Complimentary Issue of Better Bridge Magazine March / April 2020 | Page 3

The Magazine for Social and Duplicate Bridge Players | March-April 2020 in this issue 1 E ditorial 2 P lay of the H and 4 M aster S olvers ’ C lub 5 L ook -A likes 6 P oint of V iew D efenders ’ C orner 8 10 12 14 16 18 19 20 by Audrey Grant by David Lindop A Feature from The Bridge World by Audrey Grant by Audrey Grant C ome to the P arty T he R eal D eal by Larry Cohen B ridge M axims : T ruth or F antasy ? by David Lindop M odern B idding by Oren Kriegel T he P lay ' s the T hing Q uizzical P ursuits & B idding Q uiz Q uizzical P ursuits & B idding Q uiz A nswers EDITOR Audrey Grant | TECHNICAL EDITOR David Lindop | CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Larry Cohen, Oren Kriegel, Shawn Quinn, Andrew Robson, Sylvia Shi, and Robert Todd. AUDREY GRANT’S BETTER BRIDGE IS PUBLISHED SIX TIMES A YEAR BY BARON BARCLAY BRIDGE SUPPLY, 3600 CHAMBERLAIN LANE SUITE 206, LOUISVILLE,KY 40241 USA. NO PART OF THIS MAGAZINE MAY BE COPIED OR REPRINTED WITHOUT WRITTEN CONSENT OF BARON BARCLAY. TO SUBSCRIBE: CALL 1-800-274-2221 OR EMAIL: [email protected]. SUBSCRIPTION IS $35 USD PER YEAR OR $60 FOR TWO YEARS. COPYRIGHT © 03 2020. PRINTED IN THE USA. VOL 25 NO 3 ISSUE 150. There are questions about rulings that can’t be answered at the table because there isn’t a rule book readily available, and the issue doesn’t seem serious enough to call the director. For example, suppose a player, after the deal has been completed, takes the cards of another player’s hand out of the board and looks at the hand. The impact of this simple action could be quite negative. It could actually spoil a person’s game. How could we prevent the unpleasantness of simple actions like this? Calling the director would seem to be over-reacting so it doesn’t solve the problem. Julia Markovits, in an online lecture on utilitarianism, outlines that actions are morally permissible if and only if they provide the greatest balance of happiness. Players participate in a game of bridge, generally, because it makes them happy and it doesn’t seem right to interfere with that. Of course, the hand you hold can be viewed after the game through the deal records but that’s not up close and personal. So how do we deal with situations like this that can drive players away from the game? We could encourage action with saying something as simple as “I’d rather you didn’t look at my hand at this time.” It’s simple but in line with utilitarianism that is the commitment to avoid unpleasantness. There’s no end to the number of delightful discussions that could take place to clarify what the pursuit of happiness actually is at the bridge table. In this issue, David Lindop focuses on how to take advantage of using more than one chance of making a contract. He also starts a series on Bridge Maxims. “Eight ever, nine never”, the maxim, has been around for a long time. David looks at the first part of this guideline ‘eight ever’ and shows when it should be taken as good advice and when it should be ignored for a better idea. When you’re reading these articles, it’s a good idea to distribute the deals and play them with your bridge friends. You’ll see the impact of playing the deals in several ways and observing the importance of the order that you play the cards. There is so much information that can be given from low cards. Defenders’ Corner takes a closer look at the opening lead and how much information is available from cards as low as a four or a five when they are put in the context of the entire deal. The Mathewson Bridge Center in Reno celebrated its Grand Opening on February 14, 2020. It’s a big win for bridge and for Reno! Congratulations to all those who participated in so many ways to its success. It’s a facility that connects the bridge community! As usual, Oren Kriegel shares information that is frequently hidden from our view. In this issue, he features Balancing Notrump Bids. Are they weaker than direct notrump overcalls? Oren will clarify and make us more comfortable when the bidding is 1♣ on our left, pass, pass, and it’s our turn to bid. Thank you for being part of Better Bridge. Audrey Grant and the Better Bridge Team B etter B ridge . com 1