1989Year LEAD: In the early days of contract bridge, it was not unusual for a player to win a major national title at a first attempt. That feat was achieved in 1960, when Roberta Erde, now Roberta Epstein, won her debut event, the Women's Board-a-Match Teams. In 1987 in Baltimore, Jaggy Shivdasani of India made his debut in the Spingold Knockout Pastimes

1989Year LEAD: The result of the Reisinger Board-a-Match Team Championship that concluded the American Contract Bridge League's Fall Nationals in Lancaster, Pa. last weekend represented one minor surprise and one major one. Pastimes

1990Year LEAD: In the obscure corners of the game of bridge can be found some colorful terms. The geographer can find the Chinese finesse, the Curse of Scotland and the Alcatraz Coup. The historian uncovers Byzantine Blackwood, the Morton's Fork Coup, the Duke of Cumberland's Hand and the Merrimac Coup. Pastimes

1990Year LEAD: The history of the game is replete with accidents of various kinds. The first occurred in 1929 when Ely Culbertson took his foursome to Paris following a victory in London. The scoring was French-style ''plafond'' with which the Americans were not familiar and the host country had a small lead throughout. Pastimes

1990Year LEAD: Next year is likely to be the changing of the guard for the United States in World Championship competition. In the past 10 years American players, mainly from Texas and the West Coast, have won six world team titles, finished second three times and been out of the money only once. Pastimes

1990Year LEAD: The Fifth Epson Worldwide Bridge Contest, played nine days ago in more than 80 countries, fulfilled hopes of its organizers with a record participation of about 88,000. But there were some unusual problems. Pastimes