CONTRACT BRIDGE New Zealand team for Far East titles

Press, Volume CXIII, Issue 33382, 14 November 1973, Page 14

CONTRACT BRIDGE New Zealand team for Far East titles

The New Zealand team will leave next week-end to play in the Far East Bridge Federation championships in Hong Kong. They will stay in the newly-opened and vastly expensive Furama Hotel, where all the matches will be held. The first event is a pairs championship commencing on

(Contributed by J.R.W.) November 23, and concluding the following day. The teams championship will begin on November 25 and go on continuously until December 6. During this period the teams can expect to be playing between 60 and 70 boards each day, a matter of eight to nine hours at the table. The entry this year is the biggest received for a F.E.B.F. event, 13 countries sending teams for the open and 12 for the women’s championship. Those taking part in both will be Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia. New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand, while Pakistan will send an open team only. EXPERIENCED TEAM The defending women’s (champions are Singapore, ‘though New Zealand has 'never been out of the running, having finished second two years ago, and third last year despite the upsetting effects of ill-health in the team. Our representatives in Hong Kong will be Mrs V. Bell and Mrs J. P. Mather (Crockford Club), and Mrs R. J. Eckersley and Mrs H. J. Hopkins (Christchurch Club). Because of the sickness of Dr W. J. Hutchison, Mrs Hutchison and Mrs H. K. Palmer who were the original third pair, will now be unable to travel. Their places will be taken by Mrs Z. Morris (Tauranga) and Mrs H. O. Taylor (Auckland). 1 It is a very experienced sex- ! tet, and with an ounce of I luck at the right time should do very well. Prospects for the open team are somewhat uncertain. New Zealand has never yet performed up to its true potential in international competition, but there are signs that our leading players are acquiring the type of outlook and approach necessary. The three pairs S. J. Abraham and M. Cornell (Auckland), R. J. Brightling and P. Marston (Christchurch) and R. P. Kerr and J. R. Wignall (Christchurch) (all have considerable potential. But Abraham has been ' overseas for much of the | year on business so the Auckland partnership is uni practised, Brightling and Marston are inexperienced at the international level, and iKerr and Wignall are a ’ recently-formed pairing. On 'the other hand, the average | age of the team is somewhat I lower than in the past, which will be no drawback when playing 24 matches in 12 ‘ days. The favourites for the open event will probably be the defending champions Indonesia. Australia and China are expected to run them close, and India is the dark horse. TASMAN RIVALRY Before going on to Hong Kong, the New Zealand team will stop off at Sydney to play matches against Australia. Our women’s team, having lost only one previous encounter against the Aus- ’ tralian women, will start with a distinct psychological advantage and undoubtedly have the ability to win. The (open teams will be playing I for the right to represent iZone 7 in the 1974 Bermuda Bowl, the world champion- ' ship, to be held in the Bahamas next May. The Australians seldom play their best before their home crowds who tend to be excessively critical and somewhat parochial. Their team this year appears to lack the solid" depth of previous sides. While the visitors will probably start as underdogs, previous New Zealand teams have run Australia at full strength desperately close. There is no reason why this time the luck should not go our way. Certainly, however, there will be little room for a calamity of the sort that happened the last time the two countries met in the world bridge tournament at Miami last year. New Zealand would have won had it not been for this deal on

which their performance was even worse than that of their opponents: N S—A j 109 75 3 H— D-K9863 C-9 W. E. S—K 4 S—Q 86 2 H—A QlO 98 7 6 H—J 5 4 D—A 7 D—Q 10 5 2 C—7 6 C—B4 S. H—K 3 2 D—J 4 C—AKQJ 10532 With both sides vulnerable, when Australia sat NorthSouth the auction was not impressive: I W N. E. S. —’ 4S No 4NT No 5D No 6C i The ace of diamonds won; the first trick, after which a I diamond continuation would have defeated the contract, while a club switch would have put the contract down, two. Unaccountably, how-' ever, West switched to the; four of spades. When’ dummy’s nine was played! East had to play low to give! the defence any chance at all, so the declarer discarded his two of hearts. The ace of spades allowed South to discard his other small heart, then he entered his hand bv ruffing a spade high. The king of hearts was trumped in dummy and that was that. The declarer claimed the balance with his trumps and the diamond king. , That was bad enough but the events when the board 'was replayed with New Zealand North-South were just as amazing: w N. E. s. _ 4S No No 5H No No Dble No 5S Dble All Pass Five hearts doubled would have cost 1100 but North conceded an 800 penalty when he chose to bid on. Had six clubs been defeated at the first table, and had five hearts doubled been left in, New Zealand would have scored in all at least 1200 points on the board. Instead they conceded 1370 at one table and 800 at the other. Bridge matches are (not won, they are lost.