VLADIMIR NABOKOV: SPEAK MEMORY — Competition in chess problems is not really between Black and White, but between ... composer and ... solver, just as in a ... work of fiction the ... clash is not between the characters involved, but between the author and the world.
| A. | Roman god of fire | VULCAN |
| B. | Noted excommunicate of 1521 | LUTHER |
| C. | Gulf of Guinea port | ABIDJAN |
| D. | Positive result of a treaty | DETENTE |
| E. | Third novel in the "Albany cycle" | IRONWEED |
| F. | Autobiographer of "Goodness Had Nothing to Do With It" (2 wds.) | MAEWEST |
| G. | Cracking up (2 wds.) | INSTITCHES |
| H. | Prop for a magician | RABBIT |
| I. | Total assets minus liabilities (2 wds.) | NETWORTH |
| J. | Like a sidewalk eatery | ALFRESCO |
| K. | Decorative knob; order about | BOSS |
| L. | Symbol of peace (2 wds.) | OLIVEBRANCH |
| M. | Bee or gabfest | KLATSCH |
| N. | Center of Los Angeles | ONEAL |
| O. | Florence-born explorer (1451-1512) | VESPUCCI |
| P. | Selection from Spenser's "Amoretti" | SONNET |
| Q. | Diminutive | PETITE |
| R. | Mount for a mahout | ELEPHANT |
| S. | Site of the Pnyx hill | ATHENS |
| T. | Technical skill (hyph.) | KNOWHOW |
| U. | Cry of childlike selfishness (2 wds.) | MEFIRST |
| V. | Clownish constable of "Measure for Measure" | ELBOW |
| W. | Manner | METHOD |
| X. | "Ye cannot rival for one hour ___'s bright blue weather" (Helen Hunt Jackson) | OCTOBER |
| Y. | Post-workout massage | RUBDOWN |
| Z. | Object of a quest by Sir Edmund Hillary | YETI |