U.S. BRIDGE CODE

Greymouth Evening Star, 15 July 1943, Page 2

U.S. BRIDGE CODE

MORE LIBERAL TERMS

American and British bridge rules parted company recently (says the New York correspondent of the London “Daily Telegraph”) with the publication of the 1943 code by the committee representing the Whist Club of New York, which has made the bridge laws here since 1905, and the American Contract Bridge League which controls tournament play. An effort was made to reach agreement with the British committee representing the Portland Club, but the British committee took the view that the revised code should not be published during the war.

The new American code is more liberal in many ways than that of 1935. Some of the changes are: A player may correct himself without penalty when he makes an improper bid by a slip of the tongue. A 50-point bonus is granted for making any doubled or redoubled contract whether vulnerable or not. The declarer, when the wrong opponent leads against him, may either call for the lead of any suit, or forbid the lead of any suit he wishes. The revoke penalty is still two tricks, but there is no increase in the penalty when the same player revokes a second time. The new code gives up the struggle to make people call dummy “declarer’s partner.” Henceforth dummy is officially dummy.