THE CHESS TOURNAMENT.
HMarvard again Victorious—Marked
Improvement in the Play.
Harvard won the fifth annual Inter-
collegiate Chess Tournament, which
was held at the Columbia Grammar
School, New York, beginning on Mon-
day, Dec. 28, and ending on Saturday
afternoon. Princeton, Columbia and
Yale finished in the order named.
This tournament is considered by far
the most successful ever held since the
establishment of the Intercollegiate
Cup five years ago, the standard of
excellence among the players being
much higher and the work in prepara-
tion much more careful and thorough.
The representatives of the four col-
leges were as follows: Harvard, E. E.
Southard and A. W,, Ryder; Pr_nce-
ton, E. B. Seymour and W. W.
Young; Columbia, A. W. Parker and
A. M. Price; and Yale, KF. A. Lehlbach
and W. W. Murdoc.:. Mr. Hugene Del-
mar acted as referee, and T. R. Stark
of Columbia, was the director of play.
Mr. Southard of Hatvard made by far
the best record of the tournament,
winning in all six of his matches.
Although the score of the Yale team
this year was not as high as it has
been on previous occasions, yet tne
standard of the playing was undoubt-
edly superior to that of any other
team, that has represented Yale.
the end of the first half of the tourna-
ment Yale was in second place, but in
the last three days tthe playing of her
representatives fell off considerably.
At the beginning of the last day Yale,
Princeton and Columbia were all tied
for second place, with four games
won and six lost. On that day Mur-
docks and Lehlbach, of Yale, met Ry-
der and Southard, of Harvard, the
leading players in the tournament,
and were both defeated. This placed
Yale in fourth place.
One of the most interesting games
played was that between Murdock,
Yale, and Southard, Harvard, on the
first day of the tournament. Southard
is without doubt the finest player in
the tournament, and one of the best
that has ever been seen in the inter-
collegiate tournaments. Murdoch:
opened with a Ruy Lopez and South-
ard adopted the Berlin defense, 3—Kt
—B 3. The play was quite even until
the early stage of the middle game,
when Southard won a pawn by good
play. After this Southard went in for
exchanging tactics, but after forty-
four moves the game had to be ad-
journed, and was adjudicated by the
referee in favor of Southard.
The game between Young, Prince-
ton, and Lehlbach, Yale, was said by
Pillsbury, the great American expert,
to be the most correctly played game
of the tournament, and, although it
was not brilliant, there were no mis-
takes made by either side.
The increasing interest in intercol-
legiate chess is shown by the fact
that several colleges have applied for
admission to the tournament, but it
is thought that it will not be granted,
as the tournament jn the present
State is as large as can be convenient-
ly handled.
A COMPARISON OF THE CONTESTANTS.
A. chess student, who was present at
the tournament, has sent to the
Weekly the following mention of the
individual players and of VYale’s
chances for success next year:—
“In a general way Southard plays
the most modern and advanced chess.
Steady, progressive, strategic, cau-
tious, and relentless, he is like an
octopus, which is pretty sure of its
prey, after one tentacle is fairly fas-
tened. Let Southard once get a pawn
to the good, and no peer in play stands
much chance to beat him. I think I
am almost safe in saying that he has
not made a blunder, either costly, or
of any serious moment. Ryder plays a
much more open, imaginative, dash-
ing game. He attacks with vigor and
alertness, but if his attack fails, he
is more apt to go to pieces. He is a
At
YALE ALIUignl WHEEBLY
much better aggressive than defensive
player. :
Price is erratic, ingenious and shif-
ty. He has played a good deal with
masters, and knows a great deal of
the technicality of the tricks of the
trade, Parker was a player much
more of the Southard type, but below
him in grasp, and rather below the
other players.
Seymour is rather
Southard and Ryder,
perhaps in the long run the second
best man of the eight. Young has
good imagination, and relies rather on
himself than technical training. His
chief weakness is his inexperience,
but he is wideawake, and has good in-
vention and attack, but is prone to
making a good sortie, rather than a
masterly display of generalship in an
irresistible, methodical advance of his
whole force.
Murdoch plays’ good,
chess.
composite of
fair, steady
He is a good defensive player,
and is more on the order of’ Southard, -
but not quite up to his calibre, nor
has he the same comprehensive grasp, .-
or brilliancy of invention.
Lehlbach is evidently unused _ to
playing with superior players, and
failed somewhat in appreciating the
severity of the task that was set to
him. He has, however, the funda-
‘mental qualities of an extremely good
player, with all the qualities which
are necessary for success.
down next year with Murdoch, and the
Harvard- men should have a green
team, which at present seems likely,
the chances are very fair for their
Success, especially if the coliege
gathers itself together, and gives the
men good backing, moral and financial,
So that they can secure a good coach
for a longer time. The play this
year has been the best Yale has sent
down.”
