CONTRACT BRIDGE Cheating charge at Far East championships

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 33092, 6 December 1972, Page 11

CONTRACT BRIDGE Cheating charge at Far East championships

(Contributed by

J.R.W.)

There was a sensational finish to the Far East Bridge Federation championships held in Singapore in late November. The event is played as a double roundrobin and Indonesia had led for nearly all the way. Australia after a bad start had been gradually overtaking them until everything hung on the final round in which the two countries met. Halfway through the game, the Australians lodged a protest against one Indonesian pair, which amounted to an accusation of cheating. In welcoming the players to the championships the F.E.B.F. president wrote: “Our annual championships are always played in an atmosphere of friendliness among the participants. . . . The keen rivalry displayed by the competitors is never marred by hostility or antagonism. .. No-one who knows Eric Ramshaw, the Australian captain, would suggest that he broke this record for any reason except what he felt to be severe provocation. Nor would the senior players, Tim Seres and Roelof Smilde, two very fine sportsmen, have supported him lightly, and the same applies to the whole Australian team. Most of us, at some stage, have led a singleton queen against a three no-trump contract, and occasionally have found it was the killing lead, but we do not often

find partner with the king, jack, 10, and three other cards in the suit. I personally have never heard of anyone leading the three from the king, queen, jack, three and two of a suit, but it could well be a brilliant lead. It was certainly brilliant on this occasion, for the Indonesian found his partner with the 10 and nine. The nine forced out declarer’s ace and the 10 became a vital entry card, indeed the only one possible. When partner opens a preemptive three clubs, and we have a doubleton and a moderate five card diamond suit, some of us might try three diamonds. We might, but we would be very surprised if, like the Indonesian, we found partner with good four-card support. When a pair is involved in a number of incidents of this nature it is not surprising that tongues begin to wag, and they were the objects of careful scrutiny by opponents, non - playing captains and • officials. It is only fair to say that no-one could see “how they did it,” if in fact they were doing anything dishonest. INDONESIAN VICTORY During the final there were two more suspicious incidents, then came a deal on which the Indonesians, after some rather 1 peculiar bidding, reached an unbeatable six club contract. The Australians protested, and the match was held up for two

and a half hours while the argument raged. Eventually the tournament committee upheld the protest, the six club deal was wiped out and the match continued, but the suspect Indonesian pair took no further part in it. The game then swung towards Indonesia who became the new Far East Bridge champions, but there will always be a niggling doubt. Were they really so good? Bridge players will debate it for a long time. WOMEN’S SERIES New Zealand was not taking part in the open series, but was represented in the women’s championship. The team, captained by H. Pickering, of Christchurch, was Mrs R. J. Eckersley and Mrs H. J. Hopkins (Christchurch), Mrs A. Kinsella and Mrs H. O. Taylor (Auckland), Mrs Z. Morris (Tokoroa) and Mrs A. J. Thomson (Wellington). Weakened by sickness from the beginning, they started reasonably but then struck a bad patch. They recovered well in the later stages and finished in a creditable third position. The eventual winner was Singapore, defending the title narrowly won last year in Melbourne. New Zealand was unlucky in that our women had to play the champions in the second match at a time when our team was not really fit. They received a terrible-body-blow on this hand, dealt by West with only her side vulnerable: N.

With New Zealand NorthSouth the auction was:

This was a perfectly respectable contract, and New Zealand was dreadfully unlucky to go down when there was no way to stop West making a trick in trumps. With Singapore NorthSouth, they also reached seven hearts, but the New Zealand West fell into the old feminine trap of talking too much. She doubled, and the Singapore South player was not too proud to retreat into seven spades. All would have been well had West led the jack of hearts for East would defeat the contract by ruffing. Possibly East should have doubled to alert her partner to this possibility. Be that as it may West led a diamond, and South put on dummy’s king. She drew two top spades, played off the king, queen and ace of hearts, and ruffed a heart on the table. Then she returned to hand by trumping a club, drew the last spade and claimed the rest of the tricks with a trump, two good hearts and the diamond ace. Seven spades made, as against seven hearts one down, was a huge swing to Singapore from which it proved impossible to recover.

w. N. E. S. No ID No 2H No 4NT No 5H No 5NT No 6D No 7H All Pass