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District 25 News for May 2006
District 25 Grand National Teams Superflight Finals
On May 7, 2006, the District 25 Superflight (5000+ mps) GNT final was held during the CMBA sectional Swiss at Auburn MA. This year's finalists were Aquino (Mark Aquino, Walter Fontaine, Pam Miller, Dan Nussbaum, and Jim Rasmussen) versus Starr (Yiji Starr, Lloyd Arvedon, Bill Hunter, and Shome Mukherjee).
I hope the district's Superflight GNT retains 64-board semifinals and finals, as this event is the only chance local players get to play the long Imp matches all national and international tournaments use. However if I ran the zoo, I might eliminate carryovers. Aquino started this final with an 11 Imp lead based on carryover from the short match way back in the February round robins. But surely back then the teams were scrambling to qualify, not preparing to meet in the finals.
I want to thank Yiji Starr profusely for her careful notes, and Mark Aquino and Jim Rasmussen for their comments. Without help, I couldn't report on this match. Any errors remain my own. I didn't get to record the spots, so forgive the nondescript x's. I make no apology for the length of my account, as the GNT Superflight final is New England's biggest match of the year.
First Quarter
The match began with Aquino (north) and Fontaine (south) opposing Starr (west)
and Arvedon (east) in the closed room, while Hunter (north) and Mukherjee (south)
took on Miller (west) and Rasmussen (east) in the open room. Board 1 (neither
vul, north deals) was a
swing that didn't happen:
....................S-10
....................H-Jxx
.S-Q8x.........D-KJxx.......S-KJxxx
.H-AK9x......C-KJxxx.....H-Q10xxx
.D-x.................................D-Ax
.C-A108xx..S-A9xx.........C-Q
....................H-x
....................D-Qxxxxx
....................C-xx
After East opened 1S and rebid 2H over a 2C response, both Wests chose a simple 3H raise (forcing) instead of a 4D splinter, and both Easts closed the auction by bidding 4H, so the fair slam was missed. Might the splinter tip off South to lead ace and another spade? I doubt it. After three rounds of trumps ending in dummy and a spade to the ten, king, and ace, would you hook the spade eight? The Superflight norths are both capable of falsecarding the ten from 109x, and East doesn't have a count except by inference. Anyway, Lloyd made six and Jim five, so the score was 11-1.
Board 2 (NS vul, East deals) :
....................S-x
....................H-AKxxxx
.S-xxx..........D-x.......................S-AKQJx
.H-QJx........C-AKQJx.............H-10x
.D-AJ10xx................................D-Qxx
.C-10x.........S-10xxx................C-9xx
....................H-xx
....................D-K9xx
....................C-8xx
East Closed East Open
Arvedon Fontaine Starr Aquino Rasmussen Mukherjee Miller Hunter
------------------------------ ----------------------------------
1S P 2S 4H 1S P 2S 3S
P P Dbl P P 3NT P 4H
P P 4S P P 5C
P P P
4H doubled by North was cold for +790. 5C was down 1 for -100 when East's club nine could trump up on the third heart. 13 Imps to Aquino, who now led 24-1. East's 4S dive was slated for -300 if doubled, so would be "par" on the deal.
The players on my teams argue about blame assessment when we make multiple misjudgements on the same deal, a frequent occurrence. North could argue he was losing 10 Imps for +300, so gambling on 5C only cost 3. East could argue that -300 was losing 9 against +100, so failure to save should only have cost 3 for -620. West could claim she was losing 12 for -620, so her double only cost 1. But this reasoning is specious, since they collectively lost 13, not 7.
Another way of looking at this is that North's 5C swung 400, or 9 Imps, and similarly East's pass cost 320, or 8, and West's double cost 170, or 5. That adds up to 22 Imps in charges, but the Starr team "lucked out" and lost only 13, because the Imp table is merciful in multiple error situations. Not that any of those decisions is a clear error. The save might go for too much, the 5C contract might be making, and doubling Mark Aquino is never hopeless (as we shall see later!)
