Bridge

Hi all,

I’ve been deeply engrossed in Game of Thrones lately. The books I have read already a couple of years ago, now I’m catching up with the series. Varys, Tyrion and Arya, yeah! I seek opportunities at the bridge table to quote GoT. Like saying “Winter is coming” when putting down a terrible dummy. Heh! I kill myself! And now for something completely different (a larch, anyone?) … I suggest you take a look at this YouTube clip. None of it has to do anything with Westeros or its amazing characters, it might actually invoke a genuine “WTF?”. Ohh, do I miss the days when I burned thru seasons of Red Dwarf for the first time.

Here’s a nice deal from the Patton series at HOK. 

Kees (South) opens a 10-12 NT first hand and I have to decide whether to undertake immediate action or take the low road. My RHO passes and a glimpse to my left reveals an opponent intensely studying her cards. Alright, let me take you out for a spin: I pass. LHO flicks an “X” on the table and partner and RHO have nothing to add. 

Okay, I think I have a nasty surprise for my LHO.

West starts with the Jack of and with an evil grin I put down my dummy:

East lets the Jack slide and Kees takes his King. I swear East turned a whiter shade of pale when the dreaded Queen hit the table. Six more followed in rapid succession and East had no discards to spare. She decided to abandon the suit altogether so four more came rolling in. This was the full deal:

So the result was 1NT! making 6. I add another rare bird to my book of bizarro scores: +680 in a NT contract.

“A bruise is a lesson… and each lesson makes us better.”

Hi all,

I have another city trip under my belt, this time I spent a couple of days in Copenhagen. I met up with teammates who happened to have scheduled their holidays parallel with mine. Strolling around in Copenhagen with the sun on our faces while discussing bridge. Yes please, any day. On Saturday I had a lovely evening where my girlfriend had her graduating performance at the Complete Vocal Institute. Unbridled enthusiasm, a mountain of talent and just a pinch of stage nervousness blended for a silver lined day.

Here’s a nice deal where I was handed a gift or two and then demanded another. Again I was playing with René, the founder of Bridge Big.

I hear my RHO open a weak 2 in and I have a problem. I’m top heavy for a 2NT overcall, but I see no good alternative. If I start with a double we might end up in some awkward 4-3 fit if partner starts with a Lebensohl response. So I choose 2NT, René raises me to game.

West leads the Ace and switches to a low that runs to my Ten. Thank you! I probably wouldn’t have been able to do that myself. I can easily set up a trick to take ten, but I’m hungry for more.

I overtake my King of with dummy’s Ace and a towards my Jack wins the trick. From here it’s plain sailing, I cash the King and Ace and rattle off the remaining . This is the position with one more to go:

On the train East has been discarding a string of . On the last East discards her black Jack and I honor it with mine. Now I exit with the 9 to East and out goes my last . East is placed and has to return a into my split fork. Hot Stuff! +660 feels good.

Here’s me enjoying a Three Floyds Majsgoop (a surprisingly hoppy barley wine) @ Mikkeler “Welcome Beer Geeks” Bar in Copenhagen. Wonderful! 

Hi all, 

The madness of King’s Day is behind us. I never would have guessed Amsterdam would turn into such a steaming brew of people wearing various kinds of orange attributes. This Tuesday it is quite visible the city itself is suffering from a major hangover. Mental note for 2016 and above: increase personal crumple zone on this particular date. Other highlights from these past couple of weeks: for the first time in my life I visited Rome. Such splendor! The Pantheon, the Borghese Gardens, the Castel Sant’Angelo, the coffee & food… There might have been a small tear in the corner of my eye. This is what happiness is.

I have played a lot of bridge lately, so let’s cut to the chase. 

1. Denying a 6-crd suit, balanced or not good enough for a direct raise (the “Schuler Shift”) 
2. Pinpointing the problem
3. Weak hand with fit

After René bid 4 I had a pretty good idea of what was opposite of me. After a brief moment I opted for the 5-2 fit. West kicked off with the Ace of and this is what René had to work with:

René observes dummy for a while and I see he is immersed in projections and calculations. He ruffs the King of and immediately plays a towards dummy. West jumps in with the Ace and continues with the Queen of . She meets her demise with another little trump. Now things move quickly, René cashes both top and King and Ace of . Everybody following suit. A third towards dummy and West discards a after a significant ponder.

Now 3 rounds of trumps show that there’s still one out there. It is of no importance or consequence, there are ten tricks with 5 trumps, 3 in and 2 in .  

