The basic movement was invented by John T. Mitchell, a Scot who moved to the U.S. He invented the boards which hold the cards, and the movement for whist drives, in the 1890s. In the basic Mitchell movement all N/S pairs sit, while E/W pairs move one table up each round. When they move, boards go down one table. The effect of this is to divide the tournament into two halves, but later movements can avoid this. By allowing many pairs to play the same set of boards, tournament whist was invented. The idea, with variations, is still used today for bridge tournaments.