Action at the National Trials Really a case of good and riot so good

Press, 26 April 1988, Page 12

Action at the National Trials Really a case of good and riot so good

Like the curate’s egg. the bridge at |he Easter Trials was good only in parts. 1 I did not understand the bidding of this (hand dealt by North with (only EastWest vulnerable. Nor do I suspect did (East and West: !

The auction was something! like this: W. N. E. S. — i No 10 2+ Dble 30 30 3NT All Pass At! a guess, one diamond showed less than nine | points with any distribution, two clubs was natural. West's double was for take-out, and both three clubs and three hearts were normal. Then South introduced a diversion, Recognising that his side had little or no defence, he tried a bluff with three no-trumps. Had he been doubled he would have beaten a hasty retreat to four clubs, but no-one was more surprised than he when this was quietly passed out.

West found the best lead of a low diamond, the declarer took the first trick with dummy's ace and ran off seven rounds of clubs. The defenders discarded well, and when South played the queen of hearts from hand they claimed the rest of the tricks for a triumphant one down. It might have

I CONTRACT BRIDGE

J.R. Wignall

been (worse, for if West had led a heart the declarer could well have made his contract.

Meantime, as happened at the other table. EastWest were able to make 11 tricks in hearts, the only losers being a trump and the diamond ace. At the! cost of, a mere 50 points South had kept his opponents out of a vulnerable game worth 650! or had they done it to themselves? There was good and bad in this next hand too. West dealt 'with neither side vulnerable-

The auction was: W. N.j E. S. INT No 20 20 No 30 Dble No 40 Dble 40 40 No Ng Dble All Pass (After a very competitive auction South, with an Eau de Cologne hand, of 7-4-1-1 distribution, pushed on to four spades. With 26 points between them, it was not surprising that East-West were prepared :to play this doubled, i

When your side has the preponderance of high cards it is usually a good idea to lead trumps for. as here, the opponents are relying on distribution to win their tricks. West, therefore, found the excellent lead of a spade.

After capturing the queen with the ace, South led a heart to the eight, king and ace. East put his partner on lead with a club to the jack, but now West fell from grace.

When he tried to cash the ace of clubs, the grateful declarer ruffed. Quickly he trumped a diamond in dummy, cashed the queen of hearts discarding his second diamond, ruffed a club, ruffed a diamond with the king of spades, and then claimed five more tricks with the remaining high trumps in his hand. He had to concede the jack of diamonds to the opponents. but having scored two ruffs in dummy, the queen of hearts, and seven spade tricks in his own hand he had brought home his doubled contract.

At the other table where Stephen Blackstock and Peter Newell, part of the team that won the trial, sat East-West they made no mistake. The play to the first three tricks was the same, but then, instead of trying to cash the ace of clubs. West led a second round of trumps. That prevented the declarer from ruffing more than one diamond in dummy and held him to nine tricks only for down one.

That was very pretty defence, but all the time East-West could make 11 tricks in diamonds, losing only to the ace of spades and king of hearts, so another good game contract had been missed.