Evening Star Newspaper, October 25, 1931, Page 88

14 e————————— URN back the pages of time to three years ago. Consider 17 bridge ex- perts, capable players, students, teach- ers and writers all, including almost every man or woman with national or international standing as an authority on the game. Contract bridge, as real experts now know it, then was young. It has advanced by leaps and bounds since that time. It was natural that each would have his own ideas about the bost bidding tactics to apply to the new conditions brought about by the new game. It was inevitabl> that each would de- velop his or her own sy-tem, somewhat differ- ent from every other s stem, unless, perhaps, some one of them restrained himself and de- cided to be neutral so he could interpret and pass along the ideas of all, to help clear up the ognfusion he saw was certain to come at count- less bridge tables where new partners would meet for the first time, each favoring a differ- ent system. At the beginning systems were based on theories, for there was not enough actual expe- rience then to prove anything very emphatically. Three years having passed, there is now a wealth of experience. Each theory has been tested exhaustively, its strong and weak points ascertained. It is hard to believe that any one of those brilliant minds has learned nothing about the game in three years, that any of them is so wedded to his ideas of three years #go that he knows no more now than he did then. It would have besn a fine thing for the game if that band of life students of bridge had joined hands threec years ago and agreed to make an investigation of every conceivable way of treating each bidding situation, with a prom- ise to get together three years later, pool the _ results of their research and then build up a system on what had been learned. No such agreement was made at that time, but the research was conducted just the same as if there had been one. Each pursued his own investigations along lines which his own mind dictated, and the more progressive of them kept learning new facts and improving their systems, frankly withdrawing their older advice to substitute some which they had learned was better. Then, at last, came a throwing together of all ghat information. The findings of all 17 were combined when the Advisory Council of Bridge Headquarters began its series of meetings last June. Only 16 of the 17 authorities became members of it, but the facts learned by all 17 were utilized. Caring not who had been the discoverer of a bit of knowledge, considering it only for its soundness and value, they cencen- trated on the task of getting up the best sys- tem of which they were all capable. As a consequence of their labors the world of bridge now is beginning to make use of what they have called “the official system,” based upon thorough investigation of all known ways of bidding, the most thoroughly worked out system the game has known. Readers have wondered why the conductor of the Bridge Forum joined in that effort; why he did rot remain entirely aloof and con- tinue merely to be an interpreter of existing conditions. Primarily, because he could not have done so consistently. His effort has been always to allay confusion at the bridge table . and enable players to obtain a greater measure of success and pleasure from the game. This movement to reduce a number of widely used methods to a single one was emphatically in line with that purpose. He wishes all 17 of the authorities could have joined and made the job complete. Even though one did not join and continued to stick to a system devised three years before, much would be accom- plished. The list of prominent systems would be cut down from a large number to two. Remaining an interpreter, the Bridge Forum will continue to strive to clarify the situation dor its readers. It also will present a thorough summary of the various features of the new system and the reasons for them, just as in the past it has covered the older approach- forcing method and the other methods that now have been discarded. It is the policy of the Bridge Forum to have its readers, as far as possible, enabled to play successfully with any Mnmer, no matter what system that partner S. 4 Law a Week. What occwrs if, after a double of a three- heart bid, the other three players pass and the doubler then bids three spades, after the con- tracting is legally closed? The spade bid is void and declarer may call & lead from the partner of the offender the first time it is the turn of that partner to lead. What cccurs if, after a redouble, ore of the opponents of a redoubler should double or re- double? Problems of Play. After the king won the first heart trick in dummy, how would you plan the play of tHe following hand, the contract being three no trump? wAb VAKT72 ®98704 *»J3 &J9154 ORI K2 ¥QJ65 £ ™ v9ose ®J S ¢ Q106 SKs »98762 AQ1063 V10 ®AK32 SAQI105 ._&he king was, of course, an improper play on the first trick, on which dummy should