Saturday, December 22, 2018

Bridge Blog 1064: Bumpy ride


All buckled up. 7.22 points still needed to become a Gold Life Master. As of Thursday, Dec. 20, seven games left to play this year. Can 2018 turn golden before the year’s last calendar page falls?
Didn’t look so good Friday in St. Catharines, Ont. Best part was Canadian partner Selina Volpatti’s Christmas gift – a silvery box with a dove on top. And inside, half a dozen butter tarts she made that very morning. It was all I could do to resist gobbling up a couple right there on the spot.
I should have devoted my energies to winning instead. I bid too aggressively, sacrifice too heavily and lose my first six contracts. We finish 10th out of 11 pairs North-South. Not even 40%. Consolation: Even if we matched last week’s 54.46% achievement, we wouldn’t have gotten points.
So was there any hope for Saturday with Denise Slattery? Would the bridge gods smile on us?
No smiles in the first two rounds of the five-table Howell movement at the Airport Bridge Club. No cards, either. But then we start getting something to bid with. And we get some breaks – a couple doubled contracts that we shouldn’t make, but do. We aren’t winners, but our 59.26% is first in the B strat. 2.38 points! Now it’s five games left, 4.84 points to go.

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