BRIDGE News:
Congratulations to Mary Courtright and Ann-Marie Graves, who were 3rd overall in the Nov. 10 District 17 Sectional Tournament at Clubs (STaC). There were 358 pairs in the event! Mary and Ann-Marie were 1st locally in both our Monday and Wednesday games this past week.
Los Alamos and Unit 381 Board members for 2026 are Randy Baker, Helen Butler, Bev and Martin Cooper, Jerry Fleming, Bobby Haynes, Cliff Rudy, John Ruminer, Neil Shortlidge from Taos and Jack Stafurik. Officers will be elected in December.
This hand is interesting in that most N/S players will get to game, but a slam is available in the right suit!
Board 3: South is the dealer and E/W are vulnerable.
South is the dealer and opens 1♠. West should pass and, depending on what system N/S are playing, North will either bid 1NT (forcing), if playing the popular 2/1 system, or 2♦ if playing Standard. Over partner’s forcing 1NT, South will probably bid 3♠, and North will raise to game. If playing Standard, the bidding could go a couple of ways. After North’s 2♦ 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. 5♠ makes exactly 5, while 6♦ makes 6! In spades, declarer must lose the ♠KQ, while in diamonds, declarer loses one spade and ruffs the 3rd, making the rest of the spades good!
When this hand was played locally, one pair played in 2♠ making 5, two pairs played in 4♠ making 5, and the 4th pair played in 5♦ down 2. Don’t know how that happened!
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!