The
Completeness of the Cross-Country Skier
by
Bernard Marcoux, Ste-Adèle
Traveling in
Europe for 5 weeks, I discover one day that I miss bridge. It
is the first time I feel that way. Analyzing what I feel (I am
not a bridge player for nothing), I identify that I do not miss
the game itself, but the way I feel when I play bridge. I then
experience a well-known phenomenon amongst long distance runners
or cross-country skiers (skating technique): after the first 2
or 3 kilometers, the skier access a rhythm, a level (also known
as second wind) where he doesn’t feel the effort anymore, where
he could ski forever without ever feeling fatigue.
The skis
skating in tempo, arms pushing with the poles in perfect
synchronism, you attain this eurhythmy that you don’t want to
leave: left, right, left, right, on a flat surface, you pace
yourself to avoid becoming winded and you access eventually
nirvana, you just float.
If you have never experience this
sensation, you have no idea of paradise, you have never tasted
eternity. We now know this sensation comes from a drug called
endorphin, secreted by the hypothalamus, which has analgesic
properties, suppressing the pain. At bridge also, this
sensation exists. After the first efforts, your mind sometimes
access this state of keen awareness and you become extra lucid.
Before the match,
you feel this nervousness caused by the anticipation of
pleasure, and also by this light fear of mistakes which lies
deep under this confidence you have acquired in all those
years. You are capable, you know you are capable, but stage
fright is always present, like before 20 kilometers at ski: you
feel this little weakness in your knees, you apprehend the
start, you wonder if your body will react properly, if the wax
is the right one and if your triceps will respond with energy.
At bridge, after
the first 2 or 3 boards, you sometimes access this second wind
and the most obvious sign is this lucidity, the clearness of
your thoughts which gives you, after the lead even, the complete
count of the hand.
Sometimes, you
need to climb a hill and you have to be careful not to press: to
keep the rhythm, that is the most important thing. If not, you
will be out of energy at the top. When you arrive at the top of
the hill and start the descent, you have to refrain yourself
also. Conserve energy till the last 2 kilometres, then you can
go all out, pushing to the maximum in order to glide the fastest
you can and intoxicate yourself with these few instants robbed
to you own mortality.
At bridge, often,
the ascent is tough because, at the beginning of the hand, you
have only a few clues. You need then to take more time, think,
pace yourself in order to count, imagine, visualize. After 4 or
5 cards, you access this plateau where you know all the
elements, the count is clear and you just have to glide. But
you cannot go all out, a mistake is always possible if you play
too fast. When there are only 2 or 3 cards left, then you can
press, you know if you will succeed or fail.
In 4th
seat, you have:
J962
xx
AKx
AK9x.
LHO passes,
partner passes, RHO opens 1.
You overcall 1NT. Partner, after transferring to hearts, bids
3NT. LHO leads the 4 of spades.
Dummy
K7
QJxxx
Qxx
Qxx
You
J962
xx
AKx
AK9x
First, count your
tricks: 3 clubs, 3 diamonds, that’s all. Well, the snow is
good, and your wax is perfect, so don’t rush, pace yourself, it
is an uphill climb and don’t exhaust yourself right away. First
some warm-up exercises (to avoid tendinitis of the brain),
analyze the lead: if it is 4th best, the rule of 11
tells you there are 7 cards above that 4 of spades. RHO then
has 2 cards higher than the 4. Does he have AQ stiff?
Possible. Or he has Ax or Qx. Anyway, you don’t have to play
the king from dummy. You call a small spade from dummy, RHO
plays the Queen and plays back a spade. You play small, LHO
plays the 3, confirming 5 cards. The King wins and… catch your
breath.
Analyze now RHO’s
opening bid. What does he have? He has the spade Queen, the
Jack of diamonds and the Jack of clubs. That’s only 4 points;
he needs to have then AK of hearts. He has opened in 3rd
seat to make some noise, but you can analyze that noise and use
it to your advantage. You need 9 tricks. You already have 1
spade trick, plus 3 in diamonds, that’s 4 tricks, plus 3 in
clubs: 7 tricks. You are missing 2 tricks and the position of
AK of hearts tells you you won’t make a trick in that suit.
