Edgar Kaplan
Encyclopedia
Edgar Kaplan was an American
bridge
player and one of the principal contributors to the game. His career spanned six decades and covered every aspect of bridge. He was a teacher, author, editor, administrator, champion player, theorist, expert Vugraph
commentator, coach/captain and authority on the laws of the game. He was the editor and publisher of The Bridge World
magazine for more than 30 years (1967–1997). With Alfred Sheinwold
he developed the Kaplan-Sheinwold
bidding system
.
(NABC). In 1957, Kaplan won the McKenney Trophy (now called the Barry Crane Top 500) for most masterpoints
won during the year. He was twice runner-up in the world championships: the Bermuda Bowl
(1967) and the World Team Olympiad
(1968). Both final session losses were to the Italian Blue Team
.
As an author, during the 1950s and 1960s, Kaplan contributed a variety of influential articles to The Bridge World
(TBW). Their topics focused largely on tournament play and on the proprieties of the game. The section of the laws of bridge titled Proprieties describes the kinds of behavior that are encouraged, and those that are deprecated. In particular, communication between partners should occur only through their bids and plays, and not by the manner in which the bids and plays are made. Kaplan wrote extensively on these issues.
Kaplan also developed a new style of reporting on bridge tournaments. Prior to Kaplan’s work, reports focused on the brilliancies of the players involved. If the players' mistakes were discussed at all, the report either declined to identify the perpetrator, or stressed how unusual it was for such a revered player to make any error, let alone an unwise play or call.
This policy of comrades, which expected name players to protect one another in their writings, did little to enhance bridge journalism. Kaplan’s reports changed that. While they never descended to the mean spirited, they named names and described blunders – of course including Kaplan’s own.
After acquiring TBW in 1966, Kaplan continued to write for the magazine, contributing (primarily) editorials and tournament reports. Despite his accomplishments in other areas, he is remembered particularly for the careful prose style he brought to TBW, his gift for the bon mot, the tone he set.
As a theorist, Kaplan developed the Kaplan-Sheinwold
bidding system, which heavily influenced Standard American
bidding (apart from Standard's use of the strong no trump) from the 1970s on: for example, much of the Precision
bidding system as originally formulated was based directly on Kaplan-Sheinwold. As Jeff Rubens
noted in his remembrance of Kaplan, “The foundation of Kaplan-Sheinwold is more a blending of ostensibly eclectic elements into a coherent whole than a sparkling new concept, but Edgar combined the ingredients cleverly and added some finishing touches of his own.”
As an administrator, in his capacity as the chairman of the protest committee of the Greater New York Bridge Association (GNYBA), Kaplan was able to steer between extreme views of the Proprieties. An older group of players tended to regard the Proprieties as pious nonsense, believing that it was unrealistic to demand that players bid and play in tempo: problems arise that require time to consider. A younger group demanded that violations of the proprieties be made part of a player’s record. (Such violations can include, for example, fumbling with a doubleton on defense: a singleton would be played promptly, with no trace of indecision.)
Kaplan’s own view, adopted by the GNYBA and subsequently by the American Contract Bridge League
’s National Laws Commission, was that if a player takes an action that could have been influenced by unauthorized information, that action constitutes an offense, but not an offense that should necessarily be regarded as cheating. Instead, the incident should be handled as a procedural matter – much as accidentally exposing a card is treated as a technical violation, not as an attempt to cheat. In this way, bridge is able to apply sanctions such as score adjustment when a player allows himself to be inadvertently and subconsciously influenced by, say, his partner’s hesitation. It isn’t necessary to go to the extreme of accusing the player of deliberate cheating.
(Such accusations are reserved for intentional efforts to secretly communicate unauthorized information. These communications include actions such as signaling with sniffs, tapping a partner’s shoes, even spreading the fingers differently according to the holding. Each of these, and others, has been attempted in national and international competition. A player found guilty of deliberate cheating is not given merely a score adjustment but is removed from the contest, from future contests, or from organized bridge entirely, depending on the severity of the offense.)