Board 3 (EW vul, South deals) :
....................S-QJ9xx
....................H-Kx
.S-K10xx.....D-Kxxxx.......S-x
.H-xx...........C-x................H-AQxx
.D-xxx...............................D-AQx
.C-J1098.....S-A8x............C-Qxxxx
....................H-Jxxxx
....................D-J10
....................C-AKx
South Closed South Open Fontaine Starr Aquino Arvedon Mukherjee Miller Hunter Rasmussen ------------------------------ ---------------------------------- 1H P 1S 2C 1H P 1S 2C Dbl* P 2D P 2S P 3S P 2S P 4S P P P P P P
The Norths drove their 5-5's hard, but the splits were foul and monotonous club plays by the Easts eventually tapped them out to hold them to eight tricks. 2 undertrick Imps to Starr, making it 24-3.
Board 4 (Both vul, West deals):
....................S-xxxx
....................H-Qxx
.S-Ax...........D-xx..........S-xxx
.H-987x.......C-Kxxx......H-KJxx
.D-K10xxxx...................D-Ax
.C-Q............S-KQJx.....C-A10xx
....................H-A10
....................D-QJx
....................C-J9xx
West Closed West Open
Starr Aquino Arvedon Fontaine Miller Hunter Rasmussen Mukherjee
------------------------------ ----------------------------------
2D P P P P P 1C 1S
Dbl 2S 3H P
4H P P P
When Arvedon-Starr contented themselves with a reasonable partial, bigtime Imps hung on the NS defense to East's pushy 4H. But after SK ducked, spade to SA, H to HJ and HA, South shifted to a club and declarer could cash HK, trump out diamonds, ruff to dummy, and play diamonds till North chose to ruff, +620 and 10 Imps to Aquino, who led 34-3.
A spade continuation by South on winning the HA dooms 4H. If declarer trumps out diamonds, he lacks dummy entries to enjoy them. Alternatively ruffing clubs in dummy falls a trick short. I don't know which hand held the heart six, but best defense prevails regardless.
Board 5 (NS vul, North deals):
....................S-AKQJ10xx
....................H-AJx
.S-xx............D-Qx........S-xxx
.H-Qxx.........C-x...........H-Kxxx
.D-KJx..........................D-Axx
.C-AQ9xx....S-x............C-K10x
....................H-10xx
....................D-10xxxx
....................C-Jxxx
North Closed North Open Aquino Arvedon Fontaine Starr Mukherjee Miller Hunter Rasmussen ------------------------------ ---------------------------------- 1S P P Dbl 1S P P 2C 3S 4H P P 2S 3C P P P 3S P P P
The Aquino team made better competitive bidding choices. North's 3S went down 1 on repeated club leads and East's 4H went down 2 after a spade lead and a shift to the singleton club. Five more Imps to Aquino, who led 39-3.
Board 6 (EW vul, East deals):
....................S-Jxx
....................H-Q10xxx
.S-109xx......D-9x..........S-KQx
.H-A............C-Jxx.........H-xxx
.D-KQJx........................D-xx
.C-Qxxx......S-Axx.........C-AK10xx
....................H-KJxx
....................D-A10xxx
....................C-x
East Closed East Open Arvedon Fontaine Starr Aquino Rasmussen Mukherjee Miller Hunter ------------------------------ ---------------------------------- 1C Dbl 1S P 1C Dbl 1D P 2S P 3D 3H 1NT P 3NT P P P 4S P P P P P
The Starr North chose a crafty pass over 1D when a 1H bid seems normal. This lured the Aquino East-West to a dismal 3NT, but talked South out of leading hearts. On a low diamond lead, declarer established nine tricks before the HA was dislodged.
Not trusting partner's lead, Mark Aquino bid his hearts, warning East-West off notrump. Had they reached 5C, there would have been no defense, but they chose a delicate 4S. The favorable trump position meant that even against a heart lead (best), running the spade ten brings home the game. Even if South ducks twice in trumps, declarer can play a diamond and lose only two trumps and the diamond ace. Actually, North led the D9 to the ace and South returned a club. West won the CQ, led a spade to SK and SA, won the heart shift, led a spade to SQ, and had only to play a third trump to make. But she feared going down several tricks that way, and so played her minors and lost two trumps for down 1. Thus even though Aquino were outbid, they won 12 Imps and led 51-3.
