So we are nearly there! As the New Year arrives thoughts immediately turn to the Bermuda Regional that starts with the Charity Game on Saturday, January 24, and concludes with the Prizegiving Banquet on Friday, January 30.

Chairperson Kathy Keane and her team are hard at work to make sure we get another great event so get those partners sorted out!

The Bulletin will once again be produced by the excellent Janet Evans and is something to look forward to. Janet usually puts a couple of my early New Year columns in the Bulletin so here is a two-for-one special!

The theme today is “let them win the battles so that you can win the war!”

Here is hand one.

Dealer South E/W Vulnerable

S 642

H 82

D 54

C AQ10653

S KQ3

H AKQ

D AK87

C J87

You are in 3NT after opening 2NT and partner raising to game. West leads the 7 of Spades and East plays the Jack. You win this and hopefully play the Club Jack and run it — East wins the King, the defence takes four Spades and you are down one!

The full hand:

S 642

H 82

D 54

C AQ10653

S A10875 S J9

H 7643 H J1095

D Q93 D J1062

C 2 C K94

S KQ3

H AKQ

D AK87

C J87

Let’s rewind to trick one — let East win the Spade Jack! The defence is now dead ……East can continue Spades but later on will have no Spades left when you take the losing club finesse — if he started with three Spades and West was clever enough to duck the second it would mean that West started with four Spades and the defence can only take three Spades to go along with their Club.

It is a basic hold-up play that many players would execute if their Spades were Axx but few will get it right with this holding. Okay, on to hand two….quite similar looking but very different….but the theme is the same!

Dealer South E/W Vulnerable

S 642

H 82

D 54

C AQ10653

S KJ3

H AKQ

D AK87

C 987

You are once again in 3NT and lead is once again the Spade seven….East plays the 10 and this time you cannot hold up as another Spade through will see you one down immediately — so you win and look for something good to happen in Clubs and this time you do not hold the Club Jack. And something good does happen — you play the nine of Clubs and West plays the King! Overjoyed, you grab this with the Ace and……..go one down! There is now no way to make the contract against good defence, try it. The full hand:

S 642

H 82

D 54

C AQ10653

S AQ975 S 108

H 7643 H J1095

D Q93 D J1062

C K C J42

S KJ3

H AKQ

D AK87

C J87

The answer? Let them win! Allow West to win the Club King.

The defence is now helpless and cannot stop you making 11 tricks as all the Clubs are now good!

So, both these situations had a few things in common……being patient, letting them win a trick early so that you can win a lot of them late and — the need to keep thinking at this game!