4 JULY 1998, Page 100

CHESS

1828

Raymond Keene

THIS WEEK we are celebrating the found- ing of The Spectator in 1828. Coinciden- tally, 1828 was also the year of foundation of Simpson's-in-the-Strand, the great meet- ing place for chess players in the 19th cen- tury and the location for the Immortal Game in 1851.

I have consulted the authoritative Oxford Encyclopaedia of Chess Games, only to dis- cover that 1828 was a meagre year for recorded games: there were just three, all by the noted writer and player William Lewis (1787-1870) against anonymous opponents and all at knight odds. Lewis, according to research by Barry Martin, the secretary of the Staunton Society, was the first player to be described as a grandmas- ter. Sadly he had a tendency to insist on giving odds against opponents who were too strong for such condescension. Lewis lost all three games which have come down to posterity from 1828. Here is a valiant, if abortive, example.

Lewis–Anon: London(?), 1828.

Having offered odds of a knight, Lewis must do something drastic to break through, before his material disadvantage tells. 18 Rxf6 gxf6 19 Ne4 Qe7 20 Nxf6+ Kh8 21 Nxh7 Bch 22 Nf6 RgS 23 Rf2 Qe3 24 Bfl With the crude threat of 25 Qh7

mate. However, Black spots it. 24 ... Ng5 25 !Chi Ne4 26 Rf3 Qel 27 Rh3+ Kg7 28 Nh5+ Kf7 29 Rf3+ Ke7 30 Nf4 Raf8 Instead, Staunton gave 30 ... Ng3+ 31 hxg3 Rh8+ 32 Kgl fixf3 winning, but the text is good enough. Clearly, White's attack has completely run out of steam. 31 Qd3 Nf2+ 32 Rxf2 Qxf2 White resigns.

Lewis's earlier exploits had included some attractive play, and he seemed to make a speciality of sacrificing his queen for smothered mate, as in the following example.

Lewis–Keen (no relation): 1817.

Now, here is a puzzle from the 1844 edi- tion of Lewis's book The Game of Chess. The task is: White to win with his g-pawn in 51 moves without any black pawn being taken or moved. I presume by this that Lewis meant that White mates on move 51 with the g4 pawn and that apart from not capturing any of the black pawns White does not give Black the opportunity to move any of his own pawns. Lewis helpfully writes: 'As I have purposely withheld the solutions to the following problems, more than usual care has been taken to free them from every sort of error.'

The Lewis puzzle In spite of this advance notice that the puzzle does work, I have no idea what the solution to this problem is. I therefore offer a bottle of champagne to anyone who can send me a solution cio The Spectator by 31 July. If I receive more than one correct solution I shall draw lots for the cham- pagne.

The Staunton Society, mentioned earlier in this article, has already erected a memo- rial to Howard Staunton at London's Kensal Green cemetery and is continuing its work for British chess by sponsoring youthful prospects such as Murugan Thiru- chelvam. The summer fund-raising dinner of the Society at the Athenaeum will fea- ture a special address by Professor George Steiner, and will be attended by numerous VIPs of the chess world. Those wishing to attend should contact Brian Clivaz, c/o Home House, 20 Portman Square, London W1H 9HF or telephone 0171-467 5406.