The first day of Stage 2 of the Open Butler Pairs Championship. The field of 20 pairs is divided into 2 groups, NS and EW. Each pair plays all of the pairs in the other field in a 12 board match, 5 matches today and 5 matches tomorrow. The top 5 pairs in each direction will then proceed to Stage 3.

Match 1 against Michael Courtney and Chris Depasquale. Michael and Chris are friends and sometime teammates. Talented and very dangerous.

We started with Board 7. Tania opened 5D. Looking at 3 honours in diamonds, a singleton and an ace there was some temptation to raise but I have seen Tania's 5 of a minor openings before so I passed. Chris led the HA and then contemplated the dummy. He switched to the SK which Tania ruffed. Now a heart ruff in the dummy, another spade ruff, a second heart ruff, a club to the K, and the last heart ruffed in the dummy. Tania tried to ruff another spade back to hand but this was over ruffed with the 9. 11 tricks for 11 IMPs.

Board 10 was more action. Michael opened 2S showing spades and a minor. Tania doubled for takeout, Chris bid 3S and I tried 4H. Michael, rarely shy in the bidding, bid 4S before Chris could express an opinion about 4H. I doubled this. Tania could have beaten this 2 tricks by leading the DA but instead sensibly chose a heart. Michael was now able to establish a heart trick but couldn't make more than 9 tricks. +200 was worth 7 IMPs.

Board 11 the bidding was similar. Pass by Tania, 2S by Chris, double by me, 3S by Michael, 4H by Tania, pass, pass, double by Michael. He announced that this was retaliation for us doubling him on the previous hand and that it might well make. Tania could have made an overtrick if she could see their cards but played normally for 10 tricks. +590 was another 4 IMPs.

Board 12. Chris passed as dealer, I opened 1H, Michael tried a slightly unusual 2D, Tania bid 2NT showing a 4 card heart raise, invitational or better. Chris bid 3D which also seemed a little unusual (presumably 3C would have shown some diamond tolerance). I bid 4D showing short diamonds and undeterred Michael bid 5D. Tania knew what to do to this and after A, K and another diamond we took 6 tricks for 800 and another 7 IMPs.

Michael and Chris bid a nice slam on Board 2 to pick up 5 IMPs.

Overall a 17 IMP win for us and a good start to the event against a dangerous pair.

Match 2 made me feel old. Many years ago when I lived in Canberra I played with Ian Robinson. Now we played his son Adam, who I remember as a baby, playing with Jacques Cherbuin.

They were a little conservative on Board 20. Adam opened a club and Jacques bid 1H transfer to spades. Adam bid 1S which apparently showed 3 or 4 spades and 11-17 points. Jacques passed. Tania gave them a lifeline when she balanced with 2H. Adam bid 2S and that was the contract. We play similar methods and after 1C-1H I would have tried 4D splinter on his hand. Then again we go down in game quite often in search of the vulnerable game bonus. The hands fitted like a glove and 11 tricks were easy. 7 IMPs.

Our other major pickup in this match was Board 17. Jacques opened 1H, Tania bid 2H showing 5-5 in spades and a minor, Adam bid 2NT showing 4 card heart support invitational or better. I volunteered 3S and Tania couldn't resist raising to 4 with her 6th spade. Jacques led the SJ and I had no problem wrapping up 10 tricks. Trump leads are often dangerous and should probably only be made with a definite purpose in mind. Notice that I could always make 4S by running the SQ from the dummy but if you look at the scoresheet all 7 other declarers in spades only made 9 tricks. 10 IMPs to us.

Adam and Jacques defended very nicely on Board 13 to beat me in 2H. I misguessed the spades when I played a spade towards the QT. In the endgame Jacques smoothly bared his SK to avoid getting endplayed and I again misguessed the position (compare this with the hand in yesterday's post). 5 IMPs away.

A win by 22 IMPs. These guys are working on their game and improving.

