CHESS

Evening Post, Volume CXXVI, Issue 4, 5 July 1938, Page 4

CHESS

N.Z. ASSOCIATION

YEAR OF PROGRESS

The thirty-ninth annual general meeting of the New Zealand Chess Association was held on June. 29. Mr. LA. T, Craven (Auckland) occupied the ■ chair, and the following delegates were • also present:—Messrs. G. P. Anderson ■ (Gisborne), J. L. Hardy (Hastings), A. :E. Jessup (Wanganui), W. Kemble ! Welch. (Palmerston North), A. W. . Gyles and R. C. Sim (Wellington CO, H. M. Rosenberg (Wellington W.M. . Club and Literary Institute), E. H. ' Severne (Nelson), F. Grady (Oamaru), 'H. J. Cleland (Otago), J. I. Goldsmith '■ (Southland), and F. K. Kelling (Canl terbury). Apologies were received from Messrs. E. E. Hicks, K. Beyer, W. L Whitle, and J. C. McCrea (who is on a . visit to Australia). i ANNUAL, REPORT. 1 Mr. F. Kelling, the acting hon. secre- • tary, presented the annual report, a . resume of which is as follows:— . Nineteen clubs are now affiliated. It is hoped that some of New Zealand' 3 ', unaffiliated clubs will join up in the ' near future, as club subscriptions are now on a capitation basis and are very reasonable. ■In order to save expense, the 20-a- - side telegraphic matches to decide the club championship of New Zealand , were once more held by the four leading clubs on the "sudden death" system. The results were as follows:—North Island: Wellington C.C. 12,. Auckland C.C. 8. South Island: Otago C.C. 13, Canterbury C.C. 7. Inter-island final: Otago C.C. 11J, Wellington BJ. The Otago Club thus handsomely regained' the Bledisloe Cup. No matches were played for the Blackburne Cup, which is therefore retained by the Hamilton C.C. for the present. The 47th congress was held in Dunedin during the Christmas holidays. It was most successful in every way, thanks to the excellent arrangements made by the executive of the Otago Chess Club. The annual tourney to decide the chess championship of New Zealand attracted 13 competitors. The prizes were won as follows: —S. Hindin, of Christchurch, 1; J. B. Dunlop (Dunedin), 2. The third and fourth prizes were divided by I. Burry (Auckland) and J. A. Erskine (Invercargill), and the fifth and sixth were divided by H. McNabb (Nelson) and F. K. Kellmg (Wellington). Messrs. Hindin and Burry won the first and second brilliancy prizes respectively, and Mr. Burry also annexed the best-recovery No'entries were received for the annual tourney to decide the ladies chess championship of New Zealand, and Mrs. Abbott, of Christchurch, therefore retains this title for, another year. Only eight entries were received for the premier reserves tourney, so a double round was played. Dunedin provided the three prize-winners, viz., J Lang 1, D. Langley 2, and K. S. Allen 3. A special prize for the best-played game was won by the youngest competitor, A. E. Turner, of Invercargill (age 15). Mr. G. Koshnitsky, an ex-champion of Australia, who has held the Queensland and New South Wales championships on several occasions, commenced a two months' tour of New Zealand in Auckland a: week ago. New Zealand chess benefited by the visits of Boris Kostich (1924), C. J. S. Furdy (1936), and L. Steiner (1937), and it is confidently expected that the present tour of Mr. Koshnitsky will also do much for the advancement of chess in this Dominion. v From the balance-sheet presented by Mr. Hardy it will be seen that there has been a profit of £2 on the year's working. The revenue received in the first year of the new rules (which provide for club subscriptions to be on a . capitation basis, with a fixed maximum of £3 3s and minimum of 10s 6d) has been the same as that received previously when clubs paid a fixed subscription. Clubs have' recehtly been formed in Timaru, Greymouth, and Te Kauwhata, and if these and other unattached clubs would affiliate the association's financial worries would be correspondingly lessened. OBITUARY. Mr. H. L. Andersen, who was only 16 years of age when he made an excellent showing at the Wanganui Congress of 1895-96, died in Christchurch on June 4. He was an ex-president of the Canterbury Chess Club, and