New-York tribune., 1900-03-24
CHESS.
TWO GOOD COLLECTIONS OF GAMES.

iected, Annotated and Arranged by Himself:
Edited. with Biographical Sketch and Brief
History of Biindfod Chess, by p. Anderson
Graham. octave, pp viii, s3l. Longmans' Green
SOCIAL CHESS. Coliection of shert 43t otad.i and
brilliant Games With HsfSrsi Msron fRa imo pp "a
London: Horace Cox.
Mr.. Blackburne's Games at Chess" contains
about four hundred Of the famous English mas
.er's games which have been carefully selected
annotated and arranged by himself Ihese
games which constitute the cream Of the many
thousands played by Blackburne, represent not
only his match and tournament encounters put
also his wonderful exhibitions Of blindfold ana
simultaneous play. To Americans no less than
TO Brtons the collection will prove never
falling source OF instruction and amusement
We are apt to swear by Pillsbury who Of late
has given ample evidence that he should at
least be considered rival OF the Englishman in
the line of exhibition chess, possessing the ad-
vantage. moreover, Of being able to conduct
simultaneously, Sans voir," games OF chess.
checkers and whist Blackburne is not capable
Of this. but the additional reserve force required
by P1llsbury for his side shows. they
sometimes facetiousy called, is utilized by
Blackburne for the purpose of beautifying his
creations. Hence II is that the Englishman pro-
duces the greater number Of 'brilliances,' while
on the Of soundness the honors must be
admitted to be even. Americans have warm
spot in their hearts for the English giant" not
withstanding that he has persistently proved
fateful to the hero OF Hastings nearly all the
occasions which they met in important
counters-notably the international cable chess
match between America and Great Britain
The book is divided into seven chapters, and
these are devoted, respectively to a biography,
his match, tournament and consultation games
these being subdivided according to their open
ings-onhand games played simultaneously and
at odds, endings from actual play. blndfold
chess and, finally, a selection OF the problems
composed by him. Blackburne has been before
the public ever since his debut in tournament
chess at London il 1862 at which time also the
ex-world's champion. William Steinitz. started
out. Both have taken part in all subsequent
events Of greatest Importance. Until last sum-
naer's tournament at London Steinitz had always
led his English rival. Here should be noted a
discrepancy of the authors when he states in his
biographical notes that 'as a tournament player
Blackburne never has had equal, if regard
be had the long period during which he has
held his place in the first rank He has never
failed TO secure prize" The last sentence
also requires correction. Blackburne
placed among the prize winners of the following
tournaments: London, 1862; Dundee 1867; Bres-
lau. 1889; Dresden, 1892; Hastings. 1895; MI
remberg, 1896. and Vienna, 1898 However, this
does not detract from the value of this volume
wherein will be found wealth of material for
the enjoyment Of all classes Of players. Mr
Blackburne is now ffty-eight years old.
novelty in chess works from the pen of that
prolific writer the game. James Mason. of
London. has recently to hand. It's title is
Social Chess and its object, the name i'm
plies. is offer something in the way Of va
riety-something lighter and more entertaining
han he nr6tn nd Lob
writings. The same thing has, a matter Of
fact, been attempted before. though presented in
different dress. as. for example, the collections
OF masterpieces by Bird and Dufresne Free
borough's Select End Games" etc. While really
an assemblage OF brilliant specimens Of chess
play. in which the old or anti-conservative
school is most favored. the greatest attraction
Of this book is be found in the instructive
notes supplied by the author. who is recognized
as one of the leading analysts of the present day.
While the comments carefully and learnedly
written, they are presented in such entertain
ing manner that 1t becomes pleasure for the
reader and student to follow the lines selected
for elucidation. A slight drawback to the work
is the fact that in each instance the winner of
the game alone IS named while the losers name
does not appear all. This TO a certain ex-
tent impairs the historical value of the coec-
tion. Games by a number of American players
of note have been utilized by Mr.. Mason. in
cluding several by Steinitz. Deirnar Hanham,
Richardson, and. Of those who are dead Nor
ply and Mckenzie. Brevity has guided the au-
thor in making his selection. and none Of the
contests reach forty moves in length most of
them are not above thirty, and many are under
twenty. The book also contains a brief sketch
on social chessmen Of all ages, with two full
page illustrations OF curious pieces manufact-
ured in the Orient.