A Billionaire’s Blind Spot
Atypically on this particular morning in 1968 bright sunshine backlit the bedroom curtains of James Woolwich’s Lambeth flat where the young man lay in bed reading the Sunday papers, smoking a Turkish...
View ArticleA Double Dummy Unrestricted Choice
In a darkened bedroom James lay in a double bed looking at the ceiling and wondering what he had done to deserve his current state of bliss. When he was a schoolboy his mother had told him to do his...
View ArticleThe Art of the Exit
For nearly two weeks in 1968 James had been living in a young man’s paradise: Chicago in the evenings with two lovely princesses, love making at night with the very same, and afternoons to rest while...
View ArticleMadame Nora’s Invisible Hand
James was happy to partner various older ladies who were willing to pay the table fees in return for a pleasant, sometimes rewarding, session. One of James’ frequent partners was Madame Nora Fanshaw,...
View ArticleLove Letter from Huntsville
Dear James: We miss you, Betsy and me, both. We miss London, too. Good, old, cold, crazy and damp London with all its quaint customs. Remember that funny little man in the big hat who carved the lamb?...
View ArticleBetsy in Turmoil
James Woolwich had just that morning received another letter from Heidi Heinz, the billionaire’s daughter who was promoting a woman’s professional bridge team with a view to winning a world’s...
View ArticleDeception in Plain View
Greetings from stodgy old Blighty! What exciting lives you and Betsy must be leading, if I read correctly between the lines. Thanks for the thought re the yellow necktie, but I can’t imagine an...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Slamming in New York (1969)
Heidi Heinz, beautiful daughter of Howard Heinz, the billionaire real estate developer, kept up her correspondence with Man-about-Town, Londoner James Woolwich. For a brief time they had been lovers,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
One No Trump Opposite 4441
If one is dealt a balanced hand with 16 scattered HCPs, and has just one bid to make, what would it be? 3NT! The single most likely situation is that the remaining HCPs are divided evenly about the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
1435 Opposite 1NT
In a previous blog we employed the expected numbers of total trumps as a guide for competing with a weak 4441 hand opposite a strong NT opening bid. We noted that a second nonforcing bid by responder...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Strong 1=4=3=5 opposite 1NT
In previous blogs we suggested modifying standard Stayman practices after a strong 1NT opening bid in order to allow for competing for part scores in a minor suit, a much neglected area. Note that the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Icarus File
The Greek legend of Icarus should remind players that it is dangerous to aim too high in a world characterized by uncertainty and doubt. At a recent club game a pair of visitors handed us a shared top...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Too Many Bids, Mozart
Famously the Austrian Emperor Joseph II commented to Wolfgang Mozart that although he admired his lively opera, The Abduction from the Seraglio, he felt the work contained too many notes. Many bridge...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Weak Two in First Seat
Recently we saw on BBO men and women competing for places at the world’s championship in Wroclaw. Male commentators, who tend to be judgemental when it comes to women’s bridge, place the likes of Karen...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Jekyll and Hyde Bridge
There are some lessons that need to be learned over and over again. Here is one of them. In 4th seat, nonvulnerable against vulnerable, I opened 1NT on AJ75 AT2 K84 QJ2, right in the middle of my range...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A Brief Bridge Sermon
Here in Victoria, BC, every week men and women of many faiths and many races gather together in a church hall to play bridge in the spirit of fair and friendly competition under a policy of intolerance...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Golden Rule at Matchpoints
Most play bridge for the fun it provides, and the most fun comes from the quick thrill of a lucky play. That’s a dangerous approach in the long run, so don’t say I didn’t warn you, but, hey, missed...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Sherlock Holmes Plays Bridge
In My Fair Lady Professor Henry Higgins asks his companion, Colonel Pickering, ‘why can’t a woman be more like a man?’ The colonel doesn’t come up with a clear answer. In the 21st century we are facing...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Slams – An Endangered Species
Once upon a time slams were regarded as being within the exclusive domain of the expert. Accuracy in slam bidding was the hallmark of good pair. It was said that the team that got the slams right were...
View ArticleClik here to view.
James, Women, and Bridge
Our story takes us to London in 1968, a the time when Harold Wilson was pulling down the shutters on the British Empire having realized that the Gnomes of Zurich had got it right all along: it is...
View Article