CHESS

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1189, 14 December 1894, Page 10

CHESS

All communications for this department must be addressed to the Chess Editor, Mr C W ; Benbow. 14/12,94 The Wellington. Cli ess Club meets every Tuesday and Friday evening- at 730 in Room No 5 Exchange Buildings, Lambton Viuay. Visitors aro cordially welcomed. Further correct solutions have been received to Problems No. 1574 and 1575 from F.A.L.K. (Wellington). A. C. (Christchurch).—We regret the delay with the slips, but absence from town must be pleaded as an excuse. More attention will be given in future. Dr H. (Wanganui).—Your welcome letter and enclosures are to hand. The latter are very welcome, and-will be published in due coarse. C P- (Manaia). —We were glad to get your second letter, and to know from it that you will be a competitor in the forthcoming Congreishere.

SOLUTIONS TO PROBLEMS. No 1576 (A. F. Mackenzie). 1 B to K Kt 6 1 Any move ' 2 Mates accordingly. Solved by H.B. (Wellington); T.E. (Picton); O.P.Q. (Foxton) “Very neat and effective (SD”; M.E. (Taranaki); H.D. (Bulls); R.P. (Gisborne) “ The key-move is pleasing in some respects, although in others it is not so (8) and Felix (Auckland). There are some interesting combinations in this problem (8). No 1577 (Dr A. W. Galitzky.) 1 Kt to K 6 1 P to Kt 6 2 P to B 6 2 Any move / 3 Mates accordingly Solved by M.R.’ (Taranaki); R.P. (Gisborne) “A beautiful production (9i)’’; and H.D. (Bulls). The working out of this problem is admirable in every respect (8).

PROBLEM No. 1556. By T. H. Billington (Birmingham). From tho Birmingham Weekly Mercury Black.

White. White to play and mate in two moves

PROBLEM No. 1587. By Rev. J. Jesperson (Svendborg). Composed expressly for the article which appears below. BIiACK.

White. White to play and mate in three moves

THE REV. J. JESPERSEN. We have been favoured by our friend “Hensing” with the following oxtremely interesting sketch of the great Danish problem composer, the Rev. J. Jespersen, and we commend it to the careful attention of our readers: — ) . The benefits some of us derive fx*om chess are not by any moans confined to the game itself. Apart from the inestimable friendships I have formed through my devotion to the game, and speaking from an intellectual point of view alone, I may say, for my own part, my knowledge of geography has very considerably developed, and since I have had so extensive a chess corresponnce the world has appeared to me to be very much smaller. And the Rev J. Jespersen, of Svendborg, Denmark, one of the most prolific and popular of our European problem composers, informs me that he has. studied English expressly to carry on his chess correspondence with American and English friends.

Mr Jespersen was born in the year 1318, was educated in the University of Copenhagen, was ordained a minister of the Protestant Church in Denmark in 1874, and has been since 1886 pastor of St. Nicholas’ Parish in. the city of Svendborg. For more than fourteen years he has been afflicted with gout in the feet, legs, hand and arms, and is almost completely unable to walk, having to be conveyed in a wheel-chair. Ho preaches every Sunday, and has other clerical duties in the parish. He is obliged to be seated when preaching, but when he preaches his church is well filled, and his zeal and love for his work is only excelled —if excelled it can beby the love and devotion of his people: He has an excellent wife, and a family , of three sons and three daughters. I have never had the pleasure of seeing him, nor can I hope to see him in this life, but in a most charming way, in his broken English, he expresses the conviction that we shall meet in a brighter world than this. In consequence of his inability to go about much, he spends most of his time at home, and has been able to find leisure for compos* ing chess problems. He does not profess to be a player, as, though he has studied analysis from books —being a provincial pastor, and unable to go about much —he has no means of practice, and he has confined himself to composing problems. But the way he was first induced to commenoe the study of Qhess is

