1942: Contract Bridge

No changes, either in leading systems or in the official laws, took place during 1942. Perhaps for that reason bridge continued to enjoy first favor among card-players, with both duplicate and tournament bridge maintaining their high attendance records, despite the war. The only war casualty so far as bridge was concerned was the World Bridge Olympic — an international contest which had previously been held simultaneously in every country of the world.

The results in the three most important tournaments conducted by the American Contract Bridge League, the organization controlling almost all tournament bridge played in the United States, were as follows:

EASTERN STATES TOURNAMENT

New York, N. Y., Feb. 28-Mar. 8, 1942.

Open Pairs. Won by: Richard L. Frey and A. Moyse, Jr., New York.

Open Teams-of-Four. Won by: Harry J. Fishbein, Tobias Stone, George Rapee, and B. Jay Becker, New York, and Simon Becker, Philadelphia.

Women's Pairs. Won by: Mrs. Barbara Collyer and Mrs. Erwin Seligman, New York.

Mixed Pairs. Won by: Mrs. A. M. Sobel and Edward Hymes, New York.

Non-Master Pairs. Won by: Jules Acceves and Joseph O'Connor, New York.

SUMMER NATIONAL TOURNAMENT

New York, N. Y., Aug. 3-Aug. 9, 1942.

Masters' Pair Championship. Won by: Mrs. A. M. Sobel, New York, and Charles H. Goren, Philadelphia.

Masters' Team-of-Four Championship. Won by: Richard L. Frey, Sam Stayman, Sigmund Dornbusch, Murray Seiler, and Lee Hazen, New York.

National Men's Pair Championship. Won by: Robert von Engel, New York, and Aaron Goodman, Montreal, Canada.

National Women's Pair Championship. Won by: Mrs. Erwin Seligman and Mrs. Mae P. Rosen, New York.

Mixed Team-of-Four Championship. Won by: Waldemar von Zedwitz, New York, Mrs. Olive Peterson and John Crawford, Philadelphia, and Mrs. Wilkinson Wagar, Atlanta.

Non-Master Pairs Championship. Won by: F. P. Begley and Dr. Kalman Apfel, New York.

Amateur Team of Four Championship. Won by: Mrs. C. Van Slochem, Mrs. Julius Daub, Arthur Jarmel and Morris Strauss, New York.

WINTER NATIONAL TOURNAMENT

Syracuse, N. Y., Nov. 30-Dec. 6, 1942.

Open Pairs. Won by: Tobias Stone, New York, and Alvin Roth, Washington.

Women's Team-of-Four. Won by: Mrs. Benjamin M. Golder and Mrs. Olive A. Peterson, Philadelphia, and Miss Ruth Sherman and Mrs. Olga J. Hilliard, New York.

Mixed Pairs. Won by: Miss Ruth Sherman and Harry J. Fishbein, New York.

Open Teams-of-Four. Won by: Charles H. Goren, John R. Crawford, Sidney Silidor, and B. Jay Becker, Philadelphia.

Amateur Pairs. Won by: Kenneth Cadawallader, Syracuse, and Arthur Waterbury, Euclid, N. Y.

1941: Contract Bridge

Despite the war — or perhaps because of it — contract bridge enjoyed increased popularity in 1941. The sale of playing cards (the most reliable index) reached a new all time high; the sale of bridge books, score-pads and other paraphernalia, kept pace.

The outstanding bridge news of the year was in connection with the Culbertson System, which is followed by 95 per cent of the world's bridge players. For the first time since 1935 basic changes were made in this system, the most important of which were as follows: The honor-trick table, keystone of every system, was altered slightly to provide new valuations for certain high cards and card combinations. Thus, whereas a king in one suit and a queen in another suit had previously been counted as one full honor-trick, this 'marriage' was discontinued, so that now the king is valued, as always, at one-half trick and the queen merely at a plus value. K-Q-J, which theretofore had been valued at 1 honor-tricks, was reduced to one-plus honor-trick.

The most sensational change in the honor-trick table, however, came about through the inclusion of singletons and voids. The traditional method of counting these values had been to place them in the table of 'winners,' i.e., to reckon them along with distributional strength. Now, however, singletons and voids count a plus value in the honor-trick table itself. This change was intended to have a direct bearing on opening bids. In the past many players had been in the habit of passing out hands which, on examination, were found to contain full games or valuable part-scores. In the new system, opening bid requirements were lowered somewhat so that these potentially powerful hands might conventionally be opened. The old basic requirements for opening the bidding had been 2 honor-tricks with a five-card biddable suit, and no greater latitude was authorized in respect to longer suits. Mr. Culbertson, recognizing the indistinguishable tie-up of distributional values with high-card strength, set up a new standard for opening bids. He authorized the opening of a hand containing a six-card major suit with as little as two-plus honor-tricks, and it should be noted, the 'plus value' in this formula could be supplied by a singleton or a void.

