History of Bridge
Bridge comes from whist; the first known rules ("Biritch, or Russian Whist") date from 1886, contract bridge from 1925.
From whist to bridge
Bridge comes from whist, for centuries the leading trick-taking game. It parted from whist with "Biritch" in the 19th century; the first known rule book, "Biritch, or Russian Whist", was written in 1886 by John Collinson, an English financier in Constantinople. Where the name comes from is not certain.
Auction and contract
In the 1890s bridge became popular in Britain and the USA; in 1894 Lord Brougham brought it to London's Portland Club. In auction bridge (1904) the players bid for the contract. In 1925 Harold Stirling Vanderbilt and others changed the scoring so that only tricks bid and made counted towards game and slam: contract bridge. Within a few years "bridge" meant contract bridge.
Today
The World Bridge Federation was founded in 1958. Chicago, the short form with four deals, is named after the Standard Club of Chicago, where it began; Goren's encyclopedia of games of 1961 describes it. PaperGames plays contract bridge with Chicago or rubber scoring.