At the completion of the Smith-Inman match at Newcastle on November 26, calls for a speech were made, and Inman declared that he felt himself playing better than he had done for two years. Some people had got hold of the idea that he was a back number, he said, merely because he had lost a few games, but he felt that to be very far from the facts of the case. The resulting scores were:—Smith, 16,000; Inman, 15,679.
Smith, in the course of a short speech, said that London was not the only place where a championship should be decided, and he thought that the provinces might be visited, at least for the preliminary heats. He also said it was not fair that the championship should take place in a hall that only seated 200.
In the level Professional Tournament at Burroughes Hall (Piccadilly corner of St. James's Street), T. Newman (the champion) and Inman are now playing, and will be followed on December 12 by Inman and Falkiner. The other competitor is Smith, and each player meets the other three.
As the result of the match of 16,000 up between Smith and Inman at the Leicester Square Hall, the Cornish Miners' Relief Fund has benefited to the extent of £135 2s. 6d., the bulk of which represents Messrs. Thurston & Co.'s share of the gate receipts, which they have generously given to the Fund.