CHESS.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 17220, 11 December 1923, Page 11

CHESS.

BY W. S. KING. Items of interest are invited and the editor will be pleased to, answer, questions concerning any branch of the game of chess. Short games having point of merit will be welcomed for publication. Solutions of a problem should be sent in within a week of appearance of the diagram.

PROBLEM NO. 134. By Samuel Gold. Black (four men).

White (three men.) S, 8. e, 8, b 2 K Q B I r, 6,. 1 p 6, 3 k 4. White to play and mate in two moves. CONSULTATION GAME. A fine game played during the Frankfort Congress between Richter, Seeger and Dr Rosenthal consulting against Bauer, Barnes and Orespi, the former having the White pieces. Opening—Four Knights Game. 1 P—K -t 1 P—Tv 4 2 Kt— K B 3 2 Kt—Q B 3 3 Kt—B S 3 Kt—B 3 4 P—Q 4 4 P x P 5 Kt x P 5 B—Kt 5 fi Kt x Kt 6 Kt P x Kt 7 Q—Q 4 (.a) 7 Q—K 2 8 P—B 3 8 P—3 4 (b) 9 O—B 2 9 Ca3tlea (c) 10 B—Q 3 (d) 10 P—Q 4 11 Castles 31 P—B 5 12 B—K 2 12 B —R 3 (e) 33 B—K 3 (f) 13 K R—K 1 14 B—Q. 4 34 B r Kt 15 B x B 15 P x V 16 B x Kt (g) 16 Q x B 37 P x P 37 Q x Q eh 18 R x Q 38 Q R—Kt 1 (h) 19 Q R—Q 1 19 P x K P 20 R—Q 7 (i) 20 P—B 6! 21 B x B 21 R—IC 3 ch 22 E—B 1 22 R x R ch 23 K i It 23 P x P And Black wins. (a) B—Q 3 is more popular. (b! This is better th.au 5 P—Q 4; 6 B—K Kt 5, P—B 4; "7 B chs. K—B 1; S Q--Q 3! (c) Kt—Q 4 is satisfactorily met by B—Q 2. (d) B—Q 2 may be better. (e. Far better than B—B 4, which is met. by B—K 3(f) K—R 1, followed if possible by B K Kt. looks better. (g) White temporarily averts the loss of a pawn, but he gives up a B that might have served well for attack. (h) Not R x P, for then B—B 3. (j) The result of this oounter attack hardlv turns out as Whit© expects—the reply must have been quit© overlooked. CHESS CHAT. Till© thirty-J&ird . ■fonraaawsnt ta decide

the chess championship of New Zealand is scheduled to ©pen on Boxing Day, in tbo Education Board Room in Wellington. As there are twenty-one entries, it will presumably be necessary to resort to section play to shorten the tourney, a-s Borne- of the competitors cannot spare tho time for a full round contest. The entry of Mr Bpencer Oraokanthorp, the distinguished Now South Wales champion, is causing more than ordinary interest, to he taken in the coming tourney. He and his wife will leave Sydney on December 20, and he should therefore arrive in Wellington in good time for the opening round. , When tho game Barnes v. Hicks, at the Wellington Chess Club last week, ended in a draw on Thursday evening, the championship became a certainty for Mr W. E. Mason. This win automatically promotes him from rung 5 to rung 1 on the club's ladder, in terms of the rule passed in Juno, 1918. Tho outstanding game. Barnes v. Wigham, will decide who is to be the runner-up. This annual championship tourney, which liad been in abeyance for nine years, was revived in 1918, the winners from then onwards being as follow : 1918, A. W. O. Davies; 1919, R. J. Barnes; 1920, W. E. Mason; 19-21, R. J. Barnes; 1922, W. Mackay; 1923, AY. E. Mason. As a result of his success, recorded above, Mr W. E. Mason will represent the Wellington Club in the Wellington league’s champion of champions tourney. Mr Barnes, who won this all-Wellington championship last year, will represent the Working Men’s Club, of which he has been champion for more than three decades. The Wellington South and Ngaio Clubs are not yet in a position to announce their respective champions, but hope to be able to do HO at an early, date.