AUTUMN IN ADELAIDE — THE FIRST 2024 SEASONAL NATIONAL
Bridge is an indoor game. Why then, one wonders, does Australia choose the time of year when it is the outdoors that instead beckons for its two major annual all-comers multi-tournament gatherings? These are the Summer Festival of Bridge in Canberra each January followed (even more closely next year than has been usual) by the Gold Coast Congress in February.
It was not until 1979, well over a decade after the above-named were respectively brought into being by immigrant Scots George McCutcheon and George Jesner, that Victoria inaugurated a similar though smaller winter event. New South Wales followed suit in the spring of 1987 and South Australia completed the seasonal triple in the autumn of 1993. The main tournament at each of those is a nationally rated open teams championship of which no two are quite alike. In Melbourne there is no final. The (repurposed) Victor Champion Cup goes to the team that tops a ten-round Swiss. In Sydney an overlong(?) twelve-round Swiss is merely a qualifying stage from which four teams go forward to semi-finals. The comparable trophy there goes to the winners of the ensuing final. The Adelaideans split those differences with an eight-round Swiss followed by a final between only the two top place-getters.
Last month's top qualifier in Adelaide was team McMANUS . Its members were James Coutts partnering Matthew McManus (both NSW) and frequent overseas visitor Hugh McGann (Ireland) partnering Justin Mill (Vic). They were in second place after the first qualifying round, improved to first after the next and stayed there till the end. Each of the 'Mc's, with different partners, had won this title in 2023. Coutts had done so in both 2021 and 2022. The other 2024 finalist was team COLES. It contained three Canberrans, Brad Coles partnering David Appleton and George Kozakos, whose partner was former New Zealander Fraser Rew (NSW). In the penultimate qualifying round COLES had beaten McMANUS by 17 IMPs and a closely fought final seemed likely. In practice, however, McMANUS jumped to a 33-nil IMP lead on the first five boards, was still 23 IMPS ahead at the end of the first 14-board quarter, 44 after the second and 51 after the third before COLES belatedly got into gear and won the fourth quarter 69-32 but lost the match 126-140.
Save for the diagrammed deal, the opening session would have been even more one-sided.
In the diagrammed auction Coles's 1NT systemically promised nine to twelve high-card points. His hand, given its excellent spot cards, was distinctly stronger than it might have been. McManus's alerted 2♣ interpose promised both majors and Appleton's 2NT showed clubs. 4♥ was a key-card ask with diamonds as the agreed trump suit, the 4♠ reply showed one such, 4NT asked about the ♦Q, and 5♦ said yes. Passing at that point would have made no sense.
Against 6♦, ♠2 was led to 4-6-Q and the play continued ♦A-6-4-2, ♦3-♥9-♦Q-5, ♦7-10-K-♥3. Able to afford only his inescapable heart loser, declarer then had to hope for one or the other of two low-percentage lies of the unseen NS clubs and to choose which one to play for. One was a singleton ♣J in South's hand, in which case the winning line would have been to broach the club suit by leading dummy's ♣Q. Whether or not North elected to cover with ♣K, declarer would thus be able to win the needed first three rounds of that suit. Easily deducing however, from the auction and the early play, that any club singleton could only be in North's hand, Appleton next laid down his ♣A and claimed his contract when North's ♣K obligingly appeared.
A very different auction at the other table —
Pass-1♥-Dble-3♥
Pass-Pass-Dble-Pass
5♦-Pass-Pass-Pass —
put McGann into the contract East-West would want to reach if they could see each other's cards. Here, however, North was on lead. The play began ♥K-2-8-10, ♠3-8-9-10, ♥Q-A-♦3-♥9, ♦A-6-4-2, ♦K-♥3-♦7-5, ♦J-♥7-♦Q-10 after which there appears to have been a uncorrected Vu-graph operator's error. The recorded overtrick did not affect the IMP-score, which was eleven to COLES. Other Canberran silver medallists at the autumn nationals were Christy Geromboux and Sebastian Yuen who finished second in the mixed pairs championship there.
More than once upon a time, if my memory serves me, the final of the autumn teams usually coincided with Adelaide Cup Day. When or why that convenient arrangement ceased is something I may never have known. Contrastingly, the last day of its winter equivalent will again coincide with the monarch's Official Birthday on the second Monday in May in Melbourne and Canberra (though on other dates if at all in many other Australian states and territories). The schedule at https://www.bridgebase.com/ indicates that a selected match from each 90-minute round can be followed live, bid-by-bid and card-by-card with, very probably, keyed-in expert commentary. The scheduled daily starting times are 10am, 11.50am, 2.15pm and 4.05pm; with four rounds on each of Saturday and Sunday and the last two on Monday morning.
Australia's oldest annual event, which celebrated its 90th anniversary in Perth last year, is the annual interstate teams. This year's host state, New South Wales, will break new ground next month as well as retrieving some that has of late been lost. The novelty will be the relocation of the event to a regional venue, the town of Orange, where there is a thriving 37-year-old bridge club that owes its foundation to the enterprising Canberran already mentioned here, the late George Jesner. The ground retrieved is the achievement of a maximal field, a team from every state and territory in each of the open, women's and seniors teams championships. The youth field still lacks participation from Tasmania and the Northern Territory, a problem that should be high on one or more Australian Bridge Federation to-do lists.
At the tables there for the ACT will be: open - David Appleton, Brad Coles, Vanessa Brown, Will Jenner-O'Shea, Bill Tutty, Jodi Tutty; women's - Pam Crichton, Julia Hoffman, Jennifer Carter, Lyn Carter, Mary Tough, Bev Crossman; seniors - Peter Grant, David Hoffman, Malcolm Carter, Bernard Waters, Adrienne Stephens, Peter Kahler; youth - Maxwell Ashurst, Dev Shah, Alexis Wilsmore, Jade Wilkinson. The event website (abfevents.com.au/events/anc/2024/reps.asp#reps) already contains details of the many associated all-comers events, suited to players of every level of ability. More will be added by 6 July when the program begins and more still by 18 July when it ends.
BLAST FROM THE PAST
The plan was that these columns, successors to those that appeared until mid-2023 in each week's Sunday Canberra Times, would appear here fortnightly. Of late, for a variety of reasons, I have failed to achieve that frequency. I hope to do better in future.
North's opening lead on today's deal won a 50% share of the $75 (which bought more than three times as much then as the same amount would buy today) of the 1983 Canberra Times brilliancy prize.
In the diagrammed auction 3♥ was systemically forcing. 4♠, the last of the three ensuing first-round-control-showing bids, bypassed the available 4♥ sign-off and accordingly logically implied more than tentative slam interest. 5NT was the so-called "grand slam force" convention. In its original 1936 form, it simply instructed partner to bid seven in the agreed or implied suit if and only if s/he held at least two of the three top trump honours but otherwise to sign off in six. It has however since been improved in a variety of incompatible ways. East-West, respectively Rob Van Riel (Vic) and Geoff Oystragh (NSW), two strong players but not an established partnership, hadn't (as the former duly revealed at the table when asked what the 6♥ meant) discussed which version they would use. From East's point of view, 6♥ did not necessarily deny the ♥K and might actually be promising that card. So he punted the grand slam, which seemed to him likely to depend at worst on a finesse.
The ♥K, as readers can see, was indeed favourably placed; and West's trump holding was less tenuous than it might well have been. Yet 7♥ went one down. How did that happen? Accurately deducing — from the East-West bidding, East's explanation and his own (North) cards — that dummy's trumps would be headed by the ace-queen, then-Canberran Phil Ryan tabled ♥3(!) as his opening lead. Though not blind to the possibility that Ryan might be trying to pressure him by leading away from ♥K, Oystragh judged it much more likely that this was a normal passive, low from three spot cards, opening lead against his freely bid grand slam. Were that the case, rising with dummy's ♥A would drop South's singleton ♥K. So, he called for ♥A. End of story.
The deal, which I had long forgotten, appears here because I saw it the other day in a recently published handsome hardback book titled A Compulsive Pastime. Its co-authors describe themselves on its back cover. "John Brockwell was brought up in farming communities at Tongala and Barwon Heads in Victoria. He began playing bridge in 1967 upon becoming a member of the Canberra Bridge Club. With an aptitude for tournament organisation, John convened national and international tournaments between 1969 and 2017, and got to know the thousands of people for whom bridge is a compulsive pastime." and "David Hoffman was educated in Canberra at the Australian National University. He was an academic at the University of New South Wales at ADFA, and editor for 1 of the Operations Research Society Bulletin. He joined the bridge community in 1966 and has since represented Australia in the Open, Seniors and Mixed teams. For his administrative work he was awarded Honorary Life membership of the Canberra Bridge Club. He is currently the Club Archivist."
To the foregoing I add that both David and John are both Australian Bridge Federation gold grand masters and that, in 1986, John accepted an invitation to join that body's Committee of Honour where he is described as a "Multiple term ABF President. Long-term contributor to national and ACT bridge administration over thirty years and major driver in the development of major tournament events and support for country clubs."
Their recommendable book can be bought for $60 if picked up at the Canberra Bridge Club To perhaps otherwise avoid paying $12 more than that for postage contact David at davidhoffman@iinet.net.au or 0407 782 756.
GOLD COAST CONGRESS: LAST YEAR, THIS YEAR AND NEXT YEAR
"Never Apologise Never Explain", the title (I have just learned) of the eighth full-length album by the rock band Therapy, is a well-known advisory adage I would, if asked, have hesitantly and inaccurately attributed to Napoleon Bonaparte. A precautionary web search threw up many other historical candidates of whom the earliest is the first British monarch to bear the same name as the present one. The first King Charles, says the Oxford Dictionary of Quotations, wrote "Never make a defence or apology before you be accused" in a letter to Lord Wentworth as long ago as 1636. As regards the long interval since my most recent contribution to this site I will half follow the said advice by sincerely apologising without explaining.
