The Sunday Times June 5, 2022 31
NEWS REVIEW
CODEWORDKENKENTETONOR69 + 3 49 + 6 10 x 25 9 + 2222 + 10 18 x 15 9 x 3 6 x 49
10 x 22 9 + 3 69 x 3 10 + 25
3 + 23 22 x 9 15 + 18 23 x 3250 31
32 270 27 29472 55207 3526 198 33 69220 12SUDOKU 1485
SUDOKU WARM-UP
KILLER SUDOKU
LAST WEEK’S SOLUTIONS
of N values,” Zak replied.
On TV, Teaseside hospital’s
“geovid” admissions for the
seven days prior were listed
alongside their Geometric
Mean. Kaz stated that
chronologically the numbers
comprised a decreasing set of
two-figure values, Friday’s
value equalling the GeometricMean. She added that,
curiously, there was a value
double the Geometric Mean,
but not triple, whereas the
Geometric Mean was triple a
data value, but not double a
data value. She then told Zak
just the Geometric Mean.
Zak worked out the unique
data set.Stephen Hogg
Germometric Mean
On Whit Monday, Zak began
self-isolating upstairs. At
lunchtime Kaz shouted up,
“What’s a Geometric Mean?”
“It’s the Nth root of the product
TEASER 3115
Sally Brock
The best-played hand of 2021,
originally reported by
Christina Lund Madsen,
was awarded to the
Norwegian Boye Brogeland
for his play in six clubs on the
deal below.
Both vulnerable, Dealer WestThe early rounds of the
auction were straightforward
enough. North’s five diamond
bid showed one key card, and
five hearts was a grand slam
try, the five spade response
showing the queen of clubs
and king of spades.
West led a heart, dummy’s
king winning. At trick two
Brogeland played a diamond
to the jack and ace (some
possible lines of play might
have needed declarer to play
for blocked diamonds and the
defenders were less likely to
unblock them the earlier the
suit was played). Next
Brogeland ruffed a heart with
the eight of clubs and
continued with the queen ofCHESS
Regular readers of this column
will recognise the name
Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa.
The Indian prodigy continues
to dominate global headlines.
Now aged 16, he has defeated
Magnus Carlsen twice in online
rapid events. Reaching the final
of the Chessable Masters was
the latest in a string of fine
performances. Despite defeat
in the final to China’s Ding
Liren, Praggnanandhaa’s
play was typically powerful
and energetic.
White: Rameshbabu
Praggnanandhaa
Black: Anish Giri
Chessable Masters,
chess24.com 2022
Grünfeld Defence
1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 g6 3 Nc3 d5 4
cxd5 Nxd5 5 e4 Nxc3 6 bxc3
Bg7 7 Bc4 For readers looking
to combat the Grünfeld
Defence, I would recommend
studying Praggnanandhaa’s
games. 7...c5 8 Ne2 0-0 9 0-0
Nc6 10 Be3 b6 11 h4 Nowadays
this pawn push seems to occur
sooner or later in every game
where Black fianchettoes on
the kingside. 11...e6 12 h5 Qh4
13 Qc1 cxd4 14 cxd4 Qxe4
Black grabs a pawn at the price
of several tempi. 15 Rd1 Na5 16
Nc3 Qb7 17 Be2 Bd7 18 h6
Bh8 19 Bf3 Bc6
Dynamism is required to
compensate for White’s pawn
deficit. 20 d5! exd5 21 Bd4 The
point behind White’s second
offering. Black’s best defender
will be eliminated, whereupon
mating ideas will materialise.
21...Rad8 22 Bxh8 Kxh8 23
Nxd5 Bxd5 24 Qd2! Qe7 24...
Bxf3 allows 25 Qxd8. 25 Qc3+
f6 26 Rxd5 Rc8 26...Rxd5 27
Bxd5 highlights the poorly
placed a5-knight. 27 Re1!
