District 25 News for February 2007

Buzz from the Grand National Teams

District 25 Grand National Teams finals were held January 20-21, 2007 in Sturbridge, MA. As usual, the field was divided into four flights, and the winners in each flight would earn a trip to the Summer Nationals, which this year will be held in Nashville, TN.

Flight C chose its team with a Swiss Teams. The other three flights produced two teams in Sturbridge, with finals still to play. Flight B used a Swiss qualifier, to pick eight teams for a three-round knockout stage with no carryovers. The Open Flight and the less-than-5000-masterpoints Flight A each drew seven teams. They played full round robins of six ten-board matches to reduce to four teams for knockouts with carryovers. The team with the most victory points would choose its semifinal opponent. Not surprisingly, both leaders chose teams they led by over 40 Imps, and these two matches were never close or worth watching, as the desperate trailing teams tried to play out of the rough. Personally, I like the fairness of round robins, but I think carryovers are silly.

The carryovers in the other matches were less severe. Last year I reported the open and B flights, so this year I decided to watch the Flight A semifinal where Benjamin (Benjamin-Nyman, Apitz-Dilbert) led Gorsey (Gorsey-Montague, Polay-Weinstein) by a modest 23 Imp carryover.

These days, when I ask, "Do you mind if I watch?" some players say, "Yes, we mind very much!" They know I write these news columns. They fear printed criticism. Please, all you players! How can the world ever know of your many brilliancies if they go unsung? Does a declarer who takes only eight tricks in 3NT really go down if nobody watches? And isn't it better, if you make one of your rare errors, for all of District 25 to ponder what they would have done in your shoes?

This time the players let me watch, but with a wrinkle: some requested anonymity. Therefore, I'll only use the team names. "The Benjamin declarer," or "the Gorsey opening bidder" will do well or badly. I can do this, but not contingently. That is, I can't honor a request to tell it like it is, "except please don't tell the world how we let declarer crash our ace-king of trumps on the same trick." Sorry, either you're you, or you're not.

This match interested me because of the contrast in style. The Benjamin players are relatively cautious and try not to make mistakes. The Gorsey players are all agressors who come after you. At first, I thought I'd picked poorly, because only four Imps were scored in the first eight boards of the 64 board match, all by the Gorsey team. The next eight deals, however, were a burst of action:

....................North
....................S-xx
.West...........H-AK10xx.....East
.S-10x.........D-Axxx...........S-AJxx
.H-Qxxx......C-xx...............H-Jx
.D-J9xx..............................D-Q10
.C-AKJ.......South..............C-Q8xxx
....................S-KQxxx
....................H-xx
....................D-Kxx
....................C-109x

The Benjamin North-South scored +90. At the table I watched, the Gorsey South opened 1S in third seat, and passed North's semi-forcing notrump. Although vulnerable, the Benjamin West reopened with a double, East bid 2C, passed back to the Gorsey North, who doubled. All passed, and South led a heart against 2C doubled. North does best to win and put a spade through, but I'm not sure 2C can be beaten on best play all around. In practice, the Gorsey North played three rounds of hearts, Declarer pitching the D10 while South ruffed. DA, fourth heart. Declarer can get home by ruffing high, drawing trumps in two rounds ending in dummy, and passing the S10 to endplay South. However, the Benjamin declarer ruffed with the eight, overruffed, won the trump return, and passed the spade ten to the queen. Endplayed, the Gorsey South underled the DK, and the Benjamin declarer didn't put up the D9, thus going down 2. 500 and 9 Imps to Gorsey.

..West...............East
.S-AKx...........S-QJxxxx
.H-AKx..........H-Jx
.D-x................D-Axx
.C-Axxxxx......C-KJ

Neither table found the spade grand slam. Both stopped in six. After a diamond lead, the Gorsey East drew trumps, which broke 4-0, pitching dummy's low heart, then ruffed clubs till they were good, making seven despite awful splits. The Benjamin declarer embarked on an ill-advised crossruff and wound up going down.

