Chess
By PHILIDOR No. 193. A. J. FINK (1st Prize, Szachista Polski, 1913)
BLACK (11 men)
WHITE (10 men)
WHITE to play and mate in two moves; solution next week. No. 192 (Ellerman): Unfortunately the published diagram contained a misprint. A white rook on QR3 should have been a white pawn. Apologies to all readers. The intended solution was: PxP, threat P-Q 3. 1 . . . P-Q 6; 2 P-K 5. 1 . . . Kt-B 6; 2 Q-Kt 4.. 1 . . . Kt-Kt 4; 2 Q x Kt. Problem is to decide what should capture the KP-and why the other possible captures fail.
A Rare Bird
One of my favourite chess authors is the nine- teenth-century British master H. E. Bird, whose Chess Masterpieces-largely composed of .games of his own-is full of verbal gems and a delightful absence of any unnecessary self-deprecation. The games are classified under such general headings as I P-K 4
2 Kt-KB 3 3 B-Kt 5 4 P-Q 4 5 P-K 5 'Dashing and Spirited Games, of a Brief and Decisive Character' and 'Original in Form and Singular, with Early Surprises' and with comments such as 'This game was published with notes so eulogistic of the play from move .30 that modesty precludes my re- printing the same.'
The highlight of Bird's career was undoubtedly his match with Steinitz which he lost by the very narrow margin of 6-5 with 6 drawn. Bird himself characteristically comments on 'the wonderful, plucky, uphill fight the English amateur made against the great Vienna player.' Here is an amusing game, won on another occasion and listed by Bird in the category 'Special Favourites': I wish we had a present-day British master who could beat a world champion as often as Bird beat Steinitz-and let him say what he likes about the games afterwards.
White, BIRD. Black, STEINITZ. Opening' Ruv LOPEZ. (September, 1868.)
P-K 4 Kt--QB 3 Kt-B3 PxP . . 5 0-0 is stronger. Kt-K 5 6 Kt X QP B-K 2 7 0-0 KtXKt? For now 7 . 0-0. gives Black a satisfactory game, e.g. 8 P-KB 3?, KtxKll or 8 P-Q13 3, KtxKP or 8 Kt-8 5. P-Q 4;. 9 KtXB ch, KtxKi; 10 P-KB 3, Kt-QB 4 with equality. 8 QxKt Kt-QB 4 9 P-KB 4 P-QKt 3 10 P-B 5! . . . rightly ignoring Black's apparent threat 10. . . Kt-Kt 6. 10 . . . B-Kt 2; 11 P-B 6. 13-KB I is better. 11 Q-K 4 KtxR 12 P-B 61 B-B 4 ch 13 K-R 1 R-QKt I. 13 . . . 0-0; 14 Q-KKt 4. P-Kt 3; 15; Q-Kt 5, K-R 16 Q-R 6, R-Kt I; 17 R-B 4. B-B I.; 18 QxP ch! and mates.
. 14 P-K 6! R-Kt 1. 14 ... 0-0; 15 P-K 7, Q-K I; 16 Q-Kt 5 and wins or 14 . . . PxP; 15 QXP ch, K-B 1 (l5 B-K 2; (6 PxP); 16 PxP ch. KxP; 17 B-R 6 or Q-B 7 mate. 15 Q X RP R-B 1
16 PXPch RxP 17 R-K 1 ch B-K 2 18 Q-Kt 8 ch R-B 1 19 P-B 7 mate.
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