District 25 News for January 2006

Grand National Teams

On January 21st and 22nd, District 25 held flighted competitions at Sturbridge, MA to choose New England's representatives for the Grand National Teams at this July's nationals in Chicago. All four flights (Superflight, A, B, and C) were small and tough. The results are complete for flights A and C, with final matches left to determine New England's teams in the Superflight and Flight B. Here's what one Sturbridge Host Hotel playing area looked looked like on Saturday January 21, 2006:

Each competition was different. By popular demand for a one-day event, Flight C was a sixteen-team Swiss on Sunday, scored at victory points with one winner. Aside from being a less true test than a full round-robin, this format fell afoul of a more obscure flaw - it ended in a tie at 107 VP's, with no provision for a playoff. Thus, our district's Flight C team was decided by ACBL tie-breaking procedures.

The thirteen B teams held a Swiss on Saturday, reducing to eight teams for a pure knockout of one-session matches with carryover imps, which leaves the remaining two teams to schedule the last match.

The A's (5000 masterpoints or less) had five entrant teams, a bad number. They played a four-match full round-robin of 14-board matches, reducing to three survivors with carryover, then a three-way reducing to two Sunday afternoon. The winners were determined Sunday evening in a head-to-head match with carryover.

The six superflight teams played a round-robin of five 12-board matches on Saturday, reducing to four teams for 64-board semifinals on Sunday, with the winners to schedule a 64-board final match later.

I will report the B and Superflight winners when they are known. Unfortunately, I'm only qualified to play in the top flight. Unless somebody tells me about them, I receive no news of the bridge for any of the other flights. I intend to remedy this elitist bias in the future, if I can figure out how.

Last year's finalists, Watson-Becher/Braucher-Binder, didn't make the semis. We all missed chances, and here's one of mine. I was playing four hearts with Kxx AK6x Jx 98xx, and a dummy of Axx J97x AQxx QJ after 1D-1H-2H-4H and no opposing bidding. Lloyd Arvedon on my left cashed the king and ace of clubs, Yiji Starr on my right following with the three and seven. Then Lloyd switched to the spade jack. Plan the play.

The best play in trumps is ace and king, and either the heart queen must drop or the diamond finesse must win or you go down. The trouble is you might go down anyway if you don't find the ten of clubs, assuming it can be found. Or perhaps not - there's a possible crossruff. Thinking I might need a late hand entry, I took dummy's SA, then HA, DJ (Lloyd covered with the DK) to DA, HK (all follow, no queen), club nine (small on my left). Quite aside from having no clue about the club ten, I may not need a club winner, for example if Lloyd is 2344, 3343, etc. So, club ruff, DQ, diamond ruff, club ruff, diamond ruff. But alas, the SK didn't live, as Lloyd held J Q10x K109xx AK10x. Not only would the club ruffing finesse have worked, but I could not have gone down if I had won the third trick with my own spade king instead of dummy's spade ace (try it - as long as you lead a spade toward dummy's ace, Lloyd is helpless whether he ruffs or not. You don't need to find the club ten.)

A member of the other eliminated team, Marcus-Gabay/Applebaum-Streisand, gives the following defensive problem. You open 1C with J9x x K6xx AKJxx, pass on your left, 1S by partner, 2H on your right. You double, conventionally showing three spades. Lefty bids 3H, partner 3S, righty 4H, and all pass. You lead the CK, dummy puts down Qx J10x AQ97x 10xx, and you cash the CA with partner's carding indicating that it is he who holds the club queen.

I sympathize with the unsuccessful spade shift made by a Marcus team member. It seems too likely to me that declarer will pitch spade losers on diamonds, and partner may not be able to shift effectively if he gets in with a trump. The spade shift was fatal, however, for declarer held A10x A9xxxx Jx xx and partner held Kxxxx KQx 108 Qxx. Of course, declarer played low from dummy at trick three.

Double-dummy, a third club isn't quite good enough, as declarer can ruff and lead a heart to the ten. Partner has to return a red suit, but declarer wins cheaply in dummy, picks up hearts, and can pull off a pointed-suit squeeze and pin the spade jack. However, a diamond shift and another diamond by partner when he gets in with his trump trick, dooms the game. In real life, just staying off spades is likely to defeat the contract.

I wasn't there Sunday, but if I had been, I would have chosen the Aquino-DeMartino matchup as the more entertaining 64-board semi to watch. Aquino (Miller, Rasmussen, Fontaine, Nussbaum) held only a six imp carryover against DeMartino (Brod, Earl, McDevitt, Becker, Rothenberg), and since both teams featured more and swingier players, it rated to be desperately close. Close it proved to be until late in the fourth quarter when several swings led to a decisive result.

