GOOD NEWS FROM AOTEAROA
Today’s deal came up in New Zealand a couple of days ago during the grand final of the open teams championship in that nation’s annual Congress. It generated more than half of the 24-IMP margin by which the winners, a four-player team comprising James Coutts (NSW) partnering Justin Mill (Vic) and Michael Doecke (SA) partnering Adam Kaplan (USA), won the first of five 12-board sessions. Their respective table opponents were two pairs from an all-NZ six-player team, Malcolm Mayer partnering Michael Ware and Ashley Bach partnering Michael Cornell, whose teammates, Peter Newell and Martin Reid, were their that round’s sit-out pair.
After the diagramed auction, in which Coutts’s double was explained as “showing values” and Mill’s 4NT was no doubt a key-card ask, Mayer led ♠K (asking for count) to 4-9-Q against West’s by-no-means laydown yet, as the NS cards lay, better than merely unbeatable 5♥ contract. A diamond shift would perhaps have increased whatever misgivings declarer initially entertained, but the play continued ♠A-J-6-♥7, ♥8-♠10-♥K-2, ♥5-9-10-♠2, ♣A-Q-4-5, ♣K-J-2-7, after which 12 tricks were claimed.
At the other table Doecke became declarer via Pass-1♥-4♠- Pass- Pass-Pass, after which the play went ♥5-2-A-♠2, ♠A-4-3-Q, ♠K-J-6-♥3, ♣J-6-5-A, ♥8-♣Q-♥K-4, ♦A-7-5-2, ♣2-7-K-♠5, ♠8-♥6-♠9-♥7, ♥Q-10-♦3-♣4, ♥9-J-♠7-♣8, ♦4, At that point 10 tricks were claimed and conceded. The sum, 900, of the two table-scores converted to 14 IMPs.
Save for a low-scoring tie which, but for carry-over, would have been a loss and which, in other jurisdictions, would have been broken in the opposite direction precisely by removal of that carry-over, the Kiwis would have been knocked out in the round-of-16. That Atropos, Klotho and Lachesis at last turned against them in the in the grand final accordingly feels all the more appropriate. They lost all but one of the five sessions and were convincingly defeated by 44 IMPs (158-114). The gold medals accordingly went to Coutts, Doecke, Kaplan and Mill.
Visit nzbridge.co.nz for lots more about the Congress including links to detailed results, Stephen Lester’s not-quite-daily bulletins and bridgebase.com card-by-card coverage of the grand final.
An imminent major Congress in Australia, the 2023 Sydney Spring Nationals, will be staged at the Canterbury Racecourse from 18 to 25 October. Visit myabf.com.au/events/congress/view/638 for full details and a link to an informative brochure.
Readers who are members of the Canberra Bridge Club (canberrabridgeclub.com.au) may or may not need to be reminded that the starting time of its annual general meeting is 5.30pm next Thursday. The club’s weekly newsletter which is accessible by all, members and non-members alike, is well worth reading.
Another recommendable such url is nswba.com.au/enews where much information can be found about past and present week-enders within acceptable driving distance of the ACT. Most of these invariably attract a significant number of Canberra entrants some of whom are usually among the prize-winners.