St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1896-02-16
! OUR WHIST CORNER

r. F. Foster, author of Fosters
Whist Manual" perhaps the most
valuable whist book for beginners ever
written. is at present the editor of a
whist column in the New York Sun.
He is devoting great energy to the
advocacy of the lead of short suit
from hands that contain no very
strong long plain suit, with only mod
crate trump strength, and from hands
containing trump strength and no long
suit. He recently announced with
great assurance that all truly great
whist players were Of his opinion. Mil
ton c. Work, editor of the whist col
umn in the Philadelphia Telegraph,
and universally recognized as one of
the strongest players in the country,
had been arguing the long suit side
OF the controversy up to the time Fos-
ter made his sweeping statement, but
then concluded that argument had no
place IN a controversy with such an
antagonist. and proposed to the mod
est Foster that he take four of bis
truly great players and match them
against the ST. Paul team at ST. Louis
in order that the question might be
easy to arrange the match, Foster
maintained a dignified silence, and the
ST. Paul team and the whist world
were much disappointed. It is not
too late now. Let Foster bring his
team to st. Paul. The trophy is here,
and If they can take it away they will
make more converts to the short suit
game than Foster can make in a thou
sand years with his facile pen and
his illustrated deals taken from actual
play-and slightly revised and modi-
fed to show off the beauties of the
short suit game
The short suit game has no support
ers in St. Paul or Minneapolis, and
very few In the entire West There
was time, several years since, when
the short suit leads were experiment.
ed with by some OF our strong play
ers to an extent sufficient to convince
Them, that not only were tricks being
lost by the leads, but that persistence
in the practice was likely to reduce
the noble game of whist into a mon
grel sort of game not much superior
to other card games. The present sys-
tenn of American leads is probably as
nearly perfect as any system that can
be devised. There are one or two
points still in controversy, but the
system as a whole is played in nearly
every club belonging to the American
Whist league. But to know the leads
is very small part of whist Any
duffer can commit to memory in a
short time the table of leads to be
found in any whist book, but this does
not make him a whist player: neither
does a knowledge of correct second
hand play. third-hand play, finesse,
trump management, the discard, the
rules as to forcing partner, the trump
call and echo, and Of all the principles
of play laid down in the books. Know
Ing all Of these things, yet only a
beginning has been made. 1t is essen
t1al to know the rules. but there are
thousands who know them all who are
not able to play whist. Noting and re-
membering cards as they fall drawing
correct differences from the play of
each card, placing the unplayed cards
In the different hands with approx
mate eXactnesS; these things illustrate
the next and far more difficult and
important stage Of progress, forming
necessary foundation for the play of
whist the exercise of judgment, skill
and strategy.
AMERICAN WHIST LEAGUE TRIO
PLY.
The history of the various contests
for the possession of the American
Whist league challenge trophy is here
apolis team at the whist congress held
In Philadelphia in 1894. Minneapolis
successfully defended it in challenge
matches played against Chicago, Fer
gus Falls, Saltwater and ST. Paul, and
then surrendered it to be played for
at Indianapolis between Chicago aand
the Hamilton club Of Philadelphia
Hamilton won this match, and success
sive challenge matches against
the KnickprhOrkRr cInb team
Of New York; the Newton
team, of Newton, Mass; the Brooklyn
team and the Baltimore team. Hamil-
ton then lost the trophy to the
Park club, of Plainfield, New Jersey
who, after defeating the Philadelphia
club, lost the trophy to Albany, who
lost 1t to the Continental club, of New
York. The Continentals then played a
tie game with the Hamiltons. Hamil-
ton won the play-off, and, under the
rules, held the trophy until the Mime
apolis congress last June. 1t was won
there by Nashville, who lost it to Ham
ilton in the first match played last fall;
Baltimore won from Hamilton, Phila-
delphia from Baltimore, the Continent
ais from Philadelphia, Albany from
the Continentals, the Capital BIZ
cycles, of Washington, from AL
bany. The Bicycles held
the trophy in match against HamiI-
ton, but lost it to Baltimore, who, under
the rules, surrendered the trophy to
be played for at the midwinter meet
ing of the executive committee of the
league, held this year at st. Louis, be-
tween team selected to represent the
West and a team selected to represent
the East ST. Paul and Boston were
chosen as the representatives of the
two sections of the country. ST. Paul
won the match by tWenty-four points,
the highest score but one ever made
in a match for the trophy, and now
holds the cup subject to challenge from
any league club.
The following deal, played in the match
at ST. Louis, is given to illustrate the
trumps through an honor turned, and
very bad play by ST. Paul, which al
lowed the play to win trick for BoS-
ton. Bad plays are frequently more in
structive than good ones.
DEAL II.
The Hands
North-Spades, 8, 6, 2; hearts, A. s, g. A.;
clubs, 9. s. Z; diamonds, ], Z, 8. East-Spades,
A, @, j; hearts, ], Z, 2; clubs j, 8; dia-
monds, A, @. 4. 2. South-Spades 10, Z, 8, g.;
K, TO- 5. West-Spades, K, 9, 4; hearts K, O.;
clubs A. @, 3, 4, 2; diamonds, 9, s, 6.
King clubs turned Leader, West.
The Play
Table /: St. Paul. Table 2: Boston. N.
N. and S. and S.
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