Q 01/05

What is the semicircle marked behind a snooker table's baulk line called?

A) The D

B) The arc

C) The crescent

D) The horseshoe

Answer · why

A) The D

The D: a player breaking off, or taking the white in hand after it has been potted, may place it anywhere inside it.

Q 02/05

Which British Army officer devised snooker's first rules in India in the 1870s and 1880s?

A) Herbert Kitchener

B) Garnet Wolseley

C) Robert Baden-Powell

D) Neville Chamberlain

Answer · why

D) Neville Chamberlain

Neville Chamberlain, not the prime minister: he is said to have mocked a young officer's poor play by calling him a 'snooker', army slang for a raw fi...

Q 03/05

What does a snooker referee call when a player fails to make a proper attempt to hit the ball on?

A) A miss

B) A push stroke

C) A touching ball

D) A stalemate

Answer · why

A) A miss

A miss: the opponent can have every ball put back and make the offender play the shot again, and a third miss in a row can forfeit the frame.

Q 04/05

Snooker's rules were finalised in 1882 at Stone House in which Indian hill station?

A) Simla

B) Darjeeling

C) Jabalpur

D) Ootacamund

Answer · why

D) Ootacamund

The table, by Burroughes & Watts, had been shipped to India by sea.

Q 05/05

What may a snooker referee call when a foul leaves the next player unable to hit both sides of the ball on?

A) A free ball

B) A ball in hand

C) A penalty shot

D) A re-rack

Answer · why

A) A free ball

A free ball: the player may nominate any other ball in place of the one they are on, which is how a break can reach 155 rather than 147.