The development of the game
Bridge was probably born of three-hand whist games. Inveterate whist players, unwilling to forgo their game merely because there were only three available players, played a game called “dummy” (with one hand exposed) long before any bridge game was known or willingly played.
The origin of bridge whist is not definitely known, but a similar game appeared in Constantinople before 1870, under the name khedive, and almost the same game had been played in Greece before that. Khedive, whose name had for some reason become biritch, was played on the French Riviera in the 1870s. A pamphlet titled Biritch; or, Russian Whist, was issued in London in 1887 and very nearly described bridge whist. There is a story that Ludovic Halévy, in 1893, tried to persuade some whist-playing friends in Paris to play bridge with him, but they refused. In the same year, however, it was played at the Whist Club in New York City, and in 1894 Lord Brougham, penalized for failure to turn the last (trump) card in a whist game at London’s Portland Club, apologized with the excuse that he forgot he was not playing bridge, “the finest card game ever introduced.”
Whist players were prompt to deplore the arrival of bridge, almost unanimously asserting that whist, with all four hands hidden, was far more scientific than bridge. The fallacy of this soon became apparent, for exposure of the dummy provided clarity in thousands of situations in which the whist player had to guess blindly. This provided new opportunities for analysis and greatly stimulated the study of skillful play. By 1897 almost all the leading whist players had succumbed to the attractions of the new game, and even the whist authority “Cavendish” (Henry Jones), who had refused for a period in 1897–98 to enter the Portland Club because whist had been all but abandoned there, was converted to bridge before his death in 1899.
Bridge whist was the first game of the whist family to appeal to women as much as to men. It quickly became the favoured game of the fashionable world but did not supplant euchre and the other card games among the middle and lower classes, as auction bridge did later.
Development of auction bridge
Several accounts of the origin of auction bridge have been advanced. It is probable that just as bridge whist developed from three-hand whist, auction bridge developed from three-hand bridge whist. A letter in the London Times, Jan. 16, 1903, signed by Oswald Crawfurd, describes “auction bridge for three players.” A book by “John Doe” (F. Roe), published in Allahabad, India, in 1904, presents three-hand auction bridge as an invention of Roe and two other members of the Indian civil service when, at an isolated post, they had no “fourth” for bridge whist. Experimental games in England and America apparently followed immediately on the publication of the Crawfurd letter, for by 1904 the best club players were turning to auction bridge. London’s Portland Club adopted auction bridge in 1907, New York City’s Whist Club and other American clubs in the two years following. By 1910 bridge whist was all but obsolete and auction bridge was virtually the only card game played by fashionable society and its emulators.
The widespread appeal of auction bridge is attributable partly to the character of the game and partly to the social conditions into which it was born. The science of auction bridge, more complex and more nearly inexhaustible than that of any previous game, created a demand for large numbers of instructors in skillful play. The instructors, as a professional class, served as proselytizers. Concurrently, the rapid growth of the leisure class increased the demand for means for the entertainment of guests, and auction bridge was found to fill this need ideally. The gradual relaxation of church opposition to card playing, but not to gambling, stimulated acceptance of auction bridge, a game most often played without stakes and never for high stakes in the sense that gambling games are.
Development of contract bridge
This game was developed almost concurrently with auction bridge but was slower to win popularity. At least as early as 1915, auction bridge players tried a variant in which one could score toward game only the odd tricks one had bid. The committee on laws of the Whist Club considered incorporation of this principle into the auction bridge laws in 1917 and again in 1920. They refrained in both instances because they thought such a difficult game would compromise the popularity of auction bridge.
Harold S. Vanderbilt (see Vanderbilt family) of New York was one of the expert auction bridge players who had experimented with contract bridge. While on a long sea voyage in 1926, Vanderbilt played plafond, a French version of auction bridge. In the course of these games, he devised a new system of scoring values, multiplying auction bridge values five times or more; large slam bonuses; and the factor of vulnerability. (With minor changes this became and remains the contract bridge scoring system.)
Until 1931 most casual players continued to play auction bridge. The publicity whereby contract bridge found its way to such players was supplied by another of the former auction bridge experts, Ely Culbertson of New York. Culbertson established contract bridge as the leading card game and himself as its principal authority by a succession of tournament victories and by various maneuvers devised to publicize contract bridge and Culbertson personally. In 1930 Culbertson’s teams won nearly every one of the principal American tournaments, then went to England and defeated three leading British teams. In the winter of 1931–32 Culbertson and his wife, Josephine Culbertson, played and defeated in a 150-rubber match one of the most prominent players among the former auction bridge authorities, Sidney S. Lenz. The progress of the match, called by American newspapers “the bridge battle of the century,” was featured for more than a month on their front pages. The unprecedented publicity made contract bridge a fad not only in the United States but also in South America and Europe.
By 1935 the white heat of the fad had cooled. Nevertheless, the sales of books and playing cards for contract bridge increased steadily. By the start of the 21st century, bridge had become so commonplace that it was no longer a remarkable phenomenon and most newspapers in the United States and Great Britain carried regular columns. In particular, bridge was thriving in Europe, with many young players attracted to the game. In contrast, few young people were playing the game in the United States, although it remained popular with older generations. One of the main factors that has limited the growth of the game has been the small or nonexistent prizes awarded at tournaments. The only way to make a living from bridge has been to be hired by wealthy clients as a partner or teammate—“play for pay”—or through writing about the game. Another factor limiting the growth of bridge has been that, like chess, it is not very telegenic and requires considerable prior experience before a television viewer can appreciate the play.