The deluge continued. A Benjamin declarer went down 3 where the Gorsey declarer went down 1. The Gorsey North-South made a game defeated at the other table. The Gorsey East-West bid a bad slam that was misdefended and made. The first quarter score ended up 56-4, and the match had a new leader, Gorsey +29.

Early in the second quarter, the vulnerable Norths had to decide whether to go quietly with S-9x H-J10x D-KJ10xxx C-Ax after a strong notrump was passed to them. Staying on form, the Benjamin North passed for -120, while the Gorsey player balanced for +110 and six imps more. Was the match over?

.....................North
.....................S-AK10xx
.West............H-Q9xx.........East
.S-................D-xxx.............S-Jxxx
.H-A10xxxx..C-10..............H-x
.D-xx...................................D-AKQx
.C-AQ9xx....South..............C-Jxxx
.....................S-Q9xx
.....................H-KJ
.....................D-Jxxx
.....................C-K8x

With perfect declarer play, I think 5C can be made. The Gorsey East-West bid six clubs, which might make on a good day, but went down two on this lie of cards, for 100. At my table the Benjamin West opened a fourth seat weak two in hearts. The vulnerable Gorsey North boldly overcalled 2S, passed back to West, who bid 3C. After two passes, the Gorsey South bid three spades with two kings in the slot opposite a passed hand, dangling 500 in front of non-vul opponents. But East merely bid 4C, and the Benjamin West made this easily for 130 and six imps to Benjamin.

Now the luck suddenly turned.

..West...............East
.S-xxxx.............S-Ax
.H-Ax...............H-KQ10xxxx
.D-AJ9.............D-Kx
.C-Axxx...........C-Kx

I'm not sure if I've remembered all the cards, because at my table the Benjamin East-West bid quickly to six vulnerable hearts and claimed. At the other table the Gorsey players bid seven. The diamond finesse lost. 17 Imps to Benjamin.

.....................North
.....................S-AQJ9xx
.West............H-Ax.............East
.S-Kx............D-xxx............S-10xx
.H-10xx........C-10x............H-KQJxx
.D-Jxx.................................D-Ax
.C-Kxxxx......South.............C-Qxx
.....................S-xx
.....................H-xxx
.....................D-KQxxx
.....................C-AJx

The Gorsey North-South stayed out of an anti-percentage non-vul 4S, which makes today with everything onside. The vulnerable Gorsey East-West bid up to four hearts doubled, -800 and 12 Imps to Benjamin.

.....................North
.....................S-xxxxxx
.West............H-xx.............East
.S-x..............D-xxx.............S-QJ
.H-KQ10xx..C-xx...............H-J9
.D-J10xx.............................D-AKxxx
.C-AQx........South..............C-J10xx
.....................S-AK10x
.....................H-Axxx
.....................D-Q
.....................C-K9xx

The Gorsey East-West settled in a diamond partial, +150. The Benjamin East opened 1D, doubled by the Gorsey South. West bid 1H, and over East's 2C, bid a fourth suit 2S, doubled by the Gorsey North. East: 3D, agonizing. West: 4D, agonizing. East: 5D, agonizing. "Double!" said the Gorsey South, staying in character. +550 and 9 Imps to Benjamin.

The second quarter was a 55-16 rout, and Benjamin was back in the lead at the half, ten imps up.

I didn't see all of the third quarter, because I was called away to sit on a protest committee. On two boards, the Benjamin East-West at my table stopped in close partials, which might have been defeated but weren't. The Gorsey East-Wests bid games that went down several hundred. Gorsey scored seven imps because of a nifty gadget. Holding S-x H-KQxx D-AKxxxx C-xx, after 1D-P-1H-1NT-? the Gorsey player bid 2NT, defined as a raise to 2.5 hearts, which was just right.