Starting from the left-hand end of today's title, the diagrammed auction at one of the two tables in the 2023 open-teams grand final deserves at least as good an explanation as the one that follows. In East-West's souped-up version of the nowadays popular "two over one game forcing" bidding system the number of clubs in West's hand might, not improbably, have been as few as two. Even a singleton was not impossible. What were East's available options after North's (at adverse vulnerability and IMP scoring) seemingly automatic Pass? Likewise passing might considerably breach Englishman David Burn's jocularly-named Law of Total Trumps (not to be confused with the more seriously intended Law of Total Tricks) which reads "When you are declarer, the total number of trumps held by your side should be greater than the total number of trumps held by the opponents". Over East's artificial 1♥ response, systemically showing four or more spades, South chose a waiting Pass, which he (less happily?) repeated when West's jump to 2♠ came back round.
The opening lead, ♠3 to 4-K-5, cost one of the seven available defence tricks as would any of the other three black cards. Could North tell that leading a red card would keep two down alive? After ♠A-J-9-7, ♠2-Q-♥5-♠8, ♦2-5-Q-4, ♦3-8-K-A, ♦10-J-♥3-♦9, ♣3-6-K-2, ♣4-Q-5-8, ♦7-6-♥6-♠6, ♣7-♥2-♣J-A, ♣10-9-♥7-♠10, ♥4-9-A-6, ♥J-K-10-Q, the result was agreed as one down for a North-South table plus-score of 50.
After an identical but less potentially eccentric first -seat 1♣ at the other table, North (remarkably?) did overcall 1♥. That bid was consistent with his partnership's system card which defines it, without mentioning vulnerability, as showing "seven-plus high-card points, perhaps less for extreme shape". The then uncontested North-South auction continued 3♣-3♥-4♥ in which South's 3♣ looks like a Bergen-style game-invitational heart raise. North's decision to accept, which would be dubious at match point pairs scoring, was well justified at IMP teams, especially when vulnerable.
As the East-West cards lay the somewhat worse than fifty-fifty 4♥ contract proved unbeatable. After ♥4-3-A-2, ♠Q-3-4-A, ♥6-J-K-10, ♠9-10-K-5, ♣6-4-Q-3, declarer claimed 11 tricks. West's failure to rise with ♣K had avoidably created the immaterial overtrick. At score-up the combined result delivered 12 of the 32 IMPs by which the eventual gold medallists — Paul Dalley partnering Tony Leibowitz (both NSW) and Paul Gosney (Qld) partnering Tony Nunn (NSW) — won the 12-board third quarter of the final to improve from 17 behind to 15 ahead. To that by no means irreversible lead they subsequently added 12 further IMPs.
This year as a partnership, Dalley and Nunn once more figured in the Gold Coast open teams grand final though with two new teammates, Arlene Dalley (NSW) and Ashley Bach (NZ). They again faced but were narrowly out-scored by the five-player team they defeated in 2023 — Hugh Mcgann (Ireland), Tom Jacob, Brian Mace, Michael Ware (all NZ) and Matthew Thomson (NSW) — augmented to maximum numeric strength by Peter Hollands (Vic). A closely fought match reversed the above-described outcome. The match was won and lost by only 10 IMPs (87-77). Visit abf.com.au and click on EVENTS for links to much detail of what occurred at the Gold Coast in both those years.
The customary early planning for next year's Congress ran into considerable unforeseen difficulties. Relocation or even cancellation seemed not unlikely. Eventually, however, this appeared. "Following months of uncertainty, the Queensland Bridge Association is pleased to announce that the Gold Coast International Congress for 2025 will be held at the Gold Coast Convention & Exhibition Centre from Saturday 1 February 2025 to Saturday 8 February 2025." Not mentioned are the possible adverse consequences of those unusually early dates on the 2025 Summer Festival of Bridge In Canberra which ends on 19 January, less than a fortnight earlier. Will all of the many players who normally journey to and buy accommodation in both Canberra and Broadbeach do so next year? Time will tell. Could a later than usual week instead have been arranged? Were BFACT and/or the ABF adequately consulted?
Entries are already being accepted to the Autumn Nationals in Adelaide. The scheduled dates are 2 to 6 May but unusually large early-bird discounts are being offered to pairs ($60) and teams ($120) whose payments are received no later than 31 March. That does not apply to the David Lusk Rookie pairs tournament which is already generously discounted irrespective of when entry fees are paid.
SEVEN DOWN IN A (THEORETICALLY?) MAKEABLE CONTRACT
Today’s deal generated half of the eighteen-IMP margin (134-116) by which the grand final of the 2024 national open teams championship at the recent Summer Festival of Bridge in Canberra was won and lost.
At both tables the first trick went ♠9-Q-K-5. Not rising with dummy's ♠A destroyed declarer's double-dummy line for the nine needed tricks; but one East, after the diagrammed auction, reincarnated it by not persisting with spades, shifting instead to ♣10 which elicited 3-8-A. That declarer then led ♥3 to 8-Q-K. Her plan, had ♥Q won that trick, was perhaps to thereupon lay down ♥A, which would bring 3NT home if East’s hand contained both ♥K doubleton and a friendly diamond holding headed by the other red king. After, in practice, ♠4-A-J-10, and hoping by then for ♦K doubleton with East, ♦8-3-Q-K, ♠8-♥4-2-♦2, ♠2-♥5-9-♦9, ♠3-♣4-♥10-♦J, ♠6-♥6-♦5-♣6, (in which the ♣6 discard cost a trick that instead parting with a heart would save) ♠7-♣2-♦10-♣J, ♣Q-5-K were followed by a claim by the defenders of the remaining tricks for a result of seven down and an East-West table score of 700.
At the other table, where the same contract was reached via 1NT-3♠-3NT passed out, East did accordingly return ♠J to 10-2-A. The play there continued ♦7-3-Q-K, ♠8-♥3-♣7-3, ♠7-♥4-♣9-6, ♠6-♣2-♥2-J, ♠4-♥5-10-♦2, ♠3-♣4-♥9-♦9, ♣8-A-10-J, ♥6-8-A-K, after which three down was agreed as the result and 300 to East-West as the score. Ironically, the more effective early defence here led to the significantly smaller penalty.
To amass the nine needed tricks in this seemingly wrong-sided contract South must first rise with ♠A at trick one. Low to ♦Q is affordable even when, as here, West wins with ♦K and leads to East's ♠K. There is, however, no double-dummy continuation that does not involve winning the first round of hearts with the ace yet no single-dummy consideration that makes that line a better one than sooner or taking the heart finesse and going three down.
Remarkably, the gold-medallist team THOMPSON - Ben Thompson (Vic), Renee Cooper (WA), Peter Newman and Matthew Thomson (both NSW) had barely qualified for the three-round knock-out tournament by placing eighth in the South-West Pacific Teams with a victory-point total of 145.97. This was only 0.32 more than that of the ninth-placed and hence top eliminated six-player team four of whom were Canberrans Christy Geromboux, Elizabeth Havas, Bernard Waters and Sebastian Yuen. Likewise, the defeated team ASHTON - Canberran Andrew Spooner with four NSW teammates Sophie Ashton, David Beauchamp, Matt Mullamphy and (sitting out) Maurits van der Vlugt - qualified sixth on 147.77. Contrastingly, the two top qualifiers with totals of 166.16 and 165.92, each more-or-less a full match ahead of the finalists, were respectively knocked in their closely-contested semi-final and quarter-final.
The ensuing grand final was a ding-dong struggle containing eleven double-digit IMP scores of which the following was the last.
Accurately judging, with only four boards left to play, that ASHTON badly needed a big IMP pick-up, North on the deal readers that can find at bridgeaustralia.org/showtraveller.asp?id=50063&board=29&headeventid=2806 climbed into a low-percentage though double-dummy unbeatable no-trump small slam and could have but didn't bring it home. The play began ♦10-3-2-J, ♠7-4-Q-K. Low from dummy instead of ♠Q, because East might have gone up with ♠K if he had it, would have kept the initially available double-dummy line for 12 tricks alive. One would need to have been at the table to decide why declarer, having presumably led ♠7 so early for that precise reason, nevertheless called for ♠Q. Next came♦5-K-7-4, ♣A-2-4-3, ♣5-6-Q-K, at which point one down was agreed.
North's contract at the other table was a super-safe 3NT against which ♣2 was harmlessly led to Q-3-5. The play continued ♦3-6-K-7, ♠7-4-Q-K, ♣7-A-5-4, ♥2-3-Q-8, ♥J-9-4-6, ♥5-10-K-♠6, ♥A-♦9-♠2-10, ♥7-♦10-♠3-♦2, before declarer tabled ♠A and claimed 10 tricks. The resulting 25-IMP swing, 12 to THOMPSON instead of 13 to ASHTON, exceeded the former's match-winning margin.
Many readers are doubtless already aware of the existence of the ABF Foundation. Its role is to fund selected bridge-related projects that are outside the proper domain and stated objectives of the Australian Bridge Federation. Its trustees are Kim Frazer, Mimi Packer, David Stern, Simon Hinge, Sophie Ashton and Peter Cox, all of whose potted biographies can be found at abffoundation.org.au/trustees.asp. To help fund its endeavours a number of top players auction their services as a partner in an online session. Bids for the next such, on March 5, close at 8pm on the last day but one of the current month. Many of the 31 experts are still available at the minimum price of $125(plus?). Visit abffoundation.org.au/fundraiser/auction.asp?EventId=12 to make an offer or learn more.
AN ACCIDENTALLY TIED BOARD
Today’s early deal could have but didn't contribute 16 or even 17 IMPs to the losing team’s total with who knows what eventual psychological effect on the eventual result of the match in which it occurred. It was the fifth of 96 boards in the JACOB vs LUSK grand-final of last week’s play-off to select Australia’s 2024 women’s international team.
