Dealer: N Vul: Nil
NORTH
♠ K2
♥ 642
♦ AQ4
♣ Q8632
WEST EAST
♠ QJ6 ♠ A10987
♥ A10985 ♥ Q3
♦ KJ1087 ♦ 53
♣ — ♣ AK95
SOUTH
♠ 543
♥ KJ7
♦ 962
♣ J1074
The overall winners of the recent Monday Red Point Teams competition are Noela Collins, Mavis Simpson, Pat Kelly and David Moran. One of their best swings occurred on Board 1 (above) on which they made 4S and their opposite numbers at the other table failed by one trick.
This result gave the Collins team 10 IMPs – a significant number in a short match. This also meant that the opposing team received minus eleven – a swing of 22 points.
South led the seven of clubs (the Jack would have worked better) to North’s Queen and E’s Ace.
Declarer now had to take stock and decide which of the red suits to give preference to. As the Ace of hearts is an important entry to dummy (West) it is better to start on diamonds. The five of diamonds is led to the ten and beaten by N’s Queen. It appears that North then cashed the Ace and led a third diamond, hoping that partner could trump it. Instead, East won with a trump and could now enter dummy by trumping a club. The Queen of spades could now be led and the King would fall to the Ace if played immediately or under the Ace after a second spade was led.
E’s ten could then take out South’s remaining trump. Waiting in dummy were four tricks: the Ace of hearts and three diamonds.
The opposing pair failed to solve the problems posed by this hand. One of them was how to deal with two possible club losers in East’s hand.
Results: Monday, 25/03/24 (5-table teams) N. Collins, M. Simpson, P. Kelly, D. Moran (33 IMPs) 1; H. Price, R. Hart, B. Bonnell, N. Bonnell (19 IMPs) 2. T. Hinde, L. Don, P. Campbell, S. Goddard, J. Mobbs (-12) 3. Overall: Collins team (81 VPs), Price team (76 VPs) 2.
Friday, 29/03/24 No play.