Board 7 (Both vul, South deals):
....................S-AKxx
....................H-10xxx
.S-Jxxxx.......D-K9xx.........S-Q
.H-AQ98x....C-x...............H-x
.D-.....................................D-AJ10xxxx
.C-KJx.........S-109x..........C-A108x
....................H-KJx
....................D-Qx
....................C-Q9xxx
South Closed South Open Fontaine Starr Aquino Arvedon Mukherjee Miller Hunter Rasmussen ------------------------------ ---------------------------------- P 1S P 2D P 1S P 3D* P 2H P 2NT P P P P 3H P 3NT P P P
For Aquino, West passed East's invitational 3D, hating it. But declarer made no mistake and scored 9 tricks. 3NT is not recommended, and went down 1, 5 more Imps to Aquino, who now led by a hefty 56-3.
On board 8, the Starr team scored 3 Imps for taking a 300 save
against a 420 game. After pushing board 9, Arvedon stole 3 overtricks
in a normal 3NT on board 10 for 3 more, so the tally was 56-9
going into Board 11 (Neither vul, South deals):
....................S-xxx
....................H-Qxxx
.S-AQxxxx...D-x.............S-10
.H-...............C-QJxxx.....H-Jxxxx
.D-AKxxxx.....................D-Qxxx
.C-x............S-KJx..........C-Kxx
....................H-AKxx
....................D-10x
....................C-Axxx
South Closed South Open
Fontaine Starr Aquino Arvedon Mukherjee Miller Hunter Rasmussen
------------------------------ ----------------------------------
1NT 2D* P P 1C 1S Dbl P
P 3H 4D 4H 5D
Dbl P P P
Both declarers trumped out spades for twelve tricks, 650 to 170, 10 Imps to Aquino for a 66-9 lead. The purveyors of the DONT defense argue that game is rare against strong notrumps. My experience is otherwise. Here, Starr could make game in spades or slam in diamonds, but she feared picking the wrong suit. Unfortunately for the Starr team, her methods offered no way to offer a choice of suits at the game level. So she gambled on a second chance and lost her wager. At the other table, North-South play weak notrumps not vul. West also risked a partscore, but here it was very difficult for North-South to pass West out in 1S. I don't like South's double of 5D (which might have drawn a brutal redouble), but by that time, it was only a matter of how many Imps were going to be lost.
In a shorter match, 57 Imps after 11 deals would be a blowout, but here 53 boards remained and this match was not over. New England's Superflight players need practice playing long Imp matches, which is why in my opinion the GNT format is so essential in the top bracket, if District 25 players are ever to place high in national Knockouts.
Board 12 (NS vul, West deals):
....................S-AJ10x
....................H-KJxxxx
.S-xx............D-A10........S-xxxx
.H-...............C-10...........H-A9xxx
.D-K9xxxx.......................D-x
.C-Q8xxx.....S-KQx........C-KJx
....................H-Q10
....................D-QJxx
....................C-A9xx
West Closed West Open
Starr Aquino Arvedon Fontaine Miller Hunter Rasmussen Mukherjee
------------------------------ ----------------------------------
2D Dbl P 3NT P 1H P 2C
P P P P 2H P 3NT
P P P
Slam in hearts requires little more than the diamond finesse, but this time the little more isn't there. In the open room, a diamond lead was automatic and declarer knocked out the heart ace for 10 tricks. In the closed room Starr opened an off-shape weak two and Aquino countered with an off-shape double. Starr listened to the bidding and led a club. When East covered dummy's 10 with the king, Fontaine let the auction talk him out of the indicated duck, and the game was gone. 12 Imps to Starr, 66-21.