Match 3 was against Phil Markey and David Appleton. An aggressive pair who play an aggressive system with a 9-13 1NT opening and very light overcalls. One of the stronger pairs in the other field.

Board 1 we bid to slam after they had competed to 5D. The lead of the SJ made the play simpler and we scored 980. A 9 IMP pickup when 3 pairs went down in 6 and one went down in 7.

They struck back on Board 10 when they bid 6D. This was cold for 13 tricks. 6S was probably a better contract but only 4 of the 10 EW pairs bid slam (one mysteriously played in 2S!). 9 IMPs away.

Board 6 was another close slam. We stopped in 4S. Half the field bid slam. At our table the east hand had opened 1NT, 9-13. This meant that the spade finesse was likely to lose. At the same time it meant that the heart finesse was probably better than 50%. 6 IMPs to the bad guys.

A loss by 7 IMPs.

Match 4 was against Bill Tutty and Ruitian Lang. A local ACT pair who play Polish Club.

Board 19 was curious. Tania opened 1S, Bill overcalled 2D, I passed, Ruitian bid 2S which apparently was a cue raise. Tania bid 3S and Bill jumped to 5D. Ruitian put down the dummy somewhat sheepishly saying that he didn't really have what he showed. 8 solid clubs and Qx in diamonds. On a heart lead 13 tricks were easy. Slam in either minor was cold but only bid at 3 tables (NS saved in 6SX at one of these tables for -1100). 5 IMPs to us but the only table to play 5D in the 5-2 fit rather than the 8-2 club fit!

Board 15 was also a little strange but this time it was us. Tania passed as dealer. I opened my 3433 11 count 1C, Ruitian made a weak jump overcall of 2D, Tania doubled, Bill redoubled, I bid 2H and Tania raised to 4H! I couldn't imagine what hand she could have that would pass then bid game in this situation. It turned out that she had miscounted her points and thought that she had 10 when she passed. 4H was a catch up bid. 8 IMPs when I picked the club Q. East had turned up with QJ of diamonds and the spade K. Seemed more likely that Bill had the CQ and AK of hearts for his XX. 8 IMPs.

A two IMP win. Felt slightly like a missed opportunity.

Match 5 was the last match of the day against a very experienced pair from Melbourne, Dee Harley and Stephen Weisz. They play Precision. Tania and I have a very active style against strong club openings where we try to make obstructive bids and raises as often as possible. All bids show either the suit above or the other two suits (never the suit bid). NT bids show C & H or D & S. The level we bid at is dictated by the vulnerability and the lengths of suits that we hold. For those that care this is called Suction or Twerb depending on who you talk to.

Board 26 was an example. Dee opened 1C, 16+ any distribution, Tania overcalled 1S showing 5+ clubs or both red suits. Stephen bid 2H natural and game forcing. I bid 3D saying I was prepared to play 3D if Tania had the red suits or 4C+ if she had clubs ('Pass or Correct'). Dee bid 3S natural, Stephen 4H, Dee 4S, Stephen 5C and Dee 6C. The 5-1 club break resulted in 4 down for -400. 13 IMPs.

Board 35 Stephen opened 1C, I overcalled 1H showing 5+ spades or both minors. Dee bid 1S showing 5+ spades game force. Stephen bid 1NT asking for controls, 2NT from Dee showed 6 controls (3 aces or 2 aces and 2 kings i.e. A=2, K=1). Stephen bid 6NT. On a club lead there were only 11 tricks. 6 spades needs spades 3-2. 15 IMPs.

I'm not suggesting that this method had anything to do with these results, however I have had a lot of success (and fun) doing this for many years.

A win by 48 IMPs was a good way to end the day.

At the half-way point in Stage 2 we are running second. Scores here.
5 more matches tomorrow. Time for bed!

