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Contract· Bridge Journal Official Organ of the English Bridge Union I + 52 \ r;;; 7 4 3 ,. 0 8 6 I I + K Q J 10 7 4 \ I + 10 3 N. + 8 7 6 4 \;/ 9 6 2 W E. \;/ K .T 8 5 \ ,..' 0 K J 4 3 2 . 0 10 9 7 5 \_~;' + A52 S. + 9 + AKQJ9 \;/A Q 10 O AQ + 8 6 3 South plays Four Spades. West leads a low Club. How many tricks should South make ? Sec page 25 . CHAS. BRADBURY LIMITED .. ~ 26 SACKVILLE ' ST., PICCADILLY _ ACHILLE LONDON, WI. ;·.,· SERRE - u~I . Phone Reg. 3123- 3995 LOANS ARRANGED Q«dllf {J/b;ui~ W ith or without Security. amf .9}-eriw TO CLUB SECRETARIES. Spread tlze news of you; activities. Write and tell us - l'l!to~cc of your special events. Items of general interest are always welcome. The copyright of this magazine is .vested in Priestley •Studios Ltd. It is published under the authority Clf the English Bridge Union. The Editorial Bbard is composed of, ., and the Editor is· appointed by, the IN PRINCIPAL CENTRES English Bridge U~ion. I . 'RIVIERA HOTEL ·· I CANFORD CLIFFS BOURNEMOUTH FACES CHINE AND SEA AMID GLORIOUS SURROUNDINGS Quality fare prepared by first class chefs Perfectly appointed bedrooms and suites Cocktail Lounge-Tennis-Golf Telephone : Canford Cliffs 285 Brochure on Request e You can always rely 011 a good game of Bridge at . Tlze Ralph Evans's Hotel CONTRACT· BRIDGE JOURNAL OFFICIAL ORGAN OF THE ENGLISH BRIDGE UNION VoLUME 3 SEPTEMBER, 1949 Nu11mER 11 A PERSONAL • CONTENTS • Page STATEMENI EDITORIAL •• 2 BLUE RIBP.ND AGAIN * * * Nfr. I-larriso11-Grny 3 I have both an error and an SHARON AND ]OSEPHINil omission for which I must express S. Tupper Bigelow 9 my regret:- FACING THE FoRCE Norma11 Squire . 14 The error concerns the Report Two SLA!II HANDS , which I wrote on the Lyndhurst­ C.R.B. lliurray . 17 American match. · LoNDON TouRNAMENT MEMORIES 18 I was not present on the occasion " STANDARD " Two-CLUB of the " incident " which aroused SYSTEMS such controversy ; and I based my Edr i:ard Reet"e 23 report thereof upon information AsK Mn AGAIN which was supplied to me. This A Ret"iew 26 I now discover to have been PORTLAND CLUB RULING • • 28 inaccurate in one vital respect. SnPTE.\IDER Co~tPETITION 29 I stated that " there was an ANSWERS TO AUGUST Co~tPF.TITION 30 unwillingness to accept the mle as written " (on the part of the .- . Lyndhurst team) ; and I have now learned that the " Rule as written " All Bridge Correspo11de11ce to the was drawn from a code of laws Editor: irrelevant to the contest. GUY RAMSEY, A stricture based upon false 13, Cannon Place, information obviously falls to the London, N.W.J. ground ; and I wish, therefore, to tender an apology. All Correspo11de11ce 011 The omission concerns the June Subscriptio11s or Advertisi11g to Competition Results. These ap­ Publishers : pear in this number. In this case PRIESTLEY STUDIOS LTD., the fault is mine and not that of Commercial Road, the Competition Editor. Gloucester. Guy Ramsey A I EDITORIAL HE Bridge New Year comes the relevant section at any moment. not "ith 1 ature's, in the They must, moreover, have the T Spring ; nor with the calen­ strength of character to give their der's in the depth of winter ; but decision (subject, of course, to the \\·;th the shortening of the days, the players' inalienable right of Appeal falling of the leaves in Autumn. to the Card Committee of the In fact, now. Portland Club). This, therefore, is the time The unhappy incident adverted for the making of good resolutions ; to on Page One was magnified out and· no bridge player, however of all proportion by the reluctance immaculate, but may, with of the Tournament Manager to advantage, affirm, or re-affirm, his assert his prerogative to give a determination to make the season definite ruling. 1949-50 not only a bumper in the The price of ethics-like that of success of local and national liberty- is eternal vigilance. Too competitions but a notable one in o_ften mere thoughtlessness gives its freedom from those distresses nse to groundless accusations of which seem, alas ! indigenous to unfair, or unsporting, play ; fre­ the game. quently mere habit, of which the · The standard of ethics and card­ habitue is unconsciouc; is responsible table manners of the Continent was for misconstructions and hard seen to fine advantage in Paris last feelings. July ; and it would be well if every The rising inflection should be table in Britain-:-from the high rigorously eschewed-even when tables at the ranking clubs to the making an avowed Asking Bid I private game where the Smiths The revelation by voice or face and Joneses battle for buttons­ t~at a bid or play has pleased or should take it as a model. displeased, the squirm that If cards are informed with ~ratuitously betrays a psychic, the diabolical malignance ; if your madvertent tabling of one's cards partner- especially if your life to indicate one wishes to be left at partner !