A NEW GAME OF BRIDGE.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXVI, Issue 18444, 30 March 1922, Page 3

A NEW GAME OF BRIDGE.

(By E. Manning Foster, in London Daily Mail.)

Has th© ideal bridge game at last been discovered? I am inclined to think that perhaps it has. It has been christened “ Standard Bridge,” and it is the invention of Major J. Montagu, secretary of the Portland Club, London. It has been adopted and written about by Mr W. Dalton, chairman of the card committee. This docs not mean that the game has been taken up by the Portland Club, or that its laws have been finally framed. It is still in embryo. Standard bridge is a combination of original bridge and auction, with a touch of contract.

The element of the old bridge game is in the scoring. Instead of a player who fails to make his contract being penalised above the line at the rate of 50 points a trick, hip opponents are to score the value of his under-tricks below the line, plus a flat penalty of 100 above the line.

The flat penalty means that however much a player goes down on his contract he is not fined more than 100 points. But the fact that his adversaries would score the value of his un-der-tricks below the line for game is sufficiently deterrent to wild calling or flag-flying. . Thus, suppose you called “Three no trumps,’ anl failed in your contract by three tricks. Your opponents would score 30 below the line —game —and 100 points above. This is really a more severe penalty than the loss of 150 points at auction which entails no loss of game.

Doubling does not affect the 100 pen. alty, but it doubles the scores below the line.

You bid “Three hearts.” are doubled, and make two less than your contract. Your opponents score 32 below the line and 100 above.

Now. this seems to mo excellent when it applies to big contracts, and I think the principle is absolutely sound, and makes for better bidding and better bridge. But I am not sure that it is right with a “one” contract. You call “One heart” quite justifiably, and go one down. Adversaries take 100 above the line and 8 below, it is rather severe and bigger than the much-criticised penalty at contract, where you lose only 100. Io go down one is generally a venial offence, and ought not to be too harshly penalised. I &C.MI favour of graduated penalties. 11 you are doubled and fulfil your contract, you receive 100 points above the line, but .no further bonus for over-tricks.

The majority system of calling is to be introduced as in contract bridge. That is to say, the higher number of tricks bid takes'precedence over a lower number irrespective of the value of the suit called. Thus “Three clubs” overcall “Two no trumps,” “Four clubs” overcall “Three spades,” and so on. Summarised, the rules are that the laws of auction bridge apply except as follows: - (1) Under-tricks are scored to opponents below the line, in addition to a penalty of 100 above the line for failure to fulfil the contract. (2) Doubling does not affect the penalty of 100 above the line. The declarer who is successful in his doubled contract Deceives 100 points, no bonus for over-tricks. (3) The bidding is on the majority or numerical system, as in contract bridge. The advantages of the new game easily seen. It means shorter rubbers and sounder bidding.