September 2006 - 6

Viewpoint
By Brent Manley

People think computers will keep them from
making mistakes. They're wrong. With computers
you make mistakes faster.
- Adam Osborne

Cookie cutters
I was going over the Daily Bulletins from the World Bridge Championships
in Verona, Italy, early last month, looking for material for the report on the
McConnell Cup (see page 22). One of the deals I wrote up was a real heartbreaker for the Hansa Narasimhan team.
Debbie Rosenberg and JoAnna Stansby had a good auction to a terrific
grand slam in clubs that was undone by a 4-0 trump split with no chance of
avoiding a loser even if declarer could have seen all four hands.
The contract at the other table was a small slam in diamonds. Debbie and
JoAnna were rewarded for their excellent auction with a 16-IMP loss.
I wasn't right there when Debbie realized she was going down in a grand
slam in the final of a world championship, but I'm betting she wasn't too
upset. She and her partner bid to a great contract that will make about 90% of
the time. She might have even envisioned the same contract at the other table.
Anyway, sometimes, even the "right" decision - correct for the situation or
for the two hands involved - turns out "wrong." That's just bridge.
Our game is exciting at just about any level because you never know what's
coming next. Even "rock-solid" contracts go down the drain. Finesses lose.
Trumps break badly. Opponents screw up royally - and you get the zero.
If nothing ever went wrong, the game would be boring.
What made me think of this a little more than usual was an inquiry from
a person who played at a tournament and found the cards running the "other
way" most of one session. The writer asked if the ACBL could produce tournament hand records with the high-card strength more or less evenly distributed
between East-West and North-South.
The answer is yes - there are deal programs that allow the user to set parameters that could assure a "fair share" of high-card points for both directions.
The question is this: would you want to play in a tournament if the "random"
deals had been manipulated in this way (or any other way, for that matter).
Also: if we start this at tournaments, will clubs, where most hands are humandealt, come under pressure to "even out" the strength? I have played many
times when my opponents seemed to have all the cards - and vice versa (no
matter how it feels for one session, it all evens out in the long run).
When I'm counting high-card points in single digits all night, I try to focus
on taking as many tricks on defense as possible. It's great for sharpening
concentration and just generally exercising the mind.
Bridge is the most fascinating game in the world because there are always
surprises. Let's retain all of the many challenges that keep us coming back to
the table.
r
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Letters to
the Editor
Helping hand
To the Editor:
I would like to share with your
readers a wonderful experience I had
at the Summer NABC in Chicago.
Mary Eldridge and Mary Alice
Herzog of Elm Grove WI, Sue
Radichel of Hartland WI and I
were talked into entering the Wagar
Women's Knockout Teams, although
among us we had only about 1300
masterpoints. We understood very
little about what we were to do, but
we were excited to take part.
Our first opponents were the
Judi Radin team. To say we were
outclassed is to make a huge understatement. They were very gracious
and very good. We scored very few
points in the first quarter. I remarked
to Shawn Quinn, one of our opponents, that I recognized the disparity in
ability and said we would be grateful
for any help she and her teammates
might provide after the game.
At the beginning of the third set,
Shawn asked to speak to me. She
said that she and her teammates were
more than happy to continue the
match, but that if we wanted to withdraw, she would be pleased to go with
our team to another room, where she
would give us some bridge lessons.
We accepted with alacrity!
She took us into another room
(even carrying the table) and talked
at length to us about bridge, and then
had us play eight boards, which she
critiqued while we played. I cannot tell you what a kind, gracious
teacher she was, and how much we
Bridge Bulletin

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of September 2006