THE SUMMARY.
The following table shows the num-
ber of games won and lost by each
player:
Colum- Har- Prince-
bia. vard. Yale. ton.
TR ™
e @22eeb 2s
ary Roe & Fas we
3 As ee eee o 2
: Piod @ eS oe
: en
Parker ..... —— — 0-0 0 1 6 oe
erie Sas oe. —— 1 010% 1 8%
PV IO og oes sin 10 —— 1 1.1° 48
pouthard 6.2 40-2594 1 ee
eR ath i 6. cok OO. eee ee %1%
Murdoch ....0 10 0 —.— %1 2%
Seymour ....1°% " 1 e- =
YOUN ...... 1014240% 0 — = ay
Total lost... 5 242 0 4143143 8% 24
Following are the total points scored
by each university in the five annual
tournaments:
Prince-
Year, Columbia. Harvard. Yale ton.
MM Gs s'n'o hy 5 21
ph. ag aaa 814 7 eet 3 3%
1OGe bux 0% 3 g 6 6
1896 ows 8 84 8% 4
i. RT epee 416 10 4 5%
Total loss 33 42 2314 2114
++-
President Dwight’s Return.
President Dwight conducted the
morning gervice, at the opening of the
winter term on Tuesday morning,
January 5th, for the first time during
the Academic year. In a short address
the President extended his best wishes
to every member of the University for
a prosperous New Year, and congratu-
lated the Freshman class, which he
had never before addressed, on their
connection with Yale University.
The custom of the Seniors bowing to
the President, as he leaves the Chapel
by the center aisle, was observed by
the members of ‘97 for the first time.
President Dwight has been travel-
ing through Hurope for the past six
months making an_ extensive trip
through England and_ the conti-
nent, accompanied by his family. The
trip has been very beneficial to him
and he is in much better health than
when he went away.
Winthrop E. Dwight, ’98, who ac-
ccmpanbied his father, will remain at
Oxford several months, engaged in
study. CAD Loti loam
ns ytd pts g t/t | i
and would be |
Should he >
continue to study the game, and come
AN ENGLISHMAN’S VIEW.
Lehmann’s Impressions of an
American Football Match,
Mr.
Mr. R. C. Lehmann, the new Har-
vard coach, in a letter to the London
Daily News, on November 30, gave au
interesting account of the Harvard-
Pennsylvania football natch, whicn
was the first game of the American
sport that he had ever witnessed. He
commented al some length upon the
remarkable erihusiasm shown by the
Supporters of the rival teams. He
Said in part: |
“I ought to have been a disinterested
Spectator, but the enthusiasm of my
neighbors gained me. My guide, phil-
osopher and friend, a Harvard under-
gracuate, was shouting and cheering
With the best cf them. I was impress-
ed and ainused by his eagerness, till,
after a magnificent piece of play by
the Harvard team, I realized with a
Sudden astonishment that I, too, was
On my feet, Weving my hat furiously
and yelling enccuragements to Har-
vard with all the rower of my lungs.
indeed, it was quite impossible to
remain piacid, surrounded as I was
by these flaming volcanos. At a foot-
ball match betweer. Oxford and Cam-
bridge we skout a little, we cheer se-
dately, but our Lest efforts are to
these Ainericiaz demonstrations as
the surface uf tlle Thames is to the
tossing €xPanse Of the Atlantic in a
Wiliter §{c1m,’
in regard to the American develop-
ment of the game Mr. Lehmann
Said: :
. “Since the Rugby football came to
America in 1874 it has undergone a
constant process of development and
‘€laboration, until at the present day
it differs almost as much from the
English Rugby game as that game
does from
American football, inreed, is
not so much a_ game in our
rough and ready sense of the word,
as the development of a series of intri-
cate tactical evolutions carefully de-
vised to bring your own forces into the
most favorable position and to em-
barrass your foe. It is not enough for
& captain to be strong and fleet and
courageous, His mind must be as
himble as his iegs, and he must seize
@ Situation with the eye of a general
Association football,
trained according to the most rigorous |
methods of a staff college. Every team
works out its own scheme of play, and
its own formations, and practices
them in secret under the instruction
of the coaches before any important
match,
“I shall make no attempt to
describe the match in detail. Let it
suffice to say that I have never seen a
finer game played with a manlier
spirit. The quicknesss and the pre-
cision of the players were marvellous,
and the excitement was sustained
to the very end. In our Rugby game
at home the ball is frequently kicked
into touch at one side or the other. In
this American game such a thing
happened only once. With that one
exception the ball was in the field of
play all the time. It was a game of
Slow gains, with here and there a bril-
liant run, but the open play that dis-
tinguishes our own Same is not to be
seen. On the other hand, there are
no scrimmages, but the ball after be-
ing “down” is put into play again
from a very open formation. We have
a sitrict off-side rule; here players, so
long as they do not hold, may inter-
fere with their opponents in front of
the man who is running with the ball,
and the science of interference is as
carefully worked out as anything else
in the game,
“Harvard was defeated, and victory
remained with the athletes of Pennsyl-
vania. And what of the brutality ?
