The Westminster Papers. 1st JUNE 1872. USEFULNESS OF GAMES. Ir the only use of Games was the relaxation they afford, that use would surely be enough in this age of intellectual hurry-this era of the mental treadmill-this breathless time of express trains, competitive examination, statistics, and cram. If any one should busy himself to choose a motto for the nineteenth century, it might fairly stand thus: Knowledge versus Judgment. The world will no longer give itself time to think; hurry and sensation are the marked features of this most inflated and bragging period. A mere conglomeration of facts with hasty inferences, and the display of much knowledge rather than of useful knowledge, characterise and deform the literature and the action of our time. We once heard a very animated conversation at the table of an Oxford Don-one of the most learned men of his time-on the subject of Osbaldestone and his exploits, whose death had been announced in the papers the day before. Our readers will doubtless remember many of the acts of athleticism and endurance of this remarkable man-his ride of 200 miles in ten hours, for a wager of five hundred pounds, and his offer at the end, to perform the distance again without rest, if the wager were doubled; his riding 20 miles to a ball, returning in time to mount his hunter, going through a long day, and ending another 20 miles from home; these and other feats of the same nature are a valued record in the annals of strength. But the praise bestowed on these things was gall and wormwood to our host, the Oxford Don. "Now, of what use," he asked, after one or two anecdotes had been given, "could such a man have been-to what purpose could he have been born? A mere mass of strength, and nothing more! A sort of animal to go a certain distance, and end in a certain time and his merit all told. A man who could'nt parse a verb or construe a sentence to save his life. I would ask of what use could such a man be?" The words, spoken with some warmth, silenced the company for a moment; when one of the guests, a young man, answered the host in a tone equally animated, and in language quite as decisive. "Of what use was Osbaldestone, and men like him? The answer is easily given-of imperial use. It was not by parsing verbs or construing sentences that this empire was raised; we owe our greatness, our power and position to men who, in Wellington's phrase, 'could go anywhere and do anything.' And since the arts of peace can only flourish in security, and security is merely the product of war, I mean to say that both our wealth and our learning are dependent on such men as Osbaldestone, and that whatever the intellects of such men may be, theirs is an imperial use." We admired the argument, and we borrow the phrase; and if any one should enquire of us what the use of Games is, we would confidently answer-it is an imperial use; and that, too, not only athletically, but intellectually and morally considered. There is an immensity of clap-trap talked in the present day on the subject of education, and the mere acquisition of knowledge is rated far too high. Now Games, at the same time that they relieve the minds of the young-yes, and of the grown-up, too—of this most injurious stress, teach also many things which can never be learnt from a certificated teacher, or a coach, or a lecturer, or a don. Passing over the fact that in their athletic aspect they make our youth healthy and hardy, that they most surely inculcate a spirit of fairness and manly justice, let us consider for a moment what we learn through Games besides temper, patience, tact, and last, not least-though it may seem trivial enough to your lecturer on education-silence. The power to wait on circumstances, to seize on opportunities and make the most of them, to calculate on the doctrine of chances; the habit, perfectly necessary to success in Games, of cultivating a hopeful spirit in the losing game, and of not being carried away by the success of a winning one; and, above all the rest, that chivalry, or at least the assumption of it, which is commonly expected, and severely exacted of every one who engages in a Game-the sum total, we say, of all this constitutes an amount of our education which, though it is most difficult to appraise, it is also most ignorant to underrate. We venture to say that we are not in the slightest degree overstating the fact. The past history and the present habits of nations will confirm our view. A fondness for Games has been the invariable characteristic of conquering peoples. The dull, unenterprising and unenergetic, when not employed in such necessary business of life as they cannot avoid, lapse into vacuity; the enterprising and the active merely change from one congenial to another congenial labour, and haste from the office, workshop, studio, schoolroom, to join in their favourite Game, from which they catch, whether they will or no, some degree, at least, of manners and of chivalry, and by which, under all circumstances, they are the gainers in health, corporeal, mental, and intellectual. THE CHESS WORLD. "The whisperings of our petty burgh.” THE most important event of the past month was the great gathering of Chess players at Edinburgh and Glasgow to take part in or witness the tourney between the players of the East of Scotland and the players of the West. The play was carried on simultaneously in both cities, and the result of the meeting was a victory for the East, whose representatives scored 51 games against their opponents 41, three games being drawn. As a matter of course there was a "difficulty"-what Chess meeting was ever brought to a conclusion without one?