There were also three slam deals.

..West...............East
.S-Axxx............S-Qx
.H-xx................H-AKQxx
.D-Q10x...........D-AKxx
.C-Axxx............C-Kx

Both teams bid to anti-percentage slams, but twelve tricks could be made nowhere. If I offered you a pair of jacks, which would you prefer?

..West...............East
.S-KJ108xx.......S-
.H-A9...............H-KQxxxxx
.D-A10x...........D-KQx
.C-10x..............C-KQJ

After 1S-2H-2S-3H-4H-4NT-5H, the Gorsey East guessed one of West's two aces was in spades, and passed. This was a push.

..West...............East
.S-Ax...............S-KQxxxxx
.H-Axxxx.........H-Kx
.D-Axx.............D-Kxx
.C-Axx.............C-K

Gorsey team : 1S-2H-2S-3S-4S-6S-P. Benjamin team: 1S-2H-2S-4S-P. If Blackwood had been employed, East might discover that West had all four aces, and notice the 13 top tricks.

Adding it all up, the third quarter was tied 22-22, leaving Benjamin up ten imps. The fourth quarter boards included five pushes, some of which had potential. The Benjamin team lost 15 imps in small swings, but gained back 9. And then there were two more slam deals:

..West...............East
.S-AQ10xx.......S-K9xx
.H-xxxx............H-AKQ10x
.D-...................D-10xx
.C-Axxx...........C-J

The Gorsey East-West bid 7H, the Benjamin East-West 4H. North-South could take no trick. Not vul, so 1510 vs. 510 and 14 to Gorsey. However,

..West...............East
.S-Axxx.............S-KJ10xxx
.H-AKxx...........H-Qx
.D-Kx...............D-
.C-KQx............C-Jxxxx

Benjamin bid 6S, Gorsey 4S. Everything split. Nonvul, so 11 to Benjamin.

All this left Benjamin clutching a one imp lead going into the sixty-fourth board at my table. The cards conspired to produce a fascinating configuration:

.....................North
.....................S-AQ10
.West............H-Qxxx.........East
.S-KJ8xx......D-xx...............S-xxx
.H-Axx..........C-Kxxx.........H-KJxx
.D-AKxxx...........................D-J
.C-..............South...............C-Qxxxx
.....................S-9x
.....................H-xx
.....................D-Q1098x
.....................C-AJxx

North led a diamond against the Gorsey West's 4S. Can 4S be made? Would it be made? The Gorsey West played DK, D ruff, HA, D ruff (North pitched a club), C ruff, D ruff (North pitched a heart), C ruff, HK, C ruff. West had run 9 tricks, and was down to S-KJ H-x D-A. North held S-AQ10 H-Q. When declarer played DA, North ruffed with the S10 and played the HQ. South looked at this card, but did not ruff. North was endplayed with the AQ of trumps. 620 to Gorsey. Could the Benjamin South have won the match by ruffing the HQ and thus defeating 4S? No. The Benjamin East-West went down 3, 14 Imps to Gorsey, to win the match by 13. Beating 4S wouldn't have been enough.

Thank you all for letting me watch. That wasn't so bad now, was it? My bark is worse than my bite.

Other News

The New England Knockout Regional will be held in Cromwell, CT February 14-19, 2007. The District 25 tournament committee is making some schedule changes for 2007. The biggest is game times of 10 AM and 3 PM for senior events. There will be Compact Knockouts at the Summer Regional. Don't assume 2007 tournament schedules will be the same as 2006.

District 25's 2008 fall nationals co-chairs, Kathy Benjamin and Frank Lombardo, are filling the various committee chairs. I'll post these when I get them.

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 2007.

Previous congrats:
December 2006
November 2006
October 2006
September 2006
August 2006
July 2006
June 2006
May 2006
April 2006
March 2006
February 2006
January 2006
December 2005
November 2005
October 2005
September 2005

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