European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - November 6, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Shut up Deal Bridge is their passion by Don Tate staff writer ves yes i play Bridge practically every ,"  the elderly lady. Would you go anywhere to play Bridge asked ,1 reporter totally ignorant of the game of  is it a fid Rie thai gets in your Bloo it yet you become addicted to it.  you  l kick the a mtg i Don t want to kick  when you play your bit hand incl go to heaven you la kick it right no i m not going there if they Don t play  interview with Cre Neucre Hoff town confessed Bridge addict from new York City one expert Calls it the most difficult game at jul harder Ihnn chess. Some of the hotter eyed players contend h s More stimulating than sex. Others say Bridge is life. Heck better than life. Such things Are said usually with a touch of mirth but judging from the intensity k Vel and enjoyment level of 1 he gathering at the european John of Vetley who dec ribs i Mitt a a a tired army trumpet player came All the Way from Ftnat to play Bridget in Germany. Armed forces Bridge league tournament in Wiesbaden they Are not far from the truth. There were even those among the 100 Odd players in this five Day regional event sanctioned by the . American contract Bridge league who pretended to be Cool about the proceedings who sought to convince a total ignoramus to the game that they came there to actually relax. The ignoramus soon found however that when tournament Bridge players get Down to it the pressure quickly builds and ,1 do not disturb is Hung out to the world. Work friends family famines in the East riots in the Wisl even death seems a Yawn trivial compared Lothe came. They re not even doing it for Money. The great Bridge of the . . Duplicate Bridge is played for Mailer Points for ego gratification for a vision or the game not crass loot. No matter. Because when it realty gets going the players Hunch Over their cards chit Chat ceases smiles fade  approximations of inscrutable masks and heavy concentration ills the room like Curling smoke which also fills the room. Sounds of near silence follow. Sighs involuntary hard breathing brain wheels rolling. Bill Kopalt Schott director of the tournament uyt All that count it How Good your Gray Milter works when you til Down to  anal the 15 allowable spoken words. Heart club pass no Trump etc., Are uttered and Mullere across tables with compute like coldness. Occasionally the cry director director goes up and a Plush bellied Bald fellow with glasses cocked Back on his brow who looks and talks spook ily like Kojak of television infamy hurries Between tables to interpret a Fine Point Settle a dispute and if necessary Lay Down the Law. Once a Gogh is heard from a player and somebody asks what does that meant just an expression comes the reply. It s also ,1 no no. During Breaks the players May become merely human again. But once the cards Are dealt any other words snorts gasps smiles smirks snorts even twitches anything that can be interpreted As a signal to a partner violates the ethical heart of a game that seemingly tries to do the impossible turn people into pure thinking machines. What kind of addiction is it that gets such a Loving squeezing hold on its players minds and never lets got a game say the players Sherlock Holmes would find grand but hardly elementary. Full of relentless logic. Click Click. Instant analysis. Click. Click. Click. Deductive reasoning. Mathematical probabilities figuring the Odds the percentages the patterns of play. A game where the logic of the bidding is supposed to carry the Day not winks gasps wild cards outrageous Bluff and streaks of Luck As happens in that pastime of the peasantry poker. It s a game you can never master in which you can be Short fat dirty mean poor physically pathetic the ugliest nerd in the world and in does t make any difference declares Bill Kojak Schoder director of Ihbe tournament and also chief director of the world Bridge federation. You can be a Guy who dropped out of College eats potato chips for breakfast sleeps in his car and shaves in hotel restrooms who survives to play Bridge or you can be the retired chairman of the Board who spends a Quarter of a million dollars a year just going around to Bridge tournaments paying the Best pros in the game to play partners with you. And it has no meaning. All that counts is How Good your Gray matter works when you sit Down to play. And How Good your ego works. Because there s a terrific investment of ego in serious Bridge. And when the big boys sit Down it s very easy to feel continued on Page to november Tim