Aug. 28, 1885.] 



♦ KNOWLEDGE ♦ 



among the advantages pertaining to it may be mentioned :— the 

 safety ensured to life and limb (it is said that 12 per cent, of 

 the professional " Steeple Jacks" are killed or maimed annually) ; 

 the tedious and expensive processes of kite-flying and ladder- 

 fixing and climbing are superseded ; architects, &c., can inspect 

 the work without risk. All these are features which any one who 

 has watched a "Steeple Jack" at work can easily appreciate, and 

 it may be safely said that the invention has all the elements of 



©ur CfjfSfS Column* 



By Mephisto. 



ILLUSTRATIVE GAME No. 8. 



" Stronger by weakness wi 



AN interesting game played in the 

 Black in this game is too intei 

 according to principles, and takes 

 oeuvres to mate him. We must 

 r lose sight of our opponent's desi 

 White. Black. 



late tournament at Hereford. 



at on arranging his Opening 

 no heed of his opponent's 

 profit by this example, and 



. Kt tc 



10. KPxP 



11. B toQ3 (c) 



12. B to Kt sq. 

 l.f Q to K2 1 

 1 1-. Kt to K5 (. 

 1."). P to QR3 1 

 l(i KttoKtl(0 



PtoQ4 



P to QB-1 (a) 



PtoK3 



Kt to KB3 



P to QKt3 I 



B to K2 



Castles 



Kt to B3 



PxQP 



B to Kt2 (!>) 



KttoQKtSC-J) 



R t( - 



■. PxP 



I. P to Q5 (0 



I. Q to K4 0) 



1. Q X P (ch) 



. Kt to RG (0 



;. P to Q6 



:. Q to K2 



- Q to Q3 



PxTt7' 

 KttoQR.l(h) 

 Kt to K sq. 

 P to B4 (ft) 

 K to R sq. 

 B to Kt4 (»i) 



I 



(a) Rather risky to play this ; 

 stated in a game — llackenzio 

 Castle before advancing this P. 



(I) Black's play is directed against the advanced White Pawns. 

 White cannot play PxP without isolating his QP, nor can he 

 advance the P; whereas Black may play PxP, for if White re- 

 takes with P, he will have two unsupported P's on Q4, and QBl. 

 Experience has shown that these Pawns are. weak. These points 

 in the position give Black a slight pull, which he may increase by 

 massing his pieces on the Q's Pawns. For attacking purposes, 

 perhaps B to R3 at once might have been better. 



(c) While Black is absorbed in following up the principle of 

 weakening White's Pawns, White attempts to prepare an attack 

 against Black's K's side by the combinati ' 



B to Q3, B to Kt sq., 



done much better to play R to B sij. fiirst. 



(d) Apparently the Kt 

 easily be chased by P to R; 

 purposes. Firstly, if the 

 which would put an end ( 

 Secondly, if ~ 



would have 



square from where ii 



remains there the Kt will t 



White's designs against HI 



Kt sq. the R is blocked ii 



available for the better defence of the QBP. Thirdly, if after the 

 retirement of the B, White subsequently plays P to QR3, then 

 White's Queen's Pawns are still more weakened, for after the Kt 



retires to B3 he will have a very good attacking square on R4, 

 bearing both on the BP and KtP. As will be seen later on, all this 

 was rightly forecast by Black, and came to pass. 



(e) This is indeed unmindful of White's intention. A simple 

 precaution such as P to Kt3 would have been advisable. Black, in 

 a ponderous manner, made room to play KR to B sq., he also 

 threatens the KKtP. 



(/) A very natural desire on White's part to displace the Black 

 Kt which guards the objective weak spot on Black's KR2. He 

 also threatens Kt x Kt (ch) followed by P x P, in which case each 

 side would have an isolated QP. 



