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Our Kiwis in Singapore Day 6

Our Seniors were by far the busiest of our four teams on this day carrying on their 4 match per day schedule…and 4 from 4 it was, too with the last win against China Hong Kong B being by far the most emphatic. Four wins is great and were necessary being against the lower placed teams. With the heat about to go on against the tougher teams, the Bridge Masters are 15 vps behind 3rd placed Indonesia A.

Our Mixed Blacks had a better day than the scores indicated as Chinese Taipei and Thailand are the clear leaders. So, an 11 imp loss and then the narrowest of wins represent good results for our 8th placed team.

Two nice wins for the Bridge Blacks including against 2nd placed Singapore live on BBO though two losses for the Bridge Ferns with the defeat by Japan being described by npc Kris Wooles as “being undone by a combination of good play and a deceptive opening lead rather than by poor play.” More of that shortly. The Bridge Blacks are only 16 vps behind 3rd placed China Hong while the Bridge Ferns are 40vps behind 4th place and nearly 60 behind a medal spot.

           Bridge Ferns                                                                Bridge Masters

Chinese Taipei

20-24

8.72

6th

 

India

44-10

16.21

7th

 

 

Japan

5-39

2.37

6th

 

Singapore B

25-20

11.58

7th

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Indonesia B

21-23

12.44

7th

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

China Hong Kong B

55-1

19.83

6th

 

 

 

                Bridge Blacks                                                     Mixed Blacks

Singapore

17-11

11.87

5=

 

Chinese Taipei

8-19

6.77

9th

 

 

Australia

34-24

12.97

6

 

Thailand

44-43

10.33

8th

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4 of a Minor can be a good spot…..undoubled!

In the second match of Round Robin 2, the Mixed Blacks were staring down the barrel of a big defeat by Singapore. There was one board left and Annette Henry held Spade-small 97   Heart-small 9752  Diamond-small KJ87652  Club-small – and with neither side vulnerable saw her right hand opponent open a strong 2Club-small. (game-forcing or 23-24 balanced). She did not mess around. “4Diamond-small” she called leaving her right-hand opponent with a bit of a problem:

Board 14
East Deals
None Vul
A Q J 10 6
6
9
K 10 8 4 3 2
8 4 3
Q J 10 4 3
J 9 7 6 5
 
N
W   E
S
 
K 5 2
A K 8
A Q 10 4 3
A Q
 
9 7
9 7 5 2
K J 8 7 6 5 2
West North East South
    2  4 
Pass Pass  ?  

 

When West failed to make a take-out double, East could not do what they would have liked as double would have been take-out. Even if 4NT had been natural (and that must be doubtful), it would not make (3NT being the only making game). So, East decided to make the best of it by passing.

Annette managed 6 tricks to be 5 light or -250. East might have thought that that would be a small loss against a making game. Not on this day:

West              North            East                South

Clair Miao                               Wayne Burrows

                                                2Club-small                   Pass

2Diamond-small                   4Club-small                   X                   All Pass

 South made two bad decisions on this board. Firstly, their total silence over the opening bid encouraged their partner to take action. Would you have been so keen to “leap “ around in the black suits if your partner had overcalled even just 2Diamond-small? Your opponent does not always have AQT fifth of the suit you call!

Secondly, South failed to recognise that 4Club-small was Leaping Michaels showing the black suits. It is true that 4Spade-smallx would not have played much better than the 4 down that 4Club-smallx went, especially on a trump lead, but under the circumstances, the club break was reasonably kind! Wayne Burrows did find a take-out double which his partner converted gladly. 11 imps to New Zealand and though still a loss, it was a smaller one than it was going to be.

Two play problems:

You reach a so-so 4Heart-small contract from the West seat. (It matters not who is declarer because they lead a trump.) No interference bidding.

Board 9
North Deals
E-W Vul
   
Q 6 5
10 8 7 6 5 4
J 5 2
7
 
N
W   E
S
 
K 9 8 2
A K Q
A 10 9 6
K 10

 

Trumps break 3-1 with North throwing two little clubs. Plan the play from trick 4 onwards.

You reach 6Spade-small as East with the following (again no interference bidding).

Board 14
East Deals
None Vul
   
A 10 9 8 3
J 10 5 4 2
A Q
2
 
N
W   E
S
 
K 6 2
A K
J 8 3
A Q 9 6 4

 

South leads Diamond-small10. What do you do?(Answers in a minute or two...)

Rough, Slough and Down You Go

The Bridge Blacks scored a narrow but good win over second placed Singapore yesterday. The following board produced 9 so valuable imps for New Zealand when it looked as though 7 would be going the other way.

Board 20
West Deals
Both Vul
A Q J 8
Q 8 7 5 3
A 3
K 5
K 2
K J 10
K Q J 2
A J 6 4
 
N
W   E
S
 
9 7 5 3
4
10 8 7 6 4
10 9 3
 
10 6 4
A 9 6 2
9 5
Q 8 7 2
West North East South
  GeO Tislevoll   Michael Ware
1  Pass 1  Pass
1 NT All pass    

Under their methods, GeO Tislevoll was too strong to call over West’s Precision Club opening and then elected not to take action over the 17-20 1NT rebid. Normally, this would be the best action except that 4Heart-small is a very good contract this time. He led a heart to Michael Ware’s ace with two more rounds of the suit setting up two winners for GeO. Declarer won the third round of hearts to knock out the Diamond-smallA. However, GeO could lead a fourth heart to his partner who had preserved Heart-small9 to regain the lead. GeO's fourth heart was a suit preference Heart-small8 enabling Michael to find the spade switch (a spade had been discarded from dummy on the run of the hearts), the contract going three down as the defence took four tricks in each major and the Diamond-smallA for +300.

However, would 4Heart-small make?  

Ashley Bach (West) who had been in the bidding and who might have been surprised at the final contract, led Diamond-smallK against 4Heart-small. Declarer won and played a heart to the ace and a second heart to Ashley's king with Ashley cashing his Diamond-smallQ and exiting a third round of hearts. Next came Club-smallK, ducked by Ashley and a second club with East, Michael Cornell,winning with his Club-small10. Michael had thrown one club and was left with four spades headed by the 9 and one diamond. Her tried the effect of the diamond, a ruff and discard. If declarer ruffed in hand and discarded a spade from dummy, he could not repeat the spade finesse if Ashley started with Spade-smallKxx. So, he ruffed in hand and under-ruffed in dummy! 

This unusual play backfired when Ashley's king was played on the Spade-small10 enabling Michael's pointless East hand to win the setting trick with his Spade-small9. No matter how little you have, always be aware of a hand's potential!  

One down meant 9 imps to New Zealand.

Changing Course in mid- stream

Meanwhile, on Board 1 against Australia, Whibley – Brown outbid their opponents.

Board 1
North Deals
None Vul
Q 9 6
6 4 3
8 6
A K 6 4 3
K 3
8 7 2
A Q 5 4 2
J 10 9
 
N
W   E
S
 
A 7 2
A K Q 10 9
K J 9 7
2
 
J 10 8 5 4
J 5
10 3
Q 8 7 5
West North East South
Michael Whibley   Matthew Brown  
  Pass 1  Pass
3  Pass 3 NT Pass
4  Pass 4  Pass
4 NT Pass 5  Pass
6  All pass    

 

3Diamond-small was a 3 card game try in hearts, nothing to do with diamonds. 3NT showed a short club with 4Heart-small to play after the diamond cue. However, Michael Whibley bid 4NT, a spade cue-bid since 4Spade-small would have been key card. Matthew cued his Diamond-smallK after which 6Diamond-small was an offer to play. “Why not” thought Matthew?

This cold contract would gain in one of two ways:

  1. when the opponents were in 6Heart-small with a bad trump break. No bad trump break this time.
  2. when the opponents were in game.                                   They were…9 imps to New Zealand.

BEWARE THE Diamond-small10

Especially when held and played by a Japanese player!

That card cost the Bridge Ferns 34 imps in two boards in their match against Japan. We have asked our chef de mission, Derek Evennett, to see if he can reduce the pack to 51 cards or replace this card with a joker for the rest of the tournament!

Back then to the two declarer plays above:

Board 9
North Deals
E-W Vul
10 7 3
J
K Q 7 3

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