September 2006 - 14

That Toddlin' Town
Part 1 of the report of the Chicago Summer NABC.

Photo courtesy of the Chicago Convention & Visitors Bureau.

GNT Championship Flight winners Bob Hamman, Peggy Sutherlin,
John Sutherlin, Hemant Lall, Petra Hamman and Justin Lall.

GNT Championship
The team captained by Bob
Hamman, representing District 16,
jumped out to an early lead in the
Grand National Teams Championship
Flight and cruised to an easy win in
an event that featured six pairs, each
with the same last name.
The runners-up, from District 21,
were captained by Jan Martel. The
two squads featured five married
couples and a father-son partnership.
District 16 won 146-89.
The winners are Bob and Petra
Hamman, John and Peggy Sutherlin
and Hemant and Justin Lall. The
runners-up are Chip and Jan Martel,
Lew and JoAnna Stansby and Kit and
Sally Woolsey.
The victory was the first North
American championship for Justin,
who turns 20 in September.
His goal, according to his dad,
Hemant, was to win a major championship before turning 20. "Justin really
played great," said the proud father.
Hemant has now won four North
American titles, each time with a
member of the Hamman family. His
three previous championships were
the Life Master Pairs with Bob and
two Mixed Board-a-Match Teams
with Petra. She and her husband had
14

never won a major championship
playing together.
Bob Hamman has now won the
GNT four times, "but it was the first
time in 20 years," he said.
The Texas team led by only 19 at
the half but broke it open in the third
quarter to take a 111-59 lead with 16
deals to go. This one, from the fourth
quarter, was a crusher for the Martel
squad:
Dlr: South  A 5 4
Vul: Both  Q 8 5
 A K J 10 9
75
73
 Q J 10 6
N
J
W E  10 6 4 2
Q87542
6
S
 Q 10 8 2
J643
K982
AK973
3
AK9
West
North East
South
L. Stansby J. Lall J. Stansby H. Lall
1 (1)
2
Pass Pass
Dbl
All Pass
(1) Strong, artificial and forcing.
Lew Stansby was trying to create a
swing for his team with a weak jump
overcall he might not have considered
in other circumstances. There was

a swing all right, but not the kind
Stansby hoped for.
Justin Lall was happy to convert
his father's balancing double to
penalty, and the defense was deadly
accurate. Justin led a low heart to
Hemant's king. Lew ruffed the heart
continuation and started on clubs,
desperately trying to develop tricks
somewhere. Hemant won the K
and shot his singleton trump through.
Justin won the 9, cashed the ace
and king and drove out the queen
with the jack. Now when Lew tried
another club, Hemant won and put
his partner in with the A. Justin
picked up Lew's last trump, and the
defense claimed plus 1700.
Considering that North-South can
make a grand slam in hearts, minus
1700 looked like a possible pickup,
but it didn't work out that way.
West
North East
South
Sutherlin Woolsey Hamman Martel
1
3 (2)
Pass
2NT (1) Pass
Pass
4 (3) Pass
4 (4)
(5)
Pass
5
Pass
5NT (6)
(7)
Pass
6
Pass
7
All Pass
(1) Game-forcing heart raise.
(2) Singleton or void in diamonds.
(3) Cuebid.
(4) Roman Key Card Blackwood for
hearts.
(5) Two key cards with the trump
queen.
(6) Grand slam try.
(7) K.
Sutherlin got off to a very tough
opening lead for declarer - a low diamond. The grand slam cannot be made
without the diamond finesse (there
is also a guess in the trump suit), but
Martel could not know that at trick
one, and playing low from dummy
Bridge Bulletin
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of September 2006