After the diagrammed auction, East’s opening lead against 3NT was ♠2 to 4-J-3. The play continued ♠K-8-5-♦3, ♠7-A-10-♦6, ♥7-2-K-4, ♣J-6-2-K, ♥9, at which point declarer claimed the remaining tricks for a table-score of 630. Systemically different bidding at the other table (1NT-Pass-2♣-2♠, 3♣-Pass-4♣-Pass, 4♥-Pass-5♣-Pass, Pass-Pass) was followed by ♠K-A-5-4, ♠3-10-♣7-♠6, ♣J-6-2-K, ♣4 and a claim of 12 tricks for plus 620; so no IMPs changed hands.
Neither of the LUSK pairs had done as well as it would have wished. West, with nothing to gain after trick two by leading a third spade, didn’t find the diamond shift that would take 3NT one down. And though North-South did well to avoid the iffy no-trump game they stopped short of the virtually lay-down club small slam. Even after the only at-all threatening opening lead of a diamond, declarer can first cross to ♣A, claiming an overtrick if ♣K drops. When (as here) it doesn’t, forthwith cashing three hearts on the last of which dummy’s remaining diamond spot-card is discarded remains a distinctly odds-on prospect.
In the concurrent LORENTZ vs FREE seniors selection final, 3NT was similarly let home by the latter’s EW but defeated at the other table where the above-described killing defence was indeed found by Burgess-Lorentz for a 12-IMP pick-up.
Subject to ratification by the Australian Bridge Federation its women’s team will be Renee Cooper partnering Jane Reynolds (both WA), Ella Jacob (NSW) partnering Jenny Thompson (Vic), plus a third pair yet to be named and approved and its seniors team Andrew Braithwaite (Qld) partnering Arjuna De Livera (SA), Stephen Burgess partnering Gabi Lorentz, and Robert Krochmalik partnering Paul Lavings (all NSW).
All of the above transpired during the first week of the 2024 Summer Festival of Bridge in Canberra at the Rex Hotel. ACT players who performed significantly there include: Jodi Tutty who, with interstate teammates, won the national women’s teams title; Robyn Carroll, Jenny Walpole, Elizabeth Yoo and Steve Geddes who finished first in a combined Life Masters and Under teams field; Steve Kyburz and Nick Vonthethoff first followed by Bricet Kloren and Ian Vickers second in the Bridge Shop Novice Matchpoint Pairs; Sue La Peyre and Bob Cox second in the Chris Diment Swiss Pairs.
A weekend of pairs tournaments was followed by Monday’s opening rounds of the four-day South-West Pacific Swiss Teams, a nationally-rated Swiss tournament in its own right from which the eight top-placed teams proceed to the quarter-finals of the ensuing National Open Teams Championship. Cost-free bid-by-bid card-by-card bridgebase.com coverage of a selected match from the knock-out will be available to all. Two-hour sessions on each of Friday, Saturday and Sunday begin at 9.30am, noon, 3pm and 5.30pm. There may well be readable and/or audible expert commentary. There are links on the abf.com-au home page to much more about the Summer Festival including detailed, though less than formerly immediate, results as well as to Stephen Lester’s instructively informative daily bulletins.
The above-mentioned Ella Jacob (visit bridgewinners.com/profile/ella-jacob) to learn more about her) was also the star of this year’s Youth Week which returned from other recent venues to its renamed and repurposed former location just across Ipima Street from the Canberra Rex. That was despite the fact that Its dates, January 6-12, overlapped by two-days those of the of the national women's teams championship in which she had to play. Read about that and other aspects of Youth Week in Peter Gill's report on the opening pages of Festival bulletin8 which also reveals that the three top-placed pairs in the selection tournament for the 2024 Australian youth team were George Bartley (SA) and Jack Luke-Paredi (Qld), Bertie Morgan (SA) and Alec Goss (Vic), and Lara Topper and Tomer Libman (both NSW).
A forthcoming major event is the next annual Gold Coast Congress at Broadbeach in Queensland from February 7 to 15. It is nowadays Australia’s by-far best-attended bridge occasion. Visit myabf.com.au/events/congress/view/780 for more. There is an early-bird discount of $20 per person per event (except, of course, walk-in in pairs sessions) from entry fees received by February 12.
A less geographically distant enterprise that should and perhaps will interest some readers is a planned series of non-interdependent 10am to 3pm Skills Development Workshops in the Deakin clubrooms on Saturdays February 3, March 23 and April 20. The full price of each is $55 but members of the Canberra Bridge Club enjoy a $5 discount and attendees who are not yet 30 years old pay only $30. Included are a delicious morning tea, a light lunch, and a booklet of notes. The workshops will be led by highly-regarded Canberra teacher William Jenner-O'Shea. Their respective titles are "Improve Your Judgement and Tweak Your System", "Defence Techniques, Card Placing and Counting Tricks" and "Solid Suits, Strong Suits, Decisive Bidding." Visit canberrabridgeclub.com.au/13-entry-lists/619-will-jenner-oshea-lessons to enrol and/or learn more.
SPLINTER BIDS
I hadn't intended to take a Christmas break. However, what with my 102nd birthday and associated extended visits from overseas by two grandchildren (one of them accompanied by my two-year-old so far only great-granddaughter) who retired from bridge after winning the Australian under-14 pairs title to become Doctors of Philosophy instead of perhaps grand-masters it is now four weeks rather than two since readers last heard from me. As Twelfth Night is yet, as I write, to occur I can nevertheless still legitimately wish every one of you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. So that's what I've just belatedly done.
In their original form, splinter bids, were invented independently about 60 years ago by two North Americans. One of them was David Cliff, a noted theorist who also originated the once-popular and still not quite obsolete concept of relay bidding in which one partner's artificial (usually single-step) successive asks elicit equally artificial (potentially multi-step) replies that together convey an accurate picture of the responder's hand. The other inventor was the more enduringly famous Dorothy Hayden (later Truscott). Ignoring here irrelevant later extensions to other contexts splinter bids are self-evidently game-forcing; and what they explicitly show is at most a singleton in their named suit plus four-card or longer support for partner’s most recent suit.
North’s diagrammed jump to 4♣ was a real-life example. The general idea is that partner will sign off in game if but only if unenthused by that information.
In every constructed illustrative case that I can remember seeing, any thus shown singleton was a low spot card. Does that imply that hands containing a singleton honour-card are unsuitable? A few commentators explicitly rule out an ace or a king; but what about a queen? Notice that North’s ♣Q in the diagrammed auction significantly increased the value of South's ♣KJ842 whereas a likelier low singleton or, even more so, a void would have diminished it. Given South's undisclosed void in the suit of North's opening bid, would you have emulated the 4NT Roman Key-Card Blackwood ask next found at the table by Sydneysider Peter Gill in one semi-final of the 2023 national open teams championship? And, after thus discovering that the North hand contained only one of ♥K and both black aces, would you not have chosen 5♥ instead of jumping to the small slam? Be that as it may, Gill's choices worked out well for his team – Goulburnian North Sophie Ashton, her husband Sartaj Hans partnering Andy Hung (Queensland) at the other table, and their sitting-out teammates Nabil Edgtton (NSW) and Michael Whibley (NZ). The play went ♦J-K-2-6, ♥K-4-2-3, ♥Q-♠2-♥5-8, ♣Q-A at which point 12 tricks were claimed and conceded. At the other table in that semi-final, after a likewise uncontested but less optimistic 1♠-2♥-4♥ auction, Hans led ♦J to 3-4-A. South continued ♥2-3-Q-4, called for dummy’s ♥Q and also claimed 12 tricks. The 750-point difference in table scores generated a 13-IMP gain to the eventual gold medallists.
In the other semi-final both Souths reached and brought home the unbeatable heart small slam, One auction did contain the 4♣ splinter but continued 4♦-4♥-4♠-5♥-6♥ in which South's two non-heart bids named his cheapest first-round or second-round control. The other auction went 1S♠-2♥-3♥-4♣-4♦-4NT-5♣-5♦-6♦-6♥ in which a lead-directing double by East of North’s 5♣ was ignored by everyone including West who led ♠A to neither better nor worse effect.
The inaugural national open teams championship was staged in Sydney in 1973 when four local players -- Egon Auerbach, Max Hitter, Gabi Lorentz and Olek Minc -- became the first title holders. Poor support, especially from interstate, resulted in its 1974 transfer in to Canberra where it eventually became the main and closing event of the annual Summer Festival Bridge. A top-eight finish in the preceding all-comers four-day South West Pacific teams championship there secures a place in that three-day knockout event. This year's 13-day Festival at the Canberra Rex Hotel begins on January 9. Visit myabf.com.au/events/congress/view/790 to enter or enquire.
Another imminent deadline relates to next month's three-day World Bridge Federation Online Women's Teams. The final day for registration is January 16. All known details are at wbfwomensbridgeclub.org/OnlineWomensTeams.html but even though the schedule cannot be set until all entries are in, nobody will have to play within her national work hours on any day or before 9am or after 11pm by her clock.
IT HAPPENED IN ATLANTA
Respectively EW in the diagrammed auction from the fourth quarter of one recent 60-board quarter-final of the 2023 Soloway Cup IMP-scored teams championship were Australians Andy Hung (Qld) and Sartaj Hans (NSW) on one of their frequent post-covid expeditions to North America.
South’s double of the (14+ to 17 HCP) third-seat 1NT was alerted as showing a five-card minor accompanied by a four-card major and West’s 2♠ as a transfer bid showing clubs. East’s 3♣ was also alerted as showing the maximum he indeed (as a non-adherent to the Banzai count) thought he possessed. NS nevertheless pressed on to 4♠ against which ♥8 was led to 5-3-4. The play continued ♥7-6-10-A, ♦6-5-A-2, ♦10-7-K-8, ♦9-4-♥J-♦3, ♥2-Q-♠2-♥K, ♠10-4-3-♣4, ♠9-6-5-♣2, ♣3-Q-7-6, ♣A-♠8-♣9-5, ♦Q-♣10-♠K-A, ♠J-Q-♣J-♠7, ♦J-♥9-♣8-K. Withholding ♥A at trick one had unexpectedly created an otherwise unavailable EW line for one down from which the defenders did not depart until trick 12 when leading ♣K was instead necessary.
