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Slams 05

Submitted by Vil Gravis on Sun, 01/12/2024 - 09:12

Thursday last was a session for slams, but surprisingly this one escaped most NS pairs.

Board 19 from Thursday 28/11/24
Dealer S EW Vul

A7
AQ
KQJ92
Q942
QT2
K73
63
KJT83
9854
J65
T854
65
KJ63
T9842
A7
A7

Double Dummy 22

Submitted by Vil Gravis on Sun, 01/12/2024 - 08:13

This is worth reporting. My hapless correspondent wanted to know where he went wrong in a 4H contract that everyone was making. Deep Finesse was there to prove that he should have made 4H like every other declarer, so where did he go wrong?

Board 13 from Friday 29/11/24
Dealer N All Vul

Q743
QT86
943
42
J2
2
KJT76
A9873
KT6
73
Q85
KQJT6
A985
AKJ954
A2
5

Your Call 16

Submitted by Vil Gravis on Sat, 23/11/2024 - 18:39

This one was sent to me by a regular correspondent, who was justifiably proud of the fact that their partnership bid to the excellent 7H grand slam. Really, it should not have been difficult for most pairs, yet even 6H was a rare occurrence. One pair across all of X-Clubs did bid to 7NT and scored an undeserved 100% when West kindly discarded a heart on the run of South’s diamonds after a club lead, but let’s talk about how to arrive at the small slam in hearts at least.

Board 16 from Friday 22/11/24
Dealer W EW Vul

JT5
KQ9532
76
A5
Q87
T864
J4
J987
K943
7
932
KQT62
A62
AJ
AKQT85
43

Your Call 15

Submitted by Vil Gravis on Wed, 20/11/2024 - 15:00

This deal comes from the NZ Wide Loveblock event on Friday 15/11/24. I have chosen it because a deal like that will never come up again but it does illustrate the need for a more intricate bidding system to handle an opening 1NT from the opposition, not just Hamilton (aka Cappelletti or Pottage - ed), which seems to be the most common in current use. Let’s look at the full deal before I make some suggestions.

Board 4 Dealer W All Vul

AKQ862
KQT9432
J4
A75
T943
AKJ5
973
8
AKQJ82
Q83
T5
J6
765
T97642

LoveBlock Pairs a Wrap in Record Time!

Submitted by sitemaster on Sat, 16/11/2024 - 08:34

The scoring team was rapt to head off home before midnight after the last result from Auckland arrived .. something to do with a Scrabble tournament going on, we heard. It seems very strange not to have to spend Saturday morning chivvying the odd straggler along.

On behalf of Richard Solomon and the scoring team I hope you enjoyed your evening too. All results and peripherals are to be regarded as provisional until noon when the Scoring Correction Period closes.

The scoring team: Mike Neels, Jan Spaans, Anna Kalma being guided by Bob Fearn on Zoom from Seattle at 3am of his Friday morning

Bob Fearn - author of Compass Scoring - on ZoomBob Fearn - author of Compass Scoring - on Zoom

Loveblock Pairs Coming Up

Submitted by sitemaster on Tue, 05/11/2024 - 10:09

The annual NZ-Wide Simultaneous Pairs is scheduled for the evening of Friday 15-Nov. In previous years about 1000 pairs from 60 clubs have taken part. Results from most clubs are scored across the field before midnight. Richard Solomon is, and has been for yonks, the main organiser of the event which raises money for the New Zealand Bridge Foundation to promote the development of youth bridge in this country. Richard would be very happy for your club - even if not affiliated to NZ Bridge - to run a heat on November 15th.

Your Call 13

Submitted by Vil Gravis on Sat, 02/11/2024 - 10:22

This one, from X-Clubs, is not just about bidding but also about opening leads and declarer play.

Board 4 from Tuesday 29/10/24
Dealer West All Vul

A3
98643
92
KT75
K95
T52
KJ7
Q643
JT762
7
Q8654
A9
Q84
AKQJ
AT3
J82

Slams 04

Submitted by Vil Gravis on Tue, 17/09/2024 - 10:18

Before we look at our double dummy problem let’s take another look at the bidding.

Board 9 from Thursday 12-09-24
Dealer N EW Vul

3
Q97
Q975
J8654
KJ876
K83
2
AKT7
AQ
JT652
AKJT
Q2
T9542
A4
8643
93

East opens 1H and West bids 1S. First question: what does East rebid?

Slams 03

Submitted by Vil Gravis on Sat, 14/09/2024 - 14:30

These East-West hands were close to a slam, but should a slam have been bid or avoided, and how should the EW hands have been bid? Those are good questions that may not be easily answered, even after you see the full deal. The deal will also provide the reader with an excellent ‘double dummy’ problem.

Board 9 from Thursday 12-09-24
Dealer N EW Vul

3
Q97
Q975
J8654
KJ876
K83
2
AKT7
AQ
JT652
AKJT
Q2
T9542
A4
8643
93

Slams 02

Submitted by Vil Gravis on Thu, 05/09/2024 - 16:20

This slam should not have been a difficult one to bid, and was worth 90% to those NS pairs who bid and made 6NT.

Board 18 from X-Clubs on 3/09/24
Dealer E NS Vul

A962
7
AQJ752
AQ
T83
J98543
T
742
754
AQT2
983
965
KQJ
K6
K64
KJT83

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