Vikings in Space

Hi all,

I guess it’s about time to write some stories. My office chair, though while comfortable for occassionally lurking on BBO, has been exchanged for more and more frequent live action with real cards and real opponents. My latest exploits took place in Groningen and St. Malo (published some deals on Bridgewinners here and here), but the following cute deal took place early June in Paris, at a club near the Champs-Élysées. I was playing with Antony.

West starts with the King of and this is what I see:

I have 8 tricks and can try to find #9 in either or . I duck the lead and take the Queen continuation with my Ace. It seems like 4 rounds of won’t hurt and perhaps I can extract some information from my RHO. On the 3rd she has her first pitch, the 5. On the 4th the 2 leaves her hand. Observing the expressive huffing and puffing over finding two discards I cautiously assume she must hold everything vital.

This is the position now:

I cash the King and Ace, West surrendering her Queen. Here, take the , I say by asking for a “pique” from dummy. RHO takes her three tricks and then has to lead away from the King. I take 9. A flurry of unintelligible French crosses the table. Antony doesn’t even attempt to translate for me, just offering a slight smile.

This is the full deal:

You can say I’ve acquired a bit of rust during the pandemic. My bridge muscles are not as supple or strong as they used to be. Post-mortem it shows just three rounds of is enough, maintaining an entry to dummy, before placing West with a . Either I come home with 3 tricks in and 1 in , or 2 tricks in both red suits. I could have avoided potentially embarrassing tomfoolery where West had bared her King, for example.

Hi all,

In August we went up North, to Helsinki and Porvoo. Of course I stuffed my belly with amazing food, smoked salmon myself, visited the Coolhead brewery, and acquired an Aarikka wooden duck for my bathtub shenanigans. Later in November we will head south for a couple of days, to Barcelona. I will stuff my belly with amazing food, visit Garage Brewery, collect some November sun, and probably acquire something for my kitchen shenanigans. Work wise I’m busy with automation through ansible at the Rabobank. Fun stuff.

Here’s a cute deal from Dombo (Pairs). Wondering whether I should change my middle name to “Zia”. After Kees opens a cloudy 1 I get to declare 3NT:

West leads the Ten of and some work needs to be done, I see. I win in dummy and successfully run the Queen. Seeing the potential for an endplay I ask for a , smirking inside. My Jack loses to the King and West reverts to . East shows up with Jack-doubletons in both Majors, so I take my 7 tricks there. Leading to this position:

Giddy with excitement I exit in and the magic is there. East has kept both big and eventually has to lead away from the King: 10 tricks and pretty much all match points. I feel like Jim Carrey in The Mask .. “Smokin’!”

Something to look forward to, May 19th 2022 Tool plays at the Ziggo Dome in Amsterdam again. What’s the right word here? Am I .. yearning for that moment of peace, that moment of unadulterated sense in a mad world they so effortlessly seem to invoke?

Hi all,

Thanks again for dropping by, it has been a while. I hope you are well. Just to give you a few updates: switched jobs, moved out of Amsterdam, proud owner of a 50+ year old gorgeous wisteria, recovered from covid, my Spanish improves little by little, planning to attend the regional in Puerto Vallarta later this year, and current wood shortages impede our plans for getting a sauna. Oh .. those first world struggles I have to endure!

Here’s a nice deal where Kees and I were beating the drums like old times:

Sitting 3rd hand I’m contemplating whether I’ll slightly upgrade this hand to a strong or whether a natural approach is better. Kees opens a hazy (like my favorite IPA) 1 so that problem has turned academic rather quickly.

1. Precision, 11-13 bal, or 10-15 unbal
2. Natural, or GF relay trigger
3. 11-13 bal
4. Natural GF reverse
5. By inference a 3-2-4-4
6. Natural, very short
7. Honour-doubleton
8. Probing
9. Masterful
10. Kapow!

Over 1NT I have my first decision, do I ask or do I show. I decide to show. Kees could have shown or support, a 5crd minor, but when he doesn’t it’s quite clear he’s 3-2-4-4. I show my third suit and we’re off to the races. While holding a dead minimum point wise, Kees sees only working cards in his hand and bypasses 3NT. I accept.

