Bridge Blog 604-A: The big breakdown

        Speaking of Mike Kisiel, the day after my game with him earlier this month he showed me a sheet on which he broke down our scores table by table, noting that we did very well after the first two, when we were getting used to each other. So let’s apply that to my Monday and Tuesday games.

        Monday we played 27 boards, three per table. Top score on a board was 8. Here’s how we went:

        Table 6: (Dottie May & Carolyn Siracuse) 12, or 50%. Starting out even.

Table 7: (Ruthie Kozower & Sandy Scheff) 12.5 or 52.08%. Feeling better. Table 8: (Barbara Sadkin & June Feuerstein) 14.19, or 59.125%. At the one-third point, we’re 53.74%. This is a decent start, but …

        Table 9: (Janet Frisch & Frank Schlehr) 7.0, or 29.16%, thanks to a bad discard that let Frank make a 4 Spade contract. Otherwise we might have been near 50% with them.

        Table 1: (Mike Kisiel & Paul Ganley) 14.5, or 60.42%, a good round against a tough pair.

        Table 2: (Judy Kaprove & Nadine Stein) 10, or 41.67%. At the two-thirds mark, we’re not so hot – 48.74%.

        Table 3: (Allan Beroza & Doug Dean) 13.5, or 56.25%, even Doug’s 6 Heart slam gave us 3 game points. We’re almost at 50% again.

        Table 4: (Barbara Libby & Jim Mathis) 4.0, or 16.67%. Here’s where the roof caved in. They were the overall winners Monday and we helped. I went down one on a 4 Clubs doubled vulnerable bid, hoping to either sacrifice successfully or push them to 4 Spades, which they couldn’t make. And then I failed to take a sure trick against Barbara’s 3 NT contract, allowing her to make 5 NT. And then Jim brought home a 5 Diamond contract where everyone else lost three tricks on it. Take away this round and we’re at 49% for the day.  

Table 5: (Isabelle Banas & Linda Wynes) 10.5, or 43.75%. Alicia was the only one to bid and make 4 Spades for a top board on the final hand, but that was to make up for not bidding the 4 Spade contract on the next-to-last hand and for getting a bottom board on a down-4 contract where I bid too enthusiastically.

        OK. Here’s Tuesday. It’s 24 boards with a sit-out for us East-Wests. Top on a board is 9.

        Table 8: (Pat Lakeman & Mary Terrana) 5.0 or 18.52%. Pat bids and Mary makes a 6 Heart slam to open the action, then we play a couple ill-advised minus 100 sacrifices.

        Table 9: (Pat Kilbury & Marilyn Sultz) 19.0 or 70.37%. Two top boards here – Pat goes down two at 3 Hearts doubled vulnerable and Marietta makes two overtricks on that 2 Spades doubled vulnerable contract.

        Table 10: (Mike Silverman & Judi Marshall) 13.0 or 48.15%.

        Table 1: (Bob Linn & Mike Kisiel) 12.56 or 46.52% after our sit-out. At the halfway point, we’re 45.89%.

        Table 2: (Bill Boardman & Joe Rooney) 9.5 or 35.19%. Marietta’s top board with 3 NT (bid and made) is erased by two bottoms, including a 5 Hearts doubled down-one defense where we could have bid 5 Spades and made it.

        Table 3: (Paula Kotowski & Carlton Stone) 11.5 or 42.59%.

        Table 4: (Barbara Libby & Jim Mathis) 11.0 or 40.74%, not great, but at least a better effort against Monday’s winners.

        Table 5: (Janet Frisch & Celine Murray) 24.5 or 90.74%. We finish with two tops – another 3 NT bid-and-made by Marietta and a down-three defeat of Celine’s ill-advised 3 Heart contract. Without this round, we’re 45.19% instead of 50.26%.