May 2013 - 16

St. Louis NABC

persisted with his third diamond. South
ruffed to gain an overtrick.
Plus 110 was worth 12.5 matchpoints
out of 13. This was not critical (plus 80
would have scored 9 matchpoints), but
those small gains added up over the last
two sessions.
The following deal was perfect for the
lebensohl convention.
Dlr: South
Vul: Both

ࡕ95
ࡖQJ9
ࡗAK8
ࡔK9854
ࡕ A K 10 6 4 3
ࡕQ8
ࡖ 10 6 5 3
ࡖ742
ࡗ 10 6 4
ࡗQJ952
ࡔ-
ࡔ762
ࡕJ72
ࡖAK8
ࡗ73
ࡔ A Q J 10 3
West
North
Wolpert

East
Dwyer

2ࡕ

All Pass

3NT

South
1NT

If Wolpert had passed over 1NT, North
would have raised to game, and a lowspade lead would have resulted in down
two. But West could not risk 1NT being
passed out.
In practice, it did not matter, because
the opponents reached 3NT anyway.
West led his lowest spade, attitude, and
his side took the first six tricks.

If North-South had been using lebensohl the way most pairs do, North's 3NT
would have denied both four hearts and
a spade stopper. Then South would have
run to 4ࡔ, and North would have raised to
5ࡔ, which is unbeatable.
Plus 200 was worth 11.5 out of 13.
Minus 600 would have gained only 6.5.
The winners bid efficiently on this board,
with both sides vulnerable:
ࡕ K Q 10 8 6
ࡖ K Q 10 9 6
ࡗ8
ࡔ98

ࡕA2
ࡖA3
ࡗAKQJ9
ࡔAKJ7

West
Wolpert

East
Dwyer
2ࡔ
3ࡗ
3ࡕ
7NT

2ࡕ
3ࡖ
6ࡖ
Pass

I particularly like auctions that begin with
a natural positive response, because both
players are immediately thinking about a
slam. If the responder with a strong hand
starts with the overused (in my opinion)
2ࡗ waiting, he is thinking slam while the
opener might be wondering if even game
is available.
North had J-x-x in both majors, and the
ࡔQ was doubleton: There were 18 top
tricks. Plus 2220 was worth 7.5 matchpoints out of 13.

Baldwin North American Pairs, Flight A
74 pairs
1. Kevin Dwyer, Tampa FL -
Gavin Wolpert, Jupiter FL
2. Richard Oshlag, Memphis TN -
Jim Munday, Southaven MS
3. John Rayner, Mississauga ON -
Robert Lebi, Toronto ON
4. Richard Coren, Delray Beach FL -
Michael Seamon, Dania FL
5. Bernie Greenspan - Brian Ellis,
Beachwood OH
6. Jeff Meckstroth - Sally Meckstroth,
Clearwater Beach FL
7. Ellen Kozlove - Ralph Letizia Jr.,
Louisville KY
8. Cris Barrere, Berkeley CA -
Nick Wiebe, Oakland CA
9. Greg Hinze, San Antonio TX -
Hemant Lall, Dallas TX
10. Thomas Carmichael -
Jenni Carmichael, Kennesaw GA
11. Mike Gill, Columbia MD -
Noble Shore, Germantown MD
12. John Stubbe Jr., Dublin OH -
Derrick Stover, Columbus OH
13. Chuck Burger - Suzy Burger,
West Bloomfield MI
14. Douglas Doub, W Hartford CT -
Frank Merblum, Bloomfield CT
15. David Gurvich, Brooklyn NY -
Ron Haack, New York NY
16. Dougin Walker - David Rowntree,
Princeton NJ
17. Marvin Darter - Linda Darter,
McAlester OK
18. Tom Peters, Grapeland TX -
John Zilic, Houston TX
19. Abe Pineles, Jackson NJ -
Alexander Allen, Annandale NJ

Lebhar IMP Pairs
Kent Mignocchi and Joel Wooldridge sneaked to the top
of the Lebhar IMP Pairs in the final session, winning the
two-day contest by a scant 5.27 IMPs. The New Yorkers
edged out Lewis Gamerman, Westwood MA, and Robert
McCaw, Sudbury MA, who finished with 116.96 IMPs.
Robert Cappelli of Bloomfield MI and Robert Katz, Ann
Arbor MI, finished a distant third with 85.87 IMPs.
The win, Mignocchi's first NABC title, boosted him to
Grand Life Master. It was Wooldridge's seventh North
American championship.
Wooldridge and Mignocchi played as teammates on the
2001 World Champion Junior Team, but theirs is a new
partnership - they started playing together about three
months ago. Wooldridge called their success "all about
partnership trust."
16 Bridge Bulletin May 2013

Winners of the Lebhar IMP Pairs:
Kent Mignocchi and Joel Wooldridge

445.75
422.41
421.73
411.80
401.28
377.41
377.28
374.14
374.08
369.70
367.38
365.64
363.38
356.77
355.00
353.07
345.03
340.89
337.57
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of May 2013