My RHO (East) tries to cash the Ace, I put down my genuine three-suiter:

Kees ruffs the lead and tanks for a bit. He plays a small trump towards his QJ-combination, losing to the King. A trump comes back which Kees wins in dummy, West following suit. A to the Queen, another ruff, a to the Ace to draw the last trump. Claim. Scoring five trumps in total, five tricks in and two top .

It’s good to be back.

Hi all

Supposedly I should have the answer to life, the universe and everything now, but I’m not seeing it just yet. For those who gaze glassy-eyed at this slight cryptic start, I suggest you read up on Douglas Adams. I have two beer suggestions if you choose to visit Amsterdam, two New England IPA’s, one by Homeland (called Zeebonk) and one by Troost. A. Ma. Zing.

Here’s a cute deal from Star in Utrecht, starring Erik and yours truly.

1. 4th suit forcing
2. Natural slam try
3. Cue, cooperating
4. Asking for Keycards
5. Two with trump Queen

East kicked off with a . When trumps broke friendly and there was no (sickening) ruff Erik claimed 12 tricks. We were one of the few pairs that landed in the cold slam, but there was one pair that outdid us in 6NT. On a spade lead you’ll be lucky to scramble 7 .. 8 tricks or so, but they got a friendly lead and defence so 6NT came home. It makes me want to jump out of my pants and scream at them with a little foam frothing in the corner of my mouth: Strain! Strain! Strain!

Hi all,

I’ve attended Rock Werchter for the .. 4th? 5th? 6th? time. Counting festivals is hard, especially if your mom makes you cut off those bracelets you have been diligently collecting as trophies. I’m much better at counting cards and HCP anyway. There was lots of incredible stuff this year .. Franz Ferdinand, Nine Inch Nails, Stonesour, David Byrne, Gorillaz and Pearl Jam to name a few. Earthquake wise I think DJ Marshmello registered on local and not so local tremor sensors. Man! Those were some big beats.

Here’s a massive deal from the Intercity games.

1. 16+
2. 5+
3. Relay
4. 6+ , singlesuited
5. Relay
6. A 6331-distribution
7. Relay
8. 6-3-1-3
9. Relay
10. No Aces
11. Relay
12. No Kings
13. Relay
14. Three Queens
15. Relay
16. Not the Queen in my shortest suit
17. I was going to bid this anyway

Of course during the relay sequence the positive response was a surprise, but the answers to the rest of my questions were getting less and less pretty. I can tell before my LHO makes his lead I’ll be needing five tricks from my suit. I just hoped that because of the lead directing double Kees might have better fitting honours in the other suits .. like a stiff Jack of Diamonds.

West leads a trump and this is what I see:

I win the first in my hand and I cross to dummy with my 7 of (breaking 1-3). Entries are scarce. There’s one thing I know .. West has the King. Dropping the Jack of -trebleton will see me home, but percentage wise that’s less than hooking the Jack. I take a deep breath and hook the Ten of . West following with a small one.

I’m clear not, am I not? I draw the outstanding trump and start my from the top. Oh no .. the suit is not breaking .. East has 5 of them.

I have one last trick up my sleeve, I can execute a squeeze against East. The three-card ending will be Qx and the final trump in dummy and Ax and my last in my hand. On the last trump East will have no recourse. What suit to pick, though? I can achieve this ending in both and . Wait a minute! West was helpful during the bidding to tell me about the whereabouts of the King.

Easy. I pitch all in dummy on my high , cash my Ace (ditching a ) and ruff a to run the rest of the trumps. Leading to this position:

East surrenders when I call for the 9 of . I take all 13.

Full deal:

After analysing this deal at the bar we came up with the best play. If you know that you need 5 tricks from the suit, you first execute a double Vienna coup, and then run your trumps. You still need the Jack of onside, but if a 5-crd suit is accompanied by at least one King, your suit will still come in for 5 tricks. That also means you come home with Jack-doubleton onside. Thanks to Antony for pointing that cute detail out to me.

With regards to the title, don’t be afraid, I’m not going anywhere. I’ll be writing. It’s a song from La Casa de Papel I’ve been (binge)watching together with Fabi.

Hi all, 

The tan I acquired in Mexico in February is gone, I’m back to my pale white self. Highlights from this year’s trip are Alux in Playa del Carmen, heavenly roasted pork everywhere, meeting mi novia’s loved ones, live music and beers in La Negrita Cantina in Merida, seeing fireworks in Guadalajara, tequila in Tequila, cenotes and much more delicious pork. Is it obvious I am a total and absolute fan of the Yucatan kitchen?

