Thanks to Eugene Gordon of Pepper Pike and Jack Knudson of Solon who each told me about this hand that was played during a team match at the All-American Regional Bridge Tournament that was held last month in Independence.
When Gordon sat South, the bidding went as shown above. His partner was Lewis Bernard, Jr. of Solon. After the heart lead held, West continued with the queen of hearts and Gordon trumped with the two of clubs and discarded a spade from hand. He played the ace of diamonds and trumped a diamond. When the ace of clubs brought East's queen crashing down, he was able to set up the diamond suit and claim twelve tricks for a score of +1090.
At the companion table, Knudson held the West cards and Don Rop of Chagrin Falls sat East. The first round of bidding was identical to what is shown. At South's second turn, that player doubled five hearts and that became the final contract. The opening lead was the ace of diamonds. South discarded the two of spades and North continued with the jack of diamonds, suit preference for spades. South trumped, cashed the ace of clubs and continued with the queen of spades, trumped by North. Down two was -500 for Knudson and Rop.
When the teammates met to compare scores, Knudson apologized for the bad score since it did not appear that five diamonds could be made. "No problem" said Gordon, "we've got you covered." And indeed, they did.
District Five of the American Contract Bridge League held the All-American Regional Bridge Tournament in Independence on May 23 - 29. The following players were successful in their respective events on May 25. Other results appeared last week, more will be listed in future columns.
Two Session Stratified Pairs (64 pairs). Stratum A. 1. Kumar and Gina Bhatia, Pepper Pike. 2. Sandra Fleischman, Beachwood, and Roni Atkins, Pittsburgh. Stratum B. 1. Allen Selling and Charles Smith, Erie, PA. 2. Susan Craney, North Royalton, and Doris Tubbesing, Cleveland. Stratum C. 1. Joan Ackerman and Rosemary Conney, Norwalk. 2. Jan Miyake and Josh Levy, Oberlin.
Evening Swiss Teams (24 teams). Stratum A. 1. Donald Rop, Chagrin Falls, Eugene Gordon, Pepper Pike, Jack Knudson and Lewis Bernard Jr., Solon. 2. Kathy Stanford, Leesburg, FL, Dian Petrov, Buffalo, NY, Carl and Anita Gutschick, Arnold, MD. Stratum B. 1. Stanford, Petrov, and the Gutschicks. 2. Timothy Baker, Macedonia, James Novak, Solon, Duane Seelinger, Mentor on the Lake, and Bruce Moore, Mayfield Heights.
Afternoon Side Pairs (38 pairs). Stratum A. 1. Carl and Anita Gutschick, Arnold, MD. 2. Edia Shai, University Heights, and John Marhofer, Cuyahoga Falls. Stratum B. 1. The Gutschicks. 2. Susan Stark, Cleveland, and Bernard Heyman, Shaker Heights. Stratum C. 1. The Gutschicks. 2. Morton Klein and Lewis Stone, Beachwood.
Evening Side Pairs (20 pairs). Strata A & B. 1/2. Susan Stark, Cleveland, and Bernard Heyman, Shaker Heights, with Lawrence Evans, Monongahela, PA, and Peggy Shivetts, Latrobe, PA. Stratum C. 1. Michael Stahr adn Jayne Fleming, Stow. 2. Marlene McConnell, Allison Park, PA, and Dorothy Mehok, Sewickley, PA.
Afternoon 299er Pairs (15 pairs). Stratum A. 1. Clarence and Martha Kistemaker, Cleveland. 2. Gail Kamen, Chagrin Falls, and Ellen Miles, Beachwood. Stratum B. 1. Kamen and Miles. 2. Bette Jones, Pittsburgh, and Forrest Unbel, Verona, PA. Stratum C. 1. Kamen and Miles. 2. Vi Mills, Solon, and Jean Perko, Twinsburg.
Evening 299er Pairs (11 pairs). Stratum A. 1. Janet Mungo
and Linda Beringer, Akron. 2. Michele Griffin, Penfield, NY, and
Susan Hill, Rochester, NY. Stratum B. 1. Mungo and Berlinger. 2.
Roy Larson, Wadsworth, and Dennis Young, Massillon.
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Bernstein is
a free-lance writer in Solon.
To reach Harvey Bernstein:
hjb0416@yahoo.com