Praggnanandhaa has a knack
for meeting threats with
counterattacks. 27...Qc7 28
Qa3 Ambitious. Computers
indicate White is winning after
a queen trade. 28...Nc4 29 Qe7
Ne5? 29...Rf7 was forced. Now
the black position collapses. 30
Rexe5! Removing defenders at
any cost. 30...fxe5 31 Rd7 Qc1+
32 Bd1 Black had missed this
retreat. 30...Qxh6 33 Qxe5+
Black resigns 33...Kg8 walks
into 34 Bb3+. A model game.
Spot the Move 1326:
Black to play.Carlsen – Vachier-Lagrave,
Stavanger 2022. White’s last
move was careless. Can you
find Black’s fleeting opportunity
to gain a decisive advantage?
Send your solution (first move only), to
Sunday Times Spot the Move 1326,
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
♠ A K J
♥ K
♦ 10 6 5 4 3
♣ Q 9 8 4(^) N
W E
S
♠ 8 7 6 5 4 3
♥ 6 5 4 3
♦ K 9 7
♣ –
♠ Q 10
♥ Q J 10 9 7
♦ Q J
♣ J 10 3 2
♠ 9 2
♥ A 8 2
♦ A 8 2
♣ A K 7 6 5
West North East South
Pass 1 ♦ 1 ♥ 2 ♣
3 ♥ 4 ♣ Pass 4NT
Pass 5 ♦ Pass 5 ♥
Pass 5 ♠ Pass 6 ♣
All Pass
Ç((((((((Ç
4-)Ú4Ú/ÚÈ
?àÇÚ2Ú2ÚÇÈ
@Çà2bÇÚ2ÚÈ
IÚÇÚÇÚÇÚ2È
HÇÚ3ÚÇÚÇbÈ
=ÚÇbÇÚÇbÂÈ
GÃÚÇáÃb!ÚÈ
FhÇÚÇRÇÚÅÈ
DCB:;A<E
Ç((((((((Ç
4ÚÇÚÇq/,È
?à3ÚÇÚ2Ú2È
@Çà)Ú2Ú2bÈ
I-ÇÚÇÚÇÚÇÈ
HÇÚÇbÇÚÇÚÈ
=ÚÇÚÇP!ÚÇÈ
GÃÚÇÚÇbÃÚÈ
FhÇáÅÚÇRÇÈ
DCB:;A<E
Give the seven numbers in
chronological order.
Send your solution to: The Sunday
Times Teaser 3115, 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.
clubs, noting the bad break.
He then played the nine of
clubs, South covering, and
won his king. Next came a
spade to the ace, another club
finesse and trumps drawn. He
now exited with a diamond,
perforce won by East, who
played another heart which
Brogeland won and played his
last club. In hand now he had
a spade and a diamond, and
in dummy the K-J of spades.
He knew West held the king
of diamonds, and that
therefore the remaining
spades were 1-1. He gained 17
IMPs for making his slam
when declarer in the other
room went down in game.
Last week’s problem
What should West lead after
the following bidding:
At the table West led a low
diamond which let the game
through. With such a lot of
high cards, surely it is better
to lead the ace of diamonds,
after which a spade switch
looks clear.
