March 2020 - 8

Letters to the Editor

awed or intimidated by national champions to enforce the rules. If the ACBL
is serious about bridge as a timed
event, then directors must apply penalties without regard for the reputation
of the players involved.
It has been 10 years or more since I
have seen a pair granted a late play in
District 6, where the Slow Play policy
is routinely enforced. Except under
the most extreme circumstances, we
see penalties assessed in pair games
and boards pulled from team matches
when players exceed their allotted
time. So to see two late plays for the
same pair in a national event makes me
wonder about a lot of issues: whether
the ACBL is serious about its policies;
whether equitable application of the
rules is possible; and whether directors
are receiving appropriate and consistent training.
Incidentally, this pair ended up
among the top 10 in the event. If the
appropriate penalties had been applied, that result would not have been
possible.
JOAN LEWIS
Arlington VA

Shi's got fans

I was so thrilled to see that Sylvia
Shi has achieved the rank of Grand
Life Master (cover story, January
issue) and as the youngest female ever.
Wow! Congratulations to her on such a
wonderful accomplishment.
I first met Sylvia at our local club,
the Hamilton (ON) Bridge Centre, a
few years back. She was visiting with
Daniel Korbel, who is from Hamilton.
I was star-struck that such high-level
players came to play with us. They
earned some of Sylvia's 10,000-plus
masterpoints at our little club.
Bridge is an unusual game where
you get opportunities to play against
some of the very best players. I like that

8 Bridge Bulletin March 2020

challenging aspect of our game. I have
seen Sylvia and played against her a
few times in tournaments since then.
She is so focused and skilled as a player
and always gracious at the table. She's
a role model for everyone.
FAYE BAKER
Hamilton ON

Gambling excitement

Jonathan Shuster's letter in the
January issue ("Just bid it") called
to mind a hand which I played a few
months ago at the Olympia Duplicate
Bridge Club in Washington. I picked up:
♠A Q 8 3 ♥K Q 6 ♦A Q 10 9 5 3 ♣-
and heard my partner, Betsy Brezel,
open 3NT, showing a solid seven-card
minor, with no ace or king outside.
Well! Anything less than 5♣ would
be downright pusillanimous, and 6♣
would not be unreasonable - to me,
anyway. We've all made far worse bids.
And it was clear which hand should
receive the opening lead, so 6♣ it was!
As Mr. Shuster suggests, I was counting on a little help from the opening
lead.
A low club hit the table with a thud,
and Betsy put down:
♠10 4 ♥8 7 3 ♦6 ♣A K Q J 8 7 5.
As advertised! The ♥A was offside,
but the ♠K was onside, and the
diamonds came in with a couple of
ruffs. 6♣ was cold by either hand.
I remain a fan of the gambling 3NT,
not necessarily because it's superior
to any other possible treatment, but
because it adds such opportunities for,
shall we say, "exciting" outcomes. How
else could you declare a making slam,
in two bids, with a void in the trump
suit, with that suit being named for the
first time at the six level? What a game!
THOMAS KUEHNE
Bremerton WA

Would it kill ya to wait?

I was delighted to read Jeffrey
Polisner's letter in the January issue
on the number of people who don't
hesitate after a skip bid. I've even had
many instances where an opponent's
bid is on the table before my skip
bid has landed. The information
conveyed through tempo is surely
more damaging than a skip bid
announcement or card could have
been. It's time to address this issue
again.
LAURA BRILL
White Plains NY

Worst hand ever?

This deal came up at a Leland Bridge
Club game in North Carolina on
Nov. 5, 2019:
Dlr: North ♠ K 6
Vul: N-S ♥ K J 9
Bd: 21
♦ K 10 7 6 5
♣ K 10 6
♠5432
♠AQJ8
♥632
♥AQ4
♦432
♦AQJ
♣432
♣AJ8
♠ 10 9 7
♥ 10 8 7 5
♦98
♣Q975

Sitting West, this is positively the
worst hand I have ever seen. North
opened 1♦ and my partner doubled.
South passed and I responded to the
double with 1♠. Partner bid 4♠.
West made a bad opening lead and the
defenders made another mistake, so I
came to 10 tricks for plus 420.
In the history of bridge, do you think
anyone has ever been dealt a hand
worse than this West hand?
KEN PARKER
Leland NC
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March 2020

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