The Times - UK (2022-05-23)

the times | Monday May 23 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

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 16 words, average;

22, good; 28, very good; 34, excellent

  

 

  


 ^

 


  


 
 

 


  


 
  

1 Railway station. Dent Station is at 1,150ft above sea level

2 Lagos 3 Battle of the Somme 4 Love Is All Around

5 Angel of the North 6 Hitler Youth 7 Charlotte Brontë

8 Ten Percent 9 Deborah James 10 Paolo Sorrentino

11 RH Tawney 12 Al Smith 13 Haemolymph 14 Bryne —

in May 2016 15 John Redwood

Proem (b) A prelude

(Chambers)

Fundi (c) A master of a

craft (Collins)

Cusec (c) A unit of flow in

rivers (OED)

Kakuro 3179

Sudoku 13,224

Killer 8313

Futoshiki 4220

Cell Blocks 4477 Set Square 3182

Suko 3496

Train Tracks 1636

Word watch

Quiz

Saturday’s answers

acara, acer, acre, arcane, area, arena, aver,

caner, canner, caravan, caravanner, care,

carer, carr, carve, carver, caver, cavern,

cran, crane, crave, craven, craver, earn,

nacre, narc, near, race, racer, rare, rave,

raven, raver, rear, varec, varna

times2 Crossword No 8911 Brain Trainer

ANSWER

EASY 4

ANSWER

MEDIUM^25

ANSWER

HARDER 139 x 7

+ 12 50%

OF IT

+ 885

x 3

+ 19

+ 79

SQUARE

IT

30%

OF IT

x 4

• 4

+ 745 x 2 – 778

x 7

+ 446

+ 71

+ 6 /^5

OF IT

3

75%

OF IT

/ 2

OF IT

+^1

• 98 /^2
  OF IT

(^1) 90%
OF IT

• 84

/ 8

OF IT

(^7) / 3
OF IT
+^1
Across
1 Provided for children with
learning difficulties (8)
5 Liquid in coconuts (4)
9 Alliance of several
parties (13)
10 So (4)
11 Having black and white
patches (7)
13 Cuban leader (6)
15 Where Aristotle taught (6)
18 Cancel out (7)
20 Naming word (4)
23 Using brackets (13)
24 Hard white fat (4)
25 Electrical message (8)
Down
1 Grain from grass (4)
2 Eg, January (5)
3 Item of furniture (7)
4 Syrian city (6)
6 Follow as a model (7)
7 Realms (8)
8 Small restaurant (4)
12 Gin-like drink (8)
14 Burst of extravagance (7)
16 Chinese river (7)
17 Fruit (6)
19 Hostelries (4)
21 Open sore (5)
22 Fruit; something
desirable (4)
Solution to Crossword 8910
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
8
9
10 11
12
13 14 15 16
17
18 19 20 21
22
23
24 25
SESAME BALSAM
E T X L U U
QUIZ TAILLESS
U L R O Z S
EYESHADOW E
L T I A ANVIL
T DOZEN I
GROVE E C S A
O BADGERING
S Z O U G R
STIMULUS ZONE
I N N T T E
PAGODA ORCHID
Cell BlocksNo 4478
© PUZZLER MEDIA
Polygon Set SquareNo 3183
Please note, BODMAS does not apply
KillerGentle No 8314 Solutions
KillerTricky No 8315
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).
Stratford-upon-Avon was a lovely
location for the Schapiro Spring
Foursomes, held every year during
the early May bank holiday
(online in 2020 and 2021 for the
obvious reason). A motorway junc-
tion hotel some ten miles outside
Stratford, venue for the 2022
event, was not quite so scenic. Still,
the bridge was great — and super
to see fellow players face-to-face.
Here’s an interesting 4♥ from
round four where East may have
to do the unthinkable on defence.
West leads East’s diamonds and
declarer ruffs in hand to lead a
club to the king, winning. Most
declarers now returned a second
club, ducking in hand in the hope
West’s ace was bare. It was not and
West won the jack then led the
ace. What should East do?
I don’t mean what should East
discard — I mean what should East
do? The answer is East must ruff
partner’s ace — in order to switch
to a spade through declarer’s ace-
queen. Declarer cannot succeed
from there. If East fails to ruff his
partner’s ace, declarer can subse-
quently cash the ace-king of hearts
and, leaving West’s master trump
outstanding, discard two spades
from dummy on his two long
clubs. He can then ruff a second
spade in dummy (the third spade
going on the ace of diamonds).
Game made.
Go back to trick two after
dummy’s king of clubs wins.
Against an expert East who will
work out to ruff his partner’s ace,
you must play along different lines.
Cash the ace of diamonds (shed-
ding a spade) and ruff a diamond,
exhausting West of diamonds (as
you know from his partner’s Weak
Two). Cash the king of hearts,
cross to the ace and only then lead
a second club. West wins the jack
and can do no better than cash the
master heart and switch to the jack
of spades. You win the queen and
lead a third club. West wins the ace
but you can win his king of spades
exit with the ace and cash the two
long clubs. Game made.
The moral: defenders who
trump their partner’s ace are either
very clever or very silly. There’s no
middle ground.
[email protected]
Contract: 4♥, Opening Lead: ♦ 3
Dealer: East, Vulnerability: Neither
N
W E
S
2 ♦(1)
2 ♥ 3 ♦(2) 4♥(3) end
(1) Weak Two — a more textbook example
you could hardly find.
(2) Raising to the nine-card level of the fit.
(3) Was hoping to be able to invite game (via
a 3♦ unassuming cue bid). Now forced to
guess between 3♥ and 4♥, inevitably, the
guess is to bid game. At Teams (unlike at
Pairs), you shut your eyes and go for it in
these situations — the game bonus is where
it’s at.
S W N E
♠ 943
♥ 64
♦KQJ842
♣10 5
Teams ♠ 852
♥A72
♦A976
♣K32
♠AQ6
♥K10953
♦-
♣Q8764
♠KJ107
♥QJ8
♦ 1053
♣AJ9
Bridge Andrew Robson
MYSE L F
EI A
SD T
SKETCH
E
LAIR
COP Y
QR
FUSION
EW
RUF F LE
E
1 Pity
2 Faith
3 Designs
4 Kittens
5 Have words
Easy 77; Medium 357; Harder 8,058
1 Qxd6! Qxd6 sets up 2 Nhf5+
gxf5 3 Nxf5+ Kf6 4 Nxd6. This
is even worse for Black than it
looks as there is no way to
avoid losing further pawns
AFTERHOURS
I L E N H B
VOLTAGE SWEDE
E B N D O A A
NOES DECLARER
E R F D V I
ZITHERHEADON
U A P D R M
EXTERNAL GOB I
L H S R T U N
AMIGO DRUGGED
N N M O N H
GREENPARTY
Lexica 6360
Lexica 6359
Chess — Winning Move
Quintagram
Brain Trainer
Quick Cryptic 2139
KenKen 5586
Codeword 4594
Square Routes
166
Tredoku 1734
T R E C A
Y A P N D
E L L A D
W R O N Y
O T I T A