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Shirley and Jenny on international duty. 

“Just Average!”

One curse of writing up the events of a bridge tournament is to ask the winners to tell on something they had done well during the event, to be able to record in print. Inevitably, whether through modesty or plain forgetfulness, they can recall nothing. Oh, if you are lucky, they will tell you about a board that cost them 12 imps, hardly what you want to hear!

That fate fell to Christchurch’s Jan Alabaster whose team won the  Club’s Mid- Winter Teams event last Saturday. Jan thought she would like to write up a deal in which her teammates, Shirley Newton and Jenny Wilkinson, had done well. There surely had to be one. After all, Jan, her partner, Jane Lennon, Jenny and Shirley had won the five round event by over 20 vps and though no players pay the slightest attention to datums (so they say!), Jenny and Shirley had outscored their teammates in this respect.

Of course, you know the answer Jan received. “Zilch!”

Yet, Jan is not one to take “no” for an answer and found these 2 boards where Jenny and Shirley showed excellent bidding judgement. Like so many, Jan has been so impressed by the way Jenny and Shirley have returned to bridge after difficult health issues, especially for Jenny. Two weeks before her latest success, Jenny and Jane Morris won the Christchurch Swiss Pairs at Rangiora. She, Jenny, is doing just fine.

Jenny and Shirley did a recent “tot up” and discovered they have represented New Zealand 30 times internationally, a pretty good record.

Put yourself in Shirley’s seat here:

 

What would you bid and why?

While you muse over that, watch Jenny and Shirley on this board:

 

2 was a Multi 2. Shirley did not mind which major Jenny held. She would have a go at game, hence the 4 ask. When West competed to 5, Shirley probably expected her partner to hold K and a little outside. In that case, she could not be sure of defeating this contract. Yet, remembering the maxim about the 5-level belonging to the opponents, she passed. 5 can be made on the anti-percentage line of playing A on the first round of the suit and also the well-positioned black suit honours.

5 ended 3 down which was a 2 imp pick-up when Jane and Jan struggled to down 2 in 3. Not dynamic, but imps on the right-side of the ledger with pressure being put on their opponents by Jenny and Shirley.

Back then to the problem given above. Maybe you would like to have a go at game, especially if partner can control hearts? Many did because North had a good card in hearts, A, but game proved to be a level too high as this was the lay-out:

 

3 was pre-emptive, not invitational. Shirley could see hearts would be a problem with East being quite, in this case, very short of hearts. So, she did not invite game.

Even 3 is challenging after K lead. Once A is ruffed, East would do well to underlead their A to allow West to give their partner a second ruff. Now, whatever East does, South can set up dummy’s diamonds for 2 discards, thus losing just 3 heart tricks and 1 diamond.

If instead, East plays A and a second diamond, declarer ruffs, draws East’s 2 remaining trumps, and discards a club on Q..9 tricks.

Strangely, Shirley received Q lead and was able to lose just two hearts, a club and a diamond after drawing trumps. Meanwhile after K lead, taken and ruffed, and a club switch, Jan and Jane were able to take 4 down 2 at the other table. That was 8 imps in.

It seems stopping in 3 was really rather good, not just average.

So, if you can leave a tournament having done “just average”, you will have done better than just about every other pair! Can you say that?

Richard Solomon

Thanks to Jan for delving into her teammates’ results and "spilling the beans". 

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