[blml] self-serving? [SEC=UNOFFICIAL]

[David Burn]

[AG]

not raising spades isn't constitutive of the offence of psyche-
fielding. And this is independent of the question "was 2S a
psyche?" So please don't change the subject.

[DALB]

I am perhaps fortunate to have at my occasional disposal a small but select
panel of genuinely world-class players. The discussion this afternoon went
like this:

GWCP1: "You probably shouldn't bid four spades, because it's hard to see
spades playing better than hearts, but you should certainly bid either three
spades or preferably four hearts. Though maybe you could bid four diamonds
or four clubs, to pretend to have a void."

GWCP2: "I don't mind four spades - after all, it takes away any chance they
have to cue-bid a major. But three spades might also work, because the guy
to the left didn't open the bidding. Still, I don't want him to be able to
bid four of either major after his partner bid three diamonds."

DALB: "Would you pass?"

GWCP1: "Pass? Why would anyone do that?"

DALB: "Because it makes it much harder for the opponents to realise that
there is a double fit."

At this point, silence supervened for at least ten seconds while I was
subject to careful scrutiny by both GWCPs. Then:

GWCP2: "Did someone really pass?"

DALB: "Yes."

GWCP1: "Did his partner have spades?"

DALB: "No."

GWCP2: "Oh, I see. They were cheating."

Now, neither of these GWCPs was from Belgium. Neither was from England
either - GWCP1's accent had unmistakably been acquired on the Indian
sub-continent, while GWCP2's had strongly Scandinavian overtones. I ventured
to ask a further question, although by now I was aware that I was
trespassing on the good nature of people who were already seriously
beginning to doubt my sanity.

DALB: "Would you bid 2S with such as SKQ10 trebleton and three- or four-card
heart support?"

At this point, GWCP2 asked whose deal it was and GWCP1 informed me (not for
the first time) that I was mentally retarded. It was, as it happened, my
deal. So I shut up and dealt.

David Burn
London, England