From the eyes of an NPC – Conclusion
Handling Fatigue
This is where in my view, we scored badly. There were 4 partnership with Aloke and Badal playing with PS Mukherjee and Arun respectively other than themselves. They carried the bulk of the workload. (My view) These 2 were exhausted by the 7th day of the championship. While chotan-kachchu gave some IMPs, but that was mostly due to their style (aggressive), rather than tiredness.
Skill
In this tournament, within the limited competition, I did not find any skill issue between our players vs the rest of the teams. The fact that we beat all the top teams Atleast once (double round robin) including China (eventual winners) whom we beat both the times goes to prove my point. Also remember, all the teams who came in to this championship, came with the team who is going to represent their country in Bermuda Bowl. So, I believe, the skill is not an issue with us.
What will it take to perform/win at the top level?
(My views – ONLY)
- Partnership, partnership, partnership – we need 3 pairs to represent our country, not 6 good Bridge players
- 3 – 6 month coaching before the world championship (Again, here the focus is not on skill improvement. The entire focus is to iron out partnership agreements)
- Practice – This has to be done live (sorry, BBO practice can only focus on your skill but can never simulate fatigue or pressure). Make them play for 7-10 continuous against different opponents. Make them travel from one place to other. Simulate hostile condition.
- Some amount of physical exercise will definitely be helpful – even simple pranayama or a stroll outside the venue to catch some fresh air
- Have an NPC who knows how to motivate players. How to take off the unnecessary pressure.
Summary
We have great individual players, but very few partnerships. While skill is definitely a factor (and we Bridge players love the “discussions”), we need to look beyond skills if we want to win at the highest level. To win a long tournament, it is all about conserving energy. It is about handling pressure, under fatigue condition. And it is about trust between partnership.
perfect analysis : skill improvement needed but can’t be done too much as we are almost there. But fitness and pressure handling and stamina building with strict 3 pairs policy will make a huge impact on the outcome with less resources and effort
Thanks doc. I did not want to use the often misused/wrongly used term “discipline” – but these steps are the building blocks of “discipline”
Bridge is a partnership game.
How many partnerships in India to-day have partnerships lasting for 10 years or more ?