For years Kaplan served on (and chaired) regional, national and international bridge organizations in a largely successful effort to publicize the nature of ethical bridge play and to bring it to the bridge table. He chaired the ACBL’s National Laws Commission for many years and was an ACBL delegate to the World Bridge Federation
, often chairing its Appeals Committee.
Kaplan also served at national and international events as chief commentator, describing for the audience the bidding and play that was displayed on the Vu-Graph. Kaplan’s observations were the more illuminating for his extensive knowledge of bidding systems employed by contestants, and the more entertaining for the witty commentary into which he wove the play-by-play.
As a publisher, Kaplan bought TBW from McCall Corporation
in 1966 and was its editor and publisher from 1967 through 1997. TBW was founded in 1929 by Ely Culbertson
, and over the years became the premier publication concerning contract bridge. TBW introduced features such as tournament reports, articles on bidding and play, quizzes featuring answers by panels of experts, and test-yourself columns. By the time that Kaplan took over, the basic structure and style of the magazine had become highly successful. But Kaplan brought Jeff Rubens into the operation as co-editor and together they improved what was already a popular, well regarded publication.
For example, although the magazine’s focus is contract bridge, discussions of other topics such as the subjunctive mood and the Battle of Waterloo
found their way into its pages under Kaplan’s editorship. Issues of grammar, including gender and punctuation, arose because readers, accustomed to viewing TBW as what one termed a “haven of careful prose,” would write to complain about what they perceived as some misuse of English. These readers received a usually friendly, but occasionally testy, tutorial in the finer points of grammar and diction. (The topic of Waterloo arose in a lengthy, cogent and fascinating discussion of the difference between “subsequent” and “consequent,” as applied to results at the bridge table.)
Kaplan succumbed to cancer in 1997, not long after playing in his final bridge tournament. The Blue Ribbon Pairs
, played at the fall NABCs, was renamed the Edgar Kaplan Blue Ribbon Pairs in 1999 to honor one of bridge’s all-time great players, writers, administrators and the authority on the laws of the game.
The material in this article is based on information published in The Bridge World, particularly Jeff Rubens’ Edgar Kaplan Remembered.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
bridge
Contract bridge
Contract bridge, usually known simply as bridge, is a trick-taking card game using a standard deck of 52 playing cards played by four players in two competing partnerships with partners sitting opposite each other around a small table...
player and one of the principal contributors to the game. His career spanned six decades and covered every aspect of bridge. He was a teacher, author, editor, administrator, champion player, theorist, expert Vugraph
VuGraph
Vugraph is a method of displaying the bidding and play of bridge hands on a screen for viewing by an audience. The basis of the current computer-generated display was originally developed by Fred Gitelman for the American Contract Bridge League in 1991 under a grant from the estate of Peter Pender...
commentator, coach/captain and authority on the laws of the game. He was the editor and publisher of The Bridge World
The Bridge World
The Bridge World , the oldest continuously published magazine about contract bridge, was founded in 1929 by Ely Culbertson. It has since been regarded as the game's principal journal, publicizing technical advances in bidding and the play of the cards, discussions of ethical issues, bridge politics...
magazine for more than 30 years (1967–1997). With Alfred Sheinwold
Alfred Sheinwold
Alfred Sheinwold was an American bridge player, administrator, international team captain and prolific author of books about bridge. He was, with Edgar Kaplan, co-developer of the Kaplan-Sheinwold bidding system...
he developed the Kaplan-Sheinwold
Kaplan-Sheinwold
The Kaplan-Sheinwold bidding system was developed and popularized by Edgar Kaplan and Alfred Sheinwold during their partnership, which flourished during the 1950s and 1960s. K-S is one of many natural systems...
bidding system
Bidding system
A bidding system in contract bridge is the set of agreements and understandings assigned to calls and sequences of calls used by a partnership, and includes a full description of the meaning of each treatment and convention...
