Walddk

Thursday was won by the Scientists (78 IMPs), and they were also stronger Friday (Goulash). The win came to 58 rubber points after 40 of the scheduled 48 boards. No explanation as to why they did not play the last 8, and they don't owe us one. I think it was great fun, and as I have stated 4 or 5 days ago, I don't care if this was a true contest between no conventions/conventions as long as it produced that delightful criss-cross squeeze. Roland

I can beat that. I will give it -10. :rolleyes: Roland

I like this logic B) Seriously, the auction so far is in effect ... bla 1) I have something. I'll tell you later bla 2) I have something. I may tell you later. bla 3) I have nothing. I may tell you how "much" later. bla 4) I may have something if you have something. 2NT So ignore bla 1 through 4 and start from scratch :rolleyes: Roland

In my world the bidding has gone ... bla bla bla bla 2NT System on, 3♥ is a transfer. Roland

I play what jlall and jdonn play unless I play Puppet; then I can do both. 3♣ followed by 4mi will always be natural (longer minor than major, usually 4-5). However, I may have a balanced hand with a 5-card minor, just checking for a 5-card major with opener first. If opener hits my 3-card suit, I'll continue with 3♠/4♥ respectively to show slam interest. Roland

well duh, you never mentioned that there was a hesitation in your OP Of course not. That would have made the problem less interesting. The point was obviously to see if people think it's a clear pull. That is not the case, so pass must be a logical alternative. Roland

Question 1: Per team. Question 2: They get paid per day. Roland

[hv=d=n&v=e&n=sj83h3daqjcaqj1096&w=s72hj10852d8743c53&e=sk10965haq96d52ck2&s=saq4hk74dk1096c874]399|300|Scoring: IMP South: 3NT Lead: H5[/hv] The bridge on day 1 may not have been brilliant all the time, but I am prepared to forgive all of them as long as I have this deal. Amazing, wonderful, stunning, cute, fascinating, pretty, excellent, spectacular, breathtaking. Take your pick. In the closed room David Gold as East overcalled 1♠ after 1♣ to his right. South ended up in 3NT and Hallberg led a spade. Easy ride for declarer. 11 tricks. The contract was the same in the open room with Zia as declarer. However, Priday chose to double 1♣ and then got the killing heart lead from Lord Wolfson. 5♣ is the spot because you only have 8 tricks in 3NT when a heart is led. So it went ♥5 to the queen and Zia's king. On the auction Zia knew that ♣K was offside, so he had to rely on some help from the opponents. At trick 2 he exited with a heart. EW took their four tricks, and the spotlight was on West. In order to break up the squeeze he must play a club. Instead he exited with a passive diamond, and now a very rare criss-cross squeeze materialised. Before the last diamond from Zia the position was: [hv=d=n&v=e&n=sj83h3daqjcaqj1096&w=s72hj10852d8743c53&e=sk10965haq96d52ck2&s=saq4hk74dk1096c874]399|300|Scoring: IMP South: 3NT Lead: H5[/hv] When ♦9 was played declarer pitched ♣Q from the dummy and East was caught in a criss-cross squeeze. He could choose his poison. If he bared ♠K, dummy would be high (cash ♠A), and if he came down to the singleton ♣K, the hand would be high (cash ♣A). Priday chose the latter and Zia landed his game, restricting the loss to £200 for 2 IMPs away. "Stop the presses!!", one commentator said. I agree. This is a deal that deserves to be published in newspapers and magazines worldwide. Yes, the defence erred at a crucial point, but that did not make Zia's dummy play less spectacular. You read about criss-cross squeezes, but you hardly ever see them at the table. Roland

I'm afraid not, Alain. On the EBU web site it is announced that results will be posted, but you won't find any yet. I can tell you that Scientists won Thursday's play (56 boards) by 231 IMPs to 155. The Naturalists had a 56 IMP head start and they held on to that lead for 5 of the 7 segments. After dinner it went horribly wrong, especially in the last set. The 76 IMP margin in the end translates to £7,600 = $15,830 = 10.975 €. Roland

So some think this is a pull, others that it's a pass. I don't blame you for not spotting what this was all about. It took about 3 minutes for the tray to come back to the SW side of the screen. Although screens were in use, no one could doubt who hesitated. North did. Is pass a logical alternative to 5♥ is the question. I think it is and that, after the hesitation, it has become demonstrably more attractive for South to pull. Therefore, in my opinion, the contract should be ruled back to 4♠ doubled. Here is the full layout: [hv=d=n&v=b&n=skjhj108643da3caj4&w=s98743hadj65ck985&e=saq10652h9dq98cq73&s=shkq752dk10742c1062]399|300|Scoring: IMP[/hv]

