Month: October 2015

Hi all,

My 39th is closing in on me rapidly but celebrating isn’t really on my mind. Triple 13, interprime, semiprime and emirpimes (google challenge), who knows what to expect!? I hope I feel like it next year, perhaps round numbers make for a better party.

Spectre, James Bond instalment #23, I have scheduled sometime this week, I’m looking forward to get blown away.

First board of the evening:

West

North

East

South

 

 

 

11

2

2NT2

pass

43

pass

4NT4

pass

55

pass

56

pass

.. 6

a.p.

 

 

 

1. Only a shadow of a shadow away from a 1 opener
2. fit, usually 4-crd suit, high ODR
3. Splinter, non-minimum
4. RKC
5. 0 or 3 keycards
6. Probe

Kees bids 5 in tempo. What? Is he signing off? Of course not!

Tick-Tock. Tick-Tock. Tick-Tock. Time trickles by as I mentally thumb through our agreements.

The fog clears away, I remember something. 5NT confirms the presence of three keys but denies the possession of trump Queen. With a slight smile I bid 6. Kees gives the auction a stare and then throws the green. 

This was the full deal:

We’re cold for 13. 

I needed one more cycle. One more hard thought about the auction.

1. 5NT shows three keys without trump Queen
2. 6trump shows three with trump Queen

With this hand I could/should have bid 6, showing three keys, trump Queen and second round control in . Kees could have leapt to the grand with confidence, not afraid of some slow loser.

Hi all

Sunny t-shirt weather has been traded for shorter days, the occasional shower and wind that stings your cheeks. Autumn glumness needs to be dealt with appropriately, I suggest a nice trenchcoat and weekly ingestion of glühwein (mulled wine). Think differently, only October winds can make your scarf dance elegantly. 

This deal is from the Jaap Kokkes teams tournament (I played with Dennis) in Leiden a couple of weeks ago. 

After pass – pass I decide to pick up the glove. Passed partner, my wildly distributional four-count … for sure the opponents have a vulnerable game! At all red it might not be everyone’s choice but I drop my 3 bid on the table. If I had played Viking Precision this would have been a standard 2NT opening (both minors, weak). Unexpected things happen.

West

North

East

South

 

pass

pass

31

42

43

4

pass4

pass

5

5

pass5

5

a.p.

 

 

1. I tread otherworldly paths occasionally
2. Old fashioned Leaping Michaels’, showing 5-5 Majors
3. Lead-directing/fit-showing
4. I’ve done my work, let the disaster unfold onto my opponents
5. No more pulse, he’s a goner

Dennis added some fuel to the fire but suddenly aware of the vulnerability I was not to be moved. I was both lazy and wrong.

As you can see 5 was not in trouble. But … neither is 6! To be precise, East had better led a to prevent the overtrick. North’s loser swiftly disappears on the fifth after a restricted choice decision. I don’t know what happened at the other table, but my team mates ended up defending 5 (undoubled!): 15 IMP down the drain.

Closing with something old and something new.

The original one is high-adrenalin, progressive and in your face:

This cover by Torre Florim is delicate, introverted, intense and just as awesome: