Staffordshire v Notts - 10^th May 2009

It happened again! Just as in September 2008, the NCBA teams won all three matches - this time against Staffordshire at the Staffs Showground. This is getting to be a habit.

The Teams:

Dawes - John & Irene Auld; Keith Rodgers & Lloyd Eagling; Sandy Fulton & Steve Mulligan; Frank Ball & Gordon Fullerton.
Porter - Ellen Overton & Martin Mellor; Graham Brindley & Graham Lee; Mike & Daphne Coggles; Janet Jacques & Will Irving.
Markham - Sally Cook & Bernard Moore; Barbara Hatfield & Chris Clarke; Sylvia Goodlud & Nick Clark; Stan Kujinski & Richard Kowalski.

The Dawes team comprised a regular quartet of Keith Rodgers & Lloyd Eagling with the Aulds, supported by scratch pairings of Frank Ball & Gordon Fullerton plus Sandy Fulton & Steve Mulligan. As usual the irregulars comprehensively outscored us.

Steve Mulligan announced his arrival with a bang on his first board, number 5:

N/S Vul - Dealer North

Steve eschewed the popular bid of 3NT in favour of some fourth suit science. Sandy, in uncharted territory, kept it simple with a jump to 3♦. Steve now also kept it simple with a jump to 6♦.

This was not exactly laydown but it is a contract good players like to be in because if you can read the hands there is probably a way to succeed. So it proved - East led a club and Sandy played the 9 fetching the K and subsequently drew trumps noting Easts shortage. He played East for length in the other suits and aided by finessing the J of clubs, in effect squeezed East in the majors. This proved unnecessary because the Q of spades fell in 2 rounds, but well played anyway.

Noticing my write up of David Burgess’s triple squeeze in the Warks match, Sandy explained his play as a sort of non-simultaneous show up double squeeze or something. Nice try but sorry no brilliancy prize.

Nor was there a prize for me on Board 6, but this small partscore hand is an example of what makes bridge interesting:

E/W Vul - Dealer East

I played the Ace on South’s singleton diamond lead and ducked a club. Now came a heart which I won to play Ace and ruff a club. I played Q of spades from dummy won by South, who played another spade which I ruffed. This left:

At this point, North has 3 diamond winners and South 2 trump winners. That seems plenty - but all they can make between them is 3 more. After cashing a heart I exited with a diamond and waited. North played a club on which I discarded a diamond and so on until South had to ruff and lead a heart to my hand. Not difficult but slightly more satisfying if clubs had been 5-3 rather than 4-4.

All three NCBA teams took handy leads into the second set which saw South hold the rockcrusher of the day - if not of the year - on Board 12:

N/S Vul - Dealer West

I have noticed a strange tendency amongst good bridge players - give them a weak distributional hand and they cant stop bidding: they pre-empt,they psyche, double whatever - but give them a nice big hand to develop constructively and suddenly they are tongue-tied.

On this deal - third in hand at favourable vulnerability - the East players salivated before producing one bids, or weak two bids, or weak threes. Except that is for yours truly. I wanted to bid diamonds for the lead, but spades were the best chance of winning the contract or at least bullying the opponents. In consequence I did my impersonation of Buridans Ass who as everyone knows felt unable to choose between two equally tasty bales of hay and died of indecision. I did not die but I did pass. My hope was to make a two suited intervention later, but on reflection opening 2♦ and suggesting spades in due course might be best. The auction continued:

South could not be sure about the hearts and settled for 6NT. Perhaps he should bid 3♥ not clubs?
Funnily enough those Souths who faced a pre-empt were better placed - they could double and keep doubling until partner bids hearts. Roman Key Card Blackwood or 5NT should now find 7♥ or 7NT.

As it was, half the declarers wimpishly bid a small slam and the other half bid...3NT (not a misprint!). I have agreed under duress not to report any further details - they know where I live.

Results can always be better but Captain Eagling was happy to settle for 16-4, 15-5 and 12-8. Well played everybody.

Match Report by John Auld