A Practice That Isn't Perfect

Whenever the Italian team wins the world contract bridgechampionship as it did last month and five straight times before that, there is an uproar about the superiority of their highly artificial bidding systems. And whenever I pooh-pooh this alleged superiority, as I continue to do, I hear the complaint: " Goren is trying to alibi his own system."

First, let me point out that there really is no Goren system. There is a system called Standard American which uses my point count and the general principles I follow in my own bidding. But I do not insist, as Culbertson used to, that members of my team play my way. In fact, my teammates, Howard Schenken and Peter Leventritt, have used an artificial one-club system for about two years.

Second, let's admit that, in general, Italian slam bidding is much better than ours. But in a long match far more points are won and lost in part-score and game hands, and on these the flamboyant Italian methods often backfire. Here are two examples from the championships:

North-South vulnerable North dealer

NORTH

[Ace of Spades]
[4 of Spades]
[King of Hearts]
[Jack of Hearts]
[10 of Hearts]
[9 of Hearts]
[6 of Hearts]
[Jack of Diamonds]
[7 of Diamonds]
[4 of Diamonds]
[King of Clubs]
[5 of Clubs]
[3 of Clubs]

WEST

[King of Spades]
[10 of Spades]
[8 of Spades]
[2 of Spades]
[8 of Hearts]
[4 of Hearts]
[Ace of Diamonds]
[King of Diamonds]
[2 of Diamonds]
[9 of Clubs]
[8 of Clubs]
[7 of Clubs]
[2 of Clubs]

SOUTH

[Queen of Spades]
[Jack of Spades]
[9 of Spades]
[6 of Spades]
[5 of Spades]
[3 of Spades]
[7 of Hearts]
[3 of Hearts]
[9 of Diamonds]
[8 of Diamonds]
[6 of Diamonds]
[6 of Clubs]
[4 of Clubs]