Bridge Confidence
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include this month's "Porsonnlity" I Col. A. J. E. LUCARDIE (nbove) President CHAS. BRADBURY LI MITED 26 SACKVILLE ST., PICCADILLY LONDON, WI. Phon e Reg. 3123-3995 LOANS ARRANGED W ith or without Security. "A PERFECT MANICURE gives bridge confidence. MARGARET RAE, 117 Earls Court Road, S.W .S. Tel. Frobisher 4207. Specialists in permanent waving. Open Saturday afternoons." ACHILLE The copyright of this magazine · is SERRE vested in Priestley Studios Ltd. D.D.T. /~ It is published under the authority .' of the English Bridge Union. tkm The Editorial Board is composed of, '::>.'-~~ ~''""'"''-''"'_,,................................ ~,~ and the Editor is appointed by, the BRANCHES AND AGENTS English Bridge Union. IN PRINCIPAL CENTRES 020 RIVIERA IIOTEL CANFORD CLIFFS BOURNEMOUTH FACES ClUNE AND SEA AMID GLORIOUS SURROUNDINGS Quality fare prepared by first class chefs Perfectly appointed bedrooms and suites Cocktail Lou nge-Tennis-Golf Telephone : Canford Cliffs 285 Broc hu re on Reque st e Y 011 ca11 . alrpays rely on a good game of Bridge at , The, R alplz. Evans's .Hotel CONTRACT BRIDGE jOURNAL .Edited by - D1•. PAUL STERN OFFIC IAL ORGAN 'oF THE ENGLISH .BRIDGE UNION VoLU:>.IE 2 MAY, 19-1-8 NUMBER 7 ' Edito1·ial • CONTENTS • N ·undertaking the editorship ·of the Coutract Bridge Journal Page I we are introducing no startling LOOKING BACK Col.H.ilf.Beasley,D.S.O. 2 innovations, but merely continuing the policy of making the magazine TACTICS IN No TRUMP as attractive as possible to all AI\"D Sun CoNTRACTS Dr. Sidney Lee : . 5 classes of Bridge players. CoPENHAGEN, 19.J.8 ·whilst retaining the more Dr. Paul Stenz . .· 7 importan·t of our regular features BRIDGE IN NoRWAY we have added further instructive Rolf Boe . 9 articles and one Jn the lighte_r BRIDGE IN NoAH's Am( vem. Robert Darvas 11 Prompted by the widespread PERSONALITY PAGE inter~st shown in the forthcoming. Col. A. J. E. Lucardie 14 Copenhagen Congress-the first ARouND THE CoMPETITIONS 15 International Tournament since WoMEN's ANGLE 1939-we have invited some of Daphne Kleuser 19 the most famous · of continental writers to contrib~te short articles NoRTHERN OuTLOOK to this and the following issue. Eu:art Kempson . 21 _As exponentS of Bridge for their GOSSIP OF THE MONTH ! respective communities, their Guy Ramsey 23 contributions will no doubt prove E .B.U. SECRETARIES 24 of especial interest to readers in this. country. CRIME AND PUNISHI\IENT . 25· PRonLEIII CoRNER Publishing the Contract Bridge "Tenex " 27 Journal at the . end. of the month READERS' FoRUl\1 28 makes our reports on current events appear somewhat out MAY Col\IPETITION 30 of-date. To remedy this we ANSWERS TO APRIL propose issuing a combined June· CoiiiPETITION 31 July double number. From then onwards the magazine will appear regularly on the first of each mo~th. 1 A RECOLLECTIONS of a LOOKING Pioneer Bridge Player BACK by Colonel H. M. BEASLEY, D.S.O. ES, I've played Bridge in one form or another for Y more than half a century. It's a long innings, but I'm not played out yet. Over fifty years ago I wrote a book on Auction Bridge, "London Bridge " I called. it, which sta~ted the Bridge craze m all the fasht?n able clubs of that day. And talkmg of clubs I think it was back in 1901 th~t I began my ~ssociation with Almacks. - That was one of the first mixed clubs to be started. I recollect that Gilbert Frankau's mother, lVIrs. Julia Frankau, was one of its distinguished early members. Subsequently, I believe, owing to som'e disagreement, she broke away and founded a club of her own, the Cleveland. of the game. Among such pioneers Then I went abroad with my 1 need only mention a few that regiment and it wasn't till 1925 come readily to mind- Mrs. Gordon that I heard of Almack's again. Evers, Lieut. Col. Buller, Sir Guy In the meantime it had removed Donwille, Frank England, Manning to new premises in Hyde Park Foster, Edward Mayer, Graham Place. Bridge ~ was gaining such Mathieson, Ewart Kempson, popularity that I decided to revive Richard Lederer, Hubert Phillips, Crockfords famous club. This I Sir John Rhodes, Percy Tabbush, did in May 1928- exactly 100 Col. Walshe, Bernard Westall years · after its original foundation. and Dr. Wood Hill. These were It was situated in Hertford Street some of the · eminent players who and it was there that I first heard figured in the famous tournaments of Ely Culbertson. We had already and matches with which I was begun to turn our attention to associated in those early days . Contract and Crockfords became the rendezvous of most of the Perhaps