DRAUGHTS.

Otago Witness, Issue 4006, 23 December 1930, Page 69

DRAUGHTS.

CONDUCTED BY JAS. DEECOT.

Bolutlon* ol problem!, catnta, and nnulvßen !». lor ting column Guinea thould bo written nnd *» corrcs;»oiuleno! addrened to the Draught* Editor, Otngo W lineal Oflloo. Dunedin.

PROBLEM 6481. By J. P. Murray. Black 7, 10, 11, 13, 14, 17.

White 16, 19, 22, 23, 26, 31. White to move, Black to draw.

PROBLEM 6482. By L. M. Stearns. Black 3,7, 8, 10, 13, King 12

White 14, 17, 19, 22, 23, 26, 31. Black to move and win. This being Christmas Week we are not t S vf vla £,Y p an J' tb *ng of a serious nature, and the positions given above may be termed nosed Slt \ Pr ° b H le^ S - ThoU S h are c?m p . os ®? . b J\ different authors, a great similarity in the settings is noticeable.

BLITHERS AND SNITHERS AGAIN. A SEMI-BLINDFOLD GAME. Corporal Blithers has been mysteriously missing from the Magpie Club for some days. he tur . n ? d U P <m Thursday night he wore a suspicious bandage over his right a scab °n bis nose. As one after ? n 2^, ber J he members dropped in, this bandage became the subject of critical and I caustic comment. “ Hum ! ” ejaculated Dr Throttle, “ been trying to skate, eh 1 ” No, said the corporal, “ only a cinder in my eye.” Then M’Nib followed with : " Weel, weel. ye „ ve bcen contradicting th’ wife, I ken.’ bio, no ; a cinder—it’s nothing,” replied the patient Blithers. “ Bless my soul! ” exclaimed the Rev. Tony Boyle, as he entered, “ I thought you had signed the pledge. This is disreputable, disreputable ! ” “ No, no- —a cinder in my eye.” “ Humph ! A pity, a pity I ” murmured the Rev. Tony, with a dubious grunt as he walked away. And so on, by member after member, poor Blithers was pestered. But it remained lor young Snithers to pile on the last straw. “ Ho I ho! Ha, ha, ha! ” laughed Snithers when he beheld the veteran’s bandaged optic. “ What! been putting your dukes up to M’Nib? ” ’’ No, hang you, no! ” It’s a cinder," retorted the now frantic Blithers for the tenth time “What are you giving us? Oh, go tell that to General Booth. Come now, why don’t you own up that you’ve been over to Ireland to help Parnell lose the Kilkenny election.” " No, hang you ! It’s a cinder, I tell you." “ Now you- don’t really expect us to swallow that old chestnut about the cinder! ” , “ I don’t care a rotten turnip whether you do, or not. Does anybody want to play? I’m here to play.” " You don’t seriously think you can play with one eye?" “ If it comes to that, I can play you In any condition.” “ Don’t be too sure,” said Snithers. “ A man with one eye, too I ” “Oh, hang your jokes! Do you want to play? ” “ Of course I do. I am always delighted to oblige a distinguished warrior. Did they hit you with lime at Kilkenny?” “ Never mind. Will you play me or not.” “ Oh, I don’t want to take advantage of a man in your crippled condition.” “ I knew it I I knew it! I might have known you were afraid to face me ! " roared Biithefs, now furious with disappointment.” “Afraid of you? Me? Well —here, someone tie up my right eye. I won’t take advantage of him, poor old chap. It’s one of his hallucinations.” Dr Throttle applied a handkerchief over Snithers’s merry optic, and they began. It was a comical sight to see them both tryfhg to get the range of the squares by a peculiar sidelong twist of the head. Below is the game. It is what might be expected under the conditions —one-sided. Blithers’s move : " PAISLEY.” 11 16 '8 11 10 14 16 20 7 10-a 11 16 24 19 22 18 26 22 22 17 28 24 b-30 26 (a) They had got so fhr when old Professor Muzzlehoffer entered. " Mein Gott ! ” he exclaimed, "there vas a row, eh? Vat happened mit your eye, corporal.” “ Never mind, never mind, It’s all right,” said the corporal testily. “ Id may pe all righdt, but id don’t look all righdt,” replied Muzzlehoffer. Then Mac facetiously told the professor that they had fought six rounds, and had been parted, and were now finishing it out over the bloodless field. (b) “ Here, what is the stake on this game?” asked the corporal at this point. “ Any steak you like. A beefsteak, a porksteak, or a chump chop; anything to oblige you, old chap.” “ None of your idiotic nonsense; what is the wager? ” “ Well, a bottle of ' chain, ’ since I’m sure to win, and I always like to treat my friends to the best.” As you know, it is one of the Magpie Club rules to allow no wagers below a bottle of champagne. Consequently there is very little betting. The game proceeded J

