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For those of you who do not know, the Akarana Bridge Club is different from any other in this country in that it plays only Teams events. When we say “Teams”, we also include Swiss Pairs and even the occasional “Point A Board” event.

It plays once a week at the Auckland Bridge Club and offers as good a standard of bridge as you can find in this country. It used to be exclusively for the under 35’s but so as to have “bums on seats”, this limit is a thing of the past (the “oh too distant past” for many of those who play regularly). However, it continues to attract a good size group of keen players.

At the start of the year, the club has posted on its site a hand(s) of interest from Wednesday night play. The club has agreed to them being posted on the New Zealand Bridge site too. They will appear each Friday. Here is the first.

THE OPERATION WAS SUCCESSFUL….but THE PATIENT, HE DIED.

Board 28 from the first night of Akarana’s Championship Teams taught me a lesson I preach so often, but obviously not often enough as I was the one who should have listened.

So, you open with a bid that would make any conservative bridge player cringe with horror. I held:

Q9632

 J97

107

1054

The vulnerability was very much in our favour and action had to be taken. With an honour in every suit, it was a pretty standard 2 opening, 5 spades and a 4+ card minor. If you worry about the point range, the above was a mid- range bad opener at this vulnerability. In other words, I could be 3 hcp and 4 honours weaker! Oh, not my fault my longer minor was only 3 carded. You do what you have to do.

So, sitting West, I opened and sat back to watch the following auction:

West              North                   East            South

  2              Pass ¹                          Pass ¹                3NT²

 

¹ in perfect tempo

² after a very long pause

All passed and I felt that my job was done. I felt, rightly so, that they were in the wrong spot, had missed a slam, 13 imps in. There were 2 incorrect statements in the above. Firstly, my job was not done and if I were not careful, it would not be 13 imps in but 13 out.

I took my eye off the ball, the ball that says you should try and defeat every contract at Teams. It was hard to believe that was the scenario as well as there being a missed slam. I ignored my minor suit cards, fingered briefly my heart collection and pulled a boring spade. As if that would be right after partner had not raised spades. The four hands tell some poignant stories:

Board 28 West Deals N-S Vul	♠ J 10 8 ♥ 5 4 3 2 ♦ Q 9 ♣ A Q 9 8
♠ Q 9 6 3 2 ♥ J 9 7 ♦ 10 7 ♣ 10 5 4	N W   E S	♠ 5 4 ♥ A K Q 8 6 ♦ 6 5 3 ♣ J 7 2
	♠ A K 7 ♥ 10 ♦ A K J 8 4 2 ♣ K 6 3

 

West	North	East	South
2 ♠	Pass	Pass	3 NT
All pass

1. South had a tough choice over 2. Double followed by some number of diamonds after a heart bid by partner seems a sound way of approaching the hand, though reasoning that a decent partner should be able to look after the heart suit (East could have bid 3 with long hearts) was a reasonable assumption. There was the little matter of the Q but that was partner’s job too. Bob Hamman would surely approve…and that’s a good recommendation.

          As we can see, North provided one useful card (not to mention an AQ) but the heart hold was not that robust.

2. Never, ever, ever, ever give up. North-South had not looked for a heart contract. You never know your luck. Declarer claimed mid hand for all 13 tricks (remember your inspired lead) and I would have done much better to have folded my cards and got on with the next board… but curiosity got the better of me and I asked South about his heart holding.
3. A nomination for the award for the best partner of the night who at no point mentioned his heart holding.

So, opportunity lost. Certainly. Worse as one’s teammates were in the same contract, after the same opening bid, played by …North.

Any heart would do. East looked at no other suit for their opening lead. 13 imps…out.

Never, ever, ever….

Richard Solomon

 

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