Mark Aquino bid too much on Board 13 (Both vul, North deals):
....................S-xxx
....................H-AQJxx
.S-xxx..........D-Axxx.......S-KQJ
.H-K9xx.......C-10...........H-10
.D-xx...............................D-KJ10xx
.C-J9xx.......S-A8xx........C-AQxx
....................H-xxx
....................D-Qx
....................C-Kxxx
Closed Open Aquino Arvedon Fontaine Starr Hunter Rasmussen Mukherjee Miller ------------------------------ ---------------------------------- 1H 2D 2H P 1H 2D 2H P P Dbl Rdbl 3C P Dbl Rdbl 3C 3H P P P P P P
After a spade lead against the closed room 3H, Aquino had to lose 2 tricks in spades and another trick in every other suit for down 1. North underled the DA against the open room 3C (tricky) and declarer misguessed, losing to the queen. A heart came back, and South used his two black entries for further heart plays, to set the contract 2 tricks. 7 more Imps to Starr, and the match was 66-28.
The last three boards of the quarter were all pushes, and only Board
15 might not have been (NS vul, South deals):
....................S-AJx
....................H-Jxxx
.S-Qxx.........D-10xx.........S-x
.H-Qx..........C-9xx...........H-AK10xxxx
.D-Jxx...............................D-Qxx
.C-AJ10xx...S-Kxxxxx......C-xx
....................H-
....................D-AKxx
....................C-KQx
Closed Open
Fontaine Starr Aquino Arvedon Mukherjee Miller Hunter Rasmussen
------------------------------ ----------------------------------
1S P 1NT 3H 1S P 1NT 2H
3S P P P 2S 3H 3S P
P P
On a heart lead, Fontaine (who had heard East preempt) made 10 tricks by taking the spade finesse. At the other table, declarer ruffed the heart lead and played three rounds of diamonds. East shifted to a club to the CK and CA, and the CJ went to the CQ. Now SA, SK, good diamond to pitch a club, and a club ruff for the same 10 tricks. Nicely done by both declarers, but the vulnerable game bonus is with the saints and the score remained 66-28 after 16 boards, one quarter of play.
Second Quarter
The players elected to reoccupy the same seats. The boards turned less
swingy, although the players didn't. Board 17 (Neither vul, North deals):
....................S-AKJxx
....................H-AQ
.S-Qxxxx......D-10x.............S-
.H-KJx.........C-J8xx............H-xxx
.D-Qx..................................D-Kxxxxx
.C-xxx.........S-109x.............C-AKQ10
....................H-xxxxx
....................D-AJx
....................C-9x
Closed Open Aquino Arvedon Fontaine Starr Hunter Rasmussen Mukherjee Miller ------------------------------ ---------------------------------- 1S 2D 2S P 1S 2D 2S P 3C 4C P P 3C P 3S P Dbl P P P P P
The open room 3S contract fell afoul of bad splits. Declarer scored 3 red tricks, a club ruff in dummy, and 4 trumps in hand - down 1. In the closed room, Arvedon bid too much and was lucky to escape for three down on a trump lead, when the spade 10 might have yielded 800 or 1100. Still 11 Imps to Aquino made the score 77-28.
Board 18 was pushed. Board 19 (EW vul, South deals):
....................S-Kxx
....................H-AKxxx
.S-xx............D-Qxx...........S-Qxx
.H-10x.........C-AQ............H-xxx
.D-Kxx..............................D-Axxxxx
.C-109xxxx..S-AJ10xx......C-J
....................H-QJx
....................D-J
....................C-Kxxx
South opened 1S and when he then raised hearts, the norths drove to 6H with no opposition. At both tables East cashed the DA and shifted to a trump, won in dummy. After a club to the ace and jack and a diamond ruff, neither declarer thought the CJ a true card. They led a club to the queen, ruffed. Now a trump continuation left them with a spade guess. Aquino finessed against East to get out for one down. Hunter finessed against West without taking his diamond pitch on the club king, for down 3. 3 Imps to Aquino, 80-28.
