Sunday 15 April 2012

BIDDING SYSTEMS ARE SURELY ALL DOWN TO PERSONAL CHOICE......? ( An almost true story by Bridgemeister Gibson )

Bigot and Ronnie were playing in a tournament when they came up against two celebrated grand masters. Despite the reputation of their international opponents Bigot looked very smug and self-assured. Earlier results had certainly put them well ahead of the field.
On the first board of the set Ronnie opened the bidding with 2S.  The expert to his left was looking at a flat and ragged 14 HCPs with a couple of honours in spades. So he turned to wards Bigot and asked ; " What kind of 2 level bids do you play ? "
" Oh .......I play strong 2's........" came the prompt and immediate reply,  "....a hand with plenty of trick taking potential ! "
Not surprisingly, the grandmaster hastily passed and so did BIgot. After the 2S bid was passed out , Bigot soon laid down his dummy hand revealing 2 queens and a jack. The expert heaved a sigh of relief, as he proceeded to congratulate himself for not having stuck his next out in the bidding.
However as the play unfolded the defence ( on their combined 25 count ) started to rake in one trick after another. Within a couple of minutes they had notched up 9 tricks leaving declarer with just four. As Ronnie entered up minus 200 for a galactic top , both the opponents rounded on Bigot.
Eventually , one spoke with thunder in his voice : " you sir are a liar and a cheat......so please correct me if I am wrong.....but didn't you tell me that you played strong 2's ? "
" Indeed , I did " came the rather perplexed and distraught reply....." And allow me to reconfirm what I said......I play strong 2's.........However , as for my partner he insists on playing weak 2's in 3 suits , 6-10 points........It seems therefore that you asked the wrong person ! " 
At this point both opponents in perfect unison bellowed out the following words : " D...I...R...E...C...T..O..R..........D...I...R...E...C...T...O...R..."

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