• Q 10 7 4 '::) K Q] 10 7 :: 0 Q 53 + A
Dealer East has opened a Club at aggregate duplicate ; you (South) ha1·c bid a Heart ; \\"est has passed and Partner finds One No Trump. After a Pass by East, 1rhat is your next bid?
Sec page llJ. _,., -
THIS MONTH'S PROBLEM CHAS. BRADBURY LIMITED 26 SACKVILLE ST., PICCADILLY AC.HILLE LONDO,N, WI. .SERRE Phone Reg. 3/23-3995 LOANS ARR AN GED (Jt{IL/y fda1zilzp With or without Security. nnd ~aiw TO CLUB SECRETARIES. Spread tlze news of your activities. Write and tell us zi!tJ~uu- of your special events. I tems 1 of general interest are always welcome. and sports new lease The copyright of this magazine is life vested in Priestley Studios Ltd. It is published under the authority of the English Bridge Union. The Editorial Board is composed of, ... nnd the Editor is appointed by, the AN D .-.GE NTS IN English Bridge U nion.
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e Y Oil ca11 always rely 011 a good game of Bridge at l Tlze Ralplz Eva11s's Hotel CONTRACT BRIDGE JOURNAL OFFICIAL ORGAN OF THE ENGLISH BRIDGE UNION
V OLUME 3 OCTOBER, 1949 Nul\mER 12 NEW CODE • CONTENTS • Page * * * EDITORIAl. . . 2 BEWARE THE TnAP The Stars ?f Bridge, it now appears, The Editor ' 3 Are not qUite all they're painted ; SHARON AND THE FouR Even in their exalted spheres AcES With sins they're not untainted. S. Tupper Bigelow 7 Needless offences dissipate EUROPEAN CHAl\IPIONSHIPS The harmony of Duplicate. 1950 12 No TRUMP BIDs AND REBIDS Apparently discourtesy Norma11 Squire 14 No little heat engenders. THE WILDER CuP The present rules, it's plain to see, George S. CojJi11 . . 17 Dont't penalise offenders. STAFFORD 18 So now they're publishing a Code HoRNS OF THE DILEMMA 19 Quite up-to-date and a-la-mode. NEW DUPLICATE LAWS 21 IN HONOUR OF .. M. COLE .. 22 When any candidate for fame, A FEW FALLACIES Ignoring regulations, Ewart Kempso11 23 Unwittingly prolongs the game GRAND SLAM By needless vacillations, Major C. H. M. Sturges 25 Six match-points now will be the cost. RED OR BLACK ? For every fifteen minutes lost. C. H. Guilford 26 OCTOBER COMPETITION 29 ANSWERS TO SEPTEMBER If when he thinks he's unobserved COMPETITION • • 30 He uses words improper No useful purpose will be served, • • • In fact he'll come a cropper. He'lllo~e five match-points on the post All Bridge Correspondence to the ' Vhether it hurts his pride or not. Editor: A Tournament Director now GUY RAMSEY, Quite frequently is flouted. IJ, Cannon Place, When anyone pro\·okes a row He can't do much about it. London, N.W.J. But under this New Code he'll be Clothed with supreme authority . . All Correspondence on Subscriptions or Advertising to The rigid rules which form the core Publishers : Of these new regulations Are such that no one can ignore PRIESTLEY STUDIOS LTD., Their tacit implications. Commercial Road, Like Hercules they should be able Gloucester. To cleanse the grim Augean stable. HENRY CYRIL EDDO\\<"ES.
A I 10
HEl~E is a Yast HE main trouble with most it might fit with Partner ; (b) the bridge-players- whatever show of extra strength might scare T their stake, whatever their the opposition more than a mere standard, whatever their experience raise ; (c) if I am Doubled, I can -is that they make mistakes, both go back to Spades with no extra in bidding and play, which they cost because my suit i'> lower than are much too good to avoid. This Partner'c;." The thought-train it is that drives the expert they cut there stopped and " Two Hearts " at the Club almost to resign himself came out of his mouth. Dealer bid to permanent Duplicate and/ or Three Clubs which wa'> passed out partnership with a fellow-expert ; and just made-when Three Spades it also is apt to make the expert was " 011 " and Four Clubs " off." grossly under-rate his temporary partner and, unless he is a real Exit Rubber and Enter Row ! expert, to " hog " the bidding, A South, in one of the Paris take out partner's doubles, double Internationals, committed precisely to stop partner from playing the the same mistake. Partner opened hand and, in general, to play worse One Spade and East butted-in with than the palooka opposite. Two Diamonds. South held : The above pre-amble is wrung • A 9 3 X cv J 10 9 X X 0 JX + Ax, out of me and my pen by the bitter and bid Two Hearts-in this memory ·of expensive experience ; case, she regdered herself as too but the rest of the article is con weak for Three Spades (forcing ceived and written in the interest on the system played : not a limit not of experts (who ought to be bid) and too strong for Two able to look after themselves any Spades. \Vest jumped, with tactical way) but of the players who play, intelligence, direct to Five Clubs, on occasion, far below their and North (void of Hearts, dreading capabilities. a Spade void with South) Doubled. · South did not like it, but could not Take, for example, the Trap. This has many forms, both on big show Spade support at the range and little hands. At game all and of Five, and passed. The contract went down One but Five Spades 60 all, dealer (an expert .who (as the cards lie) is unbreakable and believes in getting in the first blow) was bid, doubled and made with bid One Diamond sitting East. an overtrick in the other room. South held: Here the criminal was a real expert ; • Q 9 X X X . ~ 10 0 A Q 8 X + Q JX but here the hand was a goodish one and intervened with One Spade. in view of partner's opening, and West bid Two Clubs and North the bid by that much the more beheld: reasonable. + KlOx CVQJ98x OJ9xx + x. To revert to the first hand for a He felt he ought to compete moment : supposing North had rightly ; he felt he was weak made the simple raise of Two rightly ; he toyed with Two Spades Spades, and East had bid Three - rightly ; but he thought to Clubs (showing a minor Two himself: " If I bid Hearts (a) suiter) ; if this were pa~sed round 3 CONTRACT BRIDGE JOURNAL to North, he would, paradoxically, resorting his cards nine times, lied be right to try (if in experimental like a Trojan with 5 ~ ! Dodds mood) Three Hearts I If this did shrugged exasperated shoulders at not suit, South could-and, of sight of his own three Aces and, course, would-go back to ~hree envisaging va5t Diamond support Spades ; and the thought-tram of plus shape opposite, bid Seven North before his first bid would Diamonds ; Rayne translated to be on the rails instead of off them. NT and all was well that ended To boil it down into as simple a well. But- rule as any : if you can make only Heavens ! how difficult l one bid, support your partner tf you Even if you don't envisage Partner's can. You have now established a holding, Force at once on any place to play the hand-a base of whale. Only refrain when (a) you operations : any further flights can have a secondary force in reserve ; have a solid line on which to fall (b) when you want to tell Partner back. about at least three features of your It is useless to argue that, if hand : two suits plus a fit. Partner does not like your suit, he I have seen the Dodds-Rayne can re-bid his own without extra bidding approved in print, by the cost : his c;nvn may not be rebiddable way ; and Rayne's ingenuity in -as in the case in question. overcoming his initial error must A second source of Trap is the be admired. But my good friend failure to force on a hand worth a Eddie will not take it amiss; I hope, forcing bid. Here is one, from the if I say that his first One Spade U.S.