CHESS

Evening Post, Volume XC, Issue 70, 20 September 1915, Page 4

CHESS

LOCAL NOTES Steady progress is being maintained in the Annual Handicap Tourney of the Wellington South Chess Club, the leading scores to date being as follow : — Purchas 7 wins no losses, Harper 5^ — £, A. Clark 4^ — I£, Armstrong 3^— 2|, Murray 5—4,5 — 4, and Douglas 4j — 3^. A committee meeting was held recently, when arrangements were made for the annual match against the Working Men's Club representatives. It is expected that about 14 or 15 boards will be engaged. In the Annual Handicap Tourney of the Working Men's Club, the best scores to date have been made by Peake 6£ wins 1£ losses, Featonby 65 — 2^, Key 6—2,6 — 2, Burgess 5—4,5 — 4, Barnes 4 — T., Larking 4—4,4 — 4, C. Reid 3—3,3 — 3, and Mowtell 14-14-The best form in the club's Draughts Tourney has so far been shown by J. Reid 22—6, Burgess 20—4, Costella 25£— 14* (complete), C. Reid 13£— 6 i, and W. H. Smith 6£— s£. The sealed handicap will be opened when the remaining rounds have been disposed of. A special general meeting of the members is being held to-morrow evening to deal with a four months' accumulation of business, including a question submitted by the New Zealand Chess Association regarding the championships for 1916, which is referred to in another portion Of these notes. , The match of two games which the Wellington Chess Club has been playing by correspondent with thb Sydnej' School of Arts Chess Club for some months past has just been concluded. The Wellington Club won one game and drew the other, thus winning what is believed to be the first "across Tasman" inter-club match. The Wellington Club's match against a strong team from the combined suburbs opens next Saturday. Games not played on that evening may be contested at any time in the ensuing four weeks. The respective captains are Messrs. W. E. Mason and Barnes, the Dominion's two "record champions." A hard-fought contest is expected to result, as each side contains a large number of strong players, and additional interest is lant to the contest by the fact that some "new blood" will be in evidence. NEW ZEALAND ASSOCIATION The September quarterly council meeting of the above association has been, convened for Monday next, 27th inst., when the main business will be to consider a letter from the Masterton C.C., asking that a tourney be held in tha,t centre during the phristmas holidays to decide the Dominion championship for 1916. The question as to whether the annual championship tourney should be played or postponed on account of the war is one about which there appears to be some difference of opinion amongst affiliated players. Some suggest the holding of a tourney without ' prizes rather than have a break in the records — the prize money being devoted to some patriotic or other fund. They contend that no purpose is served by abandoning the congress, and that the association should "grit it through," as a Southern enthusiast put it. Those who take the contrary view point out that when a tourney without prizes was first suggested months ago our casualty lists were only in their infancy — the idea then uppermost being that it would npt do to canvass a, public that ■was giving so liberally to carnivals and other patriotic funds. Since then the casualties have increased enormously ; they now exceed 6000, and are still mounting up daily In view of this and the fact that New Zealand chess circles have contributed their quota to the war, it is urged by many that the holding of a tourney next Christmas would be in very questionable taste, in fact that in pursuance of a policy of "hats off to our gallant 'dead and wounded" the New Zealand championship trophy should at the end of the present year be engraved: "1916 title vacant (war)," or with words to that effect. • This would bring the trophy into line with the New Zealand shields for Rugby, League, soccer, hockey, tennis, cricket, etc., to say nothing of sundry time-honoured chess fixtures at Home, including the British champiouship and the annual Oxford and Cambridge match. It is also noted that the action of the New Zealand Draughts Association in holding its championship contest last Easter has been unfavourably commented on in Home papers. It is _ expected * that the Chess. Association will on tliis occasion prefer to concern itself merely with the compiling of a "Roll of Honour," and the sending of some chess material to the military hospitals in Egypt and Malta.