Editing Contract bridge (section)

==Tournaments==
Bridge is a game of skill played with [[random]]ly dealt cards, which makes it also a [[game of chance]], or more exactly, a tactical game with inbuilt randomness, imperfect knowledge and restricted communication. The chance element is in the deal of the cards; in duplicate bridge some of the chance element is eliminated by comparing results of multiple pairs in identical situations. This is achievable when there are eight or more players, sitting at two or more tables, and the deals from each table are preserved and passed to the next table, thereby ''duplicating'' them for the other table(s) of players. At the end of a session, the scores for each deal are compared, and the most points are awarded to the players doing the best with each particular deal. This measures relative skill (but still with an element of luck) because each pair or team is being judged only on the ability to bid with, and play, the same cards as other players.

Duplicate bridge is played in clubs and tournaments, which can gather as many as several hundred players. Duplicate bridge is a [[mind sport]], and its popularity gradually became comparable to that of [[chess]], with which it is often compared for its complexity and the mental skills required for high-level competition. Bridge and chess are the only "mind sports" recognized by the [[International Olympic Committee]], although they were not found eligible for the main Olympic program.<ref name="IOC">{{cite web|title=Review of the Olympic programme and the recommendations on the programme of the games of the XXIX Olympiad, Beijing 2008 |author=Franco Carraro (Olympic Programme Commission Chairman) |page=8 |url=http://www.olympic.org/Documents/Reports/EN/en_report_527.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://www.olympic.org/Documents/Reports/EN/en_report_527.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live |publisher=IOC Executive Board |date=August 2002}}</ref> In October 2017 the British High Court ruled against the English Bridge Union, finding that Bridge is not a sport under a definition of sport as involving physical activity, but did not rule on the "broad, somewhat philosophical question" as to whether or not bridge is a sport.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-34537024 |title=High Court rules bridge is not a sport |website=BBC News |date=15 October 2015}}</ref>

The basic premise of duplicate bridge had previously been used for whist matches as early as 1857. Initially, bridge was not thought to be suitable for duplicate competition; it was not until the 1920s that (auction) bridge tournaments became popular.

In 1925 when contract bridge first evolved, bridge tournaments were becoming popular, but the rules were somewhat in flux, and several different organizing bodies were involved in tournament sponsorship: the American Bridge League (formerly the ''American Auction Bridge League'', which changed its name in 1929), the American Whist League, and the United States Bridge Association. In 1937, the first officially recognized world championship was held in Budapest.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.thebridgechannel.se/the-first-world-championship-1937/ | title=First World Championship for Teams 1937 :: The Bridge Channel | date=7 July 2023 }}</ref> In 1958, the [[World Bridge Federation]] (WBF) was founded to promote bridge worldwide, coordinate periodic revision to the Laws (each ten years, next in 2027) and conduct world championships.{{sfn|Francis |Truscott |Francis |2001|p= 576. See World Bridge Federation (WBF)}}

===Bidding boxes and screens===
[[File:bidding_box.png|thumb|upright|A [[bidding box]] containing all the possible calls a player can make in the auction]]
In tournaments, "[[bidding box]]es" are frequently used, as noted above. These avoid the possibility of players at other tables hearing any spoken bids.  The bidding cards are laid out in sequence as the auction progresses.  Although it is not a formal rule, many clubs adopt a protocol that the bidding cards stay revealed until the first playing card is tabled, after which point the bidding cards are put away. Bidding pads are an alternative to bidding boxes. A bidding pad is a block of 100mm square tear-off sheets. Players write their bids on the top sheet. When the first trick is complete the sheet is torn off and discarded.

In top national and international events, "[[screen (bridge)|bidding screens]]" are used. These are placed diagonally across the table, preventing partners from seeing each other during the game; often the screen is removed after the auction is complete.