The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-09-12
AROUND THE WHIST TABLE.
PALACES or TIL IR0NCLAD LONG
- ~. SLIT PLAY.

mo moNeFu IetICn OF DOCtrtnnN Autnottty--
An Example or LpsipE LonE-suiti-m-t ON
mon-sense work That suceeoded-whnt
Erumps Are For-Probioms for whist Players
II Ia related that during the intervals of n rub
ber n Frenchmnn and a philosopher were asked
TO name the most wonderful thing In the world.
The Frenchman said II was the thing that did
not happen. { nd tho philosopher said It was tho
tenacity with which some persons chung to
error. A man who heard these replies re-
marked that the Fronchmnn must have been a
"shot player" and that tho philosopher must
have cut in with q dyed.in.the.wool long-suit
partner.
The tcnacity with which ~long.suit players
cling to their system is certainly remarkable.
DO thoy ever stop to ask themselves upon what
foundation their belief resist DO they open
their hands in accordance with the theory Of
probabilitiesi DO they know anything about
such thingsi Is there anything in tho long
suit text books which will show the student the
probability Of winning or losing tricks by maxi
ing certain openings Not a word. The whole
scheme is to play 80 as TO inform tho three
other persons at the table what you hold, and II
does not even accomplish that laudable object
except In the trihing details OF a single suit.
DR.. Pole says the original lead Of the longest
suit is always the best for attack or defence"
Cavendish indorseB tho theory as excellent"
and all tho ~lonE.suit teachers tell their pupils It
must be true. because Polo and Cavondish say
DO. Thus It comes to pass that thousands OF
persons believe q false doctrine from the beEin.
ming, and take 1t on trust 40 long that they
come to look upon IL as absolute truth.
The common.sense player says: Il have eX-
amined a thousand hands in which the long suit
was originally opened Regardless OF tho rest OF
the hand. and I find that the adversaries made
90 per cent. OF the tricks won In the suit with.
-. Nl-
II the long suit had not been opened the reverse
would have been the case, and tho leader would
have made more by keeping quiet" The reply
OF tho long.suiter is: You must be mistaken.
for Pole and Cavcndish say otherwise, and
they ought to know. Sometimes tho $50
years experience argument lie brought up. This
is a great favorite with many who arc opposed
to any changes In the whist tactics Of tho old
toxt books. They say that the principles of play
which are commonly known as the long-suit
game have stood the test OF time. and arc as
we'll grounded as those OF chess: a game in
which they say 1t would be presumptuous for
we'll are It's principles understood.
This sounds well, but. Ike many lonSE;,suit
i is based on shaky premises: Those
with regard to which opinions have changed 40
much in the opening tactics. After l, 400 years
nlling 1900, volumes. chess players have
failed to find any practical system OF OPEN
theory Of play and recognized as better than
any other. After all the countless millions OF
r. .ns1 %sich ho hsvH been Pl s ! and anTlyzed;
given in the text books. are little better than
q lot OF freak plays. which are continually being
The greatest masters OF the game do not agree
on the best opening moves. Take the case
mends in bis text book a continnation in
the French Defence, which has since been shown
BY 2 champion player. who has devoted his Ito
to the study OF q game so exact ms chess. is it 10
BE- wondG5ed at that errors are made by theo-
Fists like Pole and Cavendish in a game as in.
F. 4, Young has lately been endeavoring to
show that there is a hitherto unsupported basic
principle In chess tactics which may be traced
ny assembling and comparing a great nnmher OF
e S1a'! BY Psy'f the ~ st uds p and % eoropnriso one Of R0' ths
recorded games NJ men who have risen to emf
nenSe as players, 1t is possible, to discern a
similarity in their methods OF calculation and
procedure which. IL properly conprehended and
reduced to a system. must become available as
true theory. Of play, and to deduee from this sys,
Pin certain principles whose truth and applica-
and sn'k IN % III eir &c ns'sasss' cf 1 pPssliss. st II fhi ,'@ eor'
responds very closely with Napoleon's we'll
pretended only BY the exhaustive study ID and
comparison of the campaigns of the great cap
This is exactly what tine common-sense play
ers and so-called short.suiters are trying to do
for whist. They are watching the methods OF
see II they cannot discover some fundamentai
PPsinEipies WhSse truth and applieabiiity, must
they ask. does Poles long.snit thoory rest
Did he examine into the methods OF, a great
S Gu%1sf bs sp the y1SS asSy, Of Pbe noted nisIe This h PLAYER" re sn as
by analysis Of thousands of hands that tricks
were always lost in certain ways. and that
about by bad openings Not n bit of il. He
simply evolved the whole thing out OF his inner
consciousness and set it I'D as a pillar OF fire be-
fore modern whist players-a guide that they
might follow blindly. without any exercise Of
simiessiy about for the last thirty years. wSraS wiiSS
good prospects OF continuing for ten years more.
While the longsuitcrs are content with the
old methods, the common.sensc school Is OBJ
serving the results of actual play. and is expert.
me1tinE with new ideas; proving ALI things. and
many things toward which the views OF modern
players have completely changed is the man.
aiize more and more every day that there are
only two uses for trumps: to lead them and to
the p III snf for Which bn sbey h aE. hs,t ae et;rd nea
usually does best to carry 1t out unless unfore-
seen obstacles appear.
liShed suit and a card Of Teentry will viz usually SssIiIS,
lead trumps IL he has any strength at all, and
Tho long-suiter will not. unless he has four
Irumps. or his partner puts some courage into
that the player that will not lead his tr ri1 ps
because he does not think them strong enough
VIII also refuse to rum with them because they
are too strong for that purpose. What, 1t may
well be asked, does he propose to do with them
Here 10 n hand from the trial matches for the
Hamilton trophy. played at the seventh con.
eress between Minneapolis and Walhrook. in
which this vacillating trump policy loses three
tricks and the match. which resulted in a tie,
AIB were Bronson and Briggs Of Minneapolis,
while " were the Smith brothers OF Wal.
brook. Y dealt and turned the heart lack, The
underlined card wins the trick, and the card un.
der Il Is the next one led. THE Sun is indebted
70 WE. Smith, who held Us cards. for the play.