DRAUGHTS.

Otago Witness, Issue 3197, 23 June 1915, Page 64

DRAUGHTS.

Conducted bt Jos. Abernetht,

• Solutlar.a of problem*, games, and analyse* Inrlted for this column. Games should be written in six columns as below, end all earrerpondenoe tddraseed to the Draughts Editor.

PROBLEM 4206. By H. Sheauer, Dundee

White. White to play and win. A useful study in end-play. PROBLEM 4207. By Chas. Fisher, Brighton Black.

White. White to play and win. An offset to the severity of the prize problem. TO CORRESPONDENTS. C. F., Brighton. —Thanks for problem, but unfortunately it yields the same result by different lines. J. C. C., Westport.—Neither of the books mentioned is yet available in Dunedin. Probably procurable from W. M. Mills, Jamieson street, Sydney GAMES. The two following games were played in the Gore tournament for the New Zealand Championship between Messrs D. A. Brodie and Jas. Gardiner: Game 3234. —“Dundee.” Black: Gardiner. White; Brodie.

The other game of this pair was drawn, but the score of the game is unplayable. (a) It is better here to play 8 12; then if 21 17, 1 6, 32 27, 11 16, etc., drawn; or it 32 27 Black has an easy way through by 13 17, 22 6, 1 17, 21 14, 15 22, 26 17, 19 24, etc. Game 3235— “ White Dyke.”

(a) Forms the opening. (b) Should White go 24 20, 11 15, 28 24, then G 9 keeps good, but 8 11 allows a neat win by 30 26, 6 10, 23 19, 10 17, 19 10, 7 14, 26 22, 17 26, 31 8, White wins. (c) Leads to disaster. A fine piece of play is here given from “The Chequer Board.” It occurred by correspondence between Messrs W. W. Binstcad, Lowesroft, - and W. M'Callum, Johannesburg, S.A. Scores; —

Game 3236. —“Kelso.”

(a) This move has been condemned weak by every writer on the game; but it may possibly have more good points than the theorists admit.

(b) Incorrect. To take the utmost out of White’s position, 17 14 is necessary. (c) Black has quite an equal game, and might have kept this move back for a little; 4 8 would help to got up an attack. (d) Spirited play, and better than recovering the piece at once. (e) Fatal. Black has evidently been angling lor this. (f) The first case where this idea appears in print is .in one of Wylie’s and Martin’s games, where the former slew his opponent with a similar thunderbolt. DRAUGHTS ITEMS. Otago Club.—The club meetings are well attended, and serious practice is indulged in in view of the club tourney, which is expected to begin on the 19th inst. with a list of 24 entries. This is a healthy sign. The

club still meets at the Princes street rooms.

Is the Game Played Out.—Prom time to time we notice proposals in the press for making draughts more difficult! Does anyone know anyone who has got beyond its difficulties? A writer in an Australian paper propounds the following scheme:—“The game of draughts has become an effort cf memory to such an extent that it has lost a great deal of its popularity of late years. In important matches and tourneys expedients have been adopted such as restricting the openings, etc., so as to overcome the monotony of play. For instance, a match cf 50 or 60 games produces two or three wins, all tlie rest being draw's! A proportion, like Falstaff’s ‘penn’orth of bread to his gallon of sack.' To revive public interest in this noble and ancient pastime, I suggest the introduction of a double game cf draughts. At present only 32 of the 61 squares are utilised. Twelve men on each side are placed on the white squares on the first three ranks of the top and bottom of the board. I suggest the addition of 12 more men on the intermediate black squares, making 24 for each side. The player whose turn it is to play to be required to move one of the men on a white square and one on a black square. Two openings would then run concurrently in each game, and the time could be extended to 10 minutes for each player, instead of five. Each game to score two points, being one for each colour. Draws could count if desired, as in chess, half a win to each player. If, as in chess, the Sonneborn system were adopted, so much the better. The Sonneborn is the most equitable method yet devised, as under it the player gets the full value of his win or draw, by adding to his score the whole or half of his opponent’s score. Another advantage of the Sonneborn plan is that the pernicious habit of playing to the score would be neutralised, as each plaver would do his best to win. Of course, the board would then be numbered 1 lo 61. If this pioposition does not meet with the approval of draughts players, I would suggest, as an alternative, that 16 men be arranged on the two ranks of the top and bottom of the board, making the total number of the men 32, as in chess. This would throw the players on their own resources, and new openings would be devised. As the moves are all diagonal, there could be no confusion, because each man would retain the colour of its square throughout, like the bishop at chess. Perfect playing is what all experts strive for (says Dr Schaefer in the Newark Call), but this extreme altitude has never been reached, and is probably beyond all efforts. A perfectly played game should, as far as known, end in a draw. It may occur occabut a series of 40 games thus played is still in the future, for it has never been accomplished, even by the best of them.

12 16 10 15 3 8 8 12 9 18 6 9 21 17 25 21 23 16 27 24 22 15 21 17 9 13 6 9 12 19 11 16 16 20 24 20 17 14 30 25 . ,20 11 25 22 White 8 12 16 19 1 6-A ' 7 16 20 27 23 13 27 23 32 27 18 11 31 24 wins.

Black : Brodie. White : Gardiner. 11 15 26 23 2 6 32 23 32 28 31 26 22 17 15 18 23 19 15 19 8 11 6 10 8 11 30 26-b 7 11 24 15 10 14 16 12 17 14-A 6 9 19 10 11 27 25 21 24 20 10 17 24 20 6 15 20 4 28 24 12 8 21 14 9 13 14 10 27 32 11 16 20 16 9 18 28 24 12 16 10 7-C 5 9 Black 23 14 11 15 27 23 3 10 29 25 4 8 26 22 18 27 4 8 1 6 wins.

Black ; Binstead. Vv 'kite: ; M !‘Callum 10 15 5 9 16 23 22 16-D 3 7 7 10 21 17 24 19 22 15 32 27 21 17 14 7 15 18-A. 9 14 23 26 16 19 8 12 5 30 23 14 25 21 31 22 22 17 14 9-e 7 3 9 18 8 11 7 10 14 18 18 23-f 80 23 2-2 15 29 25 27 24 30 26 27 18 11 18 11 16-c 10 19 4 8 1 5 Black 17 13-b 26 22 24 15 17 14 18 14 wins.