Future looks brighter for face-to-face card games
For fans of playing faceto-face card games, the future is looking a bit brighter.
The two duplicate clubs closest to Greenwich — both in White Plains, N.Y. — are continuing to show small improvements in attendance now that COVID-19 concerns have subsided to some degree. Both the Bridge Deck and the Harte’s Club’s weekday afternoon games have gained about a table per session over the past month, and it is to be hoped that this trend will continue.
In games at these clubs during the past week or so, three Greenwich players placed in the overall rankings of their respective events. They were: Linda Otness, who, playing at the Bridge Deck, finished first in Strat A on Friday, April 1, partnered by Susan Duval; second in Strat A this past Tuesday, partnered by Fred Hawa; and first in Flight B on Wednesday, playing with Michael Zoulis. Also at the Bridge Deck on Friday, April 1, Faye Marino finished third in Strat A partnered by Rich Laufer.
At the Harte’s Club on Thursday, March 31, Kathryn Payne, playing with Kay Schulle, placed second in Strat A.
Today’s quiz: Here is another in the current series of quizzes on interpreting your partner’s bids. In the following problem, you are given an auction followed by three hands, only one of which could actually fit the bid your partner has made. Which hand do you think partner might have?
The bidding: You-3S; Partner-4S. Partner could hold:
a)SK92H5DA8432C A754
b) S A104 H A92 D Q103 C QJ32
c) S Q4 H KQJ2 D KQJ4 C J93
Answer: In considering whether to raise an opening three-bid to game, the most accurate way of deciding what to do is to visualize a typical three bid — a sevencard suit containing at least two honors and six losers on the side — and then count the potential winners and/or losers in your hand. If it then appears that the opponents can immediately or eventually take enough tricks to defeat a game contract, you should pass, but if the count reveals a reasonably sure expectancy of making ten or more tricks before the opponents can collect enough to set you, you should raise to game.
Applying this yardstick to the hands shown, neither hand b) nor c) is strong enough to raise to four spades even though both hands contain enough points for an opening onebid. With hand b), one could easily lose the first four tricks to the A-K of clubs and A-K of diamonds. Similarly, with hand c) partner could lose the two red aces and as many as three clubs tricks before he could gain the lead. But with hand a), if you simply credit partner with the A-Q of spades and as little as two hearts and nothing else, you can count ten sure tricks: seven spades, two aces and a heart ruff in dummy to come to ten tricks.