October 2020 - 12
Phil Clayton and Andrew Gumperz, winners of the Premier Pairs
teams a four-board playoff, or perhaps,
if they were tired, they could meet
back on Monday. But the players were
unanimous in declining to resolve the
tie, and all received second-place masterpoint awards.
The Martians have landed
Phil Clayton of Frisco TX and
Andrew Gumperz of Berkeley CA
topped the virtual victory stand of the
Premier Pairs. The duo, who won the
0-10,000 NABC Pairs in 2018, seized
the top spot after the second qualifying
session and never relinquished control, winning the event with session
scores of 61%, 60%, 63% and 56%.
Second place went to Mark Bendure
and Robert Bitterman from Michigan,
who won the Wernher Open Pairs last
year at the Las Vegas NABC. Dana
Berkowitz and Alex Perlman from the
New York area finished third.
The two-day event, which drew 138
pairs, was restricted to players who
had played in the Premier Knockout
and were no longer in contention or
players eligible for the Platinum Pairs.
The Aug. 1 qualifier cut the field to 72
pairs for the final the next day.
Clayton and Gumperz have been
playing together since 2016. The pair
has devised a system they call Martian
Standard. Clayton describes it as "a
blend of Fantunes, Welland/Auken and
our own secret sauce."
The aspect of the game they have fo-
12 Bridge Bulletin October 2020
Robert Bitterman and Mark Bendure, second in the Premier Pairs
cused on most, however, is their defensive carding agreements, "and this has
paid the most dividends," Clayton says.
"We started with Richard Pavlicek's
methods that focus primarily on count,
but specify attitude or suit preference
in certain situations as well."
Gumperz commends Clayton's
defense on this deal from the second
qualifying session:
Dlr: North ♠ 8 5
Vul: N-S ♥ K Q J 9 4 2
♦4
♣J742
♠K
♠AQ974
♥875
♥ 10
♦ 10 8 7 6
♦A953
♣AK853
♣ Q 10 6
♠ J 10 6 3 2
♥A63
♦KQJ2
♣9
West
North
Gumperz
2♥
2NT
Pass
Dbl
All Pass
East
South
Clayton
2♠
Pass
Pass
3♥
When North opened 2♥, Clayton
overcalled 2♠ and responder passed.
Gumperz thought game was possible,
but he had no obvious call. "Given
there had been no heart raise, I reasoned Phil probably had some heart
length," he says, "so I balanced with
2NT, hoping he had enough in hearts to
stop their suit."
South, belatedly raised to 3♥. "Because they were vulnerable," Gumperz
says, "the difference between plus 100
and 200 might be worth a lot of matchpoints. So I made an aggressive matchpoint double."
Clayton and Gumperz engineered a
double-dummy defense to collect the
targeted 200. Clayton made the only
lead to beat 3♥: a trump, which limited
declarer to seven trump tricks.
"Consequently, declarer immediately
attacked diamonds," Gumperz says.
"Now Phil made the second crucial
play, ducking his ace. If he had won,
declarer would score six hearts and
three diamonds.
"When Phil ducked, declarer was
in trouble. If he switched to clubs, I
would win and lead a second trump. So
instead, declarer played the ♦Q, pitching a spade loser. He hoped to score
two diamonds and one ruff in addition to six trumps in his hand, but Phil
was up to the challenge. He underled
the ♠A to my king; I won and led a
second trump. Now when declarer led
his singleton club, I could lead a third
trump, holding declarer to eight tricks.
So a fantastic defensive job by Phil
justified my aggressive double!"
Plus 200 was worth 89% of the
matchpoints.
