The Fall tournament season is now over at the Bridge Club and the only prizes still to be decided ahead of the prize giving at the Christmas Party on December 10 are the POTY (Player of the Year) prizes in the various divisions.

Some are already decided but there are a couple that can go down to the wire.

Full results when they are all over.

I picked up this hand the other night and I had to choose between greed and extreme greed in the play of the hand!

North

Spades 1043

Hearts AJ9

Diamonds Q1043

Clubs 873

South

S AKQ

H K10632

D J72

C K9

Sitting South I opened a Heart, partner bid a forcing NT, I rebid 2 Clubs showing a balanced hand and partner signed off in two Hearts, which usually shows either a doubleton Heart or three card Heart support without any ruffing values, which was what the North hand was.

West led the Ace of Diamonds and on looking at dummy decided to cash the King of Diamonds and play a third one which I won with the Queen.

Since West hadn’t bid, the Club Ace was almost certainly with East so at trick four I led a low Club to my King, which held. This was now the position:

North

S 1043

H AJ9

D 10

C 87

South

S AKQ

H K10632

D None

C 9

I could play the King of Hearts and a Heart to the Jack and if this held and West had started with Qxx of Hearts I could actually make 11 tricks — 5 Hearts, two Diamonds, three Spades and a Club! That would be lucky (and greedy). If the Heart was wrong the defence would cash their Club and hold me to nine tricks, giving up the great start I had by West’s opening Diamond play!

So I decided to take what I had been given and cashed the Heart King and played a heart to the Ace.

When the Queen didn’t fall I played the 13 Diamond pitching a Club and all the defence would now get was the Heart Queen …the full hand:

North

S 1043

H AJ9

D Q1043

C 873

East

S J96

H Q54

D 965

C A1042

South

S AKQ

H K10632

D J72

C K9

Westh

S 8752

H 87

D AK8

C QJ65

Ten tricks scored 9 per cent on the board — another simple example of settling for birdie instead of putting the eagle try six feet past and missing the return putt — if you know what I mean!