One wonders what would have happened had West ruffed the third . This would have been the position:

West could have exited with her 8 of but then dummy could have ruffed with the 8 of while René sluffs his winning (the other way around is possible and spectacular, too). His three top trumps bring home the contract then. Any inconsiderate remarks by East regarding the non-complexity of the deal were cast aside when the score for the deal showed, a flawless 100% for NS.

Why do I like this deal so much? I enjoy thoughtful bidding and watching competent declarer play (postponing drawing trumps until the very, very end). 

Last but not least: if “The B Movie Orchestra” is in your neighborhood, you should go check them out. The solid band plays brilliant tunes of old movies and blends them with fragments of said movies. The whole thing is a feast for the ear as well as the eye.

Hi all

Sunday a week ago I played the “chilly winter bar drive” in Leiden. I wasn’t in great shape, but I did prepare well: a motherload of paper hankies and throat relief tablets in every single pocket on me. I was croaking about an octave lower than usual. The one thing I forgot (of course!) were my sunglasses, it was unexpectedly perfectly sunny. Our opposition was less than stellar during the day and Marianne and I were quite in sync. No deep psychological mind games or feeding partner riddles (such masochism!), just straightforward bridge.

I ask whether the 1NT call promises a stopper and I’m informed it just shows 6-9 hcp. West leads the 9 of with a strong thumb on it. Even the players at the table next to us know it’s a singleton.

That’s a fine call by Marianne, no beating around the bush. So how do I prevent that pending ruff? Assessment mode: I’m fairly sure these little old ladies are superbly familiar with common bridge commandments. More than is actually good for them. Let’s see if she knows her “Thou shan’t play thy face cards prematurely”. Radiating charming innocence left and right I cross to the Ace (RHO drops the Jack) and ask for a low trump. Lady East plays low without a care in the world and my Queen wins the trick.

*Ba dum tss*

Another round of trumps loses to the Ace and when East continues the attack West shrugs apologetically and discards. I’m a big game hunter now. I try the hook and when it wins I visualize a double squeeze with as pivot suit. I cash King (East discarding) and now the train of trumps first squeezes West out of and then East. This is the thumb screw position:

Here’s the full deal:

Of course my swindle could have backfired epically. Suppose East had risen with trump Ace, gave West a ruff, then received a ruff herself to cash the setting trick with a high . Man! I would have been disgusted. I score my two overtricks with a smile, I graciously accept Marianne’s compliments for declarer play and we continue our solid game.

Now if only I hadn’t balanced on some crappy hand (down three not vul) this story would have had a perfect finish. I am so sorry Marianne. Second place out of 300+ pairs just doesn’t cut it glamour wise. We shared stories and beer with the good folks of Bridge Big, they do play analog tournaments, too. Good times.

Hi all

The current crisp weather here makes my inner viking smile. How can one complain when you can resolve the tingling of skin with glühwein and hearty soul food? Style wise I’m in heaven, next to wearing my near-endless supply of stripy shirts, I get to wear stripy coifs as well. Yay me!

My team is doing well in the Amsterdam regional competition. With just two matches to go we’re in first place, but the margin is only marginally wider than the skin of my teeth. I don’t feel pressured or nervous, I can look back on a solid season, and as Kees and I are scheduled to play the last two matches I have promotion in my own hands.

Here’s a deal from a regular Monday night. I have lost a bit of sleep over it for sure.

Briskly we bid to the NT slam and when West leads a I see I’m not cold. 

I win the lead in hand and my to the Queen loses to the King. Back comes another and West discards a . When I cross in I see West has started with all five of them. No problem, I still have four tricks there. I cash some more pointed suits which leads to this position:

So far I have lost only one and I have to extract three tricks from this combination (dummy’s 4th went away on my 13th ). I have full count, East is 3-8-0-2 and West is 3-1-5-4.

This is easy, there are only three relevant positions: Qx, Tx, or QT in East. 

At the table I led a low towards my hand and East offered nothing of interest. Scratch that QT! Which one is it? Do I play East for the Queen or the Ten? My kingdom for divine inspiration! I could feel the electric zing in the air, the tension of knowing there actually is a right decision. 

Of course I picked the wrong one.

Why, oh why was I torturing myself, seeking where there is nothing to be found? The odds are firm for this one, cashing Ace and King works 5 times out of 15 combinations, while running the Jack only works for 4 combinations out of 15. My probe for more information was moot, especially against a crafty defender who might surrender the Ten of voluntarily.

