The Favourites Win - 27^th January 2008

Just eight teams entered the Notts Teams of Four Championship with four to qualify for the semi finals.

When I spoke to events organiser Graham Brindley he forecast that the qualifiers would be the Favourites, the Holders, the Leicestershire team, and the Burgess Team - much as in previous years. He was almost correct.

None Vul - Dealer East

Irene and I did not help the Holders cause on this hand against the Favourites:

We overbid horribly to the hopeless 6♥. Rob Sharpe and Willie Crook overbid less horribly to 5♥ - but Willie made short work of that, eliminating spades and exiting in diamonds to endplay South.

E/W Vul - Dealer North

Then against David Burgess we did not do well on this deal.

North opened 1♣, I overcalled 1♥, South bid 2♣ and partner 4♥.
How to play this on a club lead? I did what anyone would do - try the J of clubs, then draw trumps and finesse diamonds. David pitched the Ace of spades on the second trump and his partner led spades on winning the diamond.

There are two things wrong with my plan. Firstly I should not let David signal a spade - so I should draw one or no rounds of trumps. Granted South should still lead spades but why make it easy?
Secondly I should play Ace of clubs at trick one. Now South may well continue clubs even if this is still a mistake. Of course I would look foolish if South had Q of clubs and K of diamonds but how likely is that?

At half time the Leicester team had a big lead over the Favourites. David Burgess was third and we were a poor fourth. So the prediction was holding.
Then in the second half the Favourites surged ahead of Leicester with us third. The David Burgess team slipped back to fifth, just behind Joan Burgess and her team - the Graham Brindley prediction sort of held.

Congratulations to the qualifiers and commiserations to David’s team who lost regular team member Gordon Fullerton due to illness. Many thanks to David and Joan who managed the Duplimate and Bridgemates as well as playing.

John Auld