On Feb. 1 at the Lone Star Regional in Houston, Zach Garrison of Spring, Tex., set a new mark at 9 years, 2 months and 7 days. Will this stand forever?
Zach first watched his parents, David and Kristy Garrison, playing with his older sisters, Danielle and Samantha. Then, when he learned about Jeng, he decided he wanted to play bridge. So in 2010 his parents started to teach him and his younger sister, Sarah. At the beginning Zach couldn’t go to the bridge club because his hands were so small that he had difficulty getting his cards out of a duplicate board and sorting them.
With practice at home, though, he began to play with his mother in the 299er games at the Bridge Club of Houston. During one of those deals he was passing while the other three players were bidding. On the next round he placed the Stop card onto the table (which was supposed to mean that he was about to make a jump bid), then he passed. Afterward, when asked why he had used the Stop card, he said that he wanted his mother to stop bidding.
Zach started his serious run at the Life Master title with the 2011 Houston Regional. He studied all aspects of the game, finding them equally fascinating.
The diagramed deal was played last month during a Junior Fund game in Houston. It was sent in by North, Duane Friedrich of Houston.
After East opened one club, Zach (South) could have been expected to overcall one no-trump, but he passed. Then, when Friedrich (North) balanced with one diamond, Zach jumped to three no-trump.
West led the spade eight (second-highest from a weak suit, not treating the ten as an honor). East won with the king and returned a spade to dummy’s ace. (To hold South to nine tricks East had to shift to a low heart, a very hard play to find.)
Declarer ran dummy’s club nine, West taking the queen and returning a spade. Now South cashed the diamond winners to reach the position pictured above, at bottom.
On the diamond jack East threw the heart queen, and declarer discarded his low heart. Then, knowing exactly what he was doing, Zach played a club to the ten and exited with the heart king to endplay East.
Zach had taken two spades, five diamonds and three clubs. Plus 430 was a cold top.
An experienced expert would have been very happy with that play. For a 9-year-old it was wonderful.
Watch out for Zach Garrison in the future.
www.nytimes.com
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