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Mystic Visions None Vul IMPs Dealer: South mico K 9 K 9 7 6 3 Q 9 7 Q 7 3 Lead:3 altaya Q J 8 7 6 4 5 2 8 4 8 6 4 Gerard A 2 A J 8 4 A 10 5 2 A J 2   hsherif 10 5 3 Q 10 K J 6 3 K 10 9 5 Result: Down 4 Score: -1600 Points: 17.00 West (altaya) Pass 2 Pass Pass North (mico) 1 Pass Pass Pass East (Gerard) 1NT 3NT Rdbl South (hsherif) Pass Dbl Dbl Pass Many qualities distinguish the expert from the ordinary player, and imagination is not the least of them. The expert will often bid contracts undreamt of by the Small Time Club Player™ because of his almost extrasensory ability to visualize the other hands. Today, for example, Gee, sitting East, has a very solid 1NT overcall of North's rather shabby third-hand heart opener. South doubles to show a competitive hand, and West bids 2H, transferring to spades. This is passed to Gee. You would accept the transfer. I would accept the transfer. Gee is blinded by a vision of runnable spades in dummy and bids 3NT. South does not share the vision and doubles. The doubt of the world is but confirmation to the prophet: Gee redoubles. One may ask why West doesn't pull to 4S, but you aren't supposed to yank your partner's business redouble, and if Gee holds, say, Kxxx AQ A10xx AJx, then 3NTXX probably rolls in while 4S has no chance. So West lets the redouble stick. The intensity of a vision, alas, does not guarantee its accuracy. Gee makes the HJ along with his four aces, for -1600. His partner inquires in the post mortem what induced him to bid 3NT. "If you have KQxxx of spades," says Gee, "then 3NT is cold." (Actually there are still only eight tricks on the actual diamond lead, even if spades break, provided South discards carefully.) Gee's partner wants to know what happens if spades don't happen to be 3-3. No problem, Gee says, 3NT makes anyway. There has always been a fine line, the historians of religion tell us, between mystic vision and hallucination, and here, perhaps, we have crossed it. Comments The ingestion of rye ergot has always been a significant factor in the development of the artist, as witness the work of Van Gogh. There is no reason why it should not apply equally to the artist in Bridge. However, should the hand that transferred be holding a relative yarb with six spades, there is no amount of any vision-producing substance that will allow a positive result to occur. Perhaps, then, a hand like that should run from 3NTXX to 4S. After all, stix and wheels is much more positive than 16 bones. O_Bones 8.16.02 1:14 PM EST [Hand Archive] © 2002-2003 by Aaron Haspel. All rights reserved.

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