Bridge Blog 1196-A: Back to the tables -- Under the radar

 

But at least not under the tables on Thursday morning at the Anchor Bar at Maple and Sweet Home Roads in Amherst, my first game in nearly two weeks after a trip to Washington, D.C., for a wedding.

This was Third Thursdays, a non-ACBL-sanctioned game directed by my dear friend and sometimes partner Judie Bailey that I never expected to play in. Back when it met at a country club, it was ladies only. Lately, however, a gentleman has been invited to fill out an empty chair and on Wednesday, while I was homeward bound and stopped at a Starbucks in Clark's Summit, Pa., Judie texted an invitation to me.

Indeed, I was not the only gentleman who helped fill up four tables in the side dining room at the Anchor Bar. There were three of us. Entry fee was $1. Judie told me to sit anywhere East-West. I'd never met the attractive white-haired woman across from me, Judy McDermid, one of three Judys present, but we quickly determined that we could do things like 14-30, asking for key cards in a slam attempt.

Before play, a waitress took orders for lunch and when food came out, we took a break after the second round. Music from the restaurant's sound system sifted into our area. Elsewhere sports channels played on flat-screen TVs, a few patrons sat at the main bar and, in the regular dining room, there was a group of Red Hat ladies having lunch.

In all, we played 16 boards in four rounds. Aggressive me, I took the bid on at least half of them and was nailed for minus 1,100 on the second hand when I went after a 5 Spade sacrifice. Sitting North and doubling was Paula Kotowski, who reminded me how I kept her from getting her final points for Ruby Life Master 17 years ago when I failed to return a card for her to trump. She was delighted to inflict some revenge. Down 5. But was it a bottom board? The scoring slips later showed that North-South could take 12 tricks.

Even so, this was not a slam-bidding crowd. Mostly, they were social players familiar with some of the modern bridge basics. Nevertheless, there were a few that I know from the clubs – the aforementioned Paula Kotowski, Florence Boyd, Dorothy May, Judy Kaprove and Paula Salamone. I hadn't seen Paula Salamone since before the pandemic. We greeted each other with a hug.

No results right away. Judie let me know with an email on Friday and it turned out that we club players carried the day. Judy McDermid and I tied for first with Paula Kotowski and her partner with a 29. Figuring a maximum of three match points on 16 hands, that would translate to 60.41%. Paula Salamone and Flo Boyd and their respective partners tied for second with 28, or 58.33%.