Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1896-06-06

then subject to challenge from any other
league club. and must be defended every
two weeks If necessary. Any club winning
takes it home, and any club challenging
for it must go to the home club to play the
match. Many thousands Of dollars have
been spent by whist clubs in travelling
round the country after this cup. The
HamitonS have won it the greatest num-
Der OF times and have spent upwards of a
thousand dollars chasing 1t. The first club
10 win 1t twenty times Will keep it. The
Minneapolis players are second, but they
have never been Obliged to leave home to
get 1t, as they have usually been successful
in defending 1t right along after winning 1t
at the congress.
Besides these principal prizes there will
be the following: Prizes for pairs, one be-
ing called the Minneapolis trophy: a prize
for teams not in the league, but belonging
10 auxiliary associations; prize for fours
at progressive whist another for teams
playing series of matches with one an
other at progressive whist; a pair contest
at progressive v hist; free-f0r-all at du-
plicate whist between players from the east
and from the west. and finally a grand
driNe-whist affair at straight whist, III
which the first prize will 90 to the player
that holds the most aces and kings.
Duplicate Whist.
All these contests but the last will be
played under the system known as du-
plicate whist, in which the competing
teams, pairs or individuals play over the
same hands, in order to see which side can
make the most tricks out of them.
The principal matches will be conducted
on what is known the Howell system in
which the players are sealed at number
of tables arranged in a row. The pair Sit
ting north and south a each table never
leave their seats; but after a certain num-
Der of hands have been played all those
sitting cast and west move 20 the next
table north At the same time, all the
trays containing the cards which have been
played at each table are moved TO the next
table south. Another method is to have an
odd number of tables in play, and while the
players move only one table at 4 time the
cards move from the middle table In the
to the extreme south end All the
other trays follow in the same order by
skipping the same number Of tables.
THis system of changing The positions of
the cards and players insures every player
having the same cards as every o.her that
he plays against 50 that the luck in hold
ing cards does not affect the result But
while the duplicate system insures to every
player as good cards as his opponents, it
does not entirely eliminate the clement of
luck, for different teams have widely vary
ing system of play, and If the cards happen
to favor one system more than another
their accidental distribution may decide a
match, especially one OF forty-cight pards
which is the usual number.
1t Is these various systems which chiefly
interest the whist players of the country
THIS year. because there has never before
been such a difference of opinion on the
subject of the proper theory on which a
hand should be played. For many years
past all the writer's on the game have ad-
Vocated what is known as the long-s11it
theory, which is for the player who leads
first to begin with his Ion sest suit If he
has two of equal number, he should choose
the one containing the highest cards. hut
on no account should he lead from a suit of
three cards or less, however strong If he
mas four-card suit, however weak Not
only all the writer's but all the teachers
adhere to this system; and the official or
gan of the league follows it in critictsinR
plays and answering questions
The Long Suit System.
The whist editor of a daily paper who
was no respector Of authorities or theories.
instead Of following the well-known track,
said: Let us see If all this that is
claimed for the long-suit game Is true"
And in a series Of articles he proceeded to
show that in all the championship matches
between the great whist clubs belonging
to the league, the long-SUit game had lost
| more tricks than it had won. He tsbulated
the official records of the results of all these
matches, showing that out of every 200
tricks won, without trumping In the long
suits originally led, the adversaries got 10
to the 80 taken by the leader and his part
ner.
This being so, he argued that when the
hand was too weak to bring In long suit,
it would be better to sacrifice the few good
cards in it to help ones partner-which
might be done by leading streng thening
cards, such mines, tens, Jacks and
queens. He also advised holding back suits
containing tenaces, until they were led I'D
to, and ttnessing freely in all suits, and pub
lished a number of hands, showing how
successful these tactics were. The new
system was called the "short-suit" game
This was the beginning of great awak-
ening among whist players. The facts pre-
scented were so Indisputable, and the writer's
arguments so logical and convincing, that
thousands of players who had followed the
long-suit game for years gave 1t up. Rival
whist editors did everything in their power
to belittle the facts and ridicule the argu-
nents, claiming that the theory would not
work in actual play against strong teams