.
Career
As a player, Kaplan won 25 North American Bridge ChampionshipsNorth American Bridge Championships
North American Bridge Championships are three annual bridge conventions sponsored by the American Contract Bridge League . The "Spring", "Summer", and "Fall" NABCs are usually scheduled in March, July, and November for about eleven days. They comprise both championship and side contests of...
(NABC). In 1957, Kaplan won the McKenney Trophy (now called the Barry Crane Top 500) for most masterpoints
Masterpoints
Masterpoints or master points are points awarded by national and other bridge organisations for success in bridge tournaments run under their auspices. Organisations which issue these points include the American Contract Bridge League , the American Bridge Association, the English Bridge Union ,...
won during the year. He was twice runner-up in the world championships: the Bermuda Bowl
Bermuda Bowl
The Bermuda Bowl is a trophy awarded to the winners of the Open series in the World Team Championship in contract bridge and is named for the site of the inaugural tournament held in 1950...
(1967) and the World Team Olympiad
World Team Olympiad
The World Team Olympiad was a contract bridge meet organized by the World Bridge Federation every four years from 1960 to 2004. Its main events were world championships for national teams, always including one open and one restricted to women...
(1968). Both final session losses were to the Italian Blue Team
Blue team (bridge)
The Blue Team represented Italy in international contract bridge tournaments, winning sixteen world titles from 1957 through 1975. From 1964 to 1969 and during a 1972 comeback, the team comprised three regular pairs: Walter Avarelli–Giorgio Belladonna, Pietro Forquet–Benito Garozzo, and Massimo...
.
As an author, during the 1950s and 1960s, Kaplan contributed a variety of influential articles to The Bridge World
The Bridge World
The Bridge World , the oldest continuously published magazine about contract bridge, was founded in 1929 by Ely Culbertson. It has since been regarded as the game's principal journal, publicizing technical advances in bidding and the play of the cards, discussions of ethical issues, bridge politics...
(TBW). Their topics focused largely on tournament play and on the proprieties of the game. The section of the laws of bridge titled Proprieties describes the kinds of behavior that are encouraged, and those that are deprecated. In particular, communication between partners should occur only through their bids and plays, and not by the manner in which the bids and plays are made. Kaplan wrote extensively on these issues.
Kaplan also developed a new style of reporting on bridge tournaments. Prior to Kaplan’s work, reports focused on the brilliancies of the players involved. If the players' mistakes were discussed at all, the report either declined to identify the perpetrator, or stressed how unusual it was for such a revered player to make any error, let alone an unwise play or call.
This policy of comrades, which expected name players to protect one another in their writings, did little to enhance bridge journalism. Kaplan’s reports changed that. While they never descended to the mean spirited, they named names and described blunders – of course including Kaplan’s own.
After acquiring TBW in 1966, Kaplan continued to write for the magazine, contributing (primarily) editorials and tournament reports. Despite his accomplishments in other areas, he is remembered particularly for the careful prose style he brought to TBW, his gift for the bon mot, the tone he set.
As a theorist, Kaplan developed the Kaplan-Sheinwold
Kaplan-Sheinwold
The Kaplan-Sheinwold bidding system was developed and popularized by Edgar Kaplan and Alfred Sheinwold during their partnership, which flourished during the 1950s and 1960s. K-S is one of many natural systems...
bidding system, which heavily influenced Standard American
Standard American
Standard American is a common bidding system for the game of bridge in the United States, also widely used in the rest of the world. This system, or a slight variant, is learned first by most beginners in the U.S. and may be referred to as 'Goren'; a dominant version used in on-line computer...
bidding (apart from Standard's use of the strong no trump) from the 1970s on: for example, much of the Precision
Precision club
Precision Club is a bidding system in the game of contract bridge. It is a type of strong club system that was invented by C. C. Wei and used to good effect by Taiwan teams in the early 1970s...
bidding system as originally formulated was based directly on Kaplan-Sheinwold. As Jeff Rubens
Jeff Rubens
Jeff Rubens is a bridge player and writer; he is the editor of the magazine The Bridge World and the author of several bridge books, including Secrets of Winning Bridge....
noted in his remembrance of Kaplan, “The foundation of Kaplan-Sheinwold is more a blending of ostensibly eclectic elements into a coherent whole than a sparkling new concept, but Edgar combined the ingredients cleverly and added some finishing touches of his own.”
