Dealer: W Vul: Both
NORTH
♠ A64
♥ AKQ
♦ Q9763
♣ KQ
WEST EAST
♠ J7 ♠ Q95
♥ J96543 ♥ 10
♦ AK8 ♦ J10542
♣ 96 ♣ AJ105
SOUTH
♠ K10632
♥ 872
♦ —
♣ 97432
Noela Collins enjoyed a stellar week, winning the Monday game with David Moran and the Friday game with Mavis Simpson. On Board 4 (above) from Friday most North players opened with a strong bid such as 2C and then 2NT on their rebid. Only Warwick Milne and Janny Sipple bid and made 3NT for 600 matchpoints, but that wasn’t the top score. Mavis was the only South player to realise the value of the void in diamonds. By using a transfer bid she guided Noela into the best contract of 4S. Against best defence 3NT would have failed by two tricks. Nevertheless, making the ten tricks needed to succeed in 4S was not an easy task.
The winning line in 4S is not to begin by drawing all the defenders’ trumps. What is needed on this board is a cross-ruff (trumping diamonds in South’s hand and a club or two in North’s hand). After North beats the lead of the ten of hearts a diamond is trumped in dummy (South). A club is then led towards North’s honours, laying the way for a club or two to be trumped later. Along the way East will win only one spade, the Ace of clubs and either a diamond or a second club.
The worst score North/South was 200, which was suffered by the only pair who received the lead of the two of diamonds. Noela and Mavis’s score was 620. What a difference a void makes!
Results, Monday, 11/11/24 (4 & 1/2-table Howell): N. Collins D. Moran (63.9) 1; P; Kelly M. Simpson (63.2) 2; J. Smith J. Mobbs (61,1)3. L. James S. Head (60.4) 4. Friday, 15/11/24 (N. Collins M. Simpson (69.9) 1; J. Nankervis N. McGinness (62.0) 2; P. Kelly D. Moran (58.8) 3; N. Bonnell L. Don (55.6) 4.
