"Feeling a Little Blue?" By Marti Ronemus
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Do you have the blahs? Feeling a little down? Not enjoying things as much as you usually do? Find yourself humming “What’s it All About, Alfie?” It sounds like you might possibly be a victim of “Seasonal Affective Disorder,” a condition shared by 1.6 BILLION people around the world.
Scientists aren’t completely sure why, but as the days grow shorter and people don’t get their full quotient of sunshine, this condition flourishes.
And, if you are among the Faithful Readers of the “Journal of Epidemiology,” you already know there is a growing body of evidence that S.A.D. is made worse when daylight savings time ends. Interestingly, WHEN you get your daily dose of sunlight is as important as how much you get. Later in the day seems to be best.
So, if you can’t dash right outside and soak in the sun, we offer another way to brighten your day. Yup. Vu-Bridge Defenders to the rescue!
We start out with the wonderful DAVID BIRD. He’s got six hands guaranteed to shine a light onto your game. He includes a hand that’s a nice example of an uppercut, and trust me… there’s nothing that makes us happier than a symbolic knock-out punch. Next, how about a hand that combines a judicious switch, followed by a suit preference signal? Then onto a discussion of when to cover an honor… not as often as you think. Next, an example of when to discourage even when you’ve got a winner available. And finally… does Pard have a singleton or a doubleton, and do we really care?
Next, we have BEN NORTON, who’s like a ray of sunshine. His six hands center on using the opponents’ trump suit against them. We will work on our trump promotion, and also on uppercuts, a variation on the theme. Ben shows us how resisting temptation when we’ve got a surround can bring home an extra trick for us. And then, sure to increase our cheer, how to defeat what looks like a sure slam using their own trump suit.
PAUL BOWYER puts the spotlight on Suit Preference Signals. He’s got eight hands for us to unravel that particular defensive mystery. He tells us that clarity is the key; this is no time to be coy or subtle. We need to pay full attention and Read the Lead. We’ll see how the card we send to Pard to be ruffed, it should be fraught with meaning to show Pard the switch that is needed.
And lastly, MATTHIAS HUBERSCHWILLER has two quizzes on leads against preempts. If THAT doesn’t cheer you up, nothing will.
Finally, I’ve got two warm-up hands for you to get your minds and spirits more cheerful. See? Things aren’t that bad, are they?
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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