Playing matchpoint duplicate bridge, South thought that North's double of three diamonds showed a heart suit. He said "Alert" as required and when asked, he gave an explanation. Four hearts was the final contract and West led the four of diamonds.
South was Marty Baff of Beachwood. Instead of bemoaning his luck or complaining about his partner's error, he set about working out a plan to make ten tricks with hearts as trump. He could win two clubs, if the clubs split evenly, a spade and a diamond. That meant that he had to score six tricks from the trump suit.
Baff won the ace of diamonds and trumped a diamond. The ace of spades was followed by a spade, trumped in dummy. Another diamond was trumped in the closed hand. A spade was trumped with dummy's last heart, and a fourth diamond was trumped in hand. The king of clubs was cashed and a club was played to the ace, leaving this position:
With the lead in dummy, Baff called for the jack of diamonds. East trumped with the three of hearts and Baff played the king of hearts, scoring his game fulfilling trick. This play is known as a "Coup En Passant", a rare occurence in bridge named after a movement that is well known in the game of chess.
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 26. Other results appeared in previous colums, more will be listed in future columns.
Bracketed Knock Out Teams. Bracket A (10 teams). 1. Jan Assini, Aurora, Marc Rabinowitz, Hudson, Richard Early, Cuyahoga Falls, Warren Oberfield, Pittsburgh, Larry Long, Benton, TN, and John Toy, Buffalo, NY. 2. Frank Treiber, III, Toledo, Joseph Ernsthausen, Sylvania, Rhonda Monro, Beverly Hills, MI, and Larry Mori, Clearwater, FL. Bracket B (10 teams). 1. Robert Dykes, Lakewood, Wayne Heritage, North Olmsted, Roger Sokol, Minooka, IL, and Bruce Sokol, Stevensville, MI. 2. Carol Bolen, Gibsonia, PA, John Bernhard, Ned and Joan Pfeifer, Pittsburg. Bracket C (12 teams). 1. Bill and Shirley Schaffer, Youngstown, Jay Hitt, Goodlettsville, TN, and Tim Butterbaugh, Paducah, KY. 2. Michael Fezar, Moon Township, PA, Hugo Churchill, Allison Park, PA, Albert Jennings and Marilyn Painter, Pittsburgh. Bracket D (16 teams). 1. Vivian Shanafelt, Medina, Doug Henderson, Rocky River, William and Carol Jaras, Brecksville. 2. Jean Sulzberger, Aurora, Aloise Bates, Shaker Heights, Stephanie James and Cynthia Coddington, Chagrin Falls.
Two Session Stratified Pairs (56 pairs). Stratum A. 1. Rebekah Clocker, Wadsworth, and Susan Bedall, Fairlawn. 2. Martin Baff, Beachwood, and Roger Tiktin, Lakewood. Stratum B. 1. Clocker and Bedall. 2. Mildred Artman, Canfield, and D. Smith, Pampa Texas. Stratum C. 1. Donald and Rhoda Ruben, Columbus. 2. Dot Rock and Kurt Rusch, Mayfield Heights.
Two Session Stratifed Swiss Teams (41 teams). Stratum A. 1. Gail and Mary Paulone Carns, Export, PA, Bernard Fudor, Murrysville, PA, and Ernie Retetagos, Pittsburg. 2. Richard Katz, North Versailles, PA, Asim Ulke, Monroeville, PA, Harold and Judy Haffner, Pittsburgh. Stratum B. 1. Kathy Stanford, Leesburg, FL, Dian Petrov, Buffalo, NY, Carl and Anita Gutschick, Arnold, MD. 2. Kay Varga, North Olmsted, Lynn Nosse, Grafton, Virginia Padvorac, Strongsville, and M. Peterson, Chula Vista, CA. Stratum C. 1. Stanford, Petrov, and the Gutschicks. 2. James Novak, Solon, Duane Seelinger, Mentor on the Lake, Timothy Baker, Macedonia, and Bruce Moore, Mayfield Heights.
Morning Side Pairs (10 pairs). Stratum A. 1. Richard and Patricia Katz, Pittsburgh. 2. Dian Petrov, Buffalo, NY, and Kathy Stanford, Leesburg, FL. Stratum B. 1. Petrov and Stanford. 2. John Bernhard, Pittsburgh, and Carol Bolen, Gibsonia, PA.
Afternoon Side Pairs (34 pairs). Stratum A. 1. John Veldhuizen, Bay Village, and Joseph Vrh, Strongsville. 2. Gail Hastings, Verona, PA, and Louis Joseph, Pittsburgh. Stratum B. 1. Veldhuizen and Vrh. 2. Donald and Helen Brock, Cuyahoga Falls.
Evening Side Pairs (34 pairs). Stratum A. 1. Gail Hastings, Verona, PA, and Louis Joseph, Pittsburgh. 2. Phyllis Silver, Pittsburgh, and Iris Silverman, Boca Raton, FL. Stratum B. 1. Silver and Silverman. 2. Patricia and Arnold Becker, Southfield, MI. Stratum C. 1. Randall Durgee, Arcadia, FL, and Jack Charles, Pittsburgh. 2. William and Sandra Lippy, Warren.
Evening 299er Pairs (16 pairs). Stratum A. 1. Victor and
Cheryl Shaia, Westlake. 2. Clarence and Martha Kistemaker,
Cleveland. Stratum B. 1. The Shaias. 2. Frederick and Adele
Gottlieb, Gahanna. Stratum C. 1. The Shaias. 2. Mike and Bobbie
Varble, Solon.
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Bernstein is
a free-lance writer in Solon.
To reach Harvey Bernstein:
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