-Kempson match :where only effort was, in my view, the bid of " cheating " in response and virtu a Paloonatic. ally standing on his head during the bidding enabled Eddie Rayne Secondly, every player except a to overcome his one-over-one bid beginner, knows-and remembers on a 20-counter. Dodds opened -that a finesse should be postponed 1 0 on: . for as long as possible. The same thing is true of the decision in + Ax ~Kx OAKxxx + AJxx advanced play when you have to and Rayne replied a Spade, on : choose between a finesse and a ~KQJlO ~AQJ OJxx + KQlO! squeeze. Consider these hands :- Dodds rebid 2 NT-" who could + AQx + KJxx have, on my hand, anticipated such ~Ax ~ KJx a re-bid ? " queried Eddie plain 0 A lOx 0 Qxxx tively after the session !-and poor + A K Q 10 X + 9x Mr. Rayne was fixed ! At a part-score, 'Vest opened Three Diamonds would be a Two No Trumps-overbidding the sign-off, and some excitement must game ; East showed his power be provoked opposite. After safely with Three No Trumps ; re-sorting his cards seven times, and West, on his 23 points (a pip Eddie found 4- 0-on inadequate over the maximum) plus his solid(?) Trump support for the raise of an five-card suit, went Si.x NT. North un-re-bid suit from One to Two I opened an inconspicuous Spade, Dodds Blackwooded, and Rayne, won by Vt/est, who started on the 4- CONTRACT BRIDGE JOURNAL Clubs. It is a matter of playing held the Heart Queen, perhaps it style whether the best shot is to was Doubleton. It cost nothing to hope to drop the Knave by straight play the Spades first and postpone leads or to lead low to the Nine as the finesse-and the play of any a safety-play in case J 8 x x x is Heart at all, since the Ace was at large. The player in fact 11eeded for entry-still longer. banged out his honours and found 'four to the Knave on his left ; he Finally, the Most 'Orrible Warn rightly decided to knock out this ing Possible against the (needlessly) winner while he had control of Prepared Club. The bidding came everything, since he needed the round to give Fourth-Hand the fourth Club trick for his contract. first word, and on eighteen balanced North, in response to a signal, got points, he elected to open One off play with a Diamond, the Knave Club : too good even for a ma.-xi mum One NT on the system played. from South forcing Declarer's Ace. The Club was cashed, Dummy's The fact that he l!eld a mere J x x in the suit he bid worried him not Diamond Queen being shed ; and a jot : " I have a lovely re-bid of Dummy's hopes rose : the man was Two NT I " he thought ; " I can obviously going for the squeeze get into no trouble." cum-finesse. But- Declarer now played Ace and a Dealer now butted in with One low Heart, finessing Knave, which Spade,' and second-hand looked at : lost, and South scored the King of + x; ~xxx; OQ9xxx; Diamonds to put contract two down + K lOxx. With partner opening -which so rattled Declarer that fourth-in-hand, the best available he forgot to score his Aces I bid · looked to be a raise of the Dummy, by the same token, was Clubs. Next player helped the so outraged that he did not notice Spades. The trap was sprung-v.-ith . them ; and opponents so delighted a vengeance : poor Yorick, \vith that the slam was " off " that they his eighteen beautiful points, could didn't even wonder. not bid Two NT uow : he had only A x x in Spades ! He could Now, where did Declarer go not Reverse 'vith Three Hearts wrong ? He had delayed his (his four-card suit) ; he could not finesse : he had cashed the Ace (obviously) Reverse with Diamonds of Hearts ·first, h;tdn't he ? (on A 10 x I) ; but to Pass, when He'd taken the finesse on the Two Spades gave opponents a love second-not the first-round, rubber and he still had eighteen hadn't he ? Yes he had-but he points plus a raise from partner could have (and should have) made that was unthinkable. his Spades first. Note the differ ence to opponents : North was in So he re-bid Clubs I Yes-on no trouble : he merely had to J x x. This was pushing a theory follow three times in Spades : but (as do most theorists) to the extreme what about South ? He had to find of lunatic logic ; for after two two discards on the Spades plus more Passes, a third Spade was three discards already made on forth-coming ; and after two more Clubs. If (as was true) .he held No Bids, Second-hand thought a both red Honours, his condition sacrifice couldn't cost much : the was acutely sardined. If North Clubs were (obviously) pretty solid : 5 CONTRACT BRIDGE JOURNAL Wht Jlailg ~tle£lraph BRIDGE ARTiCLE APPEARS EVERY FRIDAY together with a WEEKLY PROBLEM BEWARE THE TRAP- colltinued Spade losers were limited to one ; and a Diamond trial would take and, though there were three weak the auction a whole level higher 'if Hearts, possibly (as was, in fact, they did not fit. the case) the Diamonds might easily establish. Four Clubs was the cry. Let it be written in letters of fire : unless (as do Vienna teams and Ouch ! . There was a Double addicts of the " Pearlstone Club ") under Declarer ; and the cost was 700. you play a system which precludes a four-card suit-bid, open One Declarer still contends his bid Prepared Club ONLY when you of a Club was right ; and crimecl have otherwise no re-bid : say, a his partner fo·r not holding five balanced 12-1+ points and no good Clubs· ; he also asked why the five-card suit, or such a hand as partner did not try the Diamonds • K X X X; \7 Q }Q X X; 0 X X; -since partner would have tried + A K x. With more than a bad them, perhaps, 1111der the natural 15, open naturally and re-bid Two opening bid of a Heart (as a NT. You will save your partners, possible· sacrifice on the third yourself~ and your bank manager ! round). The answer, of course, is : -many a heart-ache. ~he Diamonds arc over the Clubs- 6 SHARON AND THE FouR AcEs by S. Tupp er Bige low For oncc, we believe, Sharon will command the unanimous endorsement of all e:-cperts in her 1949 comments upon the play and idiom of 1936. · HEN I saw an advertise course, it is notorious that all self ment offering for sale The admitted bridge experts ha,·e W Four Aces Boolt for a roughly the same idea about their paltry Sl.SO the other day, I said bridge, and account for their poor to myself, in my witty and whimsical showing in tournament play by manner, with that wry smile which bad breaks, stupid partners, or both. makes me appear to be the just Or if it's rubber bridge, poor cards barely off-handsome type, " \Vhat's · arc an additional excuse of no little a dollar-and-a-half? Peanuts ! " validity. So I sent off the money, and the A typical daily column written by book will arrive any day now, I a bridge-expert-columnist explains fancy. a hand recently played by him in a But nostalgic memories of the game against some millionaires he Four Aces sent me running off ran into in the Bahamas at a stake impatiently to my bridge scrap of £50 a hundred, where the book, where for years I have filed columnist, although partnered with interesting