Kiwi_Joker

I have a strong theory about getting young people interested in the game. Just about every young learner I have seen has the same mindset - make the contract = good / go light in the contract = bad. That is why they beam with satisfaction at making 2C on a combined 29 count, and look disconsolate when they go -1 in 3D; not realising that in fact the first result is a shocker, but the latter one may be superb. They need a graphic demonstration that going -1 in 3D undoubled is actually a fantastic result (when the opps have 2H cold). And they will not grasp this concept until they see their score on the brutal cold light of day on the score sheet. So: get them out of the house and into a competitive game ASAP. Let them see their score - maybe it's 38% first time. Second time it's 42%. I find that if they don't care why two thirds of the field are ahead of them - you're wasting your time trying to get them interested in bridge. Leave them to their Nintendo's and WII's, their Facebook's and the BEBO's. If, on the other hand, they are REALLY BUGGED by the fact that they are in the bottom half, and they want the answer to that all-important question about a bad board - WHY??? ... then nurture them. They are the champions of tomorrow.

Amazing at the European championships in Italy this week, with the star-studded LAVAZZA team (Norberto BOCCHI, Dano DE FALCO, Giorgio DUBOIN, Guido FERRARO, Agustin MADALA and Antonio SEMENTA) failing to progress past the initial stages. That means they didn't even make it to the first K.O. stage in the Open Teams, the Round of 32. They were certainly among the pre-tournament favourites; although the Italian champions have split into different camps these days and the ANGELINI team looked a lot stronger, boasting the services of Versace, Lauria, Fantoni and Nunes. (The two very strong US teams, O'ROURKE and WELLAND, are both safely through to the next stage.)