Evening Star Newspaper, September 27, 1931, Page 83

THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, SEPTF.MBER__ZZ 1931, & 7ur BriDGE Forum * Consideration for the Rights of Others Tran- scends All Technical Laws—Men Against Women in Tournament. The Clmr'flpion He won—he earned the victory— And felt the thrills of winning, But what the title brings to him Is only just beginning. Besides the joy of viclory And warm congratulations, The triumph gives a champion Some brand-new obligations. How does he take the kindly clasp A beaten foe extends, The praise the public gives to him, The plaudits of his friends? When he can stay his own true self, Unspoiled by p:ide and fame, We're glad to hail the victor as A credit to the game. HERE are principles of ethics and ’ consideration for the rights of others which transcend any technical laws of bridge. One of these is the pre- sumption that every player has a right to see what cards are played. The laws recognize this by allowing any player to examine the last trick if his side has not led or played to the following one. Also, before a trick is turned and quitted, a player may de- mand that the cards so far played be indicated by their respective players. ‘This would seem to protect the rights of every player and give him a proper chance to know what cards have been played. It does not, however, cover the problem which arises when a declarer keeps the face of his own card almost entirely covered by his hand, plays quickly after third hand, then promptly turns the trick face down and quits it. The adversary at his left does not have time to see his partner’s card and has no opportunity to see declarer's unless he possesses an X-ray to look through the latter's hand. In this predicament, which is by no means rare, a player has the right to examine the trick, but no right under the laws to ask who played which card, since the trick has been quitted. In a recent club game the defeating of the contract depended, as it turned out, upon the player knowing whether his partner had given a high or low signal. The recalcitrant declarer “stood on his rights,” as he called them, and refused to say which card was his, even though the adversary had never secn the face of it; he argued that to tell whici was his was equivalent to saying that the other “spot card” on the trick was the oti.cr adversary’s. Nothing could be done about it. That is, nothing until the club’s board of governors met. After that the club had one less member. Complications should be prevented in the first place if possible. Why is it that some players never learn to lay down their cards so that the entire face is visible before they take in the trick? Watch yourself and see if you offend that way. Or do you toss your cards carelessly, so that they fall in the dummy or slide under the top card of a trick? It is a duty we owe to our co-players to play our cards so they are clearly visible to every one in the game. The Age-Old Argument ‘Kipling worded it well when he suggested that “the female of the species is more deadly than the male,” but in all the years that bridge has been played there has not yet been a case of a real match in which women on one side faced men on the other. So the duplicate contract shindig along those battle lines which will be fought at the Rye Country Club, one of New York’s most exclusive suburban organizations, will mark something of an epoch. Twenty men are to battle 20 women there next Saturday night to settle the age-old argument. Reading about this, a bright woman signing herself as “Montclair, N. J.,” has sent in, with “Good luck to the women of the Rye Country OClub,” this little verse: 'TiS SAD, BUT TRUE! 'Tis true that in the days of yore, You men played bridge a great deal more Than women—s0 you proved to be Much better players than were we. But times have changed—so has the game ('Tis sad, but true—ah, what a shame), When women play the men these days, The men, and not the woman, pays! The First Champion In winning the first individual national cham- pionship tournament ever held, Willard S. Karn, who gave the trophy also for the contest in which every player took turns with every other one as partner, occupies a distinction which will last. It is therefore of interest to the bridge public to know what manner of man he is. Perhaps his own words will give some idea. “I owe my winning,” he said, “and in fact all of the really advanced bridge I know, to the help of Philip Hal Sims, while playing as his partner in pair and team events. No man can be his partner any length of time without learn= ing fine points of the game. His kindly coach- ing really won the championship rather than any native ability of my own. My one regret in connection with winning is that he didn’t win instead. There is a great luck element in these games, in what opponents happen