Ely Culbertson

Ely Culbertson ( born July 22, 1891 † December 27, 1955 ) was an American Bridge expert.

The beginning

Culbertson was born as a child of Almon Culbertson, an American oil engineer, and his Russian wife Xenia Rogoznaya in Poiana Varbilau in Romania. From 1921 he lived in New York and made ​​his living by the card game ( poker, bridge, etc.). In 1923 he married Josephine Dillon (born Murphy), the most successful and highest-paid bridge teacher in the city. The new development appealed to him and he found himself able to prevail against the arrivierten authorities of Auction Bridge. His plan was to invent an understandable bridge bidding system to set up a Bridge magazine, a book about bridge, and as the " Bible " to write and call an organization of professional bridge teachers in life, and last but not least, himself and his wife build as shrouded in legend Stars. He has been able to realize all its objectives. He made sign in the which he founded in 1929 monthly magazine " Bridge World" for its " Approach forcing system ". The system was manageable, the principles clearly, but still his system differed in important respects not from the other existing systems on the market. What was decisive, the fact that it succeeded Culbertson is to make his system popularized by spectacular successes.

The first successes

A first and a good opportunity came in 1930 when he drove his team to England to play a challenge match against the English. During the crossing in the ship's cabin Culbertson still finished the last chapter of his book " Contract Bridge Blue Book ", whose success or failure of the outcome of the upcoming battle was dependent. The runny under great publicity match against the English team of Colonel Buller ended with a landslide victory for the Culbertson 's team, it won with 4800 points. Understandably, the " Blue Book ," a bestseller.

The rise of " Bridge Battle of the Century "

The former American Bridge experts ( not least for economic reasons, because the loss of their books has declined significantly, ) were formed and collected, in an anti - Culbertson action, from a counter-attack. Culbertson took the bull by the horns and challenged the exponents of the counter-movement to a match.

After long negotiations on the discharge conditions of the fight took place in December 1931 held in New York and was discharged at a distance of 150 Rubbern. The Bridge of public interest had reached its peak. In this " Bridge Battle of the Century " Culbertson played over half of the rubber with his wife and the other with Theodore Lightner, Waldemar von Zedwitz, Howard giving and Michael Gottlieb. His opponent was Sidney S. Lenz and his partner Oswald Jacoby, who was later replaced by Winfield Liggett Jr.. Culbertson put $ 5000 Lenz $ 1000, but the money should not benefit the winners, but a charity.

The media coverage of the match was frenetic throughout the American press. In the first pages of the newspapers long reports on the fight appeared. After 27 Rubbern the Culbertson team was back over 7000 points, but they fought tirelessly. The long struggle also had psychological consequences, of which the opposing team was affected. The facade of the partnership Lenz / Jacoby showed the first cracks and as the 103 Rubber Lenz his partner sharply criticized, stood on this and left. Finally, after 150 Rubbern Culbertson had beaten his opponents with 8980 points.

Bridge was more popular than ever and pastime of the masses. And the way for Culbertson was free at the same time, the abutment crashed to the ground. Whole newspaper chains brought his (later by his staff -written ) article. For radio broadcasts, he received $ 10,000 per week.

Publicity: making of a legend

Culbertson huge popularity was on the one hand to thank the Bridge of success, but at least as important role played his great psychological ability to build through the media, perhaps in this form for the first time in the 20th century, as " Megastar ". His cleverly scattered in the press adventure novel-like details of his life that existed a mixture of reality and fiction, the effect on the public at large did not fail. Through his press agent, Benjamin Sonnenberg he let surprising details from his life spread, eg that he grew up in the Caucasus and have funded a group of revolutionaries with professional card game. His lover had been murdered. Because of an assassination attempt on the governor he had been in prison. He had been expelled from the universities of Yale and Cornell in the United States. He had fought in Mexico in a revolution, and later studied at the Sorbonne in Paris, finally settled in the United States to Greenwich Village Bridge to play for high stakes, where he constantly supported 15 live in the Caucasus Related financially. The effect was enhanced by individual and lavish lifestyle, the details of which we also learned from the press, again. The reality was different, he lived in the giant house with 45 rooms only a single room, which was very sparsely furnished with a cot.

Tactic for maintaining the hegemony

The first major competition appeared in the bridge world in the person of P. Hal Sims. He was an outstanding player, had published its own system and has won numerous tournaments. Culbertson smelled a rat and disseminated via the press and radio, that he would be with his wife to play against each a match. Sims to bite. They played with their own women against each other, the Culbertson won over 150 Rubber superior with 16 130 points. The revenge of Sims refused Culbertson.

Also with this trick he pulled out of the affair as a team, " Four Aces ", consisting of outstanding players (David Bruce, Richard Frey, Oswald Jacoby and Howard taverns ), wanted to challenge him even with 5000 target score. He refused to fight, not fair, but enterprising from.

The fame

Culbertson was still at the height of his fame. All his books were bestsellers. One of its conventions, which is still relevant today, he named after his wife " Josephine ". His Bridge teacher organization had up to 6,000 members. These were made familiar with the Culbertson 's system; after the training they received a diploma entitling them to teach his system. The " Bridge World Inc. " bringing out his Bridge magazine, but also provided all kinds of bridge products, including the very expensive " core " game cards made ​​of washable plastic material forth. 1937 had to pay from their profits $ 220,000 to Culbertson society.

Turning away from Bridge

However, to 1938 Culbertson slowly began to lose interest in Bridge and occupied himself more and more with politics. During this time he was also divorced from his wife. However, they remained in business contact.

1952 nor his book " Point Count Bidding ", so he followed the trend of point calculation and gave his trick Rating on.

The last phase of life

In his final years he suffered from emphysema and eventually died as a result of the common cold. His ex-wife survived him by less than a year and died of a stroke.

Life's work

Culbertson merit in the history of the bridge is undeniable. He was the pioneer of Vanderbilt's ingenious improvement of not particularly interesting Auction Bridge. Without it, the bridge would never have become so popular. There was a promoter for Vanderbilt's invention, which contributed not only the development of the game but by the corresponding ( associated with financial gain ) publicity for the widespread use of this activity in it.

Works

• Contract Bridge Blue Book (1930 )
• Culbertson 's Self -Teacher
• Red Book on Play
• The Gold Book Contract Bridge Complete
• The Strange Lives of One Man ( 1940)
• The World Federation Plan ( 1942)
• Total Peace (1943 )
• Must We Fight Russia? (1946 )
• Culbertson on Canasta: a Complete Guide for Beginners and Advanced Players With the Official Laws of Canasta (1949 )

Source

• U. Auhagen: " The Big Book of Bridge", Manfred Pawlak Verlagsgesellschaft mbH, Herrsching, 1990, ISBN 3-88199-679-6

• Games author
• Bridge Players (United States)
• Americans
• Born 1891
• Died in 1955
• Man