BRIDGE News:

In Monday’s game, in Flight A, Jerry Fleming and Martin Cooper were 1st, Neill Goltz and Helen Butler were 2nd, and Cliff and Michelle Rudy were 3rd. In Flight B, Jan Barnes and Reggie Fuchs were 1st, and Randy Baker and Alan Wadlinger were 2nd.

In Wednesday’s game, in Flight A, Jennifer Young and Steve Kemic were 1st, Cliff Rudy and Jerry Fleming were 2nd, and Earle Marie Hanson and John Ruminer tied with Jerry Morzinski and Sig Lodwig for 3rd. In Flight B, Bev Cooper and Helen Butler were 1st, and Alan Wadlinger and Randy Baker were 2nd.

This past weekend, several local players participated in a Sectional tournament in Santa Fe. John Ruminer and Earle Marie Hanson were 1st in the Saturday Flight B/C Pairs, and Bev and Martin Cooper were 4th in Flight C in the Friday morning Open Pairs.

The following is a very competitive hand. The HCP are almost evenly divided, and both N/S and E/W have good suits. The auction should be bid at least to the 3-level, and perhaps beyond.

This is Board #19 from our April 20 game.  South is the dealer, and E/W were vulnerable.

After South and West pass, North will open with 1♥. East has a classic takeout double, showing support for all the unbid suits. After South raises to 2♥, West should compete to 3♦. Many Norths will now compete to 3♥, which will likely end the auction at most tables.

This contract should be defeated one trick, as long as the defenders do not lead clubs. However, the best result for E/W is to compete to 4♦! Declarer in this contract should lose only two spades and one club.

When this hand was played locally, two pairs played in 3♥ making 3, one pair played in 2♥ making 3, and the 4th pair played in 4♦ making 4. Instead of getting a very good result, the pair playing in 4♦ lost out to inferior defense at the other tables. It happens!  We call it a fix!

Hello, fellow “game enthusiast”.  Are you interested in a game that will test both your mental acuity and your communication skills as you and a partner enter the field of intellectual combat? Then perhaps you’ve seen the historical card game “Bridge“ mentioned in a book or seen it being played in an old black-and-white movie on the Orient Express or by Gloria Swanson in “Sunset Boulevard.”  Bridge is not a game of the past, though, but is still played worldwide and by millions of Americans at least once a week, in venues ranging from competitive in-person tournaments with hundreds of players to casual play at home or on the internet.

Interested in Learning how to, RESUMING or playing Beginner Bridge? Contact Neill Goltz—641.236.1170, neill.goltz2@gmail.com—for further info, schedule, location confirmation, or any other questions!  The Los Alamos Duplicate Bridge Club games are held at the Betty Ehart Senior Activity Center (BESAC) at 12:45 p.m., Wednesdays, and at the White Rock Senior Activity Center (WRSAC) at 12:45 p.m., Mondays. We will continue to meet regularly on Saturday mornings from 10 a.m. to noon at the Mesa Top game store (next to Booomerang) on Central here in Los Alamos.

Here in Los Alamos and White Rock, our local club is ready to bring you on board with nighttime, after work or weekend FREE lessons and playing opportunities with other newcomers, resumers, and beginners.