bridge hands and bridge a complete stranger whose ingor columns and articles. It is a ance of the most rudimentary virtual treasure-trove of bridge principles of the game was abysmal, hands, and I spend many happy was unjustifiably pushed into a hours, reading them over and over, contract of six hearts redoubled, trying to understand what they are · which, from a cursory look at the all about. I finally leafed back to cards, it so obviously unmakeable 1936 before I came upon a column that the only solution that appears by the Four Aces. It was written to the reader is for the columnist to in a highly pungent and amusing excuse himself for a moment, go to style. the men's washroom and cut his throat. In those days (and perhaps now, for that matter) the Four Aces But does this bother our hero were the best bridge players in the for a moment ? On the contrary, world. There can be no argument that is just the sort of thing he about that, as they admitted it thrives on. He gets at the thing at themselves. In the little box which once, and playing his cards quickly, headed their column, they modestly all the while card-reading his referred to themselves and their opponents' hands as if he had systems : " The world's leading X-ray eyes, or wore those funny t~am of four, inventors of the glasses and used marked cards system that has beaten every other (there's a thought, too, come to svstem in existence." These would mention it}, he clamped a triple be strong words in any other sphere squeeze on his opponents, after of activity but bridge ; but, of preparing the stage appropriately 7 CONTRACT BRIDGE JOURNAL by a Vienna coup, and then way or another~ however, Balfe and smothered his left-hand opponent Steams got themselves into a bid out of the apparently certain King of Seven Diamonds. One gathers of trumps. Naturally, his that the opponents were so dazzled opponents, squirming violently in by the brilliance of Balfe's and the ever-tightening net of his Steam's reputations that they did Machiavellian strategy, are eventu not dare to double, although tliey ally obliged to give up the ghost and had a hatful of pasteboards which our hero makes the six hearts with \Vould command respect in any an overtrick, redoubled. other company. When Steams laid down the dummy and went off to Ely Culbertson once wrote a very the Bar for another double whiskey unconventional column in which he and-soda, Balfe checked it over, but described himself as having been \Vas held to six odd in the play. He badly outsmarted by a boy from the could not have inade it, he said, country in some very spirited bidding and unorthodox but even if he had purposely revoked. brilliant play, but he never :wrote a The Four Aces agreed. with similar column again. Balfe, and stated categorically that Sometimes, the bridge-expert the hand could not be made, of columnist writes a column about course, but that Balfe and Steams one or more of his competitors in between them, had over-reached the world of bridge gumming up a themselves by crapulous greed. hand by greedy bidding or stupid (I heard . later that Balfe was play. This is regarded as quite thinking of plastering a libel writ on - ethical amongst bridge-expe~;t the Four Aces for that crack but columnists, and is considered to be luckily, he looked up " crapul~us " good for business. Such a column in the dictionary first). was the one I came across in my The hand that caused all the scrap-book. It was published, my trouble was :- scrap-book notes indicated, in the Toronto ll1ail and Empire, a daily (Stearnes) newspaper, on July 3rd, 1936. NORTH • J 8 4 In this column was related the II EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS- 1950 humble half-crown will not come HE British Bridge League amiss and " many a mickle ...") announces the preliminary T arrangements for the 1950 We shall publish month by month European Championships :- the standing of the Fund, together They will be held at Brighton with the names and amounts of from June 4 to June 11. The subscribing Clubs. ve11ue is the luxurious Metropole If we may make, with .all Hotel ; and it is the aim of the diffidence, a suggestion, it might be B.B.L. in general and of its a Club institution that a winner Chairman, Sir A. Noel Mobbs in should give, say, for a month or particular-as it is of the whole longer, one shilling in every pound bridge-playing public of Great sterling (however devalued !) of Britain-that the staging shall be profits on the period's play. Let as effective, the hospitality as the bridge pay for the bridge. generous as that of the two post war Championships held in * * * Copenhagen and Paris. The B.B.L. has also, at this early To this end, the indefatigable date, published a list of four Major George Gray has sent to nominees in the Open (Men's), every Bridge Club a circular to be four nominees in the Ladies' displayed on the notice-board Sections who may be designated as soliciting subscriptions from indi the Probable nucleus of the British vidual members, who may tender teams. (The italicised word should them to the Club Secretary or send be carefully noted.) them direct to Major Gray, Slough M. Harrison-Gray and Adam Estates House, 16 Berkeley Street, Meredith ; Terence Reese and London, W.l. Boris Shapiro are the B.B.L. The amount to be raised is choices for the Open ; Mrs. £3,000 ; and there is but si.x Gordon and Mrs. Renshaw l\1rs. months to gather it in, allowing for Williams and Mrs. Evans for the the preliminary disbursements. Ladies. This means that a considerable To these nuclei there will almost amount of work by the officials, a inevitably, be added anoth~r Pair considerable amount of activity by possibly a Pair and a half-it h~ Club Secretaries is called for. been the post-war practice to field Tlze Co11lracl Bridge Journal a team seven strong in the Open. urges all players to give slightly The B.B.L. recommendation is more than they can afford- no that the four Pairs shall play as. alien practice to card-players ! It Pairs through the current season ; is- it must be- a matter of national but shall not necessarily form into pride and prestige to make the teams- in fact, they are asked not 1950 Championships a memorable to play as a solid unit, though no · occasion. compulsion is put upon them. (Let no player fear that " nothing The . avo~ved purpose of this. short of a fiver " will be welcomed. suggestiOn 1s twofold : to enable The pound, the ten-bob note, the the Pairs to meet eacl} other in 12 CONTRACT BRIDGE JOURNAL open competition-Gold Cup, bad season, prove off form, or in Crockford's Cup and the like-and any way fall from his (or her) thereby sharpen their game to a present state of grace, they may be razor-edge ; and to preclude the incontinently dropped. This is not possibility of the Nominees, playing a chosen team-merely a probable as a unit, suffering one of those one ; which should train, .11ot in defeats at the hands of an Trial matches but throughout a " unknown " quartette which year of solid competitive play. happen to all first-class sides at The B.B.L. is prepared to give any game worth the playing. Such to all non-London players-and a defeat-bridge being what it is especially those from