Say "elopement" and most have an image of a young bride and groom escaping in the dead of night to tie the knot. Yet, we bridge players have another image in mind when "elopement" is mentioned. Kurt Schaeffer admirably discusses the non-marital sort of elopement in the article below.
The meat of this article arose in an online match between Kurt and Your Blogmaster, against one of the finest players around, Richard Pavlicek and his able partner, Kent Feiler. Have no doubt about it; bridge clubs and local duplicates are the backbone of bridge. The Twin City Bridge Center is where I learned the game and spent countless hours attempting to master declarer play, defense and bidding. Nothing can replace the competition and camraderie of your local bridge club.
Still. If you cannot spare the 3.5 hours necessary for a local duplicate, a baby sitter is simply not to be found, or braving a Minnesota blizzard is not your cup of tea, online bridge is a marvelous substitute. Be it a match between friends or an ACBL mini-tournament, online offerings are a great additional option for bridge hounds.
And now; on to Kurt's article! You will note that I have made a couple of notes in the margins. And, I might add this about Kurt's analysis. Kurt and one of his regular partners, Bob Balderson, are not only two of the finest declarers in Minnesota, they are fine declarers period! If figuring out how to best play the hand Kurt details took hours, then trust me. It was one most difficult and fascinating hand!
NOTE: A few mentioned to me that the type in Kurt's article was a bit too small to read. So - here is a version with larger type for those who prefer it!
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