C'è chi lo attribuisce alla derivazione turca del russo Biritich, che suonando come Britch, poteva essere facilmente inteso e tradotto con Bridge; c'è, invece, chi lo fa risalire al fatto che gli addetti dell'Ambasciata Inglese per andare a giocare al caffè "Le Khédive" dovevano ogni giorno attraversare il "Galata Bridge" che a Costantinopoli univa le due città di Galata e di Pera.

In ogni modo, la precedente associazione del Bridge con il Whist, sembra far escludere che il nome sia una specie di allegoria per ricordare la comunicazione che deve instaurarsi tra i due partner nella fase della Licitazione, come spesso viene erroneamente dedotto da chi si avvicina al gioco.

Con l'Auction-Bridge si passò dalla scala gerarchica dei semi tipica del poker a quella ancora oggi valida (picche, cuori, quadri, fiori), tuttavia, ancora non esisteva il concetto di vulnerabilità e le prese valevano 10 punti se realizzate a senza atout, 9 se con atout picche e, poi, a scendere, fino a 6, quando venivano realizzate con atout fiori. 

 Per conquistare una Manche era necessario totalizzare 30 punti ed il premio per averla conseguita era di 150 punti, il Rubber se lo aggiudicava chi arrivava prima a due manche e conferiva un premio aggiuntivo di 250 punti. I premi erano indipendenti dal numero delle prese dichiarate e quindi l'asta era importante solo per aggiudicarsi il diritto di giocare la mano. Le penalità erano di 50 punti per ogni presa in meno (100 se contrata e 200 se surcontrata), i premi per gli slam erano rispettivamente di 50 e 100 punti. Infine, erano anche previsti premi per l'ausilio della dea bendata (a partire da tre onori nel seme di atout o da tre Assi) e la possibilità di contrare e surcontrare era illimitata.

 Molta della fortuna del bridge fu riposta nel fatto che, grazie ad una proposta del 1914 fatta dal grande giocatore americano Milton Work, era finalmente possibile valutare le potenzialità di una Mano con un metodo semplice ed immediato (quello ancora oggi in vigore dei Punti Onori: A=4, R=3, D=2, F=1). Fu l'autorevolezza del suggeritore a decretarne il successo perché l'idea a detta di Culbertson nacque nel 1904 ad opera di un certo Pitch e già nel 1915 Byrant Mc Campbell l'aveva resa nota in un articolo.

 Nel 1922 viene fondata la prima rivista specializzata "The Auction Bridge Magazine" e nel 1927 viene fondata la prima Federazione nella storia del gioco: "The American Action Bridge League".

Mentre l'Auction guadagnava sempre più adepti, nel 1912, sempre nella lontana India e, più tardi, nel 1918 in Francia, prese vita il "Plafond Bridge" che può essere considerato il vero progenitore del Bridge dei nostri giorni. 

Il "Plafond Bridge", nella sua breve e circoscritta vita (ebbe grande diffusione solo nei Paesi francofoni), ebbe l'indiscusso merito di introdurre il principio basilare che le prese valevoli per la partita erano solo quelle del contratto dichiarato vincendo l'asta licitativa e che, di conseguenza, le surlevée venivano ad avere un valore molto relativo.

Il Plafond rivedeva anche il punteggio dei premi e delle penalità rendendolo più ragionevole ed appropriato al rischio assunto e prosperò nei Paesi francofoni fin quando, nel 1932, Culbertson non sfidò la squadra francese di Ballanger in un celebre incontro risoltosi in un nulla di fatto.

Ma nel frattempo, nel 1925 nella storia del Bridge si verificò un evento epocale.

Durante una crociera che attraversando il Canale di Panama portava la sua motonave "Finlandia" da Los Angeles all'Avana, il miliardario e sportivo americano Harold Stirling Vanderbilt vincitore di tre America's Cup, partorì assieme ai suoi ospiti Francis Bacon III, Frederic Allen e Dudley Pickman, l'idea finale che diede origine al "Contract Bridge".

