Tales of the Giant Crab – 4

December 24th, 2008  ~  Mark Blumenthal  ~  1 Comment 

When he was the opening leader Walt had a streak of underleading an ace on the right occasion. The first time he did it he was playing with Izzie, and it was against a slam. Dummy came down with KJx. Declarer went into a five minute huddle and played the jack. Izzie thought about it for a long time and ducked with the queen! The next time Walt he did it against a slam. He was playing with his regular partner, Don Smolen. Walt had chosen the only lead that would beat it three. Any other lead would have beaten the slam two, but being a much better player than Izzie, Don ducked it smoothly, and the slam made. The next time Walt tried it   it dummy had the Kx and declarer had xxx. The contract was  six no trump. For some reason declarer ducked at trick one. Walt’s partner, Mike Garner, who also was a good player, had QJ10xx. Mike won his ten, thought about it and  shifted to break up the supposed squeeze. Declarer then claimed.

Once when Walt was playing with me, he held KQJ9 of spades and a side ace. We were defending against six hearts doubled. I had preempted in diamonds, and declarer had bid hearts independently up to the six level. Walt had three hearts as did dummy which also had six spades, 1087652. Walt’s opening lead had been the king of spades won by declarer  with the ace  to which I had played the four,. Declarer now played the three of spades. Instead of winning it Walt, who was sure I was out of spades, played the nine. Declarer called for dummy’s ten, and I, obviously having no trumps, sluffed. The dummy, who knew Walt fell off his chair because he was laughing so much. As innocents are protected by some great force, we still managed to defeat the hand.

Bridge Tip # 4

December 21st, 2008  ~  Mark Blumenthal  ~  2 Comments 

It is sometimes possible to take advantage opponents who regularly signal their distribution to each other . Say you are playing in 3NT with dummy having Q1043  of Spades and no apparent entry. You have AK9 of Spades and you you are in  your hand. Many declarers will automatically play the A. If you play the king first instead  your LHO may think partner has the Ace and will need to signal so her partner in order  to know when to take it to deny you entry to the long spade. This is a simplified situation, but often knowing your LHO has two, or four cards in a suit may  help in the play of the  hand. If LHO high lows and follows and the jack has not yet appeared  to the third trick you may finese the ten as opposed to playing for the drop, which is not the superior percentage play. Of course, excellent defenders who can tell what your problem will be, may echo in an attempt to deceive you. If you know the defenders are capable of doing this, you are again faced with a guess. In  that case you should go with the percentages and play for the suit breaking three three  or that  the jack will drop doubleton.

Tales of the Giant Crab – 3

December 18th, 2008  ~  Mark Blumenthal  ~  No Comments 

Sometimes Walt was strangely timid. He held AQJxxxx, Qxx, xx, x. He was undefeated in a Swiss team playing against an aggresive pair. He heard his partner open one diamond. He responded one spade, and his partner reversed to two hearts. Inexplicably, he passed because he claimed the bid wasn’t forcing. (It is.). They made five.

Yet, he could be Machiavellian when he was playing playing rubber bridge he held, AQxx, Kjxx, Akx, Kx. Having blown the last two hands, Walt’s partner opened one no trump. Walt bid three spades. His partner raised him to four spades, but if partner hadn’t done that, Walt planned to bid seven hearts. There was no way Walt was going to let this man declare a grand slam.

Sometimes Walt’s bid resembled one from another dimension as when he bid four clubs over a one no trump overcall of his partner’s opening one spade bid. Walt meant his bid as Gerber.

Walt always used logic, but that logic, but that logic might be understandable only to him. My friend, Mike Garner, made a tidy sum by giving people three to one odds and ten tries to guess what Walt’s call was with Qxx, 10xx,___, AKJ10xxx when the bidding had gone one heart double two hearts to Walt.

Most people didn’t come close to guessing correctly. Finally, Mike gave it to Bob Goldman who knew Walt. Bob listed all the possible actions, and crossed off all totally senseless and came up with the right call — 5S! Obviously, Walt would be looking for slam, but would be worried about a heart control. Walt knew his partner would have at least four spades but wasn’t sure about his clubs. Walt thought he would resolve all his problems with one master bid. In the actual hand Walt’s partner understood the call and bid six spades. Six clubs which made would have been worth 25 matchpoints out of 25. Four spades making five would have garnered 24 1/2.  Six spades down one for -50 gave them them a zero.

