April 1, 1887.] 



♦ KNO^ATLKDGE ♦ 



143 



The best .' The position is a very curious one. White threatens 

 more than merely to win a P, for after Itl. Kt x P, Kt x Kt, 

 20. B X Kt, the Rook has no move. But there are many interesting 

 variations possible in this position which the reader may examine, 

 such as i;i. BxP, KtxB. 20. Kt ■ Kt, and the Black B on Q2 

 cannot move or be defended, as White would mate on Q8. Then 

 again. Black cannot now play IS. B to B3, as White would reply 

 with 19. B X P, and the Black knight cannot retake. 



IS. P to Bl 

 For want of a satisfactory move, it avoids the mating possibilities. 



19. Pto R3 19. Qto Pa 



20. Kt X P 20. KKt to B3 



21. Kt X B Resigns. 



For if Black retakes, then 22. Pv x B makes the game hopeless for 

 Black. 



Hindoo Cosmogony axd Piivsks. — The Rev. Suman- 

 galii, chief-priest at Adam's Peak, ia Ceylon, has recently 

 published an account of the opinions of Hindoo astrono- 

 nier.s on the form and attraction of the earth. Bhaskara, 

 who flourished in the twelfth ceutur}', thought that the 

 terrestrial globe, composed of land, air, water, space, and 

 fire, had a spherical form, and, surrounded by the planets 

 and the orbits of the stars, maintained itself in space bj- 

 its own power. This, he .says, is in fact demonstrated. 

 Lands, mountains, gardens, and houses cover the earth as 

 pollen covers the flower of Kadamba, and serve as the 

 homes of men, Raksa.sas, Devas, and Asuras. He rejected 

 the idea that the earth rested on anything else, for the 

 obvious reason that, if another support were needed, there 

 would be no end to the supplementary supports. There- 

 fore we shall have to admit a final equilibrium some- 

 where ; why not accept it at once 1 '■ Is not the earth 

 one of the forms of Siva ? As heat occurs naturally in the 

 sun and fire, cold in the moon, fluidity in water, and hard- 

 ness in the stone, so mobility exists in the air. Every 

 object has its own properties, and the properties implanted 

 in some objects are wonderful." Bhaskara believed that 

 the eiirth, possessing an attractive force, drew to itself 

 everything heavy in the atmosphere surrounding it, whence 

 those bodies fall to it. " But," he said, " how could the 

 earth fall into the ethereal space, since that .space is equal 

 on all sides 1 " 



boldly leadin 



f/H.(< 



©wv W(Wt Column, 



By "Five of Clubs." 



ILLUSTRATIVE GAME. 



HE following game is sufficiently simjile ; but it 

 serves to illustrate well the necessity of care in 

 supporting partner's strategy and attending to 

 details. Had S misunderstood .i's play in turn- 

 ing from trumps to his long plain suit, .-l"s purpose 

 would have been foiled, and, though A~B would 

 still have come out ahead, the game would have 

 been misstd. Z could have saved the game by 



4's established suit, but only by a .single point. 



THE HANDS. 

 'rumj>ii).— Q, G, 2. S.— A, 10, 8, 7, 



D.— K, 8, G, 3. 



■'■} 



rH. (tps).—K, Kn. 



C— 9, 7. 

 I D.— Q, Kn, 10, n. 

 LS.— K, Q, Kn, !•, C. 



Y Z 



Tr. H, !i. 



A leads. 



A B play against 1" and Z. 



H {trumps).— k, 10, 8, 4. 

 C— A, Q, Kn, 10, 3, 2. 



H. (<;«).— 9, 7, 5, 3. 

 C— K, 6, .5, 4. 

 D.— A, 9, 7, 2. 

 S.— 2. 



S.— 4, 3. 

 D.— 5. 



--? 



Score : — A B none ; T Z none. 



NOTES ON THE PLAY. 



Card underlined wins trick ; card 

 underneath leading next. 



O 



O 



i * j(, J, j>, 



I". •!• f f 



A^A A A 





to (? 

 S 5 



1. A i^roperly leads trumps, with 

 his splendid Club suit, and strength 

 enough in trumps to give a good 

 chance of bringing in his long suit. 



2. From the return of the Six, 

 .1 knows that his partner — who 

 certainly holds the Two (see first 

 round) — held only three originally. 

 Hence he sees the minor tonace 

 in Z'i, hand, and tliat Z must be 

 led through by B, if possible. 



3. 7? now knows that, besides 

 the second best trump (the trump 

 card), Z must hold the fourth best. 

 For, unless A held the major ten- 

 ace as against the minor tenace, 

 declared in Z'i hand, A would go 

 on with trumps. 



4. For B to ruff here would 

 have been very bad play, though 

 it is what nine out of ten who 

 imagine they play whist would 

 have done without hesitation. B 

 can place all the trumps, and Z's 

 King will inevitably make some 

 time or other. But, apart from 

 that, B can see that ,t's whole 

 strategy will be ruined unless J's 

 long suit can be established and 

 Z led through in trumps. With 

 Ace of Spades and his well-guarded 

 Diamond King, B is pretty sure to 

 get the desired lead. 



5. Z should here have seen the 

 danger of the position, and that 

 his best chance is to throw the 

 lead into .4's hand. If B gets a 

 lead neither of Z'% trumps can 

 make, so that if A is driven to 

 force Z, the trick so made will be 

 clear gain, even if nothing more 

 is obtained. 



6 to the end. The game now 

 plays itself; and the wisdom of 

 B's course in refraining from the 

 tempting ruff at trick 4, or rather 

 the folly he would have displayed 

 had he ruffed at that point, is 

 clearly seen : A-B make five by 

 cards and the game. 



— 2— 



If i? had ruffed at trick 4 the game would probably have pro- 

 ceeded as follows : — 



it *. if tf Kf. A 





A 

 4.— C 10 



5.— S 3 



6.— S 4 



7.— H8 



— (! — 



8.— CQ 



9.— C Kn 

 10. 



-H 10 

 II.— C 3 



12.— C 2 

 13.— D 4 



y 



C 9 



S 6 



S 9 

 — 1— 

 S K 



D 5 



D 10 



S Kn 



SQ 



D Kn 



D Q 



B 

 H 2 



— 4— 



S A 



sV 



So 

 D 3 

 S 8 

 D 

 S 10 

 D 8 

 DK 



Z 



C 5 



S2 7. r-;? do better if There leads 

 Diamond Queen ; but it would be 



■'-' " bad play so to lead ; for the lead 



jj - of Spade King saves the game 

 surely ; wliereas, for anything Y 



C j£ knows, the lead of Diamond Queen 



—2— might just suit .4. 



C 6 



9. It is Z's game to put the lead 



H 7 into A's hand. 



j^ cf 13. A-B make only three by 

 _3_ cards, instead of five as in the 

 D A actual game. 



— 4- 



D9 