Riprendendo le idee buone del Plafond, viene attribuito un congruo premio per le Manche e per gli Slam, vengono stabilite delle congrue penalità per le Prese di Caduta e, soprattutto, suggerito da una passeggera rimasta sconosciuta, viene introdotto il concetto della Vulnerabilità. La scala gerarchica dei colori che già aveva subito dei cambiamenti con l'Auction, divenne quella dei nostri giorni con le picche che dominano gli altri tre semi e che valgono 30 punti per ogni presa come le cuori e, nell'ordine, le quadri e le fiori con il valore di 20 punti ciascuna e, infine, i Senza Atout con il valore di 35. Leggermente postuma è, invece, la definizione che la prima presa a Senza Atout, a differenza delle altre che ne valgono 30, valeva 40 punti.

Con il "Contract Bridge", salvo differenze minime, era nato il Bridge che si gioca oggigiorno.

La diffusione del Contract negli Stati Uniti fu immediata e straordinaria e dopo qualche resistenza il nuovo metodo si impose anche in Europa con buon ultima la Francia che dovette mandare in soffitta il suo Plafond.

Nel 1927, la neonata American Auction Brideg League organizzò il primo Campionato a Squadre americano, che forse fu anche il primo del Mondo organizzato in forma ufficiale. Esso fu vinto, neanche a dirlo, da un quartetto composto dal già ricordato Cubertson, Theodore Lightner, Ralph Reed Richard e Waldemar von Zedtwitz.

Le regole del Contract furono affinate progressivamente negli anni seguenti in base ad accordi intercorsi tra il Portland Club di Londra, il Whist Club di New York e la Commission Française du Bridge.

John Templeton Mitchell (per i Tornei a Coppie), Cassius M. Paine e J. L. Sebring (per i Tornei Duplicati) e, più tardi, Edwin Cull Howell (per i Tornei a Coppie a Classifica Unica), ideano le Regole di Movimento grazie a quali tutti i giocatori possono misurarsi con le stesse carte, eliminando buona parte dell'influenza della Dea Bendata e distinguendo in maniera perentoria il Bridge da tutti gli altri giochi d'azzardo, fino a proporlo prepotentemente come il Re incontrastato di tutti i giochi di carte.

Il massimo artefice del successo su larga scala del Contract-Bridge fu il già più volte ricordato Ely Culbertson che sgominò ogni avversario dando ogni volta alle sue temerarie sfide una risonanza mediatica senza uguali.

Le sue celeberrime sfide lanciate tra il 1931 ed il 1935 agli inglesi, ai francesi e ai compatrioti (Battaglia del Secolo e Battaglia dei Giganti) e le sue vittorie nelle Schwab Cup, ebbero risonanza mondiale e contribuirono in maniera determinante a far crescere la popolazione dei giocatori di tutto il mondo fino a portarla a contarne diversi milioni.

Ely, che aveva sposato Josephine Murphy la migliore giocatrice americana del tempo, insieme a lei fondò nel 1929 la prestigiosa rivista "The Bridge World" che fece milioni di proseliti in tutto il mondo anglofono e che ancor oggi è la più prestigiosa pubblicazione esistente.

Il famosissimo "Blue Book" che descriveva il Sistema di Licitazione da lui ideato, divenne il libro più venduto d'America e fece assieme a quella del Bridge, la fortuna personale del suo autore.

I suoi libri furono venduti a milioni di copie ed il suo metodo dichiarativo, basato sulla valutazione della Mano in Prese Onori, travalicando gli effettivi meriti che aveva, negli anni '30 si impose al mondo intero.

Dopo il secondo conflitto mondiale, Charles Goren, rispolverando i Punti Milton Work, lanciò un metodo di dichiarazione semplice e relativamente efficace che ebbe un tale successo da farlo conoscere in tutto il mondo con l'appellativo di "Mister Bridge".

Con il passare del tempo, nascono le Federazioni Nazionali, quelle Soprannazionali e il Bridge continua la sua lenta evoluzione normativa che, attraverso lievi innovazioni, lo consegna al secondo millennio come un vero e proprio Sport della Mente.

Auction Bridge, this originated in India. Three mem bers of the Indian civil service, Mr. F. Roe ("John Doe"), Mr. Hudson, and another, all keen bridge players, were staying at a far away hill station, where it was quite impossible to find a fourth. They played "Cut Throat" for a time, but they soon got tired of that, and then they set their wits to work to invent some better three-handed form of bridge. They tried all sorts of variations, without success, until one of them hit on the idea of bidding for the declaration, and it caught on at once.

