Louis Henry Watson was a rapidly rising star in the World of Bridge.
At the age of only 29, he had won virtually every major title that
existed, playing with partners that included Oswald Jacoby, Howard
Schenken and Sam Fry. Watson was ranked the number four bridge player
in the world.
On Valentine's Day, February 14, 1936, in what seemed to be perfect
health, after a luncheon, Watson became ill and asked to summon a
doctor. Advised to lie down, he was found dead in his bed three hours
later.
In 1934, Watson had taken a year off from playing bridge to write
books about it. His books are unequaled classics, never exceeded in
the years since. Every major bridge player has spent time studying
Watson.
Watson believed that there was too much emphasis on bidding, and too
little attention paid to the play of the hand. Watson felt that more
attention should be paid to the play of the hand and defensive play.
Oswald Jacoby, who had played many times both as the partner and as
the opponent of Louis Watson, has said that he had never seen Watson
make a technically incorrect play of the hand. Jacoby also added that
Watson's defensive play was equally perfect.
In short, WATSON NEVER MADE A MISTAKE. Imagine that?
Born in 1907, the son Louis Thompson Watson, the stock broker, and a
relative of Thomas Watson, the Chairman and Founder of International
Business Machine Cor****ation, Louis H. Watson graduated from Columbia
University in 1927 and went to work on Wall Street. However, he soon
found that he could make more money as a card shark.
Watson was considered by Eli Culbertson to be his most likely
successor. Watson won the AWL Teams in 1933 and 1934, the Open Pairs
in 1933 and 1934, the Asbury Challenge Teams in 1932 and 1933, the
Vanderbilt in 1933, and the Fall National Open Pairs in 1931 and 1932.
He was the Daily Bridge Columnist for the New York Post and the
Technical Editor of Bridge World Magazine.
Upon his shocking death at age 29, he was survived by a widow,
Catherine Potter Watson, an adopted son, Louis T. Watson, and a
sister, Mrs. Robert Neal.
His widow, who was the daughter of Marshall Potter and a direct
descendant of US Supreme Court Chief Justice John Marshall, wasted no
time and was married to Albert Eugene Heymann the following year.
The shorter and therefore more easily digestible of the two Watson
books is "The Outline of Contract Bridge". This book is divided
equally into two sections: bidding and the play of the hand. There is
also a section on the Rules of Contract Bridge.
The section on bidding is based primarily on the "honor tricks" system
that was prevalent in 1934. That system is no longer popular. Thus,
some readers will want to skip that section of the book.
However, the section on the Play of the Hand and Defensive Play is
timeless and must reading for every serious bridge player.
Since there are two Watson books, the reader is advised first to read
"The Outline of Contract Bridge", concentrating especially on the 147
page section on the Play of the Hand.
After that is read and digested, then the reader can decide if he is
ready to tackle the 492-page densely packed volume "Watson on the Play
of the Hand at Contract Bridge".
Sam Sloan
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