- commits some particu­ the last bid and, finallv, the larly flagrant card-crime, refrain umzecessary " informative,"· trance from even verbal mayhem. - plus the taking advantage thereof . ... all these are commonly done, It. is not only players, but but rarely done with intention. officials, too, that we urge to scan the past and improve in the future. Further, one more resolution is Un_der t~1c new Duplicate Laws, re_quired : ~f definite sus'picion or, which will govern all this Season's still more, if definite proof of bad c?ntests, Tournament Directors are ~ard faith is forthcoming, it is g1ven greater powers than hereto­ mcumbent upon all players to fore. They must make themselves report it : to their clubs, their local worthy of their responsibilities. associations or their national authorities that the offender may -r:o. do ~his, they must be so be first warned and, if need be, famihar wah the new code that barred from again disgracing a fine they can find instant . reference to game. 2 BLUE RIBAND AGAIN (continued) by M. Harrison-Gray (Captain of Great Britain) Eiglztlz round (Friday aftemoon) WEST EAST v. Swede11. + 52 + 098{ \:7 K Q 10 9 8 7 52 \:7 A J 3 HE measure of a team's 0- OA763 greatness is its ability to + AK3 + 82 T rise to the great occasion. Dealer, South. North-South The Swedes, it was known, were Game. playing better than ever, and it was not likely that they would be as When Werner (West) and Kock prodigal with their errors as they held these cards the bidding went were in the corresponding match as follows: I in 1948. had planned to put SouTH against them the quartet that had WEST NORTH EAST No bid done so well against the·Americans 1 \:1 Dble Redble . 1 + 2 + (!) No bid 3 \:7 - Reese, Shapiro, Konstam and No bid myself ; but Konstam was lzors 6\:t concours. Meredith was playing 'Verner's 2 + was not an Asking well and it seemed unwise to leave bid but an attempt to beat par by him out ; on the other hand there inhibiting a Spade lead or con­ was the question of trained tinuation. Shapiro (North) led partnerships in a match of this + A from a holding of A K 10, importance. A possible line-up and there was an agonising moment was Shapiro and Meredith, Reese while he considered his play to the and myself ; but I had little doubt second trick. Helped possibly by as to the correct decision, which Reese's play of + 7, he eventually was to leave the Reese-Shapiro came to the conclusion that a partnership intact and to play second high spade was unlikely myself with Meredith. to present declarer with his The bridge played by both sides contract, even it it were ruffed, and was incredibly accurate, and the British supporters breathed again history of the match is that of five when he led + K at Trick 2. In swings-all in our favour. Our the other room Meredith (East) and greatest loss on one hand was 220 : I put up this bidding sequence, 3 NT that went one down while with no interference by the QUr oppon~nts stopped in 2 NT. opposition : 2 \:7 (Acol)-3 \:7 ; This feat, in a 32-board match { + -4 0 ; +\:t- 5 \:1 ; No Bid. against first-class opposition, speaks Meredith's bidding solved all my for itself. · · problems ; he certainly held 0 A, and probably \:7 A as well ; but Our first big gain came when I he could not possibly have second­ found the opening lead to beat a round control of Spades or he vulnerable 4 + that was made by could not have bid less than 6 \:7 QUr pair in the other room. Then once I had made a slam try by <:arne this interesting near-slam bidding { + · Half time found us hand: with the useful score of 18- 6. 3 CONTRACT BRIDGE JOURNAL In the second half it was the turn + K852 of Reese and Shapiro to defeat IV' A63 by smart defence a non-,·ulnerable 0 J7 6 4 + that was safely landed .by + K54 Meredith ; and the n~xt swmg hand shows the hampenng effect 01~ 7 ~ j0564 of a light opening bid : 0 A K Q 9 0 10 5 4 3 2 + 82 + 10 8 6 3 2 + Q 9 7 1V'A87 0 J 82 + AQ43 + K9763 IV' KQJ982 0 8 + K Q 5 3 + A 10 9 7 AJ IV' 6 IV' 1052 + 0 A 10 9 7 5 0 Q 4 3 Dealer, \Vest.
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