Evening star., 1941-02-02

Sweeping changes in the system
of contract bidding are embodied in
the new book written by that master
of bridge, Ely Culbertson.
Two hundred bridge teachers,
mostly women, gathered at the Lom-
bardi Hotel in New York City last
week end for a three-day lecture
platform preview of these changes.
They were disappointed, however,
when Mr.. Culbertson failed to ap-
pear. He was confined to hospital
bed with a recurrence of an old
stomach ailment.
Instead, the changes were pre-
sented by Josephine Culbertson, the
former wife who divorced the bridge
master but remained as his prin-
cipal business partner. She lee
tured for 8 and 10 hours day on
Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
The new book is not yet off the
press. The changes are expected to
produce countless controversies for
the millions of bridge players. They
affect both the opening bids and
the responses. The honor count"
which is to bridge what the scale
is to music, will now take into con-
sideration distribution as well as
top cards.
Hereafter "singletons" and "voids"
will be counted together with aces
and kings. This, according to Mr.
Culbertson, will make it easier for
the average person who plays "by
ear" The old shaded suit bids, only
to be used as last resort. are now
sanctioned in many more situa-
tions. Conditional suits, a weak
four -carder such as queen-4-3-2, or
flve-carder, 8-7-6-5-4, can be bid
under favorable conditions.
The strong no-trump opening"
bulwark of the bridge system for
the last six years, can now be made
on slightly weaker hands, for ex-
ample, three and half honor tricks
with seven or eight honor cards,
bringing the secondary honors or
acknowledgements, jacks and
los, into their own. The 4-3-3-3
distribution rule is virtually
scrapped, and it is up to the bidder
himself to decide from the bidding
and holding which hands will lend
themselves best to no-trump play,
rather than a suit declaration. Re-
sponses are thus simplified and
effected more naturally.
The opening two bid, largely re-
sponsible for the lasting popularity
of the Culbertson system, remains
intact as the game-demand bid,
but the two no-trump response Is
used only in cases of absolute
"busts" both in high cards and in
distribution.
Immediate responses showing con-
ditional five or six carders are used,
and do not guarantee top cards
in the suit bid. Thus, small bid
ding will not be so artificial, and
key cards will not be absolutely
indicated by certain bids. Hereto
fore, in slam bidding, the "45 no
trump convention" and the BLACK
wood convention" more recently
adopted and added by Culbertson,
were used by the average player,
and only the experts were good
enough to reach the slam by nat
ural bidding.
Before you began play at a tour
nament or duplicate match, you
usually announced your favorite con-
vention, just like hoisting a little
flag with a as no-trump" or
"blackwood" on it.
Probably the change. which will
be received best, Is the new set Of
rules affecting the choice of a suit
where a real choice is necessary.
Players have been quite perplexed
when confronted with the problem
of which of two, or possibly three
biddable suits, to bid first. Rules
have been worked out as to prin-
ciples of preference and prepared
ness-setting forth which suit you
prefer to bid first and how to bid
so as to be prepared for your part
ner's next bid.
Washington's experts, such as Al
vim Roth and Oscar Brotman, CO.
holders of the worlds team-of-four
championship wrested last August
from the Four Aces in Asbury Park,
N. j., and Louis Newman, national
board-a-match team-of -four cham
pion, withheld comment in absence
| of the text of the new book, but
probably will say plenty when it ap-
pears. They have their own ideas
on bidding, which have worked out
c,,rrcsSf11IIv In actual c0YrnnetitiOY