| Show I CULBERTSON on CONTRACT I I By fly ly Culbertson Worlds World's Champion Player and Greatest Card Analyst I I COMING EVENTS IN BRIDGE With the last of the summers summer's bridge tournaments the Asbury Park event event ut out event out of the way bridge players throughout the country are arenow arenow arenow now tightening up their games game for forthe forthe forthe the 1933 1932 season which promises to be by far the most eventful in the history of contract The fall fal season will wl start off with witha a bang next month when the pick of England's contract players the internationally internationally inter inter- nationally famous Crockford's team team- four of-four will wi come to the United I States for the much heralded Anglo Anglo- American AmerIan matches matche The Te program of the British players calls cals for games to tobe tobe tobe be played in New York Chicago Chiago StLouis St. St S1 Louis Louis' Luis Luis' and Philadelphia and therefore therefore therefore there there- fore interest in the forthcoming matches is j not confined to any anyone one section of the country The Anglo-American Anglo matches matches' wi will lly by the way be the first of a number of or major bridge events conducted by bythe bythe bythe the United States Bridge association which was organized this summer The association could not have selected selected se se- a more splendid event through which to make its debut The British team is i coming here determined to avenge the defeats which England Englad suffered at the hands of A American erlan golf gol and tennis players this summer Now that bridge Is i considered a major sport and English bridge tournaments tournaments tournaments tour tour- are chronicled on the sports page pages the September matches take on an aspect of considerable International International Inter Inter- iter- iter national importance Contract bridge bridged d during ring the past two years has wreath wreath- ai V- V t terns of bidding g- g ga a- a and Ii if-Ii with ii the final l standardization of bidding methods ha has settled down now to a a. a point where tournaments and challenge chalence matches have become a matter mater of skill ski Two years ago British bridge players players play play- ers er on the whole scoffed at bidding systems Following a series of defeats de do- feat feats at the hands of the Bridge World four team however British players headed by the Crockford's club lub quickly adopted the approach approach- being system stem of bidding and have since engaged in a long series of successful successful suc sue matches against players in inthe inthe the various capitals of Europe American 9 matches will wi al much t td tO promote bridge as an In In- o L competitive sport and ft already under way for the of or the United States Bridge association the Empire Bridge association and various continental organizations into ito an International Bridge association which plans to hold annual competitions Whether these competitions will wi be in the form of open tournaments tournament as a in golf gol or whether they will be conducted along the lines of the Davis cup competition com corn petion petition in tennis is a matter yet to tobe tobe tobe be decided The second event of importance Inthe in inthe inthe the coming contract bridge season season will be the American bridge Olympic Olympic pic to be conducted by the National Bridge association and sponsored by bythe bythe bythe the United States Bridge association The Te American bridge Olympic will willbe willbe wi be held on October 19 and will wi be patterned along the same general lines as the world bridge Olympic which was held on April Apri 1 last last The American Olympic will wi however have some novel features The 16 test hands to be played in the Olympic pic pie have been selected by a committee commit commit tee of f 15 nationally known know bridge experts ex ex- ports pers and special decks of cards have been printed with wih their backs marked so that the hands can ca be played either cither as in duplicate or as in i Od ordinary nary rubber bridge J These decks deck of cards will wi be sorted and placed In duplicate boards which will wi be wrapped in scaled sealed packages and delivered to the various game captains on the day of the game by bya y ya a reliable messenger service servie Thus at precisely 8 o'clock on the night o of October 19 contract players throughout through through- out the country will wi break the seals and play identical hands in what wilbe will wil wI be he by far the largest competition of any kind ever held In addition to several hundred state province anc and national trophies trophie the Nations National Bridge association offers as first prize to form the winning South North-South anc and West East pairs into a team four and pay all of their expenses expense at the first national championship tournament ment merit to be conducted by the United States Bridge association in New NewYork NewYork NewYork York probably in Januar January The first national championship tournament of t the United States Bridge association will wi mark a new era in tournament bridge in this coun coun- try Heretofore all aU called so-called championship championship championship cham cham- tournaments no matter mater by whom conducted have been local in ir character The assumption that all al of oC the expert bridge players in the United States Stales are Lre members of oC a handful handful hand hand- ful of New York clubs cubs is i of course ridiculous With Wih the tremendous spread of contract bridge throughout the country during the past two years there have developed a number of oi players between the Atlantic and Pacific Pacific Pa Pa- cic oceans and the Canadian border and the Gulf Gul of Mexico who arc perfectly perfectly per per- capable of holding their own I I I j i in many any company Thee These players have nave heretofore had no opportunity of ol testing their skill ski in called so-called championship championship cham cham- tournaments tournament The fact that thai the national championships to be conducted conducted con con- ducted by th the United States Bridge association are to follow in fn natural sequence state and district distrct tournament tournaments meats ments ment will wi result resul in an immediate increase this thi fall falt not only In duplicate duplicate cate play for pairs but in team team-of- four competitions which have played very little part in contract circles outside outside out out- side of New York Cleveland Philadelphia Phia- Phia Phila Phila- delphia and Boston is the natural unit The Te team four unil through which all bridge championships championships championships champion champion- ships should be decided By this thi method alone is it possible to approach approach ap ap- ap a real test of skill ski in contract bridge competition Pair champions will wi of course continue to be popular popular lar because of their ther simplicity but it itis itis itis is practically impossible to minimize luck in a pair pai competition All of these activities make it certain tam tain tin Al that duplicate bridge is to be- be be king come during the coming winter During the last half hal of t the te e season just ut ended there was a tremendous growth of duplicate play throughout the United States Players who in previous years balked at duplicate play now harken to the lure of duplicate duplicate cate in swiftly increasing numbers Not only have mot most of th the bridge clubs increased ased the number of or their duplicate ni nights but thousands of groups have been organized throughout through out the country meet In weekly competition Practically all 01 social clubs where bridge is one of the entertainment entertainment entertainment en en- fe features turcs have set aside at least one night a week for duplicate duplicate cate competition It Is i from these groups that the national champions of tomorrow will wi be recruited The growth of duplicate and md the Increased volume of tournament play have definitely placed d bridge in a category category cate cate- cate Igor gory gor of competitive sports sport As sch such bridge Is certain to be the most popular pop pop- popular pop ular of all aU competitions by reason of the fact that in i bridge unlike any other competition men and ad women |