Scotland, -might well induce the momentary Northern Ireland and Wales-an victors to press a claim, !in the opportunity to demonstrate their strength of a flash in the pan, claims to inclusion in the British against a steadily burning fire : a team by staging matches in London claim superficially plausible but where they may demonstrate their which must be disallowed. No-one prowess against first-class opposi would drop Compton from a Test tion. Eire, which fields a team of side merely because he was once its own, is not included in this out for a duck-or even a pair of arrangement. spectacles. The Contract Bridge Joumal No sooner were the names of the confines itself this month to the Nominees decided upon by the mere recording of the B.B.L. B.B.L. in Committee than they scheme. vVe have already been were known-before the official approached with suggestions for announcement-in the London articles of criticism and comment ; Clubs : all chosen players had been and, being a vehicle for the free informed of their selection. It is expression of opinion, we shall common kno"ivledge that the print any serious contribution on players' named-especially those of the (admittedly very open) the Ladies-have created a furore question in future issues. of discussion. Protagonists of this ?ne or that have exulted or deplored. It has DEFERMENT come as a shock to many that certain The closing date for entries to notable Names are absent from the all London County Contract list of the chosen eight : Leslie Bridge Assn. events :- Dodds the Vice-Captain ; Kenneth 1. Melville Smith. Konst~m who has played in two 2. D aily Telegraph. laurel-winning teams; Eddie Rayne 3. Sydney \\'oodward. with a similar record : Mrs. 4. Du\·ecn Shield. 5. Committt:e Cup. Fleming, Captain in 1949, Lady 6. Goblt:ts. Rhodes, Mrs. Litante who all 7. Flitch. played both in 19+8 and the 8. 1\'lnstt:rs' Individual. current year. 9. London Pairs. 10. Hospitals Cup. It is an article of faith with the has been deferred to October B.B.L. that, should any player 17th, 1949. among the chosen octaYe have a 13 SCIENCE FOR THE AT'ERAGE PLA1'ER. No TRUMP 81os AND REBIDS by Norman Sq uire E have seen that scientific for which have been laid down rebids of No Trumps by through pure funk, and have little Wopener after a jump-~orce to do with real Bridge.* can show his hand to withtn a If we play the Weak No. Trump, point. 1 ~-2 + -2 NT shows that rebid of 1 NT will show a balanced 17 points or so. 1 +- umistakeably a balanced hand which 2 + -2 NT shows ? But this you was too good to open with 1 !"'T: cannot tell if you happen to be, as If an opening NT shows 13 pomts, are so many players, hedged in by that rebid will show at least 1+. that awful bid, the Strong No But we are not good enough to bid Trump. Let me justify such 2 NT ; therefore cannot have heresy. more than 16. · We all open a balanced 13. Immediately that gap is narrowed \Vith shape, we open on less. - halved- guesses by responder \Vhen we make a simple rebid of become automatically twice as our suit or bid a fresh suit partner accurate. (This is clear enough in knows-or should know-that we theory-in practice accuracy is have a certain amount of shape and slightly greater, as the percentage thus may have fewer points. of completely maximum rebids of He should also know that when 1 NT is low.) we rebid with 1 NT we are It is possible to play about with balanced and so should have our the opening range for the \Veak. full quota of poiuts. No Trump, fixing it 12-14 or If we play the Strong No Trump 12-J.-B! and so on. The wider he has to guess whether we have the range is, the narrower the range opened on a miserable 12 points of of the rebid of 1 NT will be. But which we are slightly ashamed or I do not recommend widening the are only just .not good enough to range at alL Keep it as narrow as rebid with 2 NT. possible or your safety margin The gap is plainly wide. He is against penalty doubles will be bound to guess wrong quite often. lessened. More of t)1is later. This is not one of those uncertain The range we Scientists use is ties unavoidable in the game ; it precisely 12 ~ 1 3! . This does not is a completely unnecessary thing. debar us from opening 1 NT on To avoid it altogether we have * llfr. Squire is Baron to his finger- merely to make that rebid of 1 NT tips. The Strong No Trump, mean something definite instead of whether funh-inspired or not, is something nebulous. This is done standardised in Britain to a by discarding the Strong No Trump balanced 16- 18 1llilton Work and using the natural Weak No points, as played by Acol Trump. Anyway, the Strong No (vulnerable) ami CAB throughout. Trump is an artificial bid, standards - EDITOR. CO!'\THACT BRIDGE JOURNAL 12 points when the enemv have a from a bad 12 to a good 16* is pa.rt-score (going psychic*), or, nothing if not ambiguous. th1rd hand and Vulnerable against T ~on-Vulnerable opponents, bidding here is no logic-and no lt on H. (Very cagey.) percentage-in playing in a contract of 2 NT. Nobody wants to play Now give yourself these two in 2 NT any more than they want hands : to play in 4 O or 5 + . Any safe tv + A95 \?AQ84 OQ32 + 1098 margin they might have is auto- and matically eliminated in such contracts, and they have to struggle + A95 \?AQ84 OK32 + 0109. for no reward, faced with the You wish to open both these hands probable humiliation of going down and you are playing the Strong m an un-necessarily high part (Heaven-help-you) No Trump. On score contract. ~oth you open 1 + and rebid 1 NT. These pin-pricks cause more Your partner, who has a nice internal convulsions than do other looking 10! points which he fancied more spectacular outings. Ten a bit when you opened the bidding, thousand of them mathematically now hates the sight of them. Shall equal one coronary thrombosis. he bid 2 NT or not ? If he does, Be warned ! The soont;r we get you have the first hand and 2 NT rid of that Strong No Trump the goes comfortably down. If he better for our Bridge-and for passes, you have the second hand our cardiac muscles. and 3 NT is near enough cold. See the trouble the Old Master So he sits and squirms, being one Culbertson, has with the thing: of those unlucky players who He lays down arbitrary values for always guess wrongly ; players it, not based upon card values, but l!ke you and me who are doomed upon the Palooka's fear of being to suffer eternally from the cussed doubled in a Weak No Trump and ness of Fate. But there is no going down a couple. Then he getting out of it-he has to guess. finds it doesn't work. So here comes another un But does it change it ? _Jot he. noticed swing in favour of the He changes the responses, making Weak No Trump. For, playing · every simple response forcingt the Weak No Trump, he passes ' Vhen, eventually, he is swamped blind when you open 1 NT with ·by thousands of fan-mail hands the first hand, but raises confidently that have gone down 2 or 3 because all the way to 3 NT when you rebid poor Partner may no longer take 1 NT with the second hand. out o~ a bad hand with a long suit, Bridge made easy. And quite he wtll probably change it again. right too. True, he mentions that the There arc enough difficulties in Yarborough with 6 Hearts to the 9 the game without making things may take out the 1 NT if it is more difficult for ourselves by using * A good 16- e-ven a good 15- ambiguous bids. For a rebid of vui/1 probably rebid 2 N T. 1 NT which can mean anything - EDITOR. * Psychic by a Ten !