January 1, 1890.] 



KNOWLEDGE 



59 



hand, deceives your partner as well and destroys his con- 

 fidence in you. A golden maxim for whist is, that it is of 

 more importance to inform your partner than to deceive 

 your adversary. The best wliist player is he who plays 

 the game in the simplest and most intelligible way. I 

 hold in abhorrence playing false cards. . . . You have ace 

 and king of a suit, and you take the trick with your ace. 

 This is probably in your adversary's suit, for you would 

 hardly think it right to deceive me in my own ; but you 

 cannot resist the temptation of taking in your opponent. 

 What is it you have done ? You have told me, as plainly 

 as whist language can speak, that you do not hold the 

 king. . . . Perhaps I fear to lead trumps, because I 

 believe that the suit in question is wholly in the possession 

 of my adversaries. I should have led them if I had 

 thought it possible that you could protect me in that suit. 

 Or it may be that I am sorely put to it to find one trick in 

 your hand with which to save the game. Be sure that 

 the last suit in which I shall look for it will be that in 

 which you have told me that you were unable to resist 

 say a knave or a ten at a cheaper price than your ace. 

 Again, believing that the lung is held by my opponents, 

 and being probably able to say in which of their hands it 

 ought to be, I miscomit the numerical strength of all the 

 players in all the suits, imtil at last I find that my partner 

 has paid me the ill compliment of believing that I am 

 likely to play as well with my eyes shut as open." 



All this is excellently put. But, a few pages further on, 

 we find a very difl'erent doctrine quoted from Hoyle. 

 " If," says that authority, " your right-hand adversary 

 lead fi'om a suit of which you have ace, king, queen, or 

 ace, king, knave, put on the ace, because this will 

 encourage them to play the suit again. It is true you 

 deceive your partner by this method, but it is of more 

 consequence here to deceive your adversaries. If you play 

 the lower one they will discover that the strength of the 

 suit is against them, and will change the suit." What, 

 then, is the student to conclude from these contradictory 

 arguments ? The explanation is really contained in a 

 terse maxim of Mathews", which appears on another page. 

 " Play as clear a game as possible when your partner has 

 a good hand. But, when the winning cards lie between 

 you and your adversaries, you may play an obscure game." 

 It is too nnich to expect a beginner to sort in his mind 

 kindred precepts appearing in difl'erent places, and to 

 discover for himself how their discrepancies may be 

 reconciled. 



Bome of the maxims seem to need qualification, as, for 

 instance, this one fi-om Hoyle : — " If you hold two small 

 trumps only, with ace and king of two other suits, and a 

 deficiency of the fourth suit, make as many tricks as you 

 can immediately." Hoyle's rules for imblocldng a part- 

 ner's suit also require some revision ; and further illustra- 

 tions of the importance of miblocking might with advan- 

 tage have been added to the " special examples of play." 

 These examples form the most interesting and useful 

 feature of the book. The following is given by Mathews 

 from actual play. 



The parties each wanted only the odd trick to win the 

 game. A, the leader, had won six tricks, and remained 

 with knave and one small trump and two diamonds. Y, 

 his left-hand adversary, had queen and ten of trumps, and 

 two clubs. 15, A's partner, had two small trumps and two 

 diamonds. Z, last player, had aco and one small trump, 

 one club, and one heart. A led a diamond, which, being 

 passed by Y, was to be won by Z. But Z had to con- 

 sider that, unless he made every trick, he would lose the 

 game. And he saw that, unless Y had either the two 

 best trumps, or the first and third with a successful finesse, 



this was not possible. He therefore trumped with the ace, 

 led the small one, and won the game. 



We have only space for one other specimen, which is 

 taken from General Drayson's treatise. Nine tricks had 

 been played, and the trumps were all out. Hearts had not 

 been led or thrown. A and B wanted aU the remaining 

 tricks to save the game. A (fourth player) held ace, king, 

 knave, and two of hearts. B (his partner) had shown that 

 he held two long clubs, and two hearts miknown. Y (A's 

 left-hand adversary) led a small heart ; B played the 

 seven ; Z played the ten. A reasoned that after he had 

 won the first trick, unless B could be given the lead in the 

 next trick, so as to bring in his two long clubs, the game 

 must be lost, as his two of hearts must ultimately be 

 taken by one of the adversaries. As the only way of ac- 

 complishmg this, he took the ten with the ace, and led 

 the two, hoping B might win it with the queen. As it 

 happened, Y had the queen ; but, supposing B had the 

 king, he played a small one, when B won the trick with 

 the nine, and saved the game. 



A useful glossary of terms used in whist concludes the 

 book ; and altogether, in spite of the defects of arrange- 

 ment to which we have alluded, whist- players of all classes 

 who expend a shilling in purchasing it %vill certainly obtain 

 full value for their money. 



Ctjcss Column. 



By W. Montagu Gattie. 



[Contributions of general interest to chess-players are invited. Mr. 

 Gunsberg will be pleased to give his opinion on any matter submitted 

 for his decision.] 



Our opinion is asked by Mr JI. N. Kuka, of Bombay, on the following 

 interesting and, so far as we aro aware, entirely novel variations. 

 In the King's Knight's opening, after — 



Whitk. Black. 



1. P to K-t 1. Pto K4 



•2. Kt to KB3 2. Kt to QB3 



3. B to B4 



Black has, according to the books, the choice of three moves, viz. 

 3 . . . B to B4 (the Ginoco Piano), 3. Kt to B3 (the Two Knights' 

 Defence), and 3 . . . B to K"2 (the Hungarian Defence). Mr. Kuka 

 proposes, instead of any of these. — 



3. Kt. to Qo 

 And continues the game as follows : — 



4. Kt X P 4. P to yt 



5. B X P, or (A) 5. Q to Kt4 



6. Kt X P 6. Q X KtP 



7. R to Bsq 7. B to Kto, or (B) 



8. P to KB3 S. B to K2, and wins. 



Varitttion A. 

 5. P X P 5. Q to Kt4 



(i. Castles 6. B to U(! 



7. P to Kt3 7. y X Kt 



8. R to Ksq S. Kt to BG ^ch;,and wins. 



Variation B. 



7. B to R6 



8. B to B4 8. Q X KP 



9. B to K2 9. Kt X yBP(ch), and wins. 



(Black's last move in Variation B is obviously a slip, for 9 . . . Kt 

 to B6 mates at once. ) 



Mr Kuka rightly observes that White's best course at move 6 is to 

 play P to QB3, and he thinks that this move should win if followed by 

 7. Q to R4 (ch). Ho remarks, also, that White does not seem to gain 

 any substantial advantage by playing Kt x Kt or Castles at move 4 ; 

 but it may be pointed out that, in the former case, the position 

 becomes similar to that resulting from Bird's defence to the Ruy 

 Lopez, with the difference that the White Bishop is better posted at 

 B4 than at Kto. 



• Mr. Montagu Gattie has kiudly undertaken the chess column while Mr. 

 Gunsberg is in Havannah, where he has gone to play a match with the cele- 

 brated Itussiau player, M. Tschigoriu.— Editou. 



