DRAUGHTS ITEMS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2522, 16 July 1902, Page 70

DRAUGHTS ITEMS.

Brodie v. Gardiner. — This important match is to start next Monday morning at 9.30, in the Chess Club's room, Liverpool street, Dunedin. Mr Robert Stevenson, of Skippers, will act as tiruekeeper for Brodie. Apropos of the foregoing, we quote the following from a recent issue of the Leeds Mercury: — "Challenges and rumours of matches," writes "The Chiel," "are flying- about the English checker firmament; the draughts columns I are full of them, nor can a peaceful body like I myself enter a draughts club with any hope of finding any other topic under discussion. Verily, verily, hath the English tourney of 1902 set the community in a ferment. Before accepting a challenge, howev«r, the decision given I last week by the King's Bench, bearing upon I the subject, is worthy of serious consideration. I The case was one where two pugilists were enI g9g&&in.ftJß&tc}uoߣ fii&e]£ losing log theicit-'

ree's decision. The loser was dissatisfied with the result, and although the agreement was to abide" by the referee's decision, he claimed back his stake. The judgment of the King's- Bench was that a match is a gambling transaction, .and such, not being legal, the claim must be allowed. This judgment, T take it, is the law ; it is not, however, in. accordance with an Englishman's idea- of sportsmanship. It ought to teach the lesson to the would-be match-player to consider the matter in all its bearings before putting down his money, so that no fiasco may occur, such as led to the above-quoted trial, which would only tend to lower the standing of the game, as o* the players themselves." — We fancy "The \_*"<?l" is slightly in error here, as the decision was not that "a, match" was a gambling transaction, but *'a match for a stake," in which case the stakeholder could: not hand over the stake if either party objected 2, even after the match was lost and won. The Brodte-Gardmer match is for "a put«e of £100." Port Chalmers v. Otago Club. — Arrangements are iv progress for a match between; these two clubs, to take place, if possible, on Wednesday, July 30, at Port Chalmers. M'llwrick v. Morris. — Messrs Wm. M'llwrick and H. Morns, of Invercargill, recently contested a friendly match of 10 games (nomination system), which resulted in favour of the former by 2to 1 and 8 draws. We have been favoured with the games for publication, and", as the players are well-known, they should provide good entertainment for our readers. In draughts, as in other pastimes, there is. ' sometimes a. great deaj of smoke and very little* fire. As witness the following by a Leeds correspondent of the Mercury: — "Atwell's challenge to play aaiy one in the country for £5 aside — if they go to London. — the match to be played under some if-you^look-at-it-you-must-at-once-play-it rule, has brought out an imitator in the person of the yoang London 'Junior' champion, Mr J. W. Jacobson, who has' justs issued another such challenge. Ko mention is made in these challenges of expenses to be allowed to provincial players, which places them in the category oi mere 'bluff/ and an attempt to gain a measure of cheap- notoriety for their authors. If these doughty warriors really; desire these little matches, and fear to enter the local lists- against each other, I would suggest a. little inexpensive tour. They might take the boat to Grimsby, cross from there to Hull, then onwards to Leeds, Halifax. Manchester, Liverpool, Newcastle, and the little colliery village of Whitburn, at all of which named places they could be accommodated with £5 matches afr draughts. If the^ find tho gams too slow, I doubt not opponents might be found to take them on at 'Heads I win, tails you lose." I fear, however, that when they reached Shields they would be about tired of tho 'warpath, and eager to take the first boot homeward bonnd," Iv a large glass-covered frame at the Providence Checkers Club is a notable portrait gallery of checker players. It is the property of C. H. Freeman, and contains photos of the following . — H. Christie, W. Fleming, J. IX Janvier, J. Robertsoii, & group picture of Wyllie, Nelson, Currio, Perrie. and Lewis; J. Drummond, It. M'CuHagh, J. L. Richmond, J>. Dickinson, lie id, Wyllie, Martins, Yateu, Hoaley. Wright, Kerr, Davis, BaTker. A. Jordan, Heffner, Ross, Parker, Kelly, Freeman, Willie. Gardner, Dr Schaefer, and J. W. Sheffield. — Providence Journal. Borchgrc\tnk, the Arctic explorer, says-.: "Chess, cards-, and draughts weio the recreations of the explorers during the age-long Antarctic night. This lemiuds us (Leed3 Mercury) that the "Hardy Jforseinau" 1 of old used to wile away the long winter evenings by playing draughts. History repeats itself. Long ages before this, at the siege of Troy, the game* was a favourite pastime with the Grecian soldiers, who played to relieve the tedium oi; "the idle hours of waiting" ; and this gave rise to the legend in after days that the game was theu and there invented by Palmedes for tho amusement of the besiegers: but the sculptured remains of Egyptian buildings-, dating long anterior to even that legendary event, speak emphatically as to the existence and popularity of the game as a pastime in days so remote that the very namo of the people* who thus wiled away their idle hours is now unknown. A Great Checker Libiary.— J. F. Rathbon. of Brooklyn, N.Y., is (says tho Pittsburg Dispatch) one of the half-dozen leadingcollectors of checker literature in America. Hi* scrapbook system is very interesting. Ho has over 150 different newspaper columns on the game, some of them complete from the first issue. Manila sheets 12in by 16Jin, with l§in margins on the inside to allow for binding, are uniformly used. Liquid glue thinued with about 20 per cent, of vinegar he prefers to any kind of mucilage or paste. In some instances he has kept the files intact ; of the Turf, Field, and Farm, for instance, he has the 14 volumes running back from, IS9I, when the column was discontinued. With fugitive clippings and, general articles on the game of checkers he" has filled a number of boxes especially made for this purpose, the contents of which, if loosely thrown in, would fill a number of barrels. His collecting mania broke out in, 1890, and the fever has never abated in the least, consequently his collection is not for sale. Only books and articles m English interest him. For clean, perfect copies of checker books he has a miser's love, «nd an artist's discerning eye; he detests blemishes, and will not write his name m one of those sacred volumes not use a bcok plate. Private bindings- have no charm for him, but the slightest change in title page, contents, or cover, if made by the publisher, makes a new edition,, in his estimation, n.na he must have it. As an example, he has 12 copies of "Lees' Guide," including a coarse reprint. The cataloguing of his accumulations has passed the 300 mark. The complete entries will be about double that number. His library is not so rich in the rcre editions of old authors >is some others in this country, but in vaiiety it takes lank among the leading few.