DRAUGHTS ITEMS.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 11197, 20 August 1898, Page 7

DRAUGHTS ITEMS.

J A. Boreham.—The ch'ampibn still manages to. keep things lively in-North Otago; He'does not seem to.spare liimself much. This, njonth is young yet, but \he has squeezed .a big., score into it.; At the end of last .month he was; at &.wamoko, playing 11 gameia at once, and after three hours'; stroll had" wori 20 gameß-and drawn 2, Messrs T* Palmer and J. S. -Johnstone oecuring .the-draws. .On the 26th-ult. Mr Boreham was at Mahenc again, meandering among the same number of boards.,as.at Awamokb, and winning 15 games as against 1 loss, to Mr G-.1 Barraclough. On the 3rd inst. the Oamaruvian was again on the Ayatpath, giving 12 playffs'at Waimate a little' more than they coukl do. . Playing there: on the 4th and sth also, he made a total score of 44 wins, 2 draws, and Mr G. V. Cochrane got; liim oh the hip'twice (in simultaneous playH--48 games in' all. Dttails of the champibri's further achievements are not yet to hand. "■ ■ A Long Tourney —After rnnning .'for about three years, the correspondence tourney of the Palkirk Mail came to an end recently. There, were a hundred entries, and three prizes of the respective value ;of 60s with gold badge, 30s: :*ith gold badge, and los with silver- badge.. . PROBLEM COMPETITION. ±5y a mistake lost week the following note of, Mr Montgomery's was emitted from the original end-game problems : —" I had great difficulty in deciding on the original end-games.. A number, of them are very good problems. .No. 15, by 'King Lear,'is a very clever problem, but it is well-known published jilay, known as Bushby's Problem. See Draughts World for November, 1895." ' "■-,.' ' ' ' " Ina letter following ''In a Fog" asks for tli" •winning selected stroke It has already been published in this'column ..twice, but we give it again;— .• ~_• -::'v -''V.,,--. -;•;,'•-, .- -'• vS Bhio.kmen on 3;; 4, "10,12,'i'f/ioi-ifl, kinss.. On % 26; Wii^e men on.tl, ,7. 17,18, 22, 27; 31, 32, .kings on 1.11. White to ; pla\<-r,rid win. ■-'.i .■• ' ' ; .Solution : 15, 92, 2723,1926,1714,1017, 32 27, 310,1116,1219, IS ll;^ 18, 3126;' 29, ,5 21, WlUte - Wins. ... ■>\-" iV-!;-i';--';'.:;'. "'■'■. ;. r'• !\'.V- !"'*: .jx% "The foregoing pfobfem:'is Dy"H."j.'Cook,-*arid:: 'is considered by the famous W :6..AV; Leggett,.'of lipridoh, to he the best stroke'problem he lias ever seen. "In a Fog" might note that opinion, coming as it does from one of the best authorities in the world ; and also that the winning side isa man up. .. .- ,■. ,?* Homti of Mr Mulvey's remarks noted in examiriinjf 'il!« problems are suite interesting, aiid We Rhall publish some of them next week without revealing-the names of authors! of problems. 'Beferrirur to the " biggest stroke problem in-the world'spoken of by "In a fog," Mr Mulvey saj's :- "From the openness* 6f position the idea IS not hard to detect, and the initial moVo Jis fairly easy to see; but White effects a wonderful Uearance. .TO THE EDITOB. . Sir,—l think the judging both in the original arid selected stroke problems is very unsatisfactory I would like Mr Mulvey to show how the King in No. 11 Problem, by "Wait-a-bit," ' got on square 14. Did he come up through the board? or did some ferry place;him there?'as ■he could never come from 9 or 18 without 'firs-t taking the man on 15 or the king on 6. It is the mest unnatural problem in the competition—a heavy point against it, and awarded fifst -iirize! And in Noi 36, by " Sacrifice," awarded second prize, black ;s a man up, x, big item at the end of a game, and a point against it. Black pjays .23 27, and white can take two ways, from 32 16 or 14 6; then after the stroke it takes several moves to finish it, which is.noti-ueat.br decisive. In the selected stroke problems, I hope you will publish.the one that beat No. 317, which is the biggest stroke problem in.the world, giving sway^nine j men and sweeping nins men of the board, at ! one stroke, and has even men and has got n natural position. By doing so you will oblige. --I am, etc., In A Poo. Dunedin, August 13. ■ . . TO THE EDITOB. Sir,—l should like to say a word in reference to Mr ilulvey's decisions on the stroke problems. He givea first prize to jSfo. 11. Now ta my mind, this problem should not have Ues.-i considered at uli, as it is no more a draughts probiMn than a horee race is. I think your readers will agree with me that a draughts problem ia a i^pßition in draughts that.is possible to arrive at iv actual play. . Let your readers place No. 11 on the board and ask

themselves if it is- possible to get the black king on 14 with tho. men in the position they are. Where did this king come from? Not from 914 0r.1.8 14. It must have dropped ■from theVsky.-.. Now. let us take two persons compctingi-for prizes: tho one puts in. a pro- , blem with-an unnatural positioil and the oth^r , . with a,natural'one;-,the latter is, to my mind, | handicapped in his stroke, and the competition i .is unfair, as- anyone. can make a better stroke if allowed to place the men in an imnatural -position, -p,.should like your readers to ; give. ;.tf}eir opinions on this question,-as.it-may be '.a- guide for judges in future. I know siich <,p : ■cisions" have been given before, and that Mr Mulvey rwas following the. example of men who are considered good judges; but I think they . were wrong. You can bear me out, Sir, when I I say that-I am not a disappointed competitor, j as I had nothing entered in this or any othar j section.—^l am, etc., J. A. Lucas, j Dunedin, August 15. [The above letters bring up interesting points in stroke problems, but we will leave those to be dealt with by Mr Mulvey. In re- ; questing Mr Mulvey to act as judge, we' had every confidence in iiis ability to discharge the task creditably,, and that confidence iB .quite unshaken.—Da., Ed.]