WALES IN THE CAMROSE: DUBLIN MARCH 2008

Wales went into the second half of the Carmose competition this year in a strong third place, with their first above-average January score (84 VPs) since the competition became a 2-weekend event. Four of the Belfast team were present - Adrian Thomas & Peter Goodman, Filip Kurbalija and Tim Rees. New for this match - but the longest serving members of the Camrose squad - were John Salisbury & Mike Tedd, in place of Patrick Shields & Paul Denning.

The format was 5 matches each of 32 boards with Wales playing against the two strongest teams on the Saturday. The first match was Northern Ireland, against whom Wales have recently had a good run. The biggest gain in the first set was from this hand

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Filip and Tim bid to the safe 3N, each being maximum for his bid at various points. (Three other tables bid identically - 1H-1S-2N-3N). The Irish bid to 6D (uniquely, when East responded 2D on the first round). The defence started with the CA and another club. It all depended on playing trumps for no loser and declarer started successfully with a diamond to the jack, and when he cashed the DA, South followed with DQ. Declarer continued with a diamond to the DK, playing South for QTx rather than the less likely Qx. It was the other way around, so Wales gained 13 imps.

This was fairly just as it was only a 25% slam, unlike the 6N bid by the Scottish pair which - on the basis of the heart finesse plus potential luck in diamonds - is just over a 50% contract.

Add to that the fact that declarer had not chosen the best line in the diamond suit - which is leading small to the D9 first. This works with QTxx or QTx onside while after small to the DJ you have the choice of playing for Qx or QTx but not both - so clearly an inferior choice.

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104

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One common element of style came through strongly on board 13 from this segment - sitting in second seat at both vul you hold K103 - K10862 - Q104 - K7 and after a pass 5 of the 6 players holding this hand opened the bidding. At the other table a pass allowed an easy passage to 4S making for the opposition. Where they opened (usually 1H) only Peter Goodman & Adrian Thomas for Wales managed to bid their game in spades - which was worth another 10 imps to Wales. Wales came through the 16 boards 53-10 for an excellent start.

In the second set John Salisbury & Mike Tedd replaced Goodman & Thomas. It was a fairly flat set with two significant swings each way. One in each direction was a respectable slam bid in one room but not the other. Board two provided swings in two of the three matches -

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This hand produced swings for unexpected reasons. Most tables got to 5C which makes quite easily (3 outside winners and 8 tricks on a cross ruff being one option) but two tables played in hearts. That happened because of a combination of the choices by West and North - after East started the auction (as at every table) with 1H.

Where West bid 2C (which might be game forcing for some 2-over-1 systems) then the choice of denomination was settled, but three tables settled for 1S. That didn't preclude getting to the right contract, and where East rebid 2C they got to 5C making. It was when East couldn't bid 2C - when North overcalled 2D - that things went awry. That was because 3H was now actually a more descriptive bid by East thasn 3C and when that was chosen, the club suit was buried.

For Wales Filip Kurbalija avoided the problem by bidding 2C on the first round, and in the other direction Mike Tedd inserted the appropriate 2D bid over 1S to stymie the opposition. Wales gained 11 imps.

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KJ72

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But the second stanza ended in a draw which meant that Wales won the match 22-8, not bad but 3 VPs short of the maximum.

The next match was against Team Ireland who had won the Camrose Trophy for the past 3 years and had trounced us 25-2 in the final match at Belfast. We started the match very well - and were already 13 imps up when board 6 came along to test us ...

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At every table but one there was a 1-level opening bid in front of the long diamond hand and the long diamonds bid 3D or 4D. From then it was easy for partner to bid the slam. Unfortunately the Irish system led to a 2C opener and now system can preclude you from bidding since 4D is too useful as Leaping Michaels - showing a diamond-major two suiter. After 2C-P-4C Filip doubled and Tim did all he could by bidding 5D. The spotlight moved to Filip who bid 6D and must have sounded unconvincing, for it got doubled and +1190 gave Wales another 6 imps to Wales.

