Home Again

Our journey is over and we are back in Michigan. Following are the answers to some questions that you may have.

What did you think of Philadelphia?

The City of Brotherly Love was great! It is an attractive and interesting city, with lots to see and do.

Is it possible for two people to talk for over 12 hours straight without running out of things to say?

Yes, not only is it possible but we did it twice--there and back--and talked all day and half of the night for several days as well. We talked about people (lowest form of conversation), things (bridge), and ideas (highest level of conversation). We did it all.

Did you get any gold?

No, although we did get some red. It would have been nice, but our decision to go to Philly was about the experience, not the points.

What did you experience?

We met a lot of people from Jersey as well as other places and played against some tough competition. I finally saw the set-up for top players in games where they use screens. We met a very funny director who told jokes. We saw the sights (museums, fountains, liberty bell, etc.) and ate at great restaurants. We were part of the Nationals!

What did you learn?

Some of what I learned is hard to put into words. Playing so much bridge with the same person advances the partnership and our game--more things become automatic, more flaws are uncovered and theoretically repaired, more practice simply makes for better bidding and play. A couple of specific things I learned is that I will no longer go to no trump with only one stopper in the opponents' suit, and I will not undervalue a distributional hand. (By the end I was successfully going to game based on the shape of my hand and not the points.)

Will you go to another National?

Of course! I'm especially looking forward to Las Vegas in a couple of years.

Now that you are home, will you continue to write on your blog?

Probably not for awhile. I have three other writing projects in the works that need my time and attention. That said, however, Julie has become quite enamored of writing and so she (or we) will write from time to time. Also, Mike plans to write more. So stay tuned! In the meantime, play good bridge.

A Comment From Julianne About Partnerships

At one of the tables, a father and son were playing together. The son got annoyed at the father and voiced his displeasure. The father admonished the son that losing his temper was not going to change the outcome and, in essence, was a waste of energy. The son shot back that the father needed to trust the son's bidding. TRUST, another essential component of a successful partnership. Out of the mouths of babes!!!!

Last Night in Philly

Our last night in Philadelphia included a stop at a wine bar on Thirteenth Street. Temperatures were in the 90s even late in the day, but since there was a 30 minute wait for an indoor table Julie, Lee, Mike, and I sat outside for awhile. Unfortunately Julie sat on top of a grate that periodically blasted hot air. With the words, "I can't take any more of this!" Julie stood up and took off a layer of clothing. Suffice it to say that heads turned.

To return to bridge, we had a rough morning mentally. We seemed to be playing and defending okay, but our bidding was off and we did not get to game contracts. We were prepared for a low score, but to our surprise and delight we were above 50% and got more red points. In contrast, we were very pleased with our game in the afternoon session but in the end did not do that well.

It's more fun to think you're doing badly and end up with a good score than the other way around.

THE NATURE OF A SUCCESSFUL PARTNERSHIP

I have been commissioned to blog again tonight. So what that means is "I will write, without pay and benefit of any material reward and be happy that I have been afforded the opportunity to appear in print." Thank you, Margaret.

One of the things I have been thinking about is the nature of partnerships and the need to honor the partnership by honoring your partner. So there r times when things are not going well, and the easy response is to blame your partner. But if u value the relationship with your partner and want to continue to learn and grow with that person, you find ways to laugh off crazy bidding and the playing of a hand. And u always leave the table to talk about suggestions for a more productive bid or play. Bridge partnerships need to be treated like any relationship that is important to you. You don't want to hold back and be resentful, but you want to find ways to communicate in a way that adds value to the partnership. We all know (because my mom used to tell me this) that you catch more flies with honey than vinegar. And not to worry, Margaret and I both believe this so I am just stating a blinding flash of the obvious.

Now on a sillier note, Margaret and I were standing in front of our hotel listening to two young men play the guitar and sing. Margaret and I couldn't quite rememeber the name of the song, but we both liked it and remembered it from some time ago. Finally I said to her, I think the name of the song is: Under the Bridge. Margaret said, "Why do u think that is the name of that song?" To which I replied, "I think that is the name because they keep repeating those lyrics." So after the song ended, Margaret went up and asked them the name of the song. She was somewhat surprised when they said, Under The Bridge. She turned to me and asked, "how did u know that?" I suggested to Margaret that bridge requires us to be logical, and I think all the experience with thinking logically with bridge this past week in Philly, brought me to a place to be able to get the name of that song. Hey, I said it was going to be silly and a little inane.

I think this is my last entry for this trip. So good night, Mrs. Kalabash, wherever u r. And thanks Margaret for being such a great partner and good friend. And, of course, I am thrilled that you make me write entries on our trips!!!

Gold Rush I

Two friends from Grand Rapids joined us today. Lee and Mike drove in yesterday and also played in the Gold Rush pairs; we all agreed that there was no need for me to post any of our results. However, Julie and I were getting our groove back in the afternoon session and are hoping for better things tomorrow.

