
Saturday wins a £20 Waterstones voucher. Open to 18+ UK & ROI residents only.
David Howell BRIDGE
♠ Q 7 6 2
♥ 8 6
♦ Q J 5
♣ A K Q 7
N
W E
SWest North East South
3 ♠
Pass 4 ♠ All Pass♠ –
♥ A 9 5 4 3
♦ K 9 7 3 2
♣ 8 5 2♠ K J
♥ Q J 10 7 2
♦ A 8 6
♣ 9 6 3
♠ A 10 9 8 5 4 3
♥ K
♦ 10 4
♣ J 10 4È((((((((È
>4Ú)ÚÈÚ/Ú'
?Ú2Ú2-ÈÚÈ'
@2]ÈÚ2ÚÈß'
IÚÈÚÈÚ4ßÈ'
HÈÚPáÃÚÈÚ'
=ÚÈÚÈÚÈÚÈ'
GÈ]3ÚÈ]Å]'
FDÈÚÈDÈÚÂ'
DCB:;A<EÈ((((((((È
>È.ÈÚÈÚÈÚ'
?ß2ÚÈÚ2ÚÈ'
@È1È4ÈÚÈß'
IÚÈD2ÚÈßÈ'
HÈÚÈ]ÈÚÇÚ'
=ÚÈÚPI7ÚÅ'
GÅÚÈÚÈ]È]'
FÂÈÚÈÚÈÚÈ'
DCB:;A<Ethink I’d be more anxious about what
the foxes might have left for me to find,
and it’s increasingly common to see dog-
walkers playing scatological lucky dip
among the nettles.
Another group who may be bemused
by the trend are gardeners who have
been No Mowing for years and are now
torn between feeling vindicated and
being a bit miffed that their quirky
pastime has gone mainstream. It’s like
wild swimming all over again: all the
smug early adopters began harrumphing
about the newcomers and their
nonsense newfangled term for the
activity formerly known as “swimming”.
What unifies all these groups is a
loathing of artificial lawns, the merkins
of the horticultural world. Some don’t
like it on a practical basis — it can
become too hot to walk on, needs
hoovering and doesn’t last. Some decry
it from an ecological point of view — its
production and transport are fossil fuel-
heavy; it releases microplastics into the
environment; and it deprives soil of
nutrients and wildlife of habitat. But the
detractors easiest to agree with are the
ones who point to its aesthetics. A quick
scroll of the Twitter account @shitlawns
(“showcasing the hideous trend of
plastic lawns”) reveals some of the most
horrific examples — in pink and purple
as well as green. A recent post also
highlights the rolls of artificial grass on
sale in Lidl — a corporate partner of
Plantlife. The RHS is on board, at least:
fake lawn is banned from Chelsea and its
other shows.
Now I’m wondering what else is ripe
for rewilding. While I’m sure No Mow
May is great for flora and fauna and the
environmentally minded, it strikes me
that it’s also pretty great for the simply
lazy. So look out for my campaign to
rewild housework. I’ll have my feet up,
giving the dust mites a chance.
Jeremy Clarkson is awaygrow, which is, after all, a pretty passive
thing to do, is probably the single most
effective thing you can do in any garden
of any size to encourage particularly
insect life but also small mammals,
invertebrates, reptiles.” Making a stripy,
neat lawn was a male “obsession”, he
said, that was about “controlling rather
than embracing”. Not one to mulch his
words, is our Monty.
The hands-off approach is certainly
working for local authorities, which are
calling off the gardeners and allowing
verges and roundabouts to blossom.
Councils that don’t lift a finger aren’t
used to garnering such praise and social
media glory. It seems to be getting the
popular vote too. Across the country
residents’ associations are demanding
even the smallest overgrown patch be
left to thrive, and individuals are
conducting guerrilla seed-scattering
missions. As was once pointed out to me
by my green-fingered friend (and
nominative determinism fan) June
Hedges, grass is simply the mostsuccessful weed. It’s time we gave the
others a look-in.
While this free-spirited approach may
be new in gardening, it has all been
foreshadowed in the arena of lady
gardens. Practitioners of what you might
call bush administration have for some
time been reporting a move away from
exotic varieties (the Brazilian) and the
very precise sort of topiary that requires
a set square (the landing strip). I couldn’t
tell you whether or not a wilder look
actively encourages pollinators, but I
gather it doesn’t put them off.
