February 2021 - 29

~SILVER SECTIONALS AT SEA~
BRITISH ISLES CRUISE

with Barnet Shenkin & Maggie Shenkin
August 13, - 27, 2021
Onboard 6 Star Crystal Serenity

take what he could get. What he got
was minus 1540.
Some bridge writers, like collectors,
have special interests. One is Nikos
Sarantakos, who, in collaboration with
David Bird, wrote " Famous Bridge
Records. " Nikos claims that Richard
and I tied a record in top-level competition for bidding and making a small
slam with only 12 HCP. Their account
concluded with, " Look at that great
lead-directing 6 by Richard Margolis. It paved the way for a successful
defense, should East-West advance
to a small slam in hearts. " Let me add
that I would have doubled 6 if bid by
West, crucial to prevent a sacrifice by
South, and led a suit-preference 9 to
Richard's stiff ace (or void). He would
have dutifully returned a spade for
me to ruff, and I next give him a club
ruff, down two, plus 500 - a clinic in a
single deal.
Some wild distributional deals have
a surprise ending. It's a story as told by
Bermuda Bowler Bobby Nail to fellow
Texan John Bromberg. Playing rubber
bridge for sizable stakes with a weak
partner, Nail, in second seat, picked up
10 clubs headed by the A-K-Q-J-10
(150 honors) and three singletons.
This could be worth a lot of coin of the
realm. Sensing a hand for tactics and,
in any event, beyond accurate description, Nail passed, hoping to buy the
hand later in the auction at a modest
level, perhaps doubled and laydown.
Third hand passed and Nail's pulse
may have begun to accelerate. Without
much thought, his partner passed and
threw the deal in, announcing, " Bobby,
every time I open three bare aces I get
into trouble. "

SENIOR MOMENTS
continued from page 23
David Price opened on a 10-count, and
two rounds of bidding later, he was in a
grand slam. Incorrigible, these Seniors.
Mind you, Colin Simpson did have quite
a good hand.
North led the 5. David rose with the
A, cashed dummy's trumps, played
the A and ruffed a club. With the Q
falling, the contract was now cold.
Did you notice that lead? 5 from K-5
doubleton! What is even more impressive is that across the Open, Women's
and Senior events, the same lead was
found 12 times against 7 contracts!
For the record, both the England Open
Pair (Tony Forrester and Andrew
Robson) and the England Women's Pair
(Fiona Brown and Catherine Draper)
bid and made the grand slam in spades.
John Holland led the 5 against 6
at the other table in the Seniors match,
so England gained 11 IMPs. If John had
led a diamond, he would, of course, have
chosen the king: No. 3 on my list of defensive tips: Lead high from a doubleton.
England was lying last of the 10 teams
halfway through their first match in the
round-robin final. I don't remember
my motivational talk, but it must have
been spectacular. The team went on
to win their remaining eight matches
and claim the gold medal. Now, as npc,
I had a really important decision to
make. " What song would you like at the
closing ceremony? " I was asked. They
didn't have " The Teddy Bears' Picnic, "
so I opted for " God Save the Queen. " The
organizers tried to confuse us by playing
the second verse, but we went for the
safety play of singing the words from
the first verse again. A team in perfect
harmony - happy and glorious.
Simon Cocheme of London UK is an occasional contributor to the Bridge Bulletin.

BARNET SHENKIN
Grand National Teams Winner 2004
World Class Player, Bridge Teacher & Author
Winner UK, USA, & Scotland
25 National Championships
2 World Invitationals
Author " Playing With The Bridge Legends "
www.shenkinbridge.com

MAGGIE SHENKIN
Certified ACBL Director & Teacher
Winner of the Scottish Cup & Portland Pairs
www.shenkinbridge.com

Ports of Call: London (Dover), St. Peter Port, Guernsey; Cork,
Waterford, Holyhead, Liverpool, Dublin, Belfast (Overnight),
Oban, Kirkwall, Edinburgh (Overnight), At Sea, London (Dover)

BLACK SEA INTENSIVE VOYAGE
with Alan & Debbie Gailfus

September 14 - 28, 2021
Onboard the 5 Star Azamara Pursuit

DEBBIE & ALAN GAILFUS
Platinum Life Masters &
ACBL Certified Bridge
Instructor & Director

Ports of Call: Athens/Pireaus, Kusadasi/Ephesus, Cengelkoy,
Turkey; Varna, Bulgaria; Constanta, Romania; Odessa, Ukraine;
Sochi, Russia; Batumi, Georgia; Sinop, Turkey; Istanbul
(Overnight), Turkey; Athens/Pireaus.

LIGHTHOUSES AND LEAVES
NEW YORK TO MONTREAL
with Eric Rodwell & Marjorie Michelin

October 14 - 24, 2021
Onboard the All-Inclusive Regent Navigator

ERIC RODWELL
WORLD CHAMPION

Member ACBL Hall of Fame
ACBL Player of the Year
Barry Crane Top 500
Fishbein Trophy
Herman Trophy
Goren Trophy

MARJORIE MICHELIN

Grand Life Master,
Spring 2020 WBF Online
Champion, Certified ACBL
Bridge Instructor
Ports of Call: New York, Newport, Boston, Bar Harbor, St. John,
Sydney, Sept-Iles, Quebec City (overnight), Montreal

SUNNY FESTIVITIES CARIBBEAN HOLIDAY
Featuring Barnet Shenkin & Maggie Shenkin
December 23, 2021 - January 4, 2022
Onboard 5 Star Oceania Cruises' Riviera

BARNET SHENKIN
Grand National Teams Winner 2004
World Class Player, Bridge Teacher & Author
Winner UK, USA, & Scotland
25 National Championships
2 World Invitationals
Author " Playing With The Bridge Legends "
www.shenkinbridge.com

MAGGIE SHENKIN
Certified ACBL Director & Teacher
Winner of the Scottish Cup & Portland Pairs
www.shenkinbridge.com

Ports of Call: Miami, At Sea (2), Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao,
Grenada, Barbados, Guadalope, St Maarten, At Sea (2), Miami

Liz Nixon's World of
Cruise & Travel
888-400-CRUZ (2789)
www.liznixonsworldoftravel.com

An Independent Affiliate of Montecito Village Travel CST 2019108-10

Exclusive! Must be booked through Liz Nixon's World of Cruise & Travel

February 2021 | Bridge Bulletin | 29
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February 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of February 2021
