Bridge

Ever since Harold Stirling (''Mike") Vanderbilt put up the Vanderbilt Cup for contract bridge teams of four, he has been ambitious to have his own name engraved on it among the winners. Last week, for the first time in five years, he had a good chance. The famed Four Horsemen of bridge--Hal Sims, Willard S. Karn, David Burnstine and Oswald (''Ossie") Jacoby, who won the cup a year ago--were split up. Mr. Vanderbilt was playing with Sims, Karn and Baron Waldemar von Zedtwitz, onetime member of Ely Culbertson's Bridge World team which won in 1930. Their opponents in the final were Howard Schenken, David Burnstine, Richard Frey--who finished in that order at the top of the list in the bridge masters' individual tournament at Deal, N. J.--and Charles Lochridge. After the first night's play in the final the Vanderbilt team was 225 points behind. On the second and last night's play, there soon came a crucial hand, dealt by West:

North K 9 8 7 4 2

7 5 3

A 8 6

West East

10 A J 6

J 10 9 8 6 A K Q 4

A K 10 7 4 3 9 6

J K Q 7 4

South

Q 5 3

J 8 5 2

10 9 5 3 2

Both sides were vulnerable. At the table at which Lochridge & Frey were playing von Zedtwitz & Vanderbilt, Lochridge & Frey reached a contract of six hearts which Mr. Lochridge (East) failed to make by one trick. While von Zedtwitz & Vanderbilt were thus earning their side 100 points, their partners were doing even better. At the table where Karn (East) & Sims were playing Burnstine & Schenken, the bidding also reached six hearts but Mr. Karn set out for his contract more shrewdly than Mr. Lochridge had done in the same situation. When Mr. Burnstine (North) played the queen of diamonds on the dummy's king, Mr. Karn deliberated for several minutes. Then he made up his mind that Mr. Burnstine was not false carding. He returned to his own hand and achieved a finesse with the ten of diamonds which earned him his contract, a little slam and the first big swing for his team, 1,430 points. In a sense, it was the hand that decided the match. As the Burnstine team fell behind, they gambled for long chances, fell behind even further. After five hours play, Harold Stirling Vanderbilt and his teammates had won the Cup, with 5,845 points, an average of more than 200 points a hand.

Even more exciting than the final was a match in the quarter-finals which helped bring about the downfall of the Culbertsons. Mrs. Ely Culbertson. her invisible eyebrows arched more coolly than ever, was playing with William J. Huske, Samuel Fry Jr. and Louis H. Watson against the Sims-Vanderbilt team. The match hung on the last hand at the table where Watson & Fry were playing von Zedtwitz & Vanderbilt (who puts his cards down so deliberately that his table almost always finishes last). When Lieut. Alfred M. Gruenther, who referees all important bridge games, cried: "Von Zedtwitz has the contract at five diamonds," fat Hal Sims shook his shaggy head and groaned: "It can't be done." His team had set Mrs. Culbertson & partner two tricks at four spades on the same hand. At the other end of the room, there was a sharp slapping as little Baron von Zedtwitz. pinch-faced and emphatic, snapped out his cards. Cried Lieut. Gruenther: "The Baron makes five diamonds!"

The margin of Mrs. Culbertson's defeat was 190 points. Next day, David Burnstine & partners beat the team most people thought would win the cup, Ely Culbertson, Oswald Jacoby, Theodore A. Lightner and Michael Gottlieb. Margin of Ely Culbertson's defeat: 1.500 points.

P: While the Vanderbilt Cup tournament was in progress last week, the Whist Club's Committee on Laws announced a new international code for contract which contains five major changes in scoring and a change in the penalty for revoking:

Grand slam premiums are increased to 1,500 not vulnerable and 2,250 vulnerable.

No-trump tricks, bid & won (formerly worth 35 points each) are now 30 for the odd tricks, 40 for the even.

The premium for making a doubled or redoubled contract is removed. The premium for undoubled over-tricks is reduced from 50 to the equivalent suit or no-trump value.

Doubled not vulnerable and undoubled vulnerable penalties changed, as follows: doubled not vulnerable tricks jump 50 points a trick, starting at 100. Undoubled vulnerable do the same.

New revoke penalty: only tricks taken after the revoke can be taken from the revoking side to pay for the revoke; no revoke is possible on the 12th trick.

P:. At a bridge exposition in Manhattan was exhibited an invention of Lawrens Hammond of Hammond Clock Co.: an electric bridge table which deals the cards through four slots, one at each side. The electric table does not shuffle the cards but two revolving arms inside are so controlled that they deal 52 different ways. If the pack were always arranged the same way when put into the table, the 53rd hand would duplicate the first. Since this never happens, the table's method of dealing is equivalent to a thorough shuffle. Observers noticed a defect to be corrected in later models: after the table had dealt, it was impossible to tell, unless someone remembered, whose deal it was next.

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