have played small in the hopg twat the 10 would win for declarer. Having made the eareless play, however, which costs the Joss THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, OCTOBER 25, 1931. Hozw the “Of ficial System” of Contract Bid- ding Was Devised A Nezw Star of the Game and a Lazw for the IV eek. By Shepard Barclay Hold Them Up.; Why don’t you hold your cards up right? Why let them sag so low? 3 Unless you're just too sick and weak, Don’t show them to the foe. They may not look to see your cards, But then again they might, And if you want to lose for me, You hardly have the right. A real opponent, too, objects; He likes his bridge with vim, And when you show him all your cards, You spoil the fun for him. of a trick, declarer does the planning which should have been done at first. Counting sure top tricks, there are one spade, two hearts, two diamonds and one club; total, six. Three more must be had. Probably only two of these can be gained in diamonds; there are four outstanding, the changes fa- voring a 3 and 1 split rather than"even di- vision, so that the third trick probably will be lost. At least one must be picked up in clubs, which will produce two extra even if the finesse loses. Now, surveying the negative side, if the club loses to West it would mean that the adver- sarles are going to have the lead twice, enough times to set up and run the hearts if West has the lead or if East has it and returns a heart. There is one way to guard against this: Hope that if the club finesse loses East will be the man who will win the diamond trick and be sure that he has no heart re- maining at that time, in case West has five. With the various elements now measured, declarer should arrange them in proper order. First he must try the club finesse, which loses. West will now give the news about his five- heart holding by leading 3. Durnmy must duck this, letting East win with the 8, South dis- carding a spade; he cannot afford to discard a diamond, for if East decides to shift to Airmen Turn to Gliders for Thrills Continued fjrom Ninth Page a cliff some 3,000 feet high. The trade winds sweep in against it, some of the air compresses against the cliff and the breeze therefore shoots upward in a gradual curve some distance from the base of the cliff and thence climbs over the summit. This forms a natural elevator for a glider. All the pilot needs to do is dive down low and catch the winds as they start to zoom upward, fly around in circles until he loses altitude and then come back to the ‘elevator’ for another lift. I reached more than 4,000 feet altitude on my flight. In fact, my chief difficulty was to lose altitude. I believe it is the first time a glider pilot has been faced with this novel condition. And think of it! Those trades often continue pouring over that cliff for more than a week without changing velocity or direction!” HE three young officers began their gliding T experiments with a crude primary glider made by an enlisted man at Wheeler Field. Lieut. Cocke, whose specialty is designs of air- planes, became interested when he observed that it was poorly designed and unwieldy. Par- ticularly it had inadequate controls. After fly- ing it several times, the trio built a new one, which Lieut. Cocke designed from voluminous reading, studying photograpiss of successful American and German gliders and talking to glider experts. Long hours of hard work fol- lowed, designing and redesigning, building and rebusiding, testing and retesiing. Finally, in the middle of July, the sitc near Kaneohe, across the mountains from Honolulu, was chosen., Followed two weeks of grueling labor and heart-breaking disappointments. Several times Lieut. Cocke essayed long flights. His longest was slightly over three hours. Each time he was forced down sonre part of the glider had to be repaired. Inadequate food supplies at the camp and insufficient manpower made success appear hopeless. Then Lieut. Col. Gerald C. Brant, commander of the 18th Composite Wing, Air Corps, became enthusiastically interested. More men were assigned to help the officers. Finally, at 2:34 p.m., Saturday, July 25, Lieut. Crain, who had never taken more than brief hops in the glider, took off with skies cloudy and a rainstorm imminent, but wind conditions ideal. There followed one of the most heroic, most heart-rending—both to pilot and audience— battles with the elements that ever shall befall a glider pilot. Shortly after the takeoff one squall after another pelted the luckless fiyer with cold rain. This continued throughout the night. Due to low-hanging clouds, Lieut. Crain flew much of the time in fog and in air ren- dered very “bumpy” by the variable velocity of the wind. He had no watch, could only guess at the time. He had eaten only a can of to- matoes that day and took only three chocolate bars with him. Shortly before dark, Capt. R. E. Merritt, 64th Coast Artillery, arrived at the camp with four 800,000 candlepower portable searchlights. Throughout