Bridge Blog 1200: Thou shalt not pass???

 

Rod Sumner and I were in a funk. We hadn't earned master points together in a coon's age and we sank to a new low – 30.21% – on June 17 at the Bridge Centre of Niagara in St. Catharines, Ont. But things finally took an upturn on the following Wednesday, June 24. Rod even sent me a celebratory text message of sorts: "Much better result. 1.62% out of second place."

Actually, if we added that 1.62% to our 51.02%, we would have been third overall and first in the B stratification. Nevertheless, we hauled in 0.42 of a master point and it made me wonder how we would have finished if we had gone ahead and bid on the two hands where we passed out.

The first one, Board 18 against two long-term partners, John Marskell and Joan Soifert, was not our hand at all. Just 17 high card points between us. At every other table, East-West took the bid and went down, mostly in No Trump. Nothing we can do about that.

No such excuse, though, for the other one, Board 3 on the final round of the day against Kathy Morrison and Keith Heckley, Sitting South, I'm declarer, but I have only nine high card points. Pass. So does Kathy, who's sitting West. Rod, on the other hand, has 12 hcp and we're not vulnerable. With his holding, I would open:

Spades: A-9-6-3. Hearts: 10-7. Diamonds: A-K-9-8. Clubs: J-9-5.

If he opens 1 Diamond, I go 1 Spade (I have K-Q-7-4 and 10 hcp) and we play it at 2 Spades. Most North-Souths did that and made an overtrick. That would give us six extra match points, enough to end up third overall and first in B.

Fortune smiled again Friday, June 26, with Selina Volpatti at the Niagara-on-the-Lake Bridge Club. We finished third North-South with 52.98% and got 0.53 of a master point. But once again there was a pass-out. Good? Or bad? This time, not so clear cut. We're vulnerable, Selina is the second seat for bidding and she's got 12 hcp:

Spades: K-9. Hearts: A-K-4. Diamonds: J-4-3. Clubs: J-10-7-5-2.

She passes. So does East. If Selina opens, I have a bid. But after three passes to me, I don't.

Spades: Q-10-8-6-3. Hearts: 8-5. Diamonds: A-9-8-5. Clubs: A-8.

Elsewhere, North-South played it in Clubs, Spades and No Trump. It makes 3 Spades. That would have given us an extra 2.5 match points. Enough to make a difference? Not quite. We needed 3 to overtake the second-place finishers, Harold Nash and my good friend Rod. They bid it and made 4 Clubs.