CHESS

Evening Post, Volume LXXXVI, Issue 146, 17 December 1913, Page 4

CHESS

CHAMPIONSHIP OF NEW ZEALAND "BEFORE THE BATTLE." The twenty-seventh tourney to decid« j the chess championship of New Zealand | commences at Auckland on Boxing Day. As usual, it will be a " full-i'ound " tourney, each player meeting every other player once. The names of the fifteen competitors "who have been nominated appeared in our issue of Saturday. One of these entries may have to be withdrawn. A few notes on the fourteen who are marked as " certain of going to the poll " may be of interest at this juncture. Auckland, which contributes five players, has never before been so strongly represented as it is on this occasion. Grierson, the present New Zealand champioh, holds the title for the second time, and Davies was champion twice while residing in Wellington. Miles is the Auckland Club's champion for 1913. These widely -known players are all at the top of their great form. Of Stewart less is known, as he has not been long in the Dominion. He was formerly a member of the Bradford Club. A letter of his, dated 15th August last, appears in the British Chess Magazine for _ October. Ifc contains the following paragraph : "In Auckland we have a flourishing club of some Seventy members. One member is stronger than 1 am, about half a dozen are my own equal, and the others grade downwards," etc. Clearly, therefore, by entering Stewart the Auckland C.C. is putting another 15-inch gun' in action. In Myers the Auckland Working Men's Club has an able representative. As he and Stewart are making their first bid for the championship jook, there is nothing to show how they will 'fare when endeavouring to sustain, their form day after day for a fortnight on end. Hicks (Napier) and A. W. Gyles (We3fcport), who tied with Grierson a year ago at Nelson, but lost in the play-off, are in greater form than ever. How to keep these colts from '"going one bettor" will be one of the problems confronting- those who already have their names on the championship trophy. Gyle 3, who ako lost the coveted honour at Napier in playing off a tie (with W. E. Mason) two years ago, is at present in Wellington. His form last week indicated that his past successes were thoroughly deserved. He will not return to strikestricken Westport, and may possibly be leaving New Zealand ere long. Dunlop(Oamaru) has competed on one previous occasion — viz., at Timaru three years ago. In our, then pro-tourney ai>ticle we said his chances depended on the answer to the query, " Will Dunlop tire? " He supplied a satisfactory answer to, that cycling-flavoured question, and divided fourth prize with Hicks and' Mara (Timaru). Until lately he resided at Hastings, and this helps to explain why the Hawkes Bay players tell us that he is even stronger than Hicks — which is "praise indeed." Wilfred Moore, of Carterton, ia the sole Wairarapa candidate. He has long been a keen student of the game, and is equipped with a big store of book knowledge. He is also appearing for the first time, and the question of whether he can sustain his form continuously for a fortnight or more can therefore only be answered after the association's clocks have started ticking in Auckland. Dodds (Nelson) won the Brilliancy Prize in tho Dunedin Congress of 1908, the year that he held the Otago Championship (which Dunlop held a year later). He is a very lively player, and never misses a chance 6f gaining an advantage through the medium of a sacrifice. His games are -always attractive,^ and invariably draw' the bulk of the spectators, who, of course, like to "see the flicks flying." Severne is the only representa- • tive of the Canterbury Chess Club, of which he is the president. He plays a very sound game, and is expected to give ample proof that his winning of a prize at Nelson last year was anything but a fluke. At Napier two years ago his score jncluded no less than six draws, and this caused him to miss the prize-list on that occasion. He is about the hardest player to beat of the lot, and if he can keep his tally clear of too many draws a very respectable score should appear against his name. Last, but not least, we come to the Wellington trio. W. E.. Mason, who has won the championship four times in his s,even attempts, and H. L. James are the nominees of the Wellington Chess Club. The former's record is probably the best to be found in the history of New Zealand chess, Ten years ago he was described as "the New Zealander with the greatest possibilities" by an ex-Cambridge University "Rep.," who formerly resided in Auckland, Wellington, and othe? centres in the North Island. This able critic's "stray shot" was probably somewhere on the bull's eye. James has won several Congress prizes, including two Brilliancy prizes. At Nelson last Christmas he was undergoing a course of medical treatment, and failed to do justice to his skill. In his book of that congress he remarked : "H. L. James's motto must now be : Resurgam." His ladder wins in quick succession from Fouhy, Kelling, and W. Mackay., and his form in the incomplete match v. Barnes for rung 2, show that ho has kept the motto well in view. His play this year calls only for praise, and as he does not like praise we will dismiss him -.with the threat that if in a. month's timo the New Zealand Rifle and Chess champions both bear tho same surname we may really have to say something nice about his play. Lastly we come to Barnes, who for more than two decades has been champion of the local Working Men's Club, which has over 900 members, of whom about 100 aro known to be chess players. Barnes has attended 23 congresses, scoring five first prizes arid six seconds,/ while his minor prizes and local successes make up such a formidable total that the editor 'of tho Timaru Congress Book described his record as "standing unequalled in the colony." From the foregoing it will be gathered that the pace should be "a clinker." There is, of course, great disappointment at some players who intended competing finding themselves unablo to do so, viz., Viner (champion of Australia), Rev. C. E. Fox (Solomon Islands), B. Mason (Hastings), 0. C. Pleasants (Wanganui), T. Mara (Timaru), and L. A. Jourdain (Patoka). Claude R. Sainsbury (Gisborne) will also be greatly missed. Notwithstanding these "defections," however, the forthcoming contest promises to be the best of its kind held in New Zealand since the Christchurch Exhibition tourney of seven years ago. The completest arrangements are being made by the Auckland Committee (of which Mr. F. Booth is lion, secretary), and also by Mr. A. (i. Fell (lion, secretary New Zealand Chess Association), and to ensure the success of the congress it now only remains for the players to "give of their best." About this time the "cracks'" are often seen walking along the streets abstractedly, pondering whether certain lines of attack are the best, whether certain defences are adequate, and so on. These thoughts occasionally obtrude themselves on Christmas Day (tho day before the battles begin), and we have known these "far away" chessists to get quite" a start when the t band strikes up "Hark the Herald 'Angels Sing," or some other equally acceptable "cvei green"— a pleasanter way of "coming back to earth" than that which, alas ! falls to the iol qi co map^ aviators^

Wo hope when the pawn-pushing business is over and the clocks and other gear are packed away for another year to offer a few jottings by way of a / "post-tourney" article.