The Ten Commandments of Duplicate Play
Moses Vanderbilt was one of the early icons of Contract Bridge. His
word was as good as law among students of the game. Moses espoused a code
of conduct for duplicate players everywhere, and for posterity he engraved it
upon a pair of stone tablets. Unfortunately, those valuable inscriptions
somehow disappeared during a late-running game at Dante's Infernal; their
whereabouts remained unknown for forty years. Suddenly bereft of guidance,
many of the flock fell victim to false prophets such as Goren and Sheinwold.
Then, at a recent duplicate, while the tobacco merchants were sampling their wares on the club's veranda, one of them discarded a cigarette into a nearby camellia, causing the shrub to catch fire. It blazed so brightly that bystanders were forced to avert their gazes.
During the ensuing melee, an elderly white-haired gentleman noticed
something poking out of the ground near the burning bush, in an area normally
enshrouded by darkness. Investigating, the old man dug around the area with
his staff, uncovering not one, but two great blocks of stone.
Eureka! The mystery of Moses's legacy had been resolved! Albeit
somewhat the worse for wear, the precious documents immediately were enshrined,
and 24-hour armed security now protects them for the edification of future
generations. The guidelines set forth on the granite directives are once
again venerated by patrons of Dante's Infernal, their confidence and sense of
purpose having been restored.
I have been granted special dispensation to exhibit these facsimiles of the artifacts: