Fireworks

Now the fireworks are forgotten and put away, and the fizz has gone from the champagne. The bottle bobs about, there in the cooling bucket's melted ice, where the paper from a party popper dissolves, slowly. Comfort food and aspirin determine the day.

Fireworks on the chess board have a remarkable property, different to those of New Year's Eve: the delight their display allows spans years, rather than merely mark a few passing moments, the flick of a calendar. This one was created by Al-Adli in the ninth century, for instance. It's white to play and win - and a bit of an easy one to ease you into 2007.