The re-appearance of Charles Dawson at the Grand Hall was a most welcome event, and upon the whole we may say that the old champion "made good," as the Americans express it.
He managed to defeat Lovejoy fairly easily, and to give the ex-amateur champion two thousand start in a week's play into the bargain. But "Walter" was no favourite of fortune all through the game.
On one occasion, losing the white more or less unluckily closured no less than five successive breaks for Lovejoy; and every billiard player knows how atrociously the balls are running when this sort of thing happens.
But Dawson is entitled to every credit for his win. At first, his form was not very convincing, but after a day or two he played really well, and glimpses of his old command of the balls were more and more frequent. If he continues to "come back" at the same rate, he will soon be cueing it with the best of them once more. We shall know more about his progress at the finish of his game against Aiken.
The Scottish Champion is a greatly improved player this season. He has, I hear, had a standard table fitted up for private practice, and has put in a good deal of time tickling the ivories during the summer.
This is the only sure road to improvement at billiards, no matter how generously nature may have endowed a player; and it will not surprise me greatly to see Aiken master his leaning towards inconsistency—far less pronounced this season than before—and eventually make a bold bid for the highest honours of his profession.
By the way, I heard another good story fathered on to Aiken the other day, and as he was undoubtedly responsible for the "haphazard" jape, he will soon be making quite a reputation as a wit, or should I say—"wut"?
The yarn goes that Aiken was once playing against a popular and ponderous professional who shall be nameless, and while making a big break he noticed that his opponent had actually nodded off to sleep. He stopped, and protested that he could not play "against the nap"!
A couple of rather unusual opening incidents occurred last month. In the Dawson-Lovejoy match, the former broke by giving the stereotyped miss in baulk, to which Lovejoy promptly responded by running a coup. Then Dawson gave another miss, with the result that Dixon promptly pulled him up for infringing the B.C.C. rule limiting successive misses.
Dawson accepted the ruling with a good-natured smile, the balls were spotted, and Lovejoy went on. Oddly enough, I once saw him do exactly the same thing at the commencement of an exhibition game against an amateur. Mr. Sellars was the gentleman in question, if I remember aright, and of all places in the world the incident took place under the roof of the Billiards Control Club.
In reality, however, nothing is gained by running the coup on the second stroke when once the move is understood and expected. It only succeeds when it is quite a surprise, as when the coup has been made it is by no means difficult for the next player to make a stroke at the spotted red which leaves a double baulk.
As a matter of fact this was done repeatedly at the B.C.C. in one of the heats of the final for the Inter-Clubs competition. One player ran the coup at every opportunity, and his opponent promptly countered by making the double baulk with such regularity that the coup performer gave it up for a bad job.
And as this happened in the stress of an exciting game between amateurs who were just "useful," nothing more than that, it is easy to see that professionals would make the double baulk practically every time.
I have often wondered they do not go out for it at the first stroke, but I suppose they prefer not to take the smallest risk with a non-scoring stroke. So they have introduced a stroke which brings the red into baulk and leaves the white somewhere against the side cushion.
Yet this is not always safe, as Reece proved at the start of his tournament heat against Aiken. The Champion of Scotland played the stroke as described, but Reece went out for a pretty three-cushion cannon and made it. Then he proceeded to help himself to a break of 102, thus making a three-figure run at his first visit to the table, a most unusual "opening incident."
Besides the challenges of Reece there is the important challenge on behalf of Stevenson to play Gray level with ivory or bonzoline balls for £250 aside. I hope the match will take place, and when it does—"may the best man win."
The question of which ball shall be used strikes me as offering the only prospect of a hitch. Gray travelled very well indeed with the bonzolines against Cook, and proved that he can make plenty of big breaks off the red with these balls. What he can do with the Crystalates is a matter of billiard history.
But what he may do with the ivories is altogether another matter, and I see that Dawson is among those who consider that it will take the young Australian a long time to master the ivory ball. At any rate, I regard it as extremely improbable that Gray will elect to play Stevenson with ivory balls.
If he did, and won, Stevenson's hold on the Championship would be damaged, although, of course, the title cannot change hands except as the result of a contest promoted by the B.C.C. But if Gray defeated Stevenson level with any make of composition ball the Championship would not be affected in the least.
This is a rather curious position, and with the cry for an International Championship more insistent every season, we may find the problem of a standard ball for billiards becoming quite acute in a few years time.
At present, the ivory ball fixes the standard. This answers very well at home, but for climatic and other reasons the artificial ball has made tremendous headway in India and the Colonies.
When the first International Championship is decided —we may not have to wait long for it—the question of "under which ball" will not be decided off-hand. It appears that on this side we are not anything like so keen on an International Championship as they are "down under," and I have heard reports which go to prove that if we do not mind Australia will take the initiative by promoting the first International Championship.
