There was a particularly juicy deal during the recent European Open Mixed Teams in Ostend, which led to many pairs bidding and making a grand slam. My teammates, however, were prevented from reaching even a small slam when the Swedish player Peter Fredin made a devilish psychic bid against them. After two passes to him, he opened a strong no trump with no points. Talk about putting a spanner in the works!
I was so impressed by his psych that I texted Zia Mahmood to tell him about it. ‘Yes, I was watching on BBO [Bridge base Online],’ he replied. ‘Good bid by Fredin — but I think I’d have opened 2NT.’ That’s the thing about experts: they have no fear, and know exactly when and how to bluff. And not just in the bidding. When Zia arrived in Ostend for the Open Pairs, it was my turn to watch him on BBO, and I witnessed this classic deceptive play:
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