April 2020 - 8

Letters to the Editor

stimulation of bridge. I would hope
that the other branches of our military
will not be left out of the program. It
will have an important role in the Air
Force, Navy, Marines and Merchant
Marines learning programs.
To go one step further, I would
propose that free plays at sectionals,
regionals and NABCs be given to any
military personnel in uniform. Many
older members will remember when
this was a policy of the ACBL 50 years
ago. For those worried about the dollars and cents, the lost revenue would
be minuscule, but the benefit would be
a positive statement by the ACBL in
support of our military.
JERRY THORPE
Past president,
ACBL Educational Foundation
Tacoma WA
Ed: We assume Mr. Thorpe would
extend this suggested policy to members
of the military in Canada, Mexico and
Bermuda.

Oops

The hand analysis on page 20 (diagram on page 19) of the February 2020
issue seems wrong:
Dlr: North ♠ 10 7 4
Vul: None ♥ 5 4
Bd: 17
♦A7
♣KQ8763
♠QJ98
♠K532
♥ 10 8
♥K762
♦98642
♦ J 10 5
♣ A 10
♣J5
♠A6
♥AQJ93
♦KQ3
♣942

8 Bridge Bulletin April 2020

Against South's 6♣, West (John
Hurd) led a high spade, won by declarer's ace. When declarer played a
low trump toward the dummy, Hurd
ducked, and dummy's king won.
Declarer then took the heart finesse,
crossed to the ♦A, took another heart
finesse, cashed the ♦K Q, pitching a
spade from the table, and then played
the ♥A, intending to pitch another
spade. The analysis said that Hurd had
no winning options, but when the ♥A
is played, West can ruff with the ♣A
and play a fourth diamond to promote
East's jack. Given a lack of other more
obvious options, this seems straightforward.
LARRY HEROLD
New York NY
Ed: The play was misreported in the
article. When declarer played a trump
at trick two, West ducked and East
(Joel Wooldridge) played the jack, not
the 5 as stated in the piece. This makes
the promotion unavailable in the ending. Thanks to the many readers who
noticed this.

Now hear this

As a player who has a hearing issue,
the "Ruling the Game" article in the
January issue by TD Matt Smith is
most welcomed.
The bridge community is vastly
made up of seniors, as indicated by the
average age of its members. I venture
that more of us have a hearing issue,
whether we'll admit it or not, than a
mobility issue. Managers, directors,
and players will, rightfully, go out of
their way to accommodate those with
mobility issues.
Those with hearing issues, however, do not get the same respect. The

use or lack of use of the Alert Card is
not taken seriously. As Smith clearly
points out, the ACBL's Alert Procedures defines its use. The lack of use
constitutes misinformation, and that
misinformation can create a complicated ruling.
Just because you say "Alert" doesn't
exonerate you if an opponent doesn't
hear it. The onus is on you to make sure
that your opponents are aware of your
call. You need to protect yourself as
well!
Please, use and support the use of the
Alert card. The visual cue is as important as the auditory cue.
ROBERT BURNS
Tillsonburg ON

"How dare you, sir?!"

In your "In First Seat" column regarding the haikus and limericks, you
wrote this about prior poetry submissions: "many of them awful," "pool of
drivel," "potential for terrible composition," etc.
Is that what passes for humor at
the Bridge Bulletin? (Ed: Umm, yes.)
People are asked to participate in a
contest, and when they do, they are
insulted. Don Rickles is dead. Maybe
we can let that type of humor die also.
And if these remarks were not meant
to be funny, perhaps someone who can
write in a more congenial manner can
take over the task.
There once was a writer named Paul
Who thought Rickles was a ball
He was fat, bald and ugly
Hey, maybe that's funny!
No, that's not amusing at all.
JOSEPH MACTURK
Eureka CA
April 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of April 2020
