Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-02-18
WHIST IN WASHINGTON.

A Contest to Commence Tonight at the
Capital Bicycle Club Rooms.
This evening twelve of Delaware's whist ex-
perts, with their seconds and friends, will as
semble at the whist rooms of the Capital BIZ
cycle Club house for a friendly battle with
twelve of our local players. The visitors are
sent by the Wilmington Whist Club to en-
deavor to wrest from Washington the first place
in the American whist world which
this city at present holds. The capt.
tails honors. won on several hard fought
fields against the best known and strongest
whist clubs Of the country, will be defended by
the twelve-team OF the Capital Bicycle Club,
composed of Messrs. Wooten, Bingham, Low,
Barrick, Dodge, Stephens, McComb, ]. Mex.
Borden, I. P. Borden, Britton, Olds and Will
hanson.
The modern system Of duplicate whist will be
played, in which the luck Of having the better
cards is eliminated by preserving the hands as
they are played and reversing them
so as to give each club in turn
the same cards, and in which
ones self is prevented by permitting the same
deal to be played only once by any individual
The game Of whist has thus become
for match tournament purposes a
science pure as that Of chess. 1t has long been
recognized to be a highly intellectual amuse-
venient form of whist contest been devised by
which the relative strength of play Of different
teams clubs could be tested,
and it is evident that the game Of
whist has great future before it. 1t is now.
when played by the duplicate method as free
from luck as chess, and its more social char
acter gives it q certain attraction and supe-
riority over the kingly game. The whist play
ers OF the country quickly appreciated the pos
sihilities of their game, under the system
of duplicate play. The Capital Bicycle Club
of Washington at once inaugurated inter-club
play in this region by match with the Column
bia Athletic Club, which the bikler's won easily
in two evenings play between twenty -four
men from each club bv a net gain of seventy
two points over their adversaries.
In April, 1891, the first American whist con-
gress assembled in Milwaukee, to which the
Capital Bicycle Club sent delegate. There was
organized the American Whist League of which
the c. BIZ c. is charter member standing ninth
on present roll Of forty-eight clubs. The
membership Of the league Is according to the
last official report 6, 1873. Tho four-team of the
c. Bi. c. then played a series of matches
losing the first to the University Club OF Chi
cago by trick; defeating the Chicago Whist
Club by tricks; winning from the Carleton
Club Of Brooklyn by tricks; defeating bv ~
tricks the Fanwcod Club Of New Jersey; max
ing "a net gain OF 9 tricks from the Justly cee-
brated Hamilton Whist Club of Philadelphia;
playing the Milwaukee Whist Club two matches
tying the first and winning the second by trick,
and defeating the st. Paul Whist Club by tricks.
At the second American whist congress in
New York last summer the four team of the
&. Bi. c. won SO points and headed the roll of
contesting clubs, the nearest to them being the
Hamilton and Milwaukee clubs, each with p
points to its credit.
The four team has also played two other
matches with the Hamilton Club, tine first of
thirty hands in Philadelphia which it
lost by trick. and the latter Of sixty hands in
Washington, which it won by one trick. The
twelve team has played a stronly contested
match in Wilmington against the gentlemen
who visited them today, which the Washington
players captured by four tricks. 1t is expected
that this evenings play will be close and ex-
citing, and Washington will do well il she
maintains her prestige.