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Bridge

Also Known As Contract Bridge
Trick-Taking Card Games

Bridge is a trick taking card game for four players in two partnerships, combining a competitive bidding auction that sets a contract with card play to fulfil or defeat it. It descends from the English trick taking game whist, played since at least the sixteenth century, by way of an intermediate nineteenth century form called bridge whist and then auction bridge, developed around 1904. The modern contract form, in which the bidding auction itself determines the score rather than only the choice of trump suit, was codified in 1925 by the American businessman Harold Vanderbilt, who worked out its scoring table during a Caribbean cruise aboard the SS Finland. Contract bridge is now played both socially and, in its duplicate form, as an organized mind sport under bodies including the World Bridge Federation.

Facts
Disputed
Origin Year
1925 1
1925 is the year Harold Vanderbilt codified contract bridge, the game as generally played today, but bridge itself is the end of a longer line: whist is documented in England from at least the sixteenth century, auction bridge, an intermediate form, emerged around 1904, and Vanderbilt scoring table refinement in 1925 is the point at which the modern contract game is usually dated from rather than a true single invention date.
Originating Region
England, by way of whist; codified in the United States 1
Game Type
Card game, trick taking and bidding 1
Governing Body
World Bridge Federation, the international governing body for organized competitive bridge. 1
Classification
Player Count
Small Group (3-6 Players) 1
Sport
Game Type (category)
Card Game 1
Connections

Derived From

Whist, Games
Source The Oxford Guide to Card Games

Featured In

Source Wikipedia, Bermuda Bowl

Governed By

Source American Contract Bridge League (Wikipedia)
Source Wikipedia, World Bridge Federation

Played By

Source Wikipedia, Benito Garozzo
Source Wikipedia: Billy Eisenberg
Bob Hamman, Athletes
Source Carol Crawford, Wikipedia
Source Wikipedia: Charles Goren
Eric Rodwell, Athletes
Source Wikipedia, Eric Rodwell
Geir Helgemo, Athletes
Source Wikipedia, Geir Helgemo
Source Wikipedia, Giorgio Belladonna
Source Wikipedia, Jeff Meckstroth
Kit Woolsey, Athletes
Source Wikipedia, Kit Woolsey
Source Wikipedia, Oswald Jacoby
Source Wikipedia, Pietro Forquet
Sabine Auken, Athletes
Source Sabine Auken, Wikipedia
Zia Mahmood, Athletes
Source Wikipedia, Zia Mahmood
In the Other Atlases

Found In

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Sources
1. The Oxford Guide to Card Games
Oxford University Press, 1990
  • entity record, description lead (player-count)
    Bridge is a trick taking card game for four players in two partnerships, combining a competitive bidding auction that sets a contract with card play to fulfil or defeat it. It descends from the English trick taking game whist, played since at least the sixteenth century, by way of an intermediate nineteenth century form called bridge whist and then auction bridge, developed around 1904.
  • Derived From: Whist
Wikipedia, Bermuda Bowl
WikipediaFeatured In: Bermuda BowlView the Source
Wikipedia, World Bridge Federation
WikipediaGoverned By: World Bridge FederationView the Source
Wikipedia, Geir Helgemo
Wikimedia FoundationPlayed By: Geir Helgemo, Lead paragraph, opening sentence
Quote, Played By: Geir Helgemo, Lead paragraph, opening sentence
Geir Helgemo (born 14 February 1970) is a professional bridge player who was born in Norway but is now a citizen of Monaco.
View the Source
American Contract Bridge League (Wikipedia)
Governed By: American Contract Bridge League, Lead paragraph
Quote, Governed By: American Contract Bridge League, Lead paragraph
is a governing body for contract bridge in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Bermuda
View the Source
Wikipedia, Kit Woolsey
WikipediaPlayed By: Kit Woolsey, Lead sentence
Quote, Played By: Kit Woolsey, Lead sentence
is an American bridge and backgammon player.
View the Source
Wikipedia, Zia Mahmood
WikipediaPlayed By: Zia Mahmood, Lead sentence
Quote, Played By: Zia Mahmood, Lead sentence
is a Pakistani-American professional bridge player.
View the Source
Wikipedia: Billy Eisenberg
WikipediaPlayed By: Billy Eisenberg, Lead sentence
Quote, Played By: Billy Eisenberg, Lead sentence
was an American bridge and backgammon professional.
View the Source
Wikipedia: Charles Goren
WikipediaPlayed By: Charles Goren, Lead sentence
Quote, Played By: Charles Goren, Lead sentence
was an American bridge player and writer who significantly developed and popularized the game.
View the Source
Wikipedia, Oswald Jacoby
WikipediaPlayed By: Oswald Jacoby, Lead sentence
Quote, Played By: Oswald Jacoby, Lead sentence
was an American contract bridge player and author, considered one of the greatest bridge players of all time and a key innovator in the game, having
View the Source
Wikipedia, Giorgio Belladonna
WikipediaPlayed By: Giorgio Belladonna, Lead sentence
Quote, Played By: Giorgio Belladonna, Lead sentence
was an Italian bridge player, one of the greatest of all time.
View the Source
Wikipedia, Benito Garozzo
WikipediaPlayed By: Benito Garozzo, Lead sentence
Quote, Played By: Benito Garozzo, Lead sentence
is an Italian American bridge player.
View the Source
Wikipedia, Jeff Meckstroth
WikipediaPlayed By: Jeff Meckstroth, Lead sentence
Quote, Played By: Jeff Meckstroth, Lead sentence
is an American professional contract bridge player.
View the Source
Carol Crawford, Wikipedia
Played By: Carol Crawford, Lead sentence
Quote, Played By: Carol Crawford, Lead sentence
was an American backgammon and bridge player from Buffalo, New York who spent many years in Detroit, Michigan.
View the Source
Wikipedia, Eric Rodwell
WikipediaPlayed By: Eric Rodwell, Lead sentence
Quote, Played By: Eric Rodwell, Lead sentence
is an American professional bridge player.
View the Source
Sabine Auken, Wikipedia
Played By: Sabine Auken, Lead sentence
Quote, Played By: Sabine Auken, Lead sentence
is a German bridge player.
View the Source
Wikipedia, Pietro Forquet
Played By: Pietro Forquet, Lead sentence
Quote, Played By: Pietro Forquet, Lead sentence
was an Italian bridge player, one of the most famous in bridge history.
View the Source

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