—but we have too much faith in the good sense of "the North" to doubt that it will soon pass away. Herr Steinitz, having gained the first place in the tournament of the City of London Chess Club, is now the champion of that Association. A new Chess column has been commenced in London, in a paper rejoicing in the lugubrious title of Births, Marriages and Deaths. Notwithstanding the summation of misery the name of the paper is calculated to convey to humanity at large, we predict that Chess players will turn to its pages with pleasure when we inform them that the Chess editor is Mr. Frank Healey. To problem composers and solvers of all climes the name will suffice, but we will give them a bonne bouche to whet their appetites-the first problem of Caissa's new recruit. The conditions of the problem tourney in connection with the Congress of the British Chess Association for 1872 have been finally arranged, and are as follows: COMMITTEE OF EXAMINATION. H. T. YOUNG, Esq. I. The competition is open to the world. II. Each competitor is to contribute five ordinary Problems. IV. Each set to contain one two-move Problem, two in three V. The Problems to become the property of the Association, and not to be published without the consent of the Managing Committee. VI. Problems by composers in the United Kingdom to be sent in on or before 1st January 1873; Problems by composers of the United States, Canada, and the Continent of Europe to be sent in on or before 1st February 1873; Problems by composers of Australia, the other British Colonies, and the rest of the world to be sent in on or before 1st April 1873. VII. Each competitor to send in two sealed enclosures, one White to play and mate in three moves. containing his Problems, accompanied by their solutions, and to be marked with a distinguishing Motto, and not the author's name. Each position to be written on a diagram. The other enclosure to contain the name and address of the competitor, and to be marked on the outside with the corresponding distinguishing Motto. VIII. Problems, the joint composition of two or more composers, will be disqualified. IX. No prize will be awarded to any set found to contain an incorrect Problem, but the award, when published, shall be final, X. There will be a Committee of Examination, from whom XII. All contributions to be forwarded to J. Lowenthal, Esq., The Prizes will be as follows: First Prize (given by H. Waite, Esq.) for The success of the forthcoming meeting may now be regarded as assured, and a decision of the Managing Committee of the British Chess Association on Friday last, that the time limit in the grand tourney shall be fixed at twenty moves an hour will, so far as amateurs of the game are concerned, impart additional interest to the meeting of 1872. The grand display at the Crystal Palace will take place on Thursday, the 18th, and Saturday, the 20th July. We hope the Association will take care that visitors to the Palace will have the scene of the various tournaments clearly indicated to them, or some weary wanderers may not find it out till it is time to go home. Notices should be placarded in all parts of the building, in as large characters as Perry and Co.'s advertising letters will admit. The arrangements are however in excellent hands, and nothing we are assured will be wanting to secure the success of the grand Chess meeting at the Crystal Palace. Last month we directed the attention of our readers to a new invention of M. Edme Simonot-Le Poly graphile. This ingenious gentleman has converted the Knight's Tour into a game resembling Solitaire, and as the board is accompanied by comprehensive instructions the method of playing it is within the reach of every person of ordinary intelligence. The price and all particulars will be found in our last number. Messrs. De la Rue and Co. have just issued a "New Improved Pocket Chess Board, with chess-men complete." It is unquestionably an improvement upon the old one, the materials of which it is composed being of "sterner stuff," and we can therefore recommend it to our problem-composing friends. Dr. Max Fleissig, of Vienna, displayed remarkable prowess in blindfold play at a soirée held recently in that city. He contested six games simultaneously against six strong players. The game appended is one of the six, and is taken from a Chess column edited by Herr Kolisch. The annual meeting of the Counties' Chess Association, will be held at Malvern, during the week commencing Monday, 5th August 1872. Programmes can be obtained of the Hon. Secretaries-B. W. Fisher, Bredon House, Malvern; J. Burt, The Academy, Clifton; S. G. Kempson, Solihull, Birmingham; and of the Hon. Treasurer, Dr. Griffiths, The Lizens, Malvern Link. THE programme of the British Chess Association has been issued, and has given satisfaction to every one, always excepting the café "lionkins" of the game. Murmurs loud and deep, referring to the amount of the prizes, emerge from the smoke-permeated atmospheres of "Gatti's" and "Simpson's," and inconsequential claims to have their sugar measured by a rule of their own concoction are preferred by the "lionkins" with amusing nonchalance. There exists among the professors of Chess in London a wide-spread delusion that there cannot be a successful meeting of Chess players without their aid being secured-a ridiculous mistake, which has been fostered by the practice of English Chess Associations giving large prizes to be scrambled for as frequently as they can, and the wisdom of this course of conduct is shown by the result. The very people whose ordinary life is centred in the acquisition of casual shillings reproach with parsimony the gentlemen who give them a chance of gaining twenty pounds. Has there not been quite enough of this? It appears to me that these persons should not be allowed to eat their cake and still flaunt its ghost before our eyes. they have their price, let the public know it, and let them know that mercenary declarations in relation to a pastime like Chess are inconsistent with the "monstrous gentility" they assume.-Z. UNCONSIDERED TRIFLES. If A CONTRIBUTOR has sent us the following series of quotations from the works of Shakspeare, after the manner of those which have recently appeared in the Figaro, where, however, they were applied to the members of the dramatic profession. The ingenuity displayed in some of these extracts is undeniable, and may serve to amuse such of our readers as are well acquainted with the works of the Bard of Avon. - Our very eyes are sometimes, like our judgments, blind - Cymbeline, a ii, s 4. Henry VI., a ii, s 3. - Henry VIII., a ii, s ii. Relate what you, most like a careful subject, have collected Taming of the Shrew, a iii, s I. As you like it, a ii, s 1. Merchant of Venice, a v, - Hamlet, a ii, s 2. Henry VIII., a i, s 1. Troilus, a iii, s 2. S I. Evans Kolisch - Mossop Meyer Ormond Owen Potter Steinitz - Waite - Cymbeline, a v, s 5. I like this place, and willingly could waste my time in it As you like it, a ii, s 4. There was never a man so notoriously abused There is no force in the decrees of Venice A merrier man, . . . . I never spent an hour's talk withal Love's Labour Lost, a ii, s 1. Westminster Papers Land and Water - If chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me Macbeth, a i, s 3. Scatheful grapple did he make with the most noble Free speech and fearless Let no dog bark - Thou art right welcome TOURNEY PROBLEMS RECEIVED. 24. Away, Away! 25. The Three Graces. 26. Ver non semper florat. |