October 2021 - 23

Oregon Duo Win Three-Day
Open Pairs
Louis Beauchet of Sherwood OR
and Irva Neyhart of Portland OR
won the NAOBC Three-Day Open
Pairs. Beauchet, 20, is a full-time
professional player. Originally from
France, Beauchet has lived in the U.S.
for six years. Neyhart won the national
Helen Shanbrom Ace of Clubs race
" I opened a strong 1NT as North
and Irva transferred me to spades.
Accurately going low with the dreaded
5-3-3-2 shape and soft values, Irva did
not try for game. When West balanced
with a takeout double, East (Meckstroth)
had a difficult decision to make.
After some consideration, he decided to
convert the double. There was not much
to the play of the hand with an easy nine
tricks and plus 870. After the hand was
over, Meckstroth chatted to the table, 'I
could have bid 2NT (scrambling).'
" This hand was special to me for two
Winners of the Three-Day Open Pairs:
Louis Beauchet and Irva Neyhart
for her bracket three years in a row.
The pair qualified for the final day
in 10th place. They scored 63.64% in
the first final session, which moved
them up to second place, right behind
Jan Assini and Frank Cymerman
of Pittsburgh PA, who finished second
overall.
In third place were Jeff Meckstroth
of Clearwater Beach FL and
James Gleick of New York NY.
" There were lots of fun hands, " said
Beauchet, " including two doubled
partscores that we made. "
Dlr: West  A K 8
Vul: Both k 10 8 7 6 2
l K Q 2
' K 3
 -
k Q J 9 3
l J 7 6 3
' A J 5 4 2
 10 9 7 4 3
k A 4
l A 9 5
' 10 8 7
 Q J 6 5 2
k K 5
l 10 8 4
' Q 9 6
West North East
Pass
Pass 2 Pass
Dbl All Pass
South
Gleick Beauchet Meckstroth Neyhart
Pass 1NT
2k
Pass
reasons: First, it set the tone for the rest
of the session during which virtually
(no pun intended) everything went our
way. And second, it illustrated that even
the best players in the world are capable
of making the wrong decisions, and to
acknowledge it. "
Beauchet noted there were many good
defensive decisions by their partnership
over the course of the event. " One of the
most enjoyable parts of playing with
Irva is that she's a very careful and reliable
carder, making the defensive task
easier, " Beauchet said. " We play standard
carding with fourth-best leads, as
simple as it gets, but that's good enough
as long as you card properly and count.
This deal illustrates how taking your
time and gathering the information you
have before making a play pays off:
Beauchet
Dlr: East  A 10 6 2
Vul: E-W k K Q 8
l K Q 8 2
' 4 2
 J 4 3
k 9 7
l J 10
' A Q 10 8 6 3
 K
k A J 6 5 2
l A 7 5 3
' K J 9
Neyhart
 Q 9 8 7 5
k 10 4 3
l 9 6 4
' 7 5
The auction was 1NT-Pass-3NT-
All Pass.
" Irva led the 7 versus 3NT and I
won trick one with the ace. Declarer
playing the king was a surprise, but
before playing an 'automatic' second
spade, pause and assess the situation.
Irva's 7 has to be fourth-best, showing
the queen, and therefore implying
that declarer has the singleton king.
A quick addition of the points told me
that declarer had both red-suit aces,
as well as the 'K. That means eight
top tricks. If I return a spade, that
establishes a ninth trick for declarer.
That brings a red-suit switch into the
picture ... but which red suit? If Irva
has the kJ, a heart switch is best, but
if she has the l9, a diamond switch
is best. Given the 1NT opener, finding
Irva with the l9 was more likely
than finding her with the kJ. Plus, if
the diamond switch is wrong, it only
costs one trick (thanks to my l8). If
the heart switch is wrong, it costs two
tricks. That's everything at matchpoints!
All this analysis must be done
quickly of course, but if you take just
one minute, chances are you'll get it
right and find the diamond switch,
necessary to beat the contract and get
a great score. "
Beauchet switched to the lK at
trick two. Neyhart threw a diamond
on the run of the clubs (as did declarer).
Beauchet discarded all of his
spades and one heart. When Beauchet
was back in with a heart honor, he was
able to cash three diamonds for down
one and a 69% board.
" What an opportunity to play
against great competition, " said Neyhart.
" My favorite part of the grueling
three-day event was playing great
defense and watching Louis play the
hands. "

October 2021 | Bridge Bulletin |
23
October 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of October 2021
