TELEGRAPHIC CHESS MATCH.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 11858, 8 October 1900, Page 7

TELEGRAPHIC CHESS MATCH.

OAMARU 'VERSUS OTAGO, CHESS CLUB,

The Otago Chess Club has at last mustered courage to. encounter the Oamaru Chess Club iii ;a telegraphic match of ten players a-side. I.i. will •be remembered' that some two yeara ttgo":,the -Otago Club got. rather badly handled by tho. Oamaru Club, .aid has not Bince, until t.hf» late match with the Timaru Club, ventured upon any match with another club. Play began on Saturday at 7 p.m., but one or two of .tht Otago players did not arrive until 7.30. The play was, however, carried, on. with such. energy that at almost all the boards the stage of tho middle game has been reached. Otago had the move at, the odd numbered boards— .namely, :, 3, 5, .etc. The openings adopted are as under: —Board 1, French. Defence; 2, Queen's Pawn Game; 3, French Defence; 4, Scotch Game'; 5, Evan's Gambit; G, Ruy Lppßz; 7,' French Defence; 8, Pouziani Opening; 9, Scotch Game; 10, Scotch Game.

It will be noted that there is au unusually i.inair proportion of Buy Lopez and Queen's '.t^awn ; openings, and ad both lead to dull ■'and :i*diou3 games and encourage, slow play, they .tui -.'not well suited for play in telegraphic niatchea.'"•'The same remarks apply to the French Defenct, and it would be well, in arranging telegraph matches, to stipulate that no openings but- those leading to lively games should be adopted. It may be added, However, tnat in - the present, case no. complaint .can ba made of the Oamaru players. They . have played well, .and played fast, and, aided by the very effective assistance of the . telegraph officers, all the games are much ahead of what is usually the case on the first evening of such matches. The only casualties to be recorded

lip to the close,of the play are the loss of a knight by the Qtago player at board 8. It was left, unsupported, and the Oamaru player's qtiecn, ■ which had been lying ;in ambush, popped out, and captured it by a, check, '"bis is a heavy handicap for the Otago player, but ho is a good, stead, and strong player, and there is no reason to despair of, his. retrieving thp loss. This loss is counter-balanced by the gain of a piece:by.the Otago player at board 1- At board 1,-where the tH-o commanders-in-chief preside, .the- game ,has advanced to the twentieth move. .As is usually-the case when the French: Oetence is' adopted, the first, player's game is more free, and better, developed than that of his; opponent.' At board 2 the positions appear to be about equal. At bpard 3 it was somewhat late'before .play started, and ■ the gam* is therefore not, vyefy far advanced. , At; board 4'the Otago player, in, order,;to secure, a-lively, and adventurous game, -adopted _a- defence whicli was once in vogue, but, is,, not: now thought the-strongest.:„-At-.board -s,,where the Evan's Ganibit was played, the .play _,was _lively ; and exciting.,' In 'this opening it is a question; of position against force, and so far the Dunedin player maintains a superiority of position; the Oamaru' player has still the superior force. The- ppeiiiug leads, generally-to ,very exciting play, but-it is not in favour for/match play on: account'of-'the hard thinking it requires, and the'uncertainty of the result. At most of the Boards play ceased about 11 p.m., and will ,be resumed oh Saturday next at 7 p.m.

In all likelihood several of the games will be finished af next,seance, and visiting players will find it interesting to attend. Mr Clayton a.cts as umpire for, Oamaru, but so farhis services havo not been called into action. Tho match so far- has proved the liveliest that we ever remember, and chiefly through the promptitude: of the-players on both sides in making and: despatching their respective moves.-