Clayton returned the compliment
by recognizing Gumperz's defensive
prowess on this deal from the first final
session:
October 2020
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of October 2020
In First Seat - Paul Linxwiler
Inbox -Letters to the Editor
Prestigious Premiere
Never Give Up
Obituary - Justin Lall (1986-2020)
College Try
Virtual Youth NABC
BBO Helpdesk
The Rise and Fall of the Precision Team
Obituary - Dave Smith (1944-2020)
Ruling the Game
Continuing Education
The Bidding Box
It's Your Call
Card Play 101 - by Phillip Alder
Parrish the Thought - Adam Parrish
Reasoning with Robert - Robert Todd
Startup Bridge by Lynn Berg
Lessons Learned by Michael Berkowitz
Bidding Basics by Larry Cohen
West Hands -Bidding Box
Ask Jerry - by Jerry Helms
East Hands -Bidding Box
Mike's Bridge Lesson - Mike Lawrence
Chalk Talk- Eddie Kantar
Defensive Maneuvers - Paul Ross
The Real Deal - by Larry Cohen
Challenge of the Month
Boehm on Bridge
Bidding Matters - by Karen Walker
Mike's Advice - by Mike Lawrence
Test Your Play
My Bridge and Yours - by Frank Stewart
Solutions to Test Your Play
Dear Billy - by Billy Miller
Bridge with the Abbot - by David Bird
George's World - by George Jacobs
Life Master Milestones
Puzzle Page
New Life Masters
In Memoriam
Obituary - Jimmy Pelham (1926-2020)
Obituary - David Priest (1940-2020)
Obituary - Lou Henson (1932-2020)
Obituary - Lee Wilson (1929-2020)
Obituary - Victor King (1955-2020)
Obituary - Cristal Nell (1978-2020)
Tournament Directory
October 2020 - 1
October 2020 - 2
October 2020 - 3
October 2020 - 4
October 2020 - 5
October 2020 - In First Seat - Paul Linxwiler
October 2020 - Inbox -Letters to the Editor
October 2020 - 8
October 2020 - Prestigious Premiere
October 2020 - 10
October 2020 - 11
October 2020 - 12
October 2020 - 13
October 2020 - Never Give Up
October 2020 - 15
October 2020 - 16
October 2020 - 17
October 2020 - 18
October 2020 - Obituary - Justin Lall (1986-2020)
October 2020 - 20
October 2020 - 21
October 2020 - College Try
October 2020 - Virtual Youth NABC
October 2020 - BBO Helpdesk
October 2020 - The Rise and Fall of the Precision Team
October 2020 - 26
October 2020 - 27
October 2020 - 28
October 2020 - Obituary - Dave Smith (1944-2020)
October 2020 - Ruling the Game
October 2020 - Continuing Education
October 2020 - The Bidding Box
October 2020 - 33
October 2020 - 34
October 2020 - 35
October 2020 - It's Your Call
October 2020 - 37
October 2020 - 38
October 2020 - 39
October 2020 - Card Play 101 - by Phillip Alder
October 2020 - Parrish the Thought - Adam Parrish
October 2020 - Reasoning with Robert - Robert Todd
October 2020 - Startup Bridge by Lynn Berg
October 2020 - Lessons Learned by Michael Berkowitz
October 2020 - West Hands -Bidding Box
October 2020 - 46
October 2020 - East Hands -Bidding Box
October 2020 - Mike's Bridge Lesson - Mike Lawrence
October 2020 - Chalk Talk- Eddie Kantar
October 2020 - Defensive Maneuvers - Paul Ross
October 2020 - The Real Deal - by Larry Cohen
October 2020 - Challenge of the Month
October 2020 - 53
October 2020 - Boehm on Bridge
October 2020 - Bidding Matters - by Karen Walker
October 2020 - Mike's Advice - by Mike Lawrence
October 2020 - Test Your Play
October 2020 - My Bridge and Yours - by Frank Stewart
October 2020 - Solutions to Test Your Play
October 2020 - Dear Billy - by Billy Miller
October 2020 - Bridge with the Abbot - by David Bird
October 2020 - George's World - by George Jacobs
October 2020 - 63
October 2020 - Life Master Milestones
October 2020 - Puzzle Page
October 2020 - New Life Masters
October 2020 - Obituary - Jimmy Pelham (1926-2020)
October 2020 - Obituary - Lee Wilson (1929-2020)
October 2020 - Obituary - Cristal Nell (1978-2020)
October 2020 - 70
October 2020 - Tournament Directory
October 2020 - 72
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