4.d5 was a novelty by Smith, and one which obviously never caught on!

<A bad commencement, the advance of this Pawn is very weak play, as it allows the adverse Bishop to occupy a strong position>*

<We prefer B to K B 4; the move made allows Black to play B to Q B 4 with good effect>**

6...d6

<Not so good as P to B 3 which gains a move and an attack, e.g. 6... P to B 3 ; 7. Kt to B 7 ch (B to B 7 would lose a piece) ; Q takes Kt ; 8. B takes Q ; B to Kt 5 ch ; 9. Q to Q 2 ; B takes Q ch followed by Kt to K 5 and Kt to R 3>*

9...O-O

<Black has taken full advantage of White's fourth move, and has the better position>**

10...Be6

<A slip which loses a valuable Pawn. He should have played Q Kt to B 3>**

14.g4

<A serious mistake; instead of attempting to maintain the Kt at B 5, he should rather have retreated it to Kt 3>*

17.h5

<White's rash attack can only end in failure>*

<This appears premature, but White's position is one of great difficulty. Perhaps, on the whole, P to K B 3 would have been his best move here>**

Houdini agrees that 17.f3 is best.

17...Nfxg4

<Properly played; the game is interesting here>*

19...dxe5

<Black has now a winning position>*

25...b5

<From this point, Black plays very correctly>*

<Black maintains his advantage in position with vigour to the end>**

After three games, with the race to seven wins, the progressive score was as follows:-

0-1-2 (2/3) Charles Marshall Fisher

1-1-1 (1/3) Robert Smith

*Australian Town and Country Journal (Sydney, NSW) issue Saturday 11 October 1873 page 20