168 



♦ KNOWLEDGE ♦ 



[Aug. 22, 1884, 



(JPur Cljfsisi Column* 



By Mephisto. 



PROBLEMS BY I. G. 



No. 124. 

 Black. 



Whitk. 

 White to play and mate in three moves. 



Hi W£'^m 



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Whttb. 



White to play and mate in three moves. 



1. Kt to KB3. This first move leads to a close opening, pro- 

 ducing a very safe game for White. The opening is remarkable 

 for an entire absence of combination leading to any direct line of 

 play. The player is soon thrown upon his own resources, and he 

 has to sti-uggle for position. This kind of game is specially adapted 

 for match play between strong players, as it requires first class 

 judgment and experience to conduct these subtle wrangles for 

 position in which minute advantages are gained, which, if properly 

 followed up, lead to a winning advantage for the End game. 

 Weaker jilayers not having sufficient judgment, miss the subtle 

 points in this opening, which then becomes dull and featureless, 

 but always affording a comparatively safe game to the first player. 



The opening affords but very poor practice for young players, 

 who ought to adopt lively and attacking debuts, as by undertaking 

 such attacks and defences they will gradually gain experience and 

 a deeper insight into the game, they will also derive much pleasure 

 from such practice, which after all is the main object of Chess play. 



The effect of 1. Kt to KB3 is twofold— to prevent P to K4, also 

 to enable the first player to avoid the French defence. If Black 

 plays 1. P to Q3 with the object of playing 2. P to K4, White will 

 gain an advantage by playing 2. P to Q4, or he may play 

 2. P to K4; and if 2. P to K4, White may reply as in the Philidor 

 defence by 3. P to Q4 with advantage. 



It in reply to 1. Kt to KB3, P to QB4, the same as in the 

 Sicilian defence. White can at once play 2. P to Q4, and the QP 

 will be weak, 2. P x P. 3. Kt x P, P to K4. 4. Kt to Kt5, i-c. 

 1. P to QB3 may be played, but the best replies are 1. P to K3 

 and 1. P to Q4. It is not desii-able to play 1. Kt to QB3 as it is 



Whitb. 



requisite to play P to QB4 later on, to counteract the advance of 



White's centre Pawns. Having stated sufficiently to indicate the 



import of 1. Kt to KB3, we will proceed to the normal variation 



arising out of that move : — 1. Kt to KB3, P to K3. 2. P to 04 



P to Q4. 3. P to K3, Kt to KB3. 4. P to QKt3, B to Ki' 



5. B to Kt2, Castles. G. B to K2, P to QKt3. 7. P to QB4 



B to Kt2. 8. Castles, P to QB4. 9. Kt to B3, Kt to B3. 



10. R to B sq., R to B sq. 11. Kt to R4, Kt to E4. 



In this opening, the player who is too soon compelled to change 



Pawns, is at a disadvantage, as 



the opponent, by retaking with 



Pawn, obtains a commanding 



position. If 13. P x BP, PxQP. 



13. BxKt, PxB. 14. PxP, 



P X P. 15. Kt to E4, threatening 



B to Kt4, B to B5, and Q to H5, 



&c. If in reply to 12. P x BP, 



B X P. 13. P X P, B X P. 14. Kt 



X B, isolating and weakening the 



BP. If Black, on his 11th move, 



instead of Kt toR4 plays Kt toK5, 



then 12. Kt to Q2 still threaten- 

 ing to win the BP by P x KP. 



We must now come to consider 



the various deviations from this 



line of play by which Black seeks 



to avoid this knotty position. 



For that purpose we quote Blackburne's method of posting the P 



on QB3, playing the Kt to Q2 and B to Q3, viz., 1. Kt to KB3, 



P to Q4. 2. P to Q4, P to K3. 3. P to K3, Kt to KB3. 



4. B to Q2, Kt to Q2. 5. P to QKt3, B to Q3. 6. P to B4, 



P to B3. 7. Castles, Castles. 



In this position, which of course may be arrived at by various 



transposition of moves, Black is 

 ""^^ somewhat confined. His inten- 



tion is to play B to Kt sq., but 

 we doubt whether any attack 

 need be feared on the K's side, as 

 P to KKt3 is always available. 

 White, when opposed to strong 

 l>lay, not wishing to incur any 

 risk, may plaj- B to R3, compel- 

 ling the exchange of Bishops. 

 White may also play B to Kt2 or 

 Kt to QB3. The latter move may 

 lead to complications nnfavoui- 

 able for White, for if Kt to K5. 

 Kt X Kt, P X Kt, Kt to Q2. 

 P to B4, White cannot play 

 P to B3 now, on account of 

 Q to R5. It seems that when 



Black does not play P to QB4 but P to B3, then the White B is 



better placed on Q3. 



White may arrive at the same position by playing as his first 



move either 1. Kt to KB3, P to Q4. P to QB4, P to K3, &c. ; 



while he may vary his moves considerably, Black has to be careful 



to answer correctly. 



We think we have given the leading principle of this opening. 



Endeavour to develop all the pieces and to support the QP 



and QBP until the position is ripe for an advance on the Q's side. 



White must meet deviations in a careful manner, guarding against 



exposing his game or attacking prematurely, and he will always 



obtain a fairly developed and safe game. 



1 / " «#3, 

 i k ^^ i $ t 



White. 



SOLUTION. 



Problem No. 122, p. 124. 



1. R toB4 BxR, or 



2. K to Kt5 Any 2. Q to Kt4 



3. Q to KR sq. Slate 3. Q x P 

 If B to B3. 2. B X B and mate next move. 

 If K to B5. 2. Q X P and mate next move. 

 " Well constructed and somewhat difficult." 



BxB 



K to K4 

 Mate 



ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. 



#*, Please address Chess Editor. 



Correct solutions received. — Problem No. 122, Geo. Thompson, 

 W., A. W. Overton, J. K. Milne. No. 123. John Watson, Geo. 

 Thompson, C. T. G. 



