Making the Most of Mistakes
There is a science for operating within a faulty system which is not given enough coverage in the bridge literature. Mistakes are human. We can’t pretend they don’t exist, so what we have to do is make...
View ArticleMistakes ‘R Us
Bridge authors are prone to reporting brilliances and ignoring mistakes. Brilliances are newsworthy because they are rare. Mistakes are so common they tend to be ignored, however, it is often errors...
View ArticleThe Obamacare Syndrome
Well, here we are again with congressmen grilling a government official about the failure of a project over which she had little control and about which the accusers understand very little. One wonders...
View ArticleJacoby 2NT – Concealment and Disclosure
Beginners love 4NT Blackwood because it asks a simple question and gives a simple answer. What a relief that is. Of course, the answers don’t guarantee the right contract will be reached. One may ask...
View ArticleCryptic Controls
In a previous blog we discussed an opener’s reaction to a 2NT Jacoby raise and suggested that 3♣ should be defined as an asking bid. The subsequent auction can be geared towards hiding as far as...
View ArticleIt’s a Mad, Mad, Bridge World
Reading through the Bridge World is like watching CNN for an entire morning. Apart from the commercials, TV content is mostly bad news that only adds to the depression of its couch-bound clients. No...
View ArticleMystical Math
Some feel there is mystic power in certain numbers: 7 is lucky, 13 is unlucky. Scholars in the 10th Century calculated the world would end in the year 1000 AD, a nice round number, albeit a...
View ArticleOn Being a Calf
Imagine what it would be like to play with Don Rickles for a session during which you were the doomed defenders on each and every hand. After your third miss in a row Don looks across the table and...
View ArticleVisualizing the Ending
After the Vanderbilt comes the Masters. Golf and bridge have much in common. Pro golfers are taught when addressing the ball to imagine it hitting the green and rolling up to the cup. Even a fleeting...
View ArticleYou Gotta Have Style
It was good to see Meckwell return to the top at the 2014 Vanderbilt. Things have not gone as well as expected for the Nickell team after the addition of the highly esteemed Levin-Weinstein...
View ArticleWhat Do I Need to Know?
Why, might we ask, is 2/1 a popular system? Primarily the concept is easily grasped: ‘you open at the one-level, I respond at the 2 level, and we can’t stop below game.’ This doesn’t mean it always...
View ArticleHormones and Bridge
Does Wall Street make sense? John Coates, a former trader, doesn’t think so. In his 2012 book, entitled The Hour between Dog and Wolf, he maintains he doesn’t believe in Mind over Matter, in fact, he...
View ArticleBridge Beyond Reason
Some people like to think of bridge in deterministic terms: find the correct solution and you win. This is the textbook approach. In practice there is uncertainty, in which case, the correct solution...
View ArticleInformation Changes Perception
Information Changes Perception In a recent Swiss Teams I was dealt the following potent collection: ♠ AKQT6 ♥ AJT8 ♦ — ♣ AQ43. If I could make just one bid it would be 6♠, but slam was possible in 3...
View ArticleWatching Meditation at Work
I was delighted to see Allan Graves come out a winner at the 2014 Spingold as a member of the Richard Schwartz team. I have played against him several times at our local club while he was a resident of...
View ArticleThe Wagar Cup Appeal
When committees continuously modify a basically simple set of rules to accommodate narrow self-interests, one ends up with a tangle that defies logic and confounds the ordinary man. The tax laws with...
View ArticlePerfect in Its Imperfection
What is captivating about participating in a sport is that a false impression of perfection is momentarily achievable. It is most exhilarating to score a goal, or hit a home run, or score up a risky...
View ArticleThe Way They Were
The BBO coverage of 2014 world championships from Sanya provided bridge fans with lots of entertainment and food for thought. Kit Woolsey was on hand to give his spot-on expert analysis and Al...
View ArticleBridge at My Club
Bridge blogs are full of complaints. I am here to complain about the complainers who deride the game as played at the local club. They express grievances at a director’s poor decision regarding...
View ArticleThe Art of Good Guessing
During the Baze Seniors Final super-scientist Eric Rodwell was asked what his 3rd seat 3NT bid meant, and he replied, ‘it can be anything I want.’ I was shocked. It was as if Albert Einstein had risen...
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