May 2019 - 7

➺ InBox
Congratulations to the
Rosenbergs

It was nice to see Debbie and
Michael Rosenberg on the cover of the
March issue of the Bridge Bulletin and
learn about all the good work they do.
I believe it was in 1988 that I first
met Debbie, a young enthusiastic winner of some youth bridge competitions.
Debbie inspired with her clear and
decisive approach to teaching bridge.
I and a few other seniors (now in
our 80s) are just a few of the players
who are indebted to her for so lovingly
teaching us the ABCs of the game.
RUTH MEYER
New York NY

A minor difference

Duplicate arose as a way to play
competitive bridge because your score
depends on your result on each hand
compared to other results on the same
hand, rather than the absolute magnitude of your score. Until the widespread availability of computers, the
only practical way to score pairs was
matchpoints, where it doesn't matter
whether you win a hand by 10 points or
2000. While other scoring methods are
now practical with computers (IMP
pairs is the default scoring method
on Bridge Base Online), matchpoints
remains the nearly universal scoring
method for duplicate pairs.
Matchpoint scoring introduced substantial distortions into bridge bidding
by, for example, creating 3NT making
four as a top result compared to four of
a major making four, or five of a minor
making six. This led one legendary
player to assert that she would rather
drink battery acid than bid five of a minor. It is not at all obvious that bidding
3NT making four shows a dramatically
higher level of skill than bidding five
diamonds making six. This problem is
mostly absent in team competitions

Letters to the Editor

scored by IMPs, where a 10-point difference is a tie, and (usually) a 20- or
30-point difference on one hand is
largely irrelevant to the match result.
I propose that the distortion in bidding caused by matchpoint scoring be
reduced by increasing the game bonus
for minor-suit games by 50 points.
Then four of a major making five would
be the same result as five of a minor
making five (3NT making five is still
better).
CLINT HEIPLE
Boulder CO

Correction, Mr. Bond

Regarding George Jacobs's March
column (p. 65), it was George Lazenby
rather than Timothy Dalton who married as James Bond only to have his
wife (Diana Rigg) killed. More importantly, and without taking anything
away from either of the Georges,
Hemant Lall has been (and continues
to be) considerably more significant
and successful in the world of bridge
than Lazenby vis-a-vis the cinema, in
my opinion.
BILL WEINGARDEN
Santa Monica CA

The Tell-Tale Tells

I read with interest August Boehm's
article "Bridge and Poker." On the matter of observing your opponent's tells, I
recalled reading the following:
To have a retentive memory, and to
proceed by 'the book,' are points commonly regarded as the sum total of good
playing. But it is in matters beyond the
limits of mere rule that the skill of the
analyst is evinced. He makes, in silence,
a host of observations and inferences.
So, perhaps, do his companions; and the
difference in the extent of the information obtained, lies not so much in the
validity of the inference as in the quality of the observation. The necessary

knowledge is that of what to observe.
Our player confines himself not at all;
nor, because the game is the object,
does he reject deductions from things
external to the game. He examines the
countenance of his partner, comparing it carefully with that of each of his
opponents. He considers the mode of
assorting the cards in each hand; often
counting trump by trump, and honor by
honor, through the glances bestowed by
their holders upon each. He notes every
variation of face as the play progresses,
gathering a fund of thought from the
differences in the expression of certainty, of surprise, of triumph, or chagrin.
From the manner of gathering up a
trick he judges whether the person taking it can make another in the suit. He
recognizes what is played through feint,
by the air with which it is thrown upon
the table. A casual or inadvertent word;
the accidental dropping or turning of a
card, with the accompanying anxiety
or carelessness in regard to its concealment; the counting of the tricks, with the
order of their arrangement; embarrassment, hesitation, eagerness or trepidation - all afford, to his apparently intuitive perception, indications of the true
state of affairs. The first two or three
rounds having been played, he is in full
possession of the contents of each hand,
and thenceforward puts down his cards
with as absolute a precision of purpose
as if the rest of the party had turned
outward the faces of their own.
Such an "observant" player would
probably be drummed out of a bridge
club in modern times, but the above,
about the level of analytical powers
needed to play a good game of whist,
was written by Edgar Allan Poe from
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.

May 2019 Bridge Bulletin

May 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of May 2019