By Bob Rowlands

BM November 1985

Jim Sharples died on October 3, 1985 after a short illness.

James Watson Sharples was born in London in May 1908, the elder of twins, the younger being his brother Robert.  He was educated at Tonbridge School.  At the outbreak of the Second World War he joined the Royal Navy whilst brother Bob served in the Royal Marines.  They did not meet during the war but unusually for brothers they wrote to each other weekly, always including a bridge problem or discus­sion in their letters.

In the twenties, as children, he and Bob learnt Auction Bridge, before turning to Contract Bridge when it became established in the early thirties.  Shortly after the war, however, they abandoned their original Culbertson for Acol, of which Jim and Bob became the leading exponents for more than thirty years.  They demonstrated their superiority when in 1970 they were invited to take part in Bidding Chal­lenge for Bridge Magazine.  After mono­polising this for a whole year, the Sharples graciously retired undefeated, having consistently scored over ninety percent each month!  Jim and Bob won every major bridge event in the calendar, including the Gold Cup six times, the last occasion in 1979 in a team of only four players, at the age of seventy-one.

The Sharples represented England and Great Britain on countless occasions and were one of the greatest, if not the greatest, partnerships ever produced in England.  The boys, as they were universally known, were the first to achieve the rank of Life Master and also were the first Grand Masters in 1966.  Jim and Bob were the first to devise a two club defence to one no­ trump, which was later expanded to include two diamonds.  With Jack Marx and Bob, Jim made an incalculable con­tribution to bidding theory.  Sharples­-Marx Transfers and Byzantine Blackwood are, with many other of their innovations, widely used.  In latter years, Jim limited his bridge to his weekly duplicate at the London Club, with an occasional EBU event.  Those privileged to partner him always benefited from his dry humour and serene confidence, while his opponents appreciated his impeccable ethics.

He and Bob shared a love of cricket and music.  They accumulated a collec­tion of old records which is renowned worldwide.  He loved his home and how­ever successful his bridge weekend might have been, he was always glad to return to their house and lovely garden at Caterham.  Jim Sharples was highly regarded throughout English bridge circles and far beyond, he will be sadly missed.  He is survived by his brother Bob and his sister Morna, to whom we offer our sincerest sympathy.