Bangalore Club is the leading social and sports institution. It is also a prestigious meeting place of high ranking bureaucrats, military personnel, businessmen and social elites. Initially, it was British dominating club, but as the time passed by even Indian civil servants were allowed to become members of this club. After India attained independence in 1947, and with the departure of British officials to their motherland, the Indian became the sole managers of the club.
The club has now 5,500 members; no other club in the city has this strength. The club is a lively venue with all the facilities for entertainment and sporting activity. It has also got residential accommodation for the members. But the game of bridge has markedly shown a downward trend despite the fact that the management has provided a bigger and elaborate hall for the bridge. It was a disconcerting sight that six to seven tables in the bridge room were surrounded by bridge players who were all above 60. No young man has found bridge attractive enough to sit around the tables and brood over the set of cards dealt to him.
The strange part of the bridge at the club was that many seemed to play different systems only in parts, hence there seemed to be no understanding or real joy of playing bridge. It is really amazing that some of the players, who have been playing bridge at the club for years, have not shown any improvement in the systematic bidding and theories of the game.
One of the hands given below stands as an evidence of their freelance approach to the game which in many cases ended up in unpleasant exchange of words between the players. This is partly due to the tradition of the club to have any stake for playing bridge.
(1) Precision club 16 plus points.
The Anglo-Indian senior bridge player came up with the fantastic bid of four clubs where the opponents were strongly bidding almost sure to reach a game. As such the bid of the East of 4 Club went down by five tricks; there were frustrating remarks by all present for this suicidal bid. But the Anglo-Indian bridge player advanced the argument that he was trying to dissuade the opponents from reaching a slam, which would have given many points being vulnerable. He forgot for a while that he himself was vulnerable. Any loss of trick over and above four would have been a disastrous score.
Anyway, the people calmed down the contesters and continued to play bridge in whatever manner of bidding to enjoy the game.
THE BIDDING:
============================ North East South West 1 club(1) Pass 2 D Pass 3 Spade Pass 3 D Pass 3 H 4C DbI Pass Pass Pass Pass Pass ============================
Both side vulnerable
North West East South S AJ1095 S K S Q5 S 976 H AJ74 H 1075432 H Q943 H K65 D K2 D 10754 D AJ D Q862 C KJ C 103 C 86542 C AQ4
A free for all approach to bridge is hardly a source of enjoyment.
Amjadali104@hotmail.com