On that basis a new game was formulated, and it was, then and there, christened "Auction Bridge." The exact date of its birth is uncertain.

The first record which we have of it is a letter from the late Mr. Oswald Crawford, which appeared in the Times of Jan. i6, 1903. This letter gave a brief outline of the game, and

described it as "the new game of Auction Bridge for three players." Mr. Crawfurd had just returned from India, and had, no doubt, seen the game played in that country.

The next thing that happened was the publication of a short treatise by "John Doe," entitled "Auction Bridge," which was published by the Pioneer Press at Allahabad in i 904. The game was still confined to three players, but it had grown considerably. A further, and much fuller, description of it appeared in the Daily Mail of April 24, 1906, again by Mr. Oswald Crawfurd who seems to have been the real pioneer of the game in Britain, but it was the card-playing members of the Bath club who converted it from a three-handed game into a four-handed one, and who put it on a sound basis. The Bath club was the original home of the game in Britain, and for some considerable time it spread no further.

Then, in 1907, the Portland club took it up, and after that its circle widened very rapidly, so much so that in about a year's time ordinary bridge was a thing of the past. Whist still clung on, and still does in some few places, but straight bridge is practically dead.

Auction bridge is played on the same lines as ordinary bridge with one or two important variations. The point where auction bridge diverges most widely from its parent game is in the declara tion, which is no longer confined to the dealer and his partner, but every player in turn has the right of making a declaration, or as it is now termed "a bid," by overcalling any previous bid which has been made. Another notable point of difference is that when the declarer fails to fulfil his contract, his adversaries do not score below the line as at ordinary bridge, but they score a penalty of 50 points, or 100 if doubled, above the line for each under-trick, whatever the call may have been. Under no circumstances can the adversaries of the declarer score anything towards game. Doubling may take place as in straight bridge, but no bid that has been redoubled may again be doubled.

This was tried in Britain for a while, but it was so obviously bad that, when the laws were revised in 1914, the lower value of the spade was done away with altogether, leaving it at 9, and the suits were all brought closer together—clubs 6, diamonds 7, hearts 8, spades 9, no trumps 10. These are the values at the present time. The great advantage of this scale over the old one is that it is possible to win the game on any call. "Five clubs" will do it as effectively as "three no trumps." "No trumps" is still the most valuable call, but its power is not overwhelming.

The scoring at auction bridge runs much higher than at ordinary bridge, owing principally to the amounts scored above the line for penalties; also the bonus for winning the rubber is increased from 100 to 250 points. The average value of a rubber at ordinary bridge is I70 points, at auction bridge it is nearer 400.

The original laws of auction bridge were drawn up by a joint committee of the Portland and Bath clubs in 1909, and were revised in 1914 by a special committee consisting of members of the Portland, Bath, Turf, St. James's, Baldwin, and White's clubs. These laws governed the game in Britain for ten years, but after a time, and after further experience, a demand arose for fresh revisions, and the Portland club, in 1924, drew up a new code of laws for the use of its own members. The code was accepted and adopted by all the other clubs. In the meantime, the Americans, who had adopted the full English laws at first, began to make alterations here and there, until, in 1925, the Whist club of New York, in conjunction with the Whist League of America, drew up an entirely new code of their own.

The principal difference between the two systems is in the bid ding. In Britain, the bidding is governed by value. A bid of two no trumps, counting 20 points, takes  precedence of a bid of three clubs, counting only 18, and a bid of four spades, counting 36, is higher than five diamonds counting 35.

In America a bid of a greater number of tricks takes precedence of a less number, irrespective of the value. Thus, three clubs is higher than two no trumps, and five diamonds beats four spades. This American system is known as "Majority calling." It is adopted almost universally on the Continent, and some British players were so strongly in favor of it that in the summer of 1927 a conference of representatives of all the principal card-playing clubs in Lon don was called together to consider it. Such a wide difference of opinion was expressed, that, in order to ascertain the general feeling in the country, all British bridge players, both in London and in the provinces, were asked to give the majority calling four months' trial and to report to the conference at the end of that period.

