OTAGO CHESS CLUB

Otago Witness, Issue 4028, 26 May 1931, Page 75

OTAGO CHESS CLUB

OPENING OF SEASON The forty-seventh season of the Otago Chess Club was opened on Wednesday evening at the chib's room, Allbell Chambers, Stuart street. The president .(Mr W. Herbert) occupied the chair, and there was a large attendance of members. In opening the meeting, the president mad? a few remarks on chess. After speaking of the delights of the game, he touched on the history of chess which, he said, was so complex that it was the invention of no man, and of no age; it was a game that must-have slowly evolved in the passing of centuries. In an Egyptian sculpture, dating long before the Christian era, a king appeared to be playing some sort of a game on a board, but there was no proof that he was a royal chess player. Then there was the mediaeval story that chess was invented by Palamedes, one of the leaders in the siege of Troy, but this was romantic fiction. What was certain was that in the sixth century a game similar to the game that was known to-day at chess, was played in India, and shortly afterwards it was traced to Arabia and Persia. It was said that in Bagdad public chess players were to be seen in the streets, ready to wager with passers-by on artfully constituted problems, specimens of which had been preserved in Arabic manuscripts. The Moors, who invaded Spain, introduced chess to Western Europe. Every schoolb7y was aware that the first book printed at Westminster by William Caxton was entitled, “ The- Game and Playe of the Chesse.” This was translated from the work of a French monk. English players in chess did not receive much encouragement until about the close of the eighteenth century. Inquiry began to be made in England into this most scientific and artistic of games, and a powerful school of chess made its appearance, and London became, for'more than a decade, the chess centre of the world. A unified code of rules was adopted, national differences that previously existed, disappeared and the game took what could be described as its final form. Speaking of chess in New Zealand, Mr Herbert said that New Zealand had been represented by some of her players at Australian and English tournaments. He went on to make eulogistic reference to the father of chess in New Zealand, namely, Mr F. K. Kelling, of Wellington.— (Applause). Mr Kelling, apart from being a first-class amateur, was the pivot of New Zealand chess, being as full of enthusiasm for the good old game as an egg was full of meat. There were hundreds of chess students in New Zealand to-day who owed what knowledge they possessed of the game to their _ old friend.. There was no doubt Mr Kelling kept New Zealand on the map as far as chess was concerned by his various articles in chess periodicals on New Zealand chess doings and players Mr Herbert, in closing his remarks extended a welcome to the Mayor (Mr R. S. Flack).

Tht Mayor, who was received with applause, said he knew nothing about chess, and it was too late now for him to learn a new game. He believed the time was coming when it would be possible for players in New’ Zealand to see, by means of television, the best exponents of the game sitting at play on the other side of the world. What a thrill that would be—as much a thrill to them as it would be to lawn tennis players to see Tilden. An advance of that kind would give a great impetus to the game of chess and to all classes of sport. In many ways these advances were being made to-day, and in time they would be brought to perfection. Touching briefly on the economic depression of which one heard so much to-day, he expressed the belief that when the club was opening its season next year all the talk of poor times and reduced wages would be a thing of the past, and would appear to them only as a bad dream.— (Applause.) Mr Black then made the time-honoured move of P to K 4. and declared the club’s season open. On the motion of Mr 0. Balk, seconded by Mr D. Harris Hastings, the Mayor was thanked for his attendance. A vote of thanks was' accorded Mr L. R. Stroud and his assistants for help given to the club in its wireless match with Christchurch. Prizes were presented as follows:—PihJ Trophy, C. Lawson; junior championship. A. J. M'Dermott; senior championship, L. D. Coombs; handicap, A. M'Lean 1. D. J. White 2. At the conclusion of the meeting a match was played between teams selected bv the president and the vice-president respectively, the latter winning by one point. The following are the scores:—

President's Team. Vice-president’s Team. W. Herbert * R. M'Dermid .. J L. D. Coombs .. 1 W. G. Stenhouse 6 0. Balk .. .. 1 J. Morris .. .. 0 F. Wilkinson .. 0 J. J. Marlow .. 1 L. D. Grigg .. 4 W. F. Crook .. 4 J. Boreham 4 Dr Barnett .. X R. Watt .. .. 0 A. Ward .. ,. 1 G. Riley .. 0 C. Ahern .. .. 1 A. M‘Lean 0 J. Dawson .. 1 T. Rae 0 F. C. Hilliker .. 1 T. Gillies .. 1 J. S. M. Lawson 0 R. J. Penrose .. i A. E. Shanks .. 0 P. Herbert, jun. i F. Crook, jun. .. 0 A. Hall .. .. 0 R. MDermott 1 Total 64 Total .. 74