Jack Marx (bridge)
Encyclopedia
Jack Marx was a British international bridge player who was instrumental in developing the Acol
System of bidding.
, and served as a Captain in World War II
in the RASC
.
As a competition bridge player he was a genuine expert, though not the most pragmatic player. A modest man, Marx was widely loved, indeed, he was one of the few bridge players who never made an enemy. He did not, however, have an equable temperament, and this limited his career as an international player.
Marx was a member of the Harrison-Gray
team, and partnered Gray to win the European Championship in 1950, but he turned down the chance of playing in the Bermuda Bowl
the same year:
Despite his temperament, he won the Gold Cup
in 1937 and 1947, and once more in 1971 after Gray's death.
Though he never wrote a bridge book, Jack contributed many articles to bridge magazines, compèred many bidding competitions, and appeared on many bidding panels. He held a variety of administrative positions in bridge organisations, and was a British Bridge League selector for many years. After a stroke in the 1970s he recovered sufficiently to play regularly at the London Duplicate Club, but no longer played in major competitions.
was invented, but published it only in 1946, so losing out to the American. Marx also devised a Byzantine 4NT that was more complex but more informative than Blackwood
.
His most important and lasting achievement was to co-operate with Skid Simon
to build up the Acol
system of bidding. Others were involved in this – Harrison-Gray
, Iain Macleod
, Terence Reese
, Ben Cohen – but Marx and Simon were at the heart of it. They took the basic approach-forcing ideas of the Culbertson
System and adjusted it to make the system more effective when both sides are bidding competitively. The other noteworthy source, according to Marx, was 'Criticus':
Marx accepted the version of Acol published by Cohen and Reese, calling it "an able, lucid and faithful presentation of our ideas", but was most unhappy about Reese's attempt to update the system in 1952.
The section Marx objected to most strongly was on responses to take-out doubles
. The changes proposed by Reese included making the jump response to a take-out double forcing
for one round, and a subsequent raise from three to four would also be forcing. This in turn would have the unwelcome effect of stretching the simple suit response to a take-out double from 0 to 11 points instead of 0 to 8 points. The Marx counter to Reese was entirely successful: Reese's idea never became part of Acol.
Acol
Acol is the bridge bidding system that, according to The Official Encyclopedia of Bridge, is "standard in British tournament play and widely used in other parts of the world". It is named after the Acol Bridge Club, previously located on Acol Road in London NW6, where the system started to evolve...
System of bidding.
Life
Marx went to Repton SchoolRepton School
Repton School, founded in 1557, is a co-educational English independent school for both day and boarding pupils, in the British public school tradition, located in the village of Repton, in Derbyshire, in the Midlands area of England...
, and served as a Captain in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
in the RASC
Royal Army Service Corps
The Royal Army Service Corps was a corps of the British Army. It was responsible for land, coastal and lake transport; air despatch; supply of food, water, fuel, and general domestic stores such as clothing, furniture and stationery ; administration of...
.
As a competition bridge player he was a genuine expert, though not the most pragmatic player. A modest man, Marx was widely loved, indeed, he was one of the few bridge players who never made an enemy. He did not, however, have an equable temperament, and this limited his career as an international player.
Marx was a member of the Harrison-Gray
Maurice Harrison-Gray
Maurice Harrison-Gray , known always as 'Gray', was an English professional contract bridge player. For about thirty years from the mid-thirties to the mid sixties he was one of the top players, and won the European Championship four times - in 1948, 1949, 1950 and 1963.- Life :Gray was the child...
team, and partnered Gray to win the European Championship in 1950, but he turned down the chance of playing in 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...
the same year:
- "A moody man, subject on occasion to sudden fits of apathy... a nervous, highly-strung man who will, quite suddenly and for no apparent reason, decline to play in a previously arranged match... He was compelled to refuse the Bermuda Bowl match on grounds of health; and any long marathon taxes him severely.".
Despite his temperament, he won the Gold Cup
Gold Cup (bridge)
The Gold Cup is the premier open Britishcontract bridge competition for teams of four. It was first contested in the 1931/32 season, making it one of the oldest contract bridge tournaments anywhere...
in 1937 and 1947, and once more in 1971 after Gray's death.