tlie strangest, part of this strange story. He sometimes played games when at college, but never saw any problems or any books about the theory of chess. In 1878, and that was after ho had become a miuister, his brother, who had been confined for two years in the Pringe lunatic asylum, came to reside with him. While there his brother had learned che3S of Captain Quaado, who was one of the patients, and Who has often sent interesting Chess analyses to the Deutsche Schachzeitung . His brother had become an enthusiastic chesBist, and prevailed on him to commence the study of the game, in which he was aided by chess books, and the chess column in the Nordist Scalcsdendi (the only chess periodical in Denmark, which was pnblished until January 1832) and by the solving of problems, the study of openings, &c. _ About the middle of 1878 Mr Jespersen composed his first problem. Two years ago he had composed eleven hundred problems—that given above is No. 1074 —and that number is now much exceeded. _ He has received prizes in twenty international problem tournies, including the German Chess Association three-mover, 1887, first prize; the Andrews Memorial Tourney, three-mover, m the British Chess Magazine 1883, second prize - Columbia Chess Chronicle, two-m,over, 1889, first prize ; Bahn Frjsi , New York, three-mover, 1890, second prize,. V I prefer,” he says, to compose problems which are pointed and with many sacrifices.” , , , - I subjoin, at his request, an extract from Mr A. F. Mackenzie’s article in the Jamaica Tri- Weekly Gleaner, accompanying Mr Jespersen’s pet problems, in January, 1839 : II Our reverend author is certainly one of the most popular composers of Europe. Prolific, pointed, and brilliant, his style, with a special and fascinating charm of it 3 own, leans more towards the English school than towards the Teutonic, to which it would appear it should more naturally incline. . . . The quality of versatility can scarcely be said to bo conspicuously hi 3. Possibly tms shortcoming (if, indeed, it be not regarded as a Virtue), comes from an innate and enthusiastic admiration of his characteristic style, which keeps his inspirations within the scope ot its comparative confinement.” T i,„™ Mr Jespersen continues : “Of course I have composed problems of every kind but Mr Mackenzie is right in saying that I am onesided. I have most pleasure in composing problems of one special kind, of which I have pleasure in enclosing you an unpublished example. It is examined by throe chess fnepds. You will see that this is typical.

CHESS IN GERMANY. Subjoined is another fine game played in the Masters’ Tournament, at Leipzig, between Herr Lipke (the winner of the second prize) aud Herr Schiffers. The notes aro from the Chess Monthly': —: , Queen’s Pawn Opening. White ' Black. (Herr P. Lipke.) (Herr E. Schiffers.) 1 P to Q 4 2 P to K 3 2 Kt to K B 3 - 3 B to Q 3 ' 3 P to, K 3 Preparing to advance the K P; but Herr Lipke converts the opening afterwards with P to K B 4 into the “ Stone-wall,’ so named by the iakMr Ware, of Boston. 4 P toB4 5 P to Q B 3 SKttoß3 6 P to K B 4 «BtcK 2 ... 7 Ktto R 3 - 7 Castles Perhaps he might have delayed Castling; but* there is ho harm done yet. 8 Kt to Kt S ... . , . “A combination to sacrifice the Knight. Similar positions occur in certain forms ol the Fronch ferfooeo. BPto KB3 Weakening, and meeting the coming attack half way. An advance on the Queen s side was the right course. _ 9PtoKR 4 9 P x P Bringing White’s other Bishop in to. play. In place of this he should have further developed his game, leaving the White Knight ew prise, which Kt would have had to retne afterwards. Consequently White s policy was somewhat bold. . IOKPxP - 10 Qto Q 3 11 QKtto B 3 11 Pi Kt The Kt should still have been left en prise. (The capture is' suicidal. 11 Bto Q 2, was advisable. ~ T _ . 12 R P x P 12Kt/toKS 13 B x Kt 13 Pxß 14 Kt to K 5 14 ® x P The onlv move to avoid immediate loss, a 3 15 Qtoß 5 5 threatened. If 14 Pto K Kt 3, then lp Q to Kt 4, &o. 15 P x U 15 Kt x Kt 16 Q to R 5 ! 17 P to Kt 6 ! 17 Kt x P ISQxKt V 18RtoB2 19 B to K 3 19 P to Kt 4 20 Castles Q R 20 K to B sq An attempt to bring the King into safety. White threatened to double Rooxs on the K. R file, r 21 P to Q 5 . A fine move, as it sets the powerful Bishop free. _ , *-V 21 P x P 22 P to Q Kt 4 22 Q to K 3 23 R R 7 - 23 BtoKt 2 If, instead of 23 B to Kt2, Black had played 23 P to B 4, White would have replied 24 B to Kt 5, KtoK sq (forced); 25 itx Q P, Q x R ; 26 R to R 8 cli, K to Q 2 ; 27 R to Q 8 ch, and wins. A remarkably brilli int game. 24 B to B 5 oh 24 K to K sq 25 R x Kt P 25R to B sq 23 Q R to R sq 26 Resigns WELLINGTON CHESS CLUB. Following are the scores in the Championship tourney of the above club up till Friday night last Championship Tourney.

a ' y ' ’ : • T3 § 00 jj c Name*. 0) k V s 5 23 » ® a S s cj •■s c .2 z» 3 c3 -UJ © •43 a> >' cC 33 5q O Q cs o »4 § s * S n A* CO 1 £ X X si < X X — — - — — — — — — — — - F. H. Bakewell .. — 0 0 W. F. Barraud * * — 1 1 0 2 l H. C ck« .. 0 — 1 1 0 a i 3 ••i H. Gamble .. * .. 0 — 0 0 2 H. L. James — 0 0 C. Janion .. 0 0 — 0 0 0 l 1 5 A. I. -L'.ttlejokn ... l 1 — 0 2 i W. Mackey 1 1 1 l " 1 } i> 1 H. Skeet .. 0 1 1 0 — 0 2 3 P. Still ... -• 0 l — 2 i