ª 7 5
© J 7
¨ Q 6 2
§ A J 10 9 7 3
ª J 2
© K 6 4
¨ A K 8 7 5
§ 6 4 2
ª Q 8 6 4 3
© A Q 2
¨ J 10 3
§ K Q
ª A K 10 9
© 10 9 8 5 3
¨ 9 4
§ 9 5
LONDON TROPHY FINALS – 2002
This competition, for sports and social clubs, reached its climax at Queens Club on Sunday, 2nd June. As usual, the climax consisted of the final of the Trophy itself, the play-off for third place between the losing semi-finalists and the final of the plate competition.
Trophy final:Farnham Golf Club vs MCC Marigold
Third place play-off: Lewes Constitutional Club vs Saville Club
Plate final: Chislehurst Golf Club 1 vs Reform Club
Board 1. Dealer North. Love all.
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ª 7 5 |
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ª J 2 |
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ª Q 8 6 4 3 |
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ª A K 10 9 |
The event started with a bang – five different scores and a swing in each match.
Against 3NT (undoubled), all the South players led the H10 and all the Easts won in hand. The normal line was to take the losing diamond finesse after which North switched to the CJ. For MCC, declarer decided to cut losses and cashed all the red suit winners, conceding one-off. MCC bought the contract in 3C in the other room also for one off, first blood to Farnham.
Board 2
Dealer East. North-South game.
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ª J 10 3 |
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ª A K 9 4 |
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ª Q 8 7 6 2 |
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ª 5 |
Four times, the final contract was 6S by East, twice on the lead of the S5 and twice on the lead of the HQ. The latter conceded the contract immediately via the marked heart finesse after winning the HK and drawing trumps. On a spade lead, the best line of play, found by one East, is to draw trumps, eliminate the hearts and play three rounds of diamonds. This succeeds whenever the red suit honours fall in two rounds, whenever South holds the DQ (so is end-played to lead a club into the tenace or concede a ruff and discard) or whenever the club finesse is right. However, on the actual lie of the cards, playing three rounds of clubs after the heart elimination also works (South has to lead away from the DQ) – and this is what the other East did, successfully, after leading the CJ and then deciding against running it.
The main interest was reserved for Farnham
who bid to an optimistic 7S and received
the mandatory trump lead. Declarer, not unreasonably,
thought that his best chance was a successful
club finesse for the twelfth trick, followed
by a miracle or a red suit squeeze for the
thirteenth. In practice, the contract drifted
two-off when the club finesse failed. 1080
to Farnham.
Ironically a mathematically inferior line
would have brought it home. Because South
holds everything, he is squeezed in three
suits by the run of the trumps. He cannot
keep three cards in all three side suits
and is squeezed again when declarer cashes
her three tricks in the suit South has unguarded.
Board 4
Dealer West. Game all.
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ª A 10 7 2 |
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| ª K J 5 4 © 9 7 5 2 ¨ K 3 2 § 9 7 |
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ª 9 8 3 |
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ª Q 6 |
This board generated big swings in two of the three matches. There were five different auctions, one leading to 4H, the rest to 3NT (twice played by South and three times by North). Only in the plate final did two teams have the same auction.
In the main final, Farnham declared 3NT from the North hand on the 3C lead establishing an eighth club trick. Declarer could now have made the contract by playing a spade to the queen at trick two, winning the return and playing on hearts, remembering to take a spade finesse at some point when in dummy. However, this was not obvious and declarer played on hearts immediately, East winning the second round. It was equally not obvious to duck East’s switch to a low (!) diamond and declarer tried the queen, but when that lost and West reverted to clubs, he was unable to find his way to a ninth trick.
On the lead of the C9 from the other side, MCC were always struggling given that the third club trick was available only after conceding a club. Declarer took the lead with the king to play hearts and East won the second round to switch to the DJ, continuing with the D10 when that was ducked. Declarer won the second diamond and led the SQ to the king and ace and cashed the heart winners. He then led the CJ to the queen and ace and continued with a spade. Had West risen with the knave, he could have cashed the DK but would then have been end-played to concede the last two spade tricks to North. However, he rose to the occasion by not rising with the knave and it was North who was end-played on winning the S10 and he, too, was one-off for a flat board.
Board 6
Dealer East. East-West game.
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ª 8 |
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ª A K J 10 4 |
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ª 5 3 2 |
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ª Q 9 7 6 |
This should have been a routine 4S – but nothing is ever routine in the London Trophy.
In the main final, the MCC North intervened
in the bidding to show both minors and this
persuaded South to double the final 4S contract.
The Farnham West made no mistake after the
DA lead and soon chalked up +790.
At the other table, the Farnham North overcalled
in diamonds and, hearing support from South,
sacrificed in 5D. East took the push to 5S
and South doubled. North led the DA and switched
to H6, won in dummy. Declarer needs the trump
finesse to have any chance, and should take
it immediately, so as to have a chance of
repeating it if there is a bad break. He
can do this as a count of tricks shows that
he needs only one diamond ruff (to go with
five spades, four clubs and the HA). However,
the MCC declarer had a blind spot and played
to ruff two diamonds (using the CA and trump
finesse as entries), at which point he was
unable to escape without conceding a trump.
One-off meant a massive swing of 990 to Farnham.
Board 9
Dealer North. East-West game.
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ª J 6 5 2 |
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ª Q 9 8 7 |
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ª 4 3 |
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ª A K 10 |
Distributional hands tend to provide scope for swings and this was no exception.
In the main final, both Souths pre-empted
in diamonds over East’s 1C opening. The difference
was that the MCC South tried the aggressive
4D whilst his Farnham opposite number bid
only 3D. The 4D bid prompted North to sacrifice
over West’s 4H but East had no difficulty
in finding a double and declarer had no way
of avoiding the loss of two club tricks and
one trick in each of the other suits.