No-trump bidding also came in for its downward revision. The previous requirements had been four to five honor-tricks with balanced distribution. It was found that this relatively high standard deprived players of the full use of the no-trump bid, potentially one of the most valuable in the game. The vast majority of deals do not produce a hand of this strength. Therefore, to bring the no-trump within the scope of greater usefulness, requirements were lowered to 3 to 4 honor-tricks.

The most sweeping of all changes probably was in connection with the opening two-bid, or rather with the responses to that bid. The traditional convention required that the responder have at least one honor-trick, usually a shade more, to justify a so-called positive response; that with less than one honor-trick, he answer automatically with two no-trump. It was found that this technique prevented a partnership from selecting its best trump suit in a great many cases, viz., the responder, holding nothing but a long, weak suit, found it impossible to bid that suit at any time without running into great danger. The new system was aimed at the correction of this evil. It provides that the responder (to an opening two-bid) should show his suit if it is as good as five cards headed by Q-J or King, or any six cards. The presence or absence of an honor-trick in the hand is not pertinent on the first response.

Against the general trend of lowered requirements, responses to opening one-bids (in a suit) were tightened somewhat. In the past it was proper to give partner a 'courtesy response' even when holding virtually no top-card values. Now the table of responses is briefly as follows: The negative no-trump response requires at least one honor-trick divided into two suits. A single raise requires adequate trump support with at least one honor-trick. A one-over-one suit response requires at least one honor-trick with a five-card suit;  honor-trick with a six-card suit. A response that increases the contract, viz., two clubs to an opening bid of one spade, requires at least two honor-tricks with a five-card suit; at least one-plus with a six-card suit.

There were other changes in the system, but of lesser importance.

As evidence that contract bridge is more popular than ever, tournaments of every description flourished throughout the country and new records of participation were made in almost every type of event.

1940: Contract Bridge

Despite expectations that 1940 was going to be a very active year in contract bridge, the spread of the war, quiescent in early 1940, diminished preoccupation with bridge activities. The main activity halted was the drafting of the new code of laws, work on which had started late in 1939. The rubber bridge laws are under the supervision of a triple body consisting of the Portland Club of London, the Commission Francaise du Bridge of Paris, and the Whist Club of New York. These groups had been in communication with each other for months. But when the war spread, all negotiations ceased, and Harold S. Vanderbilt, chairman of the Whist Club Committee, announced that work on the new code would wait for later English and French cooperation.

This announcement met with the unqualified approval of the American players because it gave them a little respite from learning new laws and adapting their game to meet them, and, being in full sympathy with their English and French brother bridge players, the Americans felt it only fair that the latter groups be consulted before making the new code official. In connection with the war, contract bridge players responded generously for the beleaguered countries. Hundreds of huge bridge parties were held all over the country to aid England, France, and Finland. Thousands of dollars were raised via these parties to relieve the suffering of the people in the beleaguered areas. More than thirty ambulances were purchased, equipped, and manned for the fighting democracies.

Since all the bridge authorities were marking time, waiting for the new laws, no radical changes were made in any of the systems in vogue. The Culbertson System, used by over 90 per cent of the estimated 15,000,000 players, remained the same. Word came out late in 1940, however, that a new and simplified Culbertson System was in the making, and was due for official release in March, 1941. Ely Culbertson is personally working on the new system, and has announced a few of the contemplated changes. One of them is lowering the requirements for an opening bid. It has been Mr. Culbertson's opinion that too many hands were being passed out that, if opened, could score a 'partial,' or possibly a game. To encourage lighter opening bids, he is assigning certain honor-trick values to void suits and singletons. Another contemplated change is in the biddable suit requirements. Heretofore, a minimum biddable suit has been defined as a suit headed by a jack and at least one other higher honor. By scaling these requirements down to a four-card suit headed by only a jack, or any higher honor, Mr. Culbertson believes there will be more flexibility in the choice of opening suit bids, which will work hand-in-hand with his theory of lighter opening bids. This, necessarily, will mean that the requirements for adequate trump support must be raised. As a result, more one-over-one bidding will be fostered and additional valuable information will be exchanged between the partners.

