August 2019 - 8

Letters to the Editor
china/glass mugs, plates, etc.
As with all new trends, old habits are
tough to break. Club and tournament
hosts can purchase a spare supply of
these items from thrift shops and make
them available to those who forget.
They could even charge a small price to
cover the expense. In time, this practice will become the norm.
Tournament flyers and ACBL publications that advertise tournaments
should include the message that plastic
and styrofoam items will not be provided on-site and that participants should
bring their own. As an added incentive,
organizers could offer a drawing for a
prize for those who participate.
One other point, clubs and tournaments should substitute the thousand
or so mini-pots of cream for coffee
with fresh cream in a thermos, just as
they do in coffee shops.
As bridge players, we have a duty to
protect the environment. Let's get with
the program and save planet Earth. No
more plastic and no more styrofoam.
BARBARA MORIN
Kelowna BC

Rating system: contra

I believe Dave Lubeck is wrong in
the assertion in his letter (May 2019)
about the need for a rating system.
There are many fundamental flaws
with a rating system in bridge, which
makes it impossible to develop fairly:
1. Bridge is a partnership game. Both
partners would get rated the same way
based upon results, when a good or bad
result may be the result of only one of
the players.
2. It would destroy incentives for players to play outside of their normal partnerships or with weaker players. My
unit is starting a mentoring program:
Why would a mentor volunteer if it will
negatively impact their rating?
3. Luck (part 1) - Chess is a game of
known outcomes; bridge is not. Per-

8 Bridge Bulletin August 2019

centage plays and superior lines of play
are not guaranteed to work. A finesse
or a lucky break may bring home a bad
contract; similarly, taking an inferior
line of play may work on a particular
lie of the cards. Bad breaks can sink
a well-bid contract. In chess, you can
see where all the pieces are to determine your play; you do not see all 52
cards at bridge to know the right place
to bid to or the right line of play. Also,
not all fields are created equal. Playing
against a field of weaker players, you
are more likely to do well. Are you playing in a national event or a limited club
game? How good are the players generally at your club? Finally, the result on
a board may depend on who you are
playing. Some examples:
a) A poor declarer goes down or
makes fewer tricks than a more
experienced player would. The more
experienced player benefits, even
though if he were playing it one table
away, he would have gotten a worse
result.
b) Receiving an average against a
weak pair because it's a flat board. To
win, you should do well against weaker players, but there may be nothing
to be done within your control.
c) Receiving a bad result because you
play it against a strong pair who bids,
plays or defends it well.
4. The form of scoring impacts results! At matchpoints or BAM in a 4♥
contract, you may play all-out to make
five; at IMPs, you may take a safety play
to ensure four. Are you going to penalize a partnership for declarer taking a
safety play at IMPs because it is better
technique and the other declarers took
a matchpoint-style line of play and
made five? Similarly, if a defender plays
all-out for a set at IMPs, which leads to
an overtrick instead of holding declarer
to the contract, is that pair going to be
penalized for using the right strategy at
that form of scoring?

5. Bad play can get a good result, leading to an undeserved bad result for the
opponent.
6. The conventions being used affect
both sides' results. Sometimes system,
rather than the quality of the play,
determines results.
7. Sometimes, one board hand makes
a big change in the score, but it does
nothing to show the caliber of a player.
8. Penalties for irregularities can create
score swings. Obvious examples are
being able to demand or forbid a lead, or
being forced to lead a particular card.
JASON FUHRMAN
Yonkers NY

Points, schmoints

When my partner and I crossed back
into the U.S. in our rental car after attending the Penticton Regional in British Columbia, the U.S. Customs and
Border Protection agent asked what
we'd been doing in Canada.
"We played in Canada's biggest
bridge tournament," I said.
"Did you win?" he asked.
"Nah," I said. "Our play mostly
sucked."
"Got more than 10,000?" The agent
asked.
"No," I said.
"Not in our lifetime," added my partner, her mind still on bridge.
The agent give us a pitiful look as he
waved us on.
It took my partner a minute to realize
that there had been a serious misunderstanding.
"Oh, I just realized," she said. "He
was only asking the routine question
if we were carrying more than 10,000
dollars. I guess he wasn't interested
in our masterpoints - if he even knew
what they are."
She felt pretty silly, but we did have a
good laugh about it.
PIETER VANBENNEKOM
Vero Beach FL

August 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of August 2019