♠ J 8 3
♥ –
♦ J 9 7 5
♣ A K Q 10 8 7
N
W E
S
♠ Q 10 7 5
♥ 9 2
♦ A K 10 6 4
♣ J 9
♠ A 6 4 2
♥ K Q 8 7 6 3
♦ 8 2
♣ 4
♠ K 9
♥ A J 10 5 4
♦ Q 3
♣ 6 5 3 2
West North East South
1 ♣ 1 ♥ 2NT
Pass 3NT All Pass
also, alto, annul, caul, clan, clast,
clonus, clot, clou, clout, coal, cola, colt,
consul, consult, consultant, costal, cult,
last, loan, locus, locust, lost, lots, lotus,
lout, lust, nounal, octal, osculant,
outlast, salon, salt, salut, slant, slat, slot,
slut, sola, soul, sultan, talc, talon, talus,
tolu, tonal, total, ulna
MEPHISTO 3222
Across: 1 Deepened, 7 Aunt, 11 Grinner, 12 Sweeney todd, 13 Thanah, 14 Nixers, 15 Ferula, 17 Iris,
18 Leapfrog, 21 Preacher, 23 Gadi, 24 Scheme, 25 Putlog, 26 Erased, 29 Bella figura, 30 Leadens,
31 Euro, 32 Stranger Down: 1 Dust, 2 Enwheel, 3 Prenup, 4 Etna, 5 Eryngoes, 6 Diting, 7 Anoxia,
8 Under the sun, 9 Tressure, 10 Wear and tear, 15 Flagpole, 16 Arrogant, 19 Demerge, 20 Will do,
21 Proles, 22 Chagan, 27 Riva, 28 Daur
WEATHER
GENERAL KNOWLEDGE JUMBO CROSSWORD 320
Across: 1 Onside, 5 Bustle, 8 Sapporo, 13 Bury St Edmunds, 14 Hustle, 15 Wage freeze,
16 Grass widow, 17 Indigent, 18 Pertaining to, 20 Trimaran, 23 Poster colour, 24 Astronauts,
26 Justin Webb, 28 Mishal Husain, 31 Rag trade, 33 Nick Robinson, 34 Illusory, 37 Allan-a-Dale,
39 Vietnam War, 40 Avanti, 41 Mediterranean, 42 Play-doh, 43 Impala, 44 Doting
Down: 2 No-brainer, 3 Israeli, 4 Elstree, 5 Bien entendu, 6 Samuel Pepys, 7 Land girls, 9 Ashes,
10 Passionflower, 11 Rule of thumb, 12 Escalade, 19 Nicking, 21 Martha Kearney, 22 Ronaldo,
25 Spirit level, 26 Jana Novotna, 27 Service area, 29 Up in arms, 30 Amsterdam, 32 D’Artagnan,
35 Lanyard, 36 Sam West, 38 Amigo
POLYGON
Winners Crossword 5007 SJ Webster, Rowland, Derbyshire, J Gaymer, Effingham, Surrey, R Hughes, Edinburgh, J Kelly, Glasgow Mephisto 3220 B Stewart, Leicester,
T Callaghan, Uxbridge, Greater London, C Falder, Kemble, Gloucestershire, P Jordan, Timperley, Greater Manchester, J McClellan, Portsmouth, Hampshire Teaser 3112
A Cooper, Whitley Bay, Tyne and Wear, RA England, London W3 Chess 1323 N Jones, Bath, Somerset Sudoku 1483 P Murphy, Langford, Bedfordshire
Amsterdam 21C sh
Athens 33 s
Auckland 15 r
Bangkok 35 th
Barcelona 27 s
Beijing 34 f
Belgrade 30 th
Berlin 28 s
Bogota 16 th
Boston 23 f
Brussels 25 sh
Budapest 26 f
Buenos Aires 16 f
Cairo 37 s
Calgary 10 r
Cape Town 22 s
Caracas 25 th
Casablanca 25 s
Chicago 28 sh
Dubai 36 s
Dublin 14 sh
Geneva 27 th
Gibraltar 32 s
Guatemala 24 th
Helsinki 18 sh
Hong Kong 29 th
Istanbul 28 s
Jersey 17 f
Johannesburg 18 s
La Paz 11 th
Lagos 28 th
Lima 22 f
Lisbon 24 f
London 16C r
Los Angeles 26 f
Madrid 27 s
Mexico City 27 sh
Miami 32 th
Moscow 18 sh
Nairobi 24 f
New Delhi 45 s
New Orleans 36 f
New York 25 f
Oslo 22 f
Panama 29 th
Paris 25 th
Prague 28 f
Rio de Janeiro 22 f
Rome 38 f
San Francisco 16 f
Santiago 15 sh
Seoul 28 f
Seychelles 28 th
Singapore 30 th
Stockholm 23 f
Sydney 17 f
Tel Aviv 28 s
Tenerife 21 f
Tokyo 24 r
Toronto 22 sh
Trinidad 30 th
Tunis 41 s
Venice 28 s
Vienna 28 f
Warsaw 23 s
Washington DC 27 f
AROUND 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
¬ Mostly dry with patchy
cloud and sunny spells over
Portugal, Spain and the
Balearics, although isolated
showers are possible
¬ Most of Corsica, Sardinia,
Sicily, mainland Italy, Greece
and the Balkans will stay dry
but a scattering of afternoon
showers is possible in places
¬ Heavy and showery rain
will clear eastern France,
spreading into Germany,
the Low Countries and the
Alps while turning drier and
brighter in western France
¬ Showers or longer spells of
rain over the Czech Republic,
Slovakia, Hungary, Ukraine
and the rest of southeastern
Europe but drier over Poland
and the Baltic states
¬ Mainly dry in Scandinavia
apart from a few showers
EUROPE
THE WEEK AHEAD
Monday
Showers for most
places but drier
in the northwest.
Max 20C
Tuesday
Sunny spells and
scattered showers
developing later.
Max 21C
Wednesday
Rain spreading
eastwards, then
showers later.
Max 20C
Thursday
Further showers
or longer spells
of rain for most
areas. Max 20C
Friday
Bright and breezy
with showers,
most likely in the
west. Max 21C
Saturday
Showers, most
frequent in the
west once again.
Max 21C
SUN, STREET LIGHTS & MOON
NIGHT SKY
Aberdeen 04:17 21:56 04:16 09:28 02:11(Mon)
Belfast 04:51 21:53 04:50 09:59 02:15(Mon)
Birmingham 04:47 21:24 04:47 09:53 01:50(Mon)
Bristol 04:56 21:21 04:55 10:01 01:49(Mon)
Cardiff 04:58 21:24 04:57 10:03 01:51(Mon)
Cork 05:17 21:47 05:16 10:24 02:15(Mon)
Dublin 05:00 21:46 04:59 10:07 02:11(Mon)
Glasgow 04:36 21:55 04:35 09:45 02:13(Mon)
London 04:46 21:11 04:45 09:50 01:39(Mon)
Manchester 04:43 21:31 04:42 09:50 01:55(Mon)
Newcastle 04:31 21:38 04:30 09:39 01:59(Mon)
Norwich 04:34 21:12 04:33 09:39 01:37(Mon)
Plymouth 05:07 21:22 05:07 10:12 01:52(Mon)
Sun
rises
Sun sets/
lights on
Lights
off
Moon
rises
Moon
sets
29
26 35
26
25
31
22
33
31
27
26
20
3
31
37
25
11
17
16
18
14
9
8
20
19
19
17
1
21
20
19
15
20
16
23
19
18
15
16
21
31
21
19
16
17
15
21
21
19
16
17
12
TODAY’S WEATHER
UK and Ireland forecast
Some mist and fog at first and a chance of isolated showers
later but otherwise much of Scotland and Northern Ireland
will be dry with sunny spells. Meanwhile, showery rain will
spread slowly northwards across England, Wales and the
Republic of Ireland, heavy in places with the odd rumble of
thunder. Brighter in the south later. Light to moderate east to
northeasterly winds, variable at times in the north and south
REGIONAL FORECASTS
London, SE England
Cloudy with showers and bright spells later. Light to moderate
winds, variable in direction. Max 19C. Tonight, rain. Min 11C
Midlands, E England
Showery rain, heavy and persistent at times. Light to moderate
north to northeasterly winds. Max 17C. Tonight, wet. Min 9C
Channel Is, SW and Cent S England, S Wales
Fairly cloudy with showery rain. Light to moderate winds,
variable in direction. Max 17C. Tonight, showers. Min 8C
N Wales, NW England, Isle of Man
Drier in the north, showery rain elsewhere. Light to moderate
east to northeasterly winds. Max 17C. Tonight, rain. Min 7C
Cent N and NE England
Rain in the south, staying drier in the north. Light to moderate
northeasterly winds. Max 16C. Tonight, heavy rain. Min 6C
Scotland
Variable cloud, sunny spells and an isolated shower. Mainly
light easterly winds. Max 21C. Tonight, most areas dry. Min 4C
N Ireland, Republic of Ireland
Showers in the south, brighter in the north. Light to moderate
east to northeasterly winds. Max 19C. Tonight, damp. Min 6C
15
17
14
15
18
16
17
12
15
3
4
slight
slight
slight
slight
TODAY’S SOLUTIONS
CONCISE CROSSWORD 1784
Across: 1 Blossomed, 7 Ranch, 9 Driveway, 11 Miss,
