Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1897-10-03


your partner has both queen ana ten
The defence is to put the turned honor
on the strengthener led.
or course, there are cases. rare indeed.
when a single lead through the honor is
calculated TO capture al, the trump tricks.
This situation IL likely 10 occur when
you hold three high cards over king or
queen cut. For instance. ace. queen,
jack. ace, queen. ten. or ace, jack. ten
over king cut. and ace. Jack, ten. or KING,
jack, ten over queen cut IL the use OF
the call through the honor were restrict
ed TO such cases as these Cneyer using IL |
when ace or Jack Is turned II Is readily |
seen that the convention would be need
ed only very occasionally. perhaps one
quarter as extensively as 1t was prac' |
ticed In Philadelphia last winter. TWO |
years ago when this convention hrst
gained notoriety II was the custom ."
consider the lead Of any equivocal open
ing card as an absolute trump CALL This,
however. was found to initiate against
the efficient use of strengthening cards,
and Milton c. Work. always a warm ad-
vocate Of the play, went one step further
and suggested that the queen, nine, eight
should be taken as imperative trump.
calls on an opening lead, with an honor
cut to the right. even permitting the
deuce to be used in this manner by EN-
thusiastic callers" In the hands OF the
champion team Of the Hamilton Club
they certainly were not the losers In the
long run by this play, and the whist
world rejoced when they perma nently
won the first A. W. l.. trophy last
winter When the new four came 10
defend the Hamilton trophy. however.
at Put-in-Bay they did not seem 10 have
the same confidence in the lead through
the honor that has inspired the champi-
ons, and the correspondent Of the Eve
ming Post was told at that time by one
| OF the new team that they considered the
| use of this convention alone responsible
| for the loss Of enough tricks to have
| enabled them to carry the trophy home
| with them again.
| There has been a great diversity of
| opinion as to just which cards are the
| best to use as callers" almost every
| one Of the suit save the ace and the king
| having been suggested by different ex-
perts. II queen and jack are to be taken
| for this purpose the question arises as
| to whether jack Is ever to be used as
strengthening card, and IL it is so de-
| cided inevitable confusion must result In
| giving TO this card three distinct mean
| ings In the Invitation game" that fol-
| lowed closely on the heels Of the call
through the honor, five four, three two
were adopted as callers" William S.
Fellonosa, to whom a great part of the
above information concerning this par
ticular form of whist strategy Is due,
said in correspondence upon this sub
ject: II believe in leading trumps on the
| opening trick of a hand almost whenever
YOU hold five / have not bit of pa
thence with waiting until you see rea-
SON for leading trumps. / believe many
tricks are lost by waiting. Bold trump
| leading and intelligent understanding OF
one another in regard to the management
of trumps are special features of the
strength of the American team"
The analytical study of the short-suit
game which was brought forward for the
consideration of the readers of the Eve
ming Post is practically at an end, and
the subject will only now be referred to
from time to time as occasion may re-
auire. In going into the matter it GER
tainly was not the intention TO deal with
the non-conservative element with any
| thing but fairness. Readers OF this CO.
lumn do not need to be told that the
leaders of the short-suit contingent play
the game not only with great skill, but
in such a mastery manner as to place
them high among the RANKS OF all play
ers. 1t must not be forgotten, however
that this applies only to the leaders, ana
that while they may rank next TO the
|
lowers as a rule fall far below the ave-
rage. Geniuses there are in whist as in
all else, players with pet theories for
which they would In perfect good faith
secure q following. Each season brings
its quota Of novelties. which. after having
been tried and found wanting, are cast
aside. 1t Is claimed at present by many
opponents of the game that whist is still
(at the end of the several centuries du-
ring which II has been played in an en-
bryotic experimental stage, and among
the weaker craft of players, writers, and
teachers there are no doubt those to-day
who wonder what is up-to-date in whist
and what will be the fashion for the
coming year.
To all those the advice is given to turn
TO the records of the last congress and
TO note that the teams that made the
most brilliant showing there were those
who dev~ted the least from the conser-
vative game. 1t has been said that he
who played so straight a game that he
leaned over backwards was not there.
This may be so, but just so long as teams
playing g. long-suit game les did the re-
representatives. of the Philadelphia and
Toledo Clubs capture the trophies, just
so long will players at large be reluctant
to give up a winning whist for the I'M
certain chance of following fads.