Down to the Wire for the Bridge Blacks

Three Kiwi teams are now playing for respectability. Even the Seniors’ run of victories came to a dramatic end with a huge loss to USA 2. However, our Open Team are still alive with 8^th place a possibility with just two rounds left. To even believe that they could be in that position when after 6 rounds, they had just recorded their fifth successive loss, speaks volumes for the belief and ability the team has. Since that 35 imp loss to lowly Chile in Round 6, they have recorded 12 wins and 3 single digit losses, a superb effort. Yesterday, they scored 45.5vps, an average of just over 15 vps a match. 

                     Open (Bridge Blacks)                             Women (Bridge Ferns)

Match	Opponents	imps	NZ Vps	NZ Position		Match	Opponents	imps	NZ vps	NZ pos.
19.	China HK	24-6	14.6	10th		19.	Poland	15-27	6.72	16th
2.	Singapore	46-33	13.52	10th		20.	Sweden	25-63	2.15	17th
3.	Argentina	48-13	17.45	10th		21.	Scotland	27-33	8.24	16th

 

Seniors (Bridge Masters)                                                   Mixed (Mixed Blacks)

Match	Opponents	imps	NZ Vps	NZ Position		Match	Opponents	imps	NZ vps	NZ pos.
19.	China	46-28	14.78	21st		19.	USA 1	33-27	11.76	19th
20.	USA2	4-86	0.00	22nd		20.	Egypt	22-27	8.52	19th
21.	Indonesia	27-39	6.72	22nd		21.	China	16-38	4.62	21st

 

Same Doubled Contract: Same Result but 5 imps out!

This freak happening occurred in Round 16. It is not usually a good idea to play the same doubled contract at both tables where your side is declarer each time.

 

Matt Brown made a normal transfer to hearts. Despite the 1NT opening being 15-17, North had a normal looking take-out double…and there matters rested. Michael could not quite bring this one home with accurate defence scoring 6 tricks..one down -100, no disaster….but:

                        West              North            East                South

                                                Cornell                                   Bach

                                                                        1NT                2

                        Pass                Pass                x                      All Pass

West was also going nowhere after their partner’s take-out double. With dummy’s kings waste-paper in front of East’s honours and West’s trump winners, Ashley was in trouble but the defence slipped a trick and let him off for just one down, -100…or 5 imps out!

The same happened in three other Open matches , once where both contracts were 2 down for a disastrous -600 against the declaring side  while in another East made an overtrick but South failed by two tricks for a 7 imp swing. In the third, North failed by a trick while East made their contract for a 9 imp swing. Thus, in comparison, the NZ v USA result was quite tame!

The Bridge Blacks recorded three double figure swings in their win over Singapore. This difficult 3NT was one of them:

 

The opening lead was the 6 to the 9 and Matt's 10. The Singapore East-West were playing Precision and were very active in the bidding throughout the match. Matt decided that the spade break was 6-2 as there had been no spade raise from East. He had three heart, two diamond and one spade trick and therefore needed three in clubs.

He led a club to the king and, most importantly, with no further entry to hand, led Q. He had to keep East off lead (spade continuation). West could not attack spades without giving Matt two further tricks in the suit. Thus, Matt could force out the 10 and therefore make his contract.

At the other table, against the same contract, Ashley Bach led a passive heart. South could not get to hand to play a club…and the contract failed by one trick.

The “self splinter”

The Bridge Blacks earnt two double figure swings against Argentina though Whibley-Brown had to bid slam just to tie the following board.

 

The North hand seems so soft that it seems unlikely that a slam would be bid opposite a 1 level opening. Not so! Matt’s 4 was a splinter in support of his own spade suit. With a useful-looking Q, Michael gave his partner a 4 cue-bid. That was all Matt needed to drive to slam.

The best way (75%) and least stressful way to make 6 (who knows what to play if you led A and then a small diamond!) is via a double diamond finesse, played twice from the North hand. The appearance of East’s king on the first round ensured the slam’s success.

So, with two rounds to go, these are the key positions involving New Zealand:

6^th                   Poland                       254.77

7^th                   Israel                          253.63

8^th                   England                     253.42

9^th                   Italy                            251.19

10^th                 New Zealand             242.44

11^th                 Australia                     227.98

First up for the Bridge Blacks are 9^th placed Italy to be followed by 5^th placed Netherlands. It will not be easy.

All for an imp

The Mixed Blacks: Kate Davies, John Patterson, Jane Lennon, Annette and Stephen Henry and Alan Grant

Finally, some accurate bidding from both pairs at one table in the Mixed Blacks match against Egypt:

 

3 showed 7-9 hcp with 4 card heart support. Jane Lennon’s 5 was Exclusion Key Card Blackwood (“excluding A in the response) with the reply showing 2 key cards without the Q. The Egyptians judged correctly that 6 was making, with their sacrifice saving a poor result for their side. At the other table, 5 made an overtrick for 480 but the sacrifice cost 500, just one imp to the Bridge Masters… an imp earnt the hard way.

Richard Solomon

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