
                         THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
                 Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, June 11, 1994                    TAG: 9406110367 
SECTION: LOCAL                     PAGE: D3    EDITION: FINAL  
SOURCE: BY KEITH MONROE, STAFF WRITER 
DATELINE: 940611                                 LENGTH: Medium

BRIDGE PLAYERS VIE HERE - AND WORLDWIDE

{LEAD} Two by two, the bridge partners came Friday night to the Ruritan Club in Kempsville. They gathered to match themselves against many of the greatest bridge players in the world.

No, Omar Sharif didn't have the limo double-parked in Virginia Beach. Instead, Hampton Roads players were taking part in the Ninth Annual Worldwide Bridge Contest.

{REST} At the same time in thousands of locations around the world - from the Eiffel Tower to the Great Wall of China, and from glittering hotel ballrooms to the plywood-paneled, linoleum-tiled Ruritan Club - some 100,000 players were sitting down to play the same predetermined, computer-generated bridge hands.

Longtime partners Frances Perlin and Doris Cuthbertson arrived prepared to play. Three years ago in the same contest, the pair finished an impressive 17th in the country.

Jim Murphy also turned out to play with one of his students. A bridge player for 32 years, Murphy earned the 300 points to become a life master in his first four years and has hit 6,000 life-master points.

People who play duplicate bridge, in which teams are dealt the same hand and then ranked by point scores, are serious competitors. The word addictive was bantered about more than once Friday night. Most have been playing for decades - players in their 40s, for instance, are considered the youngsters.

Doris Jordan recalled playing in the old Monticello Hotel in Norfolk in the early 1950s. A number of casually dressed players noted that times have changed since tournaments like Friday night's brought out men in tuxedos and women in evening gowns.

Yet dressed up or down, and despite the attention to winning, the social aspect of the game remains. In fact, the international scope of the tournament reflects the fraternal nature of bridge. By consulting publications of the American Contract Bridge League, members can find games wherever they travel. Players spoke of joining games in Brazil, Puerto Rico, Tokyo and Istanbul.

In the contest, the high-scoring local partners will earn master points. Highest-scoring American, European and Asian partners will receive prizes. Last year, more than 38,000 American players at 869 sites entered the contest, said Jeff Barkin, publicity director for the local chapter of the Virginia State Bridge Association.

The game will continue today at 1:30 p.m. at the club on Ruritan Court, and new players can compete.

At the conclusion of the contest, each player will receive a booklet in which Omar Sharif analyzes how their cards might best have been played. It's the next best thing to having him show up.

by CNB