Bridge wise I’ve been busy, Pairs with René, HOK Patton with Kees & Erik, bringing home gigantic chocolate bunnies from Easter bridge, flirting with Viking Precision again and more. 

Here’s a cute deal from the Patton series at HOK. The number of poor decisions my LHO made is quite .. staggering. 

West leads the 7 and this is what I see:

That lead has the smell of a doubleton. With 4 losers in the pointy suits I will have to tackle the trump suit for no losers. I duck the lead and East wins the Queen. Next comes the King of and another for West. A tinier hits the table and the high-low confirms my original suspicions. I rise with the Ace and cross to my hand with a . 

It’s “trump tackling time” (copyright and patent pending). 

Because of the nice spots there is a layout that works for me: King-doubleton on my left and Ten-third on my right. My Queen of gets covered with the King to dummy’s Ace. Now I’m just going to run the 9 of and I’ll get home with 9 tricks.

Nice dream .. East decides to show out on the second round of ! This is the position:

My chances of making are shot to hell. Damage control. I let the 9 run to West’s Ten and she goes in the tank. I expect her to return a trump, but she surprises me with a instead. Now it’s easy, I pitch a from dummy and ruff with my Jack of . With my 5 of I take the hook against her 7 of trumps and then the 8 of kills East in a black suit squeeze. My holding proves to take another 3 tricks.

This was the full deal:

West could have ducked the first trump, the second trump, or played back a trump .. everything leads to my defeat. Instead she gave me a finger by giving me a ruff ‘n sluff and then I took the whole arm in a blaze of glory of squeezy awesomeness. 

I’ve watched a couple of episodes of Black Mirror, leaving me in varying degrees of unease and unsettlement. But .. the song below (featuring in multiple episodes) touches me every time I hear it. 

Hi all, 

On the brink of 2017/2018 I reach out to you. Like seasons nightmares pass too, I’m in a good place. Just as finding a beautifully marbled pebble on the beach that wows you for a second, I uncovered a little .. truth that is still reverberating in me. It was there all the time, I just never saw it clearly. If I ever get to write my opus magnum, my odyssey, this will certainly be a key element. 

Here’s a deal from a HOK club night, I was playing with Gerrit.

1. Usually unbalanced
2. I have offence not defence
3. There!

I chose to overcall just 1 but when the auction gets back to me we’re already at the 5-level. Wait! What? We’re white against red and .. Wait! What? Vulnerable opponents usually don’t fool around, at least not against me they don’t. 

A few seconds tick by and I decide my suit is worth more in offence than in defence, I bid 5. Gerrit smoothly raises me to slam and East finishes the auction with a smack.

West leads the 2 of and this is what I see:

There is a small issue in the trump suit but the suit takes care of any losers I might have. This slam looks pretty good. I call small from dummy and East ruffs. Wait! What?

I have a moment of revelation, the full distribution of the deal is crystal clear to me after three cards have been played. East is 4-4-5-0 and West is 1-1-5-6. Does that match with the bidding? Yes it does! I unblock my Queen of to have a finessing position left against the Ten. East tries to cash her Ace but I answer it with a small trump. 

I cross to the Ace of and run the Jack of . For the length of a heartbeat I fear West might hold the stiff Queen but I stick to my perceived odds. I cast a small sigh when West follows with a small one. I cross to my hand by ruffing another and my two top trumps take care of the outstanding trumps. I claim the remainder.

5 would have gone down only 1, for a measly 200 points. Gerrit showed skill and trust for raising me to slam. It’s a nice feeling when your partner is on the same wavelength as you are.

Happy New Year’s Day! And when that’s through, happy days throughout the year, too. 

Hi all,

At the moment I could easily talk about ghoulish nightmares, perfecting insomnia, regret squared nay cubed, dark times for the soul, and much, much more from unhappy places. I’m sorry.

Let’s instead try to seek out some happy memories. 2017 started for me by travelling to Mexico. Almost 4 weeks of holidays: Playa del Carmen, Cozumel, Mexico City and in/around Merida.