- EDrrou. t Latest Culbertson only.- EDITOR. IS CONTRACT BRIDGE JOURNAL Doubled. But that is just funny. (unless there is some length some It won't be doubled ! The opposi- where, when there can no longer be tion will be quite content to take a catastrophe.) their couple of hundred points If the NT is Redoubled, length from bad contracts without pushing may also stop catastrophe for the the contractors into good ones. enemy ; but if there is no length, So one day, perhaps, he will they must either concede an come right round and play the automatic game or play Doubled at natural ·weak No Trump. Then the level of 2. This invisible trick millions of players in America and is worth thousands of points a year. Scotlandf will know just where But the uncertainty about the they are for the first time in their responder's holding is worth much lives. And their communal sigh of more. relief will rise heavenwards in a At Lederer's, one of the strongest long, rolling, benedictory cloud. games in the country, all the best Now, let us show you how the players use the 'Veak No Trump. Weak No Trump protects itself It is seldom penalised, though none against the penalty double, because of them are shy about doubling . the danger of penalties is the only any other type of bid. argument ever raised against it. Baron players use it always. Acol Open 1 NT with 13 points, half players use it when not vulnerable ; a point more or less. The hand a definite flaw in that system.* By is now so limited that partner can using it at all they admit it to be a · decide at once whether there is a better weapon than the Strong No chance for game or not. He bids Trump. The danger of an 3 NT if he has a good 12 points. . occasional penalty when vulnerable With less than 12 he says No. is a poor excuse for not using the He never raises to 2 NT. · Thus the best weapon the whole time. enemy are completely in the dark There are other advantages about his holding. attendant upon this type of bidding, With the 10! points we gave him such as the chance of using that a moment ago he will pass in 2 NT raise (apparently idle) to complete comfort, knowing that describe a completely different 3 NT cannot be made and that type of hand t. 1 NT is safe. He will onlv come But the greatest ad\·antage is out of his shell if some rash undoubtedly the \ital information opponent Doubles, when he given by the rebid of 1 NT. Try Redoubles sharply. Any adverse ~tout. You \\ill find your accuracy contract at the 2 level should now Improve. Apart from that, it's prove expensive ... for the Doubler. much more fun than that wooden You see what happens : when- Strong No Trump. ever the partner of the opening NT bidder has the bad hand, the * The author speaks for himself and contract is played at the level of 1 Baron ; AcoZytes think differently. t Most Scottish players are - EDITOR. Culbertsonians-but the Two Club t Baron uses the raise of 2 NT to systems are mahing inroads, and show a balanced 16-18 and there is a fair Kempson r e~uires a chain of upward-bid congregation.- EDITOR. Slllt-responses.- EDITOR. 16 THE WILDER couP oy George S. Coffin LD timers considered it West made two blunders. He quite a trick to set up a got noisy during the auction, Owinner for an opponent which gave the show away and he deliberately, then to squeeze him led a Club, the Ten. out of it : the Vienna Coup. Wilder won with the Queen, We thought that we had seen cashed his black Aces-the Double everything, but in the· Double Vienna Coup, making West's black Vienna Coup, Declarer sets up Kings good-the Ace of Hearts and winners in two suits then squeezes he ran Dummy's Hearts. the opponent out of them both ! The last Heart lead suddenly This rare ending desen•es to be brought ·west's three IGng'> to the named after its discoverer, Mr. end of the line in this position :- David Wilder of Fitchburg, Mass., U.S.A. NoRTH NoRTH + Q • Q3 \?5 \?KQJ9753 07 07 + J + J 53 \VEST EAST WEST EAST + K 107 + J9852 + K • J 9 8 <:.:? 10 <:.:? 8 4 2 \?- \? 0 K 10 6 5 0 4 3 2 0 K 10 o+ + K 10 9 8 7 + 42 + K + - SouTJ-I, Wilder SoUTH + A64 \?A 6 <:.:? - OAQJ98 · OAQJ9 + AQ6 · + - SouTH WEST NoRTH EAST No bid No bid No bid The last Heart lead triple 20 No bid 2 \? No bid squeezed \Vest. As a Diamond 2NT No bid 4 NT No bid discard was immediate surrender, 5 NT Dbl. 6NT No bid West dropped the IGng of Spades. Pass Dbl. RDbl. No bid Dummy cashed the now good 7 NT Dbl. No bid No bid Queen of Spades, repeating the The bidding shown actually squeeze. occurred. Probably better bidding would be : South, One Diamond ; North, Three Hearts* ; South, An annual subscription Six No Trumps. (30/-) fonvarded to the Pub lishers will ensure regular * Three Hearts suggests JI!Ir. Coffin ; monthly delivery of the our own preferwce would be Four Contract Bridge Journal. Hearts or Two.- EDITOR. I7 CONTRACT BRIDGE JOURNAL HE Staffordshire C.B.A. has Stafford had the ambition to not yet passed • its fourth attack the Tollemache Cup ; and,. T birthday, but it is a sturdy, though larger and more practised flourishing, and fast-growing infant. teams vanquished them, they It is, unhappily, already half an proved decisively that the game is orphan. Its two parents were the more than the victory. late A. F. Bearn and the happily Many potential players are, alas ! still living Mr. F. 0. Bingham who, kept from competition because of a at a meeting in West Bromwich, reluctance to play "in public"-but gave effect to an idea conceived that is an emotion to be overcome. among a few More than a members of the single word of Sandwell Park tribute must be Golf Club. STAFFORD paid to the Hon. To this nu Secretary, Mr. cleus, members W. R. Cato. of the Stafford Bridge Club and whose energy is sufficient to write, the Basford Bridge Club rapidly publish and disseminate a Bulletin adhered ; Mrs. Littleford led a wherein are recorded all results ; large contingent from ' Yolver all local Bridge news ; and a num hampton ; and '~'est Bromwich ber of articles ranging from th~ and "ralsall-the latter a late humorous to the technical. This arrival but one swiftly gathering duplicated leaflet is supplied free to strength-became busy centres of all members of the Association, who the game. now number upwards of 250. In response to a voraciOus It is, perhaps, the spirit of th~ demand, events were founded : Staffordshire gathering that makes it pre-eminent. All hands have four Pairs Contests a month ; worked as hard as they have played; an Individual ; Champion Pairs ; and the cliquiness and feuds which Champion Teams- of- Four ; tend . to mar Bridge, as they do so " Friendlies " with neighbouring many other games, ha,·e been counties ; an " Open " . . . . reduced to microscopic proportions_ ·------IS THIS A RECORD ? at the Junior Carlton Club each of 'l the four gentle.men drew 'an Ace. * * * The Contract Bridge Journal is Or, if you prefer it, with apologies indebt~d to :!VIajor A. C. (" Bass ") to the late Mr. Ripley, Believe It Worthtngton for the incident Or Not:-- which has been dulv attested bv ali four protagonists. ·· • Nevertheless, it is a fact that The .odds against such a thing when Mr. Toe! Newton, Mr. Hugh happentng are . . . . please refer Willie, Mr. A. P. Franklin and to Mr. Hubert Phillips or the Mr. A. Orkin cut for partners Compl'tition Editor. IS HORNS OF THE DILEMMA HIS month's cover-problem This is a question to be deter proved a problem to a fair mined largely on partnership style T number of the notables to rather than pure system. If there whom it was submitted. Mr. E. C. be a doubt in Overbidder's mind, - Powell, of Leeds, posed it to us, he is still faced with an awkward .' a"nd we set forth the several decision . ·arguments which we conceive relevant to the case:- Two Spades is a possibility : saying, virtually, " I can stand When Opener bids a Club, and Three Hearts ; I am 5-4 (or you hold: possibily more unbalanced) ; and + Q1074 NEW DUPLICATE LAWS HE new Duplicate Laws, their actions, the proprieties (many to which the Portland Club, of which are flouted in ignorance), T the European Bridge League, the ethical considerations which, if and the National Laws Commission the game is to be enjoyable, must of America all subscribe, have now be observed. been published in Britain. Copies of the new Laws cost It is a virtual essential that any five shillings (5/ 6 post free), and Club which stages Duplicate con may be obtained from Messrs teste; should have a copy available, Mudie and Sons, 115 New Bond in order that any question .may be Street, London, vV.l., or from officially and authentically-and Major <;;eorge E. Gray, Ron. correctly-decided at once. Secretary of the British Bridge It is also desirable that any League, Slough Estates · House, regular official who directs Dupli 16 Berkeley Street, London, W.l. cate events-and anyone who is Bear in mind, all ye who will be· likely to do so at their local Club entering tournaments for the first should be in possession of the time this year, that the age-old Laws, which are at this moment, legal maxim obtains in Bridge as in until further notice, binding upon the rest of life : Ignorance of the all contests. Law is no excuse. Furthermore, it is desirable, Therefore, get a <;:opy of the although not obligatory, that all Laws, read them carefully, and entrants should be familiar with the take them with you when you play Laws under which they play. a match or a heat. Apropos, we were ourselves playing The number of " incidents " at a leading London Club recently which mar the game, only too often when our opponent did not know through ignorance, inadvertence or that three tricks down, doubled carelessness, can by this single, but not vulnerable, cost 500 points simple- and cheap I -precaution in penalties I How much less, then, be diminished to an irreduceable will those not skilled in Tournament minimum. play know of the rules that control 21 IN HONOUR · OF "M • COLE, HE enterprising Terence some 700. During these two Reese led a team from sessions the heroine of the occasion T London to play the assembled was playing, which was all very might of Leicestershire over 96 right and proper. boards on September 1Oth and 11th. There was a tragedy on the London fielded five players : second set of boards. Mr. and Reese himself, who captained the Mrs. Elias came in for Leicester ; side ; Mrs. Fleming ; Boris and an early board saw them Shapiro ; Dr. Sidney Lee and Guy "-socked '! for 1,100 in a part Ramsey. The home side fielded score .contract. Elias bid a Club ; a seemingly ever-changing series Lee, a Diamond ; Mrs. Elias, --a of partnerships. The result was a Spade and Ramsey, Two Hearts. win for the visitors by just under Elias re-oid his 6-Card Club suit 7,000 points. to Ace Queen and Lee doubled. Dummy has a void Club ; the. For once on a bridge occasion, London players each had the Ace bridge was not the sole considera of their own suit and a singleton tion, for Leicestershire held and of their partner's ; and a devast staged the whole event in honour ating cross - ruff extracted the of Mrs. 0. J. B. Cole-Mollie Cole maximum penalty. to all duplicate players in the countrv. She it is who has made On the very next board, the Leicester's bridge the formidable Leic~ster pair bid ac~unitely and thing it is ; her " Circle "-now well .to a grand slam ; but an no longer under her direction overstght--due almost entirely to was the nucleus of the game _in that the " importance of the occasion " most graceful of English towns. and, possibly, to the upsetting result of the previous hand Almost every local player of resulted in its being defeated. distinction wanted- and had- a crack at the London side, which The high-spot from the kibitzers' played Acol throughout. Leicester's point of view came when Shapiro systems were many and varied : perpetrated a psychic Double on a Broad and Baden played Acol ; Yarborough ; and Reese was com Mrs. Cole and Mrs. Millett, one pelled to play in Two Clubs smoking incessantly, the other with Doubled, going 2,000 down ! (It an inerasably sweet expression could, actually, have been stung played the old-style Lederer ; for a grand slam against- 2,300 down). Josephs and Mackay plunged into (shades of Buller !) Natural Bidding It is true there was a (non with (and here Buller must be Vulnerable) grand slam on the · turning in his grave) the 4/ 5 No opposing cards ; but it was not a Trump. particularly good one. It should have been played in No Trumps, The first eight boards saw but Ramsey pushed Lee into it in Leicester lead by over I ,000 points ; ~-Iearts ; the dapper Doctor plaved and local hopes soared. The first tt as coolly as he would diagnose a 16 saw Leicester still leading by (Co11ti1111ed 011 pag e 28) 22 A FEW FALLACIES by Ewar~ Kempson Fallacy I. King is with East or the Club Ace HE· Irish are said to be great with West, eleven tricks are in the tea drinkers so, when Mr. bag. But South fished out the Knave of Clubs and, when West T and Mrs. Joseph O'Neill of Dublin charged up toourfrontdoor covered, she let him hold the trick. at 5 p.m. the other day, \Ve at once said, "·would you like some tea A Heart knocked out dummy's or ..." Ace, and the King of Clubs was led. Before we could finish the East played the Ace and switched sentence, lVIr. O'Neill said, " Or." to a Spade, but South had no longer any need to . finesse. She Fa/lao· II played the Ace, ruffed a Club, ruffed a Heart and made her three For ·a long titpe we held the view winning Clubs for a well-played that when we played in partnership game ,:which (drew rounds of "''ith our wife she always led the applause from the alleged tea caret nearest her thumb. The drinkers. following deal explodes this fallacy : And the key card, the Knave of ~ 9 8 7 Clubs, zMs nowhere near her thumb. ~A95 009876 Fallacy III. + K5 It is, at long last, an error to say • 10 6 3 2 + KJ 54 that we have never made a mistake. ~ KJ 8 3 2 ~ 010 6 4 Vle sat West in the following deal 0 10 4 0 3 2 and in the seemingly pleasant 10 + 06 + A 8 position of being game and 60 up. + AO East dealt :- ~7 0 AKJ 5 + A 106 + J97432 ~ 62 OJ987+2 This was the . first hand in the famous Battle of Lochmaben ~ AJ between the O'Neill's and the • J 7 54 • 9 8 3 Kempson's. L. Kempson dealt ~ 9 ~ 0 10 8 7 5 and made the non-forcing (since 0 K 6 53 OAO the Kempson's play Kempson), bid + 8 7 3 2 + KQ5 of Two Clubs, West passed, and we bid Two No Trumps instead + K02 of our correct bid of Two Diamonds. ~ AKJ+3 "Three Diamonds, Walshie· 0 10 dear," said South, so we gave up + 10 9 6 + the struggle to play the hand and Our wife bid One Heart and Mr. bid Five Diamonds. O'Neill called One No Trump in West led a trump, two rounds an attempt to save game, North cleared the suit, and Declarer raised to Three No Trumps and paused to take stock. If the Spade all passed. 