February 2008 - 6

Viewpoint
By Brent Manley

Don't tell fish stories where the people know
you; but particularly, don't tell them where they
know the fish.
- Mark Twain

Reality
I received an e-mail the other day from a man who was dealt a 10-card suit
in a rubber bridge game. His partner opened 1, and after a pass, the e-mailer
blasted into 6, going down when the opponents cashed two aces. He wanted
to know how he should have bid his hand.
I haven't responded, but I'm tempted to tell him about a late friend who was
dealt 10-card suits on two occasions.
On both occasions - this is a true story - her partner opened the bidding
out of turn and she was barred for the entire auction. My friend, Judy Dixon,
didn't even get a chance to screw up.
Stories such as these add a lot to the interest and fascination of our game. Of
course, if you are not in the bridge fraternity, a crazy story like Judy's wouldn't
mean much to you.
Here's another. Years ago, I was playing in a Swiss teams in Arkansas. The
opponents were vulnerable, and my right-hand opponent opened 1. I passed
and LHO bid 3, forcing to game. My partner then bid 3NT, showing the
minors.
RHO bid Blackwood and, with a huge fit in clubs and at favorable vulnerability, I took an advance save at 6. LHO went into the tank for some time
before finally saying, "Double." RHO considered his options, finally emerging
with "Double."
Naturally, a tournament director was summoned, and when RHO passed, I
was told I could play the contract undoubled (you can't do that these days). I
was pleased to write a mere minus 150 in my scorecard. The opponents had an
easy plus 1430.
I was not so happy when we compared and found that our teammates had a
bidding misunderstanding and landed in 7 off the ace of trumps. That was,
of course, minus 200. Instead of gaining 15 IMPs, we lost 8. Rats!
On another occasion, also in a Swiss teams, our opponents shrugged off the
interference of our unusual 2NT to bid their cold, vulnerable 6. I thought
I had some defense, so I didn't save despite favorable vulnerability, and they
scored plus 1430.
At the other table, the player holding my cards bid 7, which was doubled.
That contract was booked for a mere down one - if the player on lead selected
the correct ace from the two she held. Our teammate very reasonably started
with the wrong ace, and we ended up minus 1430 at our table and minus 1630
at the other for a 22-IMP loss.
Do you have a crazy story like one of these? Write to editor@acbl.org. If I
receive enough of them, we'll publish a collection this year.
r
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Letters to
the Editor
The power of 10
To the Editor:
The 10 must be a powerful card.
Not only was it turned up on three
boards in succession (December,
page 7), its wonders also manifested
themselves in a bracketed knockout
in Louisville KY. On five successive
deals of a 24-board match, the 10
was the opening lead. Strange but
true.
MITCHELL POTE
Indianapolis IN

But could he bid?
To the Editor:
You meet some of the nicest and
most interesting people at the bridge
table, and I have a story to prove it.
I played with Irene Rothenberg of
Highland Beach FL during the 2004
Fall NABC in Orlando. She was a
recommended pickup partner who
was gracious and competent.
We had dinner at an Italian restaurant, and Irene saved the day when
she completed our orders in Italian to
a waiter who was having trouble with
English.
Duly impressed, I complimented
her on her linguistic ability. She then
told me a great story.
Because she could speak the
language, she was chosen to call
for tickets for an opera at La Scala
in Milan, Italy, some time ago. The
person who answered the phone said,
"Luciano speaking." After the exchange of the necessary information,
Bridge Bulletin

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of February 2008