How are partners seated at a contract bridge table?
Card editor of the London Field W.H. Whitfeld published this bridge problem in 1885. South is declarer and has the lead with hearts as trump. With a sophisticated finesse, South can win every trick. South begins by leading the ace of diamonds, which, depending on what the opponents discard, opens a possible finesse of North's jack of diamonds. Next, South passes the lead to North with a spade that North trumps. North then leads the last heart, and South discards the 10 of clubs. With the lead of the last trump and then the ace of clubs, the defenders are presented with an insurmountable dilemma. East must hold two diamonds or South takes the last two tricks in the suit by discarding a spade. However, in order to hold on to two diamonds, East must discard the jack of spades, which in turn would force West to hold the queen of spades. Since West also needs the queen of diamonds and the jack of clubs to avoid losing a trick, a discard from any of the three suits will allow South to win all of the remaining tricks by an appropriate discard.
In contract bridge, there are four players who compete as two pairs, with partners seated directly across from each other at the table.1
To determine partnerships and seating, players typically draw cards from a spread, facedown deck. The two players who draw the highest cards become partners. The player who draws the single highest card earns the choice of seats and becomes the first dealer. After a rubber is completed, players may draw again for new partners, seats, and deal positions.12