Part 21
25. If the striker have a ball removed, and any other than the next player's ball stop on the spot it occupied, the ball removed must remain in hand till the one on its place be played, unless it should happen to be the turn of the one removed to play before the one on its place; in which case that ball must give place to the one originally taken up; after which it must be replaced. If two balls were taken up from the same spot, the one last taken up has to be replaced first.
26. If the striker have the next player's ball removed, and his ball stop on the spot the other occupied, the next player must give a miss from the baulk to any part of the table he thinks proper, for which miss he does not lose a life.
27. If the striker's ball stop on the spot of a ball removed, the ball which has been removed must remain in hand until the spot is unoccupied, and then be replaced.
28. If information be required by the player as to which is his ball, or when it is his turn to play, or which ball he ought to play at, or which ball is to follow his, he has a right to an answer; should he be misinformed he does not lose a life; the balls must in this case be replaced, and the stroke played again.
29. If the player be misled as to which ball is to play on him by a ball which is dead being wrongly marked on the board as still alive, he does not lose a life to his player.
30. If the striker force another ball off the table, neither he nor the owner of that ball loses a life, but the ball remains in hand until it is the owner's turn to play. {330}
31. If the striker's ball miss the ball played at, no person is allowed to stop it till it has ceased running, whether it has struck another ball or not.
32. Should the player preceding the two last players make a miss, _coup_, or losing hazard, and decline to star, they divide the pool if they have an equal number of lives. The exception to this rule is when a pool originally consisted of not more than three players.
33. All disputes must be decided by the referee, whose decision upon being appealed to by the players is final.
34. The charge for the play is to be taken out of the pool before it is delivered up to the winners.
* * * * *
{331}
SNOOKER POOL.
This increasingly popular version of the game of Pool is in fact a combination of Pool and Pyramids. The fifteen coloured Pyramid balls are placed on the table by means of the "triangle," in the same way as for Pyramids, whilst the white ball is used by each player as the cue-ball throughout the game. Six Pool balls are used, viz., the Black, Pink, Blue, Brown, Green and Yellow balls, the positions and values of which are set out in Rule 2 (_vide infra_).
Each player is bound to play at a Red ball first, and, having taken it (or another Red ball or balls), then at a Pool ball, and again, if successful, at a Red ball, and so on. Whilst any Red balls remain on the table the Pool balls, after having been pocketed, are replaced on their respective spots; but after all the Red balls have been taken, the players play at each Pool ball in rotation in their order as coloured on the marking board, viz., Yellow, Green, Brown, Blue, Pink, and Black, until every ball has been pocketed, when the game is ended.
Much amusement is often caused by a player being "snookered"--in other words, by his ball being so obstructed by other balls that he cannot hit a Pool or Pyramid ball direct, but has to play it off a cushion, when, in the event of a miss, the value of the ball played at is counted to each of the other players' scores. (_Vide_ Rules 7 and 11.) {332}
At "Snooker" safety-play is of little or no use. A player must try to get on the Pool balls, particularly on those of highest value, as often as he can. Still, safety-play can be indulged in to some extent at the end of the game, when only the Pool balls are left on the table, and a player should remember to play for hazards with a fair amount of strength, and thus avoid leaving a ball over a pocket for an opponent to profit by.
Bad hazard strikers should think twice before joining in Snooker Pool, even for small stakes, with better players than themselves, as, with the high values of the Pool balls, large scores can be run up by an expert, and those players who own the lowest scores at the end of the game have to make heavy disbursements, as they have to pay every one whose score is higher than their own. The scores are best kept on a slate.
THE NATIONAL RULES OF SNOOKER POOL.
(Reprinted _verbatim_, by permission of Messrs. Burroughes and Watts, Limited.)
1. This game is played on a Billiard Table, and may be played by any number of players. Any one wishing to join after the commencement of the game may do so at the end of a round, but does not play until last. Any player wishing to leave off during the game must declare his intention of doing so in lieu of playing, when it shall be his turn to play, but shall be counted as a player until another round be played.
