Greg and I had a better tournament than the last few, though the bar was pretty low. We made the second day of both the LM Pairs and the Roth Open Swiss and were close to qualifying for day 3. We had the first non-qualifying spot in the pairs and just needed to win our last match to qualify in the Swiss. Sadly neither happened.
I still can’t identify anything specific to pinpoint where we’re struggling. We certainly had some boneheaded plays that we’d like back, but a lot of the bad results weren’t really our fault—we did normal and reasonable things and the opponents took a different view that worked out better.
Most frustrating were the two regional pair events we played, where we were one of the favorites—all of the other pros were playing with clients. But we didn’t get a lot of gifts and nothing worked out well and we didn’t place in either event. I care a lot more about our performance in the national events, but not doing well against weaker opposition is still an important data point.
One trend I did notice was hands where we didn’t get into the auction but others did and it worked out well for them. Here’s one from the LM Pairs:
We played board 20 on the first day against Jeff Meckstroth and Norman Beck.
Jeff was sitting North and opened 1♥. I chose not to overcall 1♠—only 7 HCP discounting the ♥J and we’re vulnerable. South chose to start with 1NT rather than 2♥ (I prefer 2♥), so I didn’t even balance, thinking they didn’t have a fit. Others overcalled 1♠ with my hand and caught partner with a perfectly fitting hand that can take 10 tricks in spades. The -200 we got against 2♥ felt good at the time, but it was only 18% because most of the E-W pairs got to 4♠. In hindsight, I still agree with not overcalling 1♠—that’s not our style. But I think I should have balanced.
We’re going to do a more detailed post-mortem over the next few weeks. Maybe we’ll spot some other trends.
Still, the tournament overall was a lot of fun. We had some great meals and a lot of good time with friends. Minneapolis was a great host city for the NABC; I hope we go back soon.
Next up is San Diego. We’re playing with Phil and Danny in the Soloway and Reisinger, so hopes are high. See you there!
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