Although this defense represented nothing but basic bridge, we thought it appropriate to remind all those bridge loving players to seek out what is important:
1. Exact possible original distributions of the unseen hands.
2. The necessary cards needed to be held by that unseen twosome for success, paying rapt attention to the play up to that moment and correlate that necessary favorable holding to, if its possibility, matches the overall bidding.
3. Sometimes unpopular rhetoric, but methinks needs to be said, because of the game itself: IMPs and rubber bridge, when trying to defeat the contract, as opposed to risking allowing an overtrick, is to me a basic ingredient which speaks badly for matchpoints and makes an otherwise sensational game less, simply because by doing so, it sometimes renders our game just too difficult to have to guess what to do (there are already many close choices to be made, for example, the blind opening lead by the defense, and, of course, the exact distributions and necessary cards held by which defender.
IOW, the path to perfection (to my knowledge that has never existed and for good reason by anyone) is sometimes rendered mute by this factor.
To others, it may only add more adventure, hence more fun, and if so, matchpoints is their favorite, but to others, the coin flipping involved, especially on defense, is often much more a minus than a plus.
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Bridge-related
Hi Everyone,
Although this defense represented nothing but basic bridge, we thought it appropriate to remind all those bridge loving players to seek out what is important:
1. Exact possible original distributions of the unseen hands.
2. The necessary cards needed to be held by that unseen twosome for success, paying rapt attention to the play up to that moment and correlate that necessary favorable holding to, if its possibility, matches the overall bidding.
3. Sometimes unpopular rhetoric, but methinks needs to be said, because of the game itself: IMPs and rubber bridge, when trying to defeat the contract, as opposed to risking allowing an overtrick, is to me a basic ingredient which speaks badly for matchpoints and makes an otherwise sensational game less, simply because by doing so, it sometimes renders our game just too difficult to have to guess what to do (there are already many close choices to be made, for example, the blind opening lead by the defense, and, of course, the exact distributions and necessary cards held by which defender.
IOW, the path to perfection (to my knowledge that has never existed and for good reason by anyone) is sometimes rendered mute by this factor.
To others, it may only add more adventure, hence more fun, and if so, matchpoints is their favorite, but to others, the coin flipping involved, especially on defense, is often much more a minus than a plus.
More can be said, but hopefully not necessary.