to de- cide to do against you and in other ways; every tough break went against him. Though I may be the winner, I still consider him far and away the greatest bridge player in the world.” By SHEPARD BARCLAY ALaw a Week What occurs in this case? A player having revoked, the opponents at the close of the hand claimed 100 points for the revoke, whicli was allowed and so scored. A few moments later ome of the opponments realized his side should have exacted a penalty of two tricks jor the revoke, and insisted that the record be s0 changed. This does not come under the head of an error in the honor sco'e, which may be cor- rected at any time before the score of the rub- ber has bzen made up and agreed upon. It is a mistake in selection of penalty and is governed by law 53 (f) “If a wrong penalty be selected and paid without challenge the selection may not be changed.” What occurs in this situation? South bid one heart, West two diamonds, North wo Historic Painting of Gen. Grant Continued from Fifth Page sumed. ‘We will soon know what we are about. Here is Deepbottom.” I saw him through the crowd of horses and men jump ashore, mount Jefl Davis and disappear. I was not slow to follow him. I kept as close as possible. We went clear through the army and, coming into a wood, the well-known whistling of bullets began. He waved us to stop, but he went on. I see yet the little black pony almost disap- pearing among the trees and at the edge of a thicket make a halt. The general dismounted and went a distance into a field, where the skirmishers were rapidly firing. I hardly could breathe—how easily & bullet could do away with him—but he returned, mounted and wheeled to the left, beckoning us to follow him. We were soon at Fort Harrison, not fifteen minutes before stormed and taken, the shells from gunboats yet passing and bursting. Here he dismounted again and sat at the foot of an earthwork, where he received numerous re- ports and sent many dispatches, I had my notebook in my hand when my foot slipped and, looking at the ground for the first time, found I was standing in a pool of blood flow- ing from & body under the mantel. A shell burst overhead, but he did not appear to hear it. Soon we were on the road to Deepbottom again and for the first time I heard his voice in anger, ordering some stragglers to join their commands. Grant did his best to carry out my wish, but I did not see Richmond taken.” Thus ended the major part of the sketching for the great painting. Balling later went to - the Shenandoah Valley to see Sheridan, and waited many months for Sherman to return North from Georgia. It was only when Sher- man came to Washington after the close of war to be reviewed by President Johnson that Balling was able to meet him. And ghis meet- ing formed one of the most difficult jobs of the sketching. Sherman had just had a fiery battle with the Secretary of War and Balling later said that when he called at the general’s head- quarters he was “told to go to a hot place.” FEW days later Balling managed to find Sherman at Grant’s headquarters and when Grant asked his colleague to sit for the artist Sherman answered: “Paint my whole command, but leave me alone.” k No friend in the cabinet or the Army could prevail on Sherman to give Balling a sitting, so the artist went to Senator Sherman, the gen- eral's brother. The Senator was sympathetic, but thought his wife could arrange such mat- ters better, being the better diplomat, so a din- ner at the Senator’s home was arranged for the following day. Sherman and some of his officers sat at the far end of the table and were busy in a discussion of military matters for most of the evening, ignoring Balling, the Sen- ator and their hostess. Later, after many of the guests had left, Mrs. Sherman took the artist to the library, wherc Sherman and his companions were drinking, and, entering with him unexpectedly, said: “Allow me, general, to present to you an artist ¥ho wants a sitting from you directly.” “I suppose I am cornered now,” the general replied with a smile. The sitting lasted less than an hour, while Sherman regaled his listeners with anecdotes of his march through the South. After the painting of the 27 generals was nearly finished Balling was forced to hurry to Richmond to make a sketch of Gen. Terry. Terry oroginally had not been included, but after Gen, Butler's failure at Fort Fisher the latter’s portrait was removed from the com- position and that of Terry substituted. Balling was studying Sheridan in the Shen~ andoah Valley when a telegram arrived telling of the assassination of President Lincoln. The artist had gone there from Appomattox, where he made a sketch for a later painting of the deadly Five Forks battlefield while visiting Gen. Warren. The life of Ole Peter Hansen Balling was as colorful as any of his paintings. He was born in