Succumbing to your emotions at the bridge table can be fatal. Whatever you’re feeling, get a grip! Easier said than done, of course. I’m usually pretty composed, but last week I felt an inexplicable sense of anxiety while playing on Jonathan Harris’s team. It’s always a privilege to be asked, and I felt acutely embarrassed that my underbidding led to two missed slams. I gave myself a stern talking-to afterwards, but what turned out to be a far better tonic was watching Marusa Gold — a regular on the team — display so beautifully the true importance of holding your nerve. She was South, North was her partner Todor Tiholov:
1♣ was ‘Precision’, showing 16+. 1♠ was game-forcing with 5+ hearts. After setting clubs as trumps and cue-bidding, Marusa bid 4NT keycard — she knew Todor had no keycards, but it was a clever way of making the next step (5♥) to ask for the ♣Q.
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