2. Fifteen red balls are placed on the table as in {333} "Pyramids," and six coloured[71] balls, placed thus: Yellow on left-hand spot of D [the half-circle], Green on centre spot of D, Brown on right-hand spot of D, Blue on middle spot of table, Pink at apex of triangle, Black on the billiard spot. The value of the balls shall be: Red 1, Yellow 2, Green 3, Brown 4, Blue 5, Pink 6, Black 7.
3. The player must first play at a Red ball, and may not play at a coloured ball until he shall have first pocketed a Red ball, but after taking a coloured ball, shall again play on and take a Red ball before he can again play on any coloured ball.
4. A player having taken a Red ball, and then pocketed a coloured ball, must replace the latter on the original spot before playing another stroke. For every coloured ball not replaced each player shall pay a penalty of one point for each stroke made by him, until such ball be replaced.
5. A player is responsible that all the balls are in their proper place before he plays. He is liable to a penalty of one point for every ball not in its right place previous to making a stroke. The striker may be called upon to replace any ball not in its right place.
6. When all the Red balls have been pocketed, the coloured balls shall be played at according to their value. (_Vide_ Rule 2.)
7. For each ball pocketed by the striker he shall receive its value from each player, all forfeits having been first deducted; and if he has incurred any penalties pay their value to each player.
8. If the player shall strike one or more balls, and {334} then pocket his own ball, he shall pay the value of the ball first struck, and shall forfeit any points he may have gained during that stroke.
9. If a striker shall pocket a ball, and then cannon on to one or more coloured balls and pocket them, he shall receive the value of the ball he originally played at, and shall pay the value of the highest coloured ball he may have pocketed in the same stroke. This does not apply in the case of Red balls, any number of which may be pocketed in the same stroke.
10. If a Red ball is covered by a coloured ball, and such coloured ball be pocketed, it shall count, provided the player was entitled to play at that coloured ball. Only the coloured ball aimed at may be taken. It counts even if it goes in off other balls. Only one coloured ball may be taken at the same stroke.
11. For making a miss, or making a miss and running in, the striker shall lose one point, except when he must play on a coloured ball, when he loses the value of that ball.
12. When playing on a Red ball, if the striker misses, and hits a coloured ball, and at the same stroke accidentally pockets one or more Red balls, he loses the value of the coloured ball first hit, and cannot score. The Red balls so pocketed shall be replaced on the table.
13. For striking a wrong ball, the striker shall pay the value of the ball hit.
14. When the Red balls are all pocketed, if the player shall pocket a coloured ball, and then cannon on to one or more coloured balls and pocket them, he shall receive the value of the ball he first played at, and shall pay the value of the highest coloured ball he may have pocketed in the same stroke. {335}
15. When the Red balls are all pocketed, if the player pocket his own ball as well as the coloured ball played at, the ball which is pocketed shall be placed on the table, and the player shall lose the value of the coloured ball.
16. If the White ball be touching a coloured ball, the striker cannot score; he must play his stroke and shall be liable to any penalties incurred.
17. If more than one error be committed in the same stroke, the highest penalty only shall be exacted. Penalties shall not hold good after one complete round shall have been played.
18. If a player force a ball off the table, he shall pay the value of that ball, or, in the case of the White ball, as if he had made a _coup_.[72]
19. For making a foul stroke, or fouling another ball, a player cannot score.
20. For playing out of turn, the striker shall pay one point to each player besides any penalties incurred, but shall not receive any points he may have won.
21. No ball may be temporarily taken up. No Red ball shall be replaced on the table except when forced off, or for a foul stroke, or under Rules 12 and 15.
22. When it is required to replace a coloured ball and its spot is occupied, it is to be placed on the nearest vacant spot. In the case of the Brown, if the green and yellow spots are vacant, it is to be put on the green spot; if all the spots are occupied, then as near as possible to its own spot in the direction of the top of the table.
23. All disputes are to be decided by a majority of the players or by the referee.
* * * * *
{336}
CHESS.[73]
The game of Chess is a battle between two armies, numerically equal, of which the two players are the generals. The battle-field upon which this mimic warfare takes place is called the chess-board. This is a square board divided into sixty-four equal alternate white and black squares, and should be so placed that each player shall have a white square at his right.
