Hi all
The Philadelphia NABC was awesome. I played lots and lots of bridge, I’d say about 50-60 deals per day for nine days straight. I did get to eat a Philly Cheese Steak, saw plenty of bronze statues around the city, the Liberty Bell, City Hall (close to the playing site), and that’s about it tourist wise. I’ve consumed some amazing food, even after being spoiled with all the great restaurants in Berkeley. And the beer… ohh… the beer. Gulden Draak 9000 from draft, I was in heaven.
I don’t have my paperwork in order yet, but I do have lots of nice deals. I had an amazing Nationals, we got to play team Diamond twice(!), more than respectable finishes in the Roth Open Swiss and the Fast Pairs, and I’ve amassed enough Platinum to play the Platinum Pairs next time. Yay! So here’s a random one where I was playing with Michael Bodell in the A/x Pairs Wednesday the 15th.
Michael has an uncanny talent for making exactly the right bid I want to hear.
1
2- No need to rush
- Splinter
- Pick a slam
My hand certainly is worth a distributional raise to 4, but I decided to take the slow route, visualizing my suit as a potential source of tricks. When Michael showed 18-19 balanced, I decided my hand was worth a slam try. Michael didn’t know what I was splintering for, but his 5NT said: “I don’t know what you’re looking for, but I’ve got it all…” This was the full deal:
When everything broke friendly Michael wrapped up all thirteen of them. A big fit and controls, the two main ingredients for cooking up a slam.
Cute hand. It was good to meet you finally.