Evening star., 1948-10-10
By DonoId n. Muqridqe

The annual Championship Tour
nament of the Washington Chess
Divan opened on October 2 with
an entry of 10 members. They in
cluded the defending champion. D.
H Mugridge, and two former
champions of the club, Ernest M.
Knapp and Oscar Shapiro, as we'll
as William F. Gray, It. Comdr.
Walter F. Michaels. Comdr Charles
D. Mott, Henry P. Reyss, John Rice,
Carl Sieweke and George S. Thomas.
Mr.. Reyss. who is attached to
the French Supply Council, COM
peted in the divan championship
OF 1945. but, although he has been
continuously in Washington, has
been too busy to engage in COM
petition since Hans Berliner and
Richard S. Cantwell are too busy at
their respective universities, and
Carl A. Hesse and Martin c. Stark
too busy in their several jobs to
participate.
Can Washington be the city Of
dignified and unlimited leisure that
some parts Of the country suppose
it to be?
The first round Of the tourney
saw all games decided without an
adjournment. The defending cham
pion employed the rarely seen VIM
aver counter gambit against
Knapp, and by an early advance of
the QP marooned the WK in the
center, where he succumbed in "a
moves.
Sieweke played q slow form of the
queens gambit declined against
Rice, which encouraged the latter
to undertake q kings side offensive:
when this was rep,llsed, the black
game went to pieces very quickly
John Rice has been playing chess
no more than a year, and displayed
commendable nerve in entering this
tournament, from which he will OBJ
tain the kind of experience that
insures improvement.
Reyes adopted the N-Q2 line
against Gray's French defense and
gave up his QP for a tactical ini-
tiative. With the white minor
pieces swarming all over his posi-
ton, Gray's attempt to hold on to
the pawn proved fatal.
Comdr. Mott, in an unusual varia-
ton of Alekhine's defense, played
very sharply against Comdr.
Michaels and won two pawns after
q tactical slip by the latter.
Michaels strove ingeniously to hold
the ending by giving up a piece,
but was unsuccessful.
Thomas used the Petrof defense
against Shapiro. and after IS moves
had q level ending with a knight
and five pawns on either side.
Thereafter he coasted steadily
downhill and the District champion
won In A moves.
Next Tuesday at $50 pm. the
Federal Chess Club. (2431 Four
teenth street N.W) will be addressed
by one Of its founders. DR.. Arnold
Steinbach, who has spent the last
two years in his native Austria on
United States Government service.
DR.. Steinbach will discuss postwar
chess in Austria and the public is
welcome without charge.
On September % an "endgame
rapid" was played at the Divan,
where this kind Of contest was in
vented. Each player started out
with q force limited to king, .
rook and eight pawns in their orig
inal positions. Hans Berliner won
with IL. giving up only two draws;
Mark Kurtz was second with 81 az
and w. F. Gray third with 4h-3h.
A FISTFUL OF STARS
Sarah Lockwood. (Appleton Co.;
49,
A young husband strays from his
loving wife in the wilds Of Wiscon-
sin In the early mining days. He
prefers q husky barmaid who also
has . good heart. A happy ending
prevents the book from continuing
further than sss pages.