This April, I played in my first rookie­master game- a game I approached with mixed feelings. On the one hand, I was excited about playing with someone new, regardless of whether we won or lost; on the other hand, I was worried that my partner wouldn't be any fun. All that I wished for was a partner with personality. I got my wish when Ken Lochang (who was in charge of arranging partnerships) introduced me to Norm Dreger, a student from UBC.

We went over everything on the Yellow Card once and decided what we wouldn't be playing. One of 50 pairs in the room, Norm was a little nervous to start, but after the first couple of boards, he was totally at ease. In between rounds, we would talk about school, sports and the Spice Girls, of whom Norm is a big fan. Bridgewise, he hardly pulled a wrong card all night. Norm was truly happier than a kite in the clouds. The only thing with which he seemed to have problems was his opening leads. Norm would listen to the auction very carefully, and he would always lead the unbid suit. Always. This disappointed me whenever I had bid a suit.

Norm and I were leading the event by a landslide going into the last round. Sure enough, on each of the last two hands, Norm was on lead and didn't lead the suit I bid. In the final standings, we had dropped to second- edged out by half a matchpoint! A heartbreaker to be sure, but we had a blast of a good time. Norm is now a regular at duplicate bridge and he is a promising young player.

Brad, meet Laurie Ailles, a PhD student at UBC. She had been playing in the Thursday night beginner's group for the last few months and this was her first time playing duplicate bridge. We quickly stripped off most of the stuff from the Yellow Card and began to play. I wondered if we would talk about the Spice Girls in between rounds?

We were one of 40 pairs in the room and this was her first time playing duplicate bridge, but surprisingly, Laurie was not nervous. Bridgewise, she made a lot of good decisions both in the bidding and in her play. Here's a hand where she picked the right time to not sell out.

The master in the West chair opened FOUR HEARTS, which was passed around to me. "With 6-5, come alive" convinced me to bid FOUR SPADES. East balanced FIVE HEARTS. This was passed back to Laurie who (correctly) didn't feel much like defending hearts. She bid FIVE SPADES and got DOUBLED by West who led the A. The defense was finished. West shifted to a club which was covered and ruffed, and I led a spade up. West ducked, so I ruffed a club, then a heart, then a club. Then I cashed the K (confirming that the elimination was necessary) and exited a spade. West was now endplayed into conceding a ruff and sluff for my 11th trick. +850 for the good guys! If West had won the A and exited a club, then East would have been mercilessly squeezed on the run of the spades. What a cruel fate to be dealt all three club honours! [Ed Note: Argh, there is no squeeze. Thanks, Aidan.]		Vul: Us Dlr: West	LAURIE Q J 10 4 3 10 K Q 3 2 J 10 9
		WEST (Master) A 2 A Q J 9 8 7 6 -- 8 7 6 5		EAST (Rookie) -- K 5 4 J 10 5 4 A K Q 4 3 2
			ME K 9 8 7 6 5 3 2 A 9 8 7 6 --

Vul: Them Dlr: Laurie	ME 4 2 A Q 8 2 K J 8 6 4 K Q		Sitting South, Laurie opened ONE HEART. I forgot that 3 was a game­forcing raise, so I instead bid TWO DIAMONDS. Laurie thought and thought and thought and thought about her next call and she eventually raised to THREE DIAMONDS. The slam bells were going off in my mind, but I was worried that she might not be able to handle 6 and I signed off in FOUR HEARTS. Immediately after dummy hit, her comment was, "underbid this time, partner." I got what I deserved. Despite my masterminding, Laurie and I ended up winning the event by half a matchpoint, a result she is truly ecstatic about. This was an equally fitting end to the event for me, who came second by this same small margin in April. I'm glad that she was able to carry me through.
	LAURIE A Q K J 10 9 6 A Q 10 9 J 2