Z and I played in a single-session Bracket I KO today with teammates Joel and Adam. We were the 2nd lowest seed in the bracket, and were pitted against a very strong and a relatively weak team in a 3-way. Down to both teams at the half, we thought we had a chance to come back against the weak team, but a couple of bad swings kept us out of it. The worst was when our -150 (4D made 5) was -400 for our teammates. What?
It all happened because Joel had a club in with his spades. Oops! Oh well, these things happen...
We were laughing it over in the losers' Swiss this evening, and as I sorted my cards on the first board, I noted to McKenzie that I can definitely sympathize with Joel. The particular cards we were using have exceptionally bright faces, which just mess with your brain when you try to look at them and concentrate. If it's hard for me, the youngest player in the room and one of the few who doesn't require prescription glasses, well then, surely anyone could have this trouble.
Shame it happened to the same team twice in one day, though...
In the third of four matches, our opponents stumbled their way to a 4S game, bidding all but hearts on the way up. McKenzie found the obvious lead of the heart A, and I held KQ432 in the suit, with three on the board. Playing UDCA, I played my deuce to encourage. It was only as the card hit the table that I realized it was a diamond!
Declarer wasted no time in requiring a diamond lead, shedding two heart losers on the board's AK. He was void. When my Jxx of trump became a trick, I was furious with myself. Our teammates, in the same 4S game, got a diamond lead and made 5 for a push -- but it should have been an 11-imp swing! We lost that match by 1.
Long story short, we won the event anyway. Phew! I'd still be agonizing for days if we'd done any worse than 1st place. If only I'd noticed before the stupid card hit the table...
But these things happen, and you can't let them ruin your game. While my mistake bugged the heck out of me, I turned it into an advantage. I was extra careful on each of the remaining boards, played some of my best defense of the week, and I won't soon repeat that error.
We'll be starting a new KO tomorrow afternoon, and hopefully all four of us will be able to see our cards then.
Friday, February 20, 2009
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3 comments:
Meg,
Sorry about your tough luck, but I have to salute your attitude. Good job on not letting this get you down.
Maybe you could teach some of your family members about the proper attitude to take at the bridge table...
I hate to break this to you, but the 2D would have been a minor penalty card, so no lead penalties should have been applied. The diamond lead could not have been required.
Minor Penalty Card - To prematurely or deliberately face or otherwise expose an non-honor card (smaller than 10) to opponents, except by declarer. If more than one card is exposed, each exposed non-honor becomes a major penalty card according to the Laws.
1.
The exposed card does not have to be played at the first opportunity; another suit may be played by offender
2.
Any honor from that suit may be played, but the penalty card must be played if the offender does not chose an honor
3.
Offender's partner is not subject to lead penalties, provided unauthorized information was not passed
I have no idea what's being quoted, but the actual law says, "A single card below the rank of an honor exposed unintentionally (as in playing two cards to a trick, or in dropping a card accidentally) becomes a minor penalty card." Playing any card to a trick, and then correcting a revoke is always a major penalty card.
The laws are online at http://www.worldbridge.org/departments/Laws/2007LawsComplete.pdf.
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