THE MEN.
The forces consist of thirty-two "men," each side having eight Pieces and eight Pawns, of a light and dark colour (known as "white" and "black"), to distinguish the opposing forces from each other.
In print the pieces and pawns are pictorially represented as on p. 337.
At the commencement of the game, the pieces are placed as shown in Fig. 1. It is to be noticed {337} that the white king occupies a black square, and the black king a white square.
The horizontal divisions are called "rows," and the vertical divisions are called "files."
WHITE'S FORCES. BLACK'S FORCES.
^K One King = K. #K ^Q One Queen = Q. #Q ^R ^R Two Castles, or Rooks = R. #R #R ^B ^B Two Bishops = B. #B #B ^Kt ^Kt Two Knights = Kt. #Kt #Kt Eight Pawns = P. ^P ^P ^P ^P #P #P #P #P ^P ^P ^P ^P #P #P #P #P
THE MOVEMENTS OF THE MEN AND THEIR POWER TO TAKE.
A piece or pawn has the power to take any adverse piece or pawn, according to the laws which govern its movements. The King alone, as will presently be seen, is inviolable. If the King is attacked, the fact must be notified by the warning {338} "Check," and if the King cannot by some means escape from the attack, the game is at an end.
Black. +---------------------------------------+ | #R | #Kt| #B | #Q | #K | #B | #Kt| #R | |---------------------------------------| | #P | #P | #P | #P | #P | #P | #P | #P | |---------------------------------------| | | | | | | | | | |---------------------------------------| | | | | | | | | | |---------------------------------------| | | | | | | | | | |---------------------------------------| | | | | | | | | | |---------------------------------------| | ^P | ^P | ^P | ^P | ^P | ^P | ^P | ^P | |---------------------------------------| | ^R | ^Kt| ^B | ^Q | ^K | ^B | ^Kt| ^R | +---------------------------------------+ White.
FIG. 1.--The Men in Position.
1. THE KING.
The King, as the name denotes, is the most important piece on the board, inasmuch as the object of the game is to capture the King. It is, however, never actually "taken," the game ending whenever (the opposing player having the move) the King {339} remains liable to capture. The King may move from any square upon which it stands to any adjoining square not occupied by any piece or pawn of its own colour. If one of such adjoining squares is occupied by an undefended piece or pawn of the opposite colour, it may take such piece or pawn.
An additional privilege of the King ("castling") will be explained in its proper place.
2. THE ROOK.
The Rook (or Castle) moves upon straight lines only, in a horizontal or vertical direction, to any square not occupied by any piece or pawn of its own colour. If the line on which it operates terminates in a piece or pawn of the opposite colour, it can take such piece or pawn.
3. THE BISHOP.
The Bishops move and take upon diagonals only: the King's Bishop upon the diagonals of its own colour, the Queen's Bishop on those of the opposite colour; stopping short, however, when it reaches a square occupied by any piece or pawn of its own colour.
4. THE QUEEN.
The Queen combines the power of Rook and Bishop--_i.e._, the Queen may move and take horizontally or vertically like a Rook, or upon diagonals like a Bishop. It is, therefore, the most powerful piece on the board, because not only has it the power of Rook and Bishop, but it has also the privilege to move like either of the two Bishops, according to the colour of the diagonal it may for the time being stand upon. {340}
5. THE KNIGHT.
Black. +---------------------------------------+ | | | | | | | | | |---------------------------------------| | | | | | | | | | |---------------------------------------| | | | | Q6 | | #Kt| | | |---------------------------------------| | | | QB5| #R | #Q | #P |KKt5| | |---------------------------------------| | | | | ^R | ^Kt| #P | | | |---------------------------------------| | | | QB3| ^B | ^P | #B | #P | | |---------------------------------------| | | | | ^Q | | KB2| | | |---------------------------------------| | | | | | | | | | +---------------------------------------+ White.
FIG. 2.--The Knight's Move.
