18 6 



• KNOWLEDGE 



[March 23, 1883. 



dBur €i)ti9 Column, 



By Mephisto. 



rROBLE:\[ No. 81. 



By Geobge \V. Mitchell. 



Black. 



m 

 * mi 



WZmTmm 

 m.kw » ■ 



mi ; -n 1 m 



White to play and mate in two moves. 



OXFORD V. CAMBRIDGE. 



On Saturday, the 17th inst., the Universities played their annual 

 chess match at the St. George's Chess Club. Both teams fought 

 well, the result being a tie, with a score of five and a half each, viz., 

 four games won and three drawn. 



The following well-contested game was played by the head man 

 of each team : 



(Board I.) — Scotch Gambit. 



Wo gladly accepted a proffered invitation, and visited the St. 

 George's Chess Club, the temple of British Chess, where the two 

 rival University teams met, and engaged in an earnest mental con- 

 test. Play was conducted with great caution on both sides, and 

 the pace of play was therefore rather slow in some instances. A 

 Bolemn quietness reigned in the rooms, which are not large. This 

 stillness of matter always causes within us — by a natural reflex 

 action — activiry of mind. We were brooding over different subjects, 

 when suddenly the following ominous words of the poet Poe 

 stood before our miud's eye : " The best chess-player in Christen- 

 dom (?) may be little more than the best player of chess." This 

 opinion, liorn, pei-haps, of a morbid imagination, and nothing else, 

 seemed to us in opposition to all observed facts. We, who know 

 most of the noted j)layera in England, can testify that our strongest 

 amateur chess-players are positively more than merely strong chess- 

 players — they are distinguished in their profession and men of great 

 learning. Broadly speaking, we may state tliat good chess-players 

 lire to be found mostly amongst the higher professions requiring 

 great mental abilities, such as men of great learning and letters, 

 accountants, and clergymen. It occm'red to us to put our opinion 

 on this subject to a further practical test, for whicli the present 

 was a most favourable opportunity. Accordingly, we interviewed 

 one of the Cambridge men, and tlu? following conversation ensued : — 

 " Do the young men that play chess well make good students at 

 your University?" 



" They do almost without exception ; they are mostly liard workers. 

 Students who think more about billiards and horses than of their 

 studies have no aptitude for chess." 



" Have any of the strongest chess-playera in your team dis- 

 tinguished themselves in their studies ? " 



"They have indeed, nearly all of them; we have had many 

 Wranglers in our chess club ; of those present, that player at the 

 next table is expected to be third or fourth Wrangler, and his neigh- 

 bour will not bo far behind." 



" Are there any athletes amongst your players ? " 



"No, not many; they cannot spare the time; but the player 1 

 have mentioned to you before, sitting at the next table, rows stroke 

 in his college boat. 



" That little man over there with the towering forehead, is he a 

 strong player ? " 



" He is an M.A., and considered our strongest player! " 



Wo were highly pleased with the result of our inquiry, and as 

 facts are far stronger than fiction, we were well satisfied that the 

 poet's derogatory opinion of chess and chess-players was fallacious. 



Our good opinion of the players was further strengthened on 

 hearing of an achievement highly creditable to young Englishmen. 

 " At the banquet which followed the match that evening, they one 

 and all had a very hearty dinner." 



SOLUTIONS. 

 Phoblem No. 78, by John Simpsox, p. 154. 



1. R to Q5 K takes K, or 



■1. KttoQB3(ch) Kto B3 (n) 

 3. B to Kt3 mate 



(a) If 2. K takes P 

 3. B to R3 mate 



Or if 2. K to Qo 

 3. B to B6 mate 



K to BC (6) 



2. R to B5 (ch) K to K5 



3. Kt to Q6 mate 



Or 2. K to Kt5 

 3. Kt to K3 mate 



(b) If 1. B to R4 



2. B to Kt2 (ch) B to BC 



3. R to K5 mate 



ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. 

 *»* Please address Chess Editor. 



Clarence. — Problem received with thanks. 



W. T. Pierce. — Thanks for game. Your contributions will always 

 be very welcome. 



A. J. Maas. — Sorry your amended position came too late, as you 

 may see by last week's number ; we did not consider the duals a 

 suflicient reason for withholding from publication. 



Leonard P. Rees. — 10. Castles is a perfect answer to 

 10. KKt to Kt5 in the Gnioco Piano. By investigating this attack, 

 we did not at all mean to imply that it was absolutely or incon- 

 testably correct. This you may infer from our introductory remark 

 to this variation. Vol. I., p. 442: — "A. Players of an attacking 

 style might play 10. KKt to Kt5." 



Berrow, R. J. P., G. W. Thompson, Delta, T. T. Dorrington, and 

 others. — You have not given the most difficult variation in the 

 author's solution of Problem 79, arising from the defence of 

 1. B to R4 ; the others are pretty obvious and commonplace. We 

 shall withold solution to enable you to complete your answers. 



Correct solutions received. — Problem 78. R. J. P., T. T. 

 Dorrington. No. 80. W. Clarence, T. T. Dorrington, G. E. 

 Thompson. 



A. K. McAdam. — M. T. Hooton ; solutions incorrect. 



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