Board 20 (Both vul, West deals):
....................S-Jx
....................H-AKx
.S-KQx........D-Jxxx.............S-10xxxx
.H-Qx..........C-Qxxx............H-J9xx
.D-AKQx.............................D-10x
.C-K10xx....S-Axx...............C-Jx
....................H-10xxx
....................D-xxx
....................C-Axx
There was more swing at the one level than in slam. Starr (West)opened 1D, passed out. Aquino led three rounds of hearts, Starr winning dummy's jack to ditch a spade. She ran the CJ to the CQ. SJ to SA, H10 ruffed high as north pitched his last spade, C10 to CA, S ruff, club return, and all declarer got was a heart, a club, and her three high diamonds for down 2.
Miller (West) opened 1C, passed out. North led HA and shifted to a diamond. Dummy's D10 held, so declarer ran the CJ to CQ. SA, spade. CK to CA. Spade ruff and HK. That was six tricks, but the defense was done. +70 and 7 imps to Aquino, making the match 87-28, and the lead 59 with 44 boards to go.
Board 21 was a push. Board 22 (EW vul, East deals):
.........................S-xx
.........................H-AQxxxx
.S-AKQ10xxx..D-xxx.............S-x
.H-J..................C-Ax..............H-10xxx
.D-Kx.....................................D-J10xx
.C-K10x...........S-Jxx..............C-J9xx
.........................H-Kx
.........................D-AQxx
.........................C-Qxxx
Closed Open Arvedon Fontaine Starr Aquino Rasmussen Mukherjee Miller Hunter ------------------------------ ---------------------------------- P 1D 1S 2H P 1D 4S P P 3H 3S 4H P P P P P
Pam Miller liked her kings sitting over Shome's opening bid, so she jumped to 4 vulnerable spades. She was right about the kings, but Jim failed in his duty to produce an entry to lead towards them. Down 1.
Yiji bid her spades furtively, perhaps trying to induce an indiscretion. Sure enough, Mark bid 4H, down 3 when Lloyd led his stiff spade. Nobody could double, but 6 Imps to Starr, 87-34.
Board 23 (Both vul, South deals):
....................S-AKxxxx
....................H-x
.S-x.............D-AJ109x..........S-Jx
.H-Kxxx......C-x....................H-AQxx
.D-KQ..................................D-xxxx
.C-AQxxxx..S-Qxxx.............C-Jxx
....................H-Jxx
....................D-xx
....................C-K10x
Closed Open Fontaine Starr Aquino Arvedon Mukherjee Miller Hunter Rasmussen ------------------------------ ---------------------------------- P 1C 1S Dbl P 1C 1S Dbl 2S 3H 3S P 2S 3H 4S P P P P P
Having advertised on the previous deal, Mark Aquino craftily walked the dog with a 3S underbid, hoping to "save" in 4S and get doubled. Alas for strategy, all passed and his counterparts at the other table unimaginatively bid their vul game for 10 Imps to Starr, 87-44. You can sense that Mark knows what to do when holding a sizable lead in a match.
The next five boards were all pushes except for one Starr Imp, so
the score was 87-45 going into Board 29 (Both vul, North deals):
....................S-Qxxx
....................H-AJxx
.S-AJ10.......D-Kx................S-Kxx
.H-Kxxxx.....C-KQx............H-xx
.D-Axx.................................D-QJxxx
.C-Jx............S-xxx...............C-Axx
....................H-Qx
....................D-xxx
....................C-109xxx
Although playing 15-17 notrumps, Aquino (North) chose a 1C opening for fear of losing out on a major suit fit. This worked well when East-West bought the hand for 3D +130 (best they can do), while at the other table North's vulnerable notrump was passed out. Declarer couldn't have scored more than five tricks, and actually managed only four. 5 Imps to Aquino, 92-45.
