BRIDGE

John Comyn

ANOTHER highly successful Holmes-Wilson Trophy drew an enormous entry over the weekend. No fewer than 468 players flocked to the excellent Mount Wolseley Hotel, Tullow, and it was so well organised that the willing staff were able to cope so well with numbers of that size.

I would love to think that this will become a permanent home for this event. And first I must again heap high praise on Nick Fitzgibbon and Adam Mesbur who are dominating this season to an extraordinary degree. They retained the trophy along with Rex Anderson and David Greenwood despite the presence of the full Irish team plus almost every top player in Ireland.

It was quite noticeable just how many senior players figured in the leading positions in all grades.

The second team has been selected for the Lady Milne Trophy and I am glad to see that the pair who finished second in the trials have been given the chance to represent us in Gormanston in April.

Here is an extraordinary hand from the Holmes-Wilson. When the bidding is opened by opponents how can you get to a small slam let alone the cold 7H? How could you possibly know the HQJ are doubleton or find out about the CAK in the S hand. And South is equally stuck, not knowing about either the H break or the Club fit.