I picked up a few Spanish words which are grafted onto my soul permanently: cochinita, amorcita, gato, cerveza, taquito, carnitas and .. zapateria. Rosetta Stone will keep adding to my vocabulary, but those few first words mean the world to me.

Fabi picked me up at Cancun airport and seeing her again after a 5 month hiatus was absolutely wonderful. No more random noise in my head, no stones weighing on my chest, feeling immensely free with the Mexican sun on my face. Writing this makes me smile and glow.

Summary: drinking every Mexican artisanal beer I could get my hands on, Maya temples, snorkeling in Cozumel, dancing a little with Fabi on the streets of the Yellow City (Izamal), swimming in multiple cenotes (looking at you Il Kil), seeing flamencos, eating way too much fantastic food, finding out reggaeton isn’t too bad when you’re hanging out with friends, visiting the Frida Kahlo museum, doing an ad hoc photoshoot in front of bridge related artwork in Mexico City, tasting mescal, getting killed by the habanero in my huevos motuleños and so much more. By itself it was close to the perfect holiday, I dare say. Fabi pushed it beyond that. I can’t wait to go back.

I know you’re not here to read about my holidays, you’re here for bridge. This is me (South) and Wouter in full sync:

1. Game-forcing
2. Extra length in
3. Patterning out/control showing/extras
4. Setting trumps
5. Cue
6. Two keys with a void

This was the full deal:

Some extra notes, I knew Wouter had some extras or he wouldn’t have taken the 2 checkback route. Second, our generic approach is to never cue shortness in partner’s suit. After my response to his Blackwood question Wouter had no problem visualizing the 4-0-6-3 or 4-0-7-2 distribution in my hand.

West spoiled the play by leading the Ace of . On a passive (trump) lead I would have needed to find the Queen. I have an uncanny knack to lose queens, bridge or otherwise.

I leave you with a few words of wisdom: Don’t antagonize the baby barracudas.

Oh little sicky, seems to be the pain
Got all these herbs, don’t mean a fucking thing
I am the little witch, with the magic tricks
Mistrust the white house, come and get your fix
It’s not about the numbers, what you feel is real
Crystals, rays of light, the taste of orange peel

That’s a decent 17-count. I open 1 and this is what happens:

1. 6-crd suit, exactly invitational
2. Slam try
3. Cue
4. Somebody pinch me, I must be dreaming

We don’t cue singletons in partner’s suit, so I could picture Kees with King-small in , AJ-6th in and possibly some useless red quack. Sometimes it’s so easy to count to twelve: 

A perfect dream.

You might wonder why I didn’t splinter in to get my slam aspirations across. I thought any pointy King would make slam pretty much lay down. If Kees had something like a 2-3-2-6 with the King instead of the King, he can discard his loser on my Queen. But if I splinter in he might be unable to show it.

Surreal.

Hi all, 

It is somewhat confronting when you move an age range in some random online survey. Fresh decade? Affirmative.

Snippets of news for the readers that stuck with me after 6 months of silence. Good things come from & go to Mexico. Purchasing a new kitchen proved to be more of an ordeal than initially considered. Everything should be installed by the end of this month. Two new bridge books in my library: I Love This Game by Sabine Auken and Winning Suit Contract Leads by David Bird. Hopefully some technique, insights and statistics will rub off on me. 

Here’s a nice deal from a Pairs tournament. I was playing with René.

This is how we bid it:

When East revealed values with his lead directing double, René considered that good enough news to leap to slam. Now how to play it?

René took stock for a minute or two and combined a boatload of chances in his plan. He took the lead in dummy and immediately ruffed a (West echoing high-low). Next he played two rounds of trumps ending in dummy. Alas, West remains with a trick in trumps. Next he ruffed another in his hand and cashed the King. West pitched a when René played a towards dummy. Dummy’s last  ruffed (West following) and a 3rd towards dummy. West had nothing to gain by ruffing in the air, so he pitched another . This is the position by now, West having a trick in trumps waiting:

René placed West with a trump. Stripped from everything but he had to play into René’s AQ-combination. Away went the loser.

You take at least 12 when trumps split, or when the suit comes in and if push comes to shove you have a hook as backup plan. René’s addition of the avoidance in the suit and foresight of placing opportunities (after stripping the suit) are marks of genuine expert play. Kudos!