A shorter and less-complicated auction at the other table (Pass-Pass-1♣-Dble, 4♣-4♠-Dble-Pass, Pass-Pass) took Hung-Hans’s New Zealand teammate Michael Whibley, facing Nabil Edgtton (NSW), to the same contract played, however, from the other side of the table and penalty-doubled. The unexciting play there went ♣A-7-9-3, ♥3-A-7-5, ♦6-8-A-2, ♦10-3-K-4, ♦Q-5-♥6-♦7, ♦J-♣6-♥J-♠4, ♣K-♠3-♣J-5, ♥2-8-♠2-♥10, ♠7-6-5-♣2 at which point EW duly conceded declarer’s claim of of the ten tricks he needed.
The match, against the eventual gold-medallists, in which the foregoing occurred had begun encouragingly for the Australasians. They were three IMPs up (40-37) at the end of the first 15-board set and improved to twelve up (86-74) at half-time; but that lead disappeared; first temporarily on the second board of the third set and then permanently after, from the sixth board to the eleventh, no fewer than 41 unanswered IMPs went in the wrong direction. The winners-to-be were 42 IMPs up (192-144) by the third break and 50 up (181-131) at the end of the match.
An imminent early feature of a welcome and wide-ranging ABF effort to bring its involvement in and support of youth bridge back to the highest possible level is a live stream “Bidding Challenge” beginning at 2pm AEST on Thursday December 21. Visit abf.com.au/bidding-challenge-to-support-youth-bridge to find out how, regardless of your age, you can and should take part. Meanwhile, any readers who are or know of one or more young persons who already are or might conceivably become bridge players should do their best to interest them in the 2024 Australian Youth Week from January 6 to 12. Details of its venue and program will doubtless soon appear. Go to myabf.com.au/events/congress/view/479 for links to what happened last January.
Entries are already open for the 2024 Summer Festival of Bridge in Canberra (myabf.com.au/events/congress/view/790) at the Canberra Rex Hotel from January 9 to21 and for the Gold Coast Congress (myabf.com.au/events/congress/view/780) at the Broadbeach Convention Centre from February 7 to 24.
After the first two-day round of a knock-out tournament at the Canberra Bridge Club select Australia’s 2024 mixed team the following self-formed squads remained in contention when this was written later than it should have been on Sunday December 10: team COLES, named for its non-playing captain Brad Coles (ACT} of which the playing partnerships are Leone and Trevor Fuller (both WA), Christy Geromboux and Sebastian Yuen (both ACT), Pele Rankin (Qld) and George Kozakos (ACT); team THOMSON, similarly named for its non-playing captain Ian Thomson (ACT) and comprising Jodi Tutty (ACT) and David Beauchamp, Dagmar Neumann and Maurits Van Der Vlugt, Pauline Gumby and Warren Lazer (all NSW); team THOMPSON, which is one of two captainless teams and consists of Renee Cooper (WA?) and Ben Thompson (Vic), Sophie Ashton and David Wiltshire (both NSW), Ella Jacob (NSW) and Jamie Thompson (WA); and team HARRISON which also lacks a third pair and will need augmenting if it wins the event. Its pairs are Jessica Brake and Shane Harrison (both NSW), Sue Lusk (SA) and Bruce Neill (NSW).
For the remaining four days one match from each round can be followed live via bridgebase.com bid-by-bid and card-by-card . Two hour sessions begin at 9.30am, 11.50am, 2.30pm and 4.50pm. Alternatively, visit bridgetv.com.au where, all going well, the same cost-free coverage will be available with additional commentary by Australian experts.
GRAND AND NATIONAL
Three Canberrans — Stephen Fischer, George Kozakos and Ian Thomson — who, as part of last year’s team ACT2, tied for first place at the end of the 64-team final stage of the Grand National Teams Championship — will be back in Brisbane for the first four days of December as part of 2023's ACT1 with teammates Brad Coles and Andrew Spooner. Other Canberrans there will be Mary and Chris Tough, Bill Tutty and Niek Van Vucht as ACT2, and Martha Griffiths, Brenda Watts, Tim Mather and George McLean as ACT Provincial.
On today’s deal, the penultimate board of the 2022 grand-final match, Fischer (West) was declarer in the par contract of 4♠ doubled after the diagrammed auction. The play went ♣K-5-6-2, ♥10-K-3-4, ♣7-8-Q-10, ♣3-♦Q-♠9-♣3 at which point his claim of the 10 needed tricks was accepted by NS. Against perfect defence 4♠ would have gone two down for a NS table score of 300 and a potential three-IMP gain to declarer’s team if his teammates were allowed to play in the unbeatable NS 4♥ contract; but one of the undertricks evaporated at trick two when the shift North found was not to the needed trump spot-card. The other forthwith followed it when South, not implausibly placing North with ♣Q, didn’t rise with ♣A at the next trick.
The auction at the other went identically until West passed South’s 3♥ bid, leaving room for North (Thomson) to choose the (“when in doubt bid one more”?) raise to 4♥ against which West led ♦A to 8-9-3. The play continued ♣Q-K-7-6, ♥2-7-9-A, ♠8-5-J-K, ♥Q-5-4-K after which Kozakos successfully claimed all but one of the remaining tricks for his contract.
The 14-IMP double-game swing that thus eventuated left ACT2 four IMPS behind Sydney4. That remained the situation after no IMPs were generated by the next and last board. Still unresolved, however, was a dispute on an earlier board about inconsistent explanations on either side of the diagonal screen.. For a comprehensive account see the report by editor Brad Coles on page 27 of the December 2022 edition of the ABF Newsletter parts of which read “At the end of play, Sydney were four imps in front, having won 5 imps on the following board pending a director’s ruling:” and “The director made a weighted ruling, awarding (only) one imp to Sydney on the board, resulting in a joint win for Sydney and Canberra.”
Entries to a six-day eight-team knock-out play-off from which Australia's 2024 international mixed team will emerge close at 6pm on December 1. The website url is abfevents.com.au/events/playoffs/2024/mixed/entries.asp, the venue is the Canberra Bridge Club, and the start date is December 9. Seven self -formed teams have already entered. Should two or more otherwise acceptable entries now eventuate Player Qualifying Point totals are likely to decide which eight compete.
The winners of a similar recent open team selection play-off were Charlie Lu (Qld) and Peter Gill, Liam Milne, James Coutts, Nabil Edgtton and Tony Nunn (all NSW).
The women's and seniors selection process is being integrated with their respective national teams championships at the 2024 Summer Festival of Bridge in the Canberra Rex Hotel from January 9 to 21. Would-be internationals in each of those categories must begin their quests by competing in the relevant three-day qualifying stage on the first three days of the Festival. Visit myabf.com.au/events/congress/view/790 to learn more about that as well as the Festival itself.
BRIDGE, A LOVE STORY
Today’s deal comes from a book, titled as above and first published earlier this year in England by a London company seemingly formed for that precise purpose. My review copy of its subsequent Australian edition (published by Canada-based masterpointpress.com) came from bridgeshop.com.au whence an eBook version can be purchased for $29.99 compared with $55 for the physical soft-back that I for one unfashionably prefer
The book is an auto-biography of Pakistani Zia Mahmood. He (need I say?) is the eponymous lover and the object of his affections is the game of bridge. So much so that in 1979, despite his more than adequately relevant education in England as well as the total astonishment of Ali Mahmood, his brother and business partner, he left “…all my assets with him to multiply (hopefully), took £1000 from our joint funds and boarded the next flight to London. My target was the rubber bridge clubs.”
Before long, however, he added tournament bridge to the range of his activities and there became world-famous merely as “Zia“ (no surname appears on the front cover of the book). Visit en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ZiaMahmood for the enviably long list of his honours, awards, international and national victories et cetera in that context. Included are two gold and five silver medals in world championships as well as election in 2007 to the American Contract Bridge League’s Hall of Fame.
What follows demonstrates Zia's praiseworthy readiness to tell an amusing tale against himself.
In the diagrammed auction from the 121st of 128 boards in the USA-Italy grand final of the 2009 Bermuda Bowl, the World Bridge Federation’s longest established and most important teams championship, Zia, by then a US international, was in the East seat facing multiple world champion Robert Hamman. North’s alertable 2NT over Hammans take-out double of the first-seat 1♥ bid promised a good heart raise. Zia’s double of North’s control-showing 6♦(logically showing grand slam interest) was evidently lead–directing. Had he subsequently passed North’s retreat to 6♥, that small slam would most likely have been taken one down; but his actual second double, intended as for penalties, was instead read by his partner as a Lightner double, asking for an unexpected lead and hence cancelling the message conveyed by its predecessor.
The play accordingly went ♣K-4-2-♥2, ♥J-♣3-♥4-A, ♠9-A-7-6, ♥Q-♠2-♥9-10, ♦7-2-8-♣5, at which point declarer claimed and EW conceded the remaining tricks and his contract.
Remarkably, readers may agree, that result was duplicated at the other table. The auction there was 1♥-Dble-3♣-4♠, Pass-Pass-5♦-Dble, 6♥-Pass-Pass-Dble, in which 3♣ was alerted as a game forcing heart raise. ♣K was likewise led to A-2-♦5 after which ♣4-5-♥2-♣Q, ♠A-2-6-8, ♠K-5-♣8-♠3, ♠10-7-♥4-♠4, ♥6-A-3-♦2, ♥10-Q-♣J-♥7, ♦10-3-8 were played before play ceased.
6♥ one down at the second table but not at the first would have generated a 15-IMP swing to the Italians, reducing the number of IMPs by which, at that point, they trailed the Americans to only 10. Not enough, as the last seven boards did go to deny the former their actually comfortable victory, but who can tell what the psychological effect would have been?
