The club has received the sad news of the death of Tom Graham. Tom came to club bridge rather late and found the protocols of duplicate bridge rather restrictive. Nevertheless, he adapted well enough to feature among the placegetters on a regular basis and in his too-short a time with us to earn the rank of Bronze Local Master. He was always keen to improve his game, but unnecessarily self-deprecating about his own skills. We will miss him.
The Club Pairs Championship was won by the barest of margins (402 points to 401) by Tony Hinde and Neil Bonnell from Mavis Simpson and Denise Hartwig.
The second day of the Championship was an “if only” day. There were many pairs who could recall hands which they could have done much better if only they had made different choices. On Board 12 (above) East may well have thought, “If only I hadn’t bid 2C over North’s 1D, South (Tony Hinde) would not have known where all the missing high cards were when he was playing in 4S. West may have considered what else West could have led other than the small club that was led. This allowed Tony’s King of clubs to win without Tony having to guess the location of the Ace. Tony processed all this information, drew trumps in two rounds and led a small heart from dummy (North). Perhaps too quickly (another “if only” moment?), East played low, allowing South’s Queen to win. Tony now had no heart losers. It was then an easy matter to play the Ace of diamonds, intending to finesse the Jack, but the Queen appeared and now Tony’s only loser was the Ace of clubs. This was a top score for us and helped to determine the final result.
Results: Friday, 09/09/22 (7-table Mitchell): N/S T. Hinde M. Johnston (62.1) 1; N. Bonnell B. Bonnell (61.0) 2; Jenny Smith R. Hart (58.1) 3. E/W D. Moran Jill Smith (57.9) 1; J. Mobbs N. McGinness (54.7) 2; B. Reid J. McKeen (53.3) 3. Monday, 12/09/22 (7-table Mitchell Pairs Championship Rd 2): N/S N. Bonnell T. Hinde (60.4) 1; J. Nankervis P. Kelly (53.9) 2; L. Manson C. Hall (52.7) 3. E/W C. Duggan N. McGinness (55.9) 1; L. Munson Jenny Smith (55.4) 2; D. Hartwig M. Simpson (53.8) 3. Pairs Championship overall: T. Hinde N. Bonnell 1; D. Hartwig M. Simpson 2; J. Nankervis P. Kelly 3.
