No 12955, Saturday 06 Jun 2020, Gridman

ACROSS

1   Account by clergyman is truthful (8) ACCURATE {AC}{CURATE}

6   Scot heartily provided nun's cap (4) COIF {sCOt}{IF}

9   Chess player — another chess player leaves a second in trouble (6) KARPOV {KasPAROV*} Indirect anag?

10 Spun nonsense with a young boy (7) ROTATED {ROT}{A}{TED}

13 North Arcot sightseers have no love for those with no cover (9) NATURISTS {NA}{ToURISTS}

14 Perfect one melts lead (5) IDEAL {I}{LEAD*}

15 Chopper carries large part of car (4) AXLE {AX{L}E}

16 Common liquor company I left out just uncovered (10) UBIQUITOUS {UB}{I}{QUIT}{O}{jUSt} 

19 Cross about a cricketer — one in a key front position (10) DOORKEEPER {ROOD<=}{KEEPER}

21 Wine hoarded in Hastinapuram (4) ASTI (T)

24 Red Indian wife’s endless call (5) SQUAW {SQUAWl} Politically incorrect?

25 Boy from Ankara  // is aggressive reformer (5,4) YOUNG TURK (DD)

26 Last of exercise man’s finished. It’s improved! (7) EMENDED {exercisE}{M}{ENDED}

27 Elaborate lecture about knight (6) ORNATE {OR{N}ATE}

28 Industrial house’s double expressions of gratitude (2-2) TA-TA {TATA}

29 State first student’s with a girl’s Italian dishes (8) LASAGNES {LA}{Student}{AGNES}

DOWN

2   If this property changes hands, there will be talk (7) CHATTEL Chatter={CHATTE(-l+R)} 

3   Judge and you heard politician’s anger (6) UMPIRE {~YOU}{MP}{IRE}

4   A handicap involving Victor is to be recommended (9) ADVISABLE {A}{D{V}ISABLE}

5   Sure about collecting old coins... (5) EUROS {SURE*} around {O}

7   Running around constantly, some won the goal (2,3,2) ON THE GO (T)

8   Marks under instruments? Nonsense (12) FIDDLESTICKS {FIDDLES}{TICKS}

11 Almost stumble through useless stuff (6) TRIVIA {TRIp}{VIA}

12 How you may buy water and fall — furious (12) INCANDESCENT {IN CAN}{DESCENT}

17 Complaining — question on loss of capital by Peru almost bad (9) QUERULOUS {QU}{pERU}{LOUSy} 

18 Weeks wasted with democrat? That’s biased (6) SKEWED {WEEKS*}{D}

20 Work with union leader fast becoming rich (7) OPULENT {OP}{Union}{LENT}

22 Where’s coal stored? //  Proceed hurriedly! (7) SCUTTLE (DD)

23 Alcoholic concoction, say — not one going bad (6) EGGNOG {EG}{GOiNG*}

25 Sing your first poem with learner (5) YODEL {Your}{ODE}{L}

Reference List

Account=AC, North Arcot=NA, One=I, Large=L, Out=O, Man=M, Knight=N
Politician=MP, Victor=V, Old=O, Question=Qu, Democrat=D, Work=OP, Say=Eg, Learner=L

Colour/Font Scheme

Definition, Solution, Component letters, Embedded links, Theme word,  Anagram Indicator, C/C indicator, Reversal Indicator, Hidden word Indicator, Letter Pick indicator, Deletion Indicator, Homophone Indicator, Movement Indicator, Positional Indicator, Substitution, Indicator, Opposite indicator, Link/Connector, Extraneous

Dr RKE's TalePiece

The World Chess Championship match between Anatoly KARPOV and Garry Kasparov played 25 years ago was much more than just a board game. Karpov, the ruling champion for a decade, belonged to the old Soviet era and was an IDEAL of the communist values of Leonid Brezhnev. Kasparov, an INCANDESCENT YOUNG TURK was more aligned to the “new Russia” of Mikhail Gorbachev. The venue was the OPULENT Tchaikovsky Concert Hall in Moscow, famed for its ORNATE chandeliers and liveried DOORKEEPERS.

Because the 1984 match between them had been abandoned without a result after 48 games, FIDE, the chess regulatory body, had EMENDED its rule just days before the 1985 game. They felt it would be ADVISABLE to restrict the games to 24 and should they end in a draw, the reigning champion would take the title. If Karpov lost, using his position as the previous champion he would be granted a re-match but not so for Kasparov.  Kasparov’s camp became QUERULOUS at this as it SKEWED the odds to favour Karpov. Kasparov had said, “what the FIDDLESTICKS is this rule, it SCUTTLES all my chances. I might as well say TA-TA to the title”.

The drama on the board was reported by the UBIQUITOUS journalists but the public were more interested in the TRIVIA of the drama off the board, like how they dressed, what they ate and what their facial expressions conveyed. Sample these: “The UMPIRES include a woman dressed in a headwear that resembles a nun’s COIF” or “Kasparov prefers Italian food, particularly ASTI and LASAGNE while Karpov sticks to the traditional EGGNOG with vodka” or “Karpov maintains a poker face but Kasparov’s moods are ACCURATEly reflected in his animated face. One needn’t follow the moves on the board- the delights and disappointments are writ on his countenance” and so on. The wheels of fortune ROTATED wildly during this epic battle. At the end of Game 23, Karpov was at 11 points and Kasparov at 12. Both men were under tremendous pressure but the difference was Kasparov was playing for a win while Karpov was playing for a draw. Having been ON THE GO for over a month in this intense battle, had caused Karpov to lose weight. The tired champion mustered all his talent to make gains initially but made costly errors in the end and had to resign, ceding the match and the title to Kasparov. This game was touted to be the end of the communist era and “perestroika” and “glasnost” were ushered in soon thereafter.