The Australian Spring Nationals: Try this Problem

October 24 2012:

West dealer : North-South vulnerable

(1) Two key cards + the Q

Do you take any action as East with:

9 8 5 2
A 8 5
J 10 7 4 3 2

(Answer later)

In the first three matches of the Spring National Open Teams, our team (Hugh Grosvenor – Bob Richman, Matt Mullamphy and me) scored 16-14, 16-14 and 22-8 to have 54 Victory Points out of 75.

We are coming equal tenth. The leaders are the HOFFMAN team on 67, with KROCHMALIK and JEDRYCHOWSKI on 63 and three teams equal on 61. You can see all the results and scores on the www.abf.com.au website at present under Provisional Seating and Draw.

Answer to today’s problem:

This was Board 19 in Round 2:

West dealer : North-South vulnerable

After the auction given I doubled as East, asking partner not to lead a heart and, if possible, to find my void. There was good news and bad news. West did lead a club, which I ruffed, but declarer had the rest of the tricks for 1660. Our team-mates played in 6 for 1390 and so we lost 7 Imps. With 7 laydown as well as 7 by North, the datum was a modest 1020 N-S, meaning that almost half the field did not reach even the small slam. I guess I was lucky that North did not redouble 6. Certainly the North hand looks worth it.

There was one other South in 6 doubled. That made 1860 when West led the 8. There was one South in 7 undoubled, +2210 on the 5 lead and two Souths in 7 doubled, +2470, on the 8 lead, and –200 on the 8 lead.

One South made all the tricks in 6NT on the 7 lead. It could have been six down on a low heart lead.

One South was –400 in 4NT on the 2 lead, while another South made all the tricks in 3NT on the 7 lead.

Two East-West pairs bought the hand in 5 doubled for –500 and one in 6doubled for –800.

There were three in 6 +1390 and thirteen in 6 undoubled, four making twelve tricks and the others thirteen tricks. The remaining 21 pairs played in 4 or 5.