Bridge Tip # 3

December 14th, 2008  ~  Mark Blumenthal  ~  1 Comment 

At IMPs or total points on’t be don’t be greedy at the expense of making your contract.

Say you are are playing three no trump and need three tricks from a concealed five club suit in your hand that probably will produce enough tricks to make your contract given the expected breaks. Be willing to throw away potential overtricks by discarding one or two clubs in the hope that an opponent, seeing you do so, may throw potential stoppers allowing you to make the contract when it should have gone down.

In matchpoints this situation is more complicated. Are you in a game most pairs don’t figure to reach? In that case you should do the same as you would in IMPs. Does it appear that most pairs would reach four of a major making four? Then you have to play for an overtrick because even making exactly three notrump will probably give you a bad result anyway. Any time you are declarer   you should be heedful of similar considerations and as well. You should try to judge the contract in the same way. You should do this when you are defending also. As declarer,  consider how likely the field will be in  your contract and and play the hand accordingly. Say you reached four spades  on 21 high card points that is makable after a favorable opening lead . Play your contract as safely as possible. You may be jeapardizing 11 match points out of 12 trying to make an overtrick which will give you a zero if you go down. Contrarily, if you reach four spades on a four three fit and can see everybody is going to be in 3NT for +430, you should not be afraid to risk your contract trying for an overtrick  because you will get a very bad board anyway if you are +420 There is a story about Arthur  Robinson. He was playing with a very weak sponsor. They got to a bad grand slam. Seeing he had no play for seven he did the best he could. Robinson ducked the opening lead to set up a squeeze for down one. He succeeded in taking twelve tricks and got a decent result because many pairs had gone down in six.

Tales of the Giant Crab – 2

December 13th, 2008  ~  Mark Blumenthal  ~  4 Comments 

Walt always had his own distictive approach to bidding and defense. . When he first evidenced some competence in declarer play, and defense I started to play with him. I mistakenly assumed That like most promising players, his overall skills would gradually develop. I did have reason to question that assumption. One time One local club ran a team game championship in which I played the first session on the assumption I would play the second and final one the next week. I had very good teammates, and we easily led at the end of the first session

Unexpectedly, I had to work that evening and called Walt to fill in for me with Reuben Alexander who was a pretty good player. I explained the situation to Walt and told him unless he did crazy things we figured to win. We won, but one hand should have allowed me to predict the future.

Walt in first seat picked up, xxxxx, xx, xxx, xxx. As he was playing five card majors, Walt opened 1 spade! The bidding proceeded pass, pass, double. Walt reasoned the opponents must have at least a small slam. Not content with having opened the bidding, Walt now bid four spades! His left hand opponent thought for a while and vntured forth with five hearts. After some thought by the doubler that became the final contract. Rueben had no reason to question the bidding until dummy came down with twenty to high card points including the A10x of spades, and declarer ducked the opening spade lead to win  with the queen and claimed.

Really bad hands seemed to stimulate Walt’s imagination to work overtime. Once playing with Steve Parker he held, xxx, xxx, Qxxx, xxx. The opponents were vulnerable and he was not. That situation was like waving a red flag in front of a bull. Seeing he had the requisite distribution, Walt opened what was supposed to be a strong no trump. With the opponents refraining from taking any action, Steve bid a transfer of two hearts. Walt dutifully bid two spades. Steve then invited to slam with four no trump. Feeling his hand might have been better, Walt passed. That became the final contract. After extremely bad defense Walt went down one. That score didn’t seem too terrible when he figured out his opponents were cold for five hearts

Walt also had successes when he merely preempted. He opened three hearts with no hearts, and his opponents wound up in six clubs. Walt only had seven of those Another time, looking at xxx, Kxx, xxx, xxxx he decided to open three spades, and his partner, with a good hand bid three no trump . The opening leader, holding KQJxxx of spades and an ace, feared leading the suit because he felt that would help set up dummy. With a non-spade lead Walt’s partnership was the only one to make three no trump.

However, his unique style didn’t always result in a triumph. Once he reached six spades off the AKQJ of trumps. He didn’t consider that a complete systemic disaster. He pointed out if the four highest trumps had been singleton he would have made the hand. Another bidding failure resulted when he and his partner, playing Roman Blackwood, reached seven no trump and Walt lost all held it to down thirteen tricks. Walt said he could have lost only eleven or twelve tricks, but he lost interest as the hand progressed and lost them all .