The movement of the Knight is more complicated than that of any other piece. One move of the Knight combines two King's moves: one square straight, and one square diagonally to any but the adjoining squares to its starting-point. Unlike any other piece, it may leap over any piece or pawn of its own or the opposite colour intervening between {341} its starting-point and the square to which it moves. Thus, in Fig. 2, the white Knight may move to K B 2, K Kt 5, Q 6, Q B 5, or Q B 3, but not to Q 2, that square being occupied by a piece of its own colour.[74] It may take the black pawn at K Kt 3, or the black Knight at K B 6. It will be noticed that with every move the Knight changes colour--viz., from a white to a black square, and _vice versâ_.
6. THE PAWN.
The pawn, in spite of its limited power of movement, plays a most important _rôle_ amongst the forces. The pawns are the rank and file of the array. The pawn, is, so to speak, the _tirailleur_; it engages the enemy, advances into the opponent's camp, and clears the road for the officers who follow in its wake to the attack; the pawn is mostly the first victim, and in the large majority of cases the pawn decides the game. Like the private soldier, who is supposed "to carry the marshal's baton in his knapsack," the pawn may be promoted to the highest rank. If it reaches the "eight" square, it may be converted, according to the choice of the player, into a Bishop, Knight, Rook, or Queen. Even though the player has still his full complement of pieces, any pawn may be so converted. Thus a player may have at the end of a game as many new pieces as pawns reach the eight squares.
The pawn may only move one square at a time, straight forward on the file on which it is placed, with the option of moving _two_ squares at first starting. Thus in Fig. 3, section _a_, the pawn at K 2 has the {342} choice of moving either to K 3 or at once to K 4. But the pawn _takes_ on _diagonals_ only; thus, in section _b_ of the same figure, the pawn at K 7, having the move, can take either the black Bishop at K B 8 or the black Queen at Q 8, and in either case it must be converted into some piece of its own colour (other than a King), according to the choice of the player, when the converted piece will act immediately in its new capacity. It is against the laws of the game to leave it still a pawn.
Black. +-----------------------------------------------+ | | * * #Q | K8 | #B | | | |-----------*-----*-----------------------------| | | (c) * * | ^P | (b) | | | |-----------*-----******************************| | QR6 | * | | | | | | |-----------*-----------------------------------| | #P | ^P * | | | | | | |************-----------************************| | | | | * K4 | | | | |******************-----*-----------------------| | | #P | * * K3 | (a) | | | |-----------------*-----*-----------------------| | #P | ^P | (d) * * ^P | | | | |-----------------*-----*-----------------------| | | | * * | | | | +-----------------------------------------------+ White.
FIG. 3.--The Pawn's Moves.
{343}
The pawn cannot move backwards nor sideways, but only forward along the "file" on which he stands. The pawn is also restricted in his power of taking. Thus any adverse piece or pawn standing on the adjacent squares to a pawn (other than forward diagonals) cannot be taken. Pawns placed as shown in section _c_ or _d_ of Fig. 3 could not take each other.
The pawn may also take "_en passant_," which means that if a pawn moves two squares at starting, thus "passing" an adverse pawn which could have taken it had it moved only one square, such adverse pawn has the option of taking it as if it had moved one square only; but the taking _en passant_ must form the next move of the adversary. Thus in section _c_ of the diagram, supposing the black pawn to have just moved from Q R 2 to Q R 4, it may be taken by the white pawn at Q Kt 5; the white pawn standing, after the move, at Q R 6. Such a move would be recorded thus: P takes P _e.p._
CHESS NOTATION.