Sheer nonsense. I can offer you all correspondence if you don't believe me. No one, and I repeat no one no matter how much money they own, can instruct me and the commentators I am in charge of to do certain things. They can ask politely, but they did not even do that. They may not be the world's greatest bridge players but they have manners. And if your next question is if I or anybody else is getting paid to do this and not that, the answer is no. Not a penny. "It's entertaining, but in a painful kind of way", you write. Now tell us why you can be bothered to be there at all. Given the number of spectators we have for every segment, the event seems to be justified. If it really was so painful as you state, the vugraph theatre would have been almost empty, wouldn't it? There is no reason to believe that BBO members are masochists. They could surely find something else to do with themselves if they don't give a damn. Feel free to think and write that the judgement Fred, Uday and I made was poor when we agreed that this would be great fun, but you are kindly requested not to imply anything dubious without any knowledge whatsoever. Roland

I have been asked to explain what Goulash bridge is. Let me give you a short version: Goulash is a style of playing bridge, normally in friendly play such as rubber bridge, in which the cards are not thoroughly shuffled between consecutive deals. The aim is to create deals where the suits are more unevenly distributed between the players, thus creating "wild" deals in order to make the game more vivid. For the match Friday, a duplimate machine (too scientific for the Naturalists? :) ) has been programmed to deliver those wild deals. When goulash dealing is in effect, many players adjust their bidding principles. Goulash is very entertaining, and interesting results are being produced. This is not only a skill thing; luck and guesses are important parts of the game. Roland

You might find this interesting. The scientists (read Robson) have created a special system for the Goulash part Friday. A/Z = Robson/Zia B/G = Brogeland/Hallberg 1L = F1, unlimited New Suits = good five+ cards 1NT = non FG no good suit Two-over-One FG Jump in new suit show two-suiters bid better suit 2NT = FG three-card raise 3L = FG four+ card support 1NT = 11-18 no good five+ card suit 2L = F1 2NT = F1 3L = FG two-suiters bid better suit 2♣ = either a club-major two-suiter, very strong balanced, or a strong one-suiter 2♦ relay 2M = C + M 2NT = strong balanced, say 21+ 3L = single-suited in L 4L = asking bids in L 1st step = no second round control 2nd step = Q/xx 3rd step = x/K 4th step = void/A 2L = Two-suited good hand, bid better suit 2NT asks for other suit Distinguish raises by offense, particularly no. of trumps 3L = Preempt, playing strength above Bridge Natural, F 3NT = Huge one-suiter specific ace-ask 4♣ = no ace 4♦, ♥, ♠ = bid ace 4NT = ♣A 5L = two aces, bid lowest ace you don’t have 5NT = three aces 4L, 5L = Natural pre-empt with playing strength Defence to their bids Over their 1NT opener Dbl = majors 2L = Nat 3L = Two Suiters (bid better suit) Our 1NT overcall A/Z: Comic either 16+ bal or weak single-suited B/G: Wide-ranging 10-19 bal(ish) Our jump cue-bid shows big one-suiter 1m – 3m = hearts 1m – 4m = spades 1M – 3M = oM Our jump to 3NT is ace-ask, as 3NT opener General Agreements Default = Bridge All Single Jumps = Two Suiters (bid better suit) 4NT in Comp. = Good hand/raise All Splinters show void, except after opening 1NT

[hv=d=n&v=b&s=shkq752dk10742c1062]133|100|Scoring: IMP[/hv] Vugraph from Australia. You are South and partner opens 1♥. RHO overcalls 1♠ and you decide to bid 3♠ (splinter). 4♠ to your left, and when the tray comes back to your side of the screen, you see double from partner and pass to your right. Do you pass or pull? Roland

Well, it depends on how you define "scientific". If it's scientific to play Stayman, negative doubles, splinters and cue bids (and the Portland players think it is), then Hallberg belongs to the scientists. Roland

I'm afraid not. The organisers have not approached us. If they had an interest in showing this event, we would, as always, happily have offered our software for free. The organisers, in this case the FIGB, are responsible for everything else. Roland

Steve Eginton (eggy) from England approached us about 2 weeks ago and told us about the match. "Zia would like to have it on BBO; any thoughts?" We were obviously delighted and had a set game a few hours later. Steve is instrumental in organising this broadcast and I think we should all be grateful. Lots of spectators will flock to the vugraph rooms, not least to the room where Zia is. It's a fact that Zia himself will be playing all 104 boards. How often do our members get the opportunity to watch him for so long? Natural, scientific or not, I don't think it matters much for our thousands of Zia fans. And I do think that the large amount at stake adds to the flavour and excitement. As an example, it would be great if the commentators are able to say: "If Zia plays the Jack of hearts he will make 3NT and win $6,000 – if not he is down 2 doubled and will lose $5,000!" Roland