23 CONTRACT BRIDGE J K 6 • 10 6 4 2 • 3 <> 10 7 54 \? 5 4 \? 10 9 6 2 + AKQJ63 OA73 OQ862 L. Kempson bid Two Clubs on + J 10 9 5 + A K 8 7 the South cards and J. O'Neill + J9875 passed in the hope that North \?AKJ7 would make a bid. But North <> 10 9 passed and so did East. + 42 The pity of it is that East-West After Joseph O'Neill (East) had cannot make a game ; they must, passed, we bid One Spade and lose two Spades and two Clubs. North raised to Four Spades. Played in Two Clubs, West led Mrs. O'Neill led the Knave of his three top Diamonds. Mairead Clubs, which held, then the Ten of O'Neill ruffed the third and led the Clubs and then the Five of Clubs, Queen of Hearts. This nice which we ruffed. defence held South to seven tricks. 24 CONTRACT BRIDGE JOURNAL The Battle of Lochmaben ended O'Neill played the Ace of Clubs, with a slam :- took two rounds of Spades and led + K Q 2 + A 10 6 the Four of Diamonds· from \? Q 4 \? AK8 63 2 Dummy. 0 A K 10 6 3 0 9 4- 2 Having made his three Diamonds + A Q 4- + 5 (finessing through South's :Mr. O'Neill (Vlest) landed in remaining honour) and the Queen Six No Trumps and North led a of Hearts he was down to three Spade. The temptation is to go cards : one Heart and + Q 4-. for the Hearts but, very rightly, North, who had · started life with Declarer won the Spade in his own four Hearts and the. King of hand and at once played the Ace Clubs, was squeezed. and a low Diamond. Fallacy V. He was suitably rewarded when North 'lhowed out on the second It was now 4- a.m., so we all had round. South won the Diamond a cup of tea ... which is a complete and switched to ·a Club. Mr. fallacy. GRAND SLAM by Major C. H. M Sturges - T HE Colonel and the Doctor Diamonds", (they were playing the both liked playing the hand Strong Two). · and each considered that he played the dummy rather better The Doctor, on the other hand, than the other. When they cut was determined that, if his partner together there was often a little could open, he would play the competitive bidding between them hand in Clubs. This was, perhaps, to secure the final contract. pardonable for he held :- This hand was not only no + K4-3 2 exception, but the peak of their \? 8 4- chronic inter-partner war. 0+ + K Q J 10 9 8 The score was game all when the Colonel dealt himself this fine The bidding proceeded fast and, collection :- in the end, furiously. + AJ 5 I . Colonel (South) Doctor (North) \? AK9 2 0 S + 0 A K Q 10 9 6 + 5 5 0 6+ 6 0 7+ "I'm going to play this one any 70 way," he said to himself as he opened the bidding with "Two East doubled the last two bids. CONTRACT BRIDGE JOURNAL Here is the complete deal : He now started on the Trumps NoRTH discarding Clubs from dummy. + K432 When these broke evenly, prospects RED OR BLACK? 'by C. H. Guilford FURTHER ELABORATIONS ON BLACKWOOD FOUR CLUBS CONVENTION. R. 'D. L. JOHNSON, in · produced on the Blackwood an inter~s tin g article in the ~o~wen t ion . Tl~e first elaboration M August Issue of the Journal, Is Impeccable, VIZ., Enquirer bids discusses two elaborations he has 4 + asking fo r Aces which arc 26 CONTRACT IIRIDGE JOURNAL shown ci Ia Blackwood: that is to " Red or Black, Partner, please ? " say, response of 4 0-No Ace ; is the question of the day. The 4 · Col. 1 Col. 2 Blackwood theories that they are Potentate and Slave conventions. 1. OAand + A ~Aand + A It also predicates considerable 2. + A , ~A ~A , + A judgment upon the Enquirer not to 3. + A , OA or OA , + A Enquire if he cannot cope with an 4. + A , OA + A , ~A unsuitable Answer. Allotting the following points to If Partner fancies his hand, or the four suits : 1 for Clubs, 2 for knows he holds certain " key " Diamonds, 3 for Hearts and 4 for cards, he must now contract for Six Spades (what lengths Bridge fiends of the agreed suit, failing which he go to in search of " precision " signs off in 5 No Trumps-the bidding) gives the undermentioned final contract. figures: - Col. 1 Suits Col. 2 Suits Case No. 1 6 against . 7 (Continued from page 22) Case No. 2 4 , 7 child's bilious attack : and with Case No. 3 3 , 6 the trumps K x in the Dummy : Case No. 4 3 , 4 A Q 10 to five in his hand, elected Thus the Gordian knot is cut. to finesse the Ten ! The finesse Bid 5 Diamonds for Col. 1 suits was pght-also the trumps broke ; (the lower number) and 5 Hearts so the loss was not quite so bad as for Col. 2 suits (the higher number). it might have been : a mere matter of 480. To hear the laughter was Discerning readers (if they are well worth the loss. still with us) will notice the above responses leave out the bid of 5 + · Steadily and inexorably, the Londoners regained their loss ; It is suggested that Enquirer and after the first session, they may now utilise the bid of 5 + as a never failed to chalk up a gain. super sign-off to signify that, even with the information exchanged, he A banquet-and a most admir is prepared to leave the final able dinner with extremely decision as to the slam with his attractive menus- was held on the partner. Saturday evening ; the speeches, If Spades be the agreed trump by the Leicester President, Mr. suit, the Five Spade bid is a sign Jimpson ; by Terence Reese and off. If the agreed suit be a minor, by Mollie Cole were models of - it is a request to partner to bid that brevity which is the soul of 5 NT unless he can see his way to wit ; there was a Cole cocktail a Minor Slam. If the agreed trump party on Sunday ; and all the suit be hearts, the 5 + bid, over London players caught the wrong train home! 5 +, 5 O, or 5 ~ says : " I am not sure of slam ; use your A great deal of the success of the judgment whether to bid 5 NT occasion was due to another or a Six. Leicester stalwart, Mr. ,V. Coker, This emendation requires Partner who did not play (though his wife to usc his judgment, and thus did) but who was largely respon absolves the new con\'ention from sible for the superb staging of the the familiar charge against all whole event. JHDIItAS Competiti1m This by Edmund Ph illi ps The CONTRACT BRIDGE PRODLEJ\1 No. 5 (12 points). JOURNAL offers a prize of TWO GUINEAS for the best set of solutions Love All. You, South, hold : to the following problems. In the + AJ87 V'QS 010972 + Ato+ event of two or more sets of solutions The bidding proceeds : being of equal merit, the monthly prize will be divided. NORTH SOUTH tv> Answers to EDMUND PHILLIPS, 3 + 1. 