Dealer
: East, Matchpoints
Vuln : Both |
KANTAR'S
KORNER #6
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When
Paulsen heard the 6 bid,
he knew
seven spades
was cold (of course, his
partner had forgotten the system).
As this
was tournament bridge he had some
calculating to
do. Assuming 7 is
cold,
North-South are entitled to a score of 2210.
Passing
6 doubled,
making seven is only
1860
points. Clearly it can't be right to
pass
6.
What about redoubling? Paulsen
calculated that 6 redoubled
with an
overtrick would bring in 2420, more than
seven
spades making
seven (2210).
So
why didn't Paulsen redouble? Because
he is a genius. He
realized that at the other
tables seven spades would be
doubled. Seven
spades doubled making seven, vulnerable,
is
2470 points - more than six spades
redoubled making
seven!
What
else could he do? He couldn't settle
for a mere 2420 points
when everybody (!)
else would be garnering 2470 points!
He
made the only logical call under the
circumstances.
And for kickers, just to make
sure he got his top, he redoubled
seven spades.
If
you don't agree with Erik's action on this
deal, you might
speak to him about it ... at
a distance.
My
favorite Erik Paulsen story is when he
returned to Downey,
California, after winning
the World Championship and went
back to his
roots at his favorite local club. Nobody believed
he would
ever show up there again.
During
the course of the game Erik and his
partner were competing
in spades against
two fellows who were bidding hearts.
When
the opponents arrived at three hearts, Erik
thought
they could probably make it and,
besides, they wouldn't
dare double him in
three spades, World Champion and all,
so
he bid it - loudly just to make sure he
wasn't doubled.
The
3 bid
was met with a resounding
double by his LHO. Erik turned
to his
opponent and asked:
Do you know
who I am?
Yes, I know who you are.
Do you know how many master points I have?
No, I don't, but do you know how many spades I have?
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A
K 10 6 5 4
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East 