Not everyone is pleased by the
horticultural equivalent, however. Local
tensions between No Mowers and what I
suppose we can call the No No Mow May
camp in one Wisconsin town were
enough to make the local paper. “I wish
we didn’t have it,” Bill Sieberman told
the Appleton Post-Crescent. “Their
yards look awful. The grass is very, very
tall.” Some residents were anxious about
how lawnmowers would manage to cut
the 18in grass. In my London garden IThey all
loathe
artificial
lawns, the
merkins
of the
gardening
worldIt looks easy. There are
surely two diamond tricks
(there is only one card lower
than the three, so West
cannot have six diamonds),
one trump trick and probably
one heart. East knows that
but does West?
The trap is to return the
queen of hearts, covered by
the king and ace. How is West
to know that the king of
diamonds is standing up but
not the jack of hearts?
The solution is for East not
to switch to a heart but rather
continue with the eight of
diamonds. West may well
think that East has a
doubleton diamond but she
should not try to give East a
ruff before cashing the ace of
hearts if she has it.
The message is: when you
know how to defend a hand,
try to make it easy for partner.
The Junior European
Championships are coming
up in July in the Netherlands
and our junior teams need
your help towards their
expenses. There will be a
Pro-Am Auction pairs event
on June 26 starting at 1pm
with a buffet lunch in the Acol
Bridge Club. Top-class
professional players are
donating their time to assist
the juniors and raise funds.
If you are interested in
helping, please visit
englandjuniors.co.uk and you
can bid to play with either a
junior or a world-class player!
Headline names include
David Gold, Mike Bell,
Michael Byrne and myself.Send your solution to: The Sunday
Times Teaser 3113, PO Box 29,
Colchester, Essex CO2 8GZ or email
[email protected].
The first two correct solutions opened
after next Saturday each win a £20
Waterstones voucher. Open to 18+ UK &
ROI residents only.adit, admit, adroit, amid, amir, amour,
amrit, arid, aroid, arum, atom, atrium,
audit, auditor, auditorium, auto, daimio,
dart, datum, diatom, diram, dram, drat,
iota, maid, mart, moat, mudra, radio,
radium, raid, ratio, riad, road, roam,
rota, taro, toad, trad, tram, triadMEPHISTO 3220
Across: 1 Infimae, 6 Daine, 10 Mamaguyed, 11 Phratry, 12 Dort, 14 Absence, 15 Cramesy, 17 Tablet,
20 Elate, 21 Pilus, 22 Oraria, 25 Entwist, 28 Scarred, 29 Tang, 30 Soldado, 31 Cabaletta, 32 Lerne,
33 Lethean
Down: 1 Impact, 2 Farmable, 3 Imaum, 4 Matte, 5 Agraste, 6 Dyester, 7 Aedes, 8 Narcotism, 9 Entêté,
13 Braincase, 16 Carinate, 18 Escribe, 19 Condole, 21 Postil, 23 Attorn, 24 Argan, 26 To let, 27 WidthWEATHER
GENERAL KNOWLEDGE JUMBO CROSSWORD 318
Across: 1 Brentwood, 6 Typesetting, 12 Billy Mitchell, 13 Lietuva, 14 London broil, 16 Mnemonic,
18 Jean, 19 Lay-figures, 20 Swami, 22 Tokamak, 23 Ural Mountains, 25 Kenilworth, 26 Bundeswehr,
29 Witwatersrand, 31 Daggers, 33 Op art, 34 Threequels, 36 Ital, 38 Osculate, 39 Wile E Coyote,
41 Seattle, 42 Israel in Egypt, 44 Emlyn Hughes, 45 Solar year
Down: 1 Bubblejet, 2 Ellen Barkin, 3 Toy Boy, 4 ODI, 5 Doctor Faustus, 6 Theologian, 7 Polymer,
8 Silver-studded blue, 9 The Forsyte Saga, 10 I Puritani, 11 Graz, 15 Black Forest gateau, 17 Big Sur,
21 Imelda Staunton, 24 Mound-builders, 25 Kowtow, 27 Electrolyte, 28 Waterworks, 30 Transvaal,
32 Sylvester, 35 Rhenish, 37 Poseur, 40 Esne, 43 IRLPOLYGONWinners Crossword 5005 M Wickens, Faygate, West Sussex, T Burrow, Cambridge, S Honnor, Adisham, Kent, AM Price, Maidenhead, Berkshire Mephisto 3218 K Yearwood,
Birmingham, CJ Brougham, London WC1, M Hazell, Gorleston-on-Sea, Norfolk, R Rance, London E17, J Spragg, Oxford Teaser 3110 J Randell, Painscastle, Powys, AJ