As an administrator, in his capacity as the chairman of the protest committee of the Greater New York Bridge Association (GNYBA), Kaplan was able to steer between extreme views of the Proprieties. An older group of players tended to regard the Proprieties as pious nonsense, believing that it was unrealistic to demand that players bid and play in tempo: problems arise that require time to consider. A younger group demanded that violations of the proprieties be made part of a player’s record. (Such violations can include, for example, fumbling with a doubleton on defense: a singleton would be played promptly, with no trace of indecision.)
Kaplan’s own view, adopted by the GNYBA and subsequently by the American Contract Bridge League
American Contract Bridge League
The American Contract Bridge League is the largest contract bridge organization in North America. It promotes the game of bridge in the United States, Mexico, Bermuda, and Canada, and is a member of the World Bridge Federation...
’s National Laws Commission, was that if a player takes an action that could have been influenced by unauthorized information, that action constitutes an offense, but not an offense that should necessarily be regarded as cheating. Instead, the incident should be handled as a procedural matter – much as accidentally exposing a card is treated as a technical violation, not as an attempt to cheat. In this way, bridge is able to apply sanctions such as score adjustment when a player allows himself to be inadvertently and subconsciously influenced by, say, his partner’s hesitation. It isn’t necessary to go to the extreme of accusing the player of deliberate cheating.
(Such accusations are reserved for intentional efforts to secretly communicate unauthorized information. These communications include actions such as signaling with sniffs, tapping a partner’s shoes, even spreading the fingers differently according to the holding. Each of these, and others, has been attempted in national and international competition. A player found guilty of deliberate cheating is not given merely a score adjustment but is removed from the contest, from future contests, or from organized bridge entirely, depending on the severity of the offense.)
For years Kaplan served on (and chaired) regional, national and international bridge organizations in a largely successful effort to publicize the nature of ethical bridge play and to bring it to the bridge table. He chaired the ACBL’s National Laws Commission for many years and was an ACBL delegate to the World Bridge Federation
World Bridge Federation
The World Bridge Federation is the world governing body of contract bridge. The WBF is responsible for world championship competition, most of which is conducted at a few multi-event meets on a four-year cycle...
, often chairing its Appeals Committee.
Kaplan also served at national and international events as chief commentator, describing for the audience the bidding and play that was displayed on the Vu-Graph. Kaplan’s observations were the more illuminating for his extensive knowledge of bidding systems employed by contestants, and the more entertaining for the witty commentary into which he wove the play-by-play.
As a publisher, Kaplan bought TBW from McCall Corporation
McCall Corporation
McCall Corporation was an American publishing company that produced some popular magazines. These included Redbook for women, Bluebook for men, McCall's, the Saturday Review, and Popular Mechanics...
in 1966 and was its editor and publisher from 1967 through 1997. TBW was founded in 1929 by Ely Culbertson
Ely Culbertson
Ely Culbertson was an entreprenurial American contract bridge personality dominant during the Thirties and Forties. He played a major role in the early popularization of the game, and was widely regarded as "the man who made contract bridge"...
, and over the years became the premier publication concerning contract bridge. TBW introduced features such as tournament reports, articles on bidding and play, quizzes featuring answers by panels of experts, and test-yourself columns. By the time that Kaplan took over, the basic structure and style of the magazine had become highly successful. But Kaplan brought Jeff Rubens into the operation as co-editor and together they improved what was already a popular, well regarded publication.
