Times 2 - UK (2020-09-07)

the times | Monday September 7 2020 1GT 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 12 words, average;

17, good; 23, very good; 29, excellent

  

  

   

  


   

  
 

  


  

 
  


  


1 Margaret Thatcher 2 Princess Diana 3 Facebook

4 Deutsche mark 5 Jasper Carrott 6 Shinzo Abe

7 Multicultural London English 8 North Carolina

9 Patagonia. Chatwin wrote In Patagonia about his visit to

the South American region 10 Arthur Honegger

11 Marc Rich 12 Blombos Cave. It is cross-hatching done

in ochre on a stone fragment 73,000 years ago

13 Fedchenko glacier 14 Australian Open

15 Llandaff Cathedral

Appledrain (b) A wasp

(southwest England)

Appleringie (a) An

aromatic shrubby

wormwood plant

Apple-polish (c) To curry

favour (US)

Kakuro 2734

Sudoku 11,

Killer 7334

Futoshiki 3775

Cell Blocks 3943 Set Square 2737

Suko 2962

Train Tracks 1115

Word watch

Quiz

Saturday’s answers

aura, aural, babu, barbule, bauble, beau,

blub, blue, blur, blurb, bulb, burb, burble,

burl, burn, enure, lubber, lube, lunar, lune,

lure, nebula, nebular, neural, nubble,

rubble, rube, ruble, rule, rune, ulna, ulnar,

unable, unbearable, unreal, unreel,

urban, urbane, urea

times2 CrosswordNo 8377 Brain Trainer

+ 32

AN

S

MEDIUM 19 22 /^333 x^5 –^157 + 2^36 WER

OF IT

• (^333) / 444
  OF IT
  TREBLE x 4
  IT
  HALF OFFF
  IT
  A
  N
  S
  EASY 11 DOUBLE WER
  IT


• 7 x 4 ÷ 8 TREBLE – 7
  IT
  (^11) / 33
  OF IT


• 2 2 ÷ 11
  TREBLE
  IT
  x 8
  A
  N
  S
  HARDER 87 444 /^555 ÷^6 WER
  OF IT


• 568 33 / 444
  OF IT

• 112 6 HALF OFF
  IT

TREBLE

IT

Across

6 WhatErnieselects( 777 , 5 )

7 Natural;inborn( 6 )

8 Claimwithoutproof( 6 )

9 Duffffffel—;morning—( 4 )

10 Productofcrying( 8 )

12 Animalpreyingon

others( 8 )

16 Romanstatesmanwho

opposedCaesar( 4 )

18 ((Offffffoodd))llighhtintexture(( 6 ))

20 Undergroundwartime

shelter( 6 )

21 Formaldeclaration( 12 )

Down

1 Renouncedaffformer

belief( 8 )

2 Causetochangecourse( 6 )

3 Gracefffulantelope( 6 )

4 Domesticatedbird( 4 )

5 Passageinslowtime( 6 )

6 USpiebaldhorse( 5 )

11 Containerffforwineor

spirits( 8 )

1113 Becomelesssevere( 6 )

14 Difffffficult;annoying( 6 )

15 Thief( 6 )

17 Surprisegiffft( 5 )

19 Moveinastream( 4 )

SolutiontoCrossword 8376

1 2 3 4 5

6

7 8

9 10 11

12 13 14 15 16 17

18 19 20

21

NAUGHT NAVE

N Y I C V X

NAMIBIA E T

E N I NORMAL

NAGASAKI N

L S NEGATE

I B E U

NEVADA A B

L NUMEROUS

NEBULA A D D

V N NESTING

E I A O A E

NOTE NINETY

Cell Blocks No 3944

© PUZZLER MEDIA

Polygon Set Square No 2738

Please note, BODMAS does not apply

Killer Gentle No 7335 Solutions

Killer Tricky No 7336

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).

