The losing habit

Having won the first match of the season, we have fallen into a losing habit. To be fair, most of these losses have been to the top teams and we seem to be, generally, a mid-table outfit and I'm sure we'll win most of the remaining games. But it is frustrating especially as we struggle to get our best pairs out.

I played with Andrew last night. Andrew is a new ex-junior who has been working hard on his Far East vacations whilst thinking vaguely about forthcoming exams. We only had a little system discussion but seemed to play reasonably most of the time.

In the first half it appeared that tables one and two were playing different boards to the other two. We were about -350 down but the relative N/S scores were wildly different. A lot of this was down to a variety of strange sacrifices and penalties littering both sides of the scorecard, whereas the top tables were more consistent.

In the second half most of the losses came at the top two tables. Andrew and I missed the following slam that Liz and David bid:

Lack of system and just being practical seemed sensible. Even when you are in the club slam, it is not clear how to play it. Do you just play the cross ruff and hope that diamonds lie favourably, or simply take the heart finesse? However, with clubs breaking, the heart finesse working AND the ♥K coming down in three, spades 3-3, you can make thirteen tricks on most leads.

Our next match is against another title aspirant. Hopefully we'll be able to dent their ambitions.

One more to go

There is just one more SBU trial this season. The team for the European Team Championships (Seniors Series) will be selected at the end of February and then we are done. Well, aside from all the NPCs that we need for the Europeans, and the training weekends, and the preparation for next year.

Speaking of which, Scottish viewers will soon start to see our flyer for next season's Trial Preparation Weekend. Here is a sneak preview:

This new event was really well received last year and we hope it will be even more popular this time. It really is designed for those PAIRS who are not quite ready for the Open Trials but want to see what it is like to play in such an event. It is also ideal for Junior, Seniors or Women's partnerships. We throw in some coaching and this year, perhaps unlike last, we will keep the Open Trialists away. Further details later in the year, but for now just pencil the date into your diary.

Women in action

I spent the weekend at the Lady Milne trials. It proved a close and tense affair with only the winning pair appearing to have an untroubled time. Results can be found on the SBU website although they are provisional until Tuesday evening.

Slams 'R' Not Us

Anne and I were drafted in as substitutes for the Scottish Cup Plate, but we were unsuccessful and it was slams that made the main difference. Would you have done any better?

Some very good answers in the comments. I have now updated this page with the answers.



What do you do now?

6♣ is a good save against five spades, but you can take a spade ruff against 5♥ if partner leads her singleton AND you return it for a ruff. Partner is 1-1-6-5 and you will make 11 tricks in clubs.

I bid 6♣.



What do you lead?

I led a spade and a frustrated partner was soon showing me ♣AKJ after declarer claimed when the spade finesse worked. Dummy had ♠AQx opposite singleton jack. Declarer always needed the simple spade finesse on a non-club lead to make.



Do you make another move?

Clearly if you believe partner has denied a diamond control you have an easy pass. We did not have any explicit agreement (a first-time partnership) so I continued, partner eventually cue bid diamonds and I bid the slam.

Partner does hold the ♦A, so presumably those who want to hear a diamond cue bid will continue with 5♣. Partner cannot cue bid diamonds again but has ♠Ax, is she compelled to bid the slam now?

Anne did not show the ace of diamonds as she was minimum (Ax KQJx AJx KQ10x). Slam needs the king of diamonds onside, either doubletop or singleton or with the ace of clubs onside too.

We made 11 tricks.



What now?

We did not bid the almost solid slam. Just bidding 6♦ or force originally with 2♥ seem the best suggestions to me.

You need to get two right to win the match.

Poke - are you a real person?

Back to the Berwick Club. For most of us it was the first game since the Xmas party and we were going stir-crazy. With Diana away Jean subbed again and we got a second place in the teams, well behind the leaders.

There were two interesting decisions for LotG, both featuring a two-level bid in competition. She got both right, but perhaps the second one was a little lucky. What do you think?

The South is a minimum 2♥ bid in my book, but the quality is good so worthwhile to show the fifth heart. The alternative, a double, just loses that card. Although we play 2/1, the 2♥ bid is only forcing for one round and the pass of 2♠ was well judged.