It is necessary that the novice be thoroughly familiar with the original position of each piece, this being the foundation of what is called Chess Notation, or the system by which moves are recorded, and without which it would be impossible to convey written instruction in the game. Various systems are employed in different countries, but what is called the English notation is the only one with which our readers need trouble themselves. {344}
Each square in the two outer rows is named (see Fig. 4) after the piece which occupies it, and the other squares by reference to these. For instance, the square upon which the King stands is called the
Black. +-----------------------------------------------+ | QR8 | QKt8| QB8 | Q8 | K8 | KB8 | KKt8| KR8 | |-----------------------------------------------| | QR7 | QKt7| QB7 | Q7 | K7 | KB7 | KKt7| KR7 | |-----------------------------------------------| | QR6 | QKt6| QB6 | Q6 | K6 | KB6 | KKt6| KR6 | |-----------------------------------------------| | QR5 | QKt5| QB5 | Q5 | K5 | KB5 | KKt5| KR5 | |-----------------------------------------------| | QR4 | QKt4| QB4 | Q4 | K4 | KB4 | KKt4| KR4 | |-----------------------------------------------| | QR3 | QKt3| QB3 | Q3 | K3 | KB3 | KKt3| KR3 | |-----------------------------------------------| | QR2 | QKt2| QB2 | Q2 | K2 | KB2 | KKt2| KR2 | |-----------------------------------------------| | QRsq|QKtsq|QBsq | Qsq | Ksq | KBsq|KKtsq|KRsq | +-----------------------------------------------+ White.
FIG. 4.--English Notation (shown for white - for black invert each file).
King's Square, or more shortly K sq., or K 1. The square in front of it is K 2; the next K 3, and so on throughout the file. In like manner with the other files. The pieces on the right side of the King are called the King's pieces--_i.e._, King's Bishop, {345} K B; King's Knight, K Kt; King's Rook, K R; and the pieces on the left of the Queen are called Queen's pieces--_i.e._, Queen's Bishop, Q B; Queen's Knight, Q Kt; Queen's Rook, Q R. The same rule applies to the black pieces; so that each square has two names, as it may be necessary to describe it with reference to the one or the other player. Thus White's King's square would be Black's King's eight (K 8), whilst Black's King's square would be White's King's eight (K 8), and so on with all the other squares.
METHOD OF RECORDING GAMES.
The following are the abbreviations in use in scoring with the aid of the English notation:
K = King; Q = Q; R = Rook; K R = King's Rook; Q R = Queen's Rook; B = Bishop; K B = King's Bishop; Q B = Queen's Bishop; Kt = Knight; K Kt = King's Knight; Q Kt = Queen's Knight; P = Pawn; ch. = check; dis. ch. = discovered check; _e.p._ = _en passant_; Castles, or o--o = Castles on the King's side; and Castles Q R, or o--o--o = Castles on the Queen's side. To take may be noted "takes," or shorter thus, ×; (!) indicates a good move; (?) a bad or indifferent move; + the better game; - the inferior game; = an even game. To familiarise himself with the system the reader is recommended to study, with the aid of the board, the following example, a "Ruy Lopez" game, recorded according to the English notation.
{346}
WHITE. BLACK. X. Z. 1. P to K 4 1. P to K 4 2. Kt to K B 3 2. Kt to Q B 3 3. B to Kt 5 3. P to Q R 3 4. B to R 4 4. Kt to B 3 5. Castles 5. P to Q Kt 4 6. B to Kt 3 6. B to K 2 7. P to Q 4 7. P to Q 3 8. P to B 3 8. B to Kt 5 9. B to K 3 9. Castles 10. Q Kt to Q 2 10. P to Q 4 11. K P takes P 11. K Kt takes P 12. Q to B 2 12. P takes P 13. B takes P 13. Kt takes B 14. Kt takes Kt 14. Q to Q 2 15. Q Kt to B 3 15. B to B 3 16. Q to K 4 16. K B takes Kt 17. B takes Kt 17. B takes Kt 18. Q takes Q B 18. Resigns.
A variation of this is the "fractional" notation, in which White's move is recorded above the line, and Black's below the line--_e.g._:
P to K 4 Kt to K B 3 B to Kt 5 1. -------- 2. ----------- 3. ---------- &c. P to K 4 Kt to Q B 3 P to Q R 3
The moves may be recorded in columns or in lines, according to individual choice. "To" is frequently represented by a dash--_e.g._, instead of P to K 4, P--K 4. A single move of Black is recorded thus: 1. ... P to K 4 (or, P--K 4); 16. ... K B takes Kt (or, K B × Kt); the dots standing in lieu of White's preceding move.