72 



♦ KNOW^LEDGE ♦ 



[January 1, 1887 



(Bnv CDfg£J Column. 



By " Mephisto.' 



EVEREXCE for the past is not a characteristic 

 trait of the present generation of chess players. 

 We may, however, always find something 

 interesting, to reward us for our pains in turning 

 liver the sere and yellow leaves of the rhess 

 literature of old. Jn looking backward tor 

 inspiration for the New Year's chess article, 

 I made a virtue of necessity, which I am pleased 

 to call reverence for the past. Tlie necessity 

 may, however, be practically explained by a remarkable falling off 

 in the production of good chess in this country. This falling oft 

 can be accounted for partly by a large decrease in first-class pla\', 

 owing to circumstances affecting some individuals who formerly 

 played good chess professionally. Going still deeper into the causes 

 of this failing, we are bound to come to the conclusion that the 

 enthusiasm for chefs which animated many of the great plaj'ers of 

 the past, and which, in connection wilt fatient and laborious 

 study, produced such fine results, is gradually disappearing. The 

 pressure on man's mind is far more severe than it used to be 

 formerly, and the demand on his physical energy in the struggle for 

 life is so much greater, and as a man must possess an easy and free 

 mind, and plenty of leisure time to pursue chess ardentlj', I have 

 grave doubts whether we shall in this or the next generation find 

 such noble votaries of chess as Philidor, Labourdonais, Staunton, 

 MacDonnell, Bilguer, Van der Lasa, Andersen, Paulsen, Morphy, &c. 

 In looking over some curious examples of old compositions, I 

 came across a verj' interesting and useful position, composed by a 

 Cambridge man, given in the diagram below. In this problem a 

 mate can be forced by any one of White's five pieces. There can 

 be no more useful exercise than an attempt at solving this piroblem. 

 In order to do so, we must conceive or fird five different ma'ing 

 positions in this one problem, in it.selE an excellent practice ; for, 

 unless we first discover the possibility of a mate being given, we 

 can never solve any problem ; how to mate follows then of itself. 



Here we have an excellent example, showing the power of pieces 

 in certain positions, and their influence on the whole. Ko doubt 

 good practice for problem composers who put pieces on the board, 

 to make up a position with a light heart, without calculating other 

 effects which they produce, creating double solutions, duals, kc. 



BL.tCK. 



White. 

 The problem is — 



1. White to mate in 1 moves with the Kt on BS. 

 -'■ ,. „ ." „ „ KB. 



:f. „ „ 5 „ „ V. 



■t- ,. „ fi „ „ Kt on Q2. 



Ti. „ ,. 8 „ „ t,)L!. 



1 presume that the reader will make a prolonged effort to folvc 

 tliis problem. For the benefit and instruction of tliosc not sufli- 

 ciently acquainted with the method how to solve a problem, I 

 hereby work out the solution, as a useful guide for future efforts in 

 the same direction. 



Now in order to find out No. 1, which is the most diflicult, we 

 must suppose that we do not know that the mate has to be given by 

 the Kt on B8, but we must treat it simply as a four-mover. First of 

 all we have to take a good survey of the relative position of tlie 

 While pieces, and then of the Black K. We find the K can only 

 move to B4, and in an open position like this it may .safely be taken 

 for granted that in order to mate in four moves, the White cannul 



afford to give Black much liberty after Black playing K to B4 ; we 

 have also to provide against K x B and K to KtiJ, wh'ch we obviously 

 cannot allow. We see, therefore, that K to B4 is the move to coun- 

 teract. We may have several tries at doing this. Kt to Q7 would 

 not do, as that would open a still larger loophole for escape of the 

 black K rill K3, therefore we try 1. B to B7, K to Bi. Now we 

 must move the other B or protect him with 2. K to Rf, K to Ql. 

 But by looking at the position we find that we have not got more 

 forward, for whether we move either Kt or 1', the black K obtains 

 more liberty. It we replace the posiiion, iheref..re. we may 

 attempt to cut off the retreat of the black K by 1. K to K4 and 

 2. K to Ko ; but here again we shall soon find that there is no mate 

 possible in four moves. By making various efforts with the B's and the 



F, we shall also soon come to the conclusion that in order to mate in 

 four moves the position must be disturbed as little as possible. 