For example, although the magazine’s focus is contract bridge, discussions of other topics such as the subjunctive mood and the Battle of Waterloo
Battle of Waterloo
The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815 near Waterloo in present-day Belgium, then part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands...
found their way into its pages under Kaplan’s editorship. Issues of grammar, including gender and punctuation, arose because readers, accustomed to viewing TBW as what one termed a “haven of careful prose,” would write to complain about what they perceived as some misuse of English. These readers received a usually friendly, but occasionally testy, tutorial in the finer points of grammar and diction. (The topic of Waterloo arose in a lengthy, cogent and fascinating discussion of the difference between “subsequent” and “consequent,” as applied to results at the bridge table.)
Kaplan succumbed to cancer in 1997, not long after playing in his final bridge tournament. The Blue Ribbon Pairs
Blue Ribbon Pairs
The Edgar Kaplan Blue Ribbon Pairs national bridge championship is held at the fall American Contract Bridge League North American Bridge Championship ....
, played at the fall NABCs, was renamed the Edgar Kaplan Blue Ribbon Pairs in 1999 to honor one of bridge’s all-time great players, writers, administrators and the authority on the laws of the game.
The material in this article is based on information published in The Bridge World, particularly Jeff Rubens’ Edgar Kaplan Remembered.
Honors
- WBF Hall of Fame 1995
- ACBL Hall of Fame 1995
- ACBL Honorary Member of the Year 1993
Awards
- McKenney Trophy 1957
- Charles H. Goren Award (Personality of the Year) 1979
- Romex Award (Best Bid Hand of the Year) 1991
- Le Bridgeur Award (Best Played Hand of the Year) 1997 (Winning Journalist)
Wins
- North American Bridge ChampionshipsNorth American Bridge ChampionshipsNorth American Bridge Championships are three annual bridge conventions sponsored by the American Contract Bridge League . The "Spring", "Summer", and "Fall" NABCs are usually scheduled in March, July, and November for about eleven days. They comprise both championship and side contests of...
(25)- VanderbiltVanderbilt TrophyThe trophy is awarded for the Vanderbilt Knockout Teams national bridge championship held at the spring American Contract Bridge League North American Bridge Championship ....
(6) 1953, 1968, 1970, 1981, 1983, 1986 - SpingoldSpingoldThe Spingold national bridge championship is held at the summer American Contract Bridge League North American Bridge Championship ....
(2) 1967, 1968 - ChicagoReisingerThe Reisinger national bridge championship is held at the fall American Contract Bridge League North American Bridge Championship .The Reisinger is a board-a-match event.-History:...
(now Reisinger) (1) 1958 - ReisingerReisingerThe Reisinger national bridge championship is held at the fall American Contract Bridge League North American Bridge Championship .The Reisinger is a board-a-match event.-History:...
(7) 1966, 1967, 1971, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1990 - Men's Board-a-Match TeamsMitchell Board-a-Match TeamsThe Mitchell Board-a-Match Teams national bridge championship is held at the fall American Contract Bridge League North American Bridge Championship ....
(2) 1955, 1966 - Jacoby Open Swiss TeamsJacoby Open Swiss TeamsThe Jacoby Open Swiss Teams national bridge championship is held at the spring American Contract Bridge League North American Bridge Championship ....
(1) 1997 - Master Mixed TeamsChicago Mixed Board-a-MatchThe Chicago Mixed Board-a-Match teams national bridge championship is held at the summer American Contract Bridge League North American Bridge Championship .The event is a board-a-match team event....
(1) 1968 - Blue Ribbon PairsBlue Ribbon PairsThe Edgar Kaplan Blue Ribbon Pairs national bridge championship is held at the fall American Contract Bridge League North American Bridge Championship ....
(1) 1974 - Life Master Men's PairsNail Life Master Open PairsThe Nail Life Master Open Pairs national bridge championship is held at the fall American Contract Bridge League North American Bridge Championship ....