The next three boards were all pushes except for two Aquino Imps, so
the score was 94-45 going into Board 32 (EW vul, West deals):
....................S-J10xx
....................H-Qx
.S-Kx...........D-xx....................S-Axx
.H-A10xx.....C-AK10xx..........H-Kxxx
.D-K10xx.................................D-AJx
.C-Jxx..........S-Q9xx................C-Qxx
....................H-Jxx
....................D-Q9xx
....................C-xx
Aquino (North) opened 1C in second chair. Starr doubled Fontaine's 1S response (she was a passed hand). Aquino raised to 2S, but Arvedon jumped directly to 4H, a vulnerable game on a diamond guess. There's not much chance Lloyd would misguess late in the play after this revealing auction, so perhaps Aquino was right to take a 4S save and go for 500.
The real swing on this board occurred at the other table, where Hunter opened the North cards with a 10-12 notrump and stole the pot for down 2, 9 Imps to Starr, making the score 94-54 at the half.Third Quarter
The players sat the same except Dan Nussbaum replaced Walter Fontaine for the Aquino team.
The set began quietly. On Board 33, Starr won an overtrick imp in everybody's 2S partial.
Aquino won 2 Imps on Board 34 for going down less in a pushy 3NT.
Board 35 (EW vul, South deals):
....................S-Q10x
....................H-KJx
.S-K82........D-x................S-AJ7xx
.H-AQ109...C-QJ98xx.....H-xx
.D-Qxxxx..........................D-x
.C-x.............S-96..............C-AKxxx
....................H-xxxx
....................D-AKJxxx
....................C-10
Both Easts reached 4S after South showed diamonds. Against Rasmussen, South led the DK and C10. Jim won the ace and took a losing heart finesse. He put up his king on the club return, ruffed and overruffed. But now he merrily crossruffed and scored two aces and eight trumps.
Against Arvedon, South cashed a diamond and shifted to a heart, finessed to North, who returned a trump to S9 and SK. But now CA, C ruff, D ruff, C ruff, D ruff, SA, CK, HA, D ruff for 10 tricks. North has no effective discards on the diamond ruffs. If he voids himself in hearts, declarer just retains CK and gives North his trump.
Can the defense prevail by leading trumps on the go? Not really. S to SQ and SA, diamond up, second trump to dummy's king. D ruff, CA, C ruff, D ruff, SA, to reach S- Hxx D- C-Kxx with a dummy of S- H-AQ109 D-Q C-, needing 3 tricks. North cannot discard effectively on the diamond ruffs. Declarer counts him out for 3316. If he retains 2 hearts, he gets endplayed with king and a club. If he retains all his clubs, he can have only one heart. So declarer doesn't take his CK, but immediately leads H to H9. If it loses, North has only clubs and on winning CK, declarer's second heart finesse must work. If the H9 wins, declarer exits to South with the DQ. He never gets CK, but he scores 3 heart tricks. Anyway, a push at 620.
Aquino won an Imp on Board 36 by making 4 diamonds instead of 3. Board 37 was a push at 430. On Board 38, you hold S-J10xxxx H-QJ9x D- C-AQ10, vul against not. What call do you make after three passes? Lloyd Arvedon threw it in. Right! His counterpart was -200. 5 Imps to Starr, 97-60.
What would you do with S-AK10xxx H-Q10xx D-xx C-x, both vul in second chair? Suppose you pass and the bidding goes P-P-1D-P-1S-P-1NT-2C-2D-? Yiji Starr passed again, but Mark Aquino played 2D well for +90, and 2S is cold Starr's way. The other table had a more competitive auction on Board 39, pushing North-South to 3D, where they went down 2 trying to make, 7 Imps to Aquino, 104-60.Board 40 was pushed at 460. Board 41 saw an Imp to Starr, 460 vs. 430. Board 42 was another Starr Imp, 110 vs. 90. And similarly Starr won an Imp on 43, and another on 44. However, Aquino earned 2 overtrick Imps on Board 45, 690 vs. 620, making the score 106-64.