I do have a bidding question; here's what happened. I held 13 HCPs with 5 hearts and opened 1 heart. Julie bid Jacoby 2NT, I bid 4 hearts, everyone passed. When dummy came down, I saw that Julie had 4 hearts and 11 HCPs; she had counted a doubleton for an extra point to get to her bid. I went down one, although I saw later that which much more careful play I could have made it.

Here's the question: Was Jacoby 2NT the appropriate bid, or would 3 hearts (limit raise) have been better? I just don't know; I would have passed 3 hearts and made my contract, but I should have been able to make 4. (But that's neither here nor there in terms of what is the correct bid.)

After the second session, Julie and I went out with Mike and Lee for a wonderful dinner at an Italian restaurant. Afterwards, we invited them to join us at the Goodwill party. (It had nothing to do with the charity, which is what some of us thought at first.) Our new Indian friend had told us about it, and while we didn't know what time it started we figured 8:00 would work. Mike and Lee declined and admonished us to behave ourselves so we would feel good for Gold Rush II. We said we would try but could make no promises.

Alas, by the time we got there the party was over. On to Plan B, which is me typing on the blog and Julie texting on her phone. Let's see if I can get her to write something . . .

Guess not.

A Bridge Story

Our names are in print, although unfortunately they did not want to take our picture. Maybe after tonight's game . . . Julie is washing her hair just in case. Anyway, I wanted to tell you about one of the boards from this game. Two men sat down at our table, and right away I could tell that East was in charge. He offered his partner advice in a rather condescending tone, although they seemed to be good friends. On the last board that we played with them, East opened the bidding with 1 heart. West said 2NT and East said 4 hearts; Julie and I just passed. With the contract set at 4 hearts, East proceeded to make 6. This is when the discussion got interesting.

"I had 15 points, maybe I should have just bid 4N instead of Jacoby 2N," West said.

"Well, then at least we could have looked for slam," East said. "All I had was a minimum opening hand."

"Or should I have said 4N after you bid 4 hearts?" West continued.

"Oh, definitely," East agreed. I think he might be from Jersey, I said to myself. I was trying to keep quiet and stay out of it.

"Let's look at your hand," Julie said.

Since we had finished the round early, West took out his cards and we all studied them. He had 4 card heart support, two doubletons, and 15 HCPs. East again said that it would have been up to West to take them to slam, and that he probably should have just bid 4N in response to the 1 heart opening.

"What would you have done?" West look inquiringly at me. That's all the encouragement I needed to jump into the conversation.

"Your 2NT bid was fine," I said. "That way you share information and learn more about each other's hands."

As we continued to analyze his hand, East pulled out his cards. "All I have is a bare opening," he said again. "Plus this singleton."

Julie and I sat up straight as if electrocuted. We looked at each other and then at East.

"You should have bid your singleton," I said.

"No, I had to tell my partner my point count." East was adamant. "I wouldn't bid a singleton."

"Well, that's standard for Jacoby 2NT," I continued. He was not convinced, and said he was going to look it up later. But then I explained how the bidding should have gone and how easily they would have gotten to slam, since the fit with his partner would have been obvious. He finally believed me.

"So this was all my fault," East lamented.

"No, it's nobody's fault," said his supportive partner.

"Yes, it really was your fault," Julie stated matter of factly. The three of us looked at her and we all burst into laughter while half of the room turned and shushed us.

This was the only pair so far at the tournament who has asked us for any advice. The pair from Stanford who came in first, as well as the pair from Harvard, didn't seem to need our help.

THE MORNING AFTER THE NIGHT BEFORE

I just got my orders from Margaret that it is my turn to blog. Soooo.........skipping the adventures of Saturday night, I'll talk about the morning after the night before. We decided to take a break from bridge and take in some of the culture of Philly. We really love Philly.

This morning we walked to the Rodin Museum. What an amazing collection of Rodin sculpture. If u r ever in Philly, u need to put this on your "must see" list. They have just finished a lengthy renovation of this museum and its grounds, and we felt fortunate to be here shortly after it reopened.

Following that museum experience, we walked to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, another magnificent building. For you Rocky fans, there was a bronze statue in front and a long line of people waiting to get their picture taken next to it. We decided that was too cheesy, even for us.

We talked to Lee and Mike by phone and made plans to meet with them tomorrow after the Gold Rush Pairs event. U seasoned tournament goers have probably already experienced this, but we have found it very fun to hook up with our G. R. bridge buddies. Beth and Robert were very fun and were able to keep up with Margaret and me quite nicely. The bar has been set a little high; we'll see how Lee and Mike do.

So we have a couple things to finish up our day. We r headed over to the see the Liberty Bell shortly, then someplace for fish and salad for dinner, and back to the bridge table tonight at 7:30. There is a lecture we will probably go to before playing. It is on "Hand Patterns." We know we need to learn a lot more about that.

Submitted by "you can't say no to Margaret when she says it is your turn to blog" bridge partner, Julianne Boggiano.