By Neil Bonnell, Warwick Bridge Club
The next important event for the Bridge Club is the Handicap Championship to be held on 18th and 25th July. This is a chance for the lower ranked pairs to fill the top positions.
Board 11 from last Friday (above) has some interesting features. The auction was basically a fight between North/South’s diamonds and East/West’s hearts. Top score 980 for North/South went to Tony Hinde and Judy Mobbs for 6D making twelve tricks. Surprisingly North was declarer, presumably because South opened 1C despite having six diamonds. This actually left open a way for East/West to defeat the contract. After the bidding has reached 6D, West could make what is called a Lightener double (rare at club level), which asks partner not to lead their best suit (hearts), but to find an unusual lead. Had East led a club, instead of a tame two of hearts, West would trump it. After that, try as declarer might, there is no escaping a second loser in either clubs or spades. My partner and I played in a safe 5D making twelve tricks, which was good enough for a 66% score on this board. The irony is that this time West was on lead and there was no way that East could win the lead before trumps had been drawn. At another table, Jan Hegarty and Dianne Dawes, showing no fear, won the auction in 5H. This failed, but was a worthwhile sacrifice, as it was the second-best score for East/West. Playing in hearts, declarer could use a ruffing finesse in clubs. The Queen could be led and if not covered, allowed to run and a loser in West’s hand could be discarded. If South plays the King, then West trumps it and declarer is one step closer to having three club winners.
Results: Monday, 27/06/22 (4 & ½-table Howell); N. Collins D. Moran (71.5) 1; R. Hart N. McGinness (56.2) 2; W. Milne J. Sipple (51.4) 3. Friday, 01/07/22 (4 & ½-table Howell): N. Collins N. Bonnell (65,3) 1; T. Hinde J. Mobbs (58.6) 2; R. Hart H. Price (56.5) 3.
