Notts v Worcestershire - 18^th May 2008

The first match of 2008/2009 was at home to Worcestershire.

The Teams:

Dawes - John and Irene Auld; Sandy Fulton and William Crook; Clive Kaye and Frank Ball; Gordon Fullerton and Lloyd Eagling.
Porter - Ellin Overton and Evelyn Grainger; Mike and Daphne Coggles; Steve Mulligan and Gerry Franklin; Geoff Topol and Robin Fisher.
Markham - Sally Cook and Bernard Moore; Phil Dale and Ray Furlonger; Sylvia Goodlud and Nick Clark; Janet Jacques and Will Irving.

Younger bridge players (if there are any) may not remember Iain McLeod’s famous book ‘Bridge is an Easy Game’. A good book but a strange title - ‘Bridge is Impossibly Difficult’ is nearer the mark in my opinion.

Board 11 illustrates the point:

No Vul - Dealer South

Typically West opened 1NT and North bid 4♠. Willy Crook did not expect eleven tricks to be easier than four so he doubled.
A club lead or ace of hearts and club switch gets 300 but that is too difficult. Ace of hearts and a spade looks plausible but fails, as did the actual diamond lead - minus 590.

The spade game made three times in the Dawes match. At the fourth table when I overcalled 4♠ Worcestershire’s Mike Willoughby did not hesitate to bid 5♥, which I doubled.
In an auction where I cannot have a lot of defence this alerts partner to unusual possibilities. Irene duly led the Jack of clubs for me to ruff. All I have to do now is underlead my top spades to get another ruff. Too difficult for me but teammates helpfully pointed out that the high club lead suggested a spade entry.

If we were unlucky on board 11, Worcestershire might claim the same on 19:

E/W Vul - Dealer South

After 1♦ from South, West overcalled 1♥ and opinion differed on Norths action or inaction.
When I sat East, my opponent made a trap pass. I do not at all subscribe to the idea of penalising 1♥ so agree with Gordon Fullerton’s opponent who bid 1NT. However, when Lloyd Eagling raised Gordon to 2♥ with the East hand North succumbed to temptation and doubled. To beat this you must lead trumps - difficult but not impossibly difficult.
On the actual diamond lead South was on the spot and switched to a club. Gordon got that right playing South for the king, and enjoyed himself cross-ruffing diamonds and spades to make nine tricks and plus 870.

At my table when North trap passed I introduced spades and eventually tried 4♥. Now when North doubled I woke up to the situation and decided to inflict 4♠ on my long-suffering partner. I made nine tricks and would like to say that the absurdity of my bidding was only matched by the brilliance of my play - but I think the defence would take a share of the credit.

Despite that triumph Notts lost the Dawes match 6-14. We also lost the Porter by 0-20 but won the Markham by 12-8, so congratulations to the third team who got their season off to the right start.

Match Report by John Auld