12 Pneumatic, 13 Use, 14 High jinks, 16 Too,
17 Wednesday, 19 Item, 20 Tendered, 21 Equal,
22 Consulate Down: 2 Laden, 3 Stimuli, 4 Overachieve,
5 Dry, 6 Anxious, 8 Hostelry, 10 Aficionados,
12 Pint-size, 14 Hopeful, 15 Kestrel, 18 Audit, 20 TLC
SPOT THE MOVE 1325
1 Qxh5+! wins. 1...Kxh5 (1...Kg7 2 Qf7+ Kh8
3 Qg8 mate) 2 Bf7 mate
TEASER 3114
36 red 67 yellow 55 blue and 42 green
CROSSWORD 5009
Across: 1 All over the place, 9 Temping, 10 Barbour, 11 Hire, 12 Beat the rap, 13 Bastard, 15 Tunisia,
17 Emotion, 19 Avenues, 20 Kitschiest, 22 Aper, 25 Battuto, 26 Nosh-ups, 27 Electric current
Down: 1 Aitch, 2 Lambrusco, 3 Veil, 4 Ragweed, 5 Habitat, 6 Perchance, 7 Amour, 8 Europeans,
13 Breakable, 14 Agincourt, 16 Sculpture, 18 Nairobi, 19 Arsenic, 21 Title, 23 Resit, 24 User
SUKO CELL BLOCKS
The crescent Moon, one third sunlit, stands in
the W at nightfall and is 6° above-right of Leo’s
star Regulus. Jupiter is prominent low in the E
before dawn after it rises at about 2.20am
tomorrow. Mars, much fainter, is 5° to its left
and lower, while Saturn is 40° to Jupiter’s right
and higher. Brilliant Venus rises in the ENE by
3.30am and is 10° high by sunrise. Alan Pickup
Get a grip,
chaps. It’s
time to bring
back the
handshake
Jeremy
Clarkson
of a kiss, which makes me all stammery
and nervous when we start talking.
Then you have those who swivel
their heads too far round, so you end
up kissing an ear, which is so unnerving
I usually raise my head too quickly and
knock their hat off. And then you get
the ones who turn their heads too
slowly, so you get the first kiss in the
right place but land the second on
their lips. Which sends out entirely the
wrong message.
This is why, when I host Who Wants to
be a Millionaire?, I always say to the
contestants beforehand that even if they
win big, I will not be embracing or
kissing them. They’re going to get a
handshake and that’ll be that.
What worries me now is that, having
ruined a standardised greeting with all
the new alternatives, people will start to
mess around with the word “hello”.
Invented originally as an expression
of surprise, it only became a greeting
when the telephone was invented.
Alexander Graham Bell wanted people
to answer and say “ahoy”, as he always
did when his new invention rang. But
Thomas Edison thought it was silly to
sound like a pirate when answering the
phone and said “hello” was the better
option. And everyone else agreed.
Except the Italians who pick up the
phone and say “pronto”, which in my
mind means hurry up.
Today, though, I sense the rot of
change is setting in. One man I know
always answers his phone by saying
“speak”. Another says “what?”. And
several others now use “yo”. Though if
they do that, I put the phone down
straight away and delete them from my
contacts.