His many unusual contracts required him to plan novel lines of play. Finding himself playing in six no trump he reasoned his only hope to make his contract was to execute a squeeze. To do this he had to lose a trick. The only suit in which he could easily do this was spades in which he had Kx in his hand and xxx in dummy. Unfortunately, he didn’t have a convenient entry in the dummy to lead up to his king. So thinking, he resolutely played the king from his hand.

“Gee” said said the opponent on his right who won the ace and the queen jack, “I never thought I’d get these.” Walt was fortunate that the suit was blocked so he only went down two.

Even though  it was erratic, Walt’s constructive bidding often showed imagination an daring. Once when he was vulnerable and the opponents weren’t he held AQ10xxx, Ajx, Kjx–. He opened one spade. It went pass. And and his partner bid a limit three spades. . To his right he heard three no trump. Walt reasoned this person must have Kx of spades and seven or eight solid clubs, and his partner must have everything else. Knowing the spade finesse must work, he acordingly bid seven spades. His logic was irrefutable, and if three no trump had been to play, it would have been brilliant. Unfortunately, it was meant as unusual, and Walt went down one.

Another time he bid six spades knowing he was in a three three fit because he didn’t think he would have enough tricks in six no trump. He went down one, but he was cold for two other slams.

Sometimes Walt’s logic triumphed. Not vulnerable against vulnerable Walt held, Qxxxxx,—____ AJxxxxx___. The bidding went one spade, pass to Walt. He felt the oppponents were trapping, so he bid six spades.With the lead of the ace of hearts Walt’s partner made the contract with a total of fifteen high card points. Walt boasted that he was plus 980 when he could have been minus 1660.

A Cambridge Story

December 12th, 2008  ~  Mark Blumenthal  ~  6 Comments 

Tales of the Giant Crab

December 9th, 2008  ~  Mark Blumenthal  ~  3 Comments 

I first met Walt Walvick at The University of Pennsylvania. We were in the same same year and are only a few months apart in age. Eventually we were roommates for a while. Although those who saw  him later might find this to believe, he was a trim and fit marine then. Trying to shape the image he had of himself, he wanted to be called The Vike. His favorite saying was ‘who can hurt the Vike?” This was followed by a noise that sounded like a strangled parrot.

Soon after he finished school moved to the Washington DC area. Most people called him the pedestrian Walt until Peggy Parker noted that he looked just like a giant crab. That became his normal apellation until he married the former Kathy Cappelletti in the 80’s. Once Steve Parker was driving on the beltway that circles Washington and listening to the radio. The program was about the zodiac. Steve almost drove off the road when he heard the Crab actually WAS a crab.

When Walt moved to Washington he wasted no time ensuring that he would be noticed. He was at a local sectional tournana ment. The directors needed someone to play in the woman’s pairs so he volunteered. He played board seven sitting east and went for a large number. He thought he was through for the afternoon when his partner’s date finally showed up late. However, a director had been filling in as south in the men’s pairs which was using the same hands as the women’s pairs, and Walt was tabbed to replace him. Sine he had already played board seven, they asked him to call a director to watch when he came to that hand, and the result would be adjudicated, if necessary. No adjustment was neeeded as Walt and his partner failed to beat a doubled contract. Walt had accomplished the difficult task of getting a zero on a hand in both directions!

In the evening Walt thought he had no problem as he had made a date for the mixed pair well in advance. Unluckily, his putative partner had not made another one date and , but two. Walt and the other man who was not chosen agred to play in the event. In only one day Walt had managed to play in the men’s pair, the women’s pair, and the mixed with another man.

One of his most famous hands occurred in this event. Walt held, —, J10x, xx, AKJ109xxx. Upon hearing 1H to his right overcalled with 2S. Undeterred by his bid, his opponents reached four hearts. Having kept his opponents from reaching their probable spade fit, the average player would have  led the king of clubs. No pedestrian leads for Walt! As he explained later, he thought it would be a go thing if his partner gained the lead. So reasoning he chose the nine of clubs so his partner would play the queen if he had it.

