BEFORE I get to the hand this week, let me bring you an important announcement from the Bridge Club in relation to the Wednesday night game.The announcement reads: “At its meeting this week, the Bridge Club Committee decided to lower the maximum points qualification for the Wednesday night game.

“With effect from June 1, 2006, only those with less than 150 Masterpoints at the time of the game are eligible to play on Wednesday nights. This limit will further reduce to 100 Masterpoints with effect from January 1, 2007.

“The limit was raised from 100 to 300 when numbers on Wednesday nights were dwindling. With the recent lessons and further lessons planned in the fall, the committee thought it appropriate to revert to the level of 100 points, with a transitional reduction to 150.”

This week’s hand needs a little more thought than the usual ones in this column but it is worth the effort because it is a thing of beauty. The defence prevailed because both of them saw the only hope on the hand and then Nicola Smith in the East seat was brilliant enough to play West for the one card that would help — and it happened to be the seven of trumps!!

The hand came up in the Mixed Pairs Championship for the Portland Cup and Nicola was East and David Burn was West. It was first reported by Maureen Hiron in The Independent <$>last month.

Dealer South. Neither Vulnerable.North

[spade]K 9

[heart]J 10 9 6

[diamond]A K 8 7

[club]Q 10 6

West East

[spade]10 6 5 2 [spade]7 4 3

[heart]7 3 [heart]A Q 8

[diamond]J 9 6 5 [diamond]10 2

[club]A K 3 [club]J 9 8 5 2

South

[spade]A Q J 8

[heart]K 5 4 2

[diamond]Q 4 3

[club]7 4South opened with one no trump (12-14), North applied Stayman, and over South’s two-hearts reply, jumped to four hearts.

David Burn led the ace then king of clubs, and with no obvious switch presenting itself, continued with a third club to dummy’s queen. This club continuation proved essential. The trumps appear to be favourably placed for declarer, but Nicola Smith had other ideas about that.

At trick four, declarer led the jack of hearts from dummy and Smith rose with the ace. On the bidding, Burn was marked with no more than one further point. However, there was one card that West might hold, which would load to the defeat of the contract — namely the seven of hearts.

A club continuation, giving a ruff and discard, would be of no benefit to declarer, and this is what Smith chose. She was delighted to see Burn ruffing with the heart seven. Dummy over-ruffed with the nine, but with Smith’s queen-eight of hearts, sitting over North’s ten-six, the defenders had negotiated the extra trump trick that would set the contract.

A really wonderful defence and this hand played a big part in helping Burn-Smith finish second nation-wide.

LATEST RESULTS

Granaway Bridge Club

Flight A, N/S, April 26: 1. David Cordon-Julia Lunn, 2. Jean Bath-Charles Hall, 3. Gwen Christensen-Joan Sims. E/W: 1. Michael Bickley-Dot Peniston, 2. Rachel Gosling-Elizabeth McKee, 3. Ann Proctor-Sandra Cordon.

Flight B, N/S: 1. Christensen-Sims, 2. Bea Williams-Mary Arton, 3. Tony and Dot Buckley. E/W: 1. Proctor-Cordon, 2. Anelise Scheland-eather Woolf, 3. Gordon Bussell-Richard Meredith.

Bermuda Bridge Club

Monday morning, May 1<$>: 1. Wendy Gray-Richard Gray, 2. Betty Outerbridge-Aida Bostelmann, 3. Louise Rodger-Nea Willits.

Monday evening, N/S: 1. Joseph Wakefield-Stephan Juliusburger, 2. Alan Douglas-Barry Rahman, 3. Charles Pearman-Janice Trott. E/W: 1. David Cordon-Julia Lunn, 2. Audrey Smith-Lyn O’Neill, 3. Diana Diel-Nea Willits.

Wednesday afternoon: 1. Kevin Comeau-Margaret Way, 2. Pat Siddle-Vivian Siddle, 3. Anne Edwards-Aida Bostelmann.

Wednesday evening, N/S<$>: 1. Geoff Bell-Kath Bell, 2. Gordon Bussell-Jim Leitch, 3. Heather Woolf-Alice Palmer. E/W: 1. Penny Cooke-Trish Moody, 2. Charles Pearman-Ernest Paynter, 3. jt. Peter Jones-Maria Wakely and Dee Griffiths-Annabella Fraser.

Friday, N/S: 1. David Sykes-Sally Sykes, 2. Gordon Bussell-John Hoskins, 3. Tony Saunders-Charles Gambrill. E/W: 1. Vera Petty-Roman Smolski, 2. Craig Hutton-Rachael Gosling, 3. Michael Bickley-Lyn O’Neill.