CHESS

Evening Star, Issue 16197, 19 August 1916, Page 4

CHESS

[Conducted by J.H.F.H.] The Otago Chess Cluh meet for play at the rooms, Y.M.C.A. Building, Moray place, every Monday, Wednesday, and SaturdaJ' evening, at 8 o'clock

.TO CORRESPONDENTS. [All communications must be addressed " Chess Editor," ' Evening Star.'] "L.D.C."—Many thanks for chess news. "R.J."—Your solutions of Problems Nos 876, 877, and- 878 received. No. 876 is correct. No. 877, though a good try, fails because the Black king can retreat to bishop four. No. 878 also a good try, but your proposed key is kicked out by B-B 3 or Kt-B 3.

corrected solved Problem No. 878. " T -;J; E '" also sends correct solution of rso. 877.

PROBLEM No. 879, By A. <M. Sparke. Black, 10 pieces.

White, 9 pieces. White to play and mate in two moves 582; 3P4; 6pl; bßlk2rl; rZKtlktla • 2plQlPp; bIKtITC; 5K2. q '

SOLUTION 01" PROBLEM No. 874.

Key move: Kt-Q sq.

GAME No. 1,082.

Played in foe match between Messrs B. H V. Scott and L. I. Estrin. Notes from Amos Burns column in -Hie 'Field': White, L. I. Estrin; Blaok, B. H. V. Scott. 1 P-K 4 P-K 4 2 Kt-K B 3 Kt-Q B 3 3 B-Kt 5 P-Q B 3 4 B-E 4 Kt>B 3 5 Castles B-K 2 6 P-B 3 (1) P-Q Kfc 4 7 B-Kt 3 (2) P-Q 3 8 B-K sq Kt-Q R 4 9 B-B 2......P-B 4 10 P-Q 3 Oastles 11 Q Kt-Q 2 Q-B 2 12 Kt-B aq Et-B 3 13 B-Kt 5 (3): P-B 3 14 B-K R 4 P-Kt 4 15 B-K Kt 3 Kt-K sq (4) 16 Kt-K 3 Kt-Kt 2 17 P-Q 4 P-K Kt 5 (5) 18 Px K P Px P (6) 19 Kt x K P Kt x Kb 20 Q-Q 5 B-Q 3 (7) 21: Q B-Q sq (8).:....Kt-B 6 eh 22. P, x Kt B x B 23 B P x B B-K 3 24 Q-Q 2 Px P (9) 25 Kt-Q 5 Bx Kt 26 Px B Q-Q 3 27 B-K 3,.;...P-B 4 28 Bx P Kt-B 4 (10) 29 Bx P K-E sq 30 B-K sq Q B-K S q 31 B x R Ex B 32 B-K 3 Kt-Kt 2 33 R x R oh Kt x B 34 Q-K 3 Kt-B 2 35 B-K 6 K-Kfc 2 36 Q-K 4 Kt x B 37 P x Kt K-B 3 38 Q-B 4 ch K-Kt2 39 Q-Kt 4 ch K-B 3 40 P-K B 4 P-B 5 41 P-B 5 Q-B 4 ch 42 Q-Q 4ch QxQ ch 43 Px Q P-Kt 5 44 K-B sq P-Q B 4 45 K-K 2 P-R 5 46 P-Kt 3 (11) *B PiP ' 47 Besigns

(1) Inferior to the usual move of 6 R-K sq. (2) White would have gained time bv retreating his bishop to B 2, defending his king's pawn and enabling him to play P-Q 4 without delay. (3) Kt-K 3, guarding 'the bishop and threatening P-Q 4, was probably White's strongest continuation. (4) In anticipation of his opponent's threatened attack in the centre by Kt-K 3 and) P-Q 4 it would have been better for Black to play R-K sq, followed by B-B sq and Kt 2.

(5) This loses a pawn, but Black's position was already very inferior, chiefly owing to his having retired his knight on his fifteenth move, leaving his opponent free later on to enter at Q 5 with queen or knight. (6) If 18..., P x Kt, then, of course 19 P x P, followed by 20 P x B and 21 Q x P. (7) If 20.-.., B-B 3, then 21 Q x R, B-Kt 2: 22 Kt-Q 5 and wins. (8) But now Black's queen is guarded, and White would have lost a piece "had he captured the rook, e.g., 21 Qx R. B-Kt 2; 22 Kt-Q 5, R x Q; 23 Kt x Q, B x Kt, and wins.

(9) Black recovers his pawn temporarily, but soon loses it again. (10) This loses another pawn and allows White's bishop to come into play. Q B-K sq would have been better.

(11) An extraordinary blunder, by which White throws away a won game. K-Q 2, instead of the test-move, would have left Black without resource. CANTERBURY v. OTAGO. The two outstanding games of the match between the above clubs have been adjudicated on by Messrs Mason, Barnes, and Still the Wellington members of the N.Z. Adjudication Board. They award a draw at board 9 and a wij to the Canterbury player at board 12. The final score is, therefore: Ota-go, 6 wins; Canterbury, 2 wins; and four games drawn. Otago's win is the more meritorious, as they were minus the services of three of their ex-champions. The Canterbury team, on the other hand, was the same as that which tied with Wellington in the match played two months earlier. OTAGO v. WELLINGTON.

Mr L. D. Coombs, the president of the Otago Chess Club, is at present in Wellington on a short business visit. On Saturday evening he met the Wellington Club's Committee .with a view to arranging a telegraphic match between the two clubs. It is proposed to have 14 players a side, and to hold the contest on September 9 and 16. The only difficulty is that the Otago Club have very few clocks, and the Wellington Club are not keen on dispensing with clocks. The clubs will probably meet each other halfway by using clocks at the first seven or eight boards only. It is exactly seven years since these clubs last met, the match in August, 1909, ending in favor of the local club by 7 points to 5. The "boot will probably bo on the other leg" this time, seeing that Otago has handsomely won its two last matches versus Canterbury, while Wellington has twice failed to beat Canterbury.