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mw 8 oct 2014

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maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 8 OCTOBER 2014 Sport 23 Answers to the MaltaToday crossword will be published next Wednesday WEATHER: Partly cloudy, locally rather cloudy at times VISIBILITY: Good WIND: Variable force 2 to 3 becoming mainly West to Northwest force 2 to 3 locally force 3 to 4 at times SEA: Slight SWELL: Low easterly at first becoming negligible SEA TEMP: 26 °C A B C D E F G H 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 White to play and mate in four moves A B C D E F G H 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Last week's solution Sudoku rules are extremely easy: Fill all empty squares so that the numbers 1 to 9 appear once in each row, column and 9x9 box. FAIR 27 º C / 19 º C UV INDEX: 6 Today's Weather Chess Sudoku Pursuits OPINION Across 1. Supreme commander (13) 8. Lorry driver (7) 10. Retrofit (7) 12. Calamitous (6) 13. Cloudy (8) 15. Flattery (5,4) 18. Move rhythmically (5) 21. Moan (5) 22. Memorials (9) 27. Person who is absent (8) 29. Shred (6) 30. Cork (7) 31. Unfavourable (7) 33. Uneasy (13) Down 2. Imitate (7) 3. North American deer (3) 4. Gazes fixedly (6) 5. Secret organisation (5) 6. Declares (6) 7. Carved image (6) 9. Stir to action (6) 11. Vaporise (4) 14. Pursue (5) 16. Armed conflict (3) 17. Efface (5) 19. Sever (3) 20. Full of ruts (6) 21. Resembling glass (6) 23. Above (4) 24. Formed by nature (7) 25. View in detail (6) 26. Flowing water (6) 28. Eating utensil (5) 32. By way of (3) THE fast world of Formula 1 rac- ing is at a complete standstill as the world awaits further news regarding French driver Jules Bianchi who was involved in a heavy crash with the safety tractor at the Suzuka Grand Prix last Sunday. The 25 year old was on his 42nd lap as he lost control and seemed to have aquaplaned along the wet sur- face before slamming into the trac- tor, resulting in severe head injury, needing immediate medical atten- tion. A three hour long operation to his head left Bianchi breathing with the aid of respiratory machines and as it stands as I write this, Bianchi remains in a critical but stable con- dition. Bianchi's crash left the whole world stunned due to the circumstances leading up to the horrific event. On the previous lap, Sutil crashed on the exact same corner after sliding across the slippery surface on dry and slightly worn tires. This meant that the safety tractor was needed to lift his car out of the sides, meaning that as Bianchi's Marussia suffered a similar fate, the safety barriers were this time blocked by the yellow hard surface of the tractor. Lewis Hamilton's win was over- shadowed by safety concerns at the notoriously tricky Japanese Grand Prix with many drivers radioing in to their team with concern for the de- caying weather conditions in Japan, brought about by seasonal monsoon. Many had called for the race to oc- cur earlier on however normal race time was employed. The race did have to end early with a Red Flag in what was a sour end to the day. The safety concerns will raise eye- brows with opinions split over F1's safety records. It may have been the worst crash in 20 years, but as ever, this one could have been avoided and looking at the post race foot- age the result seems almost obvi- ous. Safety tractors should only be on while a safety car slows the race down and a whole different type of machine should be used, one that is stationed behind the safety crash barriers made out of force absorbing rubber. This should have an extend- able arm used to raise the crashed cars from a safe distance to avoid the hazard. Right now however the world re- mains in hope with prayers going out to the young driver who has done so well in his young career to score two points in this seasons's championships. In Jose's pockets In slightly more encouraging news, unless you are an Arsenal fan, Chel- sea have carried on their unbeaten run in the Premier League as Jose Mourinho masterminded a solid performance against Arsenal, with the clash looking more like Chelsea vs Arsenal School Boys at times. A string of heavy challenges early on made it a tasteless affair, with a Gary Cahill tackle sparking the managers into a touchline bust up leading to Arsene Wenger squaring up to Mourinho in the Chelsea tech- nical area. There was no red card there for both Cahill or Wenger and that set the tone for the afternoon. Wenger's frustration came about purely due to Mourinho's anti foot- ball tactics, with them employing a string of "reducer" fouls in centre park to ensure Arsenal do not en- joy possession at Stamford Bridge. Wenger argues that Chelsea did not let them play football, but then again you would be silly to openly let your opponents play football in your own home stadium. Mourinho got it spot on and put Wenger in his place during the 90 minutes. A man of the match per- formance from Eden Hazard was more than the tonic for Chelsea, however Arsenal's immaturity showed us that they really are fur- ther behind than imagined. Typi- cally Arsenal enjoyed a decent start to the campaign, however in true Wenger fashion they have bottled it on the big stage and remain a gulf away from their London opponents. Their transfer policy might have improved slightly, but in my eyes Wenger needs his team to mature much faster in terms of their mental approach to games. Whereas Mour- inho is a born match winner, I feel that Wenger is not and he himself needs to wise up and take on each game at a separate angle tactically in order to grind out results against the bigger teams. Arsenal may be considered as a big team in England, but Chelsea certainly did well to di- minish their size and once more put them in their place very early on in the season. On the bright side for Wenger, there is plenty of time left, and al- ways next season right? Mark Strijbosch Formula 1 at a standstill Qc7+ Ke8 Kg5 Kf8 Kf6 Ke8 Qe7# (Qc8#) Jules Bianchi's horrifi c accident

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