My
cell phone rings Friday morning as I’m rolling up to the corner of Transit Road
and Wehrle Drive with about 10 minutes to spare before the start of the morning
session at the Main-Transit Fire Hall. It’s my partner, Barbara Sadkin. She’s
at Maple and Youngs roads and she’s on her way. I’ll get there before you do, I
tell her. It’s a rare thing, me arriving at a game ahead of my partner.
Turnout
looks good as I steer into the parking lot. I have to park half a dozen cars
further away than I usually do. Inside, it’s 28 tables, divided up between a
double session game and a single session game, with a scattering of Rochester
and St. Catharines people thrown in among the Buffalonians.
Neither
Barbara nor I are morning people and we show it right away, giving Paul and
Linda Zittel a top board by taking a bid that goes down three doubled. Paul
thanks me later for giving them such a good start, then notes that they wound
up around 45%. Coincidentally, so did we – 44.23%, courtesy of a couple more
bottom boards from bad sacrifice bids.
Having
been East-West in the morning, we became North-South in the afternoon, which
is much more to our liking. The cards are more amenable to our freewheeling
bidding style as well, although we twice fail to make slams we bid. This time
we finish at 54.47%, fifth in the A strat for the session, second in B for
1.09 silver points.
In
the morning, Barbara lamented that we hadn’t gotten any 17-game point top
boards, to which someone else said that those are very rare because there are
usually two or more pairs tied with top scores. Best we got in the morning was
16, for setting opponent Jim Gullo’s 1 No Trump contract down three, plus a pair
of 15s, also on defense.
Our
afternoon game is lifted by a final hand in which we set the opponents down
five, which is good for a 16.5 out of 17. To that we add a pair of 16s, on
offense this time.
In
one, where I’m 5-5 in Hearts and Clubs, I make a 3 Club contract after I resist
the urge to go for 3 NT, which would have gone down. In the other, I’m
a third-seat 1 NT opener with 14 high card points and a five-card Heart suit. Barbara
responds 2 NT and the bidding is over.
Soon
as I see the dummy, I think 3 Hearts, but the hand record says that only 1
Heart is makeable. In fact, East-West is supposed to make 4 Spades. Or 2 NT. So
2 NT bid and made in our direction is good for a near perfect gain. Here’s that
hand. I’m sitting South, North is dealer, both sides are vulnerable.
South
Spades:
K-7; Hearts: A-Q-10-6-2; Diamonds: 9-5-2; Clubs: K-Q-6.
North
Spades:
9-6; Hearts: K-J-4; Diamonds: Q-J-10-8-6; Clubs: J-4-2.
East
Spades:
Q-10-8-5-2; Hearts: 9-5-3; Diamonds: K-7-4; Clubs: 10-6.
West
Spades:
A-J-6-3; Hearts: 8-7; Diamonds: A-3; Clubs: A-9-7-5-3.
I’m
not quite sure which mistakes they make on this one, but West may have led a low
Club. I proceed to win that trick, cash all the Hearts and go looking to
establish some long Diamonds. I don't believe I get one, but after the opponents take the Ace of Spades, the King gives me
a seventh trick and, if I’m not mistaken, my Queen of Clubs is the eighth. A minor miracle, eh?
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