the most spectacular. of notable ·players of that period. early international events was that held in London in 1933 advertised Some of their names may not "E , as · ngland v. America " · but be 'so familiar to the present d~scribed by Culbertson as the generation, but in the development of Contract Bridge in this country Fzrst .Wor_ld Contract Bridge Cl!ampwnslup. It came about in they ranked as the finest exponents !,hts way. I had written to CONTRACI BRIDGE JOURNAL Culbertson inviting him to bring for my objection, but I · remember over an American team to play · it set me thinking of alternative against Crockfords. I remember methods of bidding big hands and going over to meet him in Paris it was then that I originated the and there fixing up the match. " Two-Clubs " system which has We suggested playing it at more or less superseded Culbertson Selfridges in Oxford Street, in this country. admitting the general public to · Other writers have laid claim to. witness the games. be the inventors of this system, At first Culbertson jibbed at but these are the actual facts. It the idea of an open exhibition in a was in .1 936 that I conceived the departmental store, but on second idea of an . artificial Two-Club bid. thoughts he realised the publicity and I went over. to Paris to discuss . value of such an event and readily the matter with Monsieur Albarran gave his _consent. So the match the fa-mous French expert. Togethe; was arranged and took place in · we 'vorked out the scheme which the presence of a large audience · became known as the "Two-Clubs" who were enabled to follow the system. Immediately on my return, course of the play by. means of. as Bridge Correspondent of the special electrical devices installed Daily ~Mail, I wrote a full . account for that purpose. of it in that newspaper. This was the first reference ever made to Culbertson's team won comfort the system and virtually the Daily ably and incidentally got a Jl1ail holds the copyright of ·it. tremendous boost for the American system of Approach-Forcing which The exploitation of systems is they had introduced to this country. still one of the bugbears of Bridge The match, however, gave a great and that reminds me of a little impetus to the game and started story. Not long ago I was up in clup players experimenting with Manchester conducting a small the Culbertson · System which tournament in which a mother simplified the game in spite of and her son were playing in its conventions. Colonel Buller partnership. During one of the would have none of it. He hated games I happened to glance at conventions in any shape or form their score sheet and noticed the and, · during the innumerable penalties recorded against them controversies that followed, became were· mounting up to prodigious the champion of " British " Bridge heights. Being somewhat curious, ·which favoured direct or natural I approached the mother at the methods of bidding as opp~sed to interval and asked .her what S\;Stem artificiality. she playe<;l . · As far as I personally . was " \ Vell," she replied, " we call it the one-over-one." concerned, I adopted the American system in some matches I played, " And how does it work ? " but I wasn't particularly thrilled I enquired. by it. What I disliked about it " Oh, it's quite simple," she was the negative response of two explained. " When I bid a suit ' . no-trumps to the opening two-bid. my son has to take me out into a ·1 needn't go into the reasons now different suit. Then I show him 3 CONT RACT BRIDGE JOURNAL another suit and · he must respond disclose their identities I'll caii again and so on." them simply Hans and Fritz. " But when do you - ~top ? " Vlhatever their relative merits were· I asked. I do not know, but they were " Oh, we don't stop," she always " going ~o r ". eac? other beamed, " until one of us ts and kept up thts btckenng and doubled.'' banter throughout the game. On ' It was also in the Daily J11ail one occasion they were drawn as that I first suggested Five-Suit partners and after Fritz Had made Bridge, introoucing the "Royal " what his brother considered an as the fifth suit. The idea . wa ~ to atrocious play, this is what I make the game more difficult, but overheard: I think the majority of people " Fritz, Fritz. I always knew were finding four suits already too you were a bad player. And I · many and more than they could know you're getting worse and handle. Anyhow, we formulated worse, but to-night- you're t!ITI!e a set of · rules which Messrs. months ahead . of your time." De Ia Rue published and they I remember the night H itler was printed new packs of 65 cards.