Bridge in Greenwich: YWCA players find success at the Bridge Deck

Of the two duplicate bridge clubs in White Plains, N.Y., that have been drawing Greenwich players to their daily games, the Bridge Deck appears to be faring significantly better attendance-wise. That club has been attracting between eight and 10 tables per game, while the nearby Harte’s Club has been averaging about four.

A number of card players have been returning to bridge games for in-person play after nearly 18 months of interruption due to COVID-19.

Between Wednesday, Nov. 10, and this past Wednesday, Nov. 17, no Greenwich player placed in the overall rankings at Harte’s. Over at the Bridge Deck, several players who played regularly in the Greenwich YWCA’s weekly duplicate game before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, turned in excellent performances.

They were:

Nov. 10 STAC game: East-West, Linda Otness, first in A; Mary ScarfiLois Spagna, second in A.

Nov. 11 STAC game: North-South, Linda Otness, first in A; Faye Marino, second in A.

Nov. 12 STAC game: North-South, Faye Marino, first in A; East-West, Linda Otness, third in A.

Nov. 15 Club Championship: East-West, Mary Scarfi-Lois Spagna, first in B.

Nov. 16 Club Championship: East-West, Mary Albertell-Lois Spagna, first in C.

Nov. 17 Club Championship: East-West, Mary Scarfi-Lois Spagna, third in B.

Today’s quiz: Here is another in the current series of quizzes on interpreting partner’s bids. In the following problem, you are given an auction accompanied by three hands your partner might hold, but only one actually fits the bidding shown. Which of the three hands do you think partner has?

The bidding: Opponent-1C; You-1S; Opponent-Pass; Partner-2D. Partner could hold:

a) S 6 H 97 D KQ109763 C 842

b) S 854 H K3 D AQ1075 C 642

c) S 73 H AJ62 D KJ953 C 107

Answer: It is relatively rare to answer an overcall by bidding a new suit, since an overcall promises at least a strong five-card suit. Ordinarily, the overcaller’s partner considers one of only two possible actions — whether to raise the suit or pass. When a player does name a new suit, it is intended as a warning that responder has absolutely no tolerance for his partner’s suit and has a suit of his own that is probably longer and stronger than the overcaller’s suit.

After such a response, the overcaller nearly always passes, bidding only when he has a good hand and support for his partner’s suit. Of the three hands shown, only hand a) fits this description. With b), partner should raise you to two spades, and while with c), partner should simply pass, since his diamond suit does not rate to be any better (and could be a lot worse) than your spade suit.