August 1, 1887.] 



♦ KNOWLEDGE ♦ 



239 



the major tenace between yon and your partner — assuming the 

 King or Ace with your partner. If your partner has the Knave, 

 passing the Queen loses a trick ; but the odds are greatly against this. 

 [If the lead has been from four cards, leader cannot have followed 

 the accepted principles of play if as second place you hold ten ; for 

 these only allow the lead of Queen from Queen, Knave, ten, &c., 

 except in cases of emergency, when Queen may sometimes be led 

 from Queen, Knave, nine. The play also in the case considered 

 would depend partly on the score and on yotir strength in 

 trumps.] 



Plat Second Hand, Secosd Eouxd. 



It frequently happens that the adversary on the right hand, having 

 won his partner's lead with the Ace or King, returns the Knave. 

 In this case do not put on the Queen, as the probability is that, if 

 you play a small card, third player will not finesse, but play the 

 best if he hold it. On all such occasions, however, play without 

 hesitating, lest you should direct a skilful adversary to an advan- 

 tageous finesse. 



If your right-hand adversary wins, and returns his partner's lead, 

 should you hold the best and a small one, play the small one. Third 

 player will probably finesse (if holding the second and fourth best, 

 or second best to fourth best led), so that if your partner has the 

 third best he will probably make it. If your adversary on the left 

 is a bad player, however, I would not advise this ; for bad players 

 never finesse when they ought to. [If you are weak in trumps it is 

 tmsafe to venture on vmderplay of this sort, unless it is done in order 

 to retain command in the one suit of which you are afraid, for which 

 purpose it is sometimes the most prudent course.] 



Plat Third Haxd. 



Win with the lowest of a sequence to show your strength in your 

 partner's suit. [In modern whist it is considered best to play the 

 lowest (if any card) of a sequence to a trick, alike to the lead of 

 an adversary and to a partners lead, save on those rare occasions 

 when underplay is proper ; but, as will be seen under that head, 

 Mathews considers it often desirable to keep the adversary in igno- 

 rance, in his own suit, by playing the highest of a sequence.] 



If your partner leads the nine or ten, and you have an honour 

 with only one small card, put on the honour. If with the honour 

 you hold two or more small ones, do not put on the honour. If you 

 hold Ace, whether with one small card or more, put on the Ace 

 invariably, for it is better that your partner should fiiiesse in his own 

 suit than you. 



When your partner leads a card of which you have the best and 

 third, and your right-hand adversary puts on the fourth, the second 

 only remaining, it is a commonly received but erroneous opinion 

 that the chance of succeeding in the finesse is equal to the chance 

 of failing ; but calculation will show that as the last player has one 

 card more than his partner, the chance is in corresponding proportion 

 in favoor of the second best lying with the fotirth player. For 

 example, if second and fourth players held each of them three 

 cards, the odds will be three to two against the finesse succeeding. 



[The play of the fotirth best second in hand is, however, in 

 itself suggestive either of shortness in the suit, or of finesse. If 

 the fourth is the lowest of two, the other is of course the second, 

 and your finesse is safe. If fourth player holds no more, then your 

 finesse is useless if your partner holds second best, and a failure if 

 fourth player holds it — the next round being probably ruffed. 

 Regarded as a matter of probabilities, note that the play of fourth 

 best, by showing that a number of small cards in the suit lie between 

 the fourth player and your partner, diminishes the probability that 

 second best lies on your left. On the whole, it is best to play the 

 third best, unless a single trick is wanted to save or win the game 

 or make a particular point.] 



[Mathews does not consider specially the case of Ace, Queen, 

 with or without others, here or anywhere else. We may safely con- 

 clude from his silence that the finesse of the Queen, except where 

 one trick wins or saves the gsjne or a point, was regarded in liis 

 time as too obvious to need enforcing. It is clear from his remarks 

 on the finesse that he would not have had any doubt as to the 

 propriety of the course now customarily adopted. The cases imme- 

 diately following clearly show this. In fact, players finessed more 

 boldly in Mathews' day than they do now.] 



With Ace, Knave, and another, finesse the Knave to your partner's 

 suit if strong in trumps ; but, otherwise, play the Ace. In trumps, 

 with Ace, Knave, and another, it is always right to finesse the Knave 

 to your partner's lead. 



[The finesse of the Knave is decidedly wrong, both in trumps, 

 and with a plain suit whether you are strong or weak in trumps. 

 In every case, play the Ace and rettim the Knave ; you wiU save five 

 tricks in the long run by pursuing this cottrse for two that you 

 will lose.] 



If your partner leads ten, and you hold Ace, Knave, and another 



or others, pass the ten invariably — unless one trick saves or makes 

 the game or a particular point. 



If your partner leads the Ace and Queen of a suit, of which yon 

 have the King and two others, win his Queen that you may not 

 stop his suit. [Leading Ace, then Queen, indicates the Knave in 

 reserve ; but before the distinction was adopted of leading the 

 Queen second if with no more than four in suit, and the Knave if 

 with five or more, Mathews' rule of covering the card led from the 

 remaining top sequence was too absolute. It would be wrong, for 

 instance, if your partner had shown such strength in trumps or 

 plain suits that you could feel sure of his re-entering. For by 

 taking his Queen you may leave his long suit protected in the 

 adversaries' hands, where by passing, you and he are able to take 

 out four rounds in the suit certain. This applies to our modern 

 play of the Knave : there are cases when the King should not be 

 played, precisely because the lead of the Knave indica'es length in 

 the suit — though usually the Knave calls for the King.] 



It your right-hand adversary " calls " for honours, and your 

 partner leads through him, if you hold Ace or King with nine and 

 a small one, you should finesse the nine. 



[This is one of the few rules given by Mathews which applies 

 specially to long whist. In short whist the occasion for this finesse 

 arises if your right-hand adversary, especially if he has turned an 

 honour, calls for trtmips. Because then your partner, leading 

 t'nrough him notwithstanding the call, shows such strength that the 

 finesse of the nine is probably safe. It is better, though, from Ace, 

 nine, than from King, nine. In either case, if the nine makes, lead 

 the high card at once ; it is the best way of helping your partner 

 against the enemy's trumps, which lie weak on his right, strong on 

 his left.] 



If, after ten tricks have been played, there remains one entire 

 suit [save for a solitary discard], and your partner lead, you holding 

 King, t€n, and another, your play must depend on the position. If 

 yon have made five tricks, or otherwise need two for a particular 

 point or to save or win the game, put on the King. But if you have 

 made six, or need but one more point, you can make sure of it 

 thus : — If your right-hand adversary put on an honour, win it [you 

 thus remain with the second best guarded] : if he plays a small one, 

 put on the ten [and still you remain with guarded second best]. 



©m Cftfsfsi Columiu 



By "Mephisto." 



ENDINGS FROM ACTUAL PLAY. 

 A siSGULABLT ingenious termination of a game, wherein White 

 had given the odds of a Knight. 



Amatel'b. 



Black. 



rwi. 



1 '^^ ^ rgi^r^i^ 



WBrra. 

 Mb. F. H. Lewis. 



White proceeded as follows : — 



Kt to Kt5 P to KE3 



KxKt 

 The first of a series of brilliant moves. If Black play either P >< R 

 or P X Kt, White woidd reply with Q to Ro, and would soon obtain 

 a mating position. 



QxR 

 Kt to R7 Q to Bo 



Q to B3 



