Daily Bridge Club

Foreign domination

The Spingold Teams, the Summer NABC’s major event, was dominated by foreign players. Of 47 players in the quarterfinals, 35 — most of them professionals — were from foreign soil. (Maybe the ACBL should eliminate six-person teams, stopping the farce of “sponsors” playing half of a match, then deferring to their professional cast.)

In the Spingold, the last surviving U.S. team (SPECTOR, Demuy, Hurd, Kranyak, Wolpert, Wooldridge) lost a close semifinal to TEAM BLASS. In today’s deal, the bid of two hearts by BLASS’s North showed a weak hand with length in both majors! South’s two spades was passed out. Expecting South to have some spades but heart shortness, West led the queen of trumps.

South took the ace and led a diamond, and West put up his ace (!) to lead a second trump. East won and shifted to the queen of clubs, but South took the ace and threw dummy’s last club on the king of diamonds. He unblocked his king of hearts, ruffed a club, drew trumps and had nine tricks.

In the replay, South opened one diamond again, but West overcalled one heart. After two passes, South doubled, and North passed for penalty. East redoubled “for rescue,” and when West obliged with two clubs, North tried two spades, passed out.

Here, East led the queen of clubs to dummy’s ace. North could have won eight tricks, but he slightly mistimed by cashing the king of hearts at Trick Two, then leading a diamond. West played low and East’s queen won. Then the defense was in command, and the result was down one, six IMPs to BLASS.

East dealer

N-S vulnerable