Perhaps it's fair to state that South knows little about bridge. Nothing wrong with that, but if you are suggesting that there is something fishy (cheating or the like), I do not agree. South is simply a poor bridge player. Roland

We are now allowed to let you know the total official stake which is £100 ($206) per IMP. However, there are likely to be some private side stakes, varying throughout the match as the personnel change. We imagine that the Goulash is the same per 100. The Portland have added Richard (Tony) Priday to their team. Priday is a former England internationalist with a European Team Championship to his name. He has also several nice results in World Championships and Olympiads, as a player as well as an NPC. Roland

And two more links, the first an interview with Lord Wolfson ... http://www.managementtoday.co.uk/search/ar...head-good-hand/ Then read about his granddaughter, Janet de Botton, a very wealthy bridge player at top level in England ... http://www.fmwf.com/newsarticle7.php?cat=23&id=105 (scroll down to the bottom) Fifteen years ago David Bird wrote a book with Terence Reese about one of the previous editions of this encounter. Marchessini was also involved then - with Forrester/Robson and Chagas/Branco on the Naturals side. In the book "Around the World in 80 Hands" by Zia and David Burn, they discuss the 1990 match in which Dimitri Marchessini put up (and retained) the £20,000 stake. By the way, on Thursday and Friday there will be no bidding boxes in use. The players must express themselves in the old-fashioned way: verbally. Just like it has been for decades and still is the case in the Portland Club in London. So our operators will be even busier than usual because they have to take notes. Roland

No, the operators will. Besides, honours only apply in the Goulash sessions on Friday. At least that was the last I heard from Zia. Roland

Mr. Marchessini invites the whole world to his house to watch this match. If that is not a great way to promote bridge, I don't know what is. I have a feeling that many BBO members share the same view. If some think it's a bad idea, they will likely stay away from the vugraph rooms. Fair enough, but negativity is perhaps not the way forward if one wants to make our game even more popular. We were asked by the organisers in London if we thought this would be a good idea. It took Fred, Uday and myself less than 10 minutes (through e-mails back and forth) to agree that it is. Roland

We will likely get convention cards before start of play. You are right about Zia and Robson playing together. Gold-Hallberg will be playing Thursday, Brogeland-Hallberg Friday (because Brogeland is unavailable on Thursday). And no, the three are not regular partners in any combination. Roland

We have seen several celebrities before, but this format is completely new, not least the 56 IMP head start. I think it is refreshing. (1) New York 1965: Scientists (Roth-Stone, Stayman-Mitchell, Jordan-Robinson) defeated Traditionalists (Murray-Kehela, Becker-Hayden, Mathe-Schleifer) by 53 IMPs over 180 boards (2) London 1990: Scientists (Soloway-Goldman, Garozzo-Eisenberg) defeated Traditionalists (Zia, Chagas, Wolff, Forrester, rotating) by two sessions to one, although trailing in IMPs. (3) London 1992: Scientists (Hamman-Wolff, Meckstroth-Rodwell) defeated Traditionalists (Chagas-M. Branco, Forrester-Robson) by 70 IMPs over 128 deals, winning a $50,000 prize. Note that Zia is now on the other side. Naturalist in 1990, Scientist in 2007. Roland

The world has seen it three times before (1965, 1990 and 1992), but now we must have it verified once and for all on vugraph. Which system is better, natural as played in the Portland Club in London with no gadgets, or scientific with all sorts of conventions? BBO is happy to present Naturalists vs Scientists Thursday and Friday in the vugraph theatre. The match will be played in the fashionable area of Belgravia in London, England. We will be broadcasting from both tables. The Naturalists are captained by shipowner Dmitri Marchessini and Zia Mahmood captains the Scientists. Line-ups are: Naturalists: Dmitri Marchessini, Giles Hargreaves, Patrick Lawrence, Lord Wolfson. Scientists: Zia Mahmood, Andrew Robson, Gunnar Hallberg, Boye Brogeland, David Gold. The Portland standard system is weak NT, 4 card majors, 2♣ strong, Blackwood and *NO* Stayman! The Scientists are allowed to play any system and convention they like. 56 boards (IMPs) to be played Thursday, 48 (Goulash) Friday. On day 1 the Naturalists get a head start: 1 IMP per board. So when the match begins they are effectively up by 56 IMPs. Honours are added when applicable. Needless to say, the stakes are very high. How high remains to be seen. We are quite hopeful that this event will attract a large crowd. Sounds like great fun, doesn't it? I will try to get some of our best commentators to cover the event, but I can't promise anything at this point. http://online.bridgebase.com/vugraph/sched...?order_by=event for schedule Roland