BRIDGE News:
In the May 18 Club Championship game, Sig Lodwig and Jerry Morzinski were 1st in Flight A, Michelle and Cliff Rudy were 2nd, Ann-Marie Graves and Mary Courtright were 3rd, and Bev and Martin Cooper were 4th. In Flight B, Harry Dewey and Linda Lambert were 1st, and Reggie Fuchs and Jan Barnes were 2nd.
In the May 20 Grass Roots Fund game, Steve Kemic and Jennifer Young were 1st in Flight A, and Cliff and Michelle Rudy were 2nd. In Flight B, Bev Cooper and Sam Borkowsky were 1st. The following is a very straightforward hand that should see all N/S pairs reach slam. The opportunity to bid a grand slam is not out of the question. See if you’re up to it!
This is Board #6 from our May 18 game. East was the dealer, and E/W were vulnerable.
After East Passes, South should open with 1♠. Before the bidding goes any farther, North should realize that their partnership has a slam (18+ solid HCP opposite partner’s opening bid). Playing 2/1 game forcing, North has an easy 2♦ call so the partnership can explore further. It is suggested that South jump to 3♥ with his/her rebid, to show a very strong hand.
Now North takes control of the auction by bidding 4NT Keycard Blackwood. South bids 5♣, showing 0-3 key cards. A 5♦ bid by North ask about the spade Queen, and a bid of 5♠ confirms it (A 5♥ call would deny it). With all this information, you have 13 tricks in spades or notrump provided spades break 3-2. This is over a 60% chance, so it’s worth a shot!
As you can see, bridge bidding is intense communication. That’s part of what makes it so fun!
East will probably lead a club or a diamond. It doesn’t matter. When spades break 3-2, 13 tricks are easily available.
When this hand was played locally, one pair played in 6♠/S making 7, 2 pairs played in 4♠/S making 7, a 3rd pair played in 4♠/S making 6, and a 4th pair played in 3NT//N making 6. Unfortunately, many of our players failed to accurately evaluate their hands.
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.