It's been a good while since I played with Gene Benedict, my good friend from Toledo. But this Sunday, 12/19, smack-dab in the middle of the World Cup Finals (perhaps the single greatest soccer game ever played), GB sent me an invite to the 12-board ACBL Matchpoint Pairs. Board #1 sent me to the MOON - and beyond!

Gene's 2♠ free-bid was true "shock & awe"! It stunned me into slack-jawed submission.

I finally invented a random 4♣ "void-jumper Q-bid" to stall, because our opponents were getting time-froggy. Soon after, the madding crowd was again shouting "BID, DAMMIT!" - So, am I a man, or am I a mouse? Suddenly, I "SHOT the MOON"! "7 SPADES" I blurted!! (No double, some trouble).

Gene ruffed the ♣2 OL perforce. (1/13th of the way home). But I couldn't see a sure-fire line for 13 tricks. Not my job! I was on pins & needles as GB pondered.

Finally, he ruffed a low ♥ off dummy, hoping to crash some ♥ honors. He ruffed a second ♣, ♥A - no luck. So ♠K, ♦ to K, ♦Q, 3rd ♣ ruffed with the ♠A. Gene had reached Nirvana! One outstanding trump still lurked, but now he had to cash ♦A and pray!

It LIVETH!! Now ♥ ruff with ♠J, ♠Q. So, 9 trump tricks + 1 in ♥ + 3 in ♦ = 13 tricks for +1510 for 100%!

Only 17 brave pairs of 78 reached slam (2 actually went down). We were the only GRAND SLAMMERS! Star-crossed, we shot our way to 72% for 1st overall of 156!!

And now, I could marvel at the brightest of Christmas stars - Messi & Mbappe! 🙂 MERRY CHRISTMAS!