Dealer: W Vul: Both
NORTH
♠ K97
♥ 4
♦ Q983
♣ J10763
WEST EAST
♠ J106 ♠ AQ43
♥ AKJ3 ♥ 10983
♦ KJ7 ♦ 106
♣ KQ9 ♣ 842
SOUTH
♠ 852
♥ Q762
♦ A542
♣ A5
Congratulations to Mavis Simpson and her sister Denise on their win in the recent teams congress at Dalby. The result was decided on the last board played by their team. Coming into the last round, Mavis’s team were lying second and were drawn to play against the leaders. They were going to need to win by at least 10 IMPs to overtake their opponents.
A good team will have a sense of how they are faring and it was clear that the first seven boards had produced no big swings. Playing conservatively in Round 8 would be of no help to the Simpson team. At the home table West opened 1 no trumps in the old-fashioned way with 16-18 high card points. Having only six high-card points, East saw no reason enter the auction and passed. No doubt East/West were chagrined that they scored only 150 as against the 600 due if they had gone on to 3 no trumps. At West’s table for Mavis’s team, East/West were using the 15-17 range for a bid of 1 no trumps. West therefore opened 1C, which gave East the room to bid 1H. The time had come for a calculated gamble. West took the chance and jumped to 4H. The spotlight turned to South, who was basically endplayed at trick one. The only lead that could trouble East (declarer) was a low diamond. It appears that declarer played low, knowing that the defenders could take no more than two diamond tricks.
Declarer’s high-wire act began after gaining the lead. All the missing honour cards sat exactly where declarer wanted them. Playing from East declarer could begin with the ten of hearts and follow with the nine when South played low. A low club could then be led towards the King-Queen. In due course the Jack of spades would be led and North’s King is trapped. The last trumps could then be removed and ten tricks made for 620. This gave Mavis’s team the swing they needed and a win by 0.3 of a point.
Results: Monday, 06/03/23 (5 & ½-table Howell): J. Mobbs D. Moran (64.0) 1eq; J. Nankervis P. Kelly ((64.0) 1eq; R. Hart H. Price (60.6) 3; N. Bonnell T. Hinde (57.9) 4. Friday, 10/03/23 (6-table Mitchell) N/S N. Collins M. Simpson (62.1) 1; Jenny Smith R. Hart (54.7) 2; N. Bonnell B. Bonnell (51.8) 3. E/W L. Munson J. Nankervis (59.8) 1; D. Moran N. McGinness (53.9) 2; B. Reid J. McKeen (50.6) 3.
