Oct. 27, 1882. 



♦ KNOWLEDGE ♦ 



367 



THE PLAY. 

 yoTB.— The card underlined wins the trick, aod card below leads neit round. 



REMARKS, INFEREXCES, Ac. 



1. A properlj- leads a trump, 

 though an honour turuetl, haviiif, 

 five, one honour. Ue leads the 

 penultimate. 



2. B does not hold four trumps, 

 or he would "echo" to his partner's 

 lead of trumps. 



3. The penultimate aipfn is com- 

 pleted. Z, of course, should have 

 led his Queen of Spades. 



4. Z should see that B holds no 

 more tramps. Y plays the Ten to 

 help his partner, B having shown 

 ■n-eakness in the first round of 

 trumps. 



5. Z does his best to help his 

 adversaries. He not only gives up 

 the command in trumps utterly, 

 but draws two cards for one. He 

 should hare forced A with his 

 Spade Queen. 



C. Even now the lead of Spado 

 Queen would have been the correct 

 thing, though, as the cards lie, it 

 would have done no good. 



7. It is necessary, to save game, 

 to make every other trick, for T Z 

 are two bv honours. Xow, either 

 the King "is with B or not ; if B 

 holds it, whether guarded or un- 

 guarded, A B must win, for A holds 

 the Ions: trump with which to re- 

 enter, if B is unable to return 

 trumps. If the enemy hold King 

 guarded, the lead of Diamond Ace 

 must lose the game for .4 B, 

 whereas there is a chance that Y 

 holding the King guarded, IS may 

 hold the knave. A, therefore, 

 plays on the lino which gives the 

 best chance of winning. 



8, &c. The rest of the game 

 plays itself. Y Z have nothing 

 more to do with it. 



either at once force out his trumps, by leading your King and then 

 a forcing card, or play your own and your partner's suit, retaining 

 the power to stoj) trumps when led once more. 



Seeing Eight Cards.— A corres- 

 pondent asks whether, after a trick 

 has been turned, the cards of that 

 trick and the previous trick may 

 all be exposed. The answer is that 

 they may not. Four cards only 

 may be seen at once, just after a 

 trick has been turned ; five after 

 a card has been led ; six after 

 second hand has played ; seven 

 after third hand has played ; eight 

 after fourth hand has played, until 

 the trick thus completed is taken 

 up and turned. In some Whist 

 circles a singular mistake prevails : 

 it is maintained that only between 

 tho playing of last card to a trick 

 and turning tho trick, can tho cards 

 of tho previous trick bo looked at. 



not the case ; tho previous trick can always bo 



The Sion.\l.— Jack of Clubs (English Whist knows no Jack) 

 •wants to know if one can signal after trumps have been led by an 

 adversary ? Certainly you can. Often a signal so played is most 

 effective. Thus, your right-hand adversary leads trumns, in which 

 you hold, say four, headed by two honours, ,-\co. King, Knave, nine. 

 Yonr partner wins with tho Queen, third hand being very weak. 

 Your i)artnor then leads his suit, and you signal in it. He loads 

 trumps through strength. Tho original leader of trumps, oven if 

 ho held Aco four others is now placed at a disadvantage. If ho 

 plays tho Aco, he must lead through your strcngfth, and you can 



<Buv Cbess Column. 



Br Mepiii.sto. 



SOLUTION. 

 I'Roni,KM Xo. 57, BY Leo.nabd P. 



1. B to Eo. 



2. R to Q4. 



'■i. R to Rl (mate). 



1. K takes 1 



2. K to liC. 



HOW TO CON.STI!UCT .\ PROBLKM. 



GENERAL rules on the subject of problem construction have 

 been given by various eminent composers. The main point 

 given by all authorities is to have first an idea of a mate, which 

 subsequently may be worked out into a problem. Every position 

 where a mate can be given will do for that purpose, provided we 

 can so arrange the pieces as to render the mating process both 

 difiicult and correct. 



Difficulty and correctness are the main requisite features of a 

 problem. Correctness is, undoubtedly, the chief point. It means : 



First, that there should be but one first move. 



Secondly, that against each of Black's best defences there ought 

 only to be but ono way of effecting a mate. We wish it to be well 

 understood that the more variations and different mates there are 

 in a problem, the better it is, but White must always have but one 

 last move to effect the different mates ; thus, for instance, it will 

 never do to have one of the variations of a problem to terminate 

 with B to R6 or Kto mate. This would be called a dual. 



Thirdly, every piece on the board ought to have its i>roper use, 

 both for attack and defence, and the less pieces we have to work 

 out an idea, tho better. 



If we succeed in so arranging the pieces as to meet tho above re- 

 quirements, we have a problem, and with some practice in tho 

 correct construction of problems, difficulty and variety of combi- 

 nation soon follow. 



We cannot do better than give onr readers a specimen of con- 

 struction. 



Taking a chess-board, we first endeavour to obtain a clear idea 

 of our mating position; after some littlo time wo hit upon the idea 

 in diagram A, and determine to work it into a problem. 



.\ 



Our intention is to ottect a mutv by bringing tho Bishop ronnd to 

 QKt3 in three moves. At present wo have no less than threo 

 mates on the first move, which wo must, of course, jiri'vont without 

 disturbing tho idea of our problem. This we can ilo at once by 

 placing tho King on QB2, which gives us K to Q3 as a good first 

 move, and renders tho percojition of tho main itlca to bring tho 

 B to QKt3 more difficult. In order to prevent the mate by 2R to 

 QC and U lo B7, wo >vnnt a Dlack Rook on Black KK|3, but wo do 

 better by placing that Rook on KKt.'i, thus placing a piece in front of 

 tho Uishop, after 1. K to Q3, the Kook would booom)x<llodloplay to 

 Kt3, to prevent mate. But tho Rook on KKtS, besides playing to 

 Kt3, can also giro check on KtG, or by R takes P. Wo can easily 