Christiana, Norway (now Oslo), April 23, 1823, and died there May 1, 1906. He received his education as an artist at the Royal Acad- emy of Norway, at the Berlin Academy and later at the Academy in Copenhagen After fighting in the Danish army during .he war of Schleswig-Holstein he went to Copenhagen and began his career as a military and historical painter. He éame to the United States in 1856, after a number of years spent in Paris, Berlin and Munich. In New York he devoted his talents to por- traits and photographic experiments, but dropped everything when the Civil War broke out to volunteer in the 1st New York Volunteer Regiment.. He was commissioned captain of a Scandinavian company, and soon became & lieutenant colonel in command of the 145th Regiment. He resigned his commission in 1863 and returned to his art. His most notable works in this country in- cluded the portrait of Gen. Sedgwick at West Point, that of Admiral Farragut at the Naval Academy and those of Gen, Thomas and Gen. Reynolds in the Union League Club of Phila- delphia. BALLING returned to his nalive land in 1874, where the minister of marine commissioned him to paint 34 portraits of the ranking neval officers of the time and four of the Kings who had reigned over Norway from 1814. During this period he also made a number of herolc historical pleces for Norwegian institutions. When Grant made his tour of Europe after re- tiring from the presidency Balling was his host in Christiana. He went to Mexico in 1881 for nine years to make historical paintings for Chapultepec Oas- tle and other public buildings, and returned to Christiana as Mexican consul in 1890. There he remained except for one year devoted to portraiture in New York in 1895 spades, East passed, South three hearts, West jour diamonds, North four hearts, East and South passed. While West is study.ng his hand, considering a five diamond sacrifice bid, Easl, under the impression that the contracting has ended and that it is his twrn to lead, lcads the king of clubs. Contract Bidding “Holding the follow:ng hand, neithcr side vul- werablc North passed after West's dealer’s bid of onc spade; them East bid ome no trump, Souti doubled., West passed, North bid two diamonds, East two spades, South three clubs, West passed. What should North now do? Also, is his bidding thus jar correct? a¥ 47542 96543 @ AT43 North was wrong on his first 1esponse to the double in not bidding his four-card major in- stead of his minor; the fact that the diamond - suit held an ace has nothing to do with it. As a Tule a four-card major should be the response to a double unless the player holds at least a very strong five-card minor or a six-carder. This is especially true when the cpponents have bid one major; the double is almost certain to guarantee handsome support for the other major. After his first mistake North should emphati- cally shift from his partne:’s three clubs to three hearts on his next turn. With the op- penents bidding spades and the doubler with his clubs showing lack of diamond support, it is almost a 100 to 1 certainty that he is more than ready for hearts. Purthermore, bidding them merely shifts the declaration without in- creasing the contract. To do anything else in this situation would be inexcusable. How would you bid the following hand, West being the dealer and only his side vulnerable? AAQI4 vyQio ¢ 743 HhJ742 47105 NORTH YAJIES 5 Bl 9Ki548 ¢KQJ9s | g eawss , ] " SOUTH ik AKT A£8632 vos e2 SHAK10985 Problems of Play South having dealt and bd two no trump, 1hich North raised to three, and Wcst having led the deuce of clubs, how would you play the jollowing hand? aA82 710965 Q7 &H6E53 AKQ3 v432 ®AJ106E »>74 &J1096 YAK $ K85 SHAKJIIO A sane bid and ensuing sound play enabled the brilliant Milton Leonard Coleman, who wrote the first book on contract five years ago, to make game plus an extra trick for a nice too score on this hand. Reading the lead as a fourth best, he could count the clubs in his hand and dummy, show- inz that East held only two. Deducing that the diamonds were probably bunched with East, he could tell that any lead from that hand would help him if he first made a club lead impossible. So after eliminating his blocking ace and king of hearts, he led the spade nine to discourage a cover, letting East win. Now if East led either a spade or diamond he would immediately build an extra trick for Mr. €oleman in the chosen suit. The only other lead was a heart to the queen. West, now hard put for a lead, picked the spade. Mr. Coleman won this in dummy and led the third spade, putting East in again with nothing left but diamonds, all of which produced four edd. The New Problem ‘With a contract of five diamonds and the king of spades led, how would you play the - Jollowing hand? 4Q96 YAKS6 6 ; $AQJIB2 AAKJI10543 o ¥vQ1o [ o0 g § &073 aom'a_ a2 ¥J432 S$AKQJIBTS »e