Hi all

2015 is approaching fast. I can’t believe it’s already 4 months ago since I wrote my last story. Is it the Amsterdam vibe that’s propelling me forward at ludicrous speeds? I do have embraced Amsterdam, I frequent fancy bars and restaurants, local breweries know me by my first name, and I mesh well with the people here.

About a week ago I passed my ITIL Foundation exam. Stuff about IT services management, best practices, delivering value, plan-do-check-act cycles and more. It wasn’t too hard, but dry it certainly was *cough*. I don’t recall ever having read such dense and uninspiring material. Oh well, I passed so I can allow myself a not too smug little fist pump, not?

My bridge has been quite good (barely any Bridge Big, though), I feel confident at the table and Viking stunts are abundant. Here’s a deal from a recent match:

1. 14-16
2. Transfer
3. Puppet to 3
4. Slam try with singleton
5. Not interested
6. Keys?
7. Two without trump Queen

Kees found his hand too heavy with potential to stick to just game so I end up at the helm in 6. West leads a low and this is what I see:

I win the lead cheaply with my Jack. If trumps break 2-2 I’m cold for 13. But as soon as I play a trump to dummy I see bad news, East is holding all four of them. Suddenly even taking just 12 is challenging. East rises with his Queen when I continue with a trump towards my Jack and switches back to .

Now let’s play close attention to that !

I’ll boldly state that most players would switch to seeing that singleton in dummy, trying to stifle declarer’s transportation and communication. Little glory in switching back to . On a return I would have had no chance but to cash my trump Jack, pitch a and a on my top and take a hook to get to 12 tricks. No more than 50% chance of getting home safely.

On a return I quickly visualized a four-card ending with both minor suit Queens and two black 6’s in dummy opposite AKQ9 in my hand. Now if both opponents are holding one King, neither one of them can hold a four-card suit (a Double Whammy!). It is a Single Whammy! against an opponent who is holding at least one King and JT-4th of , or any 5-crd suit. To me the squeeze approach feels easily more than 50%, but calculating this is currently beyond me.

This was the full deal:

Down one. No magnetic squeeze whatsoever in sight. A pedestrian finesse would have worked out. Life’s just too cruel sometimes.

So back to that return by my opponent. It offered me a chance to go wrong. An extra degree of freedom to hang myself. To me this is beautiful bridge, one deal you actively funnel your opponents into losing plays, another you gently create opportunities for those same opponents to go wrong.

Hi all

I haven’t been very active on the bridge front lately (live or online), my mind has been occupied with work (WebLogic .. arrrrrr … ) and personal distractions. Serious, probably yes; dramatic, no. No worries, I feel .. lighthearted, unchained, on top of my wave and at ease.  

Nira probed me for a deal and who am I to let her down. Here’s me on defence (rotated for convenience).

Sitting West I start the defence with a low and now we move to declarer’s seat.

Declarer took a successful finesse against the Queen, crossed to a high trump catching nothing but grit. The tiny towards dummy gets captured swiftly and West reverts back to . This is what’s left:

Declarer decided to guard against a bad trump split by running the Ten now. I agree, I applaud players who harden their contracts with hard hats and thoughtful safety measures. Unfortunately it wasn’t as thoughtful as expected. West (I) won the trump with the Queen and promptly gave East a ruff. A loser was unavoidable so we write down 1 and €8.55 gets added to my account.

Full deal:

So what was declarer to do when in dummy with the Ten? For sure you can insert a safety measure! The one thing you have to do first is jettison the Ace on the King of . Now you can run trump Ten and if it loses West has no damaging return. You give up a trick and claim ten with four trumps, two clubs, three diamonds and a heart.

Hi all

I have a story about green parakeets. Some night earlier this week I was gazing out of my window and I could swear I saw this green flash. It took my attention and I kept watching. Turns out (after exercising some Google muscle) it is a well documented phenomenon. Sometime in the 70’s pet owners set free their boy & girl parakeets in Amsterdam. Those freebirds (cue Lynyrd Skynyrd) had a lot of little baby birds and now there are flocks of them throughout the city. London has a similar thing. I spot them regularly now, flying over canals, in between buildings, nesting in the big trees or in the parks. Pretty and awesome.