was its champion for several years. Mr. T. Fouhy, who died in this.city on June 4, aged 70 years, was one" of Wellington's leading chess players for more than two decades. He was a valued hon. secretary of the Wellington Chess Club for two years, and ably represented the Auckland Chess Club at the association's meetings for 13 years. Mr. J. A. Connell, another prominent chess player, died in the Wellington Public Hospital on May 14, aged 81 years. At different times he actively promoted the cause of chess in Wanganui, Nelson, Gisborne, Napier, Wellington, Masterton, Blenheim, and Timaru. For some years he was the association's hon. secretary, and he ably edited the book of the 29th Congress. Dr. J. W. Mellor, D.Sc, F.R.S., who died in London a month ago, aged 68 years, represented, the Otago Chess Club with distinction in, three of the earlier Congresses, In view of his illustrious career it is not surprising that he so outstandingly edited the chess column in the Dunedin "Star." The association's thanks are conveyed to the Otago Chess Club for so successfully, carrying out the last congress, to all who have donated prizes, or who have rendered financial or other assistance, and to the "Evening Post," the official organ, for reports of proceedings. The association is also heavily indebted to its honorary treasurer, Mr. J. L. Hardy, for the immense amount of admirable work that he has done for the tours of Messrs. Steiner and Koshnitsky, and is grateful to Mr. H. J. Cleland, the Otago delegate, for good work done recently in Sydney, N.S.W., in the interests of Mr. Koshnitsky's visit to New Zealand. The past year has been one of gratifying progress. Interest in the playing of chess is steadily increasing throughout the Dominion, and much has been dpne to help and coach scholars and I junior players. The outlook for the! future of New Zealand chees is there-! fore very bright at the present time. Best wishes are tendered for the success of "The New Zealand Chess Gazette," a monthly magazine recently launched by Mr. F. H. Grant, of Christchurch. This useful publication needs a greater measure of support than has so far has been accorded, and it is earnestly hoped that this further assist- ■ ance will be forthcoming in the near future. The report and balance-sheet were adopted unanimously. ELECTION OF OFFICERS. < The election of officers resulted as follows:—Patron, his Excellency the Governor-General, Lord Galway; president, the nominee of the Napier Chess Club; vice-presidents — North Island, upper division, Messrs. R. E. Baeyertz (Auckland), A. W. R. Saxby (Waikato), and F. T. Yenning (Gisborne); lower division, Messrs. O. C. Pleasants (Wanganui and Manawatu), P. Kummer (Wairarapa and Hawke's Bay), and A. T. Craven (Wellington); South Island, upper division, Messrs. B. Trathen (Nelson), H. Kennedy and E. Dalton (Canterbury); lower division, C. C. Clark (Oamaru), Dr. E. F. Bennett (Dunedin), and E..A. Le Petit (Southland); honorary secretary, Mr. J. C. McCrea honorary treasurer, Mr. J. L. Hardy; honorary reporter, Mr. F. K. Kelling; honorary auditor, Mr. C. S. B. Lambert. j It was decided to hold the next annual congress in Napier, commenc-] ing on Boxing Day. Entries for the championship event should reach the honorary secretary (Mr. McCrea) before December 1. Entries for the premier reserves, minor, and ladies' tourneys should reach the honorary secretary on or before December 15. Each I entry should be accompanied by evi- 1 dence of the applicant's playing strength, as required by rule 7, chap- i ter 3. Messrs. Craven and Goldsmith j were appointed a- sub-committee to deal with the matter of speeding up play in telegraphic matches. The remainder of the evening was'

devoted to a useful discussion regarding Mr. Koshnitsky's present tour of New Zealand, and the best manner of advancing the cause of chess in schools and colleges. Messrs. E. H. Severne, W. White, and A. E. Jessup were appointed a sub-com-mittee to make all arrangements for Mr.' Koshnitsky's Wellington programme. A hearty vote of thanks was accorded to last year's office-bearers.