With a dazed look declarer won dummy’s singleton queen. Actually, Walt had indeed stolen his opponents big spade fit. Declarer had Qxxx opposite dummy’s A9xxxxx. After drawing trumps declarer led the queen of spades., Walt ‘covered’ quickly with the king of clubs. Declarer only  noticed it was a black king and went up with the ace of spades. He still and had to lose two spades. Walt had won back the trick his lead had cost, and a legend was born.

Bridge Tip # 2

December 7th, 2008  ~  Mark Blumenthal  ~  3 Comments 

If  your team is well behind going into the fourth quarter in a knock out team  both pairs should not try to create swings because one pair may have a gained the lead at its table , but its teammates,  not knowing this may  have given it back because they tought they thought had to keep swinging. To swing a a pair will often attempt low percentage bids or plays. If both pairs are doing this those odds will twice as bad.

It happened to me in 1971 when my team was playing in the Vanderbilt quarter finals against the Aces. The pair we were playing against was Bob Goldman and Mike Lawrence. I was playing with Paul Hodge.We had done very well.  Bob and Mike congratulated us when we finished before either of team had compared scores with its teammates. When we did, we found our teammates, thinking they were still behind, had thought they had to swing and had given back our gains so we lost.

Izzie

December 6th, 2008  ~  Mark Blumenthal  ~  No Comments 

 Imagine this: a Ruth-like man whose tiny hips let his pants drag; who wore open-toe sandals no matter how bad the weather; a voracious reader whose memory for names left him calling even those he knew well, ‘kid’; one whose booming voice could be heard throughout any enclosure; one a powerful man whose standard greeting of “how you doing, kid” acompanied by his versionof a pat on the back could send one reeling across the room.

His name was Israel, or as he usually called in the bridge world, Izzie. When his health forced him to curtail his previous lusty lifestyle, he took up bridge. As he was a pharmacist with a chain of discount stores in the Philadelphia area, he was able to do favors for many of the better players in the area. They in return would occasionally play with him. He became spoiled. Once he came to a national lacking anybody with whom to play. He went to the partnership desk to get a date. As he usually played with good players he insisted it supply him with a good player. He was fixed up with someone who he was told was a very good player.

On the first hand his partner made a mistake. His partner made a mistake on the next hand, also. Izzie became upset and took his partner aside to talk to him.

Izzie said, “I thought you only needed a few points to become a Life Master.”

“Life Master?” said his partner, “I needed a few points to have a few points.”

As he learned to play bridge some of his instructions became garbled. Because of his lack of volume control the directors of his favorite club game often put him in his own room when it was possible. One night I was sitting South with Izzie as my partner. West bid one spade. Izzie bid four clubs. East promptly bid four spades.

Holding nothing exciting special, I passed, as did West, but Izzie persisted with five clubs which was greeted by a loud double which was passed around to Izzie who now bid five hearts! The double was not nearly as loud now. Happy not to be in slam I passed, and that became the final contract.

Izzie had a singleton club and long hearts. Our opponents mistakenly relied on the bidding, misdefended and and allowed Izzie to make an overtrick.

Upset, Izzie turned to me and asked, “Kid, I bid four clubs, Gerber for aces and five clubs for kings. How come you never answered me?”

As he gained experience Izzie became aware that a good declarer could take advantage of his erratic defense. Once we were defending four spades with declarer having shown a two-suiter in the majors. Dummy had three spades and 9x in hearts. Rather than lead up to the KJ7xx in his hand, declarer chose to lead up to dummy’s heart nine. Declarer knew what he was doing, Izzie, with AQ108 to declarer’s left now had a problem. After much thought, he hopped up with his ace instead of merely winning his ten.

Afrer +620 was being chalked up by our opponents I asked Izzie why he had won the first heart with with the ace. He explained, “I thought they were trying to fool me, Kid.”

I could never relax when I was playing with Izzie. Once whe was playing four spades, Izzie ruffed the second heart lead. From the bidding I was positive he had at least one mor heart so I asked, “No more hearts, Iz?

He checked his cards briefly and replied, “No more hearts, Kid.”

I was still sure so I persisted. “Are you sure you have no more hearts?” e cursororily checked his hand, “No more hearts, Kid.”

I tried one last time. “Iz, check among you diamonds. See if you have a heart among them.” I could see him carefully fingering his cards. Once more he said, “No hearts, Kid.”