Eight tricks were the limit on the hand.

It is not easy to judge the South hand. The diamond holding is poor, but there are good controls in the black suits. I think it is worth a raise vulnerable at IMPs.

However, even with the club finesse working there were only nine tricks as two heart tricks had to be lost.

Camrose weekend

Scotland had a terrific start to the weekend when they beat Ireland in the first match on Friday evening. As it transpired, the only time that Ireland would be beaten. The inclement weather had some effect, as the Irish were forced to field an irregular partnership in Hanlon/Carroll, but these are fine players who use the same system so it was still a great win.

This was followed on Saturday by a good win against Wales, certainly the first time any of the vugraph operators could remember back-to-back wins in recent years. However this is rubbish, as a correspondent reminds me, as Scotland won the first THREE matches in the second weekend last year, including a 25-4 VP win against Ireland!

Then Scotland hit the first icy patch, slipping up against Northern Ireland. A good comeback against England in the second half of match four restored spirits, but a disappointing defeat to the bottom team in the final match was a setback.

As expected, Ireland and England lead the way and they are expected to continue their domination at the second weekend in Belfast in early March. Scotland will probably battle it out with Wales for third place, although you never know what may happen if you get a big win against one of the top two.

Standings

Team	VPs
Republic of Ireland	100
England	99
Wales	78
Scotland	72
Northern Ireland	57
NIBU	40

All the details can be found on the event's excellent web site.

The snow must go on

More snow meant that the Berwick Club was shut last night, but I was asked to help some of the members have an online game instead. I decided we would have enough for a short teams tournament and the results are below.

Semifinals
Whiterig	41	:	11	Borderers
Jean and Margie				Marietta and Morven
Ros and Aileen				Anne and Tony
GeoMar	33	:	22	MamaPat
Brian and George				Margaret and Kate
Jane and John				Marguerite and Trish
Third Place Final
Borderers	32	:	10	MamaPat
Final
GeoMar	55	:	22	Whiterig

Congratulations to George, Brian, Jane and John who fully deserved their victory. Thanks to everyone for playing, especially Margie despite being plastered earlier in the day.

Last round

We lost in the quarter-final of the ICL tournament last night. Alex and I came in for the second set but the team lead of 2 IMPs soon disappeared in the first six boards. We could all have done better, but our opponents took some inspired decisions and it was clear that their name was on the semifinal berth.

Camrose weekend

This weekend is the first of the 2010 Home International Series for the Camrose Trophy. It is being held in Edinburgh and you can follow all the live action on Bridge Base Online.

All the information you need can be found on the official web site: http://www.camrosebridge.com/

Weather permitting I shall be doing the live commentary at the event. I hope to see many of you there.

I've got the majors

It was supposed to be the next round of the club championship pairs, but the poor weather conditions caused an early cancellation and I believe only a few hardy pairs braved their way to Berwick for some aggregate bridge.

With LotG having been sent to Coventry, it does mean that the others lost an opportunity for a good score without us there. In an attempt to combat this I was expecting to play with Ros, as her regular partner was also away.

But it was the right decision, as 20cm of snow fell during the bridge and a further 20cm overnight. Good for photos, lousy for travelling.

Ros and I took the opportunity to have a game on BBO instead. The first two hands were quite wild:

Despite a lack of points Ros clearly has to bid. The more interesting question is what I should do? The advantage of my raise was that no-one doubled, whereas the 3NT bid in the other room encouraged the use of the red card and so we gained 5 IMPs against the doubled contract next door.

The second hand was no easier.

Ros bid 4♥ pretty quickly. I'd have been a little more worried that partner had forgotten the system, but perhaps the default meaning of Michaels was helpful. A further 9 IMPs when our team mates left the double card in the box.

Things calmed down a little after this, but we had an enjoyable game in the comfort of our own homes.

Just a small change

We've made a small change to our system. The 2NT relay after a weak two opener now allows us to differentiate between 5- and 6-card suits.

Following this change I've had to update:

• our system notes
• our WBF system card
• our SBU system card
• our EBU system card
• our ACBL system card
• our BBO Full Disclosure system description
• our BBO Full Disclosure system description that includes the strong club defence

There is no such thing as a small change!