913 18 9 c-5 14 d-26 22 e-6 9 ?,•-- =■ «■- “ No. Why? ” you are not qualified to pull; put that man back. Jump!" e:J , uT hat B,st cooks your goose,” hpfnrn n ? Cr o That loss was known long fukk S , panish Armada. See Dunne’s mend<;.” S game ’ by Don s l u eezu- ™ T £ is > your Spanish Don into a cocked hat,” replied Blithers. 22 18-f 18 15 25 18 29 25 13 22 1 6-g 4 8 37 camhit ' t? i 8 the Squeezumendo ’’chain ’’ ” Dd J ° U nilght as well order up the (g) “Not yet, not yet, your left ontic seen C have been Paralysed not to have 31 26-h 18 9 21 14 15 6 23 14 9 13-i 13 17 6 13 2 18 j-16 30 (h) “Will your resign gracefully, or must I use you up a la Kilkenny?” nnn ) wJ? D 1 Not till I’ve shown you this Don Wyllieo gambit. I’ll drink with you now, ha, ha." (j) And Blithers won easily. Of course, Snithers was ready to point out how he should have won by 25 22 at (h). —Magpie Club, January 20, 1891. I had decided to omit anything of a serious nature from this and the next issue, and the following contribution, just to hand from Mr W. J. Marsh, of Wyndham, does not come under that heading. It will afford readers a little entertainment for the holidays :— A LITTLE SCHNAP. Recently I had the pleasure of a sitting with my old friend, Mr Hugh M’Liskey, of Otautau. In one of our games I was down a man, but I got into fourth position draw. Hugh had tried a long but ineffectual assault on my double corner side, then retreated, with the idea of attacking from the other side, which should have failed. Supper came in at the time. Draughts players, when absorbed in play, do not want to be bothered with food ; so I said: " Don't let this interruption put yftu off play ” At the moment, tiring of repetition, I said : " I will just go here for fun,” playing 3 7—and the position was—

Hugh took a long look, and played 27 24. Thinking it was au oversight, I remarked : You are letting me take your crown.” He said nothing, so I took 7 16. He went 24 20. I was caught. “ That is very good,” I told him, and he replied : " I did not see it at first.” I consoled myself with the idea that this was one added to my .littlu bag of tricks. Thanks, Hughie. Best wishes to all for coming festive season.

TIT BITS. Confidence is necessary. It fortifies a player and tends to weaken his adversary by fear. Let fear take the place of confidence and a gamu is usually lost before it is played Confidence is a successful, impelling force in Checkers, as in every difficult undertaking. An expert Checker player recently remarked in my presence: “To play a good game of Checkers, one must have a good knowledge of the game, and he must, also, have confidence.” A good knowledge of the game would seem to inspire confidence, it certainly does not ensure it. The element of chance is eliminated in the game of Checkers: so it does not lead to gambling. The player becomes so accustomed to dealing with fact, and relying upon his mental resources and skill, that he will dislike any game where luck or chance may favour an inferior player and give him a win against all the skill that can be employed. , Show me a player inviting attention to his defeat by the skilful play of his adversary, and I will show you a person who appreciates the beauties of the game, and who will be nn agreeable companion. The discriminations which appeared in the following advertisement in a London paper would ensure fatal results in the playing of a game of Checkers: “ A lady wants to sell her piano, as she is going abroad in a strong iron box.” “ For Sale. —A pianoforte, the property of a musician with carved legs.” “ Wanted.—A room by two gentlemen about 30ft long and 20ft broad.” “ Widow in comfortable circumstances, wishes to marry two sons.” “ Annual sale- now on : Don’t go elsewhere to be cheated.” —Harvey L. Hopkins, in the Vancouver Sun

Play for a win, but keep a draw in view. —Wyllle.

SOLUTIONS TO PROBLEMS. Problem 6477 (J, H Robinson).— -Black Kings 15, 19. White 1 2, 32. Kings 8,’ 13. White to move and draw. 32 27 27 23 23 18 4 8 22 17 14 5 19 16 11 16 16 11 7 2 19 15 2 6 8 4 13 17 17 22 8 11 17 14 18 15 16 11 15 19 11 7 5 9 15 '8 Drawn Problem 6478 (A. M. Ensign).—Black 13. Kings 17. 18, 29. White 10, : 14. 24. Kings 23, 31. White to. move and win. 23 26 9 5-a 15 11 5 9 6 2 9 5 18 9 24 19 5 9 2 7 9 5 10 14 26 22 5 9 11 7 9 5 2 6 5 1 17 26 19 15 9 5-c 10 6 5 9 7 10 31 22 9 5-b 7 2 5 9 G 10 W. wins (a) 9 14, 24 19, 14 7, 19 15 . White wins. (b) 9 14, 22 26, 14 7, 26 22. White wins. (c) 9 14, 7 3. White wins.