Resolving Clashes by Raven

Puzzle explanation

The letters lost or gained in across clues spelt out “concatenate as a word”, so the letters of clashes in the SW-NE diagonal were combined as CHESS (at the thematic crossing of FISCHER and SPASSKY) and FIDE (Fédération Internationale des Échecs, the World Chess Federation). The lost and gained letters in down clues spelt “settle on down letter”, so choosing the down letters in each clash on the NW-SE diagonal would form ZERO-SUM GAMES, describing both chess and the fact that the clues’ lost letters were the same as the gained ones. Instead, the across letters were entered and with other changes the diagonal became Gens una sumus (we are one family), the motto of FIDE, which was founded on 20 July 1924, exactly 100 years before the puzzle’s publication.

Clue explanations

Conventions: * = anagram, < = reversal

No Letter [gained]/(lost) Answer Explanation
Across
2 fa(C)ulty ROCK LOBSTER (RESORT BLOCK) *
11 lo[O]se AEROBE AE + ROBE
12 [N]arrow ALPINE P in A-LINE
13 [C]lipped PASEARED SEA in PARED
14 (A)shamed PLESH (cou)PLE SH(amed)
15   FISCHER REF < around (IS + CH)
16 deduc[T]ed PASSÉ IMPASSE − I’M
18 Port[E]’s KADI ((h)I(d) D(r)A(n)K) <
22 (N)ester ELIZA (AZIDE − D) < around L; ref. Eliza Doolittle
25 Me[A]d LEYDEN DEN after LEY
26 (T)rail SEÑORA SORA around EN
28 l(E)ast DRINK (Federe)R in DINK
29 Rast(A) TSAR RAST <
30 (S)killed EAGLE BEAGLE − B
35 are[A] AFIELD A + FIELD
36 [W]heat QUERN QUERY with N for Y
38 Go(O)d UNDREAMT (D + MAN TRUE) *
39 Ho[R]ses STEEDS S + DEET < + S
40 [D]I ARIES DIARIES − DI
41   PANDECTISTS PAN + DEISTS around CT
Down
1 fa[S]t ZAPPIEST APPETIZERS * − (E + R)
2 bar(E) REAL ALES SELLER < around As (separated)
3 I(T) ORRE (T)ORRE(s); ref. Eystein Orre
4 [T]urn COCOA CO in AOC <
5 [L]earner LEAFS L + SAFE *
6 mad[E] BLESSED BLEED around S(ock)S
7   SPASSKY (PESKY − P(iec)E) around PASS
8 b[O]ring TIRR IR in TR
9 Ru[N]e ENEW WEN < after (flum)E
10 (D)raw REDS REWARDS − RAW <
16 Sho(O)t PIÑA NIP < + À
17 (W)axed ELM (y)ELM
19 a(N)d ADIE (E + AD + I) *
20 s(L)ays DENARIES (A + R) in DENIES
21 (E)state INKINESS IN + KIN + ES + S
23 gues(T)s ARREEDE (GREAT DEPRESSION) * − POSTINGS *
24 s[T]ate UAE (s)U(g)A(r)E(d)
27 d[E]ad ORDERED (ORD + RED) around (garag)E
31 wa(R)Y ADMIT ADIT around M
32   LAIRS LA + IRS
33   CUSP S in CUP
34   ANTA (pl)ANTA(in)
35   ADEN ((chees)E + AND) *
37   EMIT REMIT − (plonke)R
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