Bridge Blog 1172-A: Bridgeless

 

The new year started the same way the old one ended – no bridge. Until the Wednesday, Jan. 14, game at Bridge Centre of Niagara in St. Catharines, Ont., I hadn't played in month. Not since the special game at the Bridge Center of Buffalo on Saturday, Dec. 13.

That big holiday break was not my idea. I would have played Friday, Dec. 19, at the Niagara-on-the-Lake Bridge Club, but hardly anybody else did except for partner Selina Volpatti. They called it off and sent an email over the holidays warning that if players didn't come, they'd have to call things off completely.

Then I got Covid and the flu at the same time over Christmas. On Dec. 26, I could barely climb out of bed. A game in St. Catharines was out of the question. A week later I was still testing positive for the coronavirus. And the Friday after that was the postponed date for our big New Year's Eve party, so no go then either.

Without me to sit in the South chair, did Selina find a substitute? I combed the results on the ACBL website and didn't see her name. Turns out she had Covid too.

Bridge Blog 1172-B: Second verse, same as the first.

 

Finally hale and hearty again, I text Selina to see if she's available to play Wednesday, Jan. 14, at BCON. She's already partnered up, she replies. Why don't I try Rod Sumner? Sure enough, Rod can do it.

Nevertheless, this is only the second time that Rod and I have played. He reviews my convention card, but it doesn't tell him that I like to use the modified Mini-Roman bid – 2 Diamonds to show 4-4-4-1 distribution, 4-4 in both major suits, with 11 to 15 high card points. Sure enough, it comes up in the second round, when we're up against two of the better players – Marg Dykstra and Christine Pentesco. I'm dealer, we're vulnerable, and I do the magic 2 Diamond bid with this hand:

Spades: K-J-8-7; Hearts: Q-J-4-3; Diamonds: A-J-7-3; Clubs: 4.

Pass-pass to Christine, who's South and has a 14-point hand with five Diamonds. She doubles. To escape, I bid up the line to 2 Hearts. The opponents take over and wind up at 3 No Trump. They ask Rod what the 2 Diamond bid was. He says he thinks it was weak. Then we play it. Down two. When we finish, I explain what I meant and then there's a director call. The ruling: Average-minus. Instead of a top board of 8 match points, we get 3.20.

Rod and I finish third overall East-West and first in the B strat with 55.74%. (Talk about being steady, we also were third overall and first in the B strat the first time we played together in the NOTL Christmas party game back on Dec. 9.) Our Mini-Roman escapade didn’t make a difference one way or the other. We're almost 13 match points behind the second-place pair. As for Marg and Chris, they're hopelessly mired in last place.

Bridge Blog 1172-C: The one that really matters

 

The big question, though, is how well are we going to fare against Selina, who’s playing North-South with Sandra Felton. We get to them in the last round.

Not well on Board 7. I go down one on a 3 Spade contract. I've got six of them. Rod's got one. Hand analysis says we should let them play it in Hearts or No Trump and let them go down. This way, they get 5.5 match points, we get 2.5.

Can we make it up on Board 8? I hold 5 Hearts, 6 Clubs and a void in Diamonds. I make an overtrick and it feels good, but 4 Hearts always makes an overtrick. It’s just average. Both sides get 4 match points. 

One more chance. Board 9. A wimpy 1 Spade contract. Sandra makes it. Hand analysis says East-West could make 2 Hearts, we don’t bid it and North-South have the better cards anyway. Drat! Average again. Meanwhile, Selina and Sandra come in first North-South.