BILLIARDS

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 7446, 22 May 1911, Page 5

BILLIARDS

In his recent biff break of 800, I. Lindrum scored 771 off the red. The top pockets were used quite as much as the middle in scoring. Memmott has challenged Campbell to a match for ‘ ,£.M> a-side, and the I ictorian championship. The game will commence on June S6th. Immense interest will be taken all over the world in the meeting between Melbourne Inman and Georg© Grey, which begins on June sth. The game will 'be 16,000 up level and crystallate balls are to be used. If the boy shows the same form that ho has against Higgle, then Inman seems doomed to certain defeat. The match will be of interest for another reason. We know to a nicety how much superior Stevenson is to Inman, and this is not a. very great deal. It will thus be possible to judge how Gray- would he likely to fare against Stevenson in a match for the world’s ’ championship. Judging from John Roberts, ' recent challenge on behalf ol Gray, the veteran is clearly- of opinion that Stevenson would meet with certain defeat if he .ever consented to meet the .youthful Queenslander. Tho English professionals are only just beginning to realise the enormous scoring possibilities of the losing hazard, and none of them play the stroke so well as Lindrum, let alone Gray. At the Soho tournament, for example! in which all the leading men took part, a prize Of twenty guineas was offered for the largest hazard break. When Inman got .195 the prize was regarded as his. Then Reece scoured it with 328, "all off the._3jcd,’’ and this was regarded as quite a feat for anybody except'Gray. Yet Lindrum anode one hundred and twenty-six red .hazards in 517 _ that ho played last week, and dnring his match with Williams nearly every day he has beaten these hazard breaks that were made by Inman and Reece. One of the -chief reasons why the amateur usually reaches a certain pitch, and never gets bey-ond there, in billiards is not such a hidden mystery as many think it is (writes "Snooker"). _ I have known many hundreds of this kind who can get as far as making n 20 and 80, and on igreatly inspired occasions perhaps a 40. But they rarely get a step further, even if they play for years and years, no matter how they try- and practise. Billiards is not like football land cricket, or .any of the held games, because you have to do everything yourself. What you do to the billiard balls is reflo'eted in their movements. Luck enters into the game, but not so much as most people appear to imagine. I might say also that tho very great majority 'of players I have seen and known (and I do not leave out .some of the leading masters of the art in saying so much) are quite oblivious to their own lucky shots, although it takes them some hours to forget any .which has come to their opponents. Having to do the whole thing yourself, a greater strain is imposed upon you, however solid and determined you may be, than you (are always able to endure: and that is why so .many fail in tournaments who do well in the club (games. The final heatof Bnrroughes and Watts’ tournament -was won by Higgle, vand he and Inman will .divide the prize of J2IOO, having each won six and lost two games. A victory in. this heat meant nothing to Eeecs.,.and ho devoted himself to attempts to beat Inman’s break off thq fed ball. In this he proved successful, and secured ,the J 520 offered by the promoters. 8 LOSING (HAZARD VARIATIONS. As tho hazard is an > Australian native shot, or waddy, that is just now being used with distinguished success in both hemispheres, to lay-out English professionals, it must he spoken of with the utmost respect. It is not monotonous—or, at any rate, js not quite so monotonous, as might bo supposed. To the. unobservant person (writes "Calabash”), a flock of sheep is monotonous for to him one sheep looks precisely like another. But flo .the trained eye of the shepherd each has his special character, that differentiates him, from all his brother muttons. So to the expert there are many hazards .quite distinct from each other, though .at first sight they, appear identical. Take those middle-pocket hazards, ftor instance, where the red ball ie driven straight down- the table without using the side cushions. Carefully watch each stroke as Lindrum plays fhese particular hazards, .and it will be seen that he makes the .shot in at least five different ways. First, there is the half-ball contact 'used, (Where there is a “natural” jangle only to the pocket—and this, though it looks the easiest, is ndt the ideal position. Next there is the three-quarter run-through, played with chock side, which _ may be , called tho standard shot in this phase of .the game. Another shot, quite distinct from the last-named, is a nearly straight run-thffough, played with top side only. These are all wide-angle shots. Taking the narrower angles, there is the hazard, got with running side, in a case where the ball has mot travelled quite far enough up to offer a natural angle; the short, square screw, played with single strength, and the longer screw that has to he played with double strength. If spot-end hazards were considered together with those into the middle pocket, where the side cushions were used for securing position, it would be possible to distinguish at least twelve well-defined * varieties.