S. J. Simon 3 a Issue of Which He Is in Gold Cup-Blue Rmand Sole Control, He Makes Something of Dr
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(. M. HARRISON-GRAY CAPTAIN ..OF ENGLAND writes, and Is written of, I " IN THIS ISSUE CHAS. ·BRADBURY LIMITED 26 SACKVILLE ST.; PICCADILLY LONDON, WI. Phone Reg. ;3/23-3995 LOANS ARRANGED With or wi~hout Security. An annual subscription (30/-) forwarded to the Pub lishers will ensure regular monthly delivery of the Contract Bridge Journal. The copyright of this magazine ts vested in Priestley Studios Ltd. It is published . under the authority of the English Bridge Union. The Editorial Board is composed of, and the Editor is appointed by, the English Bridge Union. ... BRANCHES AND AGENTS IN PII.INCIPAL CENTRES RIVIERA HOTEL CANFORD CLIFFS BOURNEMOUTH FACES CHINE AND SEA AMID GLORIOUS SURROUNDINGS Quality fare prepared by first class chefs Perfectly appointed bedrooms and suites Cocktail Lowige-Tennis-Golf Telephone : Canford Cliffs 285 Brochure on Request e You catz always rely on a good game of Bridge at Tlze Ralplz Evans's Hotel CONTRACT BRIDGE JOURNAL OFFI CIAL ORGAN OF THE ENGLISH BRIDGE UNION VoLUME 2 AuGUST, 1948 NuMBER 10 EDITORIAL • CONTENTS • Page NEW Editor may, perhaps, EDWARD, MY FATHER be forgiven if, in the first S. J. Simon 3 A issue of which he is in GoLD CuP-BLuE RmAND sole control, he makes something of Dr. H. Leist 5 a personal statement. "No Bm" • • 9 In the Open Letter, which S. J. GossiP oF THE MoNTH Simon contributed to this issue, Guy Ramsey 10 he states as forthrightly as may be "GRAY.. 13 the dilemma of any Editor of a FULL CIRCLE specialised Magazine : one hom K. Sclzleyen 14 of which bears the fateful label IN REMEMBRANCE OF " Bias " and the other, the fatal s. J. S!!IION 16 s"ignboard "Dull." CR!l\IE AND PUNISHMENT Between · this Scylla and 111. Harrison-Gray 20 Charybdis, we shall do our best PoRTLAND PAIRS PRoTEST • • 22 to steer. It may, and it must, be BRIDGE FLAPPER flatly and specifically stated .that V. H. Walker 23 the Co11tract Bridge Joumal shall AROUND THE CoMPETITIONS 24 henceforth be as purely bridge as JUNE-JULY PRIZEWINNER •• 25 may be : as free to discussion, and Six-MoNTHLY CoMPETITION as outspoken, as, say, a post REsULT 25 mortem after a 1,400 crash. PosT-MORTEM-" Tenex" . 26 It is our policy to give the SLAMWARD Ho freedom of our columns to Heresy A. G. Figgins 27 as well as to the several Orthodoxies AuGUST CoMPETITION that, at the moment, hold the Kenneth Komtam 29 minds of players. ANSWERS TO JUNE-JULY Collll'ETITION-Pedro Juan 30 There • arc two methods of dealing with Heresy. The more usual is to stifle it, lest it corrupt * * * the body politic- until, as has All Correspondence to the Editor : happened over-often, it bursts out GUY RAMSEY, in full force and proves the truth and Orthodoxy's self the age 13, Cannon Place, hallowed lie. London, N.W.J. The treatment we ourselves support is to give to any serious A · CONTRACT BRIDGE JOURNAL Hercsiarch the right to preach the Chairman of the E.B.U. had his Heresy. If it be false, there hoped t~ be present but was will be no lack of Defenders of unavoidably prevented ; secondly, the Faith to rivet the evil doctrine it was felt in London that, having to the counter '; and if it prove approved North Wester.n's pri\·ilege true then it can be assimilated by to ·hold the event, 1t were an cvol~tion rather than revolution. usurpation of their autonomy to It is · also a cardinal article of invade their territory and deprive our creed to give freedom to the North Western's Chairman of criticism, so long as it be valid, the pleasant function of presenting constructive, and free from personal the Cup. malice. Although the Co11tract It is well, we think, that these Bridge Journal is the official organ two statements should be made as of the English Bridge Union, openly as possible, lest incidents, that august body itself shall not suppressed, grow with the telling ) be exempt from due public and fester into bad feeling-which complaint if it lie open thereto. it is our aim, so far as possible, to Two such complaints have come purge from the game we all love. to us already in connection with There remains . the perennial ·the Gold Cup Final ; and we topic of Competitions : too many, make no apology for at once too expensive, too restrictive-so . ventilating the grievance and giving that one sees at them all too few what we have found to be the new faces and, in too many, an true answer. uneconomic and diminishing It was regretted, and resented, entry. To these complaints that two London Master Players we propose to turn our