3V' Esq., Competition Editor, Co11tract 3NT ? Bn"dge Journal, t72 Chester Road, Northwich, Cheshire, not later than What do you bid ? Nov. 7th, t949. Solutions and names of prize winners in the Sept. Competition will appear next month. PRODLEI\1 No. 6 (t2 points). PRODLEI\1 No. t (t2 points). Game All. You, South, hold : Game All. You, South, hold: + K 7 V' Q tO 9 6 3 0 K 94 + A Q S: + 7 A;-;sWER. PROBLEM No. 8 (16 points). 5. Two No Trumps-12 points. WP.ST Three No Trumps-:1 points. A One No Trump overcall should show at + - ~K65 OA42 + AQ76432 least the values of a strong One No EAST Trump opener. Hence a try for game + J 8 4 3 ~A Q 9 0 K J 7 3 + 10 5 should certainly be made. Contract, Five Clubs by \Vest. North leads the + K. Plan the play. PROBLEM No. 6 (12 points). Game All. You, South, hold: ANSWER. +A 10 ~A Q 7 4 2 0 J 8 3 + K J 2 8. After winning the first trick, the The bidding proceeds : Diamond finesse should be taken at once. If this holds, return to hand and NoRTH EAsT SouTH \VEST lend a low trump to the ten. This is a No bid · 1 + Double 1 NT safety plan to avoid the losi of three 2 + No bid ? trumps if North has all four outstanding What do you bid ? cards. If the Diamond finesse loses, you can only afford to lose one trump, ANSWER. and the proper play is now to lay down 6. No bid -12 points. The the Ace, to guard against North holding implications of the bidding sequence the singleton King. should be carefully noted. Fi1st, West's One No Trump bid should either show quite a fair hand or be a psyche based on trump support : your ORDER OF MERIT own holdin!! in Clubs suggests that the latter is not the case. Secondly, North's force bid of Two Spades may appear to * * * be strength-showing, but is not in fact The monthly prize of Two so : with a fair all-round hand, he would have preferred to Double the Guineas for the best set of solutions One No Trump bid. North's holding to the August Competition is in fact is likely to be no better than awarded to G. D. Sharpe, Elmscroft, six Spades to the Q J and a bust, so London Road, MaJdon, Essex, who that game prospects are nil. scored 83 points out of a possible PROBLEIII No. 7 (12 points). 100. Love All. You, South, hold: Runners-up: J. A. Gould (Surrey) + K6 ~84 OAK109653 + Q4 81, J. E. Gordon (Bromborough) The bidding proceeds : 71, Dr. R. McMahon (Essex) 70, NORTH SOUTH J. Bloomberg (Leeds), C. E. Dickel 1 + 20 (Glasgow) and C. Vickerman 2~ ? (Huddersfield) 69. What do you bid?· ANSWER. DO YOU know a good 7. Three Diamonds-12 points. Bridge story ? If you do, send Four Dinmonds-2 points. The 7-2-2-2 distribution is deceptively it along to us for publication. weak, and Three Diamonds is quite Other readers may like to sufficient nt this stage. You cannot hear it. support either of partner's suits, have 31 CONTRACT BRIDGE JOURNAL ENGLISH BRWGE UNION LIST OF SECRETARIES DRITISR DRIDOB LBAOtTB-)I:ajor George MIDDLBSBX COl'ITIUOT DRIDOB ASSOCIATION Grny, 23 Clydesdale..,Gardem, tlUchmond, Mrs. H. Freeman, The Nook, Lyndhurst Surrey. Termce, London, N.W.S. ENOLIBU BRIDGE UNION-Secrtlartl: Mrs. NOTTINGII.Ul Col'ITIUOT BBIDOB AssOCIATION Stem, 7 Abbey Road, London, N.W. 8. -Mrs. :Bnll, 28 Addison Street, Nottingham. Tournament Secreta111: Major G. Fell, NORTII :&A.sTBRN CONTRACT DRIDGB AssOOIA• Cmven Lend Works, Skipton Yorkshire. riON-G. I. Rhodes, 5 Woodbine Avenue, &gutrar: H. Collins, Esq., so budge Row, Gosforth, NewcnsUe-on-Tyne, 3. London, E.O. 4. ' NORTII WESTERN CONTRACT BRIDGE ASSOOIA· ESSBX CONTJU.CT BRIDOB .AsSOCIAriON TION-F. Farrington, Esq., .Moor Edge J!'. M. Fletcher, Esq., 22 Fontayne Avenue, Chapeltown Road, Turton, Nr. Dolton. Chlgwcll, Essex. 0XFORDStmUI CoNTJU.OT :BRIDGE .AsSOCIATION DBUDYSWIUII COl'ITIUOT BRIDGB ASSOCIATION -Capt. F. W. Taylor, 43R Danbury Rood, W. DUflll!tone, Esq., c/o Town Clerk's Office, Oxford. Market Place, Derby. SolllERSBT CONTIU.OT DlliDOE ASSOCllTIOii- DBVON COl'ITIUOT BRIDGE ABSOCIAXION 0. H. Dolley, Esq., Kellsall Lodge, G. Gmham Wilson, Esq., Fll\t 2, 'Klncora,. Btaplegrove, Taunton, Somerset. Higher Warberry Road, Torquay. SOUTIIlllLii COUNTIBS CO!iTIU.OT :BRIDGB .AsSOCIATION-Mrs. W. J. Davy, "Culford," GLOUOBS1'KBSIIIllB OONTB.AOT BRIDGE .AsSOOIA· West Overclllf Drive, Boumemoutb. Tel. TION-8. E. Fmnklln, Eaq., Delmont Avenue, Westboume 04400. Hucclecote, Gloa. STAnORDSliiRB CONTJU.OT :BiliDGB .AsSOOIA· HlmTI!'ORDBIIIRB COl'ITIUOT DJUDOB .AsSOOIA· TION-W. R. Cato, Esq., 204 Thornblll Rd., TION-W. H. Weightman, Four Winds, BtreeUy, Sutton Coldfteld. St. Andrews Avenue, Harpenden, Herte. SURRBY CONTRACT BlliDGB ABSOCuTIOii K.BNT COl'ITIUOT BlliDOB AssOOIAriON-Mn. R. F. R. Phillips, 110 Banstead Rd. South, Harvey, Manor House, Tunbridge Wells. Button, Surrey. L!IIOESTERSnntB CONriiAOT BRIDGB .AsSOOIA· W .&JlWIOK8HIRB CONTJU.CT BRIDGB ABSOCU.· TION-P de R. Pearse, Esq., 162, Uppor riON-F. 0. Dlngham, Esq., 04a Greenhill New Walk, Leicester. Road, .Moseley, Dlrmlngham. I.INOOLNSnntB CONriiAOT :BRIDGB .AssomATION WoROBSTRRSnntB CONTRACT 'BiliD!iB ASSOOIA• -Mrs. Turner and Mrs. :Brompton, 51 TION-R. D. Allen, lJ:aq., 28 Britannia Slgnhllls Avenue, Cleethorpes. Square, Worcester. LONDON CONriiAOT :BJUD GB AssOCIATION YORKIIIliBB CONTIU.OT BlliDOB A880CllTIO!f Mrs. D. Tnrlo, 07 Cholmloy Gardens, R. H. Chope, Esq., 20 Riverdale Road. London, N.W. 0. Bhemeld, 10. CONTRACT BRIDGE JOURNAL Regional Editors- Eire .. NOEL BYRNE North Western A. C. DouGLASS Scotland H. KlmsHAW Yorkshire MRS. L. L. BEDFORD Wales H. J. GoULD London "AI.mr" North Eastern EWART KEMPSON Competition Editor-EDMUND PHILUPS The CONTRACT BRIDGE JOURNAL is the officinl orgnn of the English Bridge Union. Publishers-PRIESTLEY STUDIOS, LTD., Phone COMMERCIAL ROAD, GLOUCESTER. Gloucester 222.81/3 All Bridge Correspondence to- EDITOR, CoNTRACT BruDGB JoURNAL, 13, CANNoN PLAcE, LoNDoN, N.W.3 32 ~ BRIDGE INDEX :I j CLASSIFIED LIST OF HOTELS AND CLUBS J : tiARROW PARIS J ~ BARROW numox cr.un-10, North wick i•nrk !toad, DARROW, Mldd:t. Tel. Burow LA llARONNE DE LATOUR ACADEliiE DE ~008 . Good standard Drld!lc In cnjoynblc llltiDGE-11 Rue llcrlloz, Par/s lOme. Tel. JLtmosphere. Se•slons twice dally. PJLrtuershlps l'as. 35·01. ~nd _ Dupllcntc. LONDON WORTHING \ cnocr;ronn's-1 0 Carlton Ilouse Terrnce, MIRABELLE Residential Bridge Club, London, S.W.l. Tel. No. Whltehnll, 1131. Sen Front, Hccnc Terrace, Worthing. Dally 5/· Partnership, Tuesday Evenings. 21· Part· Sessions 2·30 & 8 p.m. Licensed Restaurant. tiershlp, Wednesdny and lo'rldny evcnln~:s. VIsitors Welcomed. :: Telephone 6431 ·:!. Duplicate Pairs e\·ery Thursday evenlnl! at Pnrllculnrs from Secretary. · 7·30 p.fn. It. l'JtOVOST, Mnnaglng Director. A. :r. lJOJlSNELT., Secretary. DoRSET Cr.UD-3·5 Glentworth Street, Dnker Street, N.W.l. Tel. Wclbeck 1030. A GIFT SUGGESTION Regular partnership and duplicate. Stnkes 1/·, 2/6 and 10/·. Complete sets of Volume III . !'.\IlK LANE lllliDGI> CLOD, 28 Curzon Street, W.l. Tel. Grosvenor 1460. Stakes can now be supplied bound Q CUT f.. ~_: __-..J ·:·1 E. ·B. U. All 1\'lao tlesh•e to fu••thm• tiae tle1relo}nuent of Contl'aet D••idge as a Gaaue . slaould be uamube•·s :of," aut) SUJtJtOI't the ENGLISH BRWGE UNION • • E. Membership of the Union may be obtained by : l.J~ (a) Direct application to 0 LEAVER COLE & CO., B. - 30 Budge Row, LONDON, E.C.4,, Registrars, B. or flL.J (b) Through Appropriate Affiliated [] County Associations.