BRIDGE News:
Welcome back to Ramdy Baker, who vacationed for a month in Europe. Winners this week were Jerry Morzzinski, Cliff Rudy and Jerry Fleming. Next week’s games will be part of the District 17 Sectional Tournament at Clubs. This competition includes players from Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, and West Texas, all playing the same hands in their local clubs.
Today’s hand is quite competitive between the two sides, as each side holds roughly the same strength, and each can make a 3-level part score.
This is board #11. South is the dealer and no one is vulnerable.
South is the dealer, and opens 1♣. West has a sound 1♠ overcall. North will probably respond 1NT. If East is into the Law of Total Tricks, which indicates that in a competitive auction you should be reasonably safe bidding as high as the total number of trumps in the two hands, he/she will bid 3♠, which is the optimum contract for E/W on this hand.
Should East bid only 2♠, a single raise showing 6-9 high card points (HCP), South and West will probably pass, but North may well bid 3♣. Over that, West should bid 3♠, ending the auction.
When this hand was played locally, one pair played in 2♠/W making 4, another pair played in 3♠/W making 3, and the 3rd pair played in 4♠ /W down 1.
The Los Alamos Duplicate Bridge Club games are held at the Betty Ehart Senior Activity Center (BESAC) Wednesdays starting at 12:45, 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!