 In London clubs there was a strong feeling against making any change, but a small balance of country clubs were in favor of majority calling. As there was no strong mandate for any change, the conference decided by 9 votes to 3, voting by clubs, to retain our old system of value calling in the revised laws, but to describe the principles of majority calling in an appendix, so that anyone who liked could use it. The card committee of the Portland club had in the meantime carefully revised the laws, which were sub mitted to the conference, and passed with a few minor alterations, and they became law on March r, 1928.

 Apart from questions of law, auction bridge has been considerably influenced by American principles and American conventions. British players, as a rule, like a plain straightforward game, with as few conventions as possible. Americans, on the contrary, love conventions and are constantly inventing new ones, some of which have found their way to England. The most notable one is the "Informatory Double." When a player doubles an adverse bid of one no trump, his partner is bound to take the double out by bid ding "Two" of his best suit, however, weak it may be, giving preference to the major suits over the minor ones. In the same way, if a player doubles a suit bid of "One" or "Two," it does not mean that he is strong in that suit, but just the opposite; it means that he is strong in the other three suits, but too weak in the suit declared to bid no trumps. His partner must make a bid in his own best suit, or bid no trumps if he has the declared suit stopped twice. This convention met with strong opposition for many years in England, but it gradually crept in, and in 1925 became general.

 On the completion of the deal, the dealer has first call. He can either pass or make a bid of some kind. If he elects to pass it is better to say, "No bid" than "Pass," as the latter call is apt to be mistaken for "Hearts." Then each player in turn, commencing with the one on the dealer's left, can either pass or can overcall any previous bid that has been made either by the adversaries or by his own partner. When a bid has been passed by three players it becomes the declaration, and the player who made it, or in the case of the same suit having been bid by both partners, the player who made the first of such bids, plays the combined hands, and is termed "the declarer," his partner becoming "dummy." When the declarer fulfils his contract, he scores, below the line, the value of as many odd tricks as he makes. When he fails to full fill his contract his adversaries score 5o above the line, or 100 if doubled, for every under-trick. Honors are scored above the line by either side which holds them. A game consists of 3o points scored by tricks alone, that is, below the line. When either side has won two games, the total scores are added up, including scores for tricks, honors, and penalties, and the difference between the two scores is the amount won and lost.

The principle of bidding has undergone a considerable change since auction bridge was first introduced. In the early days players followed the lines of ordinary bridge and made their bids on numerical strength without top honors, but this has been entirely superseded. Players have learnt by experience that it is aces and kings that matter and that win games. An original bid, that is the first bid made on a hand, can always be depended upon to have top honors at the head of it, when it is made by a responsible player. Top honors mean ace, king; or ace, queen, knave ; or king, queen, at least. Subsequent bids after the first original one are made on numerical strength with outside support to back them up, or an original bid of a partner can be supported on numerical strength, but the one outstanding principle of modern declaring is that an original suit bid must have top honors at the head of it. At ordinary bridge the dealer would always call "Hearts" on king, ten, to five or six, with little else in his hand, but no sound auction bridge player would call "one heart" on that hand as an original call. He might call "two hearts" on it on the second round, but that is quite a different thing from calling it originally.

There are two entirely different departments of auction bridge— the declaration and the play of the cards. There is considerable difference of opinion as to the relative value of these two. Some players estimate the value of clever declaring as high as 80%, others, including Lenz of New York, think that they are nearly, if not quite, equal, and that scientific play of the cards is as important as clever declaring. Both are important, but correct declaring is easier to acquire. It is not given to everybody to have the card sense and to be able to play the cards well, but anyone of ordinary intelligence can be taught to declare correctly. The most valuable declaration which can be made is no trumps, because three by cards will win the game from a love score at no trumps, but it takes four or five by cards to win the game on a suit declaration, but nevertheless a really strong major suit call, that is spades or hearts, is safer and better than no trumps. Some players are so obsessed with the glamour of the no trump call, that they seem to think it is the only road to success at the bridge table, and they call it on every possible occasion, and sometimes on very inadequate material. This is a great mistake. A genuine no trump hand should be well guarded in at least three suits, and should have a queen over the average--nothing weaker than this is justifiable at the score of love.