These qualities make Mr. Bird one of the most dangerous opponents
in "skittle play," or in matches regulated by a fast time limit;
but they prove almost antagonistic to the acquirement of
excellency as an author on the game. For the first-class analyst
is not merely expected to record results, but to judge the
causes of success or failure from the strictly scientific point
of view, and he has often to supplement with patient research the
shortcomings of great masters in actual play. In such cases every
move of a main variation becomes a problem which has to be studied
for a great length of time; and the best authors have watched the
progress of different openings in matches and tournaments for
years, and pronounced their judgment only after the most careful
comparisons, Mr. Bird is, however, too much of an advocate to be
a good judge, and he evinces great partiality for ingenious traps
and seductive combinations, which form an attractive feature of
his own style in actual play, but which mostly occur only in
light skirmishes. Moreover he often treats his duties as an
analyst in a cavalier fashion. In his quotations from other
authors he embodies variations which stand already severely
condemned by first-class chess critics in various chess
periodicals; and his original researches contain a considerable
portion of "skittle" analysis, which does not bear cursory
examination.
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