Skidmore, Ripley, Derbyshire Chess 1321 A Lees, Bristol Sudoku 1481 J Tudor, Brereton Heath, Cheshire
Amsterdam 23C f
Athens 29 f
Auckland 18 sh
Bangkok 27 th
Barcelona 32 f
Beijing 37 f
Belgrade 25 f
Berlin 20 f
Bogota 18 th
Boston 33 th
Brussels 24 f
Budapest 22 f
BuenosAires 19 f
Cairo 30 s
Calgary 16 sh
Cape Town 19 f
Caracas 27 th
Casablanca 25 f
Chicago 18 f
Dubai 33 s
Dublin 18 sh
Geneva 31 f
Gibraltar 27 f
Guatemala 27 th
Helsinki 13 f
Hong Kong 25 sh
Istanbul 24 f
Jersey 20 sh
Johannesburg 15 sh
La Paz 12 f
Lagos 28 th
Lima 21 f
Lisbon 23 shLondon 24C f
Los Angeles 22 f
Madrid 35 f
Mexico City 28 sh
Miami 30 f
Moscow 13 f
Nairobi 27 sh
New Delhi 43 s
New Orleans 32 th
New York 33 th
Oslo 16 f
Panama 30 th
Paris 25 f
Prague 23 f
Rio de Janeiro 24 s
Rome 32 s
San Francisco 16 f
Santiago 21 f
Seoul 25 s
Seychelles 28 th
Singapore 29 th
Stockholm 15 f
Sydney 18 th
Tel Aviv 23 f
Tenerife 21 f
Tokyo 23 sh
Toronto 14 sh
Trinidad 29 th
Tunis 34 s
Venice 26 f
Vienna 25 s
Warsaw 14 sh
Washington DC 34 thAROUND THE WORLD
Key c=cloud, dr=drizzle, ds=dust storm, f=fair, fg=fog, g=gales, h=hail,
m=mist, r=rain, sh=showers, sl=sleet, sn=snow, s=sun, th=thunder, w=windy¬ Feeling hot with sunny
spells and the risk of heavy
showers or thunderstorms
over Spain, Portugal, France,
Italy, the Alps, Slovenia,
Croatia, Albania, Serbia,
Greece, Romania and Turkey,
but staying dry across the
Mediterranean islands
¬ Dry and sunny with areas
of patchy cloud in Germany,
the Low Countries, theCzech Republic, Slovakia and
Hungary
¬ Rather cloudy and blustery
with showery rain over
Poland, Ukraine, Moldova
and the Baltic states, heavy
at times
¬ Most areas will be dry with
sunny spells in Scandinavia
and Finland but the risk of an
afternoon shower or longer
period of rain in placesEUROPE
THE WEEK AHEAD
Monday
Mainly cloudy
with spells of rain,
heavy in places.
Max 17CTuesday
Sunny spells and
a scattering of
showers, thundery
in places. Max 17CWednesday
Some sunshine but
cloud and rain will
spread east, heavy
in places. Max 18CThursday
Warm, sunny and
dry in the south,
cloud and rain in
the north. Max 19CFriday
Showery rain in
the north but dry
and sunny further
south. Max 21CSaturday
Mainly dry, sunny
and warm but a
few showers in
Scotland. Max 21CSUN, STREET LIGHTS & MOON
NIGHT SKY
Aberdeen 04:35 21:34 04:34 03:06 11:13
Belfast 05:06 21:34 05:05 03:08 11:42
Birmingham 05:01 21:07 05:00 02:42 11:34
Bristol 05:08 21:05 05:07 02:41 11:41
Cardiff 05:11 21:07 05:10 02:43 11:43
Cork 05:30 21:30 05:29 03:06 12:04
Dublin 05:14 21:28 05:13 03:03 11:49
Glasgow 04:52 21:34 04:51 03:07 11:29
London 04:58 20:55 04:57 02:31 11:30
Manchester 04:57 21:13 04:56 02:48 11:31
Newcastle 04:47 21:18 04:45 02:52 11:22
Norwich 04:47 20:55 04:46 02:30 11:19
Plymouth 05:19 21:06 05:18 02:43 11:51Sun
risesSun sets/
lights onLights
offMoon
risesMoon
sets2825 30251627152726252311331321671515141416121615151516241816121527251915121512222115151610112119171711TODAY’S WEATHER
UK and Ireland forecast
A dry and warm day with sunny spells over southern and
eastern England but cloudy further north and west with
showery rain, turning heavy and perhaps of longer duration
in places. Light south to southwesterly winds in southern
England and south Wales but moderate to fresh southwesterly
winds elsewhereREGIONAL FORECASTS
London, SE England
Fog patches clearing to bring a dry, warm and sunny day. Light
southerly wind. Max 24C. Tonight, turning cloudy. Min 9C
Midlands, E England
Mainly dry with sunny spells and patchy cloud. Light
southwesterly wind. Max 23C. Tonight, showery rain. Min 8C
Channel Is, SW and Cent S England, S Wales
Mostly dry with sunny spells and areas of cloud. Light
