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Kiwis still ahead in Trans- Tasman Challenge.

Round 5 of the Trans-Tasman Challenge still sees the Kiwis comfortably in the lead overall: New Zealand 442.68   Australia 357.32 though honours were even this time with four wins a piece. The top 8 (out of 16) at the end of last Friday night are:

	Round 5		B/FWD		Latest		Opponent		Current Score
					result
1		NZ Cornell	62.52		18.87		Aus Tobin		81.39
2		Aus Mixed	53.92		17.72		NZ Youth		71.64
3		NZ Terry	51.65		12.55		Aus Free		64.20
4		Aus Seniors	53.58		6.96		NZ Carter		60.54
5		NZ Livingston	51.56		8.24		Aus Youth		59.80
6		Aus Women	40.74		16.73		NZ Humphries		57.47
7		NZ Skipper	39.66		15.92		Aus Ewart		55.58
8		NZ Carter	42.15		13.04		Aus Seniors		55.19

Different Level: Different Approach

It is not unusual to have a battle of the major suits. What was a little different with the following board was that the approach a declarer might take would depend on the number of tricks they need to make their often doubled contract.

If you need 10 tricks, then one approach is best. Yet, if you need 11, you must adopt a totally different line. If you need more than that, you will be recording a minus score!

 

 

East leads a low heart. What is your approach? Yet, say you need 11 tricks after:

The difference comes in that in 4x, one does not mind losing a trick to the Q whereas that card has to be favourably placed in order to make 11 tricks. The former seems even more true if one is doubled by the weaker East hand.

In 4x, if you play a diamond to the K and then a spade towards the North hand, you will fail if East started with AQx. They will play three rounds of spades leaving North with 2 spade losers along with one in each minor.

A 3-2 diamond break would be more than handy in whichever contract you are. So play a diamond to the king, a second to the ace and ruff with J when East contributes J to the third round. 4 x made.

That line is of course no good a level higher. Fortune favoured the approach needed here:

Here a diamond had to be played to K at trick 2 and then a trump played from the South hand. West was powerless and declarer could draw trumps and ruff a diamond in comfort to make 11 tricks.

At a couple of tables, West actually opened 2NT to show 20-22 (a “mild” deviation) though, at one of those tables, that did not stop North from jumping to 4 and being doubled by East. There and in the cases where West opened a Precision 1, it became more likely that the A at least was favourably placed for North. However, as you can see, there was still room for East to hold AQx instead of the actual honours held.

Four tables saw 10 tricks made exactly in 4x. Another 4 saw the declarers make an overtrick in the same contract while yet another 4 took the required line to make 5x. One unlucky North-South pair were not doubled in 4. Another found 6 just too tough while the auction at another table finished in 3. At the final table, West opened 2NT and declared 4NT. Unfortunately for North, they led a spade not a diamond and declarer made 10 tricks.

If there is a moral here, it is that it is rarely a bad thing to secure one’s doubled contract rather than play for an overtrick, something those declarers who recorded 690 in 4x might reflect about.

Round 6 of this Challenge is on the evening of Friday August 9^th.

Richard Solomon

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