Overconfidence creates triple squeeze chance

As an international shooter, my most memorable matches were events where I performed well against opponents who were also playing at the top of their game. I know of very few athletes who are excited by beating opponents who are not playing well or who are having an off day. It is much more exciting to win when you beat someone who is playing at their best. I feel the experience is the same in bridge where playing against the better players and winning is far more satisfying than scoring large victories against lesser ranked opponents.

Nevertheless, it is the nature of bridge tournaments that we will often find ourselves matched to play against unfamiliar or lower-ranked opponents. In these circumstances, it can be easy to be lured into believing a match might be an ‘easy ride’ when in fact the opponents might prove more difficult than their ranking leads us to believe. I have often seen strong pairs or teams lose in early rounds of a tournament because they under-estimated their lower-ranked opponents, or because they allowed their over-confidence in their own ability to cause them to push for a contract they wouldn’t attempt against a more highly fancied pair.

When we play against opponents with whom we are quite familiar – we have an advantage as we usually know their systems, style of play, and often their strengths and weaknesses. Therefore, when our opponents are a pair about whom we have little knowledge, it is critical that we avoid allowing our past experiences and knowledge to influence our decisions. On this hand, our experienced opponents did just that when they assumed a bid had a particular meaning and failed to ask for any explanations during the bidding or play: