1) Who Is Credited with the Invention of Contract Bridge

1) Who is credited with the invention of contract bridge?

c) Harold Vanderbilt invented the contract bridge scoring in 1925 while aboard the SS Finland (he was also a nautical enthusiast). The scoring system remains virtually unchanged today.

2) What is the fewest points needed to make a grand slam?

a) Though I don't recommend playing for it; a layout exists where only 5 HCP between both hands will produce 13 tricks. This is one variation:

AJ5432 T9876

8765432----

----5432

----5432

If trumps are 1-1 and hearts split no worse than 4-2, 13 tricks can be won.

3) How old was Dan Hirschman when he became the ACBL's youngest life master?

a) Hirschman achieved the feat at the age of 10 years and 81 days during the 1994 Fall Nationals in Minneapolis. His record has been surpassed by Adam Kaplan who managed the feat at the ripe age of 10 years, 43 days in 2006.

4) What is a Chinese finesse?

b) A Chinese finesse is the lead of an unsupported honor in an attempt to steal a trick. It is particularly effective in a layout such as Qxxx opposite Ax where a defender holding the K may not cover fearing he will surrender more tricks to declarer.

5) What is the "beer card"?

c) The "beer card" originated in Copenhagen in the 50s or 60s. If declarer wins the last trick with the 7 of diamonds (and makes his contract) his partner/teammates owe him/her a beer. Similarly, if the 7 of diamonds takes the last trick on defense (and the contract is defeated), the defender wins a pint. This rule is typically associated with junior / university bridge and is more prevalent in Europe but has also been adopted by some ACBL players.

6) A crocodile coup is when you?

b) Deliberately smother partner's honor on defense. This is typically done to prevent your partner from being endplayed.

7) In the 1965 Bermdua Bowl, Brits Reese - Schapiro were accused of cheating. Their alleged signalling system was based on which suit?

b) This was a huge scandal at the time and resulted in 2 books on the subject. "The GreatBridge Scandal" by Truscott and "Story of an Accusation" by Terence Reese. I have read the former and it is pretty convincing but not having read the latter I can't say for sure. Allegedly Reese - Schapiro used hand positioning to indicate how many hearts they each held on every hand.

8) How did Italy's famous Blue Team (Squadra Azzurra) get its name?

d)

9) Which of the following was not a member of the original Aces team?

b) The Dallas Aces were the brainchild of Ira Corn, a Dallas businessman who was a fried of Bobby Wolff. Ira wanted to end the dominance of the Italian Blue team in international competition so he formed a squad of 6 pros (and himself). They won in 1970 and 1971 (with the Blue Team "retired") but continued to be bested by the Italians when they subsequently. The original 6 were among the greatest of all time: Bobby Wolff, Bob Hamman, Mike Lawrence, Billy Eisenberg, Bobby Goldman, and Jim Jacoby (son of Ozzie).

10) A canape bid is?

c) Several bidding systems use canape style by opening the shorter (or equal) of 2 long suits (4+). It is designed to solve rebid problems suffered by standard bidders (though it creates others). Bill Hall / I use a form of canape in our Minotaur system though it is not done 100% of the time.

11) The play of a particular card increases the likelihood that the player doesn't have another equivalent one” states the?

a) Restricted choice comes up a lot during the course of a game. The classic example is the following trump suit:

KT9xA87xx

Declarer starts with an honor (from either hand) and the opponent to the right of the honor led plays the J or Q. Restricted choice says you should finesse on the 2nd round as

the defender has a choice of cards to play when holding both honors but no choice holding a singleton.

12) What card is the "curse of Scotland"?

c) There are several theories behind the nickname the most common of which is that the 9 of diamonds resembles the coat of arms of Sir John Dalrymple who used the playing card to authorize the Glencoe Massacre.

13) The five level belongs to?

d) This is a common rule of thumb used by bridge players in a competitive auction. The rule states if the opponents bid to the 5 level over your 4 or 5 level contract you should not press on but let them play it there (doubled if you think they are sacrificing). As with any "rule", it is merely a guideline.

14) What school won the ACBL collegiate championship in July 2008?

d)

15) A grand-slam force?

b) This one one of the easiest questions; 83% of the entrants got this one correct. Generally 5N is used as the grand slam force (in certain circumstances) asking partner to bid 7 of his suit when holding 2 of the top 3 honors.

16) What city hosted the largest national tournament?

d) This one tied with #15 as easiest question. The 1991 Las Vegas Nationals had a turnout of a whopping 24,221 tables and has not been surpassed.

17) Who among the following has NOT won the bridge's "triple crown" --- the Bermuda Bowl, World Team Olympiad, and World Open Pairs?

d) This question had the most diverse set of answers; each option was chosen at least 5 times. Amazingly the Italians did not achieve all 3 (I believe the latter is the one missing). Chagas-Branco were members of the powerful Brazilian squad in the 70s/80s and Jais-Trezel led the equally capable French team.

18) Which cartoon character was named an honorary life master by the ACBL?

c) In light of his bridge-playing in the Peanuts strip, Snoopy became the ACBL's only honorary life master

19) This late comedian, an avid bridge player, said "Bridge is a game that separates men from the boys and husbands from the wives"?

b) George Burns was a long-time bridge player and a pretty good one at that. This is one of his numerous humerous quotes.

20) In what movement do the boards remain stationary while the players move according to guide cards?

c) This is a trick question, but an easy one if you think about it. Many guessed B) because of the guide cards. However, the boards also move during a Howell. The standard Mitchell movement is boards to the lower and players to the higher which leaves C. This movement requires a large number of tables (several will be empty during play) and is thus used quite rarely.

21) Whose name is on two conventions although he invented neither?

a) This question occurred during an ACBL national trivia contest some years back and remains a favorite. Believe it or not, Stayman was invented by George Rapee in 1945 (JCH Marx developed it in Europe but did not publish it til after Rapee) a frequent partner of Stayman's. Puppet Stayman was invented by Kit Woolsey. However, the 2nd convention actually refers to Namyats (Stayman spelled backwards) which was invented by Victor Mitchell, another Stayman partner.

22) Which of the following is NOT a bridge term?

c) This was the most difficult question; only 2 entrants got this one correct. The chicken coup, which was the most common guess, is used to describe the situation where declarer, fearing a ruff, plays off their high trumps rather than finessing, which would be their normal play. When cashing the high trumps drops an honor that would otherwise have taken a trick with the normal finesse, the declarer has executed a chicken coup.

23) What is the "hippopotamus" contract?

a) I do not know the derivation of the term but 5N is a rare contract (in fact the rarest) and an unattractive one at that

24) In 1929, Myrtle Bennett of Kansas City shot her husband for his poor play of a hand. (She was later acquitted). What was the lethal contract?

b) John Bennett found himself in a delicate 4S contract and ran into a killing defense.

25) What's a wish trick?

b) The next time you see the A,2,3,4 of a suit on the same trick do not be surprised to hear someone utter "wish trick" at the table. Their prize --- a wish. There are several variations (multi-suited, colored etc). Amongst the most ardent wish-trickers is many time world champion Nick Nickell.