By the time this column appears the 2016 Bridge Regional will be in the history books, and Kathy Keane and her committee of Katrina Van Pelt, Judy Bussell, John Glynn, Marsha Fraser, Lorna Anderson, Sheena Rayner and Donna Leitch produced another excellent event.

Once we got past the inclement weather of the first two days, and the resulting flight delays and cancellations, the event went into cruise control and worked as well as ever.

Add the excellent support work from Sol Weinstein, Charles McCracken and the director team which included our own Jack Rhind, the excellent bulletins from Janet Evans and the presence of Jeff Meckstroth at the event and on my panel shows, and it all added up to a superb week.

The Fairmont Southampton and their ever-friendly and helpful staff kept up their end of the bargain and our visitors would have returned home really happy that they made the trip (full results and roundup in next week’s column).

As we return to the bridge club, some news on a new format for the Tuesday night game. Here is a description of the new format from the club:

“The club is just finishing up a series of lessons for new players with the hope that they will start to play regularly on a Tuesday night.

“After the Regional, the Tuesday night game will be split into two sections — a 0-20 game and a 0-150 game. The object is to get as many people as possible to come and play almost irrespective of their ability.

“In addition to the 20 people who are currently taking lessons we are reaching out to those who had previously taken lessons and for one reason or another not continued playing regularly.

“We are also encouraging some of the more experienced players who may have taken a break from the game to come back and play.

“We are specifically encouraging people to come down without a partner and the Club will guarantee to pair them up with someone at an appropriate level. At the 0-20 game the Club will have some experienced players on hand to act as partners/mentors to novice players.

“At the 0-150 game there will be at least one player in the 20-150 range on hand to play in the event that there are an odd number of people that turn up.”

All sounds good and should encourage a number of new attendees.

This week’s hand is a nice and instructive Declarer-play problem, but also has interest in the bidding:

North

SA7642

H642

D109

CK76

South

S8

HAKJ1087

DAQ

CAQ108

The bidding was interesting — and not good!

East

2S

Pass

Pass

South

3H

4H

6H

West

Pass

Pass

North

3NT

4S

The bidding was pretty awful, especially from South.

I am a big fan of getting your suits mentioned early but South’s three Heart bid is the underbid of the year (should start with a double) and his four Heart bid is not far behind! In between that I am not enamoured with North’s 3NT bid with no spade spots — four Hearts would have been my choice.

North then makes this huge overbid of four Spades (Ace of Spades and heart support) and now even South had to bid six Hearts.

Bad bidding, great spot. Sort of four wrongs making a right.

West led the Spade three, clearly a singleton (as East has shown six with his weak two opening), and the play of the hand is interesting.

Declarer has to assume that all the non-Spade high cards may be with West and play it that way, and she did, proving that a bad bidder can be a good declarer! She won the Spade Ace, Heart to the Ace, Diamond to the King and another low Heart — when East follows the hand is in fact now guaranteed.

North

SA7642

H642

D109

CK76

East

SKQJ1095

H53

D542

C92

South

S8

HAKJ1087

DAQ

CAQ108

West

S3

HQ9

DKJ8763

CJ543

All Declarer has to do now is put in the Heart ten — if it loses West is end played. He has to lead a Club or a Diamond — both give Declarer the hand. On a Diamond lead Declarer ruffs the fourth Club and on a Club lead Declarer can pitch a Diamond from dummy on the fourth Club and ruff a Diamond. Elegant play.

What if the Heart finesse wins? You cash all your Hearts coming down to six cards — West keeps KJ of Diamonds with his Clubs, so you now play four rounds of Clubs and he is end played. Almost a nicer ending.