Suppose you held AKxxx AJxxx xx A. Partner opens 1D and raises your 1S to 2S. The DeMartino team's player bid 6S, giving the defenders no information. Pam Miller elected to do some investigating: 1D-1S-2S-4NT-5C-5D-6C-6D-6H-7S. Jim told Pam he had the DA, SQ, CK, and "something good in hearts". No skrinking violet, she contracted for all the tricks and bought something like QJxx K Axxx Kxxx. The grand made (trumps 2-2, hearts 4-3). 13 imps to Aquino and well done Pam and Jim.

Meanwhile at the other table, Aquino found himself on opening lead against some close contracts. Those who know Mark will recognize that this is often a decisive condition! What would you lead from Kxxx Qxx Ax Q109x, after a weak 2D on your right, 2S on your left, 3C on your right, and a final 3D on your left ? Mark led the heart queen, hitting K9x in dummy and AJ10x with partner, for 4 imps more. Again, what would you lead from 10x 108xx 987x 1098, after 1S on your left, a forcing 1NT on your right, 2S on your left, 3NT on your right ? Mark found the killer, a low heart, for a game swing. The Aquino team eventually won by about 30.

Doub-Merblum/Stiefel-King played Starr-Arvedon/Hunter-Muckerjee in the other semifinal - two four-handed teams of strong regular partnerships. Despite Yigi Starr's teammates being three of New England's only seven ACBL grand masters, her team was surely the underdog in this one. Doub was last year's winner, the team to beat in many recent District 25 tournaments. They held a carryover of more than 30 imps, and were in superb form, winning all ten halves in their round-robin matches in this tough event. There was every reason to expect a decisive win.

............Arvedon
............S-Q
............H-Kxx
............D-Jxxx
............C-Axxxx
Merblum...............Doub
S-Jxxxxxx................S-A109x
H-xx.......................H-QJxx
D-x.........................D-K109x
C-10xx....................C-J
............Starr
............S-K
............H-A10xx
............D-AQxx
............C-KQxx

The difference between plus and minus 100 barely mattered however, because at the other table Doug Doub opened the East cards 2D, showing an unknown three-suiter with 11-15 points. Yigi tried 2NT, which Lloyd raised to 3NT. Frank Merblum considered his lead. Surely, Doug's short suit was spades. So Frank led a club, and Yigi took the diamond finesse to win 12 imps.

On the very next hand Yigi had to play 4S on a diamond lead after she opened an off-shape 1NT with Kx AQxx Ax Kxxxx, and Lloyd bid a Texas transfer 4H with A10xxxx xx KJxx x.

She won dummy's DJ and led a club to CK and CA. On Merblum's high diamond return, Doug elected not to ruff, pitching a heart. Sensing a spade stack on her right, Yigi played the hand with superb table presence : DA, club ruff, D ruffed, club ruff, SK, club ruff (Doub had four clubs), HA (no finesse), good club to pitch dummy's heart. Right! Doug, who had started with QJ9x of spades was down to S-QJ and a heart, but dummy held S-A10 and DK and had to score two more tricks. Assuming the HK was offside, East's defense wasn't best. If he ruffs and plays a heart at every opportunity, he defeats 4S even if Yigi guesses the club ace is offside tripleton and withholds her king. However that defense is no lock as East might be ruffing the air with declarer holding the heart AK all along, or no fifth club. The offshape notrump was deceptive. Anyway 4S was down two at the other table, and +620 was worth 13 Imps. The carryover was nearly wiped out after a handful of boards, and the Starr team went on to win the match proper by over 70 Imps and garner the other spot in the final going away.

Unlike our large regional pair games, the GNT field was male dominated, and even more male in the tougher flights. At one point in the Superflight, Shome Muckerjee moved to a table and found that a previous occupant had left a feminine handbag. There were only three possibilities, because only three of twenty seven superflight contestants were female! So it's good to see that District 25's superflight finalists have members who are women. The Starr v. Aquino match should be interesting. Stay tuned.

Other News

Our next New England regional will be the six-day Knockout Regional held in Cromwell, CT on February 15-20, 2006. This is a great event, often drawing luminaries from other districts. You won't regret attending as much of Cromwell as you can.

The webmaster solicits New England bridge-related written matter of suitable quality for posting. District 25 web site material is volunteer only, but you'll see your name in lights. Short is best.

Attaboys and Attagirls

Congratulations to New England players who achieved milestones , moving up in rank during January 2006.

Previous congrats:
December 2005
November 2005
October 2005
September 2005

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