CHESS

Evening Post, Volume CXXVIII, Issue 3, 4 July 1939, Page 6

CHESS

N.Z. ASSOCIATION

YEAR OF PROGRESS

The fortieth annual general meeting of the New Zealand Chess Association J was held on June 28, Mr. A. T. Craven | (Auckland) occupied the chair, and' the following delegates were pre-1 sent:—J. L. Hardy (Hastings), J. C j McCrea (Hamilton), A. W. Gyles and I R. C. Sim (Wellington CO, H. M. j Rosenberg (Wellington W.M. Club and,! Literary Institute), E. H. Severne (Nelson), F. Vincent and F.K. Kelling (Canterbury C,C), F- F, Grady (Oamaru), H. J. Cleiand (Otago). and J. I. Goldsmith (Southland), Apologies were received from A- E, Jessup and K. Beyer, ANNUAL REPORT, The annual report states that nineteen clubs are now affiliated and two are; about to Join up. It is hoped to enrol further; clubs atr subscriptions are now on a capitation'basis. In order to save expense the 20* aside telegraphic matches to decide the club championship of New Zealand were again held by tho four leading clubs on the "sudden death" system. The results were as follows; North Island—Wellington C.C., 10_; Auckland CC, 9_. South Island— Otago CC, 14: Canterbury C.C, 6. Inter-island final; Otago C.C, 11; Wellington C.C, 9. The Otago Club thus retained the Bledisloe, Cup for another term. No matches were played for the Blackburne Cup, which is therefore retained by tho Hamilton CC, for the present, The forty-eighth congress was held in Wanganui during the Christmas holidays. It was most successful jn every way, thanks to the excellent arrangements made by the executive of the Wanganui Club. The annual tourney to decida the chess championship of New Zealand attracted 14 competitors,. The prizes were won as fo'flQws;-~J, B, Dunlop (Dunedin), 1; H. McNabb (Nelson), 2; D, I. Jones (Auckland), J. A. Erskine (Southland), and F. X, Kelling (Wellington), equal, 3; E. H. Severne (Wellington) and R. O. Scott (Wanganui), equal, 6, Mr. Jg»es also Won the Brilliancy Prise. In his eleven congresses Mr. Dunlop has gained five firsts, and has never missed the prize-list, He is expected to enhance this fine record in the years to come. Ten competitors took part in the premier reserves tournament, the prize-winners being as follows:—!.. G. Wade (Wellington), 1: N. M. Cromarty (Wanganui), 2; R, Christensen (Palmerston North) and B. Beach (Wanganui), equal, 3. Mr. Cromarty also won the special prize donated by Mr. J. A. Erskine .tor the best-played game. By his success Mr. Wade has qualified to compete in the Centennial championship tournament in December next. , In June, July, and August, 1938, Mr. G. Koshnitsky, tlie present. champion of Australia, made a very successful eight weeks' tour. o£ the Dominion. He gave simultaneous displays in eighteen localities, besides giving several instructive lectures and sundry broadcasts. He also visited a number of schools, where he gave help to the young players, and was the cause of new clubs being formed in at least three centres. He thus.carried on the good work of three previous distinguished visitors, Messrs. B. Kostich, L, Steiner, and C. J. S. Purdy, The association was able to increase the small minimum fee that Mr. Koshnitsky had asked for. The balance-sheet presented. by Mr. Hardy showed that there had been a profit of £3 on the year's working. An Auckland Chess League was formed in February last, when a start was made with five clubs. This should do much for tlie cause of chess in Auckland. The previous Auckland Chess League, which was formed by the Auckland, Ponsonby, Mt. Eden, and ! Devonport Clubs in 1887, was, unfortunately, a short-lived affair. Best wishes are extended to Mr. J. J. Marlow, of Dunedin, the association's ex-president, who recently celebrated his golden wedding, and a tribute is paid to Mr. L. D. Coombs, also of Dunedin, for his excellent service durI ing the sixteen years that he was chess editor of the "Otago Daily Times." Appreciative obituary references are made to Sir Harold Beauchamp, K.B. (Wellington), F. R. Jeffreys (Auckland), T. A. Morine (Palmerston North), and F. A. L..Kuskop (Wellington). The report, which concludes with expressions of thanks to all who have helped in the past year, was adopted unanimously. ELECTION OF OFFICERS. The election of officers resulted as follows: —Patron, his Excellency Lord Galway; president, A. T. Craven (Wellington); vice-presidents, North Island, upper division, Messrs. R. E. Baeyertz (Auckland), A. W. R. Saxby (Waikato), and L. Meredith (Gisborne), lower division, Messrs. L. Pleasants (Wanganui and Manawatu), P. Kummer (Wairarapa and Hawke's Bay), and F- K. Kelling (Wellington); South Island, upper division Messrs. B. Trathen (Nelson), H. Kennedy and E. Dalton (Canterbury), lower division J. F. Lang and Dr. Bennett (both of Dunedin) and E. A. Le Petit (Southland); hon. secretary, Mr. J. C. McCrea; hon. treasurer, Mr. L. Hardy; and hon. auditor, Mr. C. S. B. Lambert, Messrs. Goldsmith, Gyles, and the chairman were constituted a sub-committee to secure thei appointment of an hon. reporter. ] Players who contemplate taking parti in the Centennial Exhibition Congress,! scheduled to open in Wellington on Boxing Day, are urged to send in their entries much eai'lier than the date fixed in the rules (December 1). This applies to all four tourneys, championship, premier reserves, junior, and ladies' championships. Each entry should be accompanied by evidence of the applicant's playing strength, as required by rule 7, chapter 3. It was decided to adopt the remit whereby a competitor need not make 20 moves in his first hour, provided he makes no fewer than 40 moves' in his first two hours, 60 or more moves by the end of his third hour, and so on. The question of changing the name of the supplementary event from "premier reserves" to "major open" • is being referred back to clubs so that they can indicate whether or not they wish players of championship class to be barred from this competition, The chairman reported that, with a view to speeding up play in telegraphic matches, the experiment was being tried this year of providing separate sending and receiving circuits. The chairman's action was approved, and it was decided to share the additional cost with the clubs concerned. Messrs. Severne, McCrea, and Craven were appointed a sub-committe.e to improve conditions governing play for the Blackburne Cup. A report presented by Mr. Hardy on behalf of the art union committee showed that this project had been well launched. The art union has for its object the raising of funds to foster chess in New Zealand. A letter from the acting Minister of Customs notified the conditions under which Mr. Endre Steiner, the wellknown Hungarian chess master, would be allowed to make his home in New Zealand. It is understood that there will be no difficulty in supplying the guarantee demanded in this connection. The meeting closed with a hearty vote of thanks to the outgoing officers, special tributes being paid to the services rendered by. Mr. Kelling. He has been in harness ever since the present council was formed 40 years ago, but now finds that a rest is imperative.

F, Grady