Close finish in S.I. teams

Press, 22 August 1979, Page 12

Close finish in S.I. teams

There was a time when any teams’ tournament held in. Otago-Southland was guaranteed to attract a maximum. attendance and so, by tradition, the South Island Teams of Four is held in Dunedin each year. Petrol and travel restrictions, however, associated with a general malaise in the tournament world, meant that the 1979 championship attracted an entry of only 14 teams. The event was dominated by visiting Christchurch players who from an early point in the round-robin keenly disputed the top placings. As the event drew to a conclusion all hinged on the final round by which time B. R. Anderson’s quartet (Mrs J. Kerr, A. J. H. Moore and F. Power) had established a narrow lead

over the rest of the field. They duly won their final match convincingly to take the championship with the excellent over-all tally of 102 victory points out of a possible 130. Meanwhile. their chief rivals played their last game to decide the runner-up position which went to R. P. Kerr, F. P. S. Lu, J. R. Wignail and K. G. Wobles on 96. Third were Mrs K. Boardman, S. J. Burgess, R. Scott (Dunedin) and M. Sykes. One of the most discussed deals of the tournament was the following where everyone at the table was right to some extent, but wrong in the final analysis: N. A - V 1098654 ♦ A 10864 A 94 W. E. A QB4 A AK62 V KJ2 V 73 ♦ Q 93 ♦ J 72 AK1062 AQBS3 S. A J 109753 V AQ ♦ K 5 A AJ7 West, the dealer, opened proceedings with a rather attenuated one no-trump which was passed around to South, A. J. H. Moore, who naturally enough called two spades. After two passes East decided to make a penalty double with which both South and West were satisfied. Mrs Kerr in the North position was, however, with her void in the prospective trump suit, by no means happy, and tried to take evasive action. She redoubled, a plea to her partner to call something else.

In fact, played in either hearts or diamonds nine or 10 tricks can be collected by North-South with little difficulty with a final contract of four hearts being probably the optimum result on the hand. After the redouble, however, South saw no reason to prefer any of his other shorter suits and passed. A club lead from West would have left the declarer without resource for ultimately he would have to concede

two tricks in clubs, three in spades and one in hearts so that up to a point he was wrong to disregard his partner’s rescue attempt and the defenders were right to play for a penalty. Unfortunately West elected to start the defence with the lead of a small diamond on which dummy’s eight was played and East made the mistake of covering with the jack. Having won the first trick with the king of diamonds South led his jack of Spades, taken by the king and a low club was returned.

Moore immediately won with the ace, led a low diamond from hand to dummy’s 10 and cashed the ace, discarding his low

club. On the fourth diamond East threw a heart, South dropped his jack of clubs and West ruffed with the eight of spades. That was the second trick for the defenders and try as they might they could take only three more, the queen and ace of spades and the king of hearts, so that the redoubled contract had been delivered. On another deal a game contract proved to be possible for both North-South and East-West. South was the dealer with neither side vulnerable: N. A K 95 V JB2 ♦ K lO 8 3 A A 32 W. E. A AQJ2 A 10873 V 10 4 V 5 ♦ AQJ9 ♦ 62 A 985 AKQJIO64 S. A 64 V AKQ9763 4 754 A 7 At the first table South opened proceedings with a forthright four hearts

which was quietly passed out. Eventually he made 10 tricks via seven in trumps and by leading towards the kings of spades and diamonds two more there, with the ace of clubs providing the tenth. When the board was replayed at the other table however events took a completely different turn:

S. W. N. E. 3V Dble 4V 4A All pass

This time South opened only three hearts, allowing West to show some values with a double. When North raised his partner to four hearts East bravely called four spades. Undoubtedly if doubled in this apparently shaky spot with such a weak trump suit he planned to escape into five clubs, but everyone quietly passed. South took the first trick with the ace of hearts, switching to her singleton club and. on North’s ace the declarer dropped a cufining 10. Had a club been returned at this stage, of course the contract would have gone down — but instead North tried to cash a second heart trick.

West quickly ruffed and played the ace and another spade to draw the adverse trumps as soon as possible. When North took the king it was too late to return a club and the declarer claimed his contract. He made five tricks in clubs, three top spades in dummy, a heart ruffed in hand and the ace of .diamonds, for a double game swing. ______ ■ManWMMaMMWMMM