Chess
BY PHILIDOR
No. 20. N. A. Bonavia Hun.
III-ACK, 9 men.
WHITE, 12 men. White to play and mate in 2 moves: solution next week. Solution to last week's probl eat by Erlin: B-R61• threat R-B 4. 1 • • • Kx R; 2 Q-R 8. 1 . . . Px R; 2 10'
K 5. 1 .
2 B-K 2. 1 . ,, R x P; 2 Kt-Q 1 . . . R-Kt
2 R-K 3. Composed over 50 years ago, this a good example of all 2-movers: theme not strongly marked, the merits of the problem being a fine key move and good individual variations.
CHESS WITH A DIFFERENCE.
One of the standard complaints against chess as it is played nowadays is that knowledge 0, with opening variations plays too great a part wit' two resultant and connected disadvantages; first that in the openings a player plays with other people's ideas and not his own and, secondly, that mere memorising of variations will enable g, player to beat an opponent of greater nature' ability than himself. These disadvantages can easily be exaggerated; original players do 04 ,deas of their own whether they study opal theory or not (and unoriginal players have no deas either way) and while opening study doge . give a players an advantage it is less than 15 generally thought—as Tarrasch said, 'Betweeg the opening and the ending, God has placed tbe middle game.' And of course, in any gaol!' application and study rightly give some advinv age to the student. But there is something in the criticisnr,- enough at least to make variants of the garne le which opening knowledge is of no advantage, worth while trying for a change. A number °A suggestions have been made; Capablanca (an" others) have suggested a bigger board and egtee pieces, F. V. Morley a 'corridor' of six exit, ; squares on either side of the board running ne,,g, o squares R2-R7, and (best of I thin''' several people have suggested a different arrange' ment of pieces in the initial position. In the version of this suggested by Dr. Good ,, CRandomised Chess') the pieces are set up 1/5d one player concealing a piece in his hand, ant the second player pointing to a square 0011'4 , back row on which it should be placed. IS process continues until all one player's Pie'„ are placed and the opponent then puts his ogir pieces on the corresponding opposite squares on the files: it the two bishops come out 0, same coloured square one is exchanged with 155 neighbour. Pawns are placed as in the ordinadd game and there is no castling. I can recomme° this as a stimulating and amusing change front ordinary play; and, who knows, it may one day become the official game.
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