THE DECLARER

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<strong>THE</strong> DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WINNINGAND LOSING AT BRIDGECONCENTRATION, FOCUS, TEMPERAMENT,PARTNERSHIP HANDLINGExperts will tell you that the most importantelements to playing good bridge are concentration,temperament and partnership handling. Given theseresults, shouldn’t our improvement at bridge includecoaching in these areas?CONCENTRATIONDistraction and fatigue are among the main causesof poor concentration.Distraction can occur when emotion from what justhappened interferes with one’s concentration.Mike Lawrence in his bridge tip called Ecstasy givesgreat advice – that you have to beware after anytriumph (the distracting emotion = ecstasy) ordisaster (the distracting emotion = despair).Trick one is a very important time for all players – assoon as dummy comes down, thinking hard isessential. Yet this is a time when many dummiesdistract declarer by saying something like: “Sorry Ididn’t use Stayman, I guess I should have” or thelike. Many declarers cannot concentrate fully whenthey listen to partner’s comment.Here’s a sample hand:You hold S KJ974, H 1095, D 86, C AKQ. RHOopens a weak 2H, vulnerable. You overcall 2S. Passby LHO, and your partner raises to 4S which isdoubled in the pass out seat by LHO, who leads HJ.Dummy comes down with A5, Q43, AK105, 5432.If you say to partner “Why didn’t you bid 3NT?”you fail. If partner (dummy) makes a comment toyou, he has erred.The solution is that you should duck HJ with as fewhints of desperation as you can manage. RHO,playing you for a singleton heart or xx in hearts,mightduck HJ.Let’s look at the full deal: LHO had Q10863, J,Q975, J108. Any form of distraction at trick onereduces your chances of smoothly finding the onlyplay that gives you a chance. If HJ is ducked, youcan make 4Sx in various ways that involve cashingwinners then end-playing West who has to trump hispartner’s hearts in the ending. (After the heart leadand club shift you ruff a diamond low in hand, playoff the top clubs and SA then exit with a heart).David Lusk says he counts his cards multiple times,in order to “clear my brain of all extraneousthoughts”. He recommends that you develop aT H E D E C L A R E R P A G E 4focusing routine such as that, and use it at the start ofplay, at the start of each hand, after a disaster, andafter protracted breaks in play.Mike Lawrence’s Tip means that it should also applyafter +1100 or slam success (Ecstasy), before the lastboard (keep focusing on the bridge, not on the lunchbreak), and whenever you are distracted.Another “focusing routine”, used by Peter Gill, is tosay internally to yourself “Next Hand” or “ThisHand” multiple times, so that you forget about theprevious hand.Jens Auken from Denmark says in a BOLS BridgeTip that you should try to develop the ability to spot“kill points”, i.e. points in the bidding or play whenstopping to think are crucial. That’s not so easy todo, and Jens gives little advice on how to do so.However it is certainly something to think about.Decision Fatigue, or even general tiredness which issomething different, can also cause concentrationerrors. When you are suffering general tiredness,Zia’s advice is to take it easy and let partner be incharge, let partner make most of the decisions.PARTNERSHIP HANDLINGWhen Jeff Meckstroth was asked in an interview ifhe and Eric Rodwell (the world’s best pair) ever getangry, he replies “just about every hand”. But “we’revery good at rooting for each other”, he adds.Handling of team members also is important.Successful partnerships are all about looking afteryour partner and ensuring they are in their ‘comfortzone’.TEMPERAMENTGetting irritated with partner is one thing. Angermanagement is an issue we will skip past.Getting annoyed with oneself is more common andis a serious problem, partly because when you areannoyed with yourself, you are more likely to lashout at partner, especially if (s)he could haveprevented your own error, which upset you. Thishappens a lot at bridge.We all have problems and we all try to deal with ouranger. At bridge, making a massive effort to take iteasy and not get upset is necessary if you want tobecome a better player.Cont’d next page
FOCUSThe Gold Coast Pairs began with a “hiccup” whensome boards were put on the wrong tables. Directorshalted play while the problem was rectified.At one table where play had already started, concentrationwas difficult so our opponent reassuringlysaid to his partner, “I understand that you are distracted,but we are in our little ‘Oasis of Calm’now”.They promptly got a good score so clearly the“Oasis of Calm” worked. At the end of the session,this particular pair had topped the whole field! Itseemed that their approach to distraction management/ focus was very effective.I tried the technique during the Gold Coast Teams,when nearby players were arguing or loud and distracting,and it worked for me too.T H E D E C L A R E R P A G E 5What is the Origin of the word BRIDGE?The origin of the word BRIDGE is obscure. It is oftentraced to an 1896 pamphlet in the British Museumentitled BIRICH, or RUSSIAN WHIST. Thisslender clue has led some historian to link the gamewith Russia, and also with Turkey, but all actual evidenceis negative, Even less plausible is the suggestionthat the dealer (bridged) the bid when he passedhis right of choice to his partner.Qualifying trials for the 2013 SA State Teams havebeen completed and successful members of eachteam are shown below. A special mention for RogerJanuszke who has qualified for a state team (eitherOpen or Senior’s) for the 19th year in a row. Also,there is a 57 year difference between the oldest andyoungest members representing the state!![This is a modified version of Peter Gill’s talk at theGold Coast Congress 2013]By Barbara Travis (April 2013)SABA Bridge-on-TorrensSABA Bridge-on-Torrens is starting to build afollowing and is very popular with those who haveexperienced what is a friendly, and socialafternoon of bridge. A reminder that Bridge-on-Torrens continues every Monday afternoon at theWalkerville Bowling ClubTime(Cnr Smith and Church Streets, Walkerville)DirectorTutor1pm to 4.30pmDarryl CouznerRay DohntBridge-on-Torrens is a great session whichcaters more to the newer and intermediateplayers.Open TeamDavid Middleton & Zolly NagyDavid Cherry & John HorowitzPeter Colmer & Andrew EddieSenior’s TeamRoger Januszke & John ZolloAnn Clarke & Chris LorimerAttilio De Luca & Kevin LangeWomen’s TeamPam Morgan-King & Yadi ParrottFelicity Gunner & Prudie WagnerAlison Fallon & Barbara MarrettYouthJessie De Garis & George EvansShane Harrison & Sam SchulzAlex Dunbar and David Gue
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Page 11 and 12: 1925: Harold S. Vanderbilt, America
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THE DECLARER

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