The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-07-17
AROUND THE WHIST TABLE.
sUCCESSFUL ENDING or THE EIGHTH
AMERICAN WHIST CONGRESS-

FRS in Memory and Perception-Notes.
The eighth congress Of the American Whist
League was brought to q close last night In
Boston, after one OF the most eventual sessions
In the history OF the organization. The man
se,nent and the arrangements for seating,
checking, and handling the movements of the
nlaycrs were tho best ever seon at q whist con-
qress. and Chairman Bnrney's many devices
for keeping things straight were highly apprc-
cintcd by the players. Every one was Jagged
and knew Just where to 20 TO play and
what pair 10 play against, Each Of the trays
was perforated with a V-shaped hole. which
etted over n Y-shaped wooden pin In the centre
OF the table. This made Il impossible to place
The trays on the table In any position but the
right one. and so obviatcd that bugaboo OF
nil previous meetings. the reversed hand. The
tickets used for checking tho scores were rs
perfect us possible. and even the most COM
plicated systems Of averaging came out right
the first time.
While the mechanical details we're excellent.
the social features Of past years were notice.
ably absent. There was no Veranda to lounge
on like the one at the Oriental. and no spacious
sun parlors like those at Put-in-Bay. The
players were scattered among threo buildings,
some little distance apart, and did not seem to
get together as in previous years.
As to the playing, there were about fifty diff
fercnt systems, and every team had the best
and could beat anything in creation. Somehow
or other. these fine systems did not work in
practice and the mon who played good whist
came out ahead every time. Some OF the con-
yentionnlitics were amusing. such. for iu-
stance. as the different meanings attached to
leading mn eight. the various forms of echoing
An trumps. four echoes, sub-echoes. three
echoes. and even two-echoes. being much in
evidence.
When this column went to press not one Of
the important events had been decided. but
there had been sonc surprises in the prelim-
mary rounds. In the trial matches for the
Hamilton trophy there we're seventeen entries.
only eight of which could live until the finals.
Among the nine killed and wounded in the first
round were such strong fighters as Baltimore.
Minneapolis. Buffalo. Park. and Philadelphia,
last years champions. The survivors were
American Of Boston, Hyde Park OF Chicago.
Chicago Whist, Woburn. Mass, Knickerbocker
Whist Of New York. New Jersey Whist of New
ark. Cleveland Whist Club. and Newton. Mass.
In the contest for the auxiliary association
championship New York won all three matches.
defeating Atlantic, ) tricks: New Jersey. 10
tricks. and New England. Z tricks. The New
York Whist Clubteam won 10 Of these - tricks.
PLACING THE CARDS.
lU'Tt dIt ~ b'b'l lIslI1 iii llluI RD "
make up the variable quantity known us u first
class whist player. but it is a generally accepted
axiom that the best player is the one that pays
the closest attention to the fall of the cards and
who is able to tell pretty nearly what each
player holds when it comes down to tho critical
point OF the hand; USUALLY in the last four or five
tricks. He does not lead the wrong suit when
his partner has four or Ave cards OF another
suit established. He does not walk into the
arms of an adverse tcnace in trumps. He does
not kill his partners rcGntry cGrd before his
suit is established. and he generally gets all
there is in the last part of the hand.
There are undoubtedly quite o number OF
good players who have n very hay notion Of
how the cards lie. except in hands which are
strongly marked. Such players are successful
because of their natural shrewdnessi in Judging
the general situation and its possibilities with
out going into minute details. They make
Large gains on some hands. but they admittedly
lose many single tricks through their want of
thorouGhnesS in placing the cards in difficult
situations. There are others who read the
cards very closely and place them with consid-
cradle accuracy. but they fail 70 reason out the
best line of play and do not get all there is in
the situation which they see.
When a player has the two faculties in COM
bination-the ability to place the cards accu-
@NNSaS $3.50 N'S sail w 70 wiz bCo vi lIOul
the known or inferred position-he is what
might be called a really flrst-class player, espe-
cially for team work, and 1t is tho object Of
every captain to pick out such MN from the
general run OF players and to get them together
TO represent the club in important matches.
Just how well a man can place cards and how
cleverly he can play to the situation is often a
matter of conjecture. and many a player has q
reputation in this respect which he does not
deserve. The skill in placing cards is usually
much overestimated. as was shown in the cor
respondence tourney in which sixteen Of the
best players in the United States were asked to
place the cards in the last four tricks and were
given a week in which to do 1t. but seemed to
be very far astray in many instances. A.. T..
Taylor OF the Whist Club OF New York won the
nrst prize for placing the cards in that contest,
and with j. Is. Elwell he shares tho reputation
OF being ono Of the most expert In the country
In this respect.
I'll usually a very difficult matter to deter
mine Just how much OF o mans bad play Is duo
70 his ignorance OF the situation, and how much
Is due to his want Of good judgment. Now they
nave got a machine to find this out. Probably
every one has heard Of the wonderful contri-
Vances that have lately been invented for the
purpose OF testing the mental powers Of stu
dents in colleges. especially in such matters rs
pSANOAbiOhs " VI WnlCT
are very important In whist playing.
Well a member Of the New York Whist
Club has invented an apparatus. which may be
seen In a book store in Union Square. which Is
designed to test the abilities OF whist players
IN these two important matters: placing the
CARDS and playing them to the best advantage.
~ consists OF an arrangement for holding two
nands so that they can be seen by one player
only who plays both Of them and his own hand
3 ttthe sam time. This player is supposed to
% the captain OF the team. and the one sit
Ting opposite him is the one under
gong the test. The captain plays the
e eaTeS hands according TO book" and the
yahuldate Tor admissionto the team makcs his
m nrHI C. from the fall Of the cards as the play
w. the situation and name the positions Of
u t rbemaihing trumps and the important cards
~ tne pain suits, he says so. and he then
SStes the line OF play which he thinks would
hand h th pest = results fer the remainder q, the
I[ y. the hand Mera nlnYad In nm lmnnrtani