mikeh, on 2022-September-24, 18:09, said:
AL78
It seems that you are interested in becoming a better player. You are not likely to do so all by yourself. You need a partner who already knows more or who is prepared to learn along with you.
It’s impossible to get better if, for example, you want to cue first and second round controls up the line (as is virtually universal amongst good players), or want 1D 2C 2D 4D to set trump and force, but your partners refuse.
So…is there anyone in your club, with whom you’ve played or could play who is willing to learn?
If so, see if you can persuade them to learn some form of 2/1. I learned almost 50 years ago, from a very poorly written Max Hardy book…although what I play these days has virtually nothing in common with that book, lol. I think Mike Lawrence wrote a somewhat more recent and (I am sure) much better book. It’s important that both players study the same book.
I think that within a few weeks, if you both work on it, you’ll be terrorizing your club😀
Also, knowing 2/1 will likely help a lot if you decide to play online.
Yes I am interested in improving, at least to the point where I can trouble the scorers like I used to be able to. Something changed around 2016 where my results began regressing over a period of five years yet the club standard has remained steady or declined over that period.
I have one partner who is at my level who is willing to adapt the system and/or learn new things. Whether she will go as far as learning 2/1 from a book I'm not sure, but I can always ask. There is another partner who is one of the stronger pairs at my local club who I was having a monthly game with before the pandemic hit. He plays a partially self made system which I am/was learning in stages. It is not 2/1 but is a five card major system with a forcing 1NT and non-forcing 2/1 responses, and seems to be tuned to accurate hand description and contract placement once a fit is found (at least opposite the 1
♠ opening which is as far as I've got with it). I could put it on here if anyone is interested. Unfortunately he is unavailable until November and when he gets back, I would like to learn his system opposite a 1
♥ opening (which includes transfer responses).
I do not wish to play online anymore (except to practice a new system/convention) and so seek F2F games. I live alone and human interaction is important to me and when I am sat in front of a computer all day in my job, sitting in front of it all evening to play bridge does not appeal. Unfortunately the pandemic has changed bridge irreversably. Most of the members at my local club, especially the more experienced players, seem to have little interest in returning to club bridge. Some of this is because of vulnerability, but a lot of it I believe is because the club is located in the town centre and parking can be difficult and expensive (not a problem for me as I use a bicycle for local journeys), and the room is cramped, requires negotiating a flight of stairs, and can be unpleasantly hot in summer (because all the windows face west). I also suspect that club bridge will gradually shift towards afternoon sessions when we get into autumn and winter proper which makes it even less accessible for those of us with day jobs. The new Wedensday evening club session introduced at the beginning of this month is only attracting three tables so far. The other club I play at attracts 9-11 tables F2F but there is free and plentiful parking, the venue is excellent, and it is on Friday afternoon (and several of the experienced players at my local club also play there now).
Help