Tournament bridge enjoyed its greatest year in 1940. The American Contract Bridge League, an amalgamation of the American Bridge League and the United States Bridge Association, reported larger attendance than ever before at its tournaments. Records were broken in its two national championships held at Asbury Park, N. J., in August, and Philadelphia, Pa., in December. New all-time records were set in the two blue-ribbon events of the year — the Masters Pair championship with 64 pairs entered, and the Open Pair championship with 128 pairs. In addition to the national championships, the League sponsored and conducted over 300 sectional, state, and city tournaments. Its membership list soared to 12,000 and more than 2,000 players are on the national master lists.

The League's annual charity party, held all over the country on St. Valentine's Day, was a huge success and over $30,000 was realized. This money is used for the relief of crippled and undernourished children, no deductions being made for expenses. Both the American Legion and the Forty and Eight organizations assisted the League in this charity work, and the slogan for the party 'Have a Heart — Take a Hand' — was popularized by the nation's newspapers.

Although work on the rubber bridge code is at a standstill, the duplicate laws under the jurisdiction of the National Laws Commission are in process of revision. The new code has been promised for the summer of 1941. Although in general only minor changes are contemplated in the laws, a drastic change is being considered in one phase of scoring. At the present time, there is a 50 point bonus for fulfilling a partial score. Under the proposed change, a doubled partial would receive a 100-point bonus, and a redoubled partial a 200-point bonus. This, of course, would hold true only if the doubled score were less than game. There is considerable dissension among the players as to the advisability of this change. Those against it contend that it will curtail 'close' doubles and thus eliminate one of the most exciting features of the game. Those in its favor maintain that more credit should be given a player who makes a doubled contract; they argue that the same bonus should not be given for a doubled and an undoubled contract.

The champions of 1940 were: Masters Pairs, Morrie Elis, Harry Fishbein, New York; Masters Individual, Morrie Elis, New York; Masters Teams, Bertram Lebhar, New Rochelle, N. Y., Sam Katz, Maplewood, N. J., Alvin Roth, Oscar Brotman, Washington, D. C.; Open Pairs, Mrs. A. M. Sobel, New York, Charles H. Goren, Philadelphia; Men's Pairs, Robert A. McPherran, M. D. Maier, New York; Women's Pairs, Mrs. Edith A. Atkinson, Wayne, Pa., Mrs. John Waidlich, Short Hills, N. J.; Mixed Pairs, Mrs. Ralph C. Young, Sidney Silidor, Philadelphia; March-Point Teams, Jeff Glick, Miami Shores, Fla., Morrie Glick, Harry Feinberg, Cleveland, Louis Newman, Washington, D. C.; Open Teams, Harold S. Vanderbilt, Edward Hymes, Waldemar von Zedtwitz, Charles Lochridge, Robert McPherran, New York; Mixed Teams, Mrs. Olive Peterson, Philadelphia, Waldemar von Zedtwitz, Mrs. Marie Black, New York, Henry S. Chanin, Atlanta, Ga.

1939: Contract Bridge

Despite gloomy prophecies to the contrary, contract bridge in 1939 enjoyed its greatest popularity. The game's continued hold on the public was attributed chiefly to two reasons: (1) the laws formulated in 1935 remained the same, and (2) bidding methods were increasingly standardized. It has been estimated that 90 per cent of the 15,000,000 American devotees of the game continued to play the Culbertson System.

The 4,000 teachers registered in the Culbertson National Studios reported that the majority of their pupils wanted lessons in the intermediate zones of bidding, thus proving that most players had become fairly proficient in opening bids and responses but needed further instruction in the subsequent rounds. A new slam-bidding device, the Blackwood Convention, caught the public fancy and was made an auxiliary to the Culbertson 4-5 No-trump Convention in the Culbertson System. The two slam-bidding methods can be summarized as follows: The Blackwood four-no-trump-bid asks partner for aces; the asker needs no special values to make this request. If the responder holds no aces, he bids five clubs; one ace, five diamonds; two aces, five hearts; three aces, five spades; four aces (very improbable), five no-trump. After the responder has shown his aces, the original four-no-trump-bidder can ask for kings by bidding five no-trump. Again the responder answers in the same manner — no kings, six clubs; one king, six diamonds, etc. In the Culbertson 4-5 No-trump Convention, the four no-trump bidder must have certain key cards before he can make the bid. He must hold two aces and the king of a suit that either member of the partnership has bid previously, or three aces. The responder bids five no-trump if he holds two aces, or one ace and all the kings of the bid suits. If he holds one ace, he shows it by bidding the suit containing the ace. The one decided advantage the Culbertson Convention has over the Blackwood is the situation in which the responder is void of a suit. He can show this void in the Culbertson System by bidding the suit, but under the Blackwood Convention this information is impossible to convey.