southwesterly wind. Max 20C. Tonight, showery rain. Min 8C
N Wales, NW England, Isle of Man
Rather cloudy with showery rain. Light to moderate
southwesterly wind. Max 18C. Tonight, a few showers. Min 8C
Cent N and NE England
Sunny spells and a few showers. Light to moderate
southwesterly wind. Max 19C. Tonight, showery rain. Min 10C
Scotland
Cloudy with showery rain, heavy at times. Moderate
southwesterly wind. Max 17C. Tonight, a few showers. Min 3C
N Ireland, Republic of Ireland
Sunny spells and a scattering of showers. Moderate
southwesterly wind. Max 17C. Tonight, a few showers. Min 6C18241814101615918519
moderateslightslightmoderateTODAY’S SOLUTIONSCONCISE CROSSWORD 1782
Across: 1 Write-off, 6 Sill, 8 Bloodstream, 9 Kiss,
10 Heirloom, 11 Asleep, 13 Goanna, 15 Prettify,
17 Ness, 19 Cooperative, 21 Wool, 22 Sullying
Down: 2 Rabbi, 3 Tootsie, 4 Odd, 5 Fittingly, 6 Shell,
7 Lampoon, 10 Happiness, 12 Sirocco, 14 Annuity,
16 Troll, 18 Sheen, 20 AllSPOT THE MOVE 1323
1...Na4! wins. The threat of 2...Rd8+ mate
is fatal
TEASER 3112
1771CROSSWORD 5007
Across: 1 Wack, 3 Shockproof, 10 Dunce, 11 Mark Twain, 12 Slumber party, 15 Romulus, 16 Know-all,
17 Artless, 19 Caribou, 20 Disagreement, 23 Cochineal, 24 Imola, 25 Torrential, 26 Clue
Down: 1 Widespread, 2 Consummate, 4 Humerus, 5 Car park, 6 Petit bourgeois, 7 Opal, 8 Fund,
9 Herbal medicine, 13 Barbie doll, 14 Illustrate, 18 Stare at, 19 Corolla, 21 Echt, 22 ScarSUKO CELL BLOCKSAt midnight tonight: Arcturus in Boötes shines
brightly high in the S; the red supergiant
Antares in Scorpius is low in the SSE; Vega in
Lyra is the brightest star in the E. The Moon is
low in the SE at 4am tomorrow, with Jupiter 26°
to its left and the brilliant Venus only just rising
in the E. Jupiter is a Moon’s breadth above the
dimmer Mars next Sunday morning. Alan PickupLiz Edwards
Earn your
stripes or go
No Mow in
the turf wars
I
t’s nearly here. The Chelsea Flower
Show — the London Fashion Week
of horticulture — opens its garden
gates on Tuesday. But you won’t
have to be a front-row follower of
fashion to know what the headline
trend is. I can already tell you.
Stripes are out.
I’m talking lawns, and the question
that’s dividing the nation’s gardeners like
a spade through a root ball is: to mow or
not to mow?
On the one hand you have the baize
brigade, debating the merits of the Worx
WG779E over the Mountfield Princess 34
and hiring lawn whisperers who claim to
be able to help them achieve the
ultimate two-tone velvet. These chaps
(of course they’re chaps) would have
found a kindred spirit in my grandfather,
a twice-a-week guy who was never
knowingly seen in his gardening overalls
without a shirt and tie underneath.
On the other hand, and in the
ascendant, are the let-it-grow gang, now
going great guns with their No Mow May
campaign. These are the hippie kids
(relatively speaking — many will have
been wearing flares the first time they
were cool), espousing non-intervention
and flower power. They want us all to
leave the mower untouched for the
month — to make love, not grass cuttings,
and let our lawns do their thing,
dandelions, buttercups and all. Allowing
wild flowers to flourish will help bees
and other pollinating insects, says the
conservation charity behind it, Plantlife
— whose name suggests it will also give us
a sense of enormous wellbeing.
The anti-lawnmower lobby got a big
fillip last year when Monty Don, patron
saint of gardeners, declared the grass
greener on their side. “Cutting grass
burns lots of fossil fuel, makes a filthy
noise and is about the most injurious
thing you can do to wildlife,” he told the
Radio Times magazine. “Letting grassOne man went
to mow, but all
around the
smooth grass
wildflowers
are bloomingJAX10289/GETTY IMAGES*