Month: May 2014

Hi all

I’m getting my feet wet not just playing online. Sessions at BC Star and BCO, interacting with my bridge buddies (close by & far away) and tournaments all over the Netherlands in various degrees of success. I feel like I’m getting back into shape. 

This deal is from Bridge Big. Afterwards I felt scrubbed, not only from losing a few pennies, but because I was on the receiving end of competent declarer play.

West

North

East

South

 

 

1

pass

2NT1

pass

3

pass

4

pass

4

pass

4

pass

4

a.p.

1. Invitational+ with fit

I watch the auction unfold and though I’m afraid they’ll end up in slam (never good for your wallet unless they go down) the opponents screech to a halt in 4. Now what to lead?

I decided to lead a , but I don’t claim it’s clear-cut or obvious.

My lead doesn’t work out as my partner is only able to contribute a measly little pebble, declarer’s Jack winning the trick. Next I have to surrender my King when declarer leads a small . In rapid succession declarer plays four more rounds of trumps (me discarding a bunch of unimportant ), the King of , Ace of and a low . I throw my Queen hoping to seduce declarer into thinking dummy’s 9 is good. On the Ace of declarer pitches a and finding a discard becomes a little sweaty.

My sweaty discard turns into a full blown nightmare when declarer asks for dummy’s and ruffs it with his last trump. I’m dead.

I lost €0.52 but that’s really just pennies compared to the pain of being subjected to what seems a very conscious and well executed squeeze.

Noteworthy metamorphosis: Unemployed ⇒ Employed.

Hi all

Here’s another cute deal from Bridge Big. No Cash Game but a deal from a daily Round-the-clock tournament. My performance was less than stellar, so after 20 deals I had collected some 53%. Not enough to win me any money. This deal I was firing on all cylinders, though. 

West

North

East

South

 

 

pass

1

DBL

RDBL

pass

pass

2

DBL

pass

3

pass

4NT

pass

51

pass

6

a.p.

 

1. I didn’t dare to show my void (with 5NT) in a pick up partnership

3 is not very scientific, but it does show extras and will probably lead to the most likely game. My partner grabbed the bull by the horns and suddenly I was at the helm in 6. West leads a and this is what I see:

Easy. I win the in dummy, draw two rounds of trumps (leaving trump Jack in dummy). I cash the other high in dummy, cross to my hand with a ruff and ruff a with the Jack. Again I cross with a ruff, extract the last outstanding trump and rattle off my winners. This is the position and I know it:

On my last trump I know West is in pain with King doubleton in and the Ace. So I take 13.

It was just an inch away from a top. I quickly scan the result whether I recognise my partner or opponents, but the Brit, Norse and Turk have inconspicuous nicknames. To my random Norwegian partner: thank you for putting me in a nice slam and giving me the opportunity to shine.

Hi all

Here is a deal from my first session on Bridge Big. As I wrote in my previous article Bridge Big is an online platform to play duplicate bridge for money. It’s low-threshold to start playing, but let me warn you, it’s not a casual game or for the faint of heart. The founders intend it to be a platform for serious & competitive bridge. Just like the game deserves. Go check it out.

Anyway, sitting South (White against Red) I pick up a wild hand:

Oh boy! How am I going to sell this baby in an individual tournament setting? I decide to open 1 and this is what happens next:

West

North

East

South

 

 

 

1

Double

21

2

5

a.p.

 

 

 

1. Extraordinary

Partner raises? Partner raises? What? Come again? I end the auction with an uncivilized leap to 5.

LHO leads a trump and this is what I see:

I gasp as I see partner’s beautiful raise. I hold high respect for players and partners who support with support. I am slightly annoyed by the lead, though. If the opponents can play two rounds of trumps my contract depends on a 3-3 break in , or KQ tumbling. On a side note, the bidding is a little weird, NS hold a combined 16-count while East only bid 2. Who’s hogging all those digital face cards?

I duck in dummy and East wins his Queen. Just as I’m about to resign to my fate of down one East finds a shift to a . From there it’s easy, I ruff three in dummy and East gets to score trump Ace one day or another. Making.

This was the full deal:

Kudos to West, a Dutch player by the way, for finding the killing trump lead. (When reviewing your results you can see the names of your partner and opponents.) Too bad his partner didn’t reward him for it. I imagine making a virtual high-five with my Bulgarian partner when the EUR 1.14 gets added to our individual accounts. Suddenly I wish I were playing for 5 EUR per IMP, perhaps when I find that money tree in my backyard.