Oct '99

Luck, Skill and Greed

All bridge players should try and make the maximum number of tricks, especially in a Matchpoint game. Greed is definitely an inherent trait in any aspiring player. But what about luck and skill?

The Manager of OKB, Tony (Tuna) Reus is fortunate enough to possess all three!
Yep... a true craftsman at the trade.

Witness this hand.


MP-31       gerardo     Dlr: West
Board 628   S KJ74      Vul: Both
            H K74
anon1       D Q854      anon2
S 963       C 42        S QT2
H J985                  H Q632
D T6        tuna        D KJ7
C QT93      S A85       C K75
            H AT
            D A932
            C AJ86

West     North    East     South
anon1    gerardo  anon2    tuna

Pass     Pass     1C       1NT      
Pass     2C       Pass     2D       
Pass     3NT      Pass     Pass     
Pass                                

Opening lead: C3    Result: Made 4
Score: 630          Points:  98.48
Even looking at all 4 hands, it is difficult to see how one manages 9 tricks. Tuna received the worst possible lead, yet made 10!!

The diamonds are wrong, and the spade finesse is off. But that didn't deter the man...

Follow the play closely..

Tuna ducks the third-hand C-K on the lead, and covers cheaply when the C-7 is returned. West takes with the C-9 but fails to shift. LUCK. He continues with the C-Q which Tuna wins. Tuna doesn't cash the 4th club yet (each opponent must be thinking that the other has the C-J!)

Tuna looks for tricks and starts with the D-2 and sticks in the D-8 from dummy. East wins with the D-J and shifts to the obvious H-2. It goes H-10, H-J, H-K.

SKILL: Tuna now plays the D-Q off table!! Nine tricks are now assured. The far-sighted play of the first diamond from hand now pays off - West might have jumped in with Kx(x) - with pinning 10x or Jx in West's hand as a second resort. Wow!

Making nine tricks assures Tuna of a well-above-average score, and East tries valiantly in the end game to keep the stiff S-Q with the H-Q and H-6. If Tuna finesses the S-J, should he be that greedy, then he can set matters right. Alas, Tuna goes up with S-K.

Was it luck? or skill? A bit of both for his insatiable appetite for tricks. GREED.

Tuna received a score of 98.48% for his skilful play.

 

 

A lucky escape!

 

OKB hosted a tournament on each of 3 consecutive days (Oct 1/2/3) for the sole purpose of raising money to assist the victims of the massive earthquake in Turkey. It was well supported, and many top players showed their presence in this wonderful cause. A sizeable "auction" purse was collected.

I played with my good friend Arthur Blankstein of Canada. This was the second day, and we are two-thirds through with an average score of just over +1 IMP per board. We are doing nicely, considering the field, and we sit against 2 good players, who are known to us. We can "feel" the tension...

We started this round late - blame it on the "Made in Indonesia" pings.

 

(hands rotated for convenience) 


IMPs        North          
Dlr:North   anon2
Vul:Both    S KJ62         
Board:20    H QJ97 
            D Q62
            C AT 
 West                  East 
 macart                elsid 
 S AT9                 S 8753
 H T6                  H 8
 D 74                  D KJT93
 C KJ9543              C Q86
            South 
            anon1
            S Q4
            H AK5432
            D A85
            C 72


west     north    east     south
macart   anon2    elsid    anon1
          1D       pass     1H
 3C       3H       5C       5H
 (all pass)

Opening Lead: C5
A typical aggressive computer auction!

Before you read how the play went, imagine for a second you are declarer and, yes, you are allowed to look at all 4 hands! How would you play it?

 

The first hurdle comes immediately on the lead. Do you win this trick or not?

Since you have to lose the lead twice, it is imperative not to allow West to punch diamonds through the queen twice. You are indeed lucky to have escaped a diamond lead! You therefore duck this trick. East wins with the C-Q and is rueful at not bidding 4D- on the way to 5C-. That may have assured a diamond lead.... East returns the C-8 since nothing is better.

Declarer draws two rounds of trumps ending in dummy and advances a spade. Perhaps East jumps in with the ace in thin air... but East is wide awake to realise that he doesn't have the ace. West knows that aces are made to take honours and pounces with his ace on the queen. He plays a diamond in accordance with my D-9 signal on the second trump (we are odd/even). It goes D-7, D-2, D-10, D-A.

We see a warning that we are late for the round. First warning, but a couple of excalamation marks are used in the message. We hurry.

Declarer now runs his trumps. We all discard at breakneck speed. When the last trump hits the table, the position is: 

               anon2
           S KJ6 
           H -  
           D Q
           C - 
West                  East
macart                elsid
S T9                 S 873
H -                  H -
D 7                  D K
C K                  C - 
           South
           anon1
           S 4
           H 3
           D 85
           C -

A second warning arrives. An extra exclamation mark.

I had thrown my diamonds in random order - the D-J first, then down the line. When the H-3 is played. macart discards his last club, the D-Q is thrown off table.... and me?!! My mouse is sweating. I throw the D-K. I am hoping macart holds the vital D-8, and I really need to keep parity with the spade length in dummy.

"Great squeeze!!" I am preparing to say, when declarer plays..... a spade!!!   Down 1, and a very gratifying 12.21 IMPs to us.

 

Art and I are very pleased in finishing runners up! That 5H hand certainly boosted us. What a lucky escape!

 
And who were the winners?     Why, Tuna and partner (DonnaA) of course!!     Yes, he was the luckiest, greediest, but also the most skilful player in the field.     :)

 

 

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