Peter Godfrey in action at the tables.
Stephanie Parks
Our featured player this month is our moneymeister (aka treasurer), Peter Godfrey. While living in London, Peter was first exposed to Bridge when his parents played social bridge with their friends whom, he notes, was the only time they ever argued; however, their friends were even worse — hurling nasty insults across the table — all of which was somewhat unsettling to his 11-year-old impressionable ears. Undeterred though, he quickly learned the basics of the game and formed a foursome with three of his school friends who had also watched their parents play. From the age of about 11 to 16, they played regularly every Saturday night, starting at 7:00 or 8:00 p.m. and going through until 4:00 or 5:00 a.m. However, when he noticed that all his other friends had begun to date, he realized that there were much more interesting ways to spend his Saturday nights, so the weekly Bridge game disbanded. He didn’t return to Bridge again until his mid-twenties in South Africa, where he worked for an insurance company and began to play in the National Insurance Industry Bridge League. Peter’s regular partner was a Scottish alcoholic whose performance as a Bridge player resembled — in Peter’s words — a bell curve: from being a merely average player if he hadn’t had a drink all day, to greatly improved as his alcohol intake increased and then falling off a cliff. At the Bridge table, Peter learned quickly the point when his partner’s abilities peaked and urged him at that point to slow his drinking to prolong his masterful play for as long as possible. Unfortunately, there were too many occasions where he rapidly deteriorated, but there was one unforgettable game when his partner controlled his consumption. They were playing in a Swiss Teams event in the Insurance Industry League against by far the best team. Each individual member was the local equivalent of a Grand Life Master or better. Not only were they very good but they knew it and, as Peter recalls, had never lost a game. As the game began, they clearly relished the thought of pummeling him and his partner into the ground — especially when they noticed Peter’s partner had his drinks neatly lined up on the side table. Peter and his partner were narrowly ahead at the break; the other team was completely bamboozled and went into a huddle for 10 or 15 minutes, but Peter’s partner kept his intake to just the right amount and, to the other team’s confusion and chagrin, Peter and his partner won, thanks mainly to his partner’s alcohol-induced masterful psych bidding.
After leaving South Africa, Peter didn’t play competitive Bridge again until he retired two years ago—a 40-year hiatus. It was then that he joined MountainView Bridge Club and was surprised to encounter bidding boxes and strange mechanical scoring devices. What was even stranger was that no one played Acol. After his first embarrassing game at MountainView, he took a few weeks off to read up on Standard American and later, 2/1. After returning armed with his newly gained knowledge of American bidding systems, he started to become a little more confident – until he made an illegal bid. The bidding had gone 1D/IH before it came to him to bid. He had four spades and a perfect hand for a negative double. He confidently doubled and, to his dismay, there was a pause and then all three players around the table, almost in unison and even including his partner, called for the director. You guessed it: he had doubled his partner. Even the director didn’t know how to handle that one and had to retrieve her book. Peter never expected that Bridge would be a significant part of his life as a retiree but the camaraderie and great players at MountainView have him hooked.
Our games are held Tuesday and Friday afternoons at 1:00 p.m. in the Mariposa Room at DesertView. Table fees are $4. If you need a partner, call Jean Reitan at 520-445-8225 or email her at [email protected].