Bridge Play Frank Stewart

Beginning with the

2020 Spring North

American Championships, the American

Contract Bridge League had to cancel five of its

10-day North American Championships in a row due to COVID. But

NABC’s resumed in Fall

2021, and in Providence in July, the ACBL staged the Summer NABC.

The Spingold Teams, the tournament’s major event, went to a team headed by Pierre

Zimmermann. As usual, almost all the top-seeded teams were “sponsored,” meaning that an affluent amateur was paying five professionals. In the final against a team led by Paul Street, only one of the 12 players was from the United States.

The sentimental favorite was BRAMLEY (Woolsey, Hamman-Weichsel plus the Australian pair MilneHung). The average age of the first four players was 79. They reached the semifinal where they were eclipsed by ZIMMERMANN.

When today’s deal arose in the third quarter, BRAMLEY was leading. At one table, their North-South pair played at three hearts, making three for plus 140. In the replay, where East opened with a lead-directing bid of one spade, ZIMMERMANN’s North-South overreached to game.

West led the nine of spades: jack, queen, deuce. East then cashed the ace of diamonds (an odd play; he would have done better to lead a passive club) and led the nine of clubs.

West won and, deceived by the bidding and East’s defense, returned a diamond, expecting East to ruff. Declarer won, drew trumps and finessed with the jack of clubs to get a spade discard. Making four, seven IMPs to ZIMMERMANN.