The results are just in from the quarter-finals of the amateur Kaissa championship held at the Sardar Fair. All four winners, who now go on to the semi-finals, are of High Caste, no two are of the same Caste, and none is an Initiate. All are from different cities, all have a distinguishing mark, and all won their games in distinctive fashion. Thus:

1. Flavius is the next higher in Caste than the ginger-haired man
2. Julius is of Thentis
3. Sardonicus is adjacent in Caste to the Koroban
4. Seremides won with a rousing attack
5. The midget is the next higher in Caste than the man from Lydius
6. The player of the brilliant Ubara sacrifice is the next higher in Caste than the bald man
7. The contestant from Thentis is adjacent in Caste to the one who sprang a cunning trap
8. The Arian is higher in Caste than the one who won a patient end-game
9. The cunning trap was devised by the Builder

Which player had a beard?

(The reader is reminded that the High Castes below Initiate run Scribe (highest) - Builder - Physician - Warrior (lowest) )

When you are sure you are ready, here is the solution:

The only Caste directly given in the clues is the player of the cunning trap, who is a Builder (9). Therefore, Julius of Thentis (2) must be either a Scribe or a Physician (7). Seremides did not win with a cunning trap (4), so the Builder must be Flavius or Sardonicus. Suppose it is Flavius. Then the Physician has ginger hair (1). The Warrior is not of Thentis, nor of Ar (8), nor of Lydius (5), so he is of Ko-ro-ba. Hence Sardonicus is the Physician (3), and so Julius of Thentis is the Scribe. Then Seremides is the Warrior and won with a rousing attack, the Physician won with a patient end-game (8) and Flavius is of Ar. Julius won with the Ubara sacrifice, so the Builder is bald - but then there is no city left for the Physician (5). Therefore, Flavius is not the Builder and so Sardonicus must be.

Neither Julius nor Flavius is the Warrior, so Seremides must be. He is not of Thentis or Ko-ro-ba, which must go either side of Sardonicus the Builder, nor is he of Ar (8), so he is of Lydius, and the Physician is the midget. Seremides won with a rousing attack, so the Physician won the patient end-game, the Scribe won with the Ubara sacrifice and the Builder is bald. Hence Flavius is not the Scribe but the Physician, so the Warrior is ginger-haired and Julius of Thentis is a Scribe. The Builder is of Ar and the Physician is of Ko-ro-ba. The Scribe has the beard.

In full:

Julius the bearded Scribe of Thentis won with a Ubara sacrifice.
Sardonicus the bald Builder of Ar won with a cunning trap.
Flavius the midget Physician of Ko-ro-ba won with a patient end-game.
Seremides the ginger-haired Warrior of Lydius won with a rousing attack.

I wish you well,

Socrates