Editorial by Marti Ronemus
"March Madness"
We hear the phrase "March Madness", and it’s usually used to refer to some sport played with a ball (Football? Baseball?), it seems to make more sense in another context. By the end of March, we are all a little crazed. Living in the Northeast, we’ve been able to play golf (another sport with a ball) one day, and the next we’re shoveling out of from under 30” of snow. Then we can play golf again the next day, if you can just find the ball in the drifts.
We’ve got a bad case of Cabin Fever, we’re sick of our Winter clothes, are scratching the ground looking for the nubbins of blooming daffodils and searching for returning birds. It’s a time of danger, because we have become as unreliable as bears emerging from our dens.
This applies to bridge also. Desperate for a little excitement, we have been known to get a little carried away. Fortunately, we at Vu-Bridge (those left sane after the Winter, anyway) have brought you some interesting hands, and good advice.
We start with MATTHIAS HUBERSCHWILLER who has six interesting hands that stress self-control. For that reason, only two of them result in slams. The others, while not in slams, could easily be overbid. Notice how he guides us away from the insanity! Would we do as well on our own? Not so sure.
Then, delve into BEN NORTON’S six hands. We have to slow down and pay attention… none of this crazy March Madness. If we apply his principles, we’ll be better at placing cards, drawing inferences, taking advantage of distribution, and enjoying discovery plays.
My six hands provide all the drama and insanity from the season. We will gleefully overbid (but not so much we can’t justify it!), be in a grand slam with only 31 HCP, and find ourselves in situations that are a little hard to explain. BUT!! Since we find a way to make our bids, we’ll be considered geniuses rather than nutballs.
To wrap things up, MATTHIAS has two quizzes for us, the first on hand evaluation, and then one of his Bid a Hand quizzes, which everyone loves.
Have fun. Stay sane, and remember that April is only a week away.
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