Day of Reckoning

Priyanka Gulati

The jungle, where each day is about survival. The jungle, where the gazelle has to not only run faster than the cheetah to stay alive, it also has to run faster than the rest of the gazelles if it wants to survive.The battle of endurance continues day and night.

Can I be like the gazelle who survives during the Bridge knockout round? Well, the  heart pounds, and focus depreciates as each cheetah around me looks for more pounds of flesh (IMPs)

‘Director please’ makes me more nervous than listening to horrific war stories. My day of reckoning will be when I call for the director.

I had a great time playing the mixed pairs event at the recently concluded nationals. My partner, Pritam Das and I did manage to qualify for the finals. However, after starting off well, we faded away to finish with a low negative score. There were a lot of mistakes, but a few of them were unforced errors and very basic 101s. I am listing them down not just for myself, but also for other beginners like me who often make these without even being aware that they are doing so.

1. Ask opponents their system

Total Eclipse of the Heart- to bid 2club(showing both majors) when opps bid 1club without asking for their system is a mistake to start with. 1 club of opps was precision, went to 2h dbl

2. Counting is necessary even as a declarer

Rock the Boat - to count incorrectly and play incorrectly on a cold contract is suicidal and I did that.
3. Do not lead away from the ace

Take my breath Away- 11 IMPs lost cause led from the Ace - lesson to be engraved, I did it even though I knew it was incorrect.

4.Think when sacrificing or being sacrificed against

When the opponents sacrifice, take everything into consideration before increasing the bid or doubling, unnecessarily I went up to 5s when 4h was down

5. Take your time to play

I did take an arrow as was in hurry to play as I had all cards played in my head, but when it turned different had already made a mega mistake for an over trick.

6. Be positive

Through all these mistakes, I did manage to handle the uncertain times by focusing on progress of small bits of positivity which made me feel alive, like the women during World War II who applied red lipstick or like the pilot who  communicates more during turbulent flights or the mother who smiles during childbirth.

Paradoxically, the people who survive and ultimately stand out are those that create certainty for themselves, forging a path depending on how the situation unfolds. The cold winter will fade into the warmth of spring and the dear old gazelle will survive.... but for winning, that’s for another day.

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Disclaimer : All opinions are entirely those of the author and are no reflection of the views of the BridgeFromHome Team.