Judge — October 5, 1929 — page 25: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

HOW GwmD I€ SOUR GAME? RIDGE SDNEY e LENZ = = Mr, Lenz has held, fourteen times, the National end is department of Judge is undoubtedly the most remarka end Whist Cham Wilbur C. White r the world has Mr. Lenz will welcome correspondence {rom Judge readers ond will give advice and answer questions related to Auction and Contract provided correspondents send stamped addressed envelopes for reply. The checking up of the thou- sands of solutions in the Bridg: Contest goes on apace. While some of the hands were necessarily involved and intri- cate, others were simple and quite without guile. Yet many contes- tants refused to bid naturally and found as many as thirty bids on deals that, in my opinion, re- quired but four, “None of the problems was bid by camouflage methods. To bid short, or ¢ missing suits may be ethical in a game when the individual foibles and idiosynerasics of the players are known to all the partic but in a contest of this sort, where the cards must speak for them- selves, it would be manifestly un fair to resort to such tactics. The recognized conventions, such as the informatory double and redouble and the modern four-card suit bids were employed at opportune points. It was somewhat surpri large number of apps cellent: players still make use of the informatory double when holding practically no — quick tricks or high card values. They seemed to believe that this double could be used at any time that the adverse bid was particularly dis- tasteful and their hands held sup- port for one of the major suits. Of course, the weakness of such procedure is stressed when the partner of the doubler holds suf- ficient values to allow the double to remain in, And unquestion- ably, there are times when the artner’s informatory doubles should be converted into business doubles, by simply passing. Some time ale was told of a player who doubled a bid of one spade with an absolutely worthless hand, because he was void of spades. He held five hearts headed by the nine and if his partner had happened to bid hearts he felt he would have done well in trumping the entire sp: suit. His unfortunate partner also held a trickless hand, but with five tiny spades. He figured, if, his partner held the high cards that his double claimed, he would do well to leave the double in— which he did. The adversaries made a Grand m and the doubler made a grand oration on dumb partners! “Didn't you understand,” he cried, “that LT was making an in- formatory double? Why did you leave it in?” The partner's response may have been a bit facetious: “Tam sorry,” he condoled, “of course I was wrong. But at the time it seemed to me like a very clever idea. In playing bridge hands, some ers feel that they must take possible finesse, even if the an be won without taking any chance whatever. A gentleman playing a set ame with his wife, who by the was a most excellent player, 1 to lose several rub- bers by tactics of this kind. The lady was almost distracted when the next deal was played at three no trumps, doubled and redoubled. Mr. Finesser had a lay down for nine tricks, but there was a tempting finesse that would give him an extra trick if it won, but if it lost the contract would be set for several tricks. He took the finesse—and it won! “My dear,” he remarked fatu- ously, “that is the first finesse that I have succeeded in making. lost that one, I should - room and blown my darling,” she said sweetly, “and you would have come back and played just as good bridge as before.” 23 —— a patra TRESS | Fisadom eae Personal liberty exists, in a de-luxe-edi- tion, in the big Cunarders. Freedom to do as you please, and not as your neigh- bor pleases... Freedom to make of this week between worlds a small masterpiece in the art of contrast... gleaming gold «++ grateful grey... A winged arrowy gaiety for the hours of lift; on the sports decks, in the cardrooms, the restaurants, on the dance floors... A deep sensitive tranquillity for the mo- ments between—in your suite, in your deck chair, in the library... And—everywhere and at all times—the serenity, the poise, the grace, of a house you might visit in Buckinghamshire or Surrey...where you would find every whim of luxurious living, every impulse of mood, reflected — and no mood intrusive ... TO FRANCE AND ENGLAND BERENGARIA Oct. 9+ Oct, 30+ Nov. 20 MAURETANIA Oct. 16 - Nov. 6 + Now. 27 AQUITANIA = Oct. 23+ Nov. 13 + Jan. 18 CUNARD LINE Seo Your Local Agent CUNARD ... THE SHORTEST BRIDGE TO EUROPE