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Central Districts' News with George MacLachlan

The Christmas Cheer tournament at Palmerston North is by far the best supported tournament in the region. Typically, 30 tables were in play and players came from far and wide ..  as evidenced by the winning pair of George Masters (Hastings) and Russell Wilson (New Plymouth.) Mairi and Matthew Bristow put on the most outstanding Christmas Dinner and the prizes table was worth a trip in itself.
 
Second place went to Charles and Anthony Ker.
 
Intermediate pair Alistair and Jack James were an impressive third.  It is always nice to see a father/son partnership taking part. Top junior pair were Megan Eddy and Trish Peters.
 
WINNERS at PALMERSTON NORTH'S CHRISTMAS CHEER
 
George Masters Russell Wilson  PN Xmas 2017 Cheer.JPG    Alistair and Jack James  2017.JPG   Megan Eddy Trish Peters 2017.JPG
 Overall winners, George Masters     Intermediate winners, Alistair and         Junior winners, Megan Eddy and Trish Peters
  and Russell Wilson                         Jack James     

The following board was very good for George and Russell. They play a Strong Club system and were able to bid to the top spot as follows:

Board 16
West Deals
E-W Vul
8 5
K Q 5 3
10 8 4
K 8 4 3
A J 6 4
A
A K Q J 2
7 6 2
 
N
W   E
S
 
K 10 7 2
9 8 7 6
7 6 5
J 10
 
Q 9 3
J 10 4 2
9 3
A Q 9 5
West North East South
George Masters   Russell Wilson  
1  Pass 1  Pass
1  Pass 1  Pass
1 NT Pass 2  Pass
2  Pass 3  Pass
4  All pass    

 1Diamond-small and 1Spade-small confirmed Russell held 0-4 hcp, any shape. George showed 19-21 balanced. Russell used Stayman to find the spade fit and invited game. Gorge accepted.

However, for most of the room, the bidding started and ended with 1Diamond-small from West. Even an auction like :

West                    East

1Diamond-small                        1Heart-small

2Spade-small                         Pass

would have secured most of the match-points with +170 or even +200 (3 overtricks)  outscoring 130 from 1Diamond-small.                                

 
 Karen and Murray Carter 3rd in the Babich Wines NZ Wide Pairs
 
The Babich Wines New Zealand Wide Pairs proved to be a highlight in the careers of New Plymouth's Karen and Murray Carter. They finished 3rd out of 2,018 pairs with 74.39%.  They learned bridge in the 1970's and played regularly until 1988 when they took a break to raise their family. They returned to regular play in 2011 and have proved to be a very competitive  partnership.
 
Competitive but "Medalless"
That would describe our Region's efforts in the finals of the Inter-Provincial Championships. Our Open Team finished the highest in third place. Both the Intermediates and Seniors finished 4th while our Women fished 6th. That left us in 5th place in the overall Dougal McLean ladder.
 
 Other Tournament News
The New Plymouth 8B Anniversary Pairs held recently resulted in a comfortable win for Colin Carryer and Sandra Calvert who have enjoyed a very successful run at regional tournaments this year. Meanwhile, Alister Stuck and Charles Ker really enjoyed themselves at the Hawke's Bay Christmas Cheer held at the Taradale Bridge Club in late November. They averaged 67.07% over the two sessions to win by nearly 20%.
 
The Hastings Intermediate Pairs produced victory for Annette Hagan and Jenny Peters whose second round 62.98% was the only 60% + score of the day.
 
The George Masters Motors Zelda Morris 10A Pairs held at Hastings saw Liz and Blair Fisher win by 5%.
 
Wayne Burrows and Clair Miao won the Palmerston North Swiss Pairs in fine fashion.  This followed on from their success in the South Island Pairs when after a shaky start (a 46%) they then produced a 61,  64, 58 to win by 9%.
Clair and Wayne.JPG                                             Karen and Murray Carter Nplm 2017.JPG
Swiss Pairs winners in Palmerston North                             3rd in Babich Wines NZ Wide Pairs
Clair Miao and Wayne Burrows                                           Karen and Murray Carter
 
2018 TOURNAMENTS
The annual 3-clubs Picnic Tournaments begin at New Plymouth Picnic on January 28th.  Wanganui is the following Sunday (February 4th) and Hawera holds their Picnic on Sunday, February 11th.  Allan and Kevin Upson  (Hawera) kindly donated an impressive cup for the pair with the highest net score who play in all three events.
 
Feilding holds their Open tournament on Sunday 25th February
 
Marton club also provide a Picnic Tournament TO be held on Sunday 18th March.
 
Happy holidays everybody...!
 

 

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