Evening Star Newspaper, July 12, 1931, Page 79

/u There Is No Danger That Uniform Bidding Just Bidders. It's sad to tbhink of any omne Who cannot understand The meaning of his partner's bids And how to eount his hand. But some poor chaps who play the game Are in a mecaner fix— They bid their cards exactly right And then can’t take the tricks! NTIL all contract bridge players be- come users of some one system—if such a time does eventually arrive— the safest thing for the average player to do is to use at the moment the one which he and his particular partner best understand. When a player has a good knowledge of various systems his answer, if he is asked what he considers best, should be, “My part- ner’s system—whatever that may be.” When asked what he considers the worst he should say, “Whatever system my partner under- stands the least.” Any bidding system is merely a means of helping one partner to tell the other about the kind and quantity of strength in his hand, in the hope that they can thus arrive at the same final declaration as if they were privi- Jeged to examine each other’s hands. No matter what the system, skillful users of it will do a better job than those not so skillful. No expert player can ever put into writing complete information about what he does in every conceivable situation arising at the table. An earnest effort to do so would fil thousands of pages. A bidding system Tre- duces the essentials to understandable terms, and if well done enables the average player, & goodly proportion of the time, to make the same bids as the star. There is so much to even the simplest com- prehensive bidding system that the average player should not be obliged to learn six or seven different methods in order to play with a pleasing degree of efficiency. Reducing the number of widely publicized methods cannot fail, therefore, to be a boon to the bridge play- ing masses. The agreement of 12 prominent authorities on a single “Official System” is the first defi- nite move in the interest of uniform bidding. If the forcing system also continues to thrive, at least the number of recognized methods will be cut to a pair, which is better than a dozen or more. Those who fear that the game will become ‘“wooden” if a single system even- tually prevails need not worry. There will always be plenty of scope for individuality in interpretation when close questions arise. Contract Bidding. H.w would you bid and play the following hand, South being the dealer and both sides vulnerable? &2 YK97S 95 HAKIS3 a3 NORTH &Q76 SOUTH AJ10987654 ¥ None ®AKT63 & None This hand, offered by W. E. Farrell, is one ecase in which a perfectly proper bid will go wrong if up against a perfect defense. Prac- tically every good player will bid four spades on South’s hand, which contains fully eight probable tricks and no defense at all against hearts and clubs, to shut out the opponents. It so happens that the other side can’t come within a mile of making a game, but con- tractors do not have long necks and use them to peek into the opponents’ hands. North should let the spade bid alone. East may wish to double it, but if conservative would be glad to keep silent because spades suit him quite well. If West leads a trump, as he should when the other suits have good possibilities if led up to, the contract is heaten. Each of the first two times East gets in he will return a diamond, up to weakness in dummy. The third time be will lead a heart, so that his side gets three spade tricks and two diamonds, beating the contract by two. With any other lead South makes the con- tract. He will win the first trick, take in two diamond tricks, ruff a third diamond in dum- my, lead the club ace and king for discards of his other losing diamonds and has nothing left but trumps. Thus he loses only three spade tricks. How would you bid and play the following hand, with both sides vulnerable, North and South having a 60 score on the last game and South being the dealer? 439 YAQS53 ¢K64 #AKQ o NORTH VK92 s E @J102 3 $J1096 - SOUTH BRIDGE Methods Will Make Contract ““H ooden.” Plenty of Scope for Individuality. BY SHEPARD BARCILAY, Author of “The Contract Bridge Guide.