Dealer: E Vul: Nil
NORTH
♠ KQ8
♥ 63
♦ 32
♣ AKJ932
WEST EAST
♠ J75 ♠ 963
♥ KQ985 ♥ AJ72
♦ J4 ♦ 10986
♣ 874 ♣ 65
SOUTH
♠ A1042
♥ 104
♦ AKQ75
♣ Q10
While bridge is primarily a game requiring various skills, an element of luck cannot be entirely removed. On Board 30 last Friday two East/West pairs decided to take the gamble of bidding 3NT without any honour cards in hearts. Those two declarers achieved a great escape.
Each declarer must have been alarmed when East led a heart and the appearance of dummy (South) revealed that North/South had no apparent chance of preventing the defenders from making five heart tricks and thereby failing by one trick. Mercifully for declarer (North) West came to their assistance. At one table the lead was the two of hearts, a signal that East held at least one honour card. West won the first two tricks with the King and Queen of hearts and then returned the lead to East, who now held only the Ace and Jack and no way to return the lead to West so that the fifth heart trick could be won. Much the same happened at the other table where East chose the strange lead of the Jack of hearts. That player now had the chance to play the Ace and then a low heart to West’s three winners. Again West couldn’t resist the temptation to cash those two top hearts. At both tables, East had to pass the lead back to declarer, who simply won the next nine tricks for a score of 600 instead of the minus 50 they deserved.
Jenny Smith and Ros Hart, who were the only North/South pair to bid and make the par contract of 5C, could justifiably feel aggrieved at having to share the top score on this board with the great escapers.
Results, Monday, 14/10/24 (5-table Mitchell): N/S J. Mobbs S. Goddard (62.1) 1; N. Collins D. Moran (61.2) 2; R. Hart N. McGinness (48.7) 3. E.W (W. Milne J. Sipple (58.3) 1; L. James S. Head (56.2); L. Don J. Loy (50.8) 3. Friday, 18/10/24 (5-table Mitchell): N/S N. Collins M. Simpson (59.2) 1; J. Mobbs C. Duggan (55.8) 2; W. Milne J. Sipple (50.4) 3. E/W P. Kelly D. Moran (64.6) 1; P. Campbell N. McGinness (58.3) 2; L. Munson J. Nankervis (54.2) 3.
