High Bridge

It is too bad that galleries are barred from tournament bridge. For last week's final in Manhattan's swank Hotel Pierre was one long to be remembered. The most prized team-of-four trophy in bridge, the Harold S. Vanderbilt Cup, was at stake.

Missing this year from the 27-team entry list were Donor Vanderbilt (who had twice been on the winning team), Oswald Jacoby and the late Jimmy Maier (members of the famed Four Aces), several other hardy competitors. So the team to beat was a young foursome headed by a frail little honey blonde, 31-year-old Helen Martin Sobel.

Mrs. Sobel, who gave up a dancing career in 1932 when she met Bridge Player Alexander Sobel, is the first woman to be ranked No.1 in the American Contract Bridge League's annual rankings.

Last week, as the Vanderbilt tournament progressed in tick-tock silence, it began to look as if Mrs. Sobel's sharp red nails would scoop in the most important championship of all. Playing with three young Manhattanites (Sam Fry Jr., Benedict Jarmel and 27-year-old George Rapee), her Cavendish Club team survived the qualifying rounds and knock-out matches (116 boards), came up to the final the favorite. The other finalist was the New York Bridge Whist Club (Lee Hazen, Richard L. Frey, S. M. Stayman,

Sigmund Dormbusch and Leslie Bachner).

After three-quarters (42 boards) of the final match had been played, Mrs. Sobel's team led by 850 points. Then the underdog Bridge Whistlers made a swing of 950 points, snatched the Vanderbilt Cup by the slim margin of 250 points.

On the crucial board, Messrs. Rapee & Fry of the Cavendish team bid three diamonds, made five, scored 150 points (including so-point bonus for under-game contract). Playing the same hand in another room, Messrs. Hazen & Frey of the Bridge Whist team bid five hearts, were doubled, redoubled, made their bid, and, being vulnerable, scored 1,100 points. The money hand, opened by Hazen with a daring three-heart bid:

Hazen (S) Sobel (W)

Spades void J, x, x

Hearts A, J, 10, x, x, x x, x, x

Diamonds J, x, x, x, x, x 10, x

Clubs x A, 10, x, x, x

Frey (N) Jarmel (E)

Q, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5 A, K, 10, x

Q.x

K, Q, x A, x

K, x Q, J, x, x, x

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