(1) 1973 - Open PairsSilodor Open PairsThe Silodor Open Pairs national bridge championship is held at the spring American Contract Bridge League North American Bridge Championship ....
(1) 1966 - Mixed PairsRockwell Mixed PairsThe Rockwell Mixed Pairs national bridge championship is held at the spring American Contract Bridge League North American Bridge Championship ....
(1) 1965 - Master IndividualMaster IndividualThe Master Individual national bridge championship was held at the fall American Contract Bridge League North American Bridge Championship .-History:...
(1) 1957
- Vanderbilt
- Other notable wins:
- Cavendish Invitational Teams (1) 1984
Runner-ups
- Bermuda BowlBermuda BowlThe Bermuda Bowl is a trophy awarded to the winners of the Open series in the World Team Championship in contract bridge and is named for the site of the inaugural tournament held in 1950...
(1) 1967 - World Open Team OlympiadWorld Team OlympiadThe World Team Olympiad was a contract bridge meet organized by the World Bridge Federation every four years from 1960 to 2004. Its main events were world championships for national teams, always including one open and one restricted to women...
(1) 1968 - North American Bridge ChampionshipsNorth American Bridge ChampionshipsNorth American Bridge Championships are three annual bridge conventions sponsored by the American Contract Bridge League . The "Spring", "Summer", and "Fall" NABCs are usually scheduled in March, July, and November for about eleven days. They comprise both championship and side contests of...
(16)- VanderbiltVanderbilt TrophyThe trophy is awarded for the Vanderbilt Knockout Teams national bridge championship held at the spring American Contract Bridge League North American Bridge Championship ....
(3) 1958, 1965, 1994 - SpingoldSpingoldThe Spingold national bridge championship is held at the summer American Contract Bridge League North American Bridge Championship ....
(3) 1965, 1971, 1978 - ReisingerReisingerThe Reisinger national bridge championship is held at the fall American Contract Bridge League North American Bridge Championship .The Reisinger is a board-a-match event.-History:...
(1) 1969 - Men's Board-a-Match TeamsMitchell Board-a-Match TeamsThe Mitchell Board-a-Match Teams national bridge championship is held at the fall American Contract Bridge League North American Bridge Championship ....
(3) 1958, 1961, 1975 - Jacoby Open Swiss TeamsJacoby Open Swiss TeamsThe Jacoby Open Swiss Teams national bridge championship is held at the spring American Contract Bridge League North American Bridge Championship ....
(1) 1991 - Master Mixed TeamsChicago Mixed Board-a-MatchThe Chicago Mixed Board-a-Match teams national bridge championship is held at the summer American Contract Bridge League North American Bridge Championship .The event is a board-a-match team event....
(2) 1959, 1968 - Life Master PairsVon Zedtwitz Life Master PairsThe Von Zedtwitz Life Master Pairs national bridge championship is held at the summer American Contract Bridge League North American Bridge Championship ....
(1) 1951 - Life Master Men's PairsNail Life Master Open PairsThe Nail Life Master Open Pairs national bridge championship is held at the fall American Contract Bridge League North American Bridge Championship ....
(1) 1965 - Men's PairsWernher Open PairsThe Wernher Open Pairs national bridge championship is held at the summer American Contract Bridge League North American Bridge Championship .The Wernher Open Pairs is a four session MP pairs event, two qualifying sessions and two final sessions....
(1) 1970
- Vanderbilt
- United States Bridge Championships (5)
- Open Team Trials (4) 1971, 1984, 1986, 1992
- Open Pair Trials (1) 1966
External links
- ACBL Hall of Fame profile
- Edgar Kaplan comments on his playing and writing partnership with Alfred Sheinwold in an interview with Audrey GrantAudrey GrantAudrey Grant is a Canadian professional educator and contract bridge expert, known for her "simple and humorous" approach to teaching bridge....
- Edgar Kaplan comments on the Kehela-Murray partnership in an interview with Audrey Grant