CHESS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXIV, Issue 10515, 7 August 1897, Page 4 (Supplement)

CHESS.

TO CORRESPONDENTS, Problemn No. 1342. -Solved also by " Nemo," and " XXX" (the letter went a«traysoroebo*, and it did not come to hand till Monday). Problem No. 1343.-Solved by' • XXX," " SumUn," "OK l>," "J.W.," "Ajax," " J.H.," "Janus," and " Sigma" (" a little too transparent"). Problem No. 1344.-Solved by "Q.E.D," "XXX," "Saminn," (" easily forced, not problematical"), "Sigma," "Janus" ("pretty variations"), and "Pawn."

SOLUTION OP PROBLEM No. 1342. White. Black. 1 II- Hit ■ Kxß 3 Q-Itl ell K inotes. 3 ti-B) mates K-Ktß 2 0-BBch KxQ 3 l'-Ku mutes K-K5 2 R-Q2, iliscli K motes 3 Q or B mates. PROBLEM No. 1345. (By Gustav Schmidt, Bavaria). Blacks. .

White 5 White to play ami mate in two mom PROBLEM No. 1316. (From Sudwestdeutsche Schachzeituiif). Black 4.

White 5 White to play and mate in three moves.

CORRESPONDENCE CUESS. Sin,—l wonlil feel grateful if you would grant mo space to inaku a suggestion to chessplayers with reference to correspondence che.« in New Zealand. As is well known, tliere are many chessplayers scattered over ihd country who are not fortunate enough to bo within the reach of a club, anil who make up their loss to sumo extent by correspondence chess through the medium of post cards. The slowness (if this system has always been the great objection to it, inil 1 think any method that ei'iild overcame or reduce this difficulty would be a boon to chessplayers. My idea is this, that the Telegraph Department be approached and asked to givu some facility for chessplayers corresponding by telegraph. I would surest that the Department be asked to issue chess tickets which might be small cards about the nine of a post card, the Department to charge, say. Id per card. lUcli card would entitle the buyer to send three more* by telegraph. 11l ais to say, if Mr. Ure.ni, of the lSliiff, wan pl.iylng Air, Drown, of Auckland, he illicit phytlireeKamosslinultancoiisly. lie would probably buy a packet of 60 chess chips, and on each card lie ctiulil enter one move in each of the threonines, and hand thi) caul Into any tnlesrapli office for despatch. As ail example auppojo the following card was banded into the telegraph office :—

Those moves being telegraphed back anil forward would eiiililu the players to complete games wirh friends tit a diataiicu in a reasonable time, instead of dragging out for uiunilis as at present, ami 1 feel sure such it system would lie the means of popularising tbii gaunt, and incnrue the Interest taken in dies, iieiionlly. 1 il.m'tchink any great opposition Would be shown to tliu proposal by tho Teiograph Department, us the matter to be telegraphed would lie only eight words, and It would ue a moans of profit to the Uepirtment, while chessplayer*, 1 feel sure, would bail .such a tysteii with ile'uht. i suggest the Kieseriizky'a notation as being simpler mill eirors in telegraphing are less common with this notation, but this matter could of comae be settled later on. I would be glad to bear an expression of opinion from other chessplayers mi the sucgostiou, and should it bu favourably received, 1 would suggest tint the various club nominees to the next conference bi asked to consider the matter at the conference meeting, and, if possible, carry out the idea. Thanking you ill anticipation.— l am, etc. ,

C'IHSSSPHYKH. P.S.-I would like to point out also tint if this suggrstiun were carried out it would open up a wide Held to clubs in the matter of inter-club matches, awl clubs situated at, the two extiemes of the colony could finish a b iltle easily in a season, were they to meet but two nights a week.—Cl'. The suggestion offered by " Chessplayer" above cannot but meet with liontv approval at the hands of all lovers of the game; and, if curled to a practical issue, ijiere is no doubt a great boon would be conferred in chess devotees resident in isolated country districts, besides being the means of still further popularising the pastime. All these matters, however, resolve themselves into questions of finance. Allowing tames to average about 40 moves, it would be somewhat an expensive luxury for an individual at present to conduct a gime witn a friend per medium of the telegraph, even when availing himself of the nydinary sixpenny, telegrams; but if the plan proposed by 'Chessplayer" was given effect to, it would place at the disposal of country pliyers the moans of indulging in pleasant intellectual recreation at a cost amounting to little more than what club membership would entail. The double will be to induce the Department to grant the concession, unless it is fully demonstrated that no loss to revenue will result. No harm, however, can be done by approaching the PostmasterGeneral on the subject.

