How did Ely Culbertson help make contract bridge popular in the early 1930s?
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.
Ely Culbertson played a pivotal role in establishing contract bridge as the leading card game in the early 1930s through a combination of competitive success, strategic publicity, and the promotion of his own bidding system.1
Culbertson’s efforts to popularize the game included:
- Tournament Dominance: In 1930, his teams won nearly all major American tournaments and subsequently defeated leading British teams, establishing his reputation as the game's principal authority.1
- The Bridge Battle of the Century: During the winter of 1931–32, Culbertson and his wife, Josephine, defeated prominent auction bridge authority Sidney S. Lenz in a 150-rubber match. The event received extensive front-page coverage in American newspapers for over a month, turning contract bridge into a widespread fad.1
- Media and Education: He founded the magazine Bridge World in 1929, authored numerous books on his bidding system, and served as a syndicated columnist.21
- Bidding System: He developed the "Culbertson system," which utilized a schedule of "honour tricks" for hand valuation. This system became the world's most successful bidding method for the first 20 years of the game.3