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Our Seniors were by far the busiest of our four teams on this day carrying on their 4 match per day schedule…and 4 from 4 it was, too with the last win against China Hong Kong B being by far the most emphatic. Four wins is great and were necessary being against the lower placed teams. With the heat about to go on against the tougher teams, the Bridge Masters are 15 vps behind 3^rd placed Indonesia A.

Our Mixed Blacks had a better day than the scores indicated as Chinese Taipei and Thailand are the clear leaders. So, an 11 imp loss and then the narrowest of wins represent good results for our 8^th placed team.

Two nice wins for the Bridge Blacks including against 2^nd placed Singapore live on BBO though two losses for the Bridge Ferns with the defeat by Japan being described by npc Kris Wooles as “being undone by a combination of good play and a deceptive opening lead rather than by poor play.” More of that shortly. The Bridge Blacks are only 16 vps behind 3^rd placed China Hong while the Bridge Ferns are 40vps behind 4^th place and nearly 60 behind a medal spot.

           Bridge Ferns                                                                Bridge Masters

Chinese Taipei	20-24	8.72	6th		India	44-10	16.21	7th
Japan	5-39	2.37	6th		Singapore B	25-20	11.58	7th
					Indonesia B	21-23	12.44	7th
					China Hong Kong B	55-1	19.83	6th

 

                Bridge Blacks                                                     Mixed Blacks

Singapore	17-11	11.87	5=		Chinese Taipei	8-19	6.77	9th
Australia	34-24	12.97	6		Thailand	44-43	10.33	8th

 

4 of a Minor can be a good spot…..undoubled!

In the second match of Round Robin 2, the Mixed Blacks were staring down the barrel of a big defeat by Singapore. There was one board left and Annette Henry held  97    9752   KJ87652   – and with neither side vulnerable saw her right hand opponent open a strong 2. (game-forcing or 23-24 balanced). She did not mess around. “4” she called leaving her right-hand opponent with a bit of a problem:

 

When West failed to make a take-out double, East could not do what they would have liked as double would have been take-out. Even if 4NT had been natural (and that must be doubtful), it would not make (3NT being the only making game). So, East decided to make the best of it by passing.

Annette managed 6 tricks to be 5 light or -250. East might have thought that that would be a small loss against a making game. Not on this day:

West              North            East                South

Clair Miao                               Wayne Burrows

                                                2                   Pass

2                   4                   X                   All Pass

 South made two bad decisions on this board. Firstly, their total silence over the opening bid encouraged their partner to take action. Would you have been so keen to “leap “ around in the black suits if your partner had overcalled even just 2? Your opponent does not always have AQT fifth of the suit you call!

Secondly, South failed to recognise that 4 was Leaping Michaels showing the black suits. It is true that 4x would not have played much better than the 4 down that 4x went, especially on a trump lead, but under the circumstances, the club break was reasonably kind! Wayne Burrows did find a take-out double which his partner converted gladly. 11 imps to New Zealand and though still a loss, it was a smaller one than it was going to be.

Two play problems:

You reach a so-so 4 contract from the West seat. (It matters not who is declarer because they lead a trump.) No interference bidding.

 

Trumps break 3-1 with North throwing two little clubs. Plan the play from trick 4 onwards.

You reach 6 as East with the following (again no interference bidding).

 

South leads 10. What do you do?(Answers in a minute or two...)

Rough, Slough and Down You Go

The Bridge Blacks scored a narrow but good win over second placed Singapore yesterday. The following board produced 9 so valuable imps for New Zealand when it looked as though 7 would be going the other way.

Under their methods, GeO Tislevoll was too strong to call over West’s Precision Club opening and then elected not to take action over the 17-20 1NT rebid. Normally, this would be the best action except that 4 is a very good contract this time. He led a heart to Michael Ware’s ace with two more rounds of the suit setting up two winners for GeO. Declarer won the third round of hearts to knock out the A. However, GeO could lead a fourth heart to his partner who had preserved 9 to regain the lead. GeO's fourth heart was a suit preference 8 enabling Michael to find the spade switch (a spade had been discarded from dummy on the run of the hearts), the contract going three down as the defence took four tricks in each major and the A for +300.

However, would 4 make?  

Ashley Bach (West) who had been in the bidding and who might have been surprised at the final contract, led K against 4. Declarer won and played a heart to the ace and a second heart to Ashley's king with Ashley cashing his Q and exiting a third round of hearts. Next came K, ducked by Ashley and a second club with East, Michael Cornell,winning with his 10. Michael had thrown one club and was left with four spades headed by the 9 and one diamond. Her tried the effect of the diamond, a ruff and discard. If declarer ruffed in hand and discarded a spade from dummy, he could not repeat the spade finesse if Ashley started with Kxx. So, he ruffed in hand and under-ruffed in dummy! 

This unusual play backfired when Ashley's king was played on the 10 enabling Michael's pointless East hand to win the setting trick with his 9. No matter how little you have, always be aware of a hand's potential!  

One down meant 9 imps to New Zealand.

Changing Course in mid- stream

Meanwhile, on Board 1 against Australia, Whibley – Brown outbid their opponents.

 

3 was a 3 card game try in hearts, nothing to do with diamonds. 3NT showed a short club with 4 to play after the diamond cue. However, Michael Whibley bid 4NT, a spade cue-bid since 4 would have been key card. Matthew cued his K after which 6 was an offer to play. “Why not” thought Matthew?

This cold contract would gain in one of two ways:

1. when the opponents were in 6 with a bad trump break. No bad trump break this time.
2. when the opponents were in game.                                   They were…9 imps to New Zealand.

BEWARE THE 10

Especially when held and played by a Japanese player!

That card cost the Bridge Ferns 34 imps in two boards in their match against Japan. We have asked our chef de mission, Derek Evennett, to see if he can reduce the pack to 51 cards or replace this card with a joker for the rest of the tournament!

Back then to the two declarer plays above: