At our very first tournament ever, my partner and I sat with the other non-life master "children" at three card tables in the far corner of a very large room. On the other side were countless tables and many people mingling. Once in awhile one of the "adults" waved at us or came over to see things were going, but for the most part we were on our own. We did know one of the other pairs, so that was nice. And the new people we met were easy going and friendly. Most were from out of town, so they asked us to recommend a restaurant for dinner. I told everyone about One Trick Pony, since it is within walking distance of the tournament site and has good food.
The card play was uneventful; I actually missed the more aggressive action that I have become used to at the bridge club. No one stole our bid, and it was easy to take the bid away from others. As my partner said, we weren't fighting over one pork chop. At the end of the session, we ended up in third place. That was okay, but nothing to get excited about.
Day 1, Friday evening: This time we were assigned to play with the general population since there weren't enough people signed up for the non-life master section. Before we found our table, we chatted with some of our new friends. I asked the first couple where they had dinner, and they replied "Boston Market." Boston Market?? Then I had to ask another pair and they said "Brandywine." Hmm. Now I had to find someone who took my advice, and eventually I did. I was starting to wonder if anyone had listened to me!
My partner and I were very comfortable playing with the "grown-ups." We both felt it was more like playing at the bridge club, but friendlier. This was surprising since someone had told us that tournament goers were nit-picky, called the director a lot, and were not fun. In fact, we found the opposite to be true. I think that the out-of-towners looked at this event as a mini-vacation and were focused on enjoying themselves. It was interesting to meet new people, and especially nice to see familiar ones.
The bridge hands were computer generated, and someone told us that they were designed to make a point. I soon realized that these hands were separating the chaff from the wheat; for example, you had to really be on top of things to know you should be in game even though it didn't look like it, or that you were not going to make game even though you had more than enough points. My partner and I had our best session this evening--we came in second in Division C. Our first silver points--hurray!
Day 2, Saturday morning: Here's what happened when we played against the one pair who were not so nice. Almost as soon as we sat at their table "Fred" said something in a rude tone to his partner, and his bad attitude continued throughout the first board. During the second board he was the declarer (south) and my LHO (I was sitting east). As he drew trump he obviously miscounted, because he played the ace of clubs from dummy and I trumped it. OMG! He totally lost it. He barely managed to finish the board before he swept cards off the table in frustration and anger. As he bent to pick them up, Julie and I quietly got up and left. We didn't dare look at each other.
When we sat at the next table, we were congratulated for having survived the previous table. We found out that "Fred" is an excellent player who used to play in the GR bridge club but had been kicked out for bad behavior. What in the world is wrong with him? Does he have no self control at all, or does he just not care?
Day 2, afternoon: The results of our morning session were not good, but the afternoon was better. However, we did not come close to the Friday evening results. This coming week Julie and I are going to analyze the games and figure out what we need to do differently. We are both competitive and determined! Plus, we each have someone at the club whom we really want to beat. It is good to have a goal.
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