CHESS.

Otago Witness, Issue 3003, 4 October 1911, Page 67

CHESS.

Conducted by F. J. Motjat. The Otago Chess Club meets for play at the rooms, Liverpool street, Duoedin, every Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday evening at 8 o'clock. Visiting chess players are cordially invited to the club on these evenings. .

Pi?OBI,ElVI 3742. By CONBAD EBLIIT'. (From Liverpool Courier.)

sQlkt; lBlKt4; Sprkt; 5p2; p3R3; 2P2kFI; rßb2p2; SKtIK. Whits to play and mate in two moves. ————— f

EROBLEM 3743By W. Geaby, London. (From Falkirk Herald.)

8; KQlKt3kt; SkPlPl; 7P; P 7; 4pKt2; b 482; lkt4bl. White mates in three moves. 80MIT.I0NR TO PROBLEMS. Problem 3740. Key move: Q-K 1. Problem 3741. Key move: Kt-K 1. GAMES. The following brilliant game, taken with notes from the Brooklyn Elagle, was contested between Mr Ruberl (White) and Mr Smith (Black) in a recent tournament at the Brooklyn Chess Club. It would have won the brilliancy prize, but for the fact that the winner was ineligible to take it, by the rules, having already won the prize for soundness: Peteoff’s Defence.

White. Black. ] P-K 4 P-K 4 2 KKt-B 3 KKt-B 3 3 Kt x P P-Q 3 4 Kt-KB 3 Kt x P 5 P-Q 4 P-Q 4 6 B-Q 3 B-K2 7 0-0 B-KKto 8 11-K 1 QKt-B 3

White. Black. 9 Kt-B 3 a P-KB 4 10 Kt-K 2 B Q 3-b 11 Kt-K 5 O-O-c 12 P-KB 3 KtxKt 13 BxKtD BPxB-fi 14 PxKt B-B 4 ch 15 Kt-Q 4 PxP-f And White resigns

Notes. (a) P-B 4 is the accepted continuation hem ■ (b) Having established 1 a fine central formation, Black is encouraged to assume the offensive.

(c) Daring play, which takes the wind out of his adversary's sails'. to) If 13 Q P x Kt, B-B 4 ch; 14 K-B, Q-R 5; 15 Kt-Kt 3, Q x P, and all hope vanishes. (e) Now that the B's file is opew, there is no resisting the attack. (f) If 16 P x P, Bx P; 17 Q-Q 2, Q-R 5; 18 P-B 3, Q-Kt 5 ch, etc. Appended is the ©core of the fifth game played between P. J. Marshall (White) iand P. S. Leon-hard t (Black) in the match between the two contested recently at Hamburg. Marshall won, the match by two to one, with four draws: Muzio Gambit.

White. Black. 1 P-K 4 P-K 4 2P-KB4 PxP 3 Kt-KB 3 P-KKt 4 48-B4 P-Kt 5 6 Kt-B 3-a P-Q 4 6 B x P-B Px Kt 7 QxP Kt-KB 3 8 Q x P B-K 2 ? 9 0-0 0-0

White. Black. 10 P-QKt i P-QR 4? 11 B-Kt 2 PxP 12 Kt-K 2 R-R 3 13 Q-R 6 K-R 14 Kt-B 4 K-Kt 15 BxBP BB 16 Q-R 5 B-Kt 5 17 Kt-K 6 B-Kt 2 18 BxKt Resigns