The only other change in bidding tactics was dropping the Two-Way Three-Bid from the Culbertson System and substituting a strong three-bid in its place. The new requirements for an opening three-bid were set up as follows: For a major suit three-bid, a trump suit at least six cards long with no more than one loser in the suit and no more than one-plus honor-trick outside the trump suit; total playing-tricks of hand between 6 and 7½. For a minor suit three-bid, an absolutely solid suit of six or seven cards with same general specifications (6 to 7½ playing-tricks).

Projected Changes in Scoring.

The Laws Committee started working on new laws in the late summer of 1939. The revised laws will appear in 1940. One of the major changes suggested was that of equalizing the suits; that is, the scoring to be changed to place minor suits (diamonds and clubs) on an equal footing with the two major suits, spades and hearts. This would make a game in the minor suit require only four-odd and would leave the five-level free for an intended 'sub-slam.' This would point the way toward greater accuracy in bidding. Perfect bidders, by risking a game in going on to the five-level, could earn a reward of 200-300 points for a sub-slam. The Bridge World Magazine and the Association of Playing Card Manufacturers sent out a questionnaire on this proposal to players and the vote was overwhelmingly in favor of the change. Other slight revisions are contemplated in the revoke law, dummy's rights, and claiming tricks.

International Bridge.

The international bridge scene remained the same despite the wars going on in Europe and Asia. Fifty-two countries held the annual World Bridge Olympic, and included in this list were the warring nations of Japan, China, Germany, France, and England. Approximately 180,000 players participated in this annual affair. All the German groups asked and were given permission to postpone their games one night since Chancellor Hitler's birthday fell on the original date named.

The International Bridge League held its annual championship at The Hague, July 2 to July 9. Sweden won the title after a close struggle with Yugoslavia, the runner-up. Eleven nations competed and the other nine finished in the following order: Germany, Holland, Hungary, Great Britain, Belgium, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Italy. The 1940 tournament was awarded to Copenhagen.

In connection with the war, the blackouts in the belligerent countries have caused a swing from club play to home play. Fear of traffic accidents rather than fear of air raids has kept the populace indoors at night. The result of this has been a decided increase in home play as attested by the increase in sales of playing cards, bridge scores and tallies, bridge favors, etc. Contract bridge is also the leading pastime in the dugouts. Requests come in from the front for cards and score pads.

American Tournament.

The American Contract Bridge League (an amalgamation of the American Bridge League and the United States Bridge Association) reported a decided increase in tournament interest and attendance. All records were broken in every event at its two national championships at Asbury Park. N. J. and Pittsburgh, Pa. Four new life masters were created during the year, bringing the total number to seventeen. A nationwide card party was held on St. Valentine's Day with all receipts going to local charities benefiting crippled and undernourished children. In each city, a local newspaper handled the event and the slogan used was 'Have a Heart — Take a Hand.' This card party will be an annual event, and the League is working on a tie-up with the American Legion to publicize it further.

Ely Culbertson, key man of contract bridge, went into temporary retirement for eight months in 1939, during which time he wrote his Autobiography, 'The Strange Lives of Ely Culbertson.' This book, he maintains, will tell the full inside story of bridge — from the original idea to the national institution it is today. The Autobiography, only partially concerned with bridge, tells of Mr. Culbertson's early life in Russia, Rumania, Mexico, Canada and France.

Necrology for 1939 includes several well-known figures in the bridge world. Among those who passed away were Charles M. Schwab, bridge patron and donor of the Schwab Trophy for international play; George Reith, author of the Reith One-Over-One System, member of the National Laws Commission, and former vice-president of the United States Bridge Association; A. E. Manning-Foster, of London, founder-editor of the British Bridge Magazine and many times winner of English Bridge titles; and Norman Bonney, New England Champion and well-known tournament player.