(g) This move gives Black a bad game. He ought to have 

 played Kt to QRi first, as originally intended, for if Q to Q3, then 

 P to Kt3 would secure his position. " 



(h) Even now the following line of play would avoid trouble, 

 viz., Kt X Kt. 18. Q x Kt, B to B3. 19. Kt to K4, Q to Q sq. 

 (best), &c. 



(i) A very fine move. Black now pays the penalty for his one- 

 sided play. If Black replies with 18. PxP, then 19. Kt x Kt (ch) 

 followed by 20. Q to Q3 wins. Or, if 18. Kt x Kt. 19. Q x Kt, 

 P to Kt3. 20. PxP or 20. P to Q6 followed by 21. Q to Q4 givea 

 White a superior game. 



( j) Very well played indeed, and much better than 19. PxP, 

 P to B4, &o. White gets the KP with a check. 



(k) If 19. I' to Kt3, 20. Kt to R6, mate. 



(l) Encouraged by success. White becomes very ambitious. This 

 is a showy continuation, especially as Philidor's mate is threatened 

 by Q to Kt8 (ch), &c. In reality, however, Black's pieces were too 

 well placed to allow White to get anything more now. His best 

 move would have been 21. Q to K2. Black could not take the Kt 

 on account of 22. Q to Q3. Against 21. Kt to K5 there is the 

 objection that after Black moves B to Kt4 or Kt to Q3 the White 

 Q will be liable to attack by R to K2 or B to B sq. 



(m) A powerful move, which turns the tables upon White. 

 Black threatens R to K2, or if the Q moves, B x KKt. 



(n) It seems really that success has its dangers for the victor aa 

 well as the vanquished, inasmuch as it makes the former over con- 

 fident in proportion as the latter puts forth his best efforts. As 

 soon as Black escaped out of his difficulties he relaxes his attention. 

 Here 24. Kt to Q sq. would have won the Kt. 



(o) A simple way of liquidation. Black, however, still had a 

 chance of playing to win the Kt by retiring his B to Q sq., protect- 

 ing the R, if then 27. B to Q4, Q to B3. 28. Q to B4, B to B3, 



(p) Black had evidently overlooked that the Kt has no escape. 

 Now B's of opposite colour remain, which leaves Black not 

 sufficient to win. It would have made no difference if Black had 

 played B to KKt4 instead of this move ; for after 29. Q x Kt, 

 B to B3 White would play 30. Q to Kt4, attacking the R and com- 

 pelling B to R3, then 31. R to R2 would again leave B's of opposite 

 colour. 



(q) The game was abandoned as drawn on the 41st move. 



(Bnv a©f)i5t Column. 



By "Fi7e of Clubs." 



WHIST DEVELOP.MENTS.* 



AC.VREFUL study of " Whist Developments," by " Cavendish " 

 has gone far to convert us to the opinion of Pembridge and 

 others, that Whist as a game is in a fair way of being ruined. 

 Whist developments are like fungoid growths, the signs and tokens 

 if they are not the active agents of decay. " Cavendish" and his 

 school seem determined to prove that those are mistaken who 

 have said of Whist, " Age cannot wither nor custom stale its infi- 

 nite variety" ; for they try to substitute a series of cut-and-dried 

 Cavendish rules for that beautiful variety which is the charm of 

 the game. If Whist developments as developed in this book are 

 adopted by Whist players generally, then Whist will no longer be 

 a game. It may be a mental exercise, just as walking along a 

 pavement is bodily exorcise ; but there will be no game in it. 



Let us at the outset be understood as in no way detracting 

 from "Cavendish's" claim to be considered a fine player, or even 

 as rejecting the principles on which some at any rate of the rules 

 h(- l.iys down in the present work are based. Although the game 

 of his on which ho has chiotly dwolt as a sample of brilliant play, 

 publishiu!,' it in his " I'linciplos," quoting it in his Essiiys, and 

 telling us how and why J. Clay admired it, is altogether unsound. 



* "Whi 

 London. 



t Developments," by Cavendish. Thos. De la Rue <SCo., 



