Bridge Charges
Once upon a very long time ago.1 used to play tournament bridge. For many years now I have played virtually no bridge at all: three times in five years, to be exact. But it is sad to read of Terence Reese and Boris Schapiro—perhaps the best bridge pair in the world—being accused of 'irregularities' in the full glare of the pub- licity of a world championship.
No doubt they take sonic comfort from the fact that this sort of charge has been made in the past against players of similar standing. The better the pair, and the longer they have played together, the more likely it becomes that those
who are defeated will complain. If a pair bring off a series of flashing coups—of dramatic and unexpected leads, of `impossible' bids, of con- tracts landed by a play that is against all the odds--it is, of course, possible that they are sucking their thumbs or fingering their ties. It is much more likely that they are simply very, very good players.
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