The Irish were a little unlucky to lose points on the board which followed - McGann opened 1C with a weak NT hand, and heard it go 1S-X-P and found he had to bid 1N despite not having a spade stopper. In fact he was in the same contract as every other table but here the overcaller was on lead and he knew he had a second suit (his partner didn't) and led that one and it proved fatal. At every other table it was the spade stopper who bid NT and got a spade lead and now 9 tricks were assured. At this point the score was 34-3 for Wales against the team that had just returned from playing in the Bermuda Bowl!

Board 13 was a curious flat board - with Adrian Thomas and John Carroll both showing remarkable restraint. Decide for yourself what is best here. There is a strong NT (14-16 usually) opening on your right and you hold AK6 - J5 - AQJ - AQT52, just a balanced 21-count. All six tables opened 1N and 5 of the strong hands were able to double for penalties (can you?). Three tables then went 2H (showing both majors) - P - 2S and you have to bid again. Wales and Ireland both passed! And in a way that was right because declarer made 8 tricks in each room. The worst result went to the man who, opposite the 1N-X, decided to bid 2C on his 4441 shape, intending to redouble next to show the other suits. But he got to play there, for -400! The worst result the other way went to the hand which passed over 1N and then came in later and somehow persuaded his partner to bid a 4cd suit at the 4-level and that got doubled for -800! In fact 1N is unbeatable, so do you still want your penalty double?

At the end of those 16 boards the score was Wales in the lead 44-25, very respectable. In the second half gains were hard to come by and there was a steady drip of imps to the Irish. Tim Rees was one of the two defenders who started with his singleton and managed two ruffs with his QT9 of trumps, which pulled back a few imps. Those who led their long suit saw 4S make. The biggest loss for Wales was 14 imps on

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The contract was 6D in both rooms (just as in the England-CBAI match) but there was one small difference. When Tim & Filip were sitting North-South , Tom Hanlon produced a 2S opener (showing 55 spades and another suit) with the East hand, after which the auction went 3D-3S-6D and now Tom doubled - a Lightner double asking for an unusual lead. He got the C10 lead (surely not what East intended) but the strong hint - to declarer - that the hearts were 5-0 meant that East was likely to have some length in diamonds. It was natural then to win and play to the DA - after which poor Tim had two inevitable losers.

In the other room Peter Goodman opened 2D - a new device showing a pre-empt in clubs. Now when they bid up to 6D (by South) and had investigated hearts on the way East declined to double (in case they run to 6H) and the same lead was made as in the other room. In this room the bidding prompted declarer to cash the DK and then run the DJ - which led to 12 tricks.

In the other match, both declarers cashed AK of diamonds and went off. At all four tables the C10 was led - but only John Carroll for Ireland picked up on the club distribution and from that deduced the diamond position.

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The final score for that set was 12-43 to Ireland and they won the 32-board match 17-13 in VPs - a loss but as good a result as Wales have had against this strong team recently. In fact if we had obtained that (losing) result in the match in Belfast, then Wales would have won the Camrose trophy by 1 VP this year.

The third match was another strong team - England, who had beaten us on the last four meetings. Wales gained from English overbidding on a few early boards but then came two devastating blows - each of which had both rooms playing in 3N but from different sides. In the first the Englishman with a 5cd spade suit was on lead and led that for an obvious defeat - it was more difficult in the other room and still of some interest ...

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At two tables South opened (at both vul) and at those two tables it went 1C-X-P-2N-P-3N . All other tables had West open and West played 3N doing down easily on the spade lead. When Wales and Team Ireland opened as South, both defenders started with D5 round to the D9 and then the DA was cashed. Now came a club - in one case to the CK and then came the DJ. In the other room to the CJ and then the DK was cashed - so the same position.

Both declarers discarded H6 and both Norths discarded S2. And what's more - both Souths drew the correct inference - discarding a spade while dummy still had 4 implied that North had 5 spades originally - and for both partnerships the 2 was an encouraging spot. So out came the SJ covered by the SQ and the SA and now the spotlight was on North. Our man, unfortunately assumed that declarer had the SK and switched to a heart (I can't myself think why declarer would have covered with the SQ in that case). End of story - 3N made where the other room was 4 off - and 14 imps away.