Hello’s not broken. It doesn’t need
fixing. And neither, despite the best
endeavours of Prince William to
popularise the man hug, is the
handshake.
L
ast week, Mike Tindall, the
former England rugby player
who married Princess Anne’s
daughter, bumped into Prince
William at some kind of event
where people sit on horses and,
at first, their greeting was
normal. As is the tradition in
England, they abused one another. One
said to the other something along the
lines of “You’re fat” and the other
replied by saying “Your new shoes are
terrible”. But then, having got the
pleasantries out of the way, they did
something that until recently was not
normal at all. They hugged.
Now, I’m aware, of course, that
around the globe men greet one another
in many different ways. The Maoris,
for instance, rub noses. This is so they
can share one another’s breath, and
that’s fine in a clean and fresh place
such as Polynesia, where people live on
a diet of exotic fruit. It would work less
well in France.
In Tibet, people greet each other by
sticking out their tongues; in Ethiopia,
you bang shoulders; and in Russia, it’s
considered normal to arrive at your
neighbour’s house in a tank. Elsewhere,
however, people have always preferred
to shake hands.
Designed 500 years before baby Jesus
came along, this simple gesture was
supposed to demonstrate that you came
in peace and weren’t carrying a weapon.
You offered up your right hand, showing
it was empty, and you invited someone
to shake it to prove you didn’t have a
blade up your sleeve.
Pretty quickly, it came to symbolise
friendship and, as it’s simple, painless
and free, it was adopted throughout
most of the world as the done thing. But
then, after 2,500 years, we got Covid,
and all of a sudden, shaking hands with
someone became as antisocial as
shanking them.
Who can forget the face of Germany’s
interior minister when, at the height of
the pandemic, Angela Merkel extended
her perfectly trimmed mitt? He looked
as if she were offering him a scorpion.
And it’s easy to see why. Top scientists
the world over had worked out that the
virus lived mostly on door handles and
was passed through the population via
handshakes. And as we are not
programmed to do nothing at all when
we meet someone, we had to come up
with a replacement.
Tapping shoes was an early
frontrunner because scientists had
decided that the virus didn’t live on
footwear — in the same week that they
reckoned it could be cured by drinking
bleach; that facemasks prevented you
from catching it in the first place; that
working from home was a good idea;
and next slide, please...
Even without the pandemic, though,
the simple handshake was beginning to
die out. I don’t know why. Maybe
someone in a sixth-form common room
had worked out that it’s racist or
transphobic or Tory, but whatever, I
can’t remember the last time I held out
my hand and someone shook it.
I try, always, but people just look at
me as if I’ve stepped out of a Dickens
novel and with a lopsided “get with the
times, mate” look on their faces, they
offer up their personalised alternative.
Which could be anything at all.
Some — President Biden included —
like to bump fists, but whenever I try
this, I go in too hard and end up with
hurty knuckles. Others do some kind
of stroky thing with their palms.
Some people offer up their hand for it to
be slapped or they do a vertical
handshake thing.
And then you have those who
outstretch their arms, suggesting they
want to greet you in the same way
mothers greet their long-lost daughters
in the airport arrivals hall. God knows
how the freemasons manage these days.
I don’t really like hugging other men.
There’s always a sense that my genitals
are perilously close to theirs, and I really,
really don’t like it when they move in
for a kiss, which sometimes happens
as well.
I don’t even like hugging women,
especially. It’s too intimate, and there’s
always a danger that they’re going to
report you to the police. Especially if
you’ve only just met them in a park.
And then there’s the nightmare of the
kiss on each cheek. It sounds so easy but
you’d be amazed how often I get it
wrong. Some women think this should
be an air kiss and tilt their heads way
over to the side, but I always take this to
mean they didn’t even want the gesture
I don’t
like
hugging
— even
women
Mike Tindall and
Prince William
get into a clinch
GEOFF ROBINSON/STEPHEN DANIELS/BAV MEDIA