| John C. H. MARX |
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Jack Marx nacque nel 1907 e fu tra i giocatori britannici di fama internazionale forse quello che maggiormente si distinse per il suo carattere mite e sempre conciliante sia con il partner che con gli avversari.
Marx studiò alla Repton School e partecipò alla seconda guerra mondiale con il grado di capitano.
In campo nazionale vinse tre volte la Gold Cup ed il suo maggior successo internazionale fu la conquista del Campionato Europeo a Squadre del 1950.
Un serio malanno capitatogli negli anni '70 lo fece ritirare dal bridge agonistico, ma Jack continuò a giocare amabilmente presso il suo club londinese fino al momento della sua morte avvenuta il 29 agosto del 1991.
Nella prima metà degli anni settanta ricoprì vari incarichi amministrativi sia per la British Bridge League che per la European Bridge League.
Marx che fu uno dei principali promotori dell'ACOL System, fu anche un innovatore nel campo della licitazione, ideatore della Byzantine Blackwood fu anche uno dei primi giocatori di fama ad usare la Stayman.
Jack Marx (John C.H. Marx 1907 – 1991) was a British international bridge
player who was instrumental in developing the Acol System of bidding.
Marx went to Repton School, 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: "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 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, compared many bidding competitions, and appeared on many bidding panels. He held a variety of administrative positions in bridge organizations, 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.
