Reflections From Astoria
A good tournament
I played in our local tournament this week—Thursday through Monday. Attendance left something to be desired, which is a trend post covid, especially here in New York. We can no longer afford to hold the tournament in Manhattan, so we have found a spot in Queens that’s not bad. But it’s more of a trek than some of our players are willing to make, and doesn’t have quite the cachet of the midtown Hilton.
The schedule included a rare four-session regional event—the Goldman Pairs—which brought out a lot of great players. And a lot of young players! Ten players representing the USA in the Junior World Championships this summer played in our tournament. Two of them beat my team on the final day! Having so many young people there really provided a great energy for the tournament.
I played with two of the juniors and with a couple of younger local players. It’s nice to give back and help mentor the next generation of bridge players. I had a blast with all of them, and felt a renewed vigor and love of the game.
We posted some decent results. My friends Max and Ankur were visiting from out of town, and teaming with them we were second on the first day and fourth—just out of the money—on the second. My partner and I made the finals of the Goldman Pairs, though we weren’t in the overalls. My team finished second in the final day’s Swiss.
Overall, I played pretty well. As always, there are a few boards I’d like back. A poor opening lead, some bidding decisions I didn’t get right. On a couple I was too aggressive, on some too timid. I still don’t spot any simple, obvious consistent deficiencies. It would be much easier if I could say, “My slam bidding is costing me IMPs,” and then focus my work there. Or “I’m overbidding in competitive auctions” and try to rein it in. But so far, it’s just “I don’t always make the right decision,” which of course is true for all of us. The best players just make the wrong decision less often.
I did make a couple of wrong decisions to sacrifice at the 5-level with neither side vulnerable. On both I had a lot of shape, but enough defense that their contract was going down. I’m not sure that’s enough to call a trend, but it’s certainly a takeaway.
There are always a lot of fun and interesting hands over the course of a tournament. The best hand I held all week was a 22-pointer. And the opponents were cold for slam!
I opened 1♣ and continued with my planned reverse of 2♦, even though partner hadn’t bid. West tried for slam with a 4♣ splinter, but East understandably didn’t show her diamond control, and they played in 4♥. I didn’t think a club was cashing, so I led my stiff heart. Declarer had no problem crossing to her hand in trumps and finessing me in spades, taking all 13 tricks. This auction did well to right-side the contract, as obviously slam goes down from the West side if north leads a diamond.
At the other table, they opened my hand 2♣ (I like 1♣ much better), but my teammates still made it to game. The opponents managed to get their ace somehow, so we lost 1.
I encourage you to share your progress in the comments. We’re all in this together!!
Have a great week.