Dealer: W Vul: Both
NORTH
♠ J86
♥ —
♦ 32
♣ AKJ108643
WEST EAST
♠ K109543 ♠ A
♥ K54 ♥ AQ1063
♦ K109 ♦ AQ1074
♣ Q ♣ 72
SOUTH
♠ Q72
♥ J9872
♦ 865
♣ 95
On Board 4 (above) from last Monday East/West were spoiled for choice. Game could be made in hearts, diamonds and no-trump. Nevertheless, all but one pair chose to play in hearts, mainly with disastrous results. A common sequence in the bidding was 1S by West, 2C or 3C from North and 3H by East. Any bid by West other than 4H or a slam try might have ended a partnership.
In the play, one North pair contested the auction in clubs, goading East into bidding 5H. This failed by one trick and cost 200 matchpoints when doubled. Another East/West pair could muster only eight tricks (two short of the target) and also conceded 200. Yet another pair mismanaged their play so strangely that they won only 6 tricks for minus 400. Ros Hart and Nea McGinness were the only pair to bid and make 4H. South was of great assistance by doubling this contract, thereby advertising an uneven distribution of hearts. There was then no need for East/West to bid any further, as 4H doubled would be worth 790, which is often a winning score in bridge. Once declarer discovered the 5-0 split in trumps, the three top trumps could still be played, allowing North/South to win only two trumps and the Ace of clubs. Score:790!
The pair who failed in 5H could have succeeded. Again, trick one was lost to the Ace of clubs and declarer won the continuation. When the shocking split in trumps is discovered, declarer should take only two rounds of trumps. The top two spades are then cashed, the third spade is trumped in hand and East’s remaining club trumped in dummy. East is reduced to Q-10 of hearts and three top diamonds. South has J-9-8 and two small diamonds. Declarer then wins two diamonds and allows South to trump the third. All South can do then is lead into the Q-10, giving East/West eleven tricks. Elsewhere one East/West pair were generous enough to allow North to play in 3C. 6D (only by West) could have made twelve tricks but was very hard to find.
Results, Monday, 08/07/24 (5-table Mitchell): N/S J. Mobbs S Goddard (53.7) 1; T. Hinde P. Campbell (53.3) 2. E/W R. Hart N. McGinness (62.5) 1; W. Milne J. Sipple (50.8).2. Friday, 12/07/24 (3 & ½-table Howell) B. Bonnell N. Bonnell (65.6) 1; N. Collins M. Simpson (55.2) 2.
