Dealer: N Vul: N/S
NORTH
♠ Q865
♥ 109876
♦ 8642
♣ —
WEST EAST
♠ J109 ♠ A752
♥ AK9 ♥ 3
♦ Q10 ♦ AJ9753
♣ KQJ106 ♣ 54
SOUTH
♠ K4
♥ QJ54
♦ K
♣ A98732
The team of Warwick Milne, Janny Sipple, Noela Collins and Mavis Simpson are the winners of the March teams event. They achieved one of their best results on Board 21 last Monday. At the away table Noela and Mavis scored 460 when they were successful in 3NT, while at the away table Warwick and Janny defeated 2NT by one trick.
Timing is vital when playing this hand, especially after a heart lead. Declarer must set up some club tricks while retaining both a stopper in hearts in hand and the Ace of spades as an entry to dummy’s diamonds. If declarer, after winning the first trick with a high heart, switches to the King of clubs, South will win the trick., perhaps after playing low once. If South then continues with the Jack of hearts, declarer can win that trick, but can only fulfil the contract by then playing the Ace of diamonds, thereby felling South’s King of diamonds. On the other hand, if South switches to the King of spades in order to remove the Ace from dummy, declarer should play low in both hands. North’s Queen is now sandwiched between West’s Jack-ten and East’s Ace. Declarer is now in control, but must also have been watching North’s discards on clubs.
If North discards just one diamond, there will be no need for declarer to win a diamond in hand. As declarer, Mavis was able to unravel this puzzley and win 11 IMPs.
Results, Monday, 23/03/26 (4-table teams, Rd, 2) R. Hart, H. Price, P. Campbell, D. Moran (60 IMPs) 1; W. Milne, J. Sipple, N Collins, M. Simpson (50 IMPs) 2. Overall March teams event: Milne (95 VPs) 1; Hart (81 VPs) 2. Friday, 27/03/26 (5 & 1/2-table Howell) N. Collins P. Kelly (65.7) 1; W.Milne J.Sipple (56.5) 2; N.Bonnell .V. Prentice (56.0) 3. L. Don C. Duggan (52.8) 4.