Meanwhile, at the Canberra Bridge Club in Deakin, eight self-formed combinations are competing for the right to become Australia’s 2024 open team. Of six ACT players involved, only two survived the quarter-finals. Andrew Spooner partnering Phil Markey (SA) and Will Jenner-O’Shea partnering Mike Doecke (SA). As this apologetically late column is at last being completed they and their NSW teammates, Shane Harrison and Matt Smith, were only nine IMPs behind (104-113) half-way through one of the semi-finals with realistic hopes of figuring in the grand final which can be “watched” cost-free via bridgebase.com bid-by-bid and card-by-card on Wednesday and Thursday. Visit bridgetv.com.au before logging on to see what Australian expert commentary is being provided each day.
“Five in a Major. To Bid or not to Bid”?
Wikipedia describes Lucas Bols N.V. as a Dutch public company in the business, from 1575, of production, distribution, sales and marketing of alcoholic beverages which claims to be the oldest distillery brand in the world. Four centuries later, for about two decades from 1976, it was also perhaps the largest major sponsor the International Bridge Press Association has ever had, first of the Bols Brilliancy Prizes and then of the Bols Bridge Tips competition. A book, printed or electronic, containing all of the latter can be purchased online from either bridgegear.com.au or bridgeshop.com.au.
One such tip, contributed by the late Edward Adam Manfield, a member of the North American Bridge League Hall of Fame, has given rise to the adage “The five-level belongs to the opponents” which warns against precisely what both NS pairs did bid in one of two matches on the diagrammed deal from the recent Sydney Spring Nationals but refrained from bidding in the other. The actual consequences were unrelated to that saying and nothing like as dire as its fans envisage.
The match in which East was allowed to play in 5♥ at both tables was the seniors championship final where team HOFFMAN — Richard Brightling, David Hoffman, Ian Robinson and Neil Ewart (all ACT save that Ewart, an ACT life-member, nowadays lives and plays in Victoria) defeated team THOMSON —Andrew Braithwaite (Qld), Arjuna De Livera (SA), Ron Klinger (NSW) and Ian Thomson (ACT) — by 40 IMPs (132-92) of which this deal generated 11.
The bidding at the winners table went 1♠-Pass-3♠-Dble, 4♠-5♥ passed out and the ensuing play ♠5-2-Q-9, ♣A-2-4-7, ♣6-K-Q-8,♥Q-3-A-K, at which point the remaining tricks and the contract were claimed. Robinson's explanation of his ostensibly anti-percentage trick-four decision is that after the auction and the earlier play ♥K seemed sufficiently more likely to be in South's hand than in North's.
At the other table, after the diagrammed auction in which Braithwaite's nowhere-replicated super-weak jump overcall found a miraculously fitting dummy, the play instead went ♠5-2-Q-8, ♣A-2-4-7, ♣5-K-Q-8, ♥Q-3-2-K, ♣6-9-♥8 at which point two-down was agreed as the outcome.
There were no Canberrans in the mixed teams championship final where, in double defiance of the above-mentioned adage, 5♠ was bid over 5♥ at each table. The play at one of them went ♦4-5-J-3, ♥A-K-Q-3, ♦K-10-♣9-♦6, ♦7-♠A-♥7-♦8, ♠K-8-3-2, ♠Q-9-5-♥6, ♣3-K-4-7, ♣2-Q-8-5, ♥8-4-♠4-♥5, ♣A-♠J-♦9-♣J after which three down was agreed. At the other, ♥Q was led to 3-A-K after which only a shift to one of ♦AK avoids the loss a potential EW trick. ♠2-A-9-3, ♣3-K-4-8, ♥J-8-2-♠4, ♠K-8-5-♦2, ♣5-9-Q-7, ♠Q-♥6-♠Q-J, ♣6-2-♠10-♣J resulted in only two down and two IMPs changed hands. Visit abf.com.au for links to not only full details of of what happened in that match but also to much else about the entire Congress.
Events in the near future that may interest readers include:-
A cost-free World Bridge Federation online Women's Festival from November 6 to 12. A brochure can be found at http://www.wbfwomensbridgeclub.org/images/WBF%20Women's%20Online%20%20Autumn%20Festival%20BBO%20--%20%20NOV%206%20TO%2012%202023.pdf
And a six-day play-off to select Australia's 2024 open team will take place in the Canberra Bridge Club from November 11. If more than eight (self-formed) four-player or six-player teams have entered by November 3 their respective PQP totals will be used to determine which ones are accepted. At the time of writing, however, only four teams have entered. For more details visit abfevents.com.au/events/playoffs/2024/open/index.asp#target
“WHEN IN DOUBT BID ONE MORE”?
Inserting “justifiable” between its first and second words would make the guidance offered by the above-quoted ancient adage less hazardous to follow. Today’s deal began the third 14-board quarter of the women’s and seniors teams championships at last year’s Sydney Spring Nationals.
In the diagrammed auction at one table in the former match, West’s 2NT over South’s third-seat natural 1♦ opening bid promised five or more cards in each of the two cheapest suits. Over North’s clearly artificial three-bid in one of those suits, East did bid one more after which, whatever South intended by her double, everybody else passed. The ensuing play provided support for a less-ancient adage, “not vulnerable does not mean invulnerable”.
After ♦K-9-8-4, ♥A-4-5-2, ♥K-6-8-3, ♥Q-7-♠2-♥10, ♠8-6-A-7, ♦7-3-2-♣2, ♦Q-5-10-♣4, ♣7-3-Q-A, ♣J-K-♠10-♣5, which at no point departed from double-dummy perfection, it was agreed that the contract had gone five down for a table score of 1100 to NS.
That outcome would have cost eleven IMPs had North’s 4♠ contract at the other table, (reached via an uncontested auction that went 1♠-2♣-2♠-♠ in which 2♣ promised ten or more high-card points and, ostensibly, biddable clubs) succeeded. After ♦4-A-9-7, ♠4-6-9-10, ♦6-K-♣2-♦8, ♠5-♣4-♠J-Q, ♦3-2-♥7-♦3, ♠A-7-8-♣8, ♥5-3-A-4, ♥K-6-8-2, ♥Q-9-♣7-♥10, ♣5-A-9-3, declarer conceded one down, which increased the number of IMPs won and lost to the much less frequently seen fifteen.
That swing accounted for all but one of the IMPs by which Jodi Tutty (ACT) partnering Dagmar Neumann (NSW) and Eva Caplan partnering Jenny Thompson (both Vic) won the quarter while their teammates Jessica Brake and Susan Humphries (b0th NSW) were sitting out. The margin of 62.43 IMPs by which their team was then ahead of its all-NZ opponent may be what induced the latter to concede defeat rather than return to the tables for what would otherwise have been its members’ last participation in the ten-day-long event.
In the all-Australian much more closely fought seniors final, both Norths became declarer in 4♠, an approximately slightly worse than two-to-one-against contract against unknown EW distribution which here too inevitably went one down at both tables for a tied board. Peter Buchen (NSW), facing George Smolanko (SA) got there via P-P-1♦-2NT, 3♥-P-4♥-P, 4♠-P-P-P in which 2NT showed a heart-club two-suiter. The play began ♣3-Q-A-7, ♣4-K-♠7-♣5, ♦4-K-9-7, ♠4-K-9-7, ♠4-6-9-Q. Notice East’s — Michael Courtney partnering Terry Brown (both NSW) — automatic expert ♠10, tempting declarer to continue clubs and surrender whatever opportunity there might be of an eventual trump end-play. Next nevertheless came ♦5-2-♣2-♦8,♠A-10-5. When West showed out, declarer conceded one down.
At the other table, against Paul Lavings partnering Robert Krochmalik (both NSW) whose route to the same contract was P-P-1♦-2♣, 2♠-P-4♠ passed out, ♣3 was led to 5-A-9 and the play continue, ♣J-7-♠10-♣6, ♦6-A-9-7, ♠4-6-A-7, ♠2-Q-5-4, after which one down was also agreed.
Visit abfevents.com.au/events/results/results.asp?yr=2022&dir=sn for much more about the 2022 Spring Nationals including links to Nick Hughes’s compact yet excellent daily bulletins and to comprehensive archived bridgebase.com card-by-card coverage. Visit abfevents.com.au/events/results/results.asp?yr=2022&dir=sn for details of the 2023 significantly revised restaging which begins next Thursday (21/10/23) at Canterbury Park Racecourse.
Entries open on Thursday 26 October and close at 18:00 on Friday, 3 November for the Australian Bridge Federation’s play-offs at the Canberra Bridge Club to select its next year’s international open team. For full details, including a link to an announcement about limitations to the ABF’s financial assistance to 2024 international representative teams visit abfevents.com.au/events/playoffs/2024/open
GOOD NEWS FROM AOTEAROA
Today’s deal came up in New Zealand a couple of days ago during the grand final of the open teams championship in that nation’s annual Congress. It generated more than half of the 24-IMP margin by which the winners, a four-player team comprising James Coutts (NSW) partnering Justin Mill (Vic) and Michael Doecke (SA) partnering Adam Kaplan (USA), won the first of five 12-board sessions. Their respective table opponents were two pairs from an all-NZ six-player team, Malcolm Mayer partnering Michael Ware and Ashley Bach partnering Michael Cornell, whose teammates, Peter Newell and Martin Reid, were their that round’s sit-out pair.
After the diagramed auction, in which Coutts’s double was explained as “showing values” and Mill’s 4NT was no doubt a key-card ask, Mayer led ♠K (asking for count) to 4-9-Q against West’s by-no-means laydown yet, as the NS cards lay, better than merely unbeatable 5♥ contract. A diamond shift would perhaps have increased whatever misgivings declarer initially entertained, but the play continued ♠A-J-6-♥7, ♥8-♠10-♥K-2, ♥5-9-10-♠2, ♣A-Q-4-5, ♣K-J-2-7, after which 12 tricks were claimed.