urgent were advertised as commentators attention, and hope to publish in of the event, and failed to appear. the September issue detailed and This charge is true-and the constructive schemes of remedy. reason lies in the failure of close and immediate liaison between the · * * * * 'B.B.L. (which controls the Gold E beg to make an explan Cup), the E.B.U. ("~vhich ran it ation, but; for once, no at the B.B.L.'s request), the North W apology, that this issue Western C.B.A. (which staged it) of the Journal is over-late. It has and the commentators themselves. b~en deliberately delayed to pay our It remains a matter for regret that tnbute to S. J. Simon, whose sud the advertisers did not follow den and tragic death, following so IVIrs. Becton's classic advice to closely upon that of Paul Stern, First Catch Your .. Commentators. has shaken and shocked us all. It was also a matter for common " Sk"d·~ ." was umque· : a con- discussion at Manchester that this troversmhst whom even his adver the premier Final of the year, wa~ s~ries liked ; a player whom even not graced by any B.B.L. or E.B.U. h1s decriers respected ; and a "big shot" from London : either person, a personality, whom to to present the trophy or to grace know was to lm·e. the occasion. This, also, is true . We ourselves find it hard and in substance and in fact. The bitter to imagine either the Jounzal reason was twofold : primarily' or the game without him. 2 EDWARD, MY FATHER * An Open Letter to ED WARD MAYER by S. J . Simon DEAR Eow ARD, vitriol at something more ambitious It was with great impersonal than the two sitting birds you have pleasure that I read your " Crime ~electe? ~or your preliminary canter but No Punishment " in last m sqmrtmg. The showing up of month's issue-the personal horrors by alleged experts is too ple~sure was mildly marred by elementary an exercise in malice havmg two of my more horrible for me to comment on it any chucks exposed in print. ' further. I feel however that I must help your second bird to flap its , I quite agree with you that to wings a bit. any casual eye, most bridge articles appear to be written to glorify the You wrote : " For many months author, his system, or his friends · I had not failed to observe that and it was, therefore, a refreshing. articles in the Contract Bridge change to come across one written Journal were frequently lacking (save for . the give-away gamble of in objective criticism. If they the final sentence-unlucky !t) with were not written to enhance the the fine detachment of a recording prestige of their author, they lent devil, aiming at the far more themselves to promote his favourite entertaining objective of foaming system of bidding." mouths. Now, · this charge has, to my All praise to the present Editor knowledge, been levelled at every for printing it. I have always Bridge Magazine that has ever grumbled at the policy more or appeared on the market. It will less thrust on the previous Editor .. continue to be levelled at every of " Don't give offence "; and such Magazine, if for no other reason accordingly welcome the first signs than that it is quite true. But, if that the Joumal may now become you reflect for an instant on how fearless, out-spoken, hard-hitting a Bridge Magazine is produced, and all those other adjectives you will realise that it is also whi.ch, in their essence, mean quite inevitable. " Let's be rude to somebody." First there is the Editor. He is, So I trust sincerely that you will one assumes, a reasonably continue to write for it with intent competent Bridge player. As to annoy. such, he will have his own favourite May I, however, plead with you bidding system. He may be that in future you aim your elegant unbiassed, una.xe-grinding, and perfectly able to see the other * Bad joke, prompted by the memory fellow's point of view ; but he that Edward 1\tfayer was playing will still believe his system to be lutenzational Bridge when I was the best : else, presumably, he still sixpence a hrmdreding at would not be playing it ; and he the old Acol club. will be unable to see any good t " I may be p~rdoned for suggesting reason w~y he should supress the that we are not .sending abroad urge to mfluence others into its a world-beatin$ team." advantages merely becam1e he 3 CONTRACT BRIDGE JOURNAL As for articles written to enhance happens to be the Editor. The job of a Bridge Magazine, he will the prestige of their author, that argue, is to help its readers to play charge can be applied to any better bridge, and how can I help authority, or wo';lld-be authority, them better than by guiding them writing about h1s own subject.