Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-08-05

! former Washington boy, Jos Collins
| recently contested two set matches in
| checkers against hcEntee of New York
| but lost them both.
| The checker match between Messrs. Num-
| dele and Potts was won by the former,
- to 20. with s drawn. Mr.. Mundelle says
| this is the closest match he has PLAYED in
| the four years since McHardy was here.
The Mississippians held their annual
| match for the state championship July l..
| Is and 10. They were somewhat high-toned
| about 1t, too, as the meeting was held in
| the state capitol building at Jackson. Mr..
| w. d. McGrath took the prize with twelve
| wins, two draws and no lost games. Judge
| L. l.. Labltt of New Orleans well known
| to chess players, was one of the visitors
| and was induced to give a simultaneous
| exhibition. He went in against a strong
| field of seventeen players, a majority of
whom had engaged in the championship
contest, and scored liz wins to 5lH losses.
Speaking of the gathering of the chess
| players at the late London tourney, Black
and White says: ITO one who does not
know anything of chess a visit to St. Ste
phen's Hall, where the International chess
congress is now holding its sessions, must
be an occasion Of much puzzlement. With
in roped-on incloSure you see twenty or
so gentlemen, sitting two and two at small
tables, putting cigars or pipes with an alb
stract determination, the light of enthusi-
asm in their faces and the rapture of the
mystic in their eyes. You ask who these
people are, and you are told they mas
tiers of the game of chess playing their
games. If these be games you say, 'heav-
en- help me from work"
The Literary Digest compliments Lasker
In the following clipping: "Emanual Lasker
is not only champion of the world, but be
is without doubt the strongest chess player
in the world, and probably the greatest
since Morphy vanqushed every antagonist.
LaSkers latest victory ranks among the
most brilliant achievements in the history
of the game and his wonderful score has
never been surpassed. He lost only one
game out of twenty-seven. This borders
upon the marvellous when We consider the
fact that with the exception of IarraS..h
and Charousek, the greatest masters of the
i world were his opponents. I.asker as
most conservative player, and while his
games may not be called brilliant, they
show machine-like precision and freedom
from errors"
The New York Times has been playing
some games. of the recent tournament and
got up from the board a little tired. II
vents itself on the players in the following
mistaken manner: 1.-The modern game Mr.
Steinftz observes, consists in the accumu-
lation of small advantages Exactly That
is to say, each player strives to get a pawn
the better of the other, to keep the pawn
to the ending and then to win with it
And those curious creatures, the
performers think the public ought to take
an interest in this performance. The
fact is that the more of these games are
played the less interest can any rational
being take in it, unless he be condemned
ing 1t is no longer a game at all 1t is a
'cut-throat competition There is
often, in the whole tournament, not one of
the brilliant finishes which the student can
find in almost every recorded game Of the
old masters, who played chess for amuse-
ment and not for living, as aPhilidor and
Labourdonnais and Mcdonnell and Nor
ply and Andersen. . Il never was
l am not, and never will be a professional
player, wrote Paul Morphy and that is
partly why, as a recent commentator has
said, there are more brilliant endings in
Morphys games than all the rest put to-
gether''
One sentence could dispose of all of this
The modern master is blamed for being on
a par with his competitor and for being
careful Morphy's games are beautiful be-
cause not even the recognized great players
with whom he came in contact were in his
class. After his matches with Lowenthal.
Horwitz and ANDERSEN. he offered the odds
of pawn and move to any PLAYER As the
London Press said. after Morphv's demon
stration of his great powers, no matter how
far his opponent could see in complicated
position. Morphy could always see farther
outclassed his opponents Morphy did his
contemporaries we should see the same
thing over, but every generation doesn't
produce a MoYphy.
One who plays games over does so not
only for amusement. but to far greater
extent as a student. He is pleased of
course. at great coup. but in many in
stances is able to see that the fine stroke