At the other table Doecke became declarer via Pass-1♥-4♠- Pass- Pass-Pass, after which the play went ♥5-2-A-♠2, ♠A-4-3-Q, ♠K-J-6-♥3, ♣J-6-5-A, ♥8-♣Q-♥K-4, ♦A-7-5-2, ♣2-7-K-♠5, ♠8-♥6-♠9-♥7, ♥Q-10-♦3-♣4, ♥9-J-♠7-♣8, ♦4, At that point 10 tricks were claimed and conceded. The sum, 900, of the two table-scores converted to 14 IMPs.
Save for a low-scoring tie which, but for carry-over, would have been a loss and which, in other jurisdictions, would have been broken in the opposite direction precisely by removal of that carry-over, the Kiwis would have been knocked out in the round-of-16. That Atropos, Klotho and Lachesis at last turned against them in the in the grand final accordingly feels all the more appropriate. They lost all but one of the five sessions and were convincingly defeated by 44 IMPs (158-114). The gold medals accordingly went to Coutts, Doecke, Kaplan and Mill.
Visit nzbridge.co.nz for lots more about the Congress including links to detailed results, Stephen Lester’s not-quite-daily bulletins and bridgebase.com card-by-card coverage of the grand final.
An imminent major Congress in Australia, the 2023 Sydney Spring Nationals, will be staged at the Canterbury Racecourse from 18 to 25 October. Visit myabf.com.au/events/congress/view/638 for full details and a link to an informative brochure.
Readers who are members of the Canberra Bridge Club (canberrabridgeclub.com.au) may or may not need to be reminded that the starting time of its annual general meeting is 5.30pm next Thursday. The club’s weekly newsletter which is accessible by all, members and non-members alike, is well worth reading.
Another recommendable such url is nswba.com.au/enews where much information can be found about past and present week-enders within acceptable driving distance of the ACT. Most of these invariably attract a significant number of Canberra entrants some of whom are usually among the prize-winners.
THE OTHER SIDE OF THE TASMAN SEA
Entry to each of the numerous tournaments at the eight-day 37th New Zealand National Bridge Congress in the Mercury Baypark in Tauronga, which begins next Saturday (23 September) will normally "be accepted up to about a day in advance.". Visit nzbridge.co.nz/overview.html for comprehensive detail and guidance.
Other things readers may like to know about the Congress include the news that there will be cost-free card-by-card bridgebase.com live coverage of the open teams final on the last two days of September; and that an enhanced version thereof with local expert commentary may (check nearer the date) be available from time to time via bridgetv.com.au . Also potentially interesting is the fact that, like its comparable February Australian event at the Gold Coast, it is part of the World Bridge Tour.
Today's deal from last year's semi-finals of its main event, the NZ Open Teams, was written up in one of last year's daily bulletins by Julian Foster (NSW) who was North in the diagrammed uncontested auction. His partner was Jenna Gibbons (NZ) and his team-mates, EW at the other table, were Canberrans Christy Geromboux and Sebastian Yuen.
In the preceding 62-team 10-round Swiss qualifying stage that team not merely finished first. It won all ten matches whereas no other team won nine and only two won eight. It attained top place after round three and never relinquished it. Moreover, it amassed 239 IMPs which exceeded the next highest total by more than 52%.
Its results in the subsequent knock-out were not as uniformly good. A win by eight IMPs in the round-of-16 would have been a loss by one IMP but for a nine-IMP carry-over. A victory by 58 IMPs (89-31) in the subsequent quarter-final was more enjoyably clear-cut. It was in the last of four stanzas of the that disaster struck.
A 12-IMP carry-over and small wins in each of the first three stanzas had combined to put the top-qualifiers 35 IMPs ahead with only 12 boards left to play. All seemed over but the shouting until, improbably, the lead changed hands for the last time on the antepenultimate board. 53 IMPs were won and lost in in the stanza, every single one of them in the same unexpected direction.
The silver medallists-to-be likewise included three Australians - James Coutts, Shane Harrison (both NSW) and Andy Hung (WA) - and one New Zealander. My following account of how the play went in West's double-dummy-unbeatable 4♠ contract (though, of course, a diamond lead defeats 4♠ by East) is closely based on Foster's daily bulletin report.
Whether or not, after the diagrammed unrevealing auction, the ♣10 "blind" opening lead North disliked even more after trick one than when he unhappily nevertheless selected it simplified declarer's single-dummy planning, he won the trick with ♣Q and tabled ♥6.
North correctly rose with ♥A and exited in hearts. Withholding dummy's ♥K, West trumped with ♠2, crossed to ♠J, trumped East's last heart spot-card with ♠Q and led ♠K. After thus belatedly learning of the unwelcome one-four NS trump split, West undauntedly led low to ♣J, cashed ♥A and ♣A and ♥A.
Nothing bad having happily so far happened, the lead was still with East who was down to ♠A8 ♦72 opposite declarer's ♦K106 ♣8 while the North-South cards were respectively ♦A985 and ♠106 ♦KJ. Needing two of the last four tricks, declarer gave up one by leading low to Q-K-A. Holding no non-diamonds, North perforce continued low to South's ♦J after which South's was end-played in trumps and 4♠ came safely home.
As Foster wrote,
"Beautifully played for +420 and a well-deserved IMP pick-up. We could have afforded a few swings out like that but, sadly, not the 53 imps worth of swings that did happen in the last set! You just never know what will happen in this game. One minute everything is going your way (in set three partner miscounted her key cards so we stayed out of 7♥ and gained 14 imps when it went off at the other table!), the next minute all the decisions go wrong."
Mixed Blessings
Of the four Australian teams in the respective open, women's, seniors and mixed all-play-all qualifying stages at the 46th world teams championships in Marrakech that ended yesterday (2 September), the one that most nearly figured in its ensuing knock-out was the mixed team. Its three playing pairs were Phil Markey partnering Lauren Travis (both SA), Sophie Ashton and David Wiltshire (both NSW), Renee Cooper (WA) and Ben Thompson (Vic) and their non-playing captain was Mike Doecke (SA). After the eighth of 23 16-board qualifying matches they actually occupied the crucial eighth placing and on six subsequent occasions they were lying handily ninth; but they sadly didn't manage to climb back up.
But for today's deal a narrow ninth-round win over bronze medallist to be Romania would instead have been a loss. At one table Thompson was on lead against 4♠ by South. The play went ♣A-6-4-2, ♣K-9-10-8, ♣3-J-Q-♠3, ♠5-J-K-7, ♠2-8-A-♦4. At that point the result was agreed as one down. Rising with ♠A at trick five suicidally defied the Law of Restricted Choice. Save in the here unlikely event that South knew enough about West's habits to be certain that from a hypothetical holding of ♠QJ he would infallibly table the Jack, she should instead have inserted the ♠9 and almost halved her risk of losing an unaffordable trump trick.
Against 4♥, played by Markey (North) after the diagrammed auction - in which the as yet unrevealed systemic meaning of Travis's alerted multi-purpose artificial 2♣ response was - here indistinguishably(?) - either an otherwise unspecified balanced game force or an at least invitational three-card support heart raise - East led ♣4 to 2-K-6. Able (unlike his counterpart above) to defer any spade decisions Markey continued ♣A-9-5-8, ♣7-J-Q-♥6, ♥A-7-3-4, ♥J-2-K-5, ♥Q-♦2-♠3-♥9, and then led his singleton ♦8. When East followed "second hand low" dummy's ♦K won the trick, after which incurring a spade trick loser via ♦9-6-♥8-♦5, ♠2-8-9-J cost Australia merely one of the 11 available IMPs for the thus forgone overtrick. Visit abf.com.au for links to much more about what transpired in Marrakech.
Of probable interest to many readers are the following (here moderately reworded) announcements:
"The South Canberra Bridge Club advises that it will be running a RealBridge trial on Friday evenings starting September 8. This session addresses a demand the club sees for an additional friendly and cost-effective online evening session. It is an extra session and not a replacement for the current Thursday evening SCBC/Capital BBO session. SCBC continues to fully support the joint Thursday evening BBO session.
SCBC welcomes any Capital members to join our Friday evening RealBridge session. The September 8 session will be free and subsequent sessions will be $5 for SCBC members and $6 for visitors.";
and
"The Bridge Federation of the ACT is holding a Gala "Gold" Pairs Day on Saturday 16 September 2023 at the Canberra Bridge Club starting at 9.45am. The two top-placed available contending pairs will form the well-subsidised ACT2 Team in the early December Grand National Open Teams final and the likewise subsidised ACT Provincial Team there will be the top 2 contending pairs that qualify with ACT Provincial status, i.e. those from provincial areas or those with less than 300 masterpoints per person. Entries should be submitted by 10.00am on 14 September. The per-person cost of the Gala Day is $15 for full-time students and pension concession card holders and $40 for all others.
Entry by MyABF. If you need help accessing MyABF please chat with the Directors."
46th World Bridge Teams Championships in Marrakech
Among the reasons for this extra off-week column is a possible need to alert readers to imminent aspects of certain Canberra events.
One such is the creation of a women's almost free training camp of which this afternoon's (Sunday 27 August) initial session, led by Pam Crichton, Julia Hoffman and Jodi Tutty, has already attracted more than 80 participants. Visit canberrabridgeclub.com.au for full details. Entries closed at 10am on Friday but my guess is that at least the first several of any women who see this in time to simply turn up unheralded at 1.30pm today are unlikely to be turned away.
Another is the existence of an early-bird discount at the forthcoming Canberra in Bloom Congress. My understanding is that entries paid for by and including 31 August will be reduced to those charged in 2022 and that the new Rookie pairs tournament will attract a comparable reduction.
Have you been keeping track of Australia's progress at the fortnight-long 46th world bridge teams championships in Marrakech which began on 20 August? There are links at abf.com.au to results, comprehensive and instructive daily bulletins, cost-free bridgebase.com bid-by-bid card-by-card coverage of eight selected tables, as well as to "Bridge Australia TV" at which many of this nation's own experts contribute much else.