™ A Law a Week. What occurs in this case? The dealer, hesi- tating over his hand, drawls, “Oh, I'l—” while the player at his left, erpecting him to pass, is preparing to say, “So will 1.” The dealer at this stage quickly says—"bid a clud.” The next player, in careless jashion, promptiy says what he expected to, “So will 1,” and then, realizing his opponent had bid instead of pass- ing, immediately corrects himself with “OR; 1 mean I pass.” Has he made an insufiicient bid of one cludb or has he passed? After the giving of various opinions by sev- eral bridge students this question was sub- mitted to George M. Hosack of Pittsburgh, a Hozw the German Spy W as Capturea’ Continued from Ninth Page early as PFebruary 13, 1917—the dale of this letter—had planned to establish submarine bases along the American coast. Undoubtedly the plan was quickly carried out, for it was not long afterward that the appearance of Ger- man submarines threw shipping on the Atlantic seaboard into a panic. VIGI‘ORICA was to import large quantities of a new and very powerful explosive from Germany, to use in blowing up ships, factories and docks. She was instructed to induce some priest to order, from Zurich, an altar, certain holy figures and columns and balustrades to go with them. The explosives would be con- cealed inside. Evidently it was planned that the priest would be an innocent dupe. The scheme was infernally clever—for what allied blockading officer would think of stopping the shipment of altars and holy figures from Switzerland to an American priest? Yet this was not all. Victorica was also in- structed to find out some means of getting Ger- man agents on American warships, and to start plotting to destroy the Panama Canal. And it must be remembered that these instructions were sent to her before war had been declared between Germany and the United States! All in all, it was quite clear that Victorica was the directing genius of German espionage in the United States. Elaborate plans to destroy American ships, factories and dockyards, to blow up the Panama Canal, to establish sub- marine bases and to conduct sabotage cam- paigns in Latin America had been intrusted to her. Our job now was to find her and end her activities. To do so would seriously cripple the work of the German spies in America. But the question was: How to catch her? We began by investigating every hotel and expensive apartment house in New York. We traced her from one place to another up to June 20, 1917. There the trail ended and all traces of her vanished. OUR only hope was the fact that the seized letters gave a number of cover addresses for Victorica to use in New York. We kept these places under close surveillance. At last we noticed that a young girl, a cousin of one of the suspects, was entering St. Pat- rick’s Cathedral at exactly the same hour, one evening a week, regularly. In the cathedral, an agent saw her leave a folded newspaper in her pew. As she left a man entered, took her paper and walked out. He was trailed to a hetel lobby in a Long Island beach town. A beautiful blond woman immediately appeared and took his paper. She was Mme. de Victorica! In the news- papers were 20 $1,000 bank notes—pay for her espionage work. Victorica was arrested. Among her effects were two beautiful white silk scarfs which had been impregnated with the famous German “F”’ secret ink. To write an invisible letter she sim- ply dipped a corner of the shawl in distilled water. Mme. Victorica held out under questioning until we confronted her with documentary proof of her espionage activities. Then she broke down and had to be taken to the prison ward of Bellevue Hospital. She was never brought to trial. She aged rapidly, and finally, a pitiable, broken creature, her beauty and charm gone, she died, on August 12, 1920. Old Durham Church Continued from Twelfth Page from this county to advocate the same in the assembly.” This was the last vestry meeting attended by Gen. Smallwood, Maryland's greatest soldler, who died in February, 1792. A road was cut from the Smallwood home, “Mattowoman,” to Durham Church, which is known to this day as “Smallwood’s Church Road.” It is said that Gen. Washington was an occasional visitor at the home of Gen. Smallwood and rode down this road with the latter to tend church serv- ices at Durham. Smallwood served as com- mander of the Maryland forces and was elected Governor of Maryland in 1785. His portrait hangs in the Governor's room at the State House in Annapolis. He died in 1792 and was buried within a stone’s throw from his front door. The Book of Records, under date of January 21, 1800, shows that after the death of George Washington the vestry of Durham “Resolved that Subscriptions be made out for each Ves- tryman for the purpose of raising money to be applied by the Vestry in the manner they may deem most proper to manifest our regret and to pay the last tribute of respect to our beloved George Washington.” A spirit of peace, strength and permanency— not withstanding the vicissitudes of life—seems to permeate the atmosphere of the beautiful woods encircling and protecting from the world, as it were, the quaint old brick church. Those impelled either from historic interest or as & matter of sentiment to journey down in Mary- land