The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1898-02-05

= FOR WHIST PLAYERS. e
%MMMMMe.,
A team of cracks from the Scranton
Whist club astonished the experts in
Boston last Saturday by playing a re-
markably strong game against the
holders of the American Whist League
Challenge trophy. The teams were:
Americana. NJ. Bouve (captain), E.
C. Fletcher, ii. II. Ward and f. +.
Whitney; Scranton--J. w. Dusenbury
(captain), l.. G.. La Bar, c. d. 2. Ham,
ilton and F. A. Hintermister.
a Boston paper says of the match:
For four hours Saturday afternoon, the
teams representing the American Whlst
club of this city and the scranton (fa)
Whist CLUB were engaged in highly eX-
citing contest. Twenty-fOur deals, or one
half the regulation number in matches
for the American Whist league chal-
lenge trophy were played during the sit
ting, and the score stood to in favor
of the challengers from the coal re-
gions, when the contestants adjourned
for dinner. AS this extremely low score
shows, the whist played was of high
"A
from o'clock till midnight, the home
team exhibited those superior staying
qualities for which Amer~Wn Whist club
teams have been noted in the past ana
won out by a margin of nine tricks.
The visitors deserve much credit for
making the trip to Boston at this time.
Under the rules adopted at the last con-
gress of the league, the cup must be sur
rendered to the western section of the
league on Feb. 1, and had the challengers
won against the local experts no oppor-
tunity would have been afforded for a
single defense of the trophy. Both teams
played strict long-suit game, and while
there were no deals which showed va
riatis of over three tricks, there was
surprisingly large number that pre-
sented opportunities for brilliant plays.
The score by rounds of four deals each,
follows:
FIRST HALF
1st I'd Sd 4th 5th 5th Total
American :. +
Scranton -. g 0 .
SECOND HALF.
1st I'd Sd 4th 5th 9Th Total
American E. 1 3 IS
Scranton -. / l / $
Lander NJ. Bouve describes the play
as follows in the Boston Transcript:
1t is an unusual occurrence for two
teams to play so nearly an Identical sys-
TEN as was the case last Saturday in the
match between American and Scranton,
| for the American Whist league challenge
| trophy. Analysis of the play as record
| ed shows that on thirty-three of the
| forty y-eight deals the same suit at the two
| tables; on ten, the same suit but differ
ent card, and on five, a different suit.
| In these days of individual preferences
| for innovations in leads and systems, the
| game was peculiarly enjoyable, as it fur
| nished opportunities for Skiful strategy
| under similar conditions following the
| early developments. OF the ten deals
| where different cards of the same suit
| We're opened, from two the fourth best
| was led from ace and six others in plain
| suit without trump in leaders hand,
and it was singular fact that the mem
| bers of the two teams chose the oppo-
| site course in these instances. In two
| cases, the American players departed
| from the conventional American leads
| TO the extent that queen was led from
| queen, knave and two small. whereas the
Scranton players led fourth best. From
one hand. the American player led the
| ace, from ace and four small his team =
| system demanding this lead as a SINGLE
| ton was held in a second plain suit. At
| the second table his oponent opened
| fourth best The ten, from king, knave
ten and three small was led by the Scran-
| ton player from hand where the Ameri-
| can player led fourth best. American
| opened the top of long weak suit in two
| cases, Scranton fourth best. The lead Of
| king, in place of the ace, with five IN
| suit by one of the American players, in
| another case, was due to the fact that
the player intended to follow with a sin
much to declare the ace as it was to give
partner a possible inkling that the trump
TO be led was not from strength. In ac-
COrdance with his teams system, the top
of a sequence of low cards was led by
one Of the American players. where the
Scranton player led fourth best.
| Three of these ten deals showed gain
of one trick each for Scranton, and five,
one each for American, but in only two
cases could the gains be attributed di-
| rectly to the openings.
| OF the five deals where different suits
| were opened, on one American lost by
opening from the king. knave, 4 and 3 of
hearts, rather than from a spade suit
consisting of queen, 10, g. 7. On an
other, Scranton gained by leading the
ace of hearts followed by king, from the
following hand: Hearts, ace and king;
spades, 8, I, 6, 4; diamonds (trumps), s,
T. 4; clubs, 0, 6, 5, 2. Leaders partner
| called for trumps and the choice of opens
was good for one trick. Two other deals
showed neither gain nor loss, although
| American opened trumps in one case,
| where Scranton opened plain suit and
| the gain OF one trick by Scranton on the
| last of the five deals was due to poor
play on the part of one of the American
players.
No suit containing less than four cards
was opened by the original leader on
either side, throughout the match, ana in
only four or Ave cases were short suits
opened early in the hand. Two or three
of these were singleton trumps. 1t was
rather remarkable that the American
players did not have a single opportun-
ity for the exhibition of the bold trump
leads for which they are noted.
For twenty-four deals of the match
Messrs. Dusenbury, LaBar Hamilton
and Hintermeister played as fine a game
as any quartette ever encountered by
the American team. During the second
half the strain of the contest affacted
their play, while that of the home fouI
was extremely brilliant
One Title the Bishop Missed.