After 18 of 23 scheduled 16-board rounds in the all-play-all qualifying stages of the open, women's, seniors and mixed teams championships, Australia's best hope of figuring in one of the four eight-day eight-team knock-out stages which begin tomorrow (Monday) was in the mixed division where Lauren Travis and Phil Markey (both SA), Sophie Ashton and David Wiltshire (both NSW), Renee Cooper (WA) and Ben Thompson (Vic) were lying ninth on 212.05 victory points only 0.93 out of the crucial eighth place.
New Zealand, the other participating Pacific zone team, was at that point well-placed in the open championship - seventh on 220.31 which was 10.31 more than the ninth-placed team's total.
The following account is largely based on a report at nzbridge.co.nz which, in my not especially humble opinion, is one of the world's best national bridge websites.
Today's deal generated 11 of the 24 IMPs by which New Zealand defeated South Africa in the seventh round. An uncontested auction at the other table had allowed South, Ashley Bach, to play in 4♥ and - after West's non-threatening ♦A opening lead - easily amass the double-dummy-available 11 tricks.
After the diagrammed livelier auction, however, (in which Matt Brown’s 2♥ showed spades plus an as-yet-undisclosed minor suit and Michael Whibley's 4NT said "bid, as the case may be, 5♣ or 5♦") South's not-unreasonable 5♥ set the scene for the following striking defence.
Matt found the great lead-directing under-lead of the ♦2 at trick one. When ♦K won, Michael knew what to do. The club return was ruffed by Matt who exited passively and later scored his ♥K to beat the contract and give New Zealand 11 imps. South can hardly be blamed for not avoiding that defeat by dropping West's by-then singleton ♥K.
Open Swiss Teams Championship
Because it relates to an imminent opportunity, we begin today with the news that all past and present members of the Capital Bridge Club are invited to a free three-hour game beginning at 12.30 pm tomorrow (21 August). The venue is "The Henry" Retirement Village at 94 Fullagar Crescent Higgins. The invitation continues
“(Use the lift or the stairs to the lower level)
This is an excellent venue with disable access, large playing room and plenty of lighting. There is a coffee shop on the ground floor serving light meals and coffee. Payment is by card only and all food and drink must be consumed in the cafe. Under the rules of the Home’s Public Liability Insurance, no drink or food can be taken down to the room, only bottled water.
This Club has been established, with the help of the Capital and Jamison Bridge Clubs, to cater for those who would like a daytime session in the Belconnen area. As with most other day sessions in Canberra, it is not an ABF affiliated club and no masterpoints will be awarded. However, we do have a dealing machine on loan from Capital.
Please take this opportunity to see the new venue and have a pleasant afternoon.
We ask that you email me if you are coming so that we can be sure that we have enough tables etc. You may come without a partner if you let me know.
We will give further information about how to register for future sessions, payments etc. when you come on Monday.
We have a Web Site and by clicking on the link below, you will be able to access hand records and scores by following the link at the bottom.
https://jeremydaw.github.io/pages/bridge-henry/
Please come and join us
Enid Rushforth
0484088342”
Today's deal was the last but one of 224 played at each of 58 tables in the eight-round open Swiss teams championship at the 2023 Coffs Coast Gold Congress and 28 in the concurrent intermediate teams championship.
Canberrans Christy Geromboux and Sebastian Yuen, whose recent record as a partnership includes gold medals in the mixed pairs at the autumn nationals in Adelaide and silver medals as part of the ACT open team at the interstate championships, kindly provided me with a comprehensive account, on which what follows is closely based, of what transpired in their match. They were respectively EW in the diagrammed auction. North's 2♣ opposite South's first-seat Standard-ish 1NT was garbage-Stayman (planning to pass whichever of South's systemically available 2♦, 2♥ or 2♠ replies eventuated) and East's double was lead-directing. South's redouble, likewise showing playable club length, was followed by three variously more or less justifiable Passes.
Against 2♣ redoubled, which was double-dummy unbeatable for a potential NS table-score of 560, East led ♥9 showing "T9(x+) or shortage". Winning with ♥Q declarer led a club towards dummy, and after some thought won with ♣8. Next came low to ♥K and then ♠3 towards dummy, ducked to West's ♠Q.
After West exited with a third round of hearts, declarer called for dummy's ♦A and could have remained on track for the eight needed NS tricks by next cashing ♠A. When ♦6 was instead selected, West won and led another diamond. That allowed East to discard ♠K as dummy trumped. Able to score only one more trump trick declarer then conceded one down for 200 to EW
Meanwhile, at the other table, East entered the auction with 3♣ which Geromboux-Yuen's NSW teammates, David Hudson and Liam Milne, penalty-doubled and took three down, amassing seven tricks for +500 and a 12-IMP pick up. Four down was possible.
By far the most common contract in both tournaments was 3♦ in which NS can and usually did exactly succeed. There are links on the ABF home page to detailed Congress results and to six recommendable daily bulletins.
The above-described outcome converted what would otherwise have been an eight-IMP loss against the runaway gold-medallists to a four-IMP victory. That small margin disappointingly did not suffice to keep the team in the second place into which a big round-seven win against the eventual runners-up had catapulted it or even on the podium. The top victory-point totals were 127.91, 111,79, 111.64, their 109.22 and100.99. That both pairs contributed significantly to that nevertheless fine result is evidenced by their pair rankings The Sydneysiders finished sixth of 119 on +101.3; the Canberrans fourteenth on +69.1.
Already in Marakech for the 46th world championships which officially begin there today and end on 2 September are the following Australian six-player selected teams: open (Bermuda Bowl) - Paul Dalley, Robert Fruewirth, John Paul Gosney, Tony Leibowitz, Tony Nunn and Jamie Thompson; women's (Venice Cup) - Nazife Bashar, Helena Dawson, Kinga Moses, Jenny Thompson, Avril Zets and Catherine Zhang; seniors (d'Orsi Trophy) - David Beauchamp, Stephen Burgess, Avi Kanetkar, Robert Krochmalik, Paul Lavings and Gabi Lorentz; mixed - (Wuhan Cup) - Sophie Ashton, Renee Cooper, Phil Markey, Ben Thompson, Lauren Travis and David Wiltshire. Their respective non-playing captains are David Fryda, Peter Buchen, John Mcilraith and Mike Doecke. Visit www.bridgetv.com.au and/or bridgebase.com for details of and links to each day's online bid-by-bid card-by-card with some expert commentary.
Coffs Coast Gold Congress
A search at abf.com.au for "Coffs Coast Gold Congress History" produced what follows, which could obviously do with updating.
“The Coffs Coast Gold Congress was conceived in 2003 by members of the Coffs Harbour Bridge Club, as a “boutique Super Congress” to be held in a holiday resort in the Coffs Harbour winter, when the weather is dry and warm. With the imprimatur of the ABF and the NSWBA, the first congress was held in 2004 at Nautilus resort, north of Coffs Harbour. 46 teams attended. In 2005 attendance had increased to capacity for the resort, and in 2006 the congress was moved to Opal Cove Resort. Attendance continued to increase, and the quality of the field became high enough to attract Gold Point status from the parent organisation.
The prize money is as attractive as anywhere in Australia and is applied to different categories – thus the congress caters for all levels of play.”
In 2012, 106 teams competed which was capacity for the venue and the committee of management decided to cap the numbers at that level in the future, rather than fracture the congress into two separate venues. the quality of competition, and the strength of the field continue their upward momentum.
Much, including covid-induced cancellations in 2020 and 2021, has transpired since that was written. The first of the perennial Nick Hughes's admirably compact daily bulletins from the 2023 congress, dated August 9 when the main tournaments begin but already available online, contains much about the more recent and current situation. This year's 90-table limit had not been reached when entries closed on July 30; so last-minute applications from up to 20 readers of this column are more likely to be welcomed than spurned by the organisers. Email chbcsupconpresident17@gmail.com or phone either of 0419 486 333 and 0427 719 172.
Meanwhile, on today's deal from last Wednesday's 14th qualifying round of the 2023 world under-26 youth teams championship hosted by the municipality of Veldhoven in The Netherlands, Australia gained a rarely equalled (let alone surpassed) 19-IMP swing against Estonia. One of the table-scores that generated it was 1540 to the Australian EW, respectively declarer Sebastian Langdon-MacMillan (Qld) and Tomer Libman (NSW), for reaching as diagrammed, and then bringing home 6♣, the only unbeatable and here unwisely doubled small slam. The other was 670 to their NS teammates, Joshua Tomlin and David Gue (both SA), the former of whom was allowed to play in 3♦ doubled which also proved unbeatable. A possibly consoling triumph for proponents of the so-called Law of Total Tricks. The board was tied only twice. In Taipei vs Argentina both Easts were in 6♣ making and in Italy vs Croatia 6♠ was twice taken one down. Eight other double-digit swings ranged from 12 to 16.
Play in Veldhoven ends on Tuesday. For full details of cost-free bid-by-bid card-by-card live or archived coverage of what transpired there at each of eight selected tables download the bridgebase.com schedule and archive and follow your nose. Links to detailed results and to voluminously instructive daily bulletins co-edted by European Bridge League regulars Brian Senior and Jos Jacobs can be found at abf.com.au
Perth Championships
Canberrans brought back no gold medals from the recent (obsoletely named) annual national championships in Perth; but there were a few podium results. The first and perhaps most impressive was finishing second to South Australia in the qualifying stage of the annual interstate open teams championship and then staying in realistic contention almost throughout the ensuing 60-board grand final which gave South Australia its sixth open title win in the 11 most recent stagings. Playing for the ACT were David Appleton and Brad Coles, Christy Geromboux and Sebastian Yuen, Malcolm Carter and Bernard Waters.