the night a crew of men directed by Lieut. Scott kept these beacons focused on the wall of the cliff. Had it not been for them, Lieut. Crain said afterward, he would have had w0 come down at midnight when the moon set. (Copyright, 1931.) p— — & 7ur BriDGE FOrRUM * spades to knock out that side entry, South would need his little diamonds in order two bring in that suit after losing the third round of it. Of course, if East does lead the spade South should play the queen in the hope of having game right there if it won—two spades, two hearts, two diamonds and three clubs. East should not lead the spade, however, but ought to return the heart to North's ace. Now two diamond tricks are taken and the third led, hoping East will win it. He does and, with no more hearts to offer, puts de- clarer in with anything he chooses, and the latter runs the rest of the tricks, making his contract, plus an extra trick. As it turns out, the crucial play, outside of the first careless trick, which kept declarer from making five-odd, was the ducking of the second heart trick. If declarer had taken the second heart trick he would have been at East’s mercy when the latter won the diamond trick; a heart return would have enabled West to take three heart tricks, which, in addition to the club and the diamond, would make five in all, stopping the game. A New Star Arrives. It was a matter of delight to Gratz M. Scott, president of the Cavendish Club, when his 20- year-old niece, Miss Marjorie Hanna, paired with him in one cf his most decisive conquests recently. In the weekly duplicate tournament of the Knickerbocker Club, where week after week the strongest competition in New York usually is found, they won a heavy top score, beating many of the greatest and most famous pairs in the world. For several years, under her uncle’s tutelage, she has been developing her skill and occasionally has broken through in events of fair caliber to foreshadow what might be expected of her. Genuine Ideals. Mrs. Lelia Hattersley, one of the world's finest bridge instructors, was talking recently about the type of pupil who does not like to exert any special effort when learning the game. “These are the people I particularly enjoy teaching,” she said, “because I feel they need me the mcst. Surely they are the most appreciative, for when they find their bidding and play improving they give all the credit to their teacher. They eventually play as well as the hard workers and mak® me proud of them.” The New Problem. On the jfollowing hand, South bid his dia- monds, West spades, North hearts, South three no trumps as a risky psychic to prevent a spade lead, East four spades, intending to sacrifce, and South five diamonds. West, thinking South has the ace, queen of spades and his partner four or five little ones, does not wish to lead up to the tenace, so chooses the ten of Clubs in- stead. North covers with the jack, tl.en East with the king, hoping he can win it and return his partner’s spade, but South overlakes with the ace. How would you r0w play the rest of the hand? adlo YEQJe ®C54 o 874 4 K8532 o 4AQY WA9E® 3 E 87539 o108 g 2 o3 HQ09 HKE53 SOUTH &H964 P10 ®AKJIT62 $A3 Easier Work, Better Pay T has taken six years to work it all out, but finally Uncle Sam is ready to make the lot of the North Carolina sweet potato grower a lot sweeter. After season upon season of poor crops, broken stands, late maturities and other gener- ally unsatisfactory conditions, many of the growers appealed to the Department of Agri- culture to find what was wrong with their methods and conditions. The answer is an average crop of 240 bushels per acre on the expe:imental plantings, as compared with the general State average of 100 bushels per acre. In addition, the new methods are easier and the fertilizer used a lot cheaper than under the former and less productive system. The farmers had used a fertilizer containing nitrogen exclusively from mineral sources. This was used in large quantities and was placed beneath the soil in the rows in which the young plants were to be set out. The young plants were damaged when the roots came in contact with the fertilizer, which resulted in both poor and late yields. The department experts tried fertilizer with the nitrogen from anikral and vegetable sources. Smaller quantities were used and these were broadcast on the surface of the ground after the plants had been set, a far easier method than the other. The result was fine crops, and crops ready for market at the time when the price was at the peak. The results augur well for the future of the North Carolina growers. Lime Used on Farm HE employment of lire for agricultural pur- poses has grown to be a highly important factor in the prosperity of the lime producers. Of the more than 3,300,000 tons préxiuced Iast year more than 10 per cent went for agricul- tural purposes. The chemical industries, how- ever, took the greater part consuming 1,800,000 tons and the building industries. the rest.,