AFTER THE BATTLE CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP

Evening Post, Volume LXXXVII, Issue 15, 19 January 1914, Page 2

AFTER THE BATTLE CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP

A REVIEW OF THE GAMES SEEN INTEREST IN THE FINISH. (Specially Written for The Post.) The annual tourney to decide tho chess championship of New Zealand for | 1914 was held in Auckland during the j Christmas-New Year holidays. It was formally opened on Boxing Day by Mr. John Court, Deputy-Mayor— tho Mayor, Mr. Parr, being out of town. Tho fifteen competitors then met to decide hours of play and other preliminaries. As it is now the practice* to play only one round a day, there was naturally a lively debate between those competitors who wanted to have the afternoons off and those who preferred to bo free in the evenings. In these circumstances, it was only to be expected that there should bo differences of opinion as to what was the best time to see the Exhibition, and us to when the merry-go-round in the adjoining vacant section would bo the least troublesome! Those who had one eye on tho bowling greens naturally pointed out that the many beauties of Auckland could not be seen at night time, and also urged that evening play would be more acceptable to spectators, who would be at work in the daytime. This party was outvoted, but the victors were merciful, and, by way of compromise, agreed to substitute evening for afternoon play on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Play began on the afternoon of Boxing Day. The arrangements for the tourney were very complete and reflected the greatest credit on the Executive Committee, of which Mr. Grierson was president, and Mr. F. Booth hon. secretary. A barricade of chairs kept the spectators, who attended in large numbers, about three feet from each of the seven boards. The association was fortunate in that Mr. C. Little was onco more able ta undertake the duties of umpire, as on previous occasions he proved himself an ideal umpire. The reporting was in the able hands of Mr. F. Harvey, of Auckland, who has had much experience in the matter of chess writing. The competitors were most hospitably treated, refreshments being served at each sitting, and also on the bowling greens, where the chess rink (Messrs. Little, Booth, Dodds, and Barnes) won three matches out of four against a strong non-chess rink. Mention must also be made of a most enjoyable picnic at Motutapu, and of the Mayor's kindness in providing a motor-car outing to One Tree Hill. Mount Eden, and other places, finishing up with afternoon tea at Point Erin Park. Add to these entertainments a most successful farewell social (music, recitations, prize distribution, and a few speeches), and it is little wonder that the players are now looking back on an exceptionally enjoyable time. A LONG CHAMPIONSHIP. And now a few words about the tourney, which, on this occasion, consisted of 105 games (instead of the more usual 66). It was New Zealand's longest championship tourney but one, and the talent was the best that had been got together for seven years, viz., since the Christchurch Exhibition Congress of 1906-7. One of the rules requires those competitors who hail from the same centre to play each other in the opening rounds. To simplify the, drawings required to conform to this' rule, Messrs. Dodds (Nelson), Gyles (Westport), Mooro (Masterton), and Hicks (Napier) were classed as Wcllingtonians, Messrs. Severne (Christchnrch), Dunlop (Oamaru), and the six Aucklanders making up a corresponding "Auckland eight." Dunlop's withdrawal consequently gave the bye to the Auckland section in the first seven rounds, and to the others in the last eight rounds. The greatest interest naturally centred in the second half of the tourney, as the Auckland and nonAuckland sections were facing each other from round eight onwards. In the final stages it looked as if it would be necessary for W. E. Mason (Wellington) and A. W. O. Davies (Auckland) to play off a tie. Dodds, the Nelson president, however, repeated his performance of five years ago by defeating Davies in the final round. W. E. Mason thus won the first prize (£3B) and holds the championship for the fifth time in his illustrious career. _ Ho started badly, losing 2£ games in the first four rounds. But he^ is as -little depressed by failure as he is elated by success, and in the last ten rounds he scored nine wins and one draw, making his tally 11 points out of a possible 14. To score five championships in nine attempts is, of course, an exceedingly fine record, and is one which may be said to bear out the opinion expressed ten years ago by an ex-Cambridge " rep. ", who. described Mason as " the New Zealander with the greatest possibilities." He absented himself from the five tourneys which were held between the Oamaru Congress (1904) and the Timaru Congress (1910), otherwise Ins record assuredly would have been an even better one than it is. THE OTHER PRIZES. Messrs. Davies (Auckland), Gyles (Westport), and R. J. Barnes (Wellington), each with 10 points, divided the second, third, and fourth prizes, which totalled £28 10s. Davies, as already stated, missed his chance in the final round. Ho is, however, playing better than ever, and should be very much in evidence on many future occasions. Barnes, who has also had the New Zealand championship five times, was leading till the later stages, when fatigue told its tale and he fell back a point. Some of his games ,were greatly admired, notably those against James and Mason. Gyles, who is only 25 years of age, lias now gone very near the championship for three years in succession. The. general opinion is that his turn will come, at no distant date, provided, of course, that when lie casts the dio shortly it will be for remaining in New^ Zealand (instead of trekking to England). The fifth prize (£4 3s 4d) goes i to F. K. Kelling (Wellington), with a tally of 9^ points. He was leading <&t tho end of the tenth round, but at this stage (so he jocularly explains) the merry-go-round substituted "Daisy Bell" for " The Wearing of the Green," and his form vanished. In view of his previous "climatic failures" in Auckland, he is very thankful to have got so liigh up in the list. His secretarial efforts to advance chess in the Working Men's Club are evidently appreciated, as he has just received two presentations, one made on behalf of the general committee by Mr. J. B. Graham (vice-presi-dent), and one made by Mr. J. Milesi on behalf of his fellow-members. Tho sixth prize '(£2 10s) was won by Edgar Miles, of Auckland (Bj,-s£). His first ten games yielded him 6 wins, 1 loss, and 3 draws, and at the end of the eleventh round he shared the lead with Mason and Kelliug. In the last four rounds, however, he was palpably below his true form, and sustained three defeats, which, of course, put him out of the running for first place. As champion of the Auckland Chess Club for 1913 he wears a very handsome gold medal, presented by the Hon. A. M. Myers, M.P The lowest prize (£1 13s 4d) was won by G. F. Dodds (Nelson), 8 wins, 6 losses. Dodds, who was champion of the Otago Chess Club before

