288 



KNOWLEDGE. 



[December, 1901. 



C. Joliuston, Vivien H. 

 A. Fordo (Ciipt), A. E. 



J. E. Broadbent, H. Boyes 

 Macmeikan, F. Dennis. 



Of No. 1 only from G. 

 Whitehouse. 



Alpha. — It was (juite understood from your previous 

 letters that yon \yere not a serious comjietitor. 



P. H. Williams. — Many thanks for your pretty problems. 

 They are marked to appear in the February number. 



)S'. G. Liickorl-. — Although there is, in my own opinion, 

 no objeetion to the insertion, during a solution ti^urney, of 

 a prolileni composed by one of the competitors, it is 

 nevertheless possible that some of the competitors might 

 hold a different opinion. I have accordingly reserved 

 your clever problem for m^xt month, when the solution 

 tourney will, except for possible ties, be no longer in 

 progress. 



V. n. Mariiieihoi. — Your solutions were in yilenty of 

 time, the Sandwich jiostmark being the 9th. The mark (jf 

 the issuing office must be not later than (he Itltli. 



PROBLEMS. 



By C. D. Loeock. 



No. 1. 



ni.ACK (i:). 



i-//- + 



i^^ 1 



i ■ 



'■m.^w^' ■^^ 



i 



m 

 A.. 





m ^m 



White (li). 



White mates in three moves. 

 No. 2. 



Black (7). 





9.....M 



/////^ .. /////// 



II 



m m 



mi 



^^ • ■ 1 '^t 

 Mi^, iiM& A mm. 





w f 



White (;i). 



White mates in three moves. 



[Solvers are requested to notice that bo(,h the above are 

 three-move problems.! 



If tiv(! points be added t<i the list printed last month, 

 that list will do for the present luontli. the relative iiosi- 



tions of the first sixteen being unaltered. In (he not 

 improbable event of a tie for some or all of the prizes, the 

 Chess-Editor proposes to take advantage of his powers, 

 under " Condition 4," of attemjiting to decide the ties by 

 '' a further trial of skill- under new conditions." These 

 will probably include a four-move problem, to appear in 

 the January number, as well as a three-move problem. 

 The latter, in order that it may not be debarred from sub- 

 sequent publication elsewhere, will be sent by post to the 

 eom]ietitors' addresses. It is particularly requested, 

 therefore, that all solvers who have any chance of tieiiig 

 for any of the four prizes will send, with their solutions 

 this month, the addresses which will find them on or 

 about January 1, or during the last week of December. 



A Note on Chess Theory. 



Mr. Mason. I think, remarks in one of his books that 

 cajiture is always, or almost always, followed by reaction. 

 Tbis is espeeiallj' true when the capture is that of a Pawn; 

 for not only does the player waste a move in effecting the 

 capture, but he also presents his ojjponent with an aid to 

 counter-attack in the shape of an extra open tile. It 

 follows that a player should be careful how he picks up 

 Pawns, more particularly when the. capture puts a piece 

 out of play, or in a position subject to attack. Neverthe- 

 less, " a Pawn is a Pawn," and among first-class players it 

 is usually numerical superiority that decides the issue. A 

 Pawn, therefore, must be won, but it does not follow that 

 it must always be won at the earliest opportunity. If the 

 attack is strong enough to force the gain of a Pawn, it is 

 generally strong enough to force the gain of something 

 better. When, therefore, you have a Pawn at your mercy, 

 it is often advisable, instead of taking it at once, either 

 to attack it with another piece so as to get the option of 

 taking it with either, or, still keeping hold of the Pawn, to 

 threaten something else ; continuing in this manner until 

 you see your way to capture without fear of reaction. On 

 an ()]jen board the Queen is especially suitable for tactics 

 of this kind, which really come under the well-known 

 axiom that to threaten is better than to perform. For 

 examjile, when you have a piece capable of moving to 

 either of two commanding squares, it is often better to 

 play it to neither. If you commit yourself to either, the 

 opjionent will at least know what that piece means and 

 will be enabled to shape his defence accordingly; whereas, 

 liy reserving the option, you compel him to keep on pro- 

 viding for both emergencies. And, if you can get him into 

 the same state with regard to one or two more attacking 

 pieces, he will probably find that the emergencies to be 

 provided for outnumber his defensive resources, and 

 that consequently his game is lost. In a word, the golden 

 rule for attack may be stated as follows: — '• Unless you 

 clearly see your way to decisive gain, do not make one 

 stro7ig move, but threaten to make -trior e than one." 



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