detroit, week one
Grand National Pairs: one of our hometown pairs won — David Yang and Xiaodong Shi. They’re nice guys and good players and it is nice when the winners are local boys. Still, I was rooting for my own home boy.
Open Pairs: I played with Sue Picus and had a great time but didn’t qualify. We played stratified pairs on the second day and managed to finish the day average. What I liked best about the sessions we played was that they were getting better. I’ve got to schedule some face time with Sue before we play the Trials together at the end of May…
Vanderbilt, Days 1 & 2: The top 31 seeds in the Vanderbilt had Sunday off. Many of the teams showed up to practice in the “Bye Swiss,” which was a casual affair from which most teams withdrew at the half. I couldn’t really figure out what was happening — I stopped by and saw George and Ralph at one table, Bobby Levin and his son at the other, and the next time I stopped by George was playing Kevin and Justin and the other table was empty.
While all that “practice” was happening, I played my very first daylight game at a tournament. Shannon and I had some misadventures in the morning session, but were well on our way to a moose in the afternoon when I got really tired. I started that session thinking it would be good practice, playing tired. It happens, right? So might as well figure out how to bear down and concentrate when it’s past my bedtime (at 2 in the afternoon, no less). Turned into a dozen boards of partnership bidding practice when our side had all the cards and I couldn’t declare cold contracts.
Yesterday I was resolved to do better, and though we didn’t score great I certainly played better. Two disastrous evaluations by me, but otherwise I managed to sit in my chair and do the mostly normal thing.
And finally today and tomorrow, days off. Most everybody I know is playing the Vanderbilt or the Mixed Pairs, I’m trying to shake it off, rest up for the pairs and Swiss at the end of the week. Then on to Vegas for the limo show, then an all-girls road trip up the left side of the country. Stay tuned.
March 13th, 2008 at 8:31 am
is that our left, or God’s left?
March 14th, 2008 at 9:48 am
Get this: George was asking me on the drive over if I’d heard from you recently. I said no, but that I often hear from you around now. Welcome back — I’ve missed you.