bluecalm, on Dec 21 2009, 06:10 PM, said:
Quote
For several years and over the course of many boards I had never seen Versace make an obvious error against me, but eventually it happened (twice actually). All players do dumb things on occasion.
Yeah... I saw a lot of vugraphs and two players which basically never make simple mistake in play (not bidding) are Balicki and Duboin. I saw a few of Meckstroth and Rodwell but taht's probably because there so many hands of them in the archives
If my recall is OK, the folllowing two stories are true enough ......
Story 1 - What Never? No Error? Well, Hardly Ever.
In the 2008 Australian Nationals, I was fortunate to have the privilege of playing in the same team as Cesary Balicki. After a match that I sat out, Cesary showed me the hand records and said:
"Peter, I think you're the sort of person who will like this hand. I'm defending 3D, the play goes like this, and you'e on play. Would you switch to a trump?"
"Ye-e-es, I would," I replied nervously, as one would when replying to one of the world's greatest card players.
"Of course you would, and you beat the contract, because it's the obvious play. But I thought that declarer was trying to con me into switching to trumps, so I tried the unlikely club play. This is a disastrous mistake, as you can see, for the play went like this. Again you are on play after you have just done the bad club play. What do you play now?"
"I switch a trump - I think it's not too late," I replied in trepidation. This simple and obvious play must surely be wrong, I thought.
"Of course you do, and you beat the contract. Somehow my mind still refused to play trumps, so I tried a spade. This is an even worse disaster than my earlier club play, and once again you end up back on lead. What now?"
"It looks hopeless now. I accept that at least it's only a little 3D partscore that I have let make," I said.
"No, no, no, that is the wrong attitude. Bridge is for hard workers. I was so proud that I had not been affected by my two earlier mistakes. I worked out that declarer thought I was defending like this for a reason. So there was one remote chance ... I played HQ now from Qxxx. If declarer mistakenly thought my earlier plays made sense, when they didn't of course ...."
"What good does HQ do?"
"I hadn't stopped thinking. Declarer now stopped to think. Why is such a good card player playing the club, then the spade and now HQ, he asked himself. It makes no sense. The club and spade plays must be a trap for me. Balicki is too good to defend like this. So instead of making his contract like a normal person would now, my HQ play leads declarer to do something stupid and he goes down one. Flat board, other table switched to diamonds. I was so pleased that I found the only way to give declarer a remote, rather ridiculous losing option (which he took) and that I didn't let my two mistakes affect my focus. It was more satisfying than a complex squeeze."
The conversation wasn't exactly like that, but the gist of the story is about right.
Story #2 - When Italian Eyes are Smiling
Alfredo Versace played the 2006 World Mixed Pairs in Verona with a woman so unknown that her name is still missing on the Results page of the WBF website for that event. Using Bridgemates, with 4 boards to go in each session every pair was given a scorecard with their score for the first 22 of the 26 boards.
At the end of the 5th session, I was waiting outside with some friends. Alfredo Versace raced up to speak to one of them. "Look at my scorecard for Session 5, don't you think bridge a wonderful game?" Alfredo said happily, smiling.
"What do you mean?" said my friend. "How can you call 39% wonderful, Alfredo?"
"In the first 4 sessions we scored 64%, 62%, 59% and 63% to lead the field by a margin of 3% - and I hadn't even been playing well. My unknown partner had been playing like a dream, and luck was with us. What would happen when I hit top form? So this 5th session, I play my very best, luck abandons us completely and we end up with 39%, although we have four quite good scores to come. Isn't this game magnificent, that you can lead the World Championship then play better but score worse so that you drop out of contention?"
"I still can't believe that you're smiling. In your shoes, I wouldn't be," my friend said.
Alfredo has won many World Championships and my highly talented friend has won none.
Is it possible that humility and humanity are good bridge traits?
Help
) if somebody could explain what is so easy and clear in the defense on board 46. 
, e) and f) club return is necessary. The heart play probably resulted from simple failure of counting declarer's tricks at least that would be the case with me if I played a heart.
