Edgar Kaplan

by Don Varvel, Mountain View, California, USA

Editor's note:

• Edgar Kaplan has died.
• On the Bridge Newsgroup rec.games.bridge, someone asked:
• "Who is Edgar Kaplan? I am a new bridge player."
• This was Don's reply.

You have suffered a loss you may never entirely appreciate.

I learned to bid from a "Goren tablecloth" -- a bidding summary was at each player's position at the table. I tried to read a Goren book once, but found it a list of rules with no explanation of why things were as they were. Then I discovered a paperback by Edgar Kaplan and Alfred Sheinwold, explaining their bidding system. They didn't just give rules. They explained how to build a good bidding system, then explained why theirs was the way it was. I still have the later hardcover book, but the paperback fell to pieces long ago.

Later I subscribed to The Bridge World. Kaplan was the owner and one of the editors. When they made a mistake, they admitted it. When there were positions other than theirs, they said so. While Kaplan and Rubens had strong opinions and were not shy about stating them, they never took themselves too seriously.

During that time I started attending national bridge tournaments. Edgar Kaplan was frequently on the viewgraph panel -- a group of experts commenting on the play of a major event while it was going on, in an auditorium away from the play. I remember some hand such as Axxx Axx Kxxx xx. The player holding it passed. Kaplan said, "Surely the reason God gave you two and a half quick tricks was that He intended you to open this hand." Ron Anderson replied, "Maybe He's testing you," to which Kaplan replied, "He may be testing you, but God already knows what I do with this hand."

I sent a number of hands in to The Bridge World asking how they should be bid. If the question involved Kaplan-Sheinwold system, as it frequently did, Kaplan would answer personally. Once I held something like Axxx AKx Axxx xx, playing K-S. Partner opened 1; I bid 1; and partner rebid 3, a bid that shows a huge hand in K-S. I asked Kaplan what I should bid. He answered, "7NT, or maybe 8NT." (Partner actually had KQx xx xx AKQJxx, or something of the sort, not nearly good enough in K-S; asked what partner should rebid over 1, Kaplan said, "2, although I hate it.") Never stuffy; always to the point; sometimes so pointed as to be delightful.

Once on a Bridge World bidding panel he gave a cuebid of the opponents' suit as his answer to one of the problems. Rubens was the moderator that month, and said something like, "Our editor answers 4 without comment." Kaplan inserted a footnote saying, "When I learned the game, if you cuebid the opponents' suit with slam-invitational values and a first-round control, you didn't have to explain yourself."

Kaplan once cited a survey that showed most young people considered bridge a game played by old, stupid, obnoxious people. His comment was something like, "If they believe that, we've already lost."

All of this is from memory; I've probably misquoted Kaplan slightly, and maybe seriously.

He was a treasure and will be sorely missed.

Editor's note:

• If you want to comment on this article, why not write direct to Don Varvel?
• He will be pleased to hear from you!

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