1938: Contract Bridge

Contract bridge enjoyed its greatest popularity in the year 1938 due to increased standardization of bidding methods. In previous years, various home-made systems appeared sporadically in different parts of the United States; and though none of them gained any large number of adherents, they still had a disturbing influence on the game. In 1938, the number of bridge players in the United States was conservatively estimated at 12,000,000 to 15,000,000. Of this number, more than 90 per cent played the Culbertson System.

Tournaments.

For some time, observers have noted a swing away from rubber bridge toward tournament and duplicate play. The year 1938 saw the weekly number of duplicate games throughout the United States rise to the remarkable figure of 20,000 weekly. Tournaments in every part of the country reported new highs in attendance figures. This latter fact was due particularly to the consolidation (in late 1937) of the two rival bridge associations (American Bridge League and United States Bridge Association) into one responsible governing body — the American Contract Bridge League. Ely Culbertson, to whom was due a large part of the credit for effecting this amalgamation of Leagues, was elected Honorary Life Member of the new organization.

The World Bridge Olympic, an annual event held in April, had unprecedented success. Fifty-seven different countries, represented by 192,452 players, participated. The annual tournament of the International Bridge League for 1938 was held in Oslo. Norway, Eleven European countries participated, the Hungarian team coming out victorious. During this tournament and bridge congress, it was voted to hold the 1939 tournament of the International League in New York, to coincide with the World's Fair.

Autobridge.

Perhaps the greatest single influence during 1938 for creating new players and improving experienced ones was a mechanical device known as Autobridge. This innovation, which reproduces actual playing conditions, makes it possible for one person to 'play' with an expert partner, against two expert opponents.

Five-suit Bridge.

During the early part of the year, considerable excitement was created in bridge circles by the introduction of 'Five-suit Bridge,' an importation into the United States from Austria, via England. As suggested by the title, this game was based on decks containing five suits instead of the traditional four. The innovation received its greatest impetus in England, when Their Majesties, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, visited a charity bazaar and bought some of the new decks. American newspapers and magazines gave this incident great publicity, probably as 'human interest' material, and the result was an immediate tremendous demand for Five-suit Bridge decks. The new game, however, proved cumbersome and needlessly complicated, and it was not surprising that its life in the United States was less than two months. Thus, Ely Culbertson's early observation. 'The average player has not yet thoroughly learned how to play with four suits, let alone with five,' proved prophetic.

Culbertson System.

As stated, there were only a few changes in the Culbertson System during 1938. These affected primarily the opening three-bid, which previously had been a strong and or weak bid, the true nature of which was not revealed until the opener had rebid. The new requirements for an opening three-bid were set up as follows:

For a major-suit three-bid, a trump suit at least six cards long with no more than one loser in the suit and no more than one-plus honor-trick outside the trump suit; total playing-tricks of hand between 6 and 7. For a minor-suit three-bid, an absolutely solid suit of 6 or 7 cards with same general specifications (6 to 7 total winners in the hand).

As always, South's two-spade bid in Sequence 1 remains a strong bid asking for a light raise. Now, South's three-heart, three-diamond, or three-club overcall in Sequence 2 means precisely the same as the two-spade bid in Sequence 1; i.e., a strong hand (though not necessarily a solid suit) inviting a light raise. Besides these two minor revisions, there was one addition to the Culbertson System. This involved a forcing bid by the partner of an overcaller. In such a sequence as East, one club; South, one heart; West, pass; North, two spades — North's two-spade bid (a single jump response) is forcing for one round. This, according to Ely Culbertson, makes it much easier for the so-called defending side to reach game after the bidding has been opened by the opponents.

No important changes in the laws or methods of contract bridge are expected during the year 1939, but the accumulation of minor improvements and the increasing tendency toward simplification will probably result in modification and improvement of methods and rules during 1940.

Projected Changes in Scoring.

In late 1938, Ely Culbertson and William E. McKenney (Secretary of the A.C.B.L.) came out publicly with the proposal that scoring be changed to place minor suits (diamonds and clubs) on an equal footing with major suits, spades and hearts. This would make a game in the minor suits require only four-odd and would leave the five level free for their further suggestion that a 'sub-slam' be included in the game. Their theory (which is supported by most experts and a large proportion of all players) is that this would point the way toward greater accuracy in bidding. Perfect bidders, by risking a game in going on to the five level, could earn a reward of two to three hundred points for a sub-slam. According to agreement made in 1935 among all law-making bodies, no changes in the laws or scoring can be made until 1940. It is probable, however, that the mentioned proposals will be adopted at that time.