CONTRACT BRIDGE N.Z.’s First Venture At Australian Congress

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31770, 29 August 1968, Page 8

CONTRACT BRIDGE N.Z.’s First Venture At Australian Congress

<e»nM»vtta t>u j.r.wj This year for the first time New Zealand is sending a team to compete in the Australian Bridge Congress' in Sydney from September 7 to 14, It will hpve a rather anomalous status, fop while it wi)l be participating as an eighth state, it has been offici(ally denied this is the position—another example of the Art of double-speak as acquired by ail sports administrators. The visit win be the prelude to full-scale Australia versus New Zealand matches commencing next yearThe Men’s Team Despite the unavailability of a few players, the teams chosen are strong and representative of most aspects of New Zealand bridge. The men will be B- C. Bell and R. Evans, Of Auckland, R. Hudson and G. B. p. Wilson, of Punedin, and H. Pickering and J, p. Thomsen, of Christ, church. Bell, a company secretary, and Evans, a public accountant, who have been playing together since their university days, are one of the moat experienced and successful partnerships in the country. They play Goren with a large number of specialised and conventional bids and partnership understandings. Pickering, a headmaster, and Thomson a general practitioner, the current National pairs champions, are partners of eighteen years standing Their system is Acol on to I which they have grafted a prepared club. The third pair, Hudson, a company director, and Wilson, a solicitor, are not a regular partnership, though they have been teammates for some time. They play an unusual system of their own creation, and are resilient players with tough temperaments. As an illustration of the varied bidding styles, this hand would be opened differently by all three pairs: S—A KQ 4 H—7843 D—KJ2 C—lo 3

Bell and Evans would open one diamond, for their system dictates they must open their better minor suit unless holding a five-card major. Pickering and Thomson would open one club, a bid which indicates either a club suit or a hand of 12 to IS points and a four-card major suit. Hudson and Wilson would open one heart, for to them any four card suit is biddable and they call hearts before spades. Their Australian opponents have methods whieb are even more devious. After reading the systems played by the various teams, one is tempted to quote the Duke of Wellington when surveying his latest recruits: “I don't know if they will frighten the enemy, but by God they frighten me." The Women’s Team Since there are very few established women’s pairs in the country, selection of the women’s team must have been very difficult The selectors eventually chose pairs who have played together very little, but who olay in much the same style. Mrs V. Bell, a former national nairs champion, and Mrs H. S. Wilkinson, both of Christchurch, will play Acol with variations. Miss A. Hollis, secretary of the Auckland Bridge Centre, and Mrs J. R. Hutchinson, an assistant editor of the New Zealand bridge magazine, will also play Acol. Mrs M. Morris of Tokoroa, who has acted as

director on several bridge npuiaes, will partner Mrs H. 0. Taylor, a durrent national teams-of-our champion Mrs W. Ellis of Christchurch who was originally chosen was unable to acecpt. nerable game. Both New Zealand sextets will play against each of the teams representing the various Australian States, of which New South Wales is likely to provide the sternest opposition. Most of their men were ih the Australian team which performed heroically in the recent World Bridge Olympiad. They narrowly failed to qualify for the semi-finals, being headed off by teams which were substantially professionals. Aggressive Bidding The scoring in team matches places a heavy premium on the accurate bidding of game contracts. When this deal occurred in a high-class game South was well aware of thisN. C-JOS4 W. E. S—AlO6 S---8 7 H—J 85 4 H—KlO 7 D—B 7 6 D—A 10 54 3 2 C—A J 6 C—9 2 S. 5—5432 H—A D-RQJ C—K Q 7 5 3

North-South's side had a Hefty deficit to make up, and both stretched a little In search of the 500 point bonus awarded for bidding a vulnerable games.

s. w. N. E 1C No IH No IS No 3S No 4S All Pass

West decided that it was likely the declarer would want to cross-ruff, so he led a small trump. This was won by the jack |n dummy, and a diamond was led. East took his ace quickly to lead a club to the queen and ace. West continued with the ace and another spade to prevent ruffs in dummy, but South could see his way clear. After crossing to hand with the ace of hearts, he cashed his king and queen of diamonds, discarding a club and a heart from the table, then made his king of clubs. A third round of clubs was ruffed in dummyfelling West's jack. The declarer returned to hand by trumping a heart and claimed tpe last two tricks with two established elubs. South was unrepentant when the experts later said he should not have called four spades because it would be defeated had the defenders originally led a heart. As he said, he had, they didn’t, and he made it. Further, he claimed, he could not resist bidding and rebidding a suit consisting of the five, four, three and two.