Hi Bobby,

Ouch, as I think many of us would have walked into the same trap. I don’t think East can misguess spades though, as playing a small spade to the Queen loses and the defence just exit passively so declarer still loses to the S10 eventually. The only hope is that South holds that card.

In terms of the quote, it reminded me of an unkind theatre review of one actor’s performance in King Lear: “He played the King as if expecting someone else to play the Ace”.

Regards,

Iain

Hi Iain,

Since you’ve always had a way with words, no doubt you especially appreciate that theater review of the King Lear actor.

And, according to today’s quote, the British Queen Elizabeth was not shy in claiming what she at least considers, her due.

Finally Sylvia, although being Shy, was not acting the part when she took her spectacular winning diamond finesse to land her contract.

However, losing nine IMPs for her effort didn’t then and doesn’t now, seem like justice served, especially for someone who might one fine day, become a world bridge queen.

It’s good to keep this in mind, every time I I have to take a first-round hook, to make a contract, and lose to the stiff jack offside, going down two instead of one. Sometimes it seems that we play this game out of masochism.

Still, when the Romans gave someone a triumph, they would stick a slave next to him, under orders to whisper “You’re going to die someday” to him.

Hi Bob,

FYI and if it is relevant, Sylvia did not take a 1st round hook in diamonds, but perhaps you are referring to a similar case of bridge misfortune you would like to forget.

However, both your mention of masochism and the revelation of Roman types of torture are educational, if for no other reason than strong evidence of human depravity through the ages.

Hi Bobby, Bob,

A classic case of what Bob is worried about would be a trump suit of AKJ10xx opposite xx where the best %age play is a first round finesse as Qxxx onside is 4 times as likely as singleton Q offside. We all know what happens next, especially when partner helpfully says “You could have cashed one top trump first”.

Mind you, hard luck stories are all part of the games perverse pleasure; you never hear chess players bemoaning what their opponents have done to them more by luck than judgement, and of course there isn’t the partner factor. Who amongst us hasn’t mournfully emulated Mollo’s Karapet on occasion? The trick is to make the story entertaining for others and eventually (after a few months or even years) see the funny side. Did Eddie Kantar ever recover from the CK10 under AQ defending 7C in the Bermuda Bowl I wonder?

On the slave comment front, Ozymandias may be relevant or just good golfers missing absurdly short puts.

Iain

Hi Iain,

No doubt, at least to me, that your summation applied much more directly to Bob’s lament than did I. What is more, it does refer closely to failed bridge bids or plays, both percentage ones, and others, not particularly so.

In America, if and when the theoretical best bridge play was taken, only to be met with an anti-percentage losing result, a common excuse by pals of the sad devil was to refer to his action as “Buck up, what you did was all a mule could do”. True, and melancholy but still a show of support for an embarrassed colleague.

And speaking of Eddie Kantar and his K10 of clubs, Bermuda, 1975, the 25th anniversary of the original Bermuda Bowl (to which Bob Hamman and I were his teammates) a couple of days before and when our team was celebrating a very close semi-final win against France, Eddie was first in the spotlight when he admitted to almost, but not quite, making a losing play on defense (which would have eliminated us from having to play in that ill fated final) while in our teams hotel suite on the 16th floor of the Southhampton Princess hotel. He admitted to,”if I would have led the diamond rather than the spade, we would have lost and I would have felt compelled to jump out that window”. To which Bob Hamman quickly retorted, “Eddie, you wouldn’t have had to”!!!

The laughs that produced brought the team, as humor always seems to, closer together, only to experience the antithesis a couple of days later.

But with Eddie’s off-the-charts charm, methinks his sense of humor could see him through any adversity and allow him and all around him to make the best of whatever lady luck has in store for any and everyone.

And Iain, you and likely Bob Lipton as well, have quite a fabulous memory as well as perhaps the great asset of being able to laugh at oneself.

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