Seldom indeed does the referee in an important match have occasion to use the power conferred on him by the B.C.C., by giving a decision on his own initiative, and so far as I know the only instance on record occurred quite recently.
It happened during the final session of the ding-dong struggle between Mack and Elphick in their tournament heat. Elphick was the offender. In his over anxiety to score during a critical stage of the game he played a white loser before the red ball had finished rolling. Williamson, the referee, promptly pulled him up for it, spotted the balls, and Mack set to work. He seemed likely to win by running out off the leave, but a "kicking" ball spoilt a simple white loser, and Elphick got home by 39 points.
From first to last the two men played a grand sporting game. It was a keen, hard fight all the way, with every post a winning post. Possibly, at times, the men were somewhat slow and laboured in their methods, but a great deal must be allowed for natural eagerness to make the most of the chance of their billiard lives.
Both as regards age and style there was a great contrast when Tommy Newman and the veteran John Roberts gave a two weeks' display at the Grand Hall. The result proved that "youth will be served," as the G.O.M. of billiards failed to give the lad the points allotted.
But John Roberts was as attractive as ever to watch, speeding along at the rate of about a century break in seven minutes, his billiards was as delightful to the eye as ever. He has all his old mastery of those brilliant positional strokes which send the object ball round the table and yet bring all three balls together at the finish of the stroke.
He made the record all-round break of the season, too, a masterly 540—which Reece had hard lines in just failing to equal by a couple of points. Two breaks of over five hundred and another of over a thousand on the same standard table by three different players must be something of a record, considering how young the season is.
Mention of youth brings us back to Newman. This youngster is undoubtedly a born billiard player. He has touch, cue-power, and any amount of confidence. Incidentally,, he has a great deal to learn, but there can be no doubt that if he is properly taken in hand and trained by a first-class billiard coach he will be well after the Championship one of these days.
He is quite a nice lad, and his demeanour at the Grand Hall created a very favourable impression. His future should be bright indeed, especially if he realises how much he has to learn. He should be particularly careful to improve his manipulation of the object white. On many occasions he was brought up short by steering the white into a more or less hopeless position.
Still, he played well, wonderfully well for his age, and he must not think my remarks in the least unkind. On the contrary, it would be decidedly unkind to write that which might induce him to fancy he has no further need for hard practice and close study, to say nothing of expert advice.
Reece has been popping along right merrily since his return to the old country. He began by winning his tournament heat against Aiken, and at the time of writing looks all like putting Harverson through the mill at the Grand Hall.
Meanwhile, he is after his old antagonist Inman once more, and I expect we shall see a money match fixed up between them in due course. But whether either of them will get an ivory ball match against Gray is another matter.
It will be one of the most interesting billiard matches of modern times when the young Australian first strikes an ivory ball in public and it may well happen that he will defer doing so until he plays for the Championship.
I should not care to say when this will be, and as Lindrum is another unknown quantity with the ivories, it strikes me as highly probable that Australia's quest for the billiard "ashes" will not commence quite so soon as the general public appear to think.
Inman is another of the returned wanderers. He came back on the same boat with Harverson, and I see it is reported that the two professionals were not on speaking terms during the voyage.
No doubt this was because a level match between the two could not be arranged in South Africa. It was the old, old story. Harverson wanted to play Inman level, the Terrier insisted upon offering points which Cecil would not accept, and the result was no match.
There can be no question about the sincerity of the men's opinions. At a moderate estimate the match would have brought them in four or five hundred pounds, and they preferred to lose every penny of this sum rather than give way to each other.
The underlying idea is, of course, that if one billiard professional consents to play another on even terms, he admits his opponent to be as good a player as himself. This is an old notion in billiards, but almost without exception it is a fetish among billiard players who earn their living at the game.
It is easy to trace the birth of the fetish. For years John Roberts insisted on giving a big start to all and sundry. Therefore, the tradition was established that offering a start is proof of superiority at the game, and acceptance of points an understood admission of inferiority as a player.
But, after all, the proof of the game is in the result, not in a wrangle about giving points. If "A" considers himself to be better than "B," and offers "B" points the latter is not inclined to accept, the right thing to do is as obvious as the back of your hand. "A" should promptly play "B" level and trounce him to the uttermost point. If necessary he should do it again, and even again. Then the relative merits of "A" and "B" will be indisputable on proved public form, and a start to give a sporting interest will follow as a matter of course.
It is remarkable that these offers to give something away are peculiar to professional billiards. Front rank boxers do not offer to give weight away, nor are professional pedestrians, anxious to back themselves to give starts to men practically on the same mark as themselves. In each case they are quite willing to accommodate any opponent level provided the money is there without worrying and haggling about the problematical inferiority of their man. They simply sail in and win, and billiard professionals would be well advised to follow their example.