As all of us in Minnesota are aware, this winter has been a toughie. Your webmaster, also known as Carleton College Coach Peg, planned to visit with her students a week ago. A snowstorm, however put paid to that. Then a week later, news reports of dense fog and some icy roads worried me a bit. Fortunately, however, I tested the waters (so to speak) and found that the trip to Northfield wasn't too bad. Wonderful news, as spending time with my college bridge students is always a treat!
I was delighted to meet a new player, Charlotte. We had the opportunity to play a few hands together; I was both impressed at how well Charlotte was doing at this early stage. And she has already adapted to UDCA (upside down leads and carding); woo hoo!
Another newer player was in the mix, too; Owen. Owen and some other Carleton students played in the MGSC KO event this year. Wise people to realize that you get better by playing against tough competition!
The rest of the competitors from Sunday are "old hands" - so to speak! I continue to be delighted in how well they are playing, how rapidly they are picking up concepts - and how much they are enjoying the game. When I asked whether they preferred to have some discussion or play, there was a resounding "let's play!" And - so we did. On this hand, able Jeffrey was declaring, with last year's club president, Alexander, at his left, partner Sophia and this year's president, Thomas on his right.
When Thomas had to take off early, Coach Peg was inducted into the fray. I partnered Alexander, and as is usually the case with our game, some hands were quite intriguing! Club vice president Allie joined us and we forged on!
Alas. On not one but two of the hands, guess who (you get ONE guess!) managed to find the losing decision on both. Yes; Coach Peg it is! As we compared, I could feel inside my bones the students wondering; "Gee, how did Peg get not one, but two hands wrong?!"
A good question. I presented the two hands in 3 parts on Bridgewinners (a most interesting website for bridge players, if you are not familiar with it.) Links to the hands are presented below the line.
Yet speaking of "lines" - the bottom line is that everyone had a fun day playing our favorite game. This sure looks like lotsa fun to me!
More photos and the Bridgewinner links below. My thanks to all the Carleton students for their keen interest in this incredible card game, their strong efforts to learn more and more - and their putting up with their coach when she doesn't get 'em all right!
Also - big thanks to Professor Mark Krusemeyer, who also played with us on Sunday. Mark is camera shy so no photos. But at the table, Mark is a fine partner and bridge educator!