Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1898-10-09


and at Trick 7 leads again. This lead
proved fatal.
Tricks and 9-West cleans up the
trunps, plays down on his major tenace
heart suit, and with his partners help
takes all the other tricks South would
have saved-j just four tricks by quitting
the trump lead at Trick l. The play
above teaches a lesson in conservatism.
FORCING THE STRONG TRUMP
HAND.
| One of the things that are slowly learn
| ed at the whist table is the Importance of
| forcing the strong trump nand. 1t seems
| to require a good deal Of training to get
| a player into the condition of mind in
| which he can sit and watch an adversary
! ruiz all his good cards. There is some
| thing peculiarly exasperating in the smile
with which player who holds several
trumlps viii biff one trick after another,
and very few persons have the patience
| to wait until he has biffeo just once too
| often before they attempt to take the
| rest of his trunfs away from him.
! The weakening effect of a single force
| is not always apparent, and it is only
when two or three forces succeed in
| breaking down a phenomenally strong
| trump hand that attention is likely to
be drawn to it. A good illustration of
this will be found in the hand published
in The Sun, on July S1st. in which a
player with six trumps to two honors
was finally obliged to let in four cards
of an adverse suit which had only three
trumps to defend them. How often one
hoo Of, tta obi
as THE force killed me-" zone more
force and I was dead" Il forced the life
| out of him." etc, all of which go to show
! the vital nature Of the point which is at
| tackled by timely force.
| When a player holds four or five small
| trunlps it often looks as if he could well
afford to ruff in once or twice, yet a
single force will sometimes destroy his
| entire hand by reducing his chances of
re-ertry. The number of tricks that are
| lost or won by getting the first force on
| an average four-trump hand would prob
| ably run into the millions in the course
of year. 1t is certainly curious that the
| use of single trump on the winning
card of an adversary's suit should so
| often cause a player to lose four or five
| tricks, vet such things happen in almost
| every match and affects the scores in
| many compass game. r. +. Foster. in
| the New York Sun.
AVOID CHANGING SUITS.
I have observed that beginners, players
of moderate skill, and even many players
| far advanced in the general strategy of
| the game, too often fall into the trick
| losing error Of changing suit in situations
, that do not justify them in doing so. /
| believe this to be a fault responsible fer
| the loss of more tricks than any other
at whist Much has been said and written
on this phase of whist play. but feel that
| It is a subject of so much Importance that
| I do not think the warming, avoid chang
| ing suits, can be too often bulletined
Early in the play of hand there are
| only about four conditions which may
| justify player in not returning partner s
suit, having won the first trick in the
| suit.
Holding a very strong suit-ace, king,
queen and one or more for instance, you
| Will, as a rule, open such a suit In prefer
| ence to returning partners suit. But
| with a suit of less than three court cards
| I believe 1t Is generally better to return
/ PAL ti4ci > suit. i lS SNlOdAlDHA IN WHICH
player is justified in opening his own SUR
with a small card in preference to re-
| turning partners suit are 50 rare that the
| inference should be when player does
| open a suit with a small card that he is
| void of his partners suit For example,
| plain suit:
!. A leads h.; C plays h.: B plays
ace h; D plays 4 h.
| 2. now leads plain suit); the in
| ference is that B has no hearts-a rare
| exception would be-or all the remaining
| hearts.
| When you win the first round of part
| ner's suit with small card. say 20. or
| smaller card il may be 10 your advan-
| tage not TO return ii. But 1t must not
| be forgotten that even IN cases Ike this.
| opening a suit 81 moderate strength in
! preference 10 returning partners suit,
| often results in loss. You MAJ sacrifice a