LOSS BY USKUB. One of the two games lost by Mr. Lasker in his recent • simultaneous exhibition at Birmingham, when he played thirty-one opponents :- SCotcH Gamdit.

(a) liuutincii fine open game. (b) Compelling Black to treble pawns, (cl Too thin! Albait the threatened B-Q4 somewhat nrauxed the chtinplon, (d) Hereabouts Black ii outplayed,' but the champion Hid finished nearly \\\ bis games, and got round vety quickly, , (e) At this point" Big Ben" sonorously tolled the peaceful midnight hour, and the champion s»t down in complete thu work of destruction already begun. The sc;uo was intensely dramatic. Imagine a crowd of eager spectators straining every nerve to catch a glimpse of the play, and plus two pawns, tbe champion of the world as your vis-a-vis. For the nonce nerves are ignored, and Black plays the ending with faultless problem-like precision. White, evidently fatigued, gives one chance, which is promptly accepted.. The hearty British cheers given at the close for winner and loser alike fully rewarded all concerned for the mental effort involved. '

The Hon. J. Riot, M.1,.C., has been elected president of the Wellington Working Men's Club Chess and Draughts Club. ■ , In the second of his volumes about " Siberia and the ISxIIe System," Mr. George Kennan refers to the "Soyots" as isolated, almost unknown, and leading a nomadic life in the rugged mountainous regions of the Upper Yenesei. They had been described to him as the wildest, the fiercest,and the most savage of the native tribes of the Northern Mongolia. But he found in the Minusinsk Museum a jet of their strange-looking chessmen, "in which the bishops were double-bumped Bactrim camels, and the pawns were dogs and wolves;" and "they knew how to checkmate in three moves with a twohumped Bactriah camel," etc., be felt as if he, when he bad ascertained that-araong other things-had been scraping acquaintance with a long-lost tribe of Asiatic cousins, lie became quite impervious to any attempt to impress him with their wildnessand foroclly. ' "Any tribe that could play backgammon, the Mongolian .harp, ami open a game of chew with a, Khan's double-huinped-Bactrian-camel's (Ing gambit was high enough in the scale of civilisation to teach social accomplishments even to the Siberians. It is true that the Soyots last year lay in wait for -ami.' captured tbe distinguished Finnish archaeologist, Professor Aspelin, and held , him for some a prisoner; but they may have don* this merely as a means'of getting him to teach them seme, new. Jew's harp mu«ic, instruct them in Finnish backgammon, or show them the latest method of cornering a king with two camels and a dog.' A tribe that live* strictly according to Hoyle ought not to be called savage merely because it makes game of an aroliieologist and 'Ctuirn its KieiiM by utauj ol au aiobuictdi,*, .'■ •■:.■■

Or, if the ordinary notatinni D I N.Z. chess Card. i d I N.Z. Chess card. 1 I Brown, Auckland, l | Green, Blenheim. 31 tu m ]> to K 4 41 - U B - K 6 15 -- Kt-KU8

White, E. talker; Black, F. R. Qittim. White. Bhck, ;White. Black. 1P-K4 P-K4 24Q-B3 Ktt-Ksq 2IO-KB3 Kt-Ql*3 25 Kt-B< B-Beq 3 IM)4 PxP 2(> lixRch RxR 4 KtxP B-IS4 27 HxRcll Qxl( 5 KtxKt . KtPxKt 28 QxPch K-K2 0 B-QBl Kt-B3 29 K-B2 Q-K4 7 P-KI) Q-K2 30 Kt-QJ QxIlP 8 Castles QxP(a) 31 QxltP Q-R6ch RR-Ksq Kt-K0 32K-K3 «-K2oli 10 I1-K3 Cantlea 33 K-Q4 Q-Qsnch UBxB. <JxB S4K-B3 B-iJj 13 lixlvb l'-Q4 35 QxKP Q-KKsn 13 B-K4 (b) BxB 38 Kt-K5 B-Ksq 14 Kt'B3 . B-K3 37Q-B8((I) «<-Baq 15 R-QI P-B4 38(Jx(lBP Q-B3 10 Q-Q2 <i-K2 39 P-B4 0-1(3 17 B-Ksq Q-K2 40 P-H3 Q-Hsn(«) 18«1-B» (JK-Kso 41Q-K7 <i-R4cli 19U-Q2 <i-Kt3(c) 42K-Kt3 B-Ilocli 20P-B3 Q-B2 41K-R2 Q-Ql ch 21 KB-K2 P-KB5 44 P-BI Wills Q, or 22Q-Q4 . P-B3 in*& S3 Kt-«* U-Qsij' • KOTE3 BV MR. GiniSS.