August 2008 - 22

Women's trials

Dlr: Both  K J
Vul: North  8 7 3
 K Q 10 8 3
986
 10 9 6 2
Q874
N
KJ4
 10 9
W E
762
AJ5
S
Q43
 J 10 7 5
A53
AQ652
94
AK2
West
Bi
Pass
All Pass

North
Radin
Pass
2

East
Kaplan
Pass
Pass

South
Moss
1
4

West led the 10 to the jack,
queen and ace. Moss advanced the
4 to the king and ace. Kaplan
shifted to 5, won by Moss with her
ace. Declarer led a second diamond
to the queen and played a third round
of diamonds, ruffing with the 5.
South now led A and another won
by Bi with the J. West led the Q
to declarer's king, but Moss was in
control. She led a spade to the K
and discarded her club loser on the
10 - making 4 for plus 620.
This was the auction in the Open
Room:
West
North
East
South
Molson Balderson Sokolow Miner
Pass
Pass
1
Pass
4
Pass
2 (1)
All Pass
(1) Drury three-card limit raise.
Molson led the 10 to the jack,
queen and ace. Miner led the 9 to
the K, but Sokolow ducked. Miner
returned to her hand with the A to
lead a second diamond, inserting the
10 and won by the J. East now
returned a spade to the K.
Declarer led a diamond and ruffed
out the A, but she had no way to
draw trumps and use dummy's good
diamonds. She took her best shot by
cashing the K and then ruffing
her spade loser in dummy. When she
advanced the Q, East ruffed with
the 10. Declarer played the Q
and was overruffed by Molson with
the K. She cashed the Q and
22

declarer had another heart to lose for
minus 100. The was a 12-IMP pickup
for the Moss team.
The Miner team struck back on this
deal:
Dlr: East
Vul: N-S

A96
K9832
QJ83
9
 10 7 4 3
N QJ52
 A 10 6 5 W E  J
 10 9 6 4 2 S  A
-
 A K 10 6 5 4 3
K8
Q74
K75
QJ872
West
North
East
Molson Balderson Sokolow
1
1
Pass
1
2
Pass
4
4
All Pass

South
Miner
Pass
Pass
Pass

4 had no play and Miner went
down one for minus 50. In the Closed
Room, the auction was more exciting:
West
Radin
1
Pass

North
East
Kaplan Moss
1
Dbl
3
Pass
Dbl

South
Bi
Pass
3NT
All Pass

Radin led the 4 taken by Moss
with her singleton A. She cashed
the K and got the bad news when
Radin showed out. Moss next played
the J covered by the queen and won
by the ace. West shifted to a spade,
but Bi simply won the K in hand
and advanced the 7, running it after
Radin played low. When East showed
out, declarer had four heart tricks,
three diamond tricks and two spade
tricks - making 3NT doubled scored
plus 750 and 12 IMPs.

The final
The teams captained by Moss and
Baker met in the 96-board final.
The first set provided plenty of
action and saw Moss take the lead
by a score of 39-38. On this deal, as
North-South, which contract do you
prefer - 3NT or 4?

Dlr: North  A K 8 6 2
Vul: E-W  A
A8763
A5
 J 10 5 4
Q97
N
Q97
K5
W E
Q5
942
S
9872
 K Q J 10 4
3
 J 10 8 6 4 3 2
 K J 10
63
West
North
Palmer Molson
1
Pass
3
Pass
3NT

East
Deas
Pass
Pass
All Pass

South
Sokolow
1NT
3

Palmer led the 8, ducked and
won by Deas with the 10. A club was
continued and taken by the ace. Declarer, Sokolow, was at the crossroads
- who had the all-important Q?
A diamond was led to the J and
Palmer's Q. The defense cashed
three more club tricks for down one
- North-South was minus 50.
In the replay, this was the auction:
West
Radin
Pass
Pass
All Pass

North
McCallum
1
3
3NT

East
Moss
Pass
Pass
Pass

South
Baker
1NT
3
4

Radin led the 9 won by the ace.
Baker cashed the A, then the A
and  K to discard a club. She ruffed
a club and led another heart. Later
she misguessed the diamond suit, but
lost only two hearts and a diamond
for plus 420. That was 10 IMPs to her
team.
The Baker squad gained IMPs on
this deal (hands rotated):
Dlr: North  A
Vul: N-S  A K 10 4
8432
AQ42
K52
QJ864
N
Q83
W E 52
 K 10 9 6
Q
S
K65
J9873
 10 9 7 3
J976
AJ75
 10
Bridge Bulletin
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of August 2008
