Anticipation of the new laws of Auction and Contract Bridge,
to be promulgated next week, is, I gather, causing some stir in circles where bridge is taken seriously (and where, I regret to say, I do not move). As things stand, Bridge as played in Britain, Bridge as played in America, and Bridge as played on the Continent are all somewhat different games. The laws will effect a much-needed standardization, thereby promoting internationalism in another field. They will also have an important influence upon the future development of Contract. The game has been nearly ruined by the lengths to which " psychic " (i.e., bluff) bidding has been carried ; witness the notorious Culbertson-Lenz match. The new laws will almost certainly impose sufficiently stiff penalties for failure, upon " non-vulnerable " players, to knock the bottom out of " psychics "—and a good thing too. An interesting innovation is a supplement to the laws, embodying " the Proprieties which govern the Game."
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