Is the hill too
steep today? Have you spent all your energy already? But, the
weather is ideal, the wax is perfect, your legs are strong.
Analyze again. Do
you see where to start? Pace your breathing, slow down in order
to keep control.
Count again. You
need 9 tricks: you have 1 spade, 3 diamonds and 3 clubs, 7
tricks. You absolutely need 4 club tricks to attain 8 tricks…
Suddenly, you feel you have regain control, your breathing is
normal again, all those hours of practice were fruitful. If you
make 4 club tricks, it means clubs are 3-3. So RHO has 3 clubs,
and you know he has 2 spades. Your mind sees now clearly: RHO
has opened 1,
he has to have at least one more diamond than clubs. How many
diamonds does he have? Control your breathing, don’t rush. RHO
has most probably 4 Hearts and 4 Diamonds.
The 4 hands are
then:
Dummy
K7
QJxxx
Qxx
Qxx
LHO
RHO
A10xxx
Qx o Qx
xx AKxx
AKx
xxx
Jxxx Jxxxx
xxx Jxx Jxx
You
J962
xx
AKx
AK9x
Analyze one more
time: you need 9 tricks. You have 1 Spade, 3 Diamonds and 4
Clubs, 8 tricks. You need one more and the position of AK of
Hearts means you can’t make a heart trick. Still, you need
ABSOLUTELY to make one trick in Hearts. Impossible, but it is
the only way. The sphinx enigma, the Gordian knot, squaring the
circle, a four-leaf clover, understanding women (and playing
with your wife), all those impossibilities are spinning in your
head. But, at the same time, you feel you are in control, you
are calm. This feeling indicates you sense there is a solution.
As you cannot play
hearts, cash your 4 club tricks. On the 4th club,
LHO discards a diamond, you discard a heart in dummy, RHO
hesitates, thinks, and finally throws the 9 of Hearts. THINK, breathe and
visualize! If RHO has the 2nd hand :
EAST
--
AK
Jxxxx
--
All you have to do
is play a heart and duck in dummy. East’s Ace or the King will
catch air, he will have to play back a diamond, you will win in
hand and duck a 2nd heart, establishing 2 heart
tricks in dummy for +430.
The 35km sign
appears in the distance, you breathe a bit more heavily, you are
going to fast, control yourself. You know the 35km sign is
deceitful: at the top of a ascent, it seems to signify the end
of the uphill, but it is an illusion. When you will attain
kilometer 35, you will still have another kilometer of climbing
before reaching Kilometer 34, the start of the real downhill.
Don’t rush, think again: is East really down to only AK of
hearts? He would then give you the contract? No. So his hand
has to be:
Qx
AKxx
Jxxx
Jxx
This heart discard
from East shows he has 4 hearts, thus 4 diamonds. So all you
have to do is cash AKQ of diamonds, then play a heart to the
Queen: East will cash AK of hearts, then one diamond, but he
will have to play a heart to the Jack in dummy for your 9th
trick. A magical +400.
This
stepping-stone play gives you a shot of adrenaline (enemy number
One of the bridge player, but at this moment, you can afford
it), and you push even harder on your skis and poles. What a
rush‼
Kilometer 34 sign
appears and the descent starts till km 32. You have saved some
energy for those last minutes of pure joy. At the moment you
feel you are starting to go downhill, when your legs tell you
that you are not going uphill any longer, when you don’t fell
anymore this burning in your thighs, you know you have
succeeded, you know you will literally access heaven, you will
get drunk with speed (skating technique allows speeds reaching
40/50 km/h).
The skiers in
classical technique that you see going uphill are like phantoms
passing by on your right and your left (skaters occupy the
center of the trail), you are literally flying, on cloud nine.
You have conquered
gravity, you have defeated your own weakness, your penchant to
give up because it is too tough, you have vanquished your own
imperfection, you live the completeness of the cross-country
skier.
The hand:
Dummy
K7
QJxxx
Qxx
Qxx
West
East
A10xxx
Qx
xx AK109
xxx
Jxxx
xxx Jxx
You
J9xx
xx
AKx
AK9x
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