296 



♦ KNOWLEDGE ♦ 



[Nov. 9, 1883. 



sifrnal, but is inherent in all the modem conventions, including tho 

 call for trumps. We hare said on a previous occasion that 

 'the main difficulty with which a common-sense Whist-player 

 is confronted is how to give his partner enough of general 

 information about the state of his hand without telling his 

 adversaries too much.' Bui this is a problem, the very exist- 

 ence of which, as it seems to us, the modern petrolateur 

 insists on ignoring. His doctrine is, not that it is the duty of a 

 Whist player to tell the truth, and nothing bnt the truth ; but that 

 he shall tell the whole truth, with all possible detail, to partner and 

 adversaries alike. In other words, by the use of conventional 

 signals, he aims at assimilating the practice of Whist to the practice 

 of double dummy. The result is that, when the combined hands 

 are weak, he loses many a game which a common-sense Whist player 

 would save ; and that, over and over again, when the combined 

 hands are strong, he just fails to win the game through giving 

 the adversaries detailed information which he had far better keep 

 to himself, and w^ich is not in any degree essential to the effective 

 combination of his own and his partner's cards. The illustrative 

 hand from the Field* indicates the danger that characterises 

 the Whist of the conventional school. But the great majority 

 of published examples of the petrolatic system are selected 

 with the view of proving that the modern conventions 

 are good : and, as a rule, little or no notice is taken of the number- 

 less Whist hands in which the adversaries avail themselves of the 

 information afforded by the signals to defeat the object of the 

 signaller. Doubtless the advocates of the modem system are wise 

 in their generation ; but, despite their reticence, we have seen 

 enough of the consequences of adopting their fads to feel justified 

 both in forming and expressing an opinion as to their real value. 

 That opinion is that the cases in which the conventional signals are 

 of use are, generally speaking, just the cases in which the combined 

 hands would work together effectively without their help. This, at 

 all events, is the result of our persona] experience, and hence we 

 feel anxious that the Whist-players of Australia, for whom we ivrite, 

 should carefully consider the pros and eons of the matter before 

 they decide on enrolling themselves as members of the coterie of 

 which Cavendish is the recognised leader, and on accepting his 

 later teachings as hond-nde improvements in Whist practice." 



©ur Cfirss Column. 



By Mephisto. 



PROBLEM No. 104. 



By B. G. Laws. 



Black. 



White to play and mate in thi-ee moves. 



SOLUTIONS. 



TouRXAV Problem.'!, p. 266 (No. 104). 



(Hesperus.) 



1. Kt to B3 K to Kt5, or 3 



2. Kt (K3) to Q5 K to R4 or 6 



(ch) 



3. B to KtG, or Q to B sq, mate 



1. KtoQ5 



2. Kt to B sq (ch)K moves 

 Q mates accordingly 



* This hand, one of the most interesting we have ever seen, we 

 shall give next week. 



1. B to B5 K takes P, or 



2. Ktto K3 (ch) K takes B or K4 



3. Q to Kt6 or B5, mates accord- 



(Childe Harold.) 



1. Kt to B8 



2. Q takes P (ch)K to B5 



3. Kt to K6, mate 



1. K to B5 



2. Kt to B2 K to B6 or K4 



3. QtoKt4orKt5, mates accord- 

 ingly 



(Teudanda via est.) 

 Kt to Q4, or I 1. K to K6 



2. B to EO (ch) K to K5 



3. Q takes P, mate 



(Emu). (A Black Kt on K8.) 

 1. Q to B3, and mates accord- 

 ingly 



(Childe Harold.) 

 1. Q to K2, and mates accord- 

 ingly 



ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. 

 *#* Please address Chess Editor. 



Berrow. — Yes ; in self or sui-mate Problems, White compels Black 

 to mate White. Problems received with thanks ; you will hear from 

 us shortly. Solutions correct. 



C. Planck. — Best thanks for Problem. 



C. S. P. and P. C. — Received with thanks. 



E. C, Rathmines. — Two-mover correctly solved. 



Henry Bristow. — All the five solutions correct. 



Problem No. 103. — Correctly solved by W. Furnival, Clarence, 

 and W. 



MR. R A. PROCTOR'S COURSE OF LECTURES. 



1. LIFE OF WORLDS. 



2. THE SUN. 



3. THE MOON. 



4. THE PLANETS. 



.5. COMETS. 



6. THE STAR DEPTHS. 



See Advt, Pages for full Syllal^is. 



The following arrangements are complete : the numbers in 

 brackets referring to above list. 

 Town Hall, Kensington, Nov. 12, 14, 16 (1, 2, 3). 

 Great Hall, Tunbridge Wells, Nov. 20, 22 (4, 5). 

 Concert Hall, Maidstone, Nov. 19, 21, 23 (1, 2, 3). 

 Stockton, Nov. 26 (1). 

 Edinburgh. Nov. 28 (6). 

 Rothesay, Nov. 29 (1) 

 Morningside, Dec. 4 (4). 

 Falk-irk, Dec. 5(6). 

 Alexandria, Dec. 6. 

 Altrincham, Dec. 10 and March 11. 

 Carlisle, Nov. 27, 30 ; Dec. 3, 7 (1, 2, 3, 4). 

 Perry Bar, Jan. 29 (6). 

 King's Heath, Jan. 30 (1). 

 Colston Hall, Bristol, Feb. 18, 21, 25, 2S ; March 3, 6 (the full 



course). 

 Assembly Rooms, Cheltenham, Feb. 5, 8, 12, 15 (1, 2, 4, 6). At 



3 o'clock, Feb. 5 and 12 (3, 5). 

 Assembly Rooms, Bath. Four Morning Lectures at 3 o'clock, Feb. 



6, 9, 13, 16 (1, 3, 4, 6) ; two Evening, Feb. 6, 13 (2, 5). 

 Birkenhead, March 10. 



Note. — All comviunications respecting Lectures should he ad- 

 dressed to Mr. John Stuart, Royal Concert Hall, St. Leonards. 



Contents of No. 105. 



PASS 



Pleasant Hours wit b the Microscope. 



By H. ,T. Slack 267 



Strange Sea Creatures. By E. A. 



The Birth end Growth of Myth. 



XIX. Br Edward Clodd 269 



The Himalayas and the Alps. II. 



By Colonel Godwin Austen 270 



The Amateur Electrician. (Iltus.) 271 

 Curiosities of the Sub-Tropical 



Garden 273 



The Green Sun in India. By H. A. 



Proctor 274 



PAGB 



Tricycles in 1883. By J. Browning 274 

 Pretty Proofs of the Earth's Rotun- 

 dity. By E. A. Proctor 275 



Munificent Employers 276 



Correspondence ; Sir Wilham 

 Herschol— Tricycles (.Vn Error 

 Corrected) — Larire v. Small 

 "UTieels for Tricycles — Anthro- 

 pometry—The Barn Owl— Large 

 Sun-Spots — Letters Receiyed and 



Ans- 



277 



Ou 



SPECIAL NOTICES. 



Part XXIT. (October, 18831, now ready, price lOd., post-free. Is. Id. 

 Volume III., comprising the numbers published from January to June, 1883, 

 now ready, price 7s. 6d. 



OFFICE : 74-76, GREAT QUEEN STREET, LONDON, W.C. 



