Philadelphia is nirvana for bridge junkies

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The ACBL Summer Nationals starts this week in Philadelphia and promises to be a real feast of bridge for those who make the trip. There are games on at all hours and for all levels of player and the Nationals are really bridge junkie heaven.

At the same time the event hosts all the major teams and pairs events and my guess is that 40 of the top 50 players in America will be there together with a host of ranking internationals.

A number of pairs are making the trip from Bermuda and I’ll bring you news of any notable performances. Many years ago a Summer Nationals in Boston had fond memories for me on the same day I won the North American Individual, turned 33, and became a Life Master. The Bulletin called it The Bermuda Triangle.

I am travelling at the time of writing this column so the hand is short and sweet. The hand came up on OK Bridge in a pairs game and was a lot of fun, and hugely interesting and instructional in the play.

S KQJ

H KQJ5

D A62

C 753

S- A1095 S- 63

H -95 H - 43

D J105 D KQ9873

C- AQJ8 C - 1064

S 8742

H- A10872

D 4

C K92

West opened one club after which North had a fairly uncomfortable takeout double on that flat hand but things looked up when South bid two hearts showing a hand with values. North raised very aggressively to three hearts and South now had an easy raise to game.

West led the diamond jack and the hand was a fairly open book. If East had the diamond king and queen that left only 12 points so West probably had them all including the club ace, so things did not look great.

Declarer won, ruffed a diamond and drew two rounds of trumps, another diamond ruff and now played a spade. West won the ace and played another spade and now declarer played it well. He won the spade, cashed the third spade, came to hand with the last trump and played the eight of spades.

When East played the 10 declarer let him hold the trick, discarding a club from dummy.

West was now end-played with only clubs left in his hand and had to give declarer a trick with the king. Ten tricks in the shape of four trump tricks in dummy, two spades, two diamond ruffs, the diamond ace and the club king.

Well played.

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