June 2008 - 7

Letters to the Editor

England.
First, there is Burn's Law of Total
Trumps: When you play in a suit,
choose a suit in which you and your
partner have more cards than the opponents do.
Burn gives a lovely example of an
international team disobeying his
Law of Total Trumps at the six level,
and because of it, failing to qualify
for the Bermuda Bowl knockout
phase. If only they'd read his articles.
The Rule of 8: In the bidding,
figure out how many aces your opponents hold. Subtract that number
from 8. Don't bid at that level.
Burn's Third Law: You can't make
3NT on a crossruff.
I am reminded, by the way, of a
time when my favorite partner and I
were playing a system based on the
Polish Club, and an application of the
Law of Total Trumps came up.
Our bidding was 1 (multi-way) -
1 (negative); 1 - Pass.
My partner put down a weak
dummy with three hearts. The opponents inquired about our bidding,
and my partner explained the possibilities, including that my heart
suit might be as short as three cards
(something mandated by the system
at the time). He then added, "He
looks like a man declaring a 3-3 fit."
I thought that this was going a bit
beyond the requirements of full disclosure - especially as he was right!
Shortly after that, we revamped the
system.
DAVID GOLDFARB
Oakland CA

Shining moments
To the Editor:
Regarding your Viewpoint of April
(page 6), for me, the fascination of
bridge is knowing I played at least
one contract well. It must be experienced. It cannot be communicated.
The time required to play a contract
is small, so you can play many in a
short period, providing many chances
for success.
When money is the only consideration, we lose everything. Money is
the sleaziest of goals, a negative motivator. It is a sickness in our society.
As the great Grantland Rice wrote:
June 2008

"For when the One Great Scorer
comes to write against your name, He
marks not that you won or lost, but
how you played the game."
RICHARD R. RIKER
Mackinaw City MI

Bid 'em up
To the Editor:
We are recent Middlebury College
graduates, and we taught a beginner
bridge course on campus during the
winter. After explaining the very
basics of bidding, we had everyone
deal some practice hands. On the first
deal, three out of the five tables bid
and made a cold (even for newbies)
grand slam! The following deal, two
of the five tables bid and made small
slams, leading to the obvious question from a student: "Why would you
ever bid at the one or two level when
you make slam every time?"
ROSS LIEB-LAPPEN
LEE CORBETT
Winooski VT

Keen observer
To the Editor:
Eddie Kantar's Test Your Play is
some of the finest bridge writing anywhere. I have no quarrel with the line
of play suggested for problem two in
the April issue (page 55) but the defense has an interesting opportunity.
After winning the opening club
lead, declarer plays the A, ruffs
a heart and plays a diamond to the
10. East can now put declarer to an
awkward guess by winning that with
the king and playing a heart.
Declarer is likely to ruff with the
ace, going down when diamonds
prove to be 4-1.
ROY HUGHES
Toronto ON

Smile
To the Editor:
I was wondering if you could add
an article in your next bridge magazine on courtesy and hospitality.
I like bridge tournaments. I think
I keep up, am polite and not chatty.
Sometimes I find the older bridge
players (yes, I am the youngest one in
the room) rather curt and rude.

I always greet my opponents and
mention my partner's name. How
many masterpoints must a bridge
player have to be polite? Surely,
these players read your magazine. An
article on this subject might make a
difference with some of them.
MICHELLE HALL
Atlanta GA
Figuring out how to convince all
ACBL members that it's in their best
interest to be friendly, especially to
newcomers, is a recurring theme in
this magazine. Other readers with
ideas on this subject are encouraged
to write.

He's a fan
To the Editor:
I consider myself an intermediate
level bridge player, but I found the
page by Karen Walker in the March
issue (page 56) to be one of the most
helpful I have read despite the fact
it is labeled for advanced players.
Please give her my compliments.
RALPH WESTFALL
Evanston IL
We very much enjoy the association with Karen and appreciate her
dedication to bridge - and she looks
great in her Fighting Illini sweatshirt.

Later is better?
To the Editor:
I was fortunate enough to qualify
for the North American Pairs finals,
so I was in Detroit for the first part of
the Spring NABC. While I was there,
the temperature never climbed above
freezing, and it snowed several times.
What is "springlike" about that?
When the Spring NABC is scheduled
for a city in the Northeast or upper
Midwest, why can't it be held in
early April, when the weather has 
Letters to the editor are welcome
by regular mail, e-mail editor@acbl.
org or fax 901-398-7754. Brevity is
considered a virtue, as is subject
matter with relevance to a majority
of ACBL members. Unsigned letters
are not considered for publication,
so please include your name and
hometown. Letters may be edited.
All letters will receive a response.

7
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of June 2008
