BBC Two’s new eight-episode series Chess Masters: The Endgame, aired on Monday evening at 8pm between Mastermind and University Challenge, has provoked strong but sharply divided reactions, both among television critics and seasoned chess experts and amateurs. The Guardian’s Lucy Mangan called it “so dull it’s almost unwatchable”. Although when she says “the flurry of … Read more
If all goes well for England somewhere around half past nine on Saturday they will be preparing to clamber on to the team bus and head back to the stadium. They will have decamped back to their hotel a couple of miles away in Cardiff Bay but if they have held up their end of … Read more
Thomas Tuchel has named Marcus Rashford in his first England squad, bringing the Aston Villa forward in from the international wilderness to complete a stunning turnaround in his fortunes. There is also a surprise return for Jordan Henderson, who is at Ajax and last played for England in November 2023, and Tuchel has given first … Read more
Before the lights go down at the start of “Terrestrial: The Sprout,” Germaine Ingram enters, looking regal and wise. She mounts a thronelike platform and about 70 minutes later, at the work’s end, she rises and sings powerfully deep notes and then vanishingly high ones. In between, she holds court by sitting and watching. “Terrestrial: … Read more
Jack Draper has booked his place in an ATP Masters 1000 semi-final for the first time after defeating American Ben Shelton in straight sets at the BNP Paribas Open. The British No 1 edged ahead in the race between two of the rising stars of men’s tennis with a 6-4, 7-5 victory over Shelton, who … Read more
Rory McIlroy opted to let his golf clubs do the talking. A wondrous approach to the 18th, setting up a birdie for an opening round of 67, emphasised the Northern Irishman’s ability to create his own storyline. Social media descended into typical frenzy in the buildup to this Players Championship after McIlroy was heckled by … Read more
What happens when a leader departs a sporting dynasty? How can the transfer of power cause as little disruption to the team as possible? History has all too often illustrated that it is a far from easy adjustment; that it will take a little time to regroup and recalibrate. For Chelsea, however, the transition from … Read more
Play the match, not the occasion. Lap up the theatre, the dramatics, the pyrotechnics, the hostility, if that is what gets you going, but when you cross the white line, play what is in front of you. If there is one message that should have been hammered home to England’s players this week, it is … Read more
Jessie Holmes, a former reality television star, won the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on Friday negotiating the longest-ever course in the event’s history. Holmes was first to the finish line in Nome on the Bering Sea coast. The race began on 3 March in Fairbanks after a lack of snow forced changes to the … Read more
Wales are aiming to surprise England with a combination of “heart and brain” when the two teams meet in Cardiff on Saturday. The caretaker Wales coach, Matt Sherratt, in his final game in charge, believes his team can upset the odds and avoid a 17th successive Test defeat and a second consecutive tournament whitewash. Sherratt … Read more