The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-02-13
AROUND THE WHIST TABLE.
CnIChaO WHIST CLUB'a CAPTURE
OF THE a. ". Il. TROPHY.

a Successful Tournament FOR Teans or Feur
from sow York and Is ~cinity-Hltustra
tiens or Bnd Openings IN whist-Probierns
nnd Ciub Netes-whist for wsmop.
The Chicago whist Club, after many ~fruitless
efforts, has at last captured the A. w. L. trophy.
winning II from Toledo by nine tricks in the first
rame OF the Western series, which was played
At jackson, Mich, on Feb. 5. Two mombers Of
tho successful team, Wood and Parry. have
long been recognised as the strongest pair in
Chioaeo, but this was their first appearance in
a team OF four to compete for championship
honors. Mitchell and Trainor. the other pair.
arc old hands at the game. Toledo made the
same experiment Of putting in its beet pair
players TO mako up its four, tho Matthias
brothers, holders Of the Minneapolis trophy,
taking the places Of Curtis and Barnes. and
making up the team with Hart and Brown.
with them tho result docs not seem to have
been 80 successful.
with the trophy in Chicago. which 10 easily
accessible from surrounding towns, there should
DO q lively and interesting series OF games
among the Western clubs. There arc strong
teams in Cleveland. Cincinnati, Dayton. Toledo,
Milwaukee,. st. Louis, Detroit. and Minneapolis,
and they should keen the list Of challengors for
tho cup flled up all the time. There is certainly
enough talent among them to keep the trophy
moving. and tho oftcncr 1t changes hands the
re Il will stimulate interest in the game.
That the Eastern players will go West after
this particular trophy. while possible. Is I'm
probable. There seems to be n general feeling
that wo have enough to attend to at home. and
that the Western players should be left in I'M
disputed possession OF tho cup until tho next
congress. provided they show II proper amount
Of enterprise in sending teams to play for 1t. II
several weeks pass without any match taking
place. through challengers dofaulting when
their turn comes. the Eastern players will GER
tainly take n trip to Chicago 10 stir things up.
There has lately boon n most gratifying in
crease in the interest in match playing in this
State, and clubs that have been dormant for n
year past arc now in tho field with all their war
paint on. Tho play for the Albany trophy has
been spirited and regular; tho matches for the
Utica pair trophy havo always had challenGers
enough ahead to Ill dates, and tho interclub and
intercity tournaments have kept all the spare
talent pretty busy.
Ono of tho most successful tournaments for
teams OF four ever played in this country was
started last Saturday under the able manage
mcnt OF President Otis. Twenty-Five tcams from
clubs in and around New York entered the lists.
md they have arranged 20 play n series of six
matclies-two in Jersey City. two in New York.
and two In Brooklyn. Prizcs arc offered for the
host match and trick scores for teams. the best
~ v - $3.50 -
number of times top score is made.
Tho largest entry was from the Knicker-
booker Whist Club, which sent five teams. Two
clubs sent three teams each: tho New Jersey
Whist OF Newark and the Jersey City Club.
The Whist Club OF Now York. the Brooklyn
Whist Club, and the Passaic Whist sent two
tennis each. Seven clubs sent one team each:
the Now Jersey Athletic Club. Elizabeth Chess
and Whist Club. Orange Whist Club. Ridge
,.aal Cl,h pnronic Club Pponuttla Athlaft,
Club, and Staten Island Club. and one team was
unattached.
AS the players in this tournament comprise
the pick OF the experts in this part of the coun-
try. the games offer an excellent opportunity
for studying the various systems" and noting
which are the most in favor. So far as THE
SUN representative could see, the play was re.
markedly free from conventionalities. and the
teams that came out ahead in the first round.
New Jersey Whist, Now York, Brooklyn, and
Knickcrbockcr played about MS straightforward
a common.sense game as could be wished. Only
ono or two pairs seemed to DO using rotary
discards. interior leads, sub.echoes. and re-
verso signals, but they wero found to be
away below the average when the trick
scores. were balanced at tho ond. The New
York and New Jersey teams. which made the
highest match score on the first round. played q
remarkably simple and straightforward game.
entirely free from private conventions of any
kind. and their good example in this respect
certainly had a most beneficial effect on those
who were watching to sec how the --latest
wrinkles" would work In n great tournament
OF this kind. which is probably ono of the Sc
verest tests that any system" can be put to.
. BAD OPENINGS.
Among the many unmistaknble signs of the
great change that has taken place in the tactics
INF what during rho ma ar twn yeara Mons 10 nnra
,Btriking than the universal recognition of tho
sfact that there arc such things as bad open
sings." When whist WINS played on the ~long.suit
theory there was only ono possible opening from
,pny given hand: the trump II you had five or
more; the long suit If You had four or more.
was entirely unnecessary for any person to ask
how n certain hand had been opened; n glance
at its contents was sufficient.
d The composition OF the suit selected did not
enter INTO ne question and there was no objcc-
'tiRRa h ,e lG ase!qSee Sw" oy f if1@ Jack a 1eT we're ,d Rl" i I
,puch suits were very nice things to have. and
.were taught to get rid of them immediately by
tlcadinE them. IL never seems to have occurred
gto them that n suit which was n good thing to
have might be . good thing to keep, especially
bility OF n rainy day. Tho number Of tricks that
were lost simply by leading away from tcnaccs,
been won by keeping them quiet until some one
else led thein,no matter ,~who-was never in.
were published in the Rochester Post.Erpressn
year ago. No one then objected to leading suits
headed by single honors. especially the king, be.
cause the loss involved by pcrsisting in such q
course for n large number OF deals had never
been pointed ont. There was then no such thing
as n choice between two evils: for all the book
openings were good ones, and evil was un.
known.
Things are very different to-day. and no ques-
ton Is more commonly, heard after a hard.
fnnght game than: How was that hand
opened at YOUR tablet" II is now n rare hand
from which every one will make the same open.
ing. and when one. occurs it usually attracts
moro or less attention on account of the posi-
bilities OF various combinations. especially by
the adversaries. They may make n bad opening
on the second trick. which will lead to some sur.
prlsinR differences in the score.
Such a hand camo up at tho Knickerbocker
" hist Club In, the regular compass game on
Jan. 20. n dealt and turned the heart jack, and
inquiry showed that every player in the room
had OnnnGi With the cluh snif lnadinn aiIhnn ~.