I gave up, Perhaps he had made a mistake in the bidding. Izzie continued to play until on the sixth trick he firmly placed his hand face down on the table and announced, “Kid, I reneged.”

My favorite Izzie hand happened when we were playing in a Philadelphia sectional mens pair. We had agreed on spades and were exploring a slam.. When Izzie replied five hearts to my Blackwood four no trump. The opponent on my right doubled. I knew from the snswer we couldn’t make a slam I also knew we could make five no trump as well as five spades. I now had the opportunity to pass. When Izzie returnrd to five spades I thought could sign off in five no trump for a top!

I paid off for my greed. At his turn to bid Izzie sat there and thought for a long time and thought. Finally, he said. “”If that’s the way you want it, Kid” and passed!

Upon seeing the dummy Izzie excitedly said, “”You’re right, Kid. You’re always right. We can’t make a slam. You’re always right, Kid.”

As he played the hand and took tricks Izzie repeated, “You’re right. You’re always right. We can’t make a slam, and we’re killing them. We’ll beat them for at least 1,100.”

Seeing what was happening I mumbled, “Izzie. you’re playing the hand.”, but he was too gleeful to listen.

When the hand was finally over, Izzie asked me, How much did we get them for, Kid?”

I finally got through to him, and he realized what had happened. He clapped his hand to his forehead and wailed, “Oh my God, I played the hand! ”

Actually, Izzie had a play to make the contract. He didn’t see it, but it would have saved him at least one trick. Because he missed that play, he became the only person to misdefend while declarer!

To be fair to him, though he was slow enough on defense to give a skilled declarer information, he did manage to play passably most of the time. His major problems came when he seemed to go into a trance and had what he called a blind spot. He was an intelligent man and on occasions even displayed a certain shrewdness while playing bridge. Only the magnitude of what he might do dwarfed any table awareness he might display. His ability to cooperate when I suggested a defense to defeat a cold contract illustrates what he was sometimes capable of when he was not asleep at the table:

OL: ♣K		North
		♠	K742
		♥	K9
		♦	K986
		♣	543
West				East
♠	J109			♠	Q863
♥	8653			♥	4
♦	A7			♦	QJ1032
♣	AK97			♣	862
		South
		♠	A5
		♥	AQJ1072
		♦	54
		♣	QJ10

We were playing in a Philadelphia sectional against a local pair that knew Izzie well. They had reached an aggressuve game that depended on the location of the ace of diamonds. When Izzie saw my deuce and South’s falsecard of the queen of clubs he shifted to the jack of spades. Declarer won in his hand and started to draw trumps. I analyzed our chance toset the contract. From the bidding declarer certainly had the missing ace. Unless Izzie had had an unlikely trump trick, the contract seemed impregnable.

Desperate measures were needed. So reasoning, I prepared the defense by sluffing discarding the queen and then the jack of diamonds as my first discards. It was normal to give Izzie extravagent signals. He tended to miss mere spot cards. These discards were to give declarer were to give declarer a finessing position with the diamond king and nine.

When he held an ace Izzie generally took so long to ponder about winning it that even players at other tables knew he had it. I had a forlorn hope that when declarer led the suit, Izzie  he would duck it and declarer would  finesse the nine.

After trumps were drawn declarer led the club jack. Izzie generally belonged to the ‘bird in the hand’ school. Any he had a chance to win an ace, he took it, but this time Izzie surprised me. He won the ace of clubs, and with no hesitation shifted to the seven of diamonds.  That was better than I could have expected. Declarer was not a terrible player. He knew Izzie’s tendencies and that a finessing position existed. I won my diamond ten when he finessed the nine. We were the only pair to have a plus score in our direction.

Bridgework

December 3rd, 2008  ~  Mark Blumenthal  ~  4 Comments 

Before computerized hands were used a team captained by Jerry Silverman was playing against one captained by Tobias Stone. When the teams compared scores both agreed that the Silverman team had narrowly won. As Stone’s team talked bout the hands they realized at one table the teams had played the same hads that had been played the quarter before. Naturally, the Stone team protested and wanted the quarter replayed.

A protest committee heard Stone’s team assert that the cards had not been shuffled at one table, and. the boards concerned to be replayed. It was up to the Silverman present its case. It admitted that the cards were identical in the two quarters, but they denied the cards had not been shuffled! The committee ruled in favor of the Silverman team letting the results stand.