CHESS

Evening Star, Issue 18809, 6 December 1924, Page 15

CHESS

[Conducted by Gambit.] Tile Otago Chess Club meets for play at the rooms, Princes street, every Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday evening, at 7.30 o'clock. TO CORRESPONDENTS. 11 Dr C.” writes; You deserve the thanks of all your readers for those clover and diverting verses by the chess poet of the north. Oilier verses from the same source wifi lx) greatly appreciated, .1 am sure. Tho serious side of chess makes the humorous side the more telling. “E.K.K.” writes that the final round of tho Wellington Chess Club championship has been entered on, and that the finish should bo exceptionally interesting this year. [We invite communications on all matters concerning chess. Solutions of problems, problems, games, and analyses will receive our attention, and if of sufficient merit will be inserted. All communications to be addressed “Chess Editor,” ‘Evening Star.'] SOLUTION TO PROBLEM No. 1,267, B-Kt 8. PROBLEM No. 1,268. By Elekes. Black.

Whito. Mate in two moves. 7B : 7R; 2plklPl; 2P2pRP; IP6; 5K2; 8 ; 8. CANTERBURY v. OTAGO. The Wellington Adjudication Board has given its award on the seven unfinished games in the recent telegraphic match against Canterbury, with the result that Mr L. J). Coombs scores a win against Mr H. Kennedy at board 2. Mr L. Cohen’s game against Mr H. J. Quarrcll at board 5 is a draw. Mr S. S. -Myers, at board 6, wins against Mr L. J. Darwin. Air Wright, at board 7, obtains a draw against Mr T. Hawkins. Air K. W. Cave, at board) 9, is given a draw against, Mr LovcD-Stnitb, whilst Mr Grigg draws at board 11 against Mr Dalton, and Ah' AY. 0. Gale is awarded a loss at board 14 against Mr A. J. Slovens. To sum up, Otago wins on the first twelve boards by 7 to 5. The full score of the match it &» follows ; Otago. Canterbury. Score. Player. .Board, Player. Score. 2H, L. Anderson 10. Balk (cap(captain) tain) i 0 H. Kennedy 2 L. U. Coombs 1 1 W. S. King 3 J.H.F. Hamel 0 X, Rev. Fribcrg 4 B. AY. Sienhouse i { H. J. Quarrcll 5 L. Cohen ... j U 1,. J. Darwin u S. S. Myers ... X \ T. Hawkins 7 <l. D. Wright i ■'z J, 0. Chapman 8 • J. J. Marlow A I, R. Lovcll-Smith 9 E. AA - . Cave * 0 AV. H. Jovcc 10 G. AV. Reilly 1 •i E. Dalton 11 L. Grigg ... 1 1 B. Shi Hit to 12 A, E. AVard ... -J 1 C. L. King 13 J. AI. Lawson 0 1 A. J. Stephens 14 AV. G. Gale ... 0 i AV. Harding . 15 R. AV. Watt \ iJ. 'T. L. Drummond 4 ‘ 16 C. A. Ahem A 8 8 Air T. 31. Gillies acted as umpire. NELSON v. OTAGO. The adjourned telegraphic match against Nelson commences to-night. The local team will be. chosen from the following members of the Otago Chess Club;—Messrs Allen, Ahern, Cave, Coombs, Cleghorn, Ellis, Gale, Grigg, Hamel, Moody, Alycrs, Reilly, AA r . G. f tenbonso (captain), AVard, Watt, and AVright. Mr T. 31. Gillies will act at this end in the interests of Nelson. Play will commence at 7 o'clock sharp. A SHORT BRILLIANT. Played in 1912 between Air Edward Lasker and Sir G. A. Thomas. Queen's Pawn, Game. Ed. Lasker. White; G. A. Thomas, Black. 1 P-Q 4 P-K 3 2 Kt-K B 3 P-K B 4 3 Ki.-B 3 Ki-K B 5 4 B-Kt 5 B-K 2 5 B x Kt B x B 6 P-K 4 P x P 7Kt x P P-Q Kt 3 8 Kt-K 5 Castles 9 B-Q 3 B-Kt 2 10 Q-R 5 Q-K 2 And White mutes in eight, moves. Air Alechiu since discovered that mate could be brought about in seven moves. Others have found different methods of administering the male in seven moves. CHESS AS A SCIENCB. Chess, like any -one of the sciences, is peculiar to itself. In the numerous legends and curious anecdotes which adorn its annals, in its venerable nomenclature which has been transmitted through all the changes of language from the earliest tongues of Indo-European stock to the latest, in its singular combination of idle amusement and mental toil, and in the fascination which , ofc has ever exercised over its votaries, chess forms a remarkable chapter in tho history of tho world. Monarehs have found delight in iis study and pleasure in its practice. Alone among games, its use has been sano tioned by tho priesthood of all beliefs— Catholic, 'Protestant, Jewish, Buddhist, and Moslem. THE DEACON LOVED THE GAME. In ancient days, when things wore different than now, Dean Aaron Harper was tho churchman par excellence of the old Boston Chess Club (writes Franklin K. Young). Tall, angular, and austere, clothed in sombre black, and his head surmounted by a straight stove-pipe hat, in dress, speech, and manner he was a replica of the Puritan ideal. Next to religion, as ho understood 1 it,, chess had the strongest hold upon Iris sensibilities, but his ability at chess play (or rather bis lack of it) was in inverse ratio to his love of the game. In consequence ho usually was beaten by every opponent, and Ins daily discomfiture was one of those things which made life in the club worth living. At tho crisis of a game, when the certainty of his defeat, which for some time had been apparent to all, at Inst began to dawn upon his own mind, tho deacon would clasp bis hands together underneath tho table, and, nervously twisting and twining bis fingers around each other, be slowly would lower bis bend until bis chin was on a level with tho hoard. Then in whispered ejaculations there would issue from between his whiskers a series of unorthodox adjurations which never failed to excite tho astonishment and horrified amusement of all within car-shot.

A CHESS MEMORY. Some remarkable stories (sa.ys the ‘‘Medical Press and Circular’) are told of tho prodigious feats of memory of the lato John Henry Blackburn©. It ba.s to be remembered that the blindfold player, from start to finish, neither sees the chessboard nor takes any notes of tho game. On one occasion, while playing eight opponents blindfold, Blackbumc, ou ascertaining opponent’s move, immediately and correctly ' called “ mate in four,” a feat of which an average player playing a single game over the board might well ho proud—yet Blackburne was able to accomplish it while playing against eight invisible opponents! On another occasion, when engaging ten such opponents, he called a move which, as the pieces stood, was impossible. When told of this he gave the position of every piece on the board, but this did not tally with the actual position. Thereupon he cited each one of some forty moves that had been made on the board, and tho record of the game proved him to bo correct, and that his opponent had not moved Ins pieces correctly." This showed that the groat player must have retained a perfect memory of some hundreds of moves in tho course of the ten games.