BRIDGE News:
Former resident Mike Hall played in our Wednesday game this week. Winners this week were Neill Goltz and Jerry Morzinski on Monday, and Jerry Fleming and Cliff Rudy on Wednesday.
Flight B winners were Jan Barnes and Reggie Fuchs on Monday and Reggie Fuchs and Bobby Haynes on Wednesday.
Today’s hand is very competitive, even at the game level, which is unusual. Before you look at the auction and play, look at the four hands and visualize the bidding.
Board 12: West is the dealer and N/S are vulnerable.
West is the dealer and opens 1NT. I would not be surprised if North made a preemptive 3♦ call, but 2♦ is probably Ok if it is not conventional. With 7 hearts and a weak hand, East should direct his/her side to 4♥. If South is willing to carry on to 5♦, N/S will probably win the hand and the auction, as both 4♥ and 5♦ will make! Quite unusual at the game level.
If instead, East just makes a 3♥ bid, South could either bid 3♠ or 4♦, both showing a strong hand. North will likely then raise South’s bid suit to game. South should pass a 4♠ bid, but after 5♦, he/she might venture a 6♦ bid. This would be really rare! 5♠ makes exactly 5 (if West leads the A♦ and another diamond), while 6♦ makes 6! Bridge is a fascinating game! When this hand was played locally, one pair played in 2♥/W making 4, two pairs played in 4♥/W making 5, and the 4th pair played in 5♦/N making 6.
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.
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!