The TBA Committee met on June 9th from 2.45pm. Present were Julie Rhodes (P), John Grosvenor (VP), Leigh Blizzard (T), Trish Colles (S), Sue Falkingham, Pam Murphy, Paul Fredheim, Hugh Grosvenor and Laura Bauermeister. The following matters were discussed:

Coming Up – Eastcoaster Weekend in Orford

On August 29th and 30th we’ll be running our fourth Eastcoaster Swiss Pairs event. As the name suggests, it is held at the Eastcoaster Resort near Orford. It is a great opportunity for a different weekend of bridge set on the beautiful East Coast of Tasmania. The entry fee includes morning tea and lunch on the first day as well as three sessions of bridge. We also hold a three course dinner on the Saturday night which can be entered as a separate event on MyABF. Play kicks off at 10.00am on the Saturday and is all over by around 1.00pm on Sunday. There are prizes awarded in all categories subject to the number of entries. There is generally also a lucky door prize donated by the Eastcoaster Resort.

A range of accommodation options are available at the resort from single rooms to 3 bedroom cabins so you can stay with your friends, family or partner if you like. Mention bridge when you are booking with the resort and they will give you a good rate.

Building Extension

As many of you know, we have been working on a plan for many years to improve our club facilities by adding an extension at the rear which will include an office/utility room, a member’s recreation area and a better kitchen. In addition, the Vera Houdek room and existing kitchen will be combined and extended to provide an additional teaching/playing room to provide greater flexibility with scheduling of Beginners Classes or additional playing sessions.

This was costed at approximately $ 800,000 a couple of years ago, and the TBA has (unsuccessfully) applied for several types of government assistance to enable us to progress the work. We have approximately $ 500,000 set aside for the extensions including a bequest of the late Ron Spencer for $ 200,000.

We have recently discovered than an alternative building approach by Tasbuilt involving off site manufacturing may provide an affordable solution for us and are currently investigating this.

If the quote and design from Tasbuilt offers us a viable solution, we will call a special meeting of Club Members to approve the project, as there will be inconvenience from pile driving, and we will need to close the club whilst the new extension is joined to our existing club. We will post the amended design and quote as soon as it is available.

ABF Online Club Knockout event

This event is scheduled to commence in July and the TBA has been quite successful in it in the past. Teams are categorised according to the Masterpoint level of their most experienced member and can participate in the Open, Under 750, Under 300, Under 150 and Under 50 category.

Events are run monthly at night via Real Bridge, and the TBA pays for the team entry fees. Consequently, any winnings are retained by the TBA to go towards the entry fees for next year.

If you would like to participate in this event, please register you interest with Sue Falkingham.

Suggestion Box

There were several suggestions from Members this month and we are responding to each of them :

• We won’t be welcoming puppies/dogs to the TBA unless they are designated companion animals.
• We now have 5 of the specially requested black chairs.
• We will purchase two chairs with arms for people that need assistance in this way
• The TBA has a sophisticated air conditioning system. We should all recognise that it is impossible to provide a temperature which suits everyone You will all realise that some people are wearing a T Shirt at the table whilst others are rugged up! Rather than nag the Director, or complain about the temperature, please ensure your own personal comfort by wearing layers of clothes which you can add or remove as appropriate. This is the Tassie way.

Free Coffee for Dealers

As a thank you for our dealing team, we have decided that if they wish, they can request a coffee machine token from the Director on duty which will be provided free of charge.

A reminder that you can purchase coffee machine tokens if you don’t have a $ 2 coin in your pocket!

Youth Bridge

We are going to establish a Youth Bridge program over the next 12 months, leading up to the ANC in July 2027 which will be held in Hobart. If you have a young person in your life who you think would like to learn bridge, please contact myself, or Sue Falkingham, and we will endeavour to include them in this program.

New Members

We welcome the following new and reactivated members to our club and wish them all the best on their bridge journey : Mel Croft, Liam Croft (Youth), William Keyte and Jan Sheen.

Bridge Etiquette – Kindness (Again!)

Just a brief reminder to be kind and respectful to everyone at the table. We want people to enjoy their visits to the club and to tell their friends how fantastic bridge is as both as a brain stimulating hobby and as a family.

Julie Rhodes
President