next year in celebration of the 200th anni- versary of the birth of this little shrine not only will see, but, perchance, may feel as well, old Durham. New Song Hits. “You Can’t Drive a Nail With a Sponge, No Matter How Long You Soak It.” noted attorney who has become an authority o bridge law. His decision is: ‘The dealer committed the first error. To drawl out, “Oh, I'll,” hesitate, then say very aufekly, “hid a diamond,” is an offense against tine cthics of the game. Too much informa- tion is given the partner. The next player, in saying “So will I,” when he intended to pass, committed an offense against the etiquette of the gam>. “The first legal act of the con- tiacting is & bid or a pass by the dealer; thereaiter each player in turn must pass bid,” etc, Law 17 (a). The words “So will 1,” as uctd, do not arise to the dignity of a bid or pacs. So far as they relate to a declaration, they are void. A declaration is a ‘“pass, bid, dcuble or redouble,” according to the law. The use of the words “So will I” was not a slip of the tongue, for the player did not say “no bid” when meaning “no trump,” or name one suit when meaning another, as provided in Law 27. As the words “So will 1" were mnot a dcclaration, there could not be an insufficient bid. The words were void and of no effect, Tie player thereafter could have passed, bid or doubled the first bid made. What occurs if a player, after looking at hie hand, realizes that the wrong player has dealt; when it is his own deal, and asks the right to bid first cr have a redcal? Aid to the Memory. Many ccntract players have difficulty re- membering how to score when a contract is defeated. It is simple enough if once under- stood. When not vulnerable every undertrick coun's 50, if not doubled. Doubled, the first counts 100, so does the second; the third and fourth count 200 each, and tricks thereafter 400 cach. When vulnerable, not doubled, it is 100 for the first trick, 200 for each trick there- after; doubled, twice these amounts. Re- doubled undertricks count exactly twice as much a5 doubled ones. Thus, when not vulnerable, the doubled or redoubled value goes up “two sleps of two tricks each.” When vulnerable, the value goes up “cne step of one trick.” Remembering those two brief phrases should help. i The Higfi Spot. The high spot of the Summer bridge mg3on draws near—the tournament of the American Bridge League, to be held in Asbury Park; N. J, next week. It will be an all-week proposition, beginning on Monday, July 20, with championship sessions each afternoon and evening. Advance entries are a striking indication of the way that contract has stirred up greater interest among the stars than auction was ever able to evoke. Problems of Play. North having made a semi-forcing bid of two hearts and South having gone immedi- ately to seven no trumps, how can the latter make his contract against a lead of the dia~ mond 3? 4K YAKOS642 Q5 SKJE NERER 4987658 E E v73 1087 71 aos 8OUTR AAJI03 ¥5 ¢ AKJ HAQ1072 Only players who use an original two bid to show a hand midway between a one bid and game-guarantee strength could reach the grand slam bid on such a hand without guesse ing. Opposite such a bid South can tell that a no-trump big slam is virtually sure. Those whose two bids guarantee game would open with one heart, or else three to reveal a good long suit with side strength, and would reach a contract of six no trumps by sound bidding. In a recent duplicate contest one prominent player fulfilling a six contract made exactly that number of tricks because, after taking him two top hearts, he let the adversaries win one heart trick and then ran the rest. Another declarer, the noted Sidney S. Lens, who had bid seven, made the seven. He could count three sure diamond tricks, the king of spades and five sure club tricks—total nine tricks—as the first stage of his hand. Play- ing in this order, if an opponent had three hearts, including a high honor, the big slam could still be made if that same adversary also had the queen of spades. After nine tricks had been played the adversary obvie ously could not hold five cards—the three necessary hearts and two spades. When Lens led the ace of spades to the tenth trick West was obliged to play the queen. Lenz’ jack and 10 were now good, and he would need only one heart trick. So, just for fun, he discarded the heart ace and kept the king for the last trick. Playing against & no-trump contract, no suits having been bid, what can third-hand about declarer’s holding in the led suit'™¥s a result of partner’s original lead, if the lead, dummy’s holding and his own are as in the following six cases: Card Dummy's Led Holding Hand | b PRAPRRPPRS ] Qs K83 Je A4 A62 1073 [ 2] Joe Third