[CSGibson]

What weird bridge accomplishments do you have to your resume?

This year I think I accomplished something fairly unique - Two years ago I was on a team that won the open flight GNT for my district, last year I was on a team that won the flight A GNT for my district (though I went in the open flight instead), and this year I was on a team that won the flight B GNT for my district (see you in Atlanta fellow B's), sort of hitting for a reverse cycle, or at least as far as I can go since I am no longer eligible for flight C.

Now winning them all is not unique, but I think winning them in reverse order is.

[ArtK78]

Three regional wins in 30 hours.

At a regional in Cherry Hill, NJ, about 17 years ago, my team won the Wednesday-Saturday morning KOs which ended at about noon on Saturday morning (actually, the KOs ended earlier, as the opponents withdrew after the first half, without my partner or me playing on Saturday - we were going to play in the second half).

This was followed by a win in the 2 session Flight A pairs on Saturday (with the same partner), and then a win in the Flight A Swiss Teams on Sunday (with a different partner), which ended at about 5:30pm.

[mikeh]

Going down 12 undoubled in a Regional Open Pair event.

[CSGibson]

mikeh, on 2013-June-25, 08:53, said:

Going down 12 undoubled in a Regional Open Pair event.

Did you get any matchpoints out of it? This smells like being passed in a cue-bid...

[trevahound]

I "accomplished" something new for me in the past month -- +260 (not new at all) in 2M.

To add to the degree of difficulty, I "accomplished" this playing with my most hyper-aggressive partner.

I did once win a board in a BAM with a +260 in 3M, vs +230 in the same contract at the other table.

[ArtK78]

Speaking of weird results in a BAM....

Many years ago I was playing in a 2 session sectional BAM near Baltimore, MD. It was already kind of weird, in that there were 43 teams, and the first session was being run as a single section with 86 boards in play! The manual recap sheet was spread across one wall and went on for about 10 feet.

During the session, I opened 3♣ at all vul. My partner put me in 6♣. The opponents cashed an ace on opening lead and I was left with this trump suit to bring in for no losers:

QJT9xxx facing a singleton A

The ♣K was singleton, and the slam rolled home.

This turned out to be IRRELEVANT, as our teammates were in 2♠ for +110!

[mikeh]

CSGibson, on 2013-June-25, 09:22, said:

Did you get any matchpoints out of it? This smells like being passed in a cue-bid...

we got an intergalactic top

Qxxx xx Qxxxx xx, favourable, 3rd chair. Partner opens 3♠, a stolid, reliable looking stranger to your right bids 4♠ and it's your call.

I bid 6♥. LHO passed (?) and partner looked puzzled but since he hadn't been invited to the party, he passed also. RHO began to think...and think.....and think.

I suspect that she reasoned, in part, as follows: sounds like he's got a void in hearts and huge spades. If I double, he bids 6♠ and maybe I get 500. If I pass.....I've got him 550 or so...matchpoints...ha, ha let's show him!

I never did see her hand....LHO led the spade A(!) and I could see RHO deflate, as she followed. I waited until LHO shifted to a trump before folding my cards and putting them in the tray, saying: I have no tricks.

Partner held, iirc, KJ10xxxx xx xxx x.

Partner turned almost purple, put his hand over his mouth, and left the table...while RHO looked at me and mouthed the word 'Asshole', but (to her great credit) clearly finding it very funny.


My nearest equivalent was less intentional, but also happened with a first time partner (funny....I never played an event with either ever again...I wonder why?)

I picked up something like 4=5=0=4 with 2 Aces (one in hearts). LHO opened a strong 2♣ and partner jumped to 4♦. I remember thinking this was too bad because I have such good defence and a diamond void.

RHO tanked and passed, as did I. LHO wiggled and wriggled and finally passed (we were playing two elderly players in the early rounds of a regional swiss).

Partner announced that there had been a failure to alert.

She and I had agreed to play suction against a strong club method we'd encountered on round 1. We had NOT discussed playing it over 2♣, but she assumed that it would apply. She had jumped to 4♦ with 8♥ and a diamond void. RHO had 8 diamonds and had made a bemused pass over the 4♦ call. Indeed she was 85 (in shape and maybe in age), and they were cold for 7 diamonds. That one, I felt badly about since it was pure bad luck for them.

We had a great save, of course, in 7♥ tho whether I'd have taken it with a side Ace is unclear. As it was, -400 was a good score for us. So I have gone down 12 and 10 undoubled, and I doubt that many have failed by more tricks than I have. A dubious accomplishment to be sure, but all my own

[ggwhiz]

I once bid and made 6♣ in a swiss match when the other table went -1 in 4♣. An opp ran to our table and grabbed the board before we had scored it.

My fave was a ko when we went to dinner with our opps for the final and one of them announced that they were a net +120 imps in the event. Beat them by 3 with a net -90 or so imps thanks to a couple of 3-ring squeekers.

[ahydra]

My brother and I used to play, he was a beginner and really didn't like it when I pre-empted because it confused the hell out of him. He had some 9-count or so and I opened 3D, he gets confused and bids 3NT. Down 6, vulnerable... and a top! 630 was on the other way.

I guess I need to play some more to get some funny ones like mikeh's. The best I've got really is a hand on BBO where I was in 6NT and made it on a squeeze. Feeling clever I looked at the movie to admire my line of play only to see opps had discarded in the key suit meaning I could just run the suit. <embarassed>

ahydra

[JLOGIC]

CSGibson, on 2013-June-25, 08:26, said:

What weird bridge accomplishments do you have to your resume?

This year I think I accomplished something fairly unique - Two years ago I was on a team that won the open flight GNT for my district, last year I was on a team that won the flight A GNT for my district (though I went in the open flight instead), and this year I was on a team that won the flight B GNT for my district (see you in Atlanta fellow B's), sort of hitting for a reverse cycle, or at least as far as I can go since I am no longer eligible for flight C.

Now winning them all is not unique, but I think winning them in reverse order is.

Haha, I have the same for NAOP, played flight A for texas then flight B a year or two later.

Also I think I have played 4 GNTs at the national level and even won one at the national level but I've never won at the district level.

[akhare]

CSGibson, on 2013-June-25, 08:26, said:

What weird bridge accomplishments do you have to your resume?

Winning the district GNP literally after running a full marathon (no kidding). One has to wonder how much the fact that I didn't have the time to change / shower contributed to the victory, but in due fairness, I did get time for it during the session break .

[ArtK78]

JLOGIC, on 2013-June-25, 13:02, said:

Haha, I have the same for NAOP, played flight A for texas then flight B a year or two later.

Also I think I have played 4 GNTs at the national level and even won one at the national level but I've never won at the district level.

How do you play in the GNTs at the national level without winning at the district level? Unless you were added as an additional player to the district winner's team.

[JLOGIC]

ArtK78, on 2013-June-25, 13:26, said:

How do you play in the GNTs at the national level without winning at the district level? Unless you were added as an additional player to the district winner's team.

Yep

[CSGibson]

To be fair, to my recollection your (Justin's) bridge has been in districts 16, 17, and 24, which I believe to be in the top 6 or 7 districts in terms of depth of talent in the ACBL - perhaps even better. District 9 definitely has a ton of talent, and some of the California/Chicago districts are deep also, I guess.

[JLOGIC]

I think you have it right, generally florida/ny/vegas/texas/chicago are the best imo.

Vegas and Floridas 2nd best teams would probably be a top 5 team in the event lol. For instance I think the losing Vegas team was passell/levin/cheek/hampson/jacobus/orourke, and one of the losing florida teams was kevin bathurst, michael seamon, jack zhao etc.

[nigel_k]

Represented my country at open level first, then at junior level.

[fromageGB]

Never having been selected for my country.