Major prizes stay in Marlborough

Press, 10 March 1982, Page 16

Major prizes stay in Marlborough

CONTRACT BRIDGE

J.R. Wignall

The Precision Club System has achieved a very wide measure of acceptance among tournament players of all standards, largely because it simplifies the bidding of a great number of, hands. As in all things in this life, however, very little is achieved for nothing, the cost to Precision players being an increase in the frequency of competitive bidding. Knowing their side .is probably outgunned as soon as an opening bid of one club is made, opponents can interfere with purely destructive intent, and the lower level of the auction makes it easier for them. In the Marlborough Open Pairs recently, at least one partnership had problems reaching their best spot on this hand dealt by South with neither side vulnerable.

The optimum contract for North-South is four hearts, reached easily enough using natural methods at most tables and made in reasonable comfort. Six tricks in hearts, the aces of spades and diamonds, one, trick in clubs and a diamond ruffed in dummy added up to a comfortable ten, and a score of 420 (120 for the tricks plus the usual duplicate bonus of 300 for making, a non-vulner-able game). At one table, however the following unusual auction developed:

When South opened a Pre-

cision club, showing 16 points and an unspecified distribution, West was able to overcall cheaply with one diamond. Without eight points North had to pass, and East entered the fray with an out and out psychic bid of one heart.

After this start, NorthSouth did very well to reach their predestined contract of four hearts, but East decided to sacrifice in five diamonds, firmly doubled by South.

Having won the opening lead with the, ace of hearts, South switched to the ace and jack of diamonds. The declarer won with the king, led a spade to the king and ace, won the spade return and cashed two more winners in the suit.

With three tricks already lost, it was essential to hold the losers in clubs to only one, thus restricting the penalty to 300. One way would be to lead a club from hand to dummy’s nine. This loses

to the queen but now the ace and Jack are poised over North’s king. Another would be to play the ace and another club. South would win with the Queen but with only hearts left would have to return one allowing the declarer to discard a club from hand while ruffing in dummy. Persuaded by North’s club bid that he probably had the two top honours, however, West led a club to dummy’s jack and eventually had to lose a second trick in the suit. The resultant penalty of 500. did nothing to assist the cause of Mrs S. Davis and M. Sykes of Christchurch who had made the early running in the tournament. Perhaps the gods wanted to punish them for perpetrating the auction above, for they drifted back in the field to finish in fourth place. They were still the best of the visiting pairs for the locals kept a. tight hold on the major prizes. A. Oberdries and J. J. Wain won the championship, confirming the promise they showed in a number of tournaments last year. Mr and Mrs H. Sadd were the runners-up, and Mr and Mrs R. Young took third place.

s. W. N. E. 14 !♦ No. if Dble 14 No 14 2V No 3* No 3V No 4V 5* Dble All Pass