By Val Rhead
As I have pointed our previously, Bridge is a game of mistakes. Generally, the partnership that makes the fewest mistakes wins the game.
There are two basic kinds of mistakes. There are the mistakes that occur because of lack of skill or experience. The number of these mistakes should decline with practice. Then there are the mistakes that are just stupid, dumb mistakes that players make when they are careless or distracted, or over-tired or hungry. The mistakes can be as simple as mixing the King of Diamonds in with four Heart cards and, thinking a five-card Heart suit, opening the bidding with One Heart. The number of these kinds of mistakes will only improve if you work on improving your communications with your partner and your concentration. It’s not an effective Bridge strategy to be planning your dinner as you bid your hands.
Another example of a frequent stupid mistake is something we talked about in one of our recent columns on slam bidding. It is necessary to be sure that you are playing the slam that you bid. How often have players bid a Six Clubs slam but start out playing it in Six No Trump? It doesn’t work. Sooner or later the declarer is going to be trumped by the opposition and go down.
Conversely if declarer’s contract is Six No Trump and he tries to ruff with a small Club, thinking he is playing Six Clubs, his opponent will say: “Sorry, that’s our trick; the contract is No Trump!” How embarrassing.
When the contract is for a suit, the player in dummy position routinely will place the trump suit on the right side of his hand to remind declarer and everyone else which suit is trump. It’s useful to double-check this as you play. This works, of course, as long as there are some trump cards sitting in the dummy. Once they have been exhausted, you’ll have to reach into your memory that “oh yes, trumps are Diamonds”.
Many of us face the problem of forgetting trump from time to time. However, it is especially difficult if a contract ends up in No Trump after, for example, a bid of Spades by the declaring partnership. It will confuse players (declarer included) needlessly if partner with the dummy hand puts down Spades in that right-hand column. In the case of a No Trump contract, the right-hand column of the dummy hand should contain the suit that was led. The opponent’s lead is valuable information to remember. Of course if the lead is Spades, the partnership should have discussed with each other how this situation should be handled so that the contract is not confused as Spades.
A problem occurs when a player makes a lead when it isn’t his turn to lead. In duplicate games a penalty may be assessed. This problem can be avoided easily by the player who thinks he is on lead. He holds out the lead card face down, and asks his partner “any questions, partner?” The “questions” he is referring to are by any player, at his turn to play, about any part of the bidding that is unclear. The second reason for leading face down when asking the question, and perhaps the more important one, is that it gives his partner a chance to say “it’s not your lead.” The player can then withdraw his card without incurring a penalty.
You might think little of the importance of these strategies until you make one of the stupid, dumb mistakes. There is so much potential for making mistakes, let’s try to expunge the stupid, dumb mistakes from our arsenal. For the other kind of mistakes, make sure to review regularly with your partner the methods and conventions you use. Concentrate on the game. You can always pick up that night’s dinner from Swiss Chalet.
If you wish to promote an activity in your bridge group or ask a bridge question, send the information to [email protected] and I will try to include it in this column.
HUNTSVILLE DUPLICATE BRIDGE CLUB
Please NOTE new time 7pm: Games are now on EVENING PLAY for the Summer, Tuesday 7:00pm Trinity United Church 33 Main Street. Please arrive 15 minutes before game time. For partners and information call Liz Graham (705) 789-7187
The following winners are for Tuesday, May 1 with 11 pairs playing a Howell movement. Congratulations to Rod Dixon and Vern Foell for a very respectful 71%. 1. Vern Foell and Rod Dixon; 2. Liz Barnes and David Bryce; 3. Betty Fagin and Brian Brocklehurst; 4. Fay MacDonald and Yvonne Cox; 5. Joanne Garvey and Barb Green; 6. Mary Whitehead and Helen Pearson
MUSKOKA DUPLICATE BRIDGE CLUB (Bracebridge)
Games for the Bracebridge Club are Mondays 7pm, Knox Presbyterian Church, 120 Taylor Road. Please arrive 15 minutes before game time. For information or partnerships, call Brian at 705-645-5340 [email protected]
The following winners are from Monday, Apr 30 with 17 pairs playing a Howell movement. North-South 1. Mary Luke and Donna McIntosh; 2. Carol Anne Robinson and Nancy Barber; 3. Betty Fagin and Brian Brocklehurst; 4. Val Rhead and Joanne Garvey; 5. Gail Lederer and Hazel Bowes; East-West 1. Lyn Walisser and Sue Lawson; 2. Liz Barnes and David Bryce; 3. Lynda Mochrie and Wayne Mochrie; 4. Art Insley and Don Evans; 5. Frank Vagnoni and Gerry Lawrence
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