"Things Aren’t Always What They Seem" By Marti Ronemus
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Halloween is a wonderful holiday. We get to wear clever outfits that we’d normally never be caught dead in, scare small children, and enjoy enough candy to put us in a carb coma. Plus there’s no pressure: No huge meals to cook, no overnight guests, no gifts to buy.
But all this fun comes with a price. Things aren’t always what they seem. Are we SURE who’s under that mask? And if we don’t produce an appropriate treat, could we end up having rotten eggs thrown at us or having our houses wrapped in toilet paper?
And that brings us to our Defender’s Vu-Bridge for October. Defense is frequently obvious. We clearly see where to throw the eggs. The best hands, however, are the subtle ones, where defeat for the declarer isn’t quite clear initially to anyone.
So let’s put on our costumes and get ready to roll. Get our basket of eggs and rolls of TP. We have an exciting mix of hands. They aren’t all exactly what they appear to be, but the one thing we promise is that they all lead to mayhem for the declarer. What fun.
Let’s begin with David Bird. His costume is Superhero The Flash. He introduces us to the Awkward Defender… a compliment. He encourages us to do the unexpected and shows us how to see around corners by visualizing a couple moves ahead. He also shows us how to use familiar tools to prevent the declarer from establishing his suit. If you allow David to guide you, you’ll be speeding to victory just like The Flash.
Matthias Huberschwiller is very convincingly disguised at Batman. We battle the dark forces of Gotham City with him as we explore how it’s not enough to make the killer lead, we have to know how to take advantage of it. We also see how to be alert enough to see when the declarer switches strategies mid-hand.
The Dark Knight Matthias also has two quizzes for us.
And who’s that over there in the Superman suit? It’s Paul Bowyer! His focus this month is defensive signaling, using a variety of signals. How long should we hold off with a winner? Count signals cover that. Then we get to replay a hand, with the smallest change that calls for an entirely different defense. Finally, what to do when your Pard is holding nothing but “a handful of old bus tickets.” Follow Paul’s advice and you’ll be able to leap tall buildings also.
And me? I’m wearing my Aerobics Trainer costume (which I had to let out again), because I’ve got two warm-up hands for you which illustrate that things indeed aren’t always what they seem.
Don't forget: if you like Marti's style, have a go with her Bridge Boot Camps. Click here to ask Marti about the schedule...
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