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NORTH
S: KQ63
H:KJ95
D:AK
C:1065
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WEST
S:A8
H:108762
D:108764
C:8
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EAST
S:J107
H:Q43
D:2
C:KQJ732
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SOUTH
S:9542
H:AD:QJ953 C:A94 |
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Congratulations to Alan Parker and Brian Hopper, of Wantage, who won this year’s Oxfordshire Simultaneous Pairs Event with a score of 70.36%.Runners up were Jean Boone and Jack Bellinger, of the Abingdon Alternative Bridge Club, with 68.95%.Other local leading scores were: 5th Richard and Carol Moore (Blewbury, 65.31%),9th Carol Wadsworth and Haemish Ewing (Wantage, 63.78%) and 10th Ray Ball and Gordon Carroll (Abingdon, 63.74%).The event seemed to have more than its fair share of bizarre deals of which the above layout is an example.In the commentary (which is presented to all contestants in the form of a booklet at the end of play) it is pointed out that North-South can easily make twelve tricks in spades, provided declarer is allowed to see all four hands (what we bridge players call “double dummy”).When West leads his singleton club, South, the declarer, merely has to win with the ace and lead a small spade.West can take the ace now or duck.If he ducks, declarer wins with the king and returns to hand with the ace of hearts to lead spades a second time.Either way, when West takes his ace of spades, he has no means of getting to East’s hand to gain a club ruff.Declarer draws trumps in three rounds, cashes ace and king of diamonds, king of hearts, returns to hand with a heart ruff (East’s queen falling), throws his two losing clubs on the queen and jack of diamonds, ruffs the last diamond with dummy’s remaining trumpand claims the jack of hearts as his twelfth trick.
The small slam in spades is a very poor contract, depending on several bits of good fortune, so I presume (although it is not mentioned) that the commentary assumes that the normal contract will be four spades, when two overtricks will produce a good score at match-pointed pairs. It also states that “cultured” declarers will take the opening club lead with the ace, play off the ace of hearts, lead a diamond to the ace in dummy and discard a losing club on the king of hearts.Now, presumably, declarer returns to hand with a heart ruff and leads a small trump.West wins the ace immediately, gives partner a diamond ruff, ruffs the high (McKenney) club return, and a heart leadallows East to ruff with his jack of spades for a further trick.Four spades one down.
Playing in the Abingdon heat, my partner, after learning from our Precision Club system that my distribution was 4153 and that I held two aces, put me into six spades, taking the odds on gamble that my second ace was one of the four spades and not the singleton heart.Not being the simplest of souls, I took the line of play described as “cultured” and went three off.Having been forced into a slam, I should have had the courage to take the simple line.With the “cultured” line, I still had a problem with the second club loser when I lost to the ace of trumps unless, as was the case, the holder of the ace of trumps started with a singleton club. At the time, I felt that it was possible that the club discard might fool the defence into thinking that I was now void in clubs, thus deterring a second club lead.When one has been exposed to so many weird distributions in a match-pointed simultaneous pairs event, one gets paranoid about cutting one’s losses, rather than looking for a miracle distribution that will enable one to make the contract.One will never learn.
LOCAL NEWSWallingford (Annual Competitions)Open Pairs:Debbie Roberts and Geoff Nicholas.Handicap Pairs:Alan Prior and Nigel Carter.Open Individual: Clive Keep.Mixed Pairs: Gillian Lonsdale and John Clifford.Teams: Kate Gould, Francis Glassborow, Margaret and Bob Sloper.Penny Marris Trophy: Mike Brown.Pead Plate: Ginette Porter, Bert Lucock, Gerald Chaffey and Peter Jackson.Summer Teams: Mike Brown, Betty Yearling, Pat Rhodes-Fisher and Terry Fisher.Most Improved Player:John Barton.
AbingdonThe Aylesbury Open Swiss Teams was won by Gillian Lonsdale, Nigel Wilkes, John Clifford and Clive Keep.Wessex LeagueAbingdon A 4 Wallingford B 16,Abingdon A 18 Wallingford A 2,
Abingdon B 6 Highworth 14,Wallingford C 9 Witney B 11,Wantage 13 Abingdon D 7.