settling in Nelson, played some remarkably fine chess, but, like many others, he found it difficult to sustain his best form. With, steady practice he should be found taking higher honours back to Nelson on future occasions. Of the eight non-prizewinners Stewart (Auckland), who is not troubled with nerves, made top score— 7 points. Stewart, who was a member of tho Bradford C.C. when he left England some two or three years ago, threw away several points owing to his impetuosity, but for which, as he himself points out, he would have occupied a high place in the prize-list. Many of his moves come as a surprise to his opponents, being, as a, general rule, better than the more natural moves expected. Ex-champion Grierson (6»i — 7^) was unfortunately handicapped by an old trouble in his left knee, which, after being dormant for 25 years, broke out just as the tourney was about to start. He pluckily went through with his fixtures, although his doctor was very dubious about the wisdom of his so doing. The Canterbury president, E. H. Severne, played some very sound chess at times, but at other times somehow or other failed to do justice to his well-established reputation for solid chess. His ifailure to get into the prize-list is hard to account for. On the other hand, the non-suc-cess of James (Wellington) and Hicks (Napier) is clearly attributable to QVerstudy prior to the contest, and to insomnia of a pronounced kind during the tourney. Under reasonable conditions these two players should have no difficulty in reaching the high pinnacles to which their great abilities so justly entitle them. In Myers the Auckland Working Men's Club have a colt of much promise. His fault was that he managed his time badly, having frequently to make Beveral .moves in a minute or two (to comply with the time limit of 18 moves per hour). For instance, in round 9he took 43 minutes to seal his move, the result being that when resuming play at 2.30 p.m. he had to squeeze 11 moves into 9 minutes ! Which, of course, led to trouble. Rev. Wingfield (Auckland) and W. Moore (Carterton) both frequently failed to hold ground gained from their opponents in the early and middle game. The old "saw" about the difficulty of winning a won game came home to these two debutants on several occasions. The steadiness of the play is well indicated by the fact that, in the final round, six games were absolutely level at half-time, while at the seventh table the player who had given up a pawn had a good attack for it. , It is noteworthy that those who had the first move only won 48£ games, as against the 56£ wins scored by those who had second move. The most popular opening was the Ruy Lopez. It was played 28 times, 'round 6 being the only one in which it was not employed. Then came the Queen's Gambit declined (16), the Giuoco Piano (11), Centre-Counter (8), Queen's Pawn (7), Four Knights (6), and Petroff (5). The once-popular French defence was used only three times, and the Caro-Kann, which is gaining in favour at Home, was not used at all. A special council meeting of the New Zealand Chess Association has been convened for next Monday evening to decide whether or not a book " of the Auckland Congress is to be published. It is hoped that the association will by that time have received promises of donations tota-lling £15, in which case it will be justified in issuing the book. Tho championship has now gone four times to Otago, three times to Christchurch, twice __ to Auckland, once to Rangitikei, once to Australia, and sixteen times to Wellington. This helps to explain tho jocular remarks of Mr. Griereon, Auckland's popular president and champion, that the Wellingtanions are a bit greedy in annexing the championship rook so often. But as we are denied possession of the cricket, Rugby, "soccer," and hockey shields, would it not be r ' robbing Wellington of her ewe lamb " to also take away the chess trophy? Tlu's reminds us that it is about time that the South Island had another championship win — their last being as long ago as Easter, 1901, when the blue riband of New 'Zealand chess was won by the late Mr. David Forsyth, of Dunedin.