Board 46 (Neither vul, East deals):
....................S-x
....................H-xx
.S-QJ10xxx..D-Kxxxx...........S-Ax
.H-Kxx.........C-AQJxx..........H-AQxx
.D-x.......................................D-AJ10
.C-Kxx.........S-Kxxx.............C-xxxx
....................H-J10xx
....................D-Qxxx
....................C-x
In the open room East opened a strong notrump and West transferred into 4S. The obvious club lead set the contract. How was this a swing to Starr? Did Lloyd and Yiji find the magical, cold 3NT contract? No. It was a swing because when Yiji bid a Texas transfer 4H in the closed room, Mark Aquino (North) bid 4NT for minors! Dan Nussbaum misguessed the play of the resulting phantom sacrifice 5D doubled, taking a ruffing finesse in clubs for -800, thus turning 11 Imps for Starr into 13. 106-77.
Board 47 (NS vul, South deals):
....................S-AJxx
....................H-AKQx
.S-KQxxx....D-xxx...........S-xxxx
.H-10xx........C-xx............H-xxx
.D-xx................................D-AKQx
.C-xxx.........S-.................C-Ax
....................H-Jxx
....................D-J10xx
....................C-KQJ10xx
In the open room, Hunter-Mukherjee stopped in a making partial, but when Nussbaum opened 3C as South, Aquino took a shot at 3NT. Lloyd Arvedon cashed his diamonds, got a signal from Starr, and switched to spades. He continued spades on winning the CA - down 1, 6 Imps to Starr, 106-83. Since Board 48 was a push at 130 in a club partial, the lead remained 23 with a quarter to play.
Fourth Quarter
You, South, hold S-Jx H-A10xx D-7xxx C-K108. Your RHO opens 1NT (15-17), and your opponents bid 1NT-2C-2H-3NT-4S-P, while you and partner are silent. What would you lead?
Board 49 (Neither vul, North deals):
....................S-Qxx
....................H-xxx
.S-K108x....D-J10x...........S-Axxx
.H-Jx...........C-Axxx..........H-KQxx
.D-K98x............................D-AQ
.C-QJx.........S-Jx..............C-9xx
....................H-A10xx
....................D-7xxx
....................C-K108
Dan Nussbaum led the C8. The defense cashed two clubs and got a heart and a spade for down 1. His counterpart led a diamond, DA, SA, DQ, SK, DK (luscious fall of D-J10x), D9 to pitch two clubs, HJ and +420 meant 10 imps to Aquino, 116-83.
You, North, hold S-AKx H-Axx D-Kxx C-AJxx. Your LHO opens 1D, your RHO responds 1H, and you try 1NT. 2D on your left, 2S by partner, pass from RHO. What call do you make?
Mark Aquino tried 2NT, but only a pass (as at the other table) would yield a plus score. 5 Imps to Starr, 116-88 through board 50.
Board 51 was pushed at 620. Board 52 (Both vul, West deals):
....................S-Qxxx
....................H-Q10xx
.S-x.............D-109x..............S-K10xxx
.H-A............C-xx..................H-xx
.D-Qxxxxx.............................D-KJx
.C-KQJxx....S-AJx................C-A10x
....................H-KJxxxx
....................D-A
....................C-xxx
Closed Open
Starr Aquino Arvedon Nussbaum Miller Hunter Rasmussen Mukherjee
------------------------------ ----------------------------------
1D P 1S 2H 1D P 1S 2H
3C P 3H P 3C P 3H P
4C P P P 4C P 4D P
5C P P P
The declarers lost only two aces, 10 Imps to Aquino, 126-88.
Board 53 was pushed at -50. On Board 54, Arvedon-Starr stretched for
a non-vul game that needed a little luck and didn't get it, 6 Imps to
Aquino and 132-88.
Board 55 (Both vul, South deals):
........................S-Q10x
........................H-KJxxx
.S-AKJxxxxxx..D-Qxx........S-x
.H-x.................C-xx...........H-A10xxx
.D-......................................D-AKxxx
.C-Jxx..............S-...............C-xx
........................H-Qx
........................D-J10xxx
........................C-AKQxxx
Closed Open Nussbaum Starr Aquino Arvedon Mukherjee Miller Hunter Rasmussen ------------------------------ ------------------------------- 1C 4S P P 1C 4S P P 4NT P 5C Dbl 5C P P Dbl P P 5D Dbl P P P P P 5H Dbl P P P
West's 9-card 4S is cold for 620, so Mukherjee's 500 sacrifice (East got his three red winners, West got a ruff) paid off. Mark Aquino never figured out what Nussbaum's 4NT meant, and so they had a disaster, going for 1100. Does YOUR partnership know what 4NT means? 12 Imps to Starr, and 132-100.
