The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1931-12-08
FIRST BLOOD IN
BRIDGE DUEL IS
DRAWN BY LEM
He and JaCoby Get Off to
1,715-Point Lead Over
CuIbertSonS.

By united Press
NEW YORK, Dec. 8.-Three men
and woman will settle down to-
night to the real business OF de-
Gliding whether the Bridge World
publishing plant Of Ely Culbertson
or the output of Sidney Lenz and
Bridge Headquarters, Inc, will show
the greatest profit in 1882.
The first inning, or chukker, or
match-three rubbers out OF $50 OF
contract-ended with the official
system team of Sidney Lenz and
Oswald Jacoby leading by Ills
points over the approach-forcing
team of Mr.. and Mrs. Ely Culbert-
son.
However, the Lenz-Jacoby team
made three slams which they had
neglected to bid-thus failing to
collect the bonus which should have
accrued-and repeatedly played
gsme-going hands at undergone
bids.
On the other hand,et the Culbert-
son team failed to make the most
of its cards in some cases.
Perhaps the high point of the
evening came on the fourth deal of
the first rubber when LEM, playing
the hand at a bid of four no trumps,
fell into the misapprehension that
diamonds were trumps.
Loses Plenty of Points
LEM was So concerned over his
error that he apologized to his OPP
ponent, Mrs. Culbertson, instead of
to his partner, for having lost 300
on a hand which might have made
900 points, not counting its value
toward rubber.
The Culbertsons played one hand
at five diamonds and we're set four
when a bid of five clubs would have
won. The opponents failed to
double, apparently fearing from the
layout of their hands that they
might drive the Culbertsons into a
safer contract.
On the whole, the hands unques-
tionably favored the Lenz-Jacoby
team. The object of playing the
tournament on a basis Of $50 rub
berS is, of course, to eliminate the
influence of card lucks as far as
possible.
Without exception, attendants
who actually we're in the playing
room during the match, and OBJ
servers who studied the hands out
side, agreed that Mrs. Culbertson
played the best game of any of the
four.
Set at Huge Table
The players sat, not at your con-
ventional folding table, but at a
large and solid piece of furniture
with wide rim of wood around the
central felt. II was screened off at
one end of the long drawing room
of the Culbertson suite, protected
by silence" signs which, however,
had little effect.
On the first hand, the Culbertsons
set the Lenz-Jacoby team one on
three no-trump bid, and were fifty
ahead. 1t was the only time they
had a lead.
The second hand was the one on
which Mrs. Culbertson was put down
four on five diamonds. CulbertSon
took the blame for the bidding,
though on a late post-mortem he
could find no way in which the mis-
fortune could have been prevented.
since the five-club bid which would
have won, seemed to him almost
impossible to bid.
That hand put the official system
team up $50, and from then on.
the Lenz-Jacob lead ranged up to
2,735 four hands before the end of
the nights play. The Culbertsons
trimmed off 1920 in the last three
hands to reach the final score of
LIS points behind.
Lenz-JacOby Win Bonus
LEM and Jacoby won the bonus
that goes with rubber, on the first
two rubbers; the Culbertsons on the
third. But the CulbertsonS trailed
in total score on each of the three
rubbers played.
The schedule called for play of
eight rubberS a night. With the
match now five rubbers behind,
sessions are scheduled to start at
z p. m. hereafter.
The first session hands presented
few cases in which either the Off
cial or the Culbertson system had
a pronounced advantage. Culbert-
son, terming the hands dealt his
opponents "powerhouse" layoutS,
said many of the cases in which
the Lenz-Jacoby team failed to
register big games and slams were
attributable to the official system
convention of weak opening one
bids. Official system observers felt
the first-night nervousness was
more to blame for the failure of