By Neil Bonnell, Warwick Bridge Club
It is commonly thought that new partnerships take a while to become accustomed to the style of the other partner and are unlikely to do well initially. Last Friday the new pairing of Angus Macdonald and Jill Smith didn’t let that deter them. They won the East/West section and scored the highest percentage in either section. Board 14 (above) was a good one for them.
Angus (East) had a straightforward opening bid of 1D; South might have made a nuisance bid of 2C, but Jill (West) had a strong enough hand to counter with 2H. Two other pairs reached no further in their bidding. Angus’s best response would have been 2NT, which normally guarantees at least two cards in every suit. Jill’s raise to 4H was the winning bid. No other pair reached game in the auction. North found the best lead of the three of spades, which was won by the Ace, but left Jill with no other good spades. There was also a potential loser in trumps if Jill decided to take the heart finesse in the wrong direction. There was no reason to delay drawing trumps and then the Jack of diamonds could be led from West’s hand and allowed to run if not covered. If North did play the Queen the next two cards played would be the King and Ace. East’s ten would then be high. Jill made the ten tricks necessary to fulfill the contract for a score of 420, well ahead of the next best score of 200. The worst lead (perpetrator’s name withheld) was the three of diamonds, which gave away the location of both the Queen and the Ace and allowed declarer to make twelve tricks. Sadly for the beneficiaries of this lead, they had stopped in 2H and missed out on the game bonus.
Results: Monday, 25/04/22 (5-table Mitchell): N/S J. Nankervis P. Kelly (56.2) 1; J. Mobbs S. Goddard (52,9) 2. E/W N. Bonnell T. Hinde (72.5) 1; J. Rose P. Campbell (58.3) 2.. Handicap: N/S No change E/W N. Bonnell T. Hinde 1; Jill Smith J. McKeen 2. Friday, 29/04/22 (6-table Mitchell) N/S N. Collins M. Simpson (55.4) 1; R. Hart L. Munson (55.3) 2; W. Milne J. Sipple (50.7) 3. E/W A. Macdonald Jill Smith (57.3) 1; S. Goddard N. McGinness (51.7) 2; C. Duggan M. Johnston (61.4) 3. Handicap: N/S W. Milne J. Sipple 1; R. Hart L.Munson 2. E/W A. Macdonald Jill Smith 1; J. Hegarty D. Dawes 2.
