BEHIND EVERY SUCCESSFUL MAN ...

It is often quoted that behind every successful man stands his wife, operating the rudder. Would Ely Culbertson have agreed with that?

Ely is generally credited with making bridge internationally popular, but he definitely benefited from having a helpmate who was an excellent player. His wife, Josephine, could hold her own against all of the best players of that era, male or female.

Today’s deal comes from the celebrated match in 1935 between the Culbertsons and their archrivals, P. Hal and Dorothy Sims. Hal Sims, a larger-than-life man in more senses than one, always boasted that his bidding system was better than the Culbertsons’. But the result of the match suggested otherwise, the Culbertsons winning by 16,130 total points.

Nowadays North would not be strong enough for a reverse. Some would open one diamond, planning to rebid two clubs over one heart; others would open one club and rebid one no-trump or two clubs. Hal Sims should have passed over three no-trump, but he wanted his honor points.

Josephine Culbertson found a brave and brilliant lead (though if it had conceded the contract, no doubt other adjectives would have been selected). She led the spade four. Sims played low from the dummy, and Ely won with the 10. Back came a club to West’s ace. Now Josephine calmly placed the spade five on the table.

It is said that Sims, who claimed never to have misguessed a twoway finesse for a queen, glared at Josephine for a full minute. But eventually he called for the jack and lost the first four tricks.