At the top level, bridge became much more scientific at the end of the 20th century, with experts having bidding-system notes that often ran to well over 100 pages in an attempt to cover all possible contingencies, and various unusual conventions and systems were developed. In the 1980s, forcing-pass methods were in vogue, especially in Poland (where they started), Australia, and New Zealand. An initial pass showed a good hand, usually at least 13 high-card points. Any other bid denied 13 points, and there was one call that indicated a very bad hand, normally 0–7 points. It was, of course, dangerous to have to open with no points, especially when vulnerable, but these systems gained popularity primarily because they put the opponents in unusual situations. Also, an opposing pair got to use its bidding system only if it dealt and opened immediately. Toward the end of the 1980s, these systems were banned from international play.
Duplicate and tournament bridge
Bridge is played in three principal forms: rubber, Chicago, and duplicate. Rubber bridge is the simplest form for four players and is frequently played in casual games among friends. Chicago, or four-deal bridge, is most often used for small card parties in which several tables are used. Because a game of Chicago bridge involves only four deals, it is ideal for allowing each player to play with and against most of the other guests over the course of an evening. Duplicate bridge is played in all serious competitions and in official tournaments.
Duplicate bridge
The purpose of duplicate bridge is to eliminate, as nearly as possible, the element of luck from the game. After the usual deal and auction, the four players in playing their cards do not gather them up as tricks; instead, each shows the card he plays, then turns it down and keeps it on the table in front of him. After the result of the play has been ascertained and scored, the four hands in their original form are placed in a duplicate board, or tray, which is a rectangular container having four pockets, one for each hand. This board is then passed on to another table, where it is played by four other players. Thus, it is possible to compare results made with identical cards, the conclusion being that the pair making the higher score must have been more skillful.
The result of each deal at duplicate contract bridge is first scored as in regular contract bridge, with these exceptions: there are no rubber bonuses, and, when declarer’s side fulfills a game contract, it receives 300 points if not vulnerable, 500 points if vulnerable. For a trick score of less than 100 points, the bonus is 50 points regardless of vulnerability. The bonuses for honours held in one hand are not scored in match-point play.
Dealer and vulnerability are assigned by the markings on the duplicate board. Sixteen such boards constitute a full set; although approximately 30 boards are usually played in one session, the series 17–32, 33–48, etc., are respectively identical to the 1–16. North is dealer on board 1, East on board 2, and so on in rotation. Neither side is vulnerable on boards 1, 8, 11, 14; North-South are vulnerable only on boards 2, 5, 12, 15, East-West on boards 3, 6, 9, 16, and both sides on boards 4, 7, 10, 13.
Match-point scoring is used in all individual contests, most pair contests, and most team-of-four contests in which more than two teams compete. Each pair’s (or team’s) score for a board is compared with the scores made on that board by all other pairs that played precisely the same hands. A pair receives one match point for every such comparison in which it has the higher score, one-half match point for the same score. The pair or team amassing the most match points during the session is the winner.
The European system of match-point scoring in team matches combines the total-point and match-point ideas. This system has been widely adopted in the United States. A team scores international match-points in proportion to its margin of victory on each board.
Bridge tournaments
The idea of duplicate play achieved great popularity in the United States after Cassius M. Paine and J.L. Sebring patented the duplicate tray in 1891. Duplicate auction bridge became similarly popular in the 1920s, and championship tournaments were played regularly, but the game did not spread to Europe until contract bridge had arrived. The international matches between American and British teams in 1930 so stimulated interest that nearly all serious students of contract bridge took up duplicate play within the next two years. From 1934 until war or the threat of war interrupted them, national and European championships were held annually.
In the United States, championship tournaments at auction bridge were conducted by the American Whist League in 1924–35, the American Bridge League in 1927–37, and the U.S. Bridge Association in 1933–37. Also there was an annual team-of-four tournament for the Harold Vanderbilt Cup, the first trophy given (1928) for a national championship at contract bridge. In 1937 all came under the control of a new, consolidated association, the American Contract Bridge League (ACBL). Its membership grew from 9,000 in 1940 to more than 160,000 by the 21st century.
Similar contests were held annually in Great Britain by the British Bridge League, founded in 1932, and European championships were conducted by the European Bridge League (EBL), founded the same year. These tournaments continued through 1937 and were resumed in 1946. At the annual tournament of the EBL held in Oslo, Norway, in 1958, the World Bridge Federation was formed to control the world championship matches as previously played and to conduct an Olympiad open to all continents and countries beginning in 1960 and renewable each four years thereafter. Teams in international competition have six players each, of whom four play at a time, plus a nonplaying captain. Twenty-nine nationals from every continent except Antarctica took part in the first World Bridge Olympiad, in Turin, Italy, which was won by the French team.
In 2005 the governing bodies of bridge, chess, draughts (checkers), and go formed the International Mind Sports Association. The aim was to engage in a dialogue with the International Olympic Committee and to try to organize the World Mind Games, or Intellympiad, to be held in the Olympic city directly after a Winter or Summer Games.
