Not a lot going on at the Club ahead of the Mixed Pairs event which will be held all day on Saturday, April 21, with the first session starting at 9.30am and the second session immediately after a lunch break- full results in the column the Saturday after.

The recent Senior-Junior Team game seemed to attract a good turnout and recent Junior Pairs winners Sharon Shanahan & Claude Guay teamed up with Gertie Barker & Jane King to finish first in the event.

Teams bridge is very different from Pairs bridge, and is a much purer version of the game with much less randomness in the results, and it is good that players are being exposed to this form of the game on a more regular basis.

It is, however, hard to get out of the ‘Pairs’ mentality and players really need to work on that if they are going to benefit from this practice.

This week’s hand is not that easy but is a great example of thinking at trick one and making a plan … and then thinking again.

Dealer North, Both Vul

North opened a strong 2 Clubs, South bid 2NT showing 8-10 and North made a quantitative raise to 4NT asking partner to bid 6NT if he had a maximum.

South fancied his nine points and bid 6NT.

Before I get to the play of the hand let me give you a bidding tip here …. when partner ever makes a quantitative raise to 4NT you have a choice — accept or reject.

If you reject you simply pass — if you decide to accept, however, I suggest you do so by answering for Aces.

This avoids you getting to those 32 HCP slams where the only points you are missing are two Aces.

West led the diamond nine — declarer liked the lead as it gave him four diamond tricks and won East’s jack with his Ace — it all now looked really easy until declarer led a club to the King and East showed out.

There was now no way back as declarer had only one more entry to his hand to lead clubs again. After a bit of navel gazing declarer claimed 11 tricks for one down, cursing his bad luck in the process.

Partner, North, however was having none of it — You made the mistake at trick one.

You don’t need 4 diamond tricks but you need the clubs to come in.

If clubs are 2-2 or 3-1 you are fine, and if East had A1096 you are dead, but if West has A1096 you can do something about it.

Win the diamond in dummy and play the Club King — now when East shows out you are in control. West wins the Ace and leads a heart which you win, lead a diamond to the Ace and play the club 8 — West has to cover but you win the jack, come to the Spade king and play your last club finessing West’s 10 — contract made with 5 clubs, 5 red suit winners and two spades.

So don’t curse your luck, curse your skill. Don’t you just love those gentle, caring, supportive partners?

RESULTS

North/South

1. Dorry Lusher/ Bea Williams

2. Michael Antar/ Marylynn Simmons

3. Gertie Barker/ Marsha Fraser

East/West

1. Elizabeth McKee/ Stephanie Kyme

2. Ed Betteto/Charles Hall

3. Mollie Taussig/ Diana Diel

Monday evening (April 9)

1. Alan Douglas/Jane Smith

2. Margaret Way/ Harry Kast

Tuesday evening (April 10)

North/South

1. Daina Downs/ Sarah Lorimer-Turner

2. Charles Griffith/ Tim Mardon

East/West

1. Katyna Rabain/ Loiuse Payne

2. Mark Stevens/ Malcolm Moseley

Wednesday morning (April 11)

North/South

1. Mollie Taussig/ Sheena Rayner

2. Lynanne Bolton/ Greta Marshall

3. Louise Roger/ Elizabeth McKee

East/West

1. Gertie Barker/ Jane Smith

2. Julia Patton/ Dorry Lusher

3. Christine Lloyd-Jennings/ Peter Donnellan

Thursday evening (April 5) teams

1. Gertie Barker/ Jane Smith/ Claude Guay/ Sharon Shanahan

2. Charles Hall/ Lynanne Bolton/ Diana Downs/ Sarah Lorimer-Turner

3. Marylynn Simmons/Richard Simmons/ Elaine Stevens/ Ian Hilton

Friday afternoon (April 6)

North/South

1. Alan Douglas/ Jane Smith

2. Lyn O’Neil/ Dorry Lusher

East/West

1. Ed Betteto/ Marge Way

2. Jo Wakefield/ Diana Diel