On Board 56 (Neither vul), you hold S-J10xxxx H-AQx D-Qxx C-x. Say you open a weak 2S. Double, pass, 3NT, all pass. What is your lead?
Mark Aquino tried the DQ, but only a heart honor beats it. Since the other table stopped in a partial, that was 7 Imps to Starr, 132-107.
Board 57 was pushed at 630. Starr gained 3 undertrick Imps on 58.
Board 59 (Neither vul, South deals):
....................S-Qxx
....................H-x
.S-J98..........D-AKQxx........S-AKxxx
.H-A109xx...C-K9xx...........H-Qxx
.D-.......................................D-Jxxx
.C-Q10xxx..S-10x...............C-A
....................H-KJxx
....................D-xxxx
....................C-Jxx
Closed Open Nussbaum Starr Aquino Arvedon Mukherjee Miller Hunter Rasmussen ------------------------------ ------------------------------- P P 1D 1S P P 1D 1S 2D Dbl* Rdbl 2H P 2D* Dbl 2H 4C P 4D P P 2S** P 4H P Dbl P 4H P P P P P P
Both Easts played 4H from the three card side after wild and wooly auctions. Rasmussen ruffed the diamond lead in dummy, and when the S-AK lived, he took his 4 high card winners and crossruffed 4 diamonds in dummy and two clubs in his hand. North was left with 3 winners in the side suits, while South had the three remaining trumps, but declarer had taken 10 tricks. The other declarer received a club lead to his ace and played three rounds of spades. That established the spades, but there was no way to enjoy them, and meanwhile South pitched a club, and so the crossruff failed when South overruffed. 10 Imps to Aquino, and 142-110.
Starr gained 5 Imps on Board 60 by defeating a 2C partial made in the other room. Board 61 was pushed at +140.
On Board 62, Aquino held S-Jxxxx H-J D-xxx C-Axxx in fourth chair with neither vul. He heard P-1C-P, bid 1S, and heard P-2S-P. Mark made a game try of 3D! The full deal:....................S-Jxxxx
....................H-J
.S-xx............D-xxx...............S-Kx
.H-Axxx.......C-Axxx............H-KQxx
.D-Axxx...............................D-xxxx
.C-Q10x......S-AQ109.........C-Jxx
....................H-10xxx
....................D-KQ
....................C-Kxx
With Kx of trumps in the slot, there was no defense. Needless to say, 6 Imps to Mark, 420 vs. 170.
Aquino won 2 more on Board 63 for playing a higher-scoring partial. The last board was a 40% vulnerable slam that makes, not bid at either table. The final score was 150-115. Remember that 11 of the winning score was carryover.
This match showed the winning team to good advantage. It's hard to play 64 boards and make no mistakes, and nobody did. If I had to pick best pair in show, I'd go with Miller-Rasmussen, but I'm prejudiced in favor of partnership rapport and discipline rather than individual brilliancies.
Congrats to (left to right in the picture) Dan Nussbaum, Walter Fontaine, Mark Aquino, Pam Miller, and Jim Rasmussen. Word has it the Aquino team will augment to six by adding Lloyd Arvedon from the losing finalists. An excellent choice, and a great gesture of goodwill. Once again New England players demonstrate that while we compete for all we're worth, we remain friends when the score is final.
Other News
Our next New England regional will be the five-day Summer Regional held in Marlborough, MA June 21-25, 2006. The Best Western Royal Plaza is a new site for our district, and is conveniently a mile off I-495.
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 May 2006.
Previous congrats:
April 2006
March 2006
February 2006
January 2006
December 2005
November 2005
October 2005
September 2005
Back Pages of News
April 2006
March 2006
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