September 2019 - 8

Letters to the Editor
about these situations. It is just simpler to apply the Wishin' and Hopin'
Convention than to remember there is
a 49.7391% chance of a 3-1 split.
The Flattery Convention: My partner and I tried the Flannery Convention for a while. I could remember a
2♦ opener meant that partner was
showing five hearts and four spades,
but then I could never remember
the responses. I have substituted the
Flattery Convention in its place. This
is a technique whereby I shamelessly
flatter opposing Life Master teams
in the hope that they will relax their
guard and start making mistakes. This
particular convention has provided
limited success.
LYN WIDMYER
Charles Town WV

Commuting is overrated

Not all the excitement of a bridge
tournament happens at the table. At a
recent regional in Greenville SC, my
three teammates and I were playing
in a knockout event. It was the second day of the event, so we were still
in the running. I needed 5.63 gold to
become a Life Master. My partner, Dee
Steely, was commuting from Anderson
SC with her brother, Bob Yon. They
stopped for lunch about five miles out
from the playing site. As they were
ready to leave the restaurant, they
were dismayed to discover a flat tire
on Bob's car. Unable to find a taxi or
Uber, Bob went through the restaurant,
offering $40 to anyone willing to drive
Dee to the tournament. Fernando, one
of the customers, came to the rescue.
He got Dee to the front door three
minutes before game time. We won
both KO matches that day, and I earned
my gold card. One of our teammates,
Sylvia (Jeri) Cole, became a Bronze
Life Master.
A year ago, Dee and I were playing in

8 Bridge Bulletin September 2019

the Greenville Sectional. One day, after
the morning game, Dee and I left the
hotel to eat lunch. As we headed back
for the afternoon session, we were
rear-ended on a nearby road, causing
us jolts and bruises and $2500 worth of
damage to my car. Needless to say, we
missed the game, but we did not lose
our enthusiasm for those Greenville
tournaments.
MARY WINIARSKI
Anderson SC

Grand slam in three bids

One day this summer, when my mom
and I were playing practice boards
online, I held:

We got 14.9 IMPs on this board,
because nobody else bid a grand. Only
a few were in 6NT. On this board, we
also make 7♠ and 7NT. Interestingly,
even if my mom swapped the ♣Q and
the ♥A for the ♣K and a low heart, 13
tricks are still available on a non-heart
lead.
My mom said that she was thinking about rebidding 2♦ or 3♦, but
her mouse slipped, and she accidentally bid 7♦. She also told me that she
nearly fainted when she saw her bid.
At the end, we felt ecstatic about our
score on this deal.
BRIAN ZHANG
Dublin CA

♠A Q J x x ♥J 9 ♦Q J x x ♣A x.

Editor's note: Mr. Zhang is 8 years old.

When my mom opened 1♦, I responded 1♠, planning to force to game
next round. Then, my mom bid 7♦! I
was surprised by this bid, but I passed,
thinking "Hope you make it." I was
flabbergasted that no one doubled!
West, a robot, led the ♣7. Declarer
went up with the ace in dummy and
drew trumps with a diamond to her ace
and to dummy's queen. At this point,
I got the feeling that 7 ♦ would make
even if partner only had the K-x in
spades and six diamonds to the A-K.
In the end, my mom pitched two hearts
and one club to make 7♦. This was the
full deal:

Cell phones: Lighten up

♠AQJ62
♥J9
♦QJ64
♣A5
♠953
♠ 10 8 4
♥ 10 7 4
♥KQ853
♦83
♦ 10
♣J9876
♣K432
♠K7
♥A62
♦AK9752
♣ Q 10

I'd like to suggest that consideration
be given to loosening rules on cell
phones at tournaments. Cell phone
use has changed a lot since these rules
went into effect. Back then, cell phones
were, indeed, phones. I certainly don't
want a phone ringing in the middle
of a hand, nor do I want to listen to
somebody's conversation. But having
finished play, waiting for a round to
be called or waiting for teammates to
return from a slow-playing table, why
not allow the silent use of a phone to
catch up on messages, read the news
or whatever? How is that any different
from pulling out a book or newspaper
to read, other than one's phone is a lot
more convenient?
If necessary, keep the current rules
for the top-level national events. But
for us mere bridge mortals, how about
letting us fill dead time in the same way
we do anywhere else?
JIM STAHL
Chagrin Falls OH

September 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of September 2019