Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1897-12-29
SPORTS IN GENERAL
Value Of Systems in Whist Ques-
toned.
PLAY ON fHE LINKS OF ROSSLYN
Santa Claus at the Co'umbia's Club
House.
THE GAME WITH YALE
Written for The Evening Star,

| Written for The Evening Star.
Hamilton, the whist writer has given his
| opinion that too much cannot be said in
favor of the value of system in whist. He
claims that system creates and sustains
confidence, that lack of system engenders
and promotes disorder and confusion which
| is productive of error. System, order and
discipline are as essential to good results in
| whist as they are indispensable in CONNER
cial or Industrial enterprises, or in the man.
agement of armies. The rank and value
! of the cards, unaided by system or manage
| ment, will in a great many hands win for
| the holders of them all the tricks that can
| be made from the cards; and in such hands
| system, strategy and skill go for naught
but in many other hands, skillfuI manage
ment, rendered most effective by system
and combination of forces, will gain a trick
more. and it is this small margin in favor
of scientific play and system that gives the
victory to the expert players who deserve
it, but he does not forget to draw the
magic wand of quick perception accurate
Judgment, patience, constant vigilance, plus
scientific play. around this system.
What is system? A group of arbitrary
plays founded upon the holding of a certain
combination of cards. 1t has no unit of meas
ure, and, like any standard that has no unit
| of value, is unstable; as the standard is I'M
varying so must the lay be to justify an
unvarying system, and as no PLAYER has
ever held the same combination of cards
twice in his life, the system founded upon
any such reasoning must be erroneous.
Why does every club have different sys-
tenn? They are all looking for the "ulti-
ma thule They have tried repeatedly
different plays commended them at one sit
| ting and condemned them the next. Is
there any system used by any whist club in
the league that cannot be affected by the
holding of certain combinations of cards?
Just so must the play be influenced and
made to vary by brilliant adversaries. Find
me a consistent system player who always
holds up the deuce of his partners suit
holding four to an ace led, and l will find
you ten who do not. What system is better
than familiarity with your partners? Sys-
tenn Is only confidence in partners play.
The confidence you have in him is your sys-
tenn, and to both of your adversaries it is
an unknown quantity. They can derive no
benefit from what you have obtained by
actual play, and are handicapped by your
knowledge of their game at all stages.
There are no similar conditions of holding
to instruct the partner in team work. They
are limited to crude first principles: You
must not lead a singleton; you must ever
lead your fourth best; you must never lead
trumps with less than five, unless you have
two certain tricks in each of the Other
suits"
Are you to worship this god? Then give
me the old mythology. Let my imagination
have some freedom, for my faith is not so
simple as to believe all the precepts of your
longsuit religion. You say it is the best
we have. Then
Give others work just share of praise,
Nor of thine own the merit raise
Many of us are putting much hard, earnest
thought in trying to perfect the game, and
are looking anxiously for a Joshua as
the most ardent follower. Why are two
clubs, playing a system that they both I'M
derStand, allowed to consume ten or eleven
hours in match of forty-eight boards?
Why not adopt the chess system of using a
tive-minute clock? Instead of mental, it
xk-ilI h. ion Of ht-Si nI,,ra &
"a time limit is not put on some of the
players.
Having the original opening, too many
players place too much Importance on the
major tenace If your partner opens the
suit it can be determined only by the card
led and the second hand play whether you
are justified in taking the finesse. Even in
end play, with the remaining trumps with
your partner, you have to be sure he has
another of the suit in case the queen is
captured on your left. q. w.