Though he never wrote a bridge book, Jack contributed many articles to bridge magazines, compèred many bidding competitions, and appeared on many bidding panels. He held a variety of administrative positions in bridge organisations, and was a British Bridge League selector for many years. After a stroke in the 1970s he recovered sufficiently to play regularly at the London Duplicate Club, but no longer played in major competitions.
The Acol system
Marx is often said to be the first player to devise the idea of bidding 2C over 1NT to ask for 4-card major suits, though it is known that Ewart Kempson had used it in the early thirties. Marx worked out his version in 1939, before StaymanStayman convention
In the card game contract bridge, Stayman is a convention used to find a 4-4 trump fit in a major suit after the 1NT opening bid, and it has been adapted for use after an opening 2NT, a 1NT overcall, and many other natural notrump bids...
was invented, but published it only in 1946, so losing out to the American. Marx also devised a Byzantine 4NT that was more complex but more informative than Blackwood
Blackwood convention
In the partnership card game contract bridge, the Blackwood convention is a popular bidding convention that was developed by Easley Blackwood. It is used to explore the partnership's possession of aces, kings and in some variants, the queen of trumps, to judge more precisely whether slam is likely...
.
His most important and lasting achievement was to co-operate with Skid Simon
S. J. Simon
S.J. "Skid" Simon was a British author and bridge player. From 1937 until his death he collaborated with Caryl Brahms on a series of comic novels and short stories, mostly with a background of ballet or of English history...
to build up the Acol
Acol
Acol is the bridge bidding system that, according to The Official Encyclopedia of Bridge, is "standard in British tournament play and widely used in other parts of the world". It is named after the Acol Bridge Club, previously located on Acol Road in London NW6, where the system started to evolve...
system of bidding. Others were involved in this – Harrison-Gray
Maurice Harrison-Gray
Maurice Harrison-Gray , known always as 'Gray', was an English professional contract bridge player. For about thirty years from the mid-thirties to the mid sixties he was one of the top players, and won the European Championship four times - in 1948, 1949, 1950 and 1963.- Life :Gray was the child...
, Iain Macleod
Iain Macleod
Iain Norman Macleod was a British Conservative Party politician and government minister.-Early life:...
, Terence Reese
Terence Reese
John Terence Reese was a British bridge player and writer, regarded as one of the finest of all time in both fields...
, Ben Cohen – but Marx and Simon were at the heart of it. They took the basic approach-forcing ideas of the 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"...
System and adjusted it to make the system more effective when both sides are bidding competitively. The other noteworthy source, according to Marx, was 'Criticus':
- "From him Acol took its characteristics of directness and aggression, [and] its reliance on broad principles supplemented by individual judgement rather than on meticulously framed rules of procedure. The composite product that resulted, though a hybrid, was a reasonably self-consistent whole."
Marx accepted the version of Acol published by Cohen and Reese, calling it "an able, lucid and faithful presentation of our ideas", but was most unhappy about Reese's attempt to update the system in 1952.
- "The universal reaction of those who have hitherto played the system... has been one of bewilderment and dismay. What has happened, for instance, to the old Acol principle of limit bids?
The section Marx objected to most strongly was on responses to take-out doubles
Takeout double
In the card game bridge, a takeout double is any call of "double" that shows a desire to compete for the contract by further bidding. Many takeout doubles nearly require partner to bid; partner should pass for penalty with an appropriate hand, but that is uncommon...
. The changes proposed by Reese included making the jump response to a take-out double forcing
Forcing bid
In the card game contract bridge, a forcing bid is any bid that obliges the partner to bid over an intermediate opposing pass. Owing to the partnership's bidding system or a bridge convention, partner must "keep the bidding open", i.e...
for one round, and a subsequent raise from three to four would also be forcing. This in turn would have the unwelcome effect of stretching the simple suit response to a take-out double from 0 to 11 points instead of 0 to 8 points. The Marx counter to Reese was entirely successful: Reese's idea never became part of Acol.