Page 13 - ABF Newsletter April 2025

Board 17. Dealer North. Neither side vulnerable.
] 10 3
[ Q 10 9 6 5 4 }4
]Q9754 {K843 ]AK62 [K83 [AJ72 }932 } Q 10 7 {97 ]J8 {Q2
[— }AKJ865 { A J 10 6 5
WEST NORTH EAST Hans Pszczola Hung
pass 1] pass pass 2[ dbl
SOUTH Buras
1[ 1NT
all pass
WEST NORTH Hans Pszczola
3[
EAST SOUTH Hung Buras
3NT dbl
Andy Hung was the only player to find a double, earning his side 500 and 7.5 imps. North’s 2[ bid was not a popular choice, with only Donati finding the same bid: three Norths passed 1NT (including Whibley), one bid an awful 2], and one bid 2} (re- ceiving preference back to 2[).
Amusingly, one table had the same auction in the other direction: South passed, and it was EW who bid 1[-1]-1NT – the only EW pair to declare the hand, and the only pair to make a contract.
The finishing touch on a great set for Hans - Hung came from this five-over-five decision:
Board 18. Dealer East. North-South vulnerable.
all pass
Buras must have liked his chances of beating 3NT here, but ace-king and another diamond was not the killing defence. Again, declarer chalked up nine top tricks (the heart finesse being marked when South showed out), this time for +550 and 8.5 imps.
On the king of diamonds, North had signalled with the [4, which I’m told is a Lavinthal signal (suit pref- erence for clubs) so South did have a chance to find the killing club switch at trick three.
Sitting the other direction and facing the same auc- tion, Nabil also led three rounds of diamonds (part- ner throwing the [6) for the same result.
At another table, again with the same auction and play, Jerome Rombaut discarded the [5 – ostensibly count, although why you would choose the five is a mystery to me. Any heart signal other than the four or the nine is surely just making life harder for partner (although the ideal method for this situation would have been an attitude club discard).
This partscore deal looks like it is straight out of a textbook, but it produced a wide range of rebids from the eight expert North players:
Board 15. Dealer South. North-South vulnerable.
] 10 9 5 3 2 [Q9 }K932 {J3
]J8 [A8652 }Q75 {KQ6
]8
[ 10 7 6 5 } A 10 3 2 {A742
] 10 2
[A4
}KQ85 {K10983 ]K9
[KQJ92 }976 {Q65
]AQJ76543 [83
}J4
{J
]AQ [KJ743 } A 10
{ 10 8 7 4
]K764 [10 }J864 {A952
Three Norths, including Whibley and third-placed Sementa, doubled 5[ for 800, picking up 4.5 imps. However, Pszczola preferred to push on to 5], going one off and leaving Sartaj and Andy with another 11 imps, putting them in first place with just one six- board match to play.
Sartaj and Andy played Antonio Sementa and Alfredo Versace in their final match, finishing an imp down on that match, which was enough to hold on to first place and win the event. Whibley - Edgtton gained 11.5 imps on their final match, including 5 imps on the final board, to take second place from Sementa and Versace. Congratulations to both pairs on a magnificent performance!
For a more comprehensive report on this event, see Australian Bridge Magazine, or use this QR code to visit their web page:
www.australianbridge.com/online
WEST NORTH Hans Pszczola
5[ 5]
EAST SOUTH Hung Buras
1[ 4] all pass
Australian Bridge Federation Ltd. Newsletter: April 2025
Page: 13