When South bid only 3D, West still bid an
immediate 4H and North was not tempted to
bid on. In fact it was East who was tempted
– to try a Blackwood 4NT. However, he was
not impressed with the 5C response and subsided
in 5H. Fortunately for him, North led his
partner’s suit and the lie of the club suit
meant that declarer could draw three rounds
of trumps and discard three spades on the
DA and the clubs before North could ruff
in with his master trump. That left only
one spade trick for the defence and MCC chalked
up a nerve-wracking 650 to hold the loss
on the board to 150.
Board 12
Dealer West. North-South game.
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ª K Q J 7 3 |
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|
ª A 6 2 |
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ª 10 8 5 4 |
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ª 9 |
In the main final, the MCC North considered
his hand worth an opening 2NT and this had
the advantage that, when South responded
3H, he made the excellent decision to raise
this to 4H. This is a much sounder contract
than 3NT which suffers from almost insurmountable
entry problems. Declarer won the heart lead
and led the SK to West’s ace. West cashed
the DA before switching to a club but he
had passed as dealer, so declarer was not
hard-pressed to place the CA with East and
take his best chance of playing the CJ. East
returned a diamond, so declarer could ruff
a spade to hand, draw trumps and cash the
DK before reaching dummy’s spades via the
CK. Had East returned a club, declarer’s
entries would have been less fluid and he
might have found a way to go off.
Farnham, alas, had a bidding misunderstanding.
The auction started very soundly 1S – 1NT
– 3C – 3H but now North rebid 3S rather than
raising hearts (South could have had 6 or
7!). South passed in what might have been
a game-forcing auction in some partnerships.
There were no entries to the South hand in
this contract but declarer managed to scramble
eight tricks to hold the loss to 720.
At Half Time, MCC were leading by 550
The second half of the match saw plenty of scope for swings, including several that no-one could have envisaged.
Board 14
Dealer East. Love all.
|
ª K 8 4 |
||
|
ª A 10 2 |
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ª Q 9 6 5 |
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ª J 7 3 |
Part scores always liven things up. Somehow swings are always more likely, albeit less significant at this form of scoring than at imps.
In the main event, both Wests opened 1NT
and played there on the lead of the H4. The
Farnham West played on spades and, when North
won the SK, he cashed his two top hearts,
felling his partner’s 10 and underled his
DQ. He was rewarded with two quick diamond
tricks when South won and returned the suit
and West finessed and in due course, the
contract drifted one-off.
The MCC West tried a crafty small diamond
from hand at trick 2 and everybody ducked!
Confident he knew where the DQ was, he led
a diamond from dummy and played the king
when South ducked again. Now he forced out
the DA, allowing the defence to cash two
hearts ending in the South hand and exit
with the fourth diamond. Now a club ducked
to the king allowed declarer to end play
North to lead away from the SK for an overtrick.
MCC were moving further ahead.
Board 16
Dealer West. East-West game.
|
ª A Q J 9 8 7 |
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|
ª K 5 2 |
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ª 6 4 3 |
|
ª 10 |
This should be everyone’s expectation of
a flat board. North should open 1S and play
there and it’s straightforward for the defence
to collect seven tricks (two clubs, a club
ruff, three diamonds and the SK because declarer
has no entry to take the finesse). In fact,
only four of the six tables played in 1S
and at none of those four did the defence
take seven tricks.
In the main event, both North’s were allowed
to make 1S, once because the defence started
with a trump lead, even though West, correctly
ducked and once because they missed their
club ruff and let North establish a club
trick.
Board 23
Dealer South. Game all.
|
ª A |
||
|
ª Q 10 7 2 |
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ª K 8 6 5 4 |
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ª J 9 3 |
Here was a last minute chance for matches to be turned around. It seemed that most North-South pairs would be likely to bid to 6D but, as you can see, the trumps break 3-2 and 7D is solid. Would anyone bid it, perhaps in desperation? In fact, the events were again unexpected. Five pairs duly bid to 6D, making an overtrick but, when MCC had the North –South cards, disaster struck. South opened a strong no trump and the bidding continued 2C (Stayman)-2D-3D-3H. North then bid 3NT and South, hardly envisaging the huge hand opposite, passed. Thirteen tricks still rolled in but the swing of 670 to Farnham was a hammer blow in a close match and MCC had no time to recover.
Board 24
Dealer West. Love all.
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ª Q 6 4 |
||
|
ª A 10 |
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ª K 5 3 |
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ª J 9 8 7 2 |
The last board was something of an anti-climax.
In the main event, both Wests opened 1NT and played there on the D3 lead which they won to play hearts. The Farnham North ducked the first round to South who switched to spades. Declarer ducked the first spade but won the second and continued hearts. Winning the spade continuation, declarer cashed all his winners, conceding the last two tricks to the DA and CQ for a score of 120. The MCC North won the first heart and cashed the DA, after which declarer had ten tricks and a score of 180 once he had forced out the HK. So a further 60 to Farnham – but board 23 had already lost the match for MCC.
In the second half, all the teams leading at half time lost ground but only the case of MCC was it enough to change the result. Saville Club hung on in the play-off, Lewes’ gain on the last board proving to be too little too late whilst Chislehurst were hardly going to let go of their huge lead in the plate and, indeed, the second half of that match was virtually flat.
Results
Trophy; Farnham Golf Club bt MCC Marigold by 330 aggregate points
Third place play-off; Saville Club bt Lewes Constitutional Club by 440 aggregate points
Plate; Chislehurst Golf Club 1 bt Reform Club by 1920 aggregate points
Acknowledgments;
Original write up Mike Hill,
This edited version; Roger Morton