All T can say is that I Saw none.
Footkall cannot be a gentle game. A
milksop has no part in it in England
or in America. But the game as I
saw it, though violent and rough, was
never brutal. Indeed, I cannot hope
to see a finer exhibition of courage,
strength, and manly endurance, with-
out a trace of meanness, than that
which was given by these two. teams.’’
The Harvard and Pennsylvania
cheers were also features of the per-
formance which impressed Mr. Leh-
mann. His description is as follows:
“Now from the south side came the
‘Hoo-rah, hoo-rah, hoo-rah, Penn-syl-
va-ni-a’ of the supporters of the home
team. Then, not to be outdone, a Hiar-
vard man wonld rise on the north side
his eyes flaming with enthusiasm, and
call for ‘three long MHarvards and
three times three, whereupon’ the
crowd of sympathizers, conducted by
the waving arms of the first enthu-
siast, would roar out in a magnifi-
cently timed unison, their ‘Har-vard,
Har-vard, Har-vard Rah-rah-rah,
Rah-rah-rah, Rah-rah-rah, Har-vard.’
These ‘rah-rah-rahs’ make a mar-
vellous sound when given with the
full power of hundreds of strong
young voices. It is as if some gigantic
Super-canine dog had set himself to
out-bark all other dogs—and had suc-
ceeded in doing it. This happened,
not once or twice, but hundreds and
hundreds of times.”
——— 9 e -—__-
A Biblical Club Formed.
Through the efforts of Professor
Sanders and other members of the
Faculty the Biblical Club has'- been
formed. The idea of the Club is to
furnish an opportunity to its mem-
bers for the study of all matters of
biblical research which are not
brought in the range of ordinary
courses offered by the University.
The Biblical Club is really the out-
growth of the Semitic Club which was
organized in 1887 under the direction
of Professor Harper. The Semitic
Club is still in existence and consists
of twelve members, but as its work is
strictly technical and, as such, can
only be appreciated by instructors and
graduate students. The idea was sug-
gested of forming an organization to
take up work from which a greater
humber of men could derive benefit
and which should be controlled by
undergraduates.
A definite form of study has been
marked out and a printed programme
announces the subjects of the papers
Which will be read by members of the
club at each of the proposed eight
meetings, of the year. The general
Subject of the year’s work will be,
“Jewish-Christian Apocryphal
Pseudepigraphic Literature.’’
So far one meeting has been held
with an attendance of sixty members,
including men from the two upper
classes of the College, graduate stu-
dents and members of the Theological
School. The following officers have
been elected: President, W. H. Sall-
mon; Secretary, J. S. Rogers, ’98; Ex-
ecutive Committee, the officers and
Rev. F. G. Marble, P. G.; H. F. Rall,
97 T. S., and A. B. Keeler, ’97. The
members of the Faculty interested
are: Prof. Sanders, Prof. Curtis, Prof.
Porter, Prof. Bacon, Dr. Creelman and
Mr. Dunning.
and
———_~+~@—___
Gift to Law School Library.
Roger Foster, ’78, who is Special- lec-
turer on Federal Jurisprudence in the
Law School, has presented a collec-
tion of over one hundred volumes to
the Law School library. The collec-
ition of American impeachment trials,
comprising about forty volumes, and
which is one of the most complete in
existence, forms a portion of this gift.
These volumes, with those already
Owned by the library, will make an
almost complete collection. Mr. Fos-
ter made use of this collection in pre-
paring the first volume of his **Com-
mentaries on the Constitution of the
United States,” which was published
last year, and which has had a wide
sale throughout the United States. In
addition to works on American im-
peachment trials, the gift includes a
nearly complete set of English Chan-
cery Reports, which will form the nv-
cleus of a duplicate set of English
Reports now being collected by the
Law School.
—————eo—___
Captain James S. Pettit, of the ist
Infantry, U. S. A., for four years pre-
vious to last June, professor of Mili-
tary Science at Yale, has been award-
€d the priz2—$100 and a gold medal—
annually offered by the United Ser-
vice Magazine for the best essay on
military topics. The contest is open
to officers in the regular army and the
National guard.