fa) 5 Kt-B 3 is the invention of one of the pionexs of English chess, Alexander nell—the "great" M'acDoxunell. (b) 6 Kt x P, preferred by the late M. Charousek—a master of the Gambits. OTAGO CHESS CLUB. I"he following is the present position ; of current tournaments iat the Otago Chess Club:— ' . Senior Championship. O. Balk 'is leading with 3£ wins to his credit. The other five competitors have not as yet made a forward move. Handicap Tournament. H. Armstrong (Class II) has outdistanced the other 19 competitors with a,score of 15 wins' 2 draws 3 losses'. The remaining players iaro on his trail in the following order:—l». D. Coombs (Class V), 11—4—l; A. Ellis (Class II), 8—0—1; R. H. Osteu (Cass IV), 11—0—3; G. D. Wright (Class II), s—o—l; E. W Ackland (Class IV), 6—l—3; J. Wood (Class IV), s—l—4; S. S. Myers (Class III), 70—5; J. Dunlop (Class I), 13--o—6; P. J. Mouat'(Cla.ss III), s—o—s; J. A. Borekam (Class III), 6—l—B; C. M. Isaac (Class IV), 9—o—7; W. H. Matthews (Class V), B—o—6; J. R. Hambleton (Class IV), 4—o—9; B. H. Keys V), 4-o—9; J. Stone Class III), 2—l—3; A. R. Barclay (Class III), 2—o—B; A V. Fraer (Class V), 2—2—12; H Rappe (Class VI), 0—0—12; and H. Cole (Class III), o—o—l 3. Junior Championship. , v J. A. Boreham is still leading in this tournament with 11 clear wins to his credit. The other 13 competitor® have eo far achieved the following results: —R. H. Osten, 4 wins 1 draw 1 loss; T. J. Rossbotham, 3—o—o; J. Stone, 2—o—l; J. Wood, 2—o—l; L. D. Coombs, 2—o—2; -H. Cole, 2—o—3; W. H. Matthews, 2—o—3; B, H. Keys, 3—o-r-7; W. J. Smart, 1—0—1; J. R, Hambleton, I—o— A. V. Freer, I—o—s; G. Holmes, o—l—and H. Rappo, o—o—4. CHESS ITEMSA match .at Colognie between Dr S. Tarrasch and C. Schlechter resulted in each player winning three games', and in nine games being drawn. In Sir Walter Scott's story, "The,Antiquary," one of the dramatis personse Is David Wilson—known as " Snuffy " Davie—who was drawn from life,.. It is related of " Snuffy" Davie that he bought Caxton's "Game and Playe of the Chess," the first book, printed in . Great Britain, in 1474, from' a bookstall in Holland for about two groschen, equivalent to about twopence of out modern money. He sold it to one Osborne for £2O and as many books as came to £2O more. Osborne in turn Bold this precious volume to the celebrated Dx Askew for 69 guineas. At D* Askew's sale this same book blazed forth in its true value, and was purchased by Royalty for £l7O. Many years afterwards Oaxton's "Game and Playe of the Chess " fetched l £970 at a public sale in Londonu and! it would be folly to aittenupt to say_ what a perfect copy is worth now.—Reading Observer. This curiosity has been addressed to the chess editor of, the Bradford Observer pet from the Gold Coast. Mr Woollard, the chess editor, not having time for a " mce>correspond," kindfly offers to put any of his readers in touch with the writer of this remarkable epistle: Dear Friend,—l have much pleasure to keep a nice correspond ■with you either by letter or post-card, and I should like very much to ask you to send me your photo., together with weekly newspapers or Good Words, and the yes or no newspapers by every mail boat which will call here. If you keep with me strictly, I will send' you gold scarf-pin; or I will send you anything that you will require from me. I ain 18 years of age, and you will not fail to send me reply by returning of boat If you have no time to keep with me kindly give my name and full address to some of your members to do so with me, and to inform, him. all what I have said to you. I am of parts to send you many useful things that you do not expected. Now I enclose you with best wishes and love to you and all your members, • I ora, yours verv faithfully, John A. Essebah. P.S.—Please enclose me some little thing for Christmas-box. Let us be friends f>r ever. As a lecturer (remarks A. Amery in the London Doily Mail), Dr Emanuel Lasker, chess champion of the world, is worthy of notice, especially ias his appeal is to circles far outside those in touch with actual chess affairs. He unfolds a philosophy the basis of- which is that all struggles in the natural world, in this organisation which we call civilisation, or in. the heart of man, may be compared with those on the chessboard, and that to the conduct of nations or of mcii may be applied with exactness lessons drawn from the game. The idea iniay be traced in the writing of dear old Benjamin Franklin, <md of a hundred others who have had a fondness both for philosophy amd chess, but no one has developed this theory in such detail, or has claimed that it might be applied with such universality or with such. literalness. From Dr Laaker's critical power and wide experience, coupled with no slight gift of expression, one expects, and not in vain, many wise and suggestive utterances on this topic; but even his eloquence and the glamor of his name fail to cover a fatal weaknass of his scheme. There is no place in Dr Lasker's system fox generous and enthusiasm. His protagonists are monsters of paitience and of foresight, folio-wing as if by intuition the lines of least resistance, abstaining from "premature" attack, pressing only when there is a clear advantage to be gained taking no risks, aware that if no mistakes are mads the battle is to the strong. This is admirable in chess, aaid admirable in some departments of life; but if it were the prevalent spirit there ■would be no martyrdoms and no progress.