Another was Dev and Diya Shah's second place in the interstate youth pairs; and in the mixed Butler pairs Marianne Bookallil and Stephen Fischer finished second ahead of Elizabeth Havas and George Kozakos third.
The trick-one signalling agreements that appear on an ethical partnership's convention card necessarily depend on which card the opening leader's partner chooses to contribute to that trick. They cannot accordingly apply when no such choice exists.
Today's deal provided a relevant example whenever the contract was 4♥by South which was the case at both tables in two of the grand finals and at one table in each of the other two. Against Coles's 4♠ contract, reached as diagrammed, ♥3 was led to-K-10-4 and the error-free play continued ♠2-8-10-K, ♦Q-3-A-4, ♥5-6-♠4-♥2, ♦9-8-5-K, ♠3-A-6-♦6, at which point one down was agreed as the result.
At the other table, however, the double-dummy-obvious defence against 4♥ by South (reached via 1♥-2♣-3♣-Pass, in which 3♣ showed a constructive rather than merely competitive heart raise, proved harder to find. Trick one went ♠K-2-8-9. Whether or not it occurred to Geromboux that Yuen's ♠8 might be a singleton South Australian Nick Croft's ♠9 was the perfect false-card to keep open the alternative possibility that it was the systemically-discouraging highest of ♠853.The play continued ♣8-9-7-A, ♥4-3-K-5, ♥Q-9-6-♣4, ♥J-10-7-♣3, ♣K-6-♦2-♣5, ♣J-2-♥8-♣10, ♠3-A-6-♦5, ♦Q-3-A-4 after which the 10 tricks declarer needed were claimed.
Only one of the other five Souths in 4♥ found the same false-card and was similarly rewarded. Only one West continued spades after trick one and duly took 4♥ one down.
The one other auction that ended in a non-4♥ contract went 1♥-2♣-2NT-3♣, 4♥-Pass-Pass-5♣, Double-Pass-Pass-Pass. 2NT was not natural but an artificial four-card heart raise. Ironically so because 3NT, nowhere naturally mentioned let alone settled in, is the only unbeatable game contract and exactly where NS would want to be if they could see the full deal. The ensuing play went ♥K-5-4-3, ♥J-9-A-♣3, ♠4-6-♣2, ♥10-6-♣4-♥2, ♠7-J-♣6-♠9, ♣7-A-5-9 after which declarer, who had already lost both of the tricks he could afford, inescapably (against the less than friendly NS lie) conceded another two in trumps plus one to the ♦K. The resultant double-dummy compatible table-score of 800 to NS could well have cost 14 IMPs but escaped for only five because declarer's teammate at the other was one of the South's let home in 4♥.
There are links at abf.com.au to much more about what transpired during the 12-day congress in which the intestate championships were embedded. Especially welcomed was the more than usually comprehensive bridge.base.com coverage of all eight tables throughout the teams grand finals which can be accessed cost free from that website's archive.
Leading ACT bridge teacher Will Jenner O'Shea will present his next workshop on Sunday July 30. Its title is "Making the Most of Weak Hands". Up to 144 participants can be accommodated. There is a link in the current newsletter of the Canberra Bridge Club.
The workshop will cover:
Weak Two Openings and Responding
Weak Jump Overcalls and Pre-empts
Responding With Minimum Hands
Staying Low and Finding The Best Contract When There Is No Game
Interstate Teams Championships
This year’s interstate teams championships will begin tomorrow (Monday, 10 July) morning in the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre and culminate there in simultaneous two-team grand-finals on Thursday and Friday.
Representing the ACT in the four divisions are: open – Christy Geromboux and Sebastian Yuen, Brad Coles and David Appleton, Malcolm Carter and Bernard Waters captained by Stephen Fischer; women’s – Di Hawke and Lesley Gunson, Natasha Jacobs and Erin Tewes, Pam Crichton (playing captain) and Julia Hoffman; seniors Alexander Hewat and George Stockham, Paul Nelson and Bill Tutty, Peter Grant and David Hoffman (playing captain); youth – Dev and Diya Shah, Ken Takizawa, Alexis Wilsmore, Zara Chowdhury, Jade Wilkinson (playing captain)
The potential field in each division contains one team from each state and mainland territory but, sadly, the Northern Territory is totally unrepresented. The resulting bye in each open, women’s and seniors qualifying round does not occur in the youth championship, from which the absence also of Tasmania creates time for three round robins of five matches instead of two of seven matches.
Today's deal was board 11 in each of last year’s finals, when the host city was Adelaide. Competing for the seniors title were the ACT and NSW. At one table after the diagrammed Acol auction in which (because a 1NT opening bid would systemically have shown 12 to 14 high-card points) the 1NT rebid promised at least the stronger balanced hand David Hoffman actually held and Sean Mullamphy's raise to 2NT was invitational, ♦J was led to 4-2-K against David Hoffman's 2NT contract. The play continued ♣5-3-A-4, ♣J-6-Q-2, ♣10-K-♠4-♣7. Four rounds of hearts would have held declarer to the eight tricks he needed; but after ♦6 to 5-3-A, ♣9-♠5-6-♥3, ♣8-♥2-5-♦7, ♦Q-♥7-♦8-9, ♠2-8-A-3, ♦10-♥4-10-Q, ♠7-J-K-9, ♠10-Q-♥6-9, ♥A-8-K-J he finished up with two overtricks.
The resulting NS table-score of plus-180 generated a larger IMP-gain than it might well have done after their NSW counterparts at the other table climbed into an unattractive no-trump game contract. Their uncontested auction went Pass-1NT-2♣-2♦-2NT-3NT against which Bernie Waters led ♠5 to 4-J-K. Next came ♣5-2-J-K, ♣A-7-8-3, ♥5-3-J-Q. Declarer's surprising heart shift was an attempt to avoid immediate defeat by fooling EW into looking elsewhere for winners; but the play continued ♥A-6-4-10, ♥2-8-K-♣9, ♥9-♣10-♥7-♠6, ♠3-10-Q-A, ♦4-2-Q-6, ♦K-J-8-3, ♦A-♠8-♦5-7, ♠2-9-7-♦9, ♣K-♦10-♣4-Q and 3NT went two down instead of only one down and seven IMPs to the ACT instead of six. That was (just) more than half of the 12-IMP margin by which the ACT led NSW at the end of the first session. However, the lead changed hands late in the third session after which, despite a fightback in the fifth and last, it was NSW that won the match by nine IMPs (117-108) and collected the gold medals.
Of the other six declarers on the same deal, one replicated Hoffman's result. Four were in 3NT, taken two down once and one down twice but somehow let home at one table in the youth final. The result in the other table in that match was even stranger. The contract was 3♥ played by one of the successful declarer's EW which duly went three down undoubled. Had it instead been doubled the actual, already lower than expected, swing of six IMPs in one direction would have become three IMPs in the other.
Visit abfevents.com.au/events/anc/2022 for much more about last year’s interstate teams championships including detailed results, daily bulletins and cost-free bid-by-bid card-by-card online bridgebase.com coverage of selected tables from the finals.
There are links at abf.com.au to continually updated news from this year’s corresponding festival in Perth which continues until 20 July and contains a range of all-comers tournaments for players of every standard. Convenor Robina McConnell, who can be contacted at bina360@hotmail.com or 0400 943 367, hopes to be able to include all eight interstate teams finals in the BBO coverage which can be “watched” either directly at bridgebase.com or, with additional expert commentary, via bridgetv.com.au.
For readers in Canberra and surrounds, BFACT is running its annual Inter-Club Teams event at the Canberra Bridge Club on Sunday 16 July. The event has attracted entries from clubs at Cootamundra, Cooma and the Southern Highlands, as well as five Canberra clubs. There are 4 divisions: Senior, Intermediate, Restricted and Novice. Details are here. Entries after Sunday 9 July are at the discretion of the tournament director.
Tim Bourke
Next week's bridge column will, like the chess column on its right, perhaps forever, be this newspaper's last. My first one, in 1968, sensibly displaced a by-then less suitable non-Canberra-oriented syndicated predecessor. Its ostensible composer was Charles Goren, North America's Mr Bridge in his time, but It was perhaps even by then ghost-written by someone on his payroll.
Tim Bourke, who constructed today's deal, came to Canberra after I did but was a young Australian bridge player when I was a middle-aged immigrant Pom. An especially significant element of his many-faceted bridge reputation is world-wide recognition as an originator of non-trivial card-play problems, Four such appear in each monthly Bulletin of the International Bridge Press Association under the heading "IBPA Column Service" followed by "members may use these deals as they wish without attributing the author or IBPA". Diagrammed is his deal number 1141.
The 3♦ reply to South's Ogust-style 2NT enquiry showed North's diamond feature as well as a stronger than average weak-two opener. Against 6NT West led ♠10 and, when dummy appeared, declarer was a little disappointed not to be in 7NT. Pause here, if you like, to plan South's play.
After winning the first trick with ♠Q, South cashed his singleton ♥A, crossed to dummy’s ♦K and threw ♣Q2 on ♥KQ. Next came dummy’s ♦3 and, when East discarded a spade, disaster! From that point, declarer had to lose two tricks to West's red-suit jacks and went one down.
"How unlucky was it that West had jack to four in both red suits?" complained South. "When West turned up with four hearts to the jack the odds must be overwhelming that I would make at least five tricks in diamonds." North was having none of that and said, "Had your contract had been 7NT, your chosen line would be the best hope of making 13 tricks; but in a small slam, you should have played more carefully. Instead of rising with dummy’s ♦K at trick three you should have found the safety play of ducking a diamond. As the cards lay, you would then make three spades, three hearts, five diamonds and a club for your contract."
Full members of IBPA are (or have been) “journalists, authors and editors of news, books and articles about contract bridge” and the like; but associate members are also emailed a link to each Bulletin. The latest, which contains today's deal, was 36 pages long and is alone well worth the membership fee. To learn more, send an email, with my regards, to membership secretary Katie Thorpe in Canada. Her address is thorpe.katie@gmail.com