November 2017 - 7

➺ InBox
Wishing well

In the September Bulletin, C.K.
Kohlmiller describes a hand where one
trick consisted of the 2, 3, 4 and 5 in
one suit, and asked if this oddity had
a name, suggesting the moniker "slap
trick."
There already is a name for a 2-3-
4-5 trick: It's called a "wish trick." As
you would expect, it occurs rarely; I've
encountered only one or two in over
50 years of bridge. But there was an
occasion many years ago when I went
one better.
Holding this 2=3=2=6 dog:
♠7 2 ♥Q 6 4 ♦9 3 ♣J 8 7 6 5 4,
I heard LHO open 1♣, after which
partner doubled and RHO passed. So I
bid the unpleasant but mandatory 1♥.
After partner showed his strength by
rebidding 1NT, I corrected to 2♣, ending the auction. LHO made the opening
lead, and when partner tabled the ♣A
Q 9 2, it was obvious how the trump
suit was divided. So when I reached
my hand with the ♥Q, I led the 4 of
trumps: 3, 2, discard by RHO.
Lacking a name for this truly rare
animal, I called it a "super wish trick."
MARSHALL E. SCHWARTZ
Oakland CA
The editors - who assumed that there
was universal agreement on the definition of wish trick as A-2-3-4 - were
surprised by Mr. Schwartz's assertion
that the definition was actually 5-4-
3-2. So a survey was conducted on the
Bridge Winners website which revealed
that a significant minority - about onethird - agree with Schwartz.

In defense of defense

I join you in celebrating the rise of
robots in bridge (September issue).
They provide an opportunity to play at
any time and any place and most importantly, a way for developing players

Letters to the Editor

to practice what they are learning from
teachers, partners and the literature
on bidding and the play of the hand.
Albert Einstein's comment rings true
in bridge: "Learning is experience.
Everything else is just information."
I attribute much of the significant increase in my average score as declarer
over the past 20 months to my practice
play with robot partners in individual
tournament games on BBO. Sadly, my
average score on defense has hardly
budged by comparison. I attribute
this to the fact that the human plays
offense on well over 80% of the hands
dealt in these games, and to the fact
that the BBO robots often fail to follow
standard defensive conventions. My
partner and I find it equally frustrating
to set up defensive hands for practice
in the teaching section of BBO. The
bias toward offense also appears in
the articles in the Bulletin. In recent
issues, well over 80% of the teaching
and review articles are focused on bidding and play of the hand. I think most
will agree that half the hands played by
humans are as a defender.
I will always choose human
competitors when seeking enjoyment.
My greatest bridge experiences have
come while playing at In Tempo, my
home club in Scottsdale AZ. But I
know I will be able to learn faster when
robots are available to patiently help
me master all aspects of the game. I
suggest the following: (1) ensure that
half the hands dealt in individual
BBO tournament robot games put
the human on defense; (2) make the
robots play a clearly stated "defensive
convention card"; (3) create a library
of defensive practice hands for use
in the teaching section of BBO and
make it possible for partners to see one
another's hands (while hiding the robot
opponent's hands) while practicing
defense; and (4) include more practice

hands and articles on defense in the
Bridge Bulletin.
JEFFREY MILLER
Scottsdale AZ
I agree with sanctioned ACBL games
playing with robots. But ACBL should
require improvements to these robots
with flexible convention cards and
flexible defense with signals.
The actual robots are great for learning declarer play, but very poor to learn
defense! And for bidding, we're stuck
with the a very limited robot convention card.
MARCEL SOUCY
Métis-sur-mer QC

Welcoming new players

Kudos to new CEO Bahar Gidwani. I
look forward to getting to know other
bridge-playing staff of the ACBL. His
last question to graphic designer Liza
Frisbie was the most important: How
to get more (younger) people to play
bridge?
I am a relatively new player in my
50s, and I have managed to accidentally bring a former student of mine into
the social - then later, duplicate - fold.
My social group is most friendly, and
we are welcoming to inexperienced
players. The group gives everyone a
chance to get their feet wet. We also
play in a public place: the campus
center of a university (most of us being
current or retired professors). That
might be the key.
VICTORIA FRISCH
Westerville OH

Letters to the editor are welcome by regular mail and email.
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. Send emails to editor@acbl.org.

November 2017 Bridge Bulletin

7
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of November 2017
