Chess.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 11685, 29 April 1916, Page 16

Chess.

(By W. S. KING.) ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. Tunnel, Otira.—Pleased to hear from you. Your suggested solution of Problem No. IGO, namely, Q R 3, would hardly answer, on account of Black's reply, 1 . . . R x P, for no mate follows. Persevere. You will Boon master solving. Tho key movo only i» required. PROBLEM No. 162. (By Brian Harley, of London). "Pittsburg Gazette Times," Decembers,l9ls. Black.

White. j i R 3, 2 Kt p 3 K, 6 Kt B, B -kt 1 r 1 ; kPl,spp 1, 4pr 2, Ibplkt 3, Q o q B 2. White to play and mate in two moves. On March 13 we quoted a problem by Harlov, which has seven Black interferences —a record. Now (say ß Melbourne ' Leader ) the same author goes one better, and presents eight Black interferences leading _U> separate mates. .Who will come next with nine ? CHESS IN LONDON. Tho following is the score- of a game play-, (xl in the City of London Chess Club championship tournament. The notes are by Mr Amos Burn, in. the "Field": CARO-KANN DEFENCE. White-. Black. E. G. Sergeant.) (R. H. V. Scott). 1 P K 4 IP-QB 3 2Kt—QB3 2 P Q i 3P-Q4 3 P x P 4 Kt x P t Kt B 3 i> Kt- x Kt 3 Kt P x Kt 6D-QBI 6 B B47 Kt K 2 7 Kt Q 2 8 Castles 8 P K R i 9 R Ksq 1) Kt Kt 3 10 B Kt a 10 V R 5 11 Kt B ■•! 11 P K 3 12 P -i 12- B -QKt 5 13 B Q 2 (a) VI Q x P 14 B x B (b) 14 Q x Kt 15 Q Q 6 (c) 15 Qx Q 16 Bx 6 16 R Qfq 17 B Kt 4 • 17 R K Kt sq IS R-K3 18 R Kt 5 (d) 10 P B S If) R Kt 3 20 B K sq 20 R-Q5 ' 21 B— B 3 21 R. B :"> (e) 22 K B 2 22 Kt x P (f) a3 P Kt 3 23 B R G 24 R Q a (<r) 21 P Kt A. 25 Q R Q (h) 25 K B r.q 2(5 R 27 P x R 27 R Kt 7 ch 28 K Ksq IS R Kt Bch 29 K K 2 29 R Kt 7 oh 30K Q3 80 B-B ich 31 K-Q< n P K 4 ch 32 K B -5 32 R x R P H 3 B x Kt 33 P x B 34 P x P 34 P R 6 35 Q R Q 2 35 R x R 36 P x P ch 36 K Kt 3 37 R x R 37. B Q G 38 K Q 6 38 B B 0 59K-K7 39 P B 4 40 B K 5 40 B—Kt 7 • 41 R - B ch 41 P x R 42 B R 2 42 P R 4 43 P R 4 43 Resigns (a) This moTa loses a pawn. R— K3 would have been better.

(b) Kt x P instead of the text move would have lost «ither a piece or tho exchange, o-g-i 11 Kt iP,Q'sB; 15 Kt B 7 ch. K B; 16 Kt x R, Kt x Kt (not 16 . . . Q x Q, because of 17 QRxQ, Kt x Kt; 18 R Q 8 ch, K Kt 2; 19 It x R, K x R; 20 R K 8 ch, and wins; nor 16 ...Q xR, because of 17 Q x Q. B x Q; 18 Kt x Kt); 17 Q B3, Q Kt 4, and Black has two minor pieces for a rook; or 14 Kt Kt 7 ch, K B sq; 15 Kt x B, Q x R ch, with the exchange ahead. (o) Although a pawn down, white is constrained to force the exchange of queens. Had he played B Q 6 instead blaok would soon I have obtained a dangeroua attack with Q and K through the open King's knight's file. (d) Loss of time. Stronger would have been R Q 5 with the double threat of Kt x P and R (Q 5)-Kt 5. (e) A blunder. Black overlooks that his R will now bo imprisoned. R Q 6 instead of the text move would have maintained his advantage (f) This loses a piece. His only chance was to give up the exchange by R x Q B P, which would have left him with two pawns for the loss of the exchange; but the game would then have been in white's favour. (g) Not PxR at once, because R Kt 7 ch, followed by Kt x R. (h) Again he had to defer capturing the rook because of R Kt 7 ch, but now he threatens mate in two moves and after giving check with his R, provides an escape at Q 8 for his- king. CHESS CHAT. Tho first tournament to decido the championship of tho Wollington South Chess Club was concluded recently, when the game between Messrs B. B. Allen and Purchas (who occupy tho two highest rungs on tho club's "ladder") ended in a. draw (says the "New! Zealand Times "). Mr Allen won two pawns, but could not extricate his king from a perpetual check. Mr Purchas thus completed his fixtures with the unbeaten record of 5 wins and 2 draws, and becomes the club champion. He has received a number of congratulations on his success, which is welt deserved, he having been a close student of •the game for some years past, and a most consistent prize winner in the club's annual handicap tourneys. A word of praise is also due to the runner-up, Mr A. Clark, who finished np on half a point- behind the champion. He repeated the good form which, a few months earlier gained him the first prizo in the 1915 handicap tourney, and is generally . regarded as the club's most improved player. Mr B. B. Allen, who has been champion for several years through his fine play in "ladder" contests, did not show his trua form on this occasion. The various prizes won during tho past twelve months are to be presented at next week's annual general meeting.

The New Orleans "Times Picayune" states hat 1215 members of the German Chess Association have seen service. Of ■these 166 have been decorated with the Iron Cross, tho great international player Dr Tartakover, being amongst the honoured. 114 have been wounded, while 96 have been killed, amongst the latter being Theodor von Scheve, ono of the strongest Berlin players, who took paTt in one of the master tourneys at Ostend.

Despite the war, chess-playing appears to be practised with more frequency in Hunland than ill the countries of the Entente Powers. The French chess magazine gives the score in ihe Seventh Annual Trebitsch Tourney at Vienna. As usual, the victory fell to Schlechter. His scoro was 3 wins, 7 draws, 0 loses, as against 10 winß, 3 draws, 1 loss in last year's tourney. Second place falls to A. Katifmann, 3 wins, 6 draws, 1 loss, and third to R. Reti, 3 wins, 5 draws, 2 losses. Peculiarly the same three players took tho same positions in last year's tourney, only Reti is now much closer to the two leaders.

At Berlin, Mie?es played 25 games simultaneously, winning 20, drawing 5. At Warsaw, under the German regime, tho chess headquarters have been transferred from tho Cafe Semndeni to the "Odziatowa, and amongst the Russian masters there are Winawer, Rubinstein, Lowitzky, and Flamberg, the last-named recently liberated from the internment camp at Triberg.