I have to confess my Bridge Big adventures sound very successful all the time, but truth is slightly different. Especially in the last couple of weeks I’ve been bleeding IMPs left and right. My gains have completely evaporated and now I’m struggling not to enter the deep red end. René tells me I still do pretty good, considering the caliber of players lurking around. Every day there are top level players from all over the globe. 

Here’s a nice little deal where I picked up a nugget or two.

1. Penalty

LHO starts with the (unhelpful) Jack of and this is what I see:

Not the coldest of contracts so to say.

I win the lead and start on trumps, a low one to the 9. East wins it with the Jack and switches to a . LHO winning the Queen. Back comes another and I pick up my original plan: trumps. Low to the Ten wins the trick. So my LHO started with AQ-4th. Can I defuse that dirty little bomb?

Yes, sir!

I run dummy’s Ten of and LHO wins it with the Ace. Not wanting to open up any other suit he passively returns his last (breaking 3-3). This is the position now:

I put the King of on the table and West wins it with his Ace. He switches back to for my Ace while I discard a from dummy. Still one trump too many in dummy to pull off a coup. I ruff my King of in dummy while West sheds a . Ruffing a winner instead of a loser just feels nicer, I bet the Hideous Hog would approve. I cross back to my hand with the Queen of and the coup is complete with lead in South:

West just gets his Ace of trumps, I take 8 and €3.80.

Hi all

My apartment in Amsterdam is a charm. I’m so happy with it I could burst with joy. I zig and zag thru the city on my way to work, or get lost going home after the Monday night bridge club, or just feel super snazzy on my purple street bike. Who needs a car when one can bike thru one of the coolest cities in the Netherlands? Yesterday when I biked home after work I saw this poor dude working a sweat uphill with a cute girl on the back of his (less flashy) bike, she seemed unimpressed by his efforts as she was completely immersed in some app on her smartphone. I thought it was a pretty funny sight, true in any era, guys go all in anytime for girls’ favors.

I haven’t been playing a lot at Bridge Big lately, mostly due to work and getting acquainted with Amsterdam. Here’s a nice deal. Why do I only pick up +800’s in pairs and not when playing Cash games?

This is what I hear:

I swung a speculative axe at it.

It wasn’t because I particularly wanted a lead, I’d rather preferred a lead actually. I thought it was just too high. My partner leads a and I scream at my monitor. Why? Why? Why? You idiot, you have zero entries for your suit!

I win my Ace and declarer drops his King. Ohhhhhhh. Trick one, ladies and gentlemen, we have a count! From here all is clear, I switch to a for dummy and next the Jack of wins the trick. When declarer asks for a I rise and clear my suit. After the dust clears declarer has scrambled together 6 tricks so we write +800 and a clean top.

Okay, I forgive my partner. You can lead like a simpleton but when you bring that all important Ten of to the defence I’ll offer amnesty for your sorry ass any day. Just imagine the excruciating pain I would have been subjected to had declarer put me through the wringer of six rounds of . Surely less than pretty.

Hi all

I’m excited about moving into my apartment in Amsterdam next week. No more 3 hour commutes. Yay! It’s tiny but that’s okay, I don’t need a lot of room. My only (returning) pet peeve is the low-hanging shower head. Don’t constructors/builders/architects take the taller slice of the population into account? A long hot shower in a semi-crouch just isn’t that appealing.

Talking about showers, here’s a deal on Bridge Big where my partner gave me warm and fuzzy feelings. I pick up a decent 15-count and I wonder whether I’m going to open 1 or a strong NT. My partner is way ahead of me. 

1. Revealing my slam ambitions with a crude jump
2. Go ahead partner, you do the Ace asking. I don’t like to do that when holding only one key card myself. 

For some reason or another East decided to alert us of  a bad split. I don’t know why partner ran to 6NT but I’m not unhappy with my balanced collection. I usually prefer strain-strain-strain over NT. East leads the Ten and this is what my partner sees:

Plenty of tricks and plenty of play. Combined with East screaming like a madman about the sanity of our contract my partner had no problems executing a safety play in the suit. He won the Ace and immediately ran the Jack. When East covered it was all over: +14 IMP and €9.97 come to papa! 

SuitPlay by Jeroen Warmerdam tells us the suit should be tackled by running the 6 or the Jack first, completely equal in odds (97,1739%) to take four tricks.

When I showed my friend Dennis this deal he offered another approach to bring home twelve tricks. Assuming East holds the King for his insane double, you can crush him by running your and and then place West with Ace and a . That’ll probably work out, too.