How contract bridge began

Press, 3 December 1985, Page 16

How contract bridge began

CONTRACT BRIDGE

J.R. Wiqnall

November 1, 1985, was the unofficial sixtieth birthday of contract bridge as we know it now.

The cruise liner Finland reached Balboa at the Pacific side of the Panama Canal on Halloween, 1925. One of the passengers was Harold Stirling Vanderbilt, New York Central railroad tycoon and three times winner of the America’s Cup yacht race. This name is commemorated in the most prestigious, North American teams championship for the Vanderbilt trophy. Since it was too late to go ashore, Vanderbilt rounded up Francis Bacon 111, a New York sharebroker, and two other passengers for their usual, nightly game of auction bridge. The only departure from the normal routine was that a young woman, whose name no-one could later remember, invaded the customary foursome and suggested a number of strange variations to the game, taken she claimed from a similar game played in China.

Her most important innovation was the concept of vulnerability, a situation where the partnership that has won the first game of a rubber can earn larger bonuses for bidding and making a second game or a slam, but conceded larger penalties if it fails. The idea fired Vanderbilt’s imagination/The next day he incorporated it with a French variant of bridge called jpiafond, in which a partneWiip could not score

points for making game unless it had contracted for, or bid to make, the necessary number of tricks.

He produced a set of rules, and a new scoring table so well conceived that it has remained substantially unchanged to this day. Few people realise its depths. If a vulnerable pair are headed for a final contract of six hearts or six spades, but on the way a cunning opponent doubles them at the five level, they will score 1250 points for collecting 12 tricks. But if they redouble they will earn 1750 points (600 for making five redoubled, plus a bonus of 50, plus 400 for an overtrick redoubled, plus 700 for winning the rubber), as against 1630 for bidding and making a slam in a major suit. Which, of course, is as it should be.

The new game spread like wildfire. By 1930 it was the most popular of all fourhanded card games.

Today, many milions of Ble enjoy contract je. In most countries it is highly organised at the competitive level, with national bodies conducting tournaments and championships for all standards of players. / Since its formatiosj. in

1958, the World Bridge Federation has grown steadily. It now comprises 84 national contract bridge organisations, a figure that few other sports can equal. These N.C.8.0.’s have a total of about 600,000 affiliated members who participate regularly in organised tournaments. In turn it is estimated that these members represent only about 1 per cent of those who play bridge socially.

Not surprisingly, the United States and the European countries have the largest organisations, but per head of population Sweden and New Zealand have the biggest proportion of members. The various N.C.8.0.’s belong to one of seven geographical zones, each with its own organisation and zonal championships. These are North America, Europe, South America, Asia and the Middle East, Central America and the Caribbean, the Far East and the South Pacific. The W.B.F. has several objectives: the promotion of the game throughout the world; to conduct official world championships; to run a Master Points scheme to recognise achievement in world and zonal events; to provide a central organisation to instigate, co-ordinate and develop any necessary alterations to the laws of bridge. It is most prominent in running the biennial world championship for the Bermuda Bowl Since Jaime Ortiz-Patino has been presi-

dent, this has been under such strict conditions that cheating, and even any suggestion of it, has been impossible.

This year the event was splendidly run by the Brazilian Bridge Federation in Sao Paulo. The hands, computer dealt, were lively throughout, with many similar to this specimen dealt by North with only EastWest vulnerable:—

On this typical Sao Paulo deal, Israel reached six hearts played by North; which was made in comfort when the declarer lost only one trick in elute. In the other room, the Venezuelans also arrived at a slam, this time six spades, but West pushed on to seven diamonds, played it well, and finished only one down, doubled when he lost one trick in clubs and one in hearts.

So Israel, showing the form that carried them to the semi-finals earned a largejswing on the deal. - -