Besuited, cigarette in hand (not lat-

terly — smoking at the table was

banned in the 1990s), and playing

y

at the speed of light, the late Grant

Baze (1943-2009) was a charming

American professional player who

“played the spots off the cards”. He

played on the US regional tour for

40 weeks or more a year — and

online in his spare time. This deal

comes from the online site

OKBridge.

The unfortunate duplication in

spades meant 3NT was a struggle

for South, Baze, despite holding 30

high-card points. West led the nine

of spades to declarer’s king. At trick

two, declarer led the king of hearts

(noting We st ’s te n) and at trick

three he led and ran the jack, West

discarding (a club). He was hoping

East would win the queen — in

which case he’d have nine top

tricks via four hearts, three clubs

and two spades. However, East cor-

rectly withheld that queen.

At tricks four, five and six,

declarer cashed his three top clubs.

He then led his remaining heart to

dummy’s ace and followed with a

fourth heart to East’s queen. What

did declarer discard from hand?

Away went the ace of spades

(key play). East cashed the jack of

y

clubs, but what could he do now?

If East led a spade, declarer could

win in dummy (having jettisoned

his ace) and cash the long heart —

y

nine tricks made. So East switched

to his singleton diamond.

Declarer ducked the diamond to

West’s jack and West could do no

better than cash the ace. If, at the

penultimate trick, West led a spade,

dummy would take the last two

tricks with the queen of spades and

long heart. And if West led the

queen of diamonds, declarer would

score the last two tricks in his hand

with the king-ten of diamonds.

Nine tricks and game made.

The perhaps more normal con-

tract of 4 ♥ would have been inter-

esting. After winning West’s (say)

spade lead, declarer crosses to the

ace of hearts, finesses the jack

(West discarding), and cashes the

king. He cashes the three top clubs

and the top spade, ruffs a fourth

club then passes a diamond to

West’s jack. If West now cashes the

ace of diamonds, his king is pro-

moted, while if West leads a spade,

declarer scores dummy’s last trump.

Ten tricks made — only just, mind.

[email protected]

Contract: 3NT, Opening Lead: ♠ 9

Dealer: South, Vulnerability: Neither

N

W E

S

2 ♣( 1 ) Pass 2 ♦( 2 ) Pass

2NT( 3 ) Pass 3NT( 4 ) End

( 1 ) Showing any hand with 23 or more

points (or an upgrade for shape).

(2) Negative (or waiting).

( 3 ) Showing 23-24 balanced.

(4) Many would show their hearts (via a

3 ♦ transfer).

S(Baze) W N E

♠ 10732

♥Q 762

♦ 4

♣J10 6 5

Teams ♠QJ

♥A 9843

♦ 9763

♣ 93

♠AK

♥KJ

♦K105 2

♣AKQ 8

♠ 98654

♥ 10

♦AQJ

♣ 742

Bridge Andrew Robson

AC IDI C

LIA

GEYSER

FMD

A

DOL L

P

MET Z

NA

SCULPT

IIA

CL IP B

1 Code

2 Shadow

3 Carpet

4 Charade

5 Fishguard

Easy 5; Medium 1,442; Harder 669

1 ... Rxh3+! 2 Nxh3 (2 Kg1 Nf3+

doesn’t help) 2 ... Nf3+ 3 Kg

Nxe1 4 Qg6 Nxg2 5 Kxg2 Bxe

and Black is four pawns up

3,5$&< 3/$1(

$ 2 + < 2 ,

7(// ,1* 52*8(

+ / & 5 , 5 '

23(5$ $/&+(0<

6 5 1 & $ (

&/(9(5(

$ 2 / < 6 $

6($77/( (7+

7 6 ( 6 6 $ +

877(5 6122.(

7 ( 6 5 ( $

($51(5 -(76$

Lexica 5470

Lexica 5469

Chess — Winning Move

Quintagram

Brain Trainer

Quick Cryptic 1694

KenKen 5052

Codeword 4060

Square Routes

78

Tredoku 1646

M O R M S

U T A B P

R N E L I

O O E D N

H T R W I