Bridge Blog 386: Chicken match

            I knew I needed more sleep before going into the Presidents Day event at the Airport Bridge Club, but I wound up working until after 3 a.m. Sunday night anyway, then worried restlessly about whether I’d hear the alarm ring at 8:55 a.m. I paid for it by overthinking and underthinking at the same time – obsessing over some little wrinkle in the play of the cards and forgetting about the bigger picture. Early on, I failed to pick up on bids that should have gone to game and, in one memorable disaster, went down three on a shaky 2 No Trump contract that could have been salvaged.

            Nonetheless, partner Judy Kaprove and I managed to squeak into the points in the morning session, earning half a point or so with a 51% game. After a chicken barbecue lunch notable for the shortage of forks, we went back for much-improved round, coming in first North-South, second overall, with a 60.32% game, earning 1.63 masterpoints. Add to that the half a point I gained on Sunday when Sushil Amlami and I had a 54.52% game and the total for the month stands at around 8.5 points. Nothing to brag about, but there’s still another week of double points ahead.