BRIDGE News:
Open winners on Monday were Cliff and Michelle Rudy. Flight B winners were Allyn Pratt and Gina Doorn.
Open winners on Wednesday were Cliff Rudy and Jerry Fleming. Flight B winners were Randy Baker and Neill Goltz.
This hand asks you, particularly as North, to think out of the box and question whether a slam is possible. Can you develop a bidding scenario that might help?
Board 19: South is the dealer and E/W are vulnerable.
After South and West pass, North will probably open with a strong 2♣ bid. There are some these days who might open with 2NT, despite the singleton, but the strength is concentrated, and 2NT does not adequately describe this hand. So, after a 2♣ opening, East should pass, and it is likely then that South will bid 2NT. While North could simply raise to 3NT, he/she should instead bid 3♦, showing a good 5+ card suit and a distributional hand.
Realizing North is looking at a potential slam, South should bid 4♦, showing support. Over this, a good call by North is 4♠, a control bid in spades but denying one in hearts. With the K♥, South could now bid Blackwood asking for aces, or Keycard Blackwood asking for aces.and the king of trumps (diamonds). Finding from partner that only one ace (or one keycard) is missing, the slam looks like a good bet! As it turns out, 6♦ as well as 6♣ and even 6♥ is cold! But granted, this slam is hard to find unless you just blast to the 6-level!
When this hand was played locally, one pair played in 3NT/S making 6, another pair played in 3NT/S making 4, and the 3rd pair played in 3NT/N making 4. Playing duplicate, if you’re not going to bid a slam, then your best result is to play in notrump.
The Los Alamos Duplicate Bridge Club games are held at the Betty Ehart Senior Activity Center (BESAC) starting at 12:45 p.m., Wednesdays, and at the White Rock Senior Activity Center (WRSAC) at 12:45 p.m., Mondays.
Check out the Los Alamos Duplicate Bridge Club’s new website at www.ladbc.net to learn what it’s all about, contact the club to get involved, join the fun, and much more. Perhaps you’ve seen the old card game “Bridge“ mentioned in a book or seen it being played on the Orient Express in an old Agatha Christie black-and-white movie. Maybe you’ve even tried to play it in the remote past with Mom and Dad (or even more likely Grandma and Grandpa) around the kitchen table. Well, it hasn’t quite gone the way of the typewriter or film cameras, yet – and, in fact, it has a substantial Free-on-the-Internet presence. LEARN TO PLAY BRIDGE!
That being said, it is a game that needs new and younger Face-to-Face players and, here in Los Alamos the local club is ready to bring you on board with nighttime, after work or weekend, FREE lessons, and playing opportunities.
We have four locations available – the game store in White Rock, the Mesa game store on Central here in Los Alamos, the Los Alamos Public Library, or Smith’s Market!
What we need from interested folks is some indication of interest and what day of the week and location would be most convenient. Please reach out to Neill Goltz at 641.236.1170 (neill.goltz2@gmail.com) or Bobby Haynes at 505.753.3249 (rsh@valornet.com) with your questions and preferred time and location!