 There remains, therefore, but the Kt on Q2 available. We can un- 

 doubtedly cut off the K from BI by Kt to Kt3, but then we allow 

 K to K5. As we are, however, impressed with the conviction that 

 we must prevent K to BI if possible, we must look what we can do 

 further after 1. Kt to Kt3, K to K3. It is certain we cannot allow 

 Black's K to KB4 or KB6, and we see that 2. Kt to Qt is the only 

 move to prevent either; but as yet we have achieved nothing. 

 Nevertheless, we are guided instinctively to make these moves, espe- 

 cially as the black K must now go back, and we know by experience 

 that by so limiting the action of the K we are more likely to bring 

 about a mating position. Feeling that in all probabilitj' we are on 

 the right track, we must not easily be deterred, but seek to find a 

 mating position. After 2 Kt to Qi. K to Ql in looking for a mate, 

 we soon find that if the white K were now on Ktl, we could mate 

 by B to BC. Can we bring that about ! No, for if :!. K to Kt4, 

 K to K.5, and there is no mate next move, although we can mate in 5 

 by i. B to K2, K to Q-t. 5. B to B:i, mate. But then we must do 

 it in four, and we feel that there cannot be any time for moving 

 the K, therefore we replace the men and try again, nothing daunted. 

 1. Kt to Kt3, K to K.5. 2. Kt to Qt, K to Qt- We see that the 

 Kt on Q4 now protects the square on K6, which makes the Kt on 

 B8 available. Supposing we try 3. Kt(B8) to K6, then K to Kr>. 

 and there is no mate anywhere the same if 3. Kt(Q4) to K6, but 

 there is still 3. Kt to Q7, then K to Ko, and surely 4. Kt to B6 

 is mate. 



Now this is a case where we could not see the mating position 

 first, but where we had to weigh probabilities to lead us in the right 

 direction, and then exhaust possibilities to find tlie solution, which 

 is mostly the case with problems above three moves. 



1 he other .solutions are as follows : — 



No. 2. To mate with KB in five moves: — 



We have already found out in attempting to solve No. 1, namely, 

 by 1. Kt to Kt3, K to K5. 2. Kt to Q4, K to Q4. 3. K to Kt4, 

 k to K5. 4. B to R6, K to Q4. B to Kt", mate. In this mate 

 there are many duals; on the 4th move the B can move to three 

 places or the Kt on 1!8 can make four different moves, after all 

 of which the KB will be able to give mate. A mate can also be 

 given by 3. Kt to lj7 or KO, K to K."). 4. K to Kt3 or Kt4, K to Q4. 

 5. B to BC, mate. There are also duals in the other solutions. The 

 study of all these various duals will be useful e.xercise for anyone 

 wishing to learn how to solve or construct a problem. 



No. 3. To mate with the I' in five moves : — 



1. K to 1!4, K toB4. 2. B to B7, Kto Q4. 3. B to Q7, K to B4. 

 4. Kt to Kfi (ch), K to Q4. 5. F to K4, mate. 



No. 4. To mate with the Kt on Q2 in six moves : — 



1. K to IM, K to B4. 2. K to R.5, K .o Q4. 3. B to B7, K to 

 B4. 4. Kt to KG (ch), K to Q4. 5. Kt to B4 (ch), K to Bl. 



G. Kt on Q'2 mates. 



No. a. To mate in eight moves with QB : — 



1. K to R4, Kto B4. 2. K to Rr>, K to Q4. 3. B to Q7, K to B4. 

 4. Kt to KG (ch), K to Q4. B. Kt to B7 (ch), K to B4. G. Kt to 

 Kt.-., K to (,11. 7. r to K4 (ch), K to B4. 8. B males. 



J. C. — You are right. In Knowi.edgk fir November, Diagram 

 p. 24, the Black Queen slionld be on Black's QR square, not on 

 QU8. 



Contents of No. 14. 



Tlie riuudbcii-jr 2S 



TJic Story of i;reation ; .1 PI in .Vc- 

 lount of Evolution. By Edward 



Clodd 27" 



Martingalfs ; or, Sure(?) Gambling 



Systems 29 



Indian Myths about Thunder. By 



•■ 8tella Occideus" 32 



A I iFie-tcale Atlas 34 



The Southern Skies 35 



rAf'.K 

 Notes on AmeritanisinB. By 



Richard .A. Broctor '. 3S 



Our Biizzles 39 



The Whist PI lyers' Puzzles 40 



Gossip By Richard A. Proctor . . 41 



Reviews 44 



Our Chess Columu. By "Jle- 



pliisto " 4 7 



Whist. By •■ FivL' of Clubs " 4S 



The Face of the Sky for December. 



By F.RA.S 4S 



