THE BILLIARD TABLE

Star (Christchurch), Issue 16986, 9 March 1923, Page 2

THE BILLIARD TABLE

Notes and Comments by

“ Cue.”

A meeting of the Canterbury Billiard Association will probably be called shortlv after Foster to arrange a programme or inter-club matches for the coming season. 1 understand that Mr . Black, of the Gloucester Club, who at present is the secretary of the Cnntcrbury Association, ' will not seek re-election to that position. Billiard enthusiasts will regret, to hear of Mr Black’s decision, as he was in no small way responsible for the undoubted success of billiards in Christchurch last season. He put in a lot of time over the interclub games and the association will find it hard to find a successor. I heard that Mr A. H. Spratt, a former secretary of the association, is now in business in the city again after a long absence owing to ill-health. Perhaps the association can induce Mr Spratt to again assume the secretaryship. The Kniapoi Working Aten’s Club is desirous of entering a team for the league competition this year. The club’s team are prepared to make trips to Christchurch periodically to play matches, provided, of course, that, a certain number of games are plaved on the club’s tables at Kainpoi. The entry of this club into the contest would make things mech more interesting. as the club numbers many good players, including the present amateur champion of Canterbury, W. Karai-tia-na. Any club wishing to join the league and enter a team in the inter-club competitions should communicate with the secretary. Mr J. Black, at the Gloucester Club. R. Pilling i*eat S. James in the semi-final of the billiard handicap tournament now in progress at H. James’s Central rooms. Yew Brighton. The Other semi-final has ret to be played. . C /, in *a game of 250 up at the Grand Billiard Parlours made a break of 101 during the game. He was playing a good North Island cueist at the time.

A handicap snooker tournament will be played at the Grand Parlours in a week or two. The first prize will be a gold watch valued at 20 guineas. Entries are now being taken for the tourney by Mr Phil Munn, the propnetor of the rooms. Pl il proprietor of the ~ , a , Ddhard Per lours, announces that he mil teach leariiers either bilRaids or snooker at. In's rooms in Cat-lie dral (Square, free of charge. This is a fine opportunity for novices to ressr«. fro “ such “ e -^ rt a O’G/i,cly o ’ G / i,cly anc) b. Xetrberry played /: e V tIS! e arn v of 250 up at the i?l Il,ard Parlours recently. Hicaks between 40 and 70 were fre qnent and it mould bo worth a learn™r lls u t 0 r -f, ke a point of feeing present when cither of these two exponents are playing. rcclr+r hl! M V n "' in a Rame of snooker recently, made runs of 72, 69 and 55 a feat which stamps him as 011 c of the l>o S t snooker pi, vers in Christchurch. FAMOUS AMATEUR’S THEORIES. Tn his recently published book called Billiards for Amateurs,” Mr Sidney fry claims that it is written primarily lor the “ hundred upper,” this being a term oi endearment applied to a huge section of the community, which ‘"a writer on a Jess serious subject, say •politics, would designate “ tJio man in the street.” As this is not a review of t.he great amateur’s hook, T will con tent myself by saying that for whatever class of player it may have been written. it will serve its purpose for all. being the brightest and most easily read book on the game that has ever been issued from the press, states “Cannon.” in the English “Sportsman.” There are one or' two points in it, however, that the “ hundred up pers ” ai*e not at all likely to enthuse over. One is the suggestion that “ the game is too easy." and the other. “ Keep your eye on the cue ball and

not on the object ball.” To deal with the first point, 1 am afraid that among the “H.U.’s” Mr Fry will have very few supporters, and 1 am not so sure that even better players than .Mr Fry—and to be this they must be pretty good professionals*—are going to shout. ” Hear, hear.” with any great show ot enthusiasm. Very thinly veiled is Mr Fry’s fear that, as the game is played at present, Walter Liudruni may pav us a visit before long, and by the losing hazard method win our championship, or that Q - V , tl,e oannon #? s, me alone Hoppe, Schaefer or one of the Continental experts may wrest the title from jNewman, Smith or whoever may be the holder at the time of the ' invasion. Now, this is extremely unlikely to cause any sleepless nights to the* class of player Mr Fry particularly appeals to. and the thumping gates that would result from such a contest would, from what l know of ou r professionals, be looked upon with a certain amount . t equanimity, even in the event of defeat. The gifted author is prepared with a remedy for the losing hazards, winch us to decrease the size of the J) lour inches, taking off two inches at each end. This he claims to be a better method of stopping long and monotonous runs of losing hazards than by an alteration of scoring values. At the same time, he realises that this would make even cannon plav from hand more difficult, but he argues that ca cry shot from hand is too generously rewarded. That it will improve the game is Mr Fry’s idea, based on the old saw that “ necessity is the mother of invention.” and by cramping the expert player at the D we have created the necessity which will soon give birth to an invention in another direction. e cari all agree with this, but, as Mr l <r y in the opening of this particular chapter fears that the “ hundred upper will look aghast at this suggestion, and the “hundred upper ” is an unlikely sort of customer to invent new moves, I think All* Fry # fears m this res pent, will be amply justified.

Billiards is to-day a better and more perfect game than ever it was, and to make the game by such alterations as difficult for the man who can at times manage a twenty break, tor the sake o :; cramping the game of the one o r two men who can at times make a thousand, is unwise. Let the professionals make their own arrangements about cramping certain strokes if they care to do so. They will soon take the step if they find it pays. The ideal amateur game, to my mind, is “ all-in,” with nothing but a. foul stroke, such as the push. barred. In some of the clubs even the “odious push” is allowed, but for very sensible reasons, as at times a lot of money depends on tnese games, and the definition of a “ push ” would cause much heartburning, and perhaps even worse trouble. For the big matches outside, an expert referee is usually engaged who knows what a “ push ” really is, but this would be impracticable in club life.

So much for the limitation of the size °f ar) d, much as I respect Mr Fry’s judgment—he has no more entliusiastic admirer of his play—l hope this is the last we shall hear of such a drastic method of restricting big breaks. More to my liking is the suggestion 10 restrict cannons to a run of twenty-five i.i succession. At present there is a limit- on ball to ball cannons of twentyfive. but then, after an indirect cannon, the player can go on as he likes again. T do believe that we should in time find the American and Continental players beating us at this game, and. with nothing else doing, this would become fearfully monotonous. The main reason, however, for my support of this is that it is not at all likely to interfere with our mutual friend, the “ hundred upper.” and, as a matter of fact., T am even doubtful if Mr Fry himseif has ever made twenty-five consecutive cannons. The only amateurs I can call to mind as proficient at this phase of the game were the late Mr A. Lovejov, who subsequently as a professional was the first to discover and exploit the “anchor stroke,” and Mr YV. B. Marshall. Two professionals who are not likely to take kindly to this idea are Falkiner and Reece, for whatever pretensions they may have now to aspire to premier honours would be completely ‘‘washed out” by a limitation of their right to nurse the balls along the rail.