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The second hand was a bit more unlucky. Four other Easts heard their partner open and rebid clubs and they jumped to 3N holding only Q5 of hearts. Partner only had a doubleton heart too (K9) but it worked out well as there were 8 tricks outside and one heart trick made nine! Our pair checked they did have a heart stopper but this left the other hand on lead and the spade lead and good continuation by John Holland led to one down.

Then came a hand which (fortunately?) no pair got to grips with.

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East was first in hand, both vul. Curiously in one match both tables opened 1S, in one match both tables opened a weak two in spades, and in one match both tables opened 4S. After the 1S opener, East got to play in 4S. After the 2S opener, North got to play in hearts. After the 4S opener, it went X-P-6H at both tables.

So which was Wales-England? That was the weak two openers. For Wales it was a multi-2D which made it difficult to pre-empt in spades and the English had room to bid constructively to 6H which gained 13 imps over the 5H in the other room.

Looking just at the North-South hands a 7H contract is heavily odds-on, but scuppered here by the 5-0 diamond break. After an opening by the opposition, no North-South pair had the mechanism to investigate fully enough.

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There were lots of swingy hands in that set and it finished with England in game on a making finesse and the margin looked bad, with Wales down by 37 imps. But Wales did rally in the second half of the match - with an 11 imp recovery which meant England won the match 19-11 in VPs. One hand saw Mike Tedd open 3D holding a 3172 shape with KQ98754 of his suit. He played there with a void in dummy and went 5 off for -500. But we still gained on the board as Goodman & Thomas had found their way over a weak 2D opening to a making 4S contract! Murdoch for Scotland also played 3D-P-P-P for a small gain against 3N in the other room. But it was a player who passed with this hand who ended with the worst score - when their partner opened 3H and this time it was convenient for a takeout double and a penalty pass and that was -1100!

At this point Wales had lost the same two matches as they lost in Belfast, but had come out of them with 8 more VPs this time. The fourth match was against CBAI - the second team representing the host country. The match started well with the Irish overbidding to a hopeless slam and then missing an easy game everyone else found (but some credit must go to Filip & Tim for impeding them somewhat). There were two awkward slams both bid well by that same pair - flat boards since the Irish ladies bid them too (and no other pair bid both). After that the CBAI rallied somewhat, pulling back 23 imps with gains on five consecutive hands.

One chance for a gain came after this curious bidding sequence - in competition North passed his partner out in 2S and after East protected with 3H, North now bid 3N. East needed to lead his five card club suit and avoid the expected lead of his partner's suit to beat this, but he didn't!

One interesting hand for declarer to plan was this ...

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Tim Rees was declarer in 4S on a trump lead. You have 4 potential losers and want help from the opposition. So Tim started by drawing trumps and then playing 3 rounds of hearts. This end-played South and the contract was safe. In the other room declarer tackled clubs for herself but the suit lay well and it was a flat board.

The Irish finished the set by bidding another no play slam and when the smoke cleared Wales were leading by 3 imps. But Wales did power through in the second half with +46 imps to win the match 23-7. The second half started with an explosive board -

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Mike Tedd & John Salisbury bid to the good contract of 6N making to gain 14 imps when 7C was bid in the other room. By cashing his outside winners first, Mike was able to discern the winning line in the heart suit and make his 6N. One declarer in 6C had an easy ride on a singleton heart lead into the A10, but others misread hearts to fail in 6C and 6NT.

The other big swing was from a Mike Tedd opener of 3D in first seat at green with J7-74-KJT983-J64 ; when Mike and Hastings Campbell both did this it made the easy slam too difficult to reach and gained their side 13 imps. There were only 7 imps in the minus column in that set - not quite the record over the weekend (on one set Scotland let through only 2 imps).

The last match of the weekend was against Scotland, and the score line at that time would allow Wales the Camrose trophy with a big win and suitable results in the other two (simultaneous) matches. As it happened England lost to CBAI and were there to overtake but Team Ireland beat Northern Ireland 22-8 and were not reachable at this late time. The first half against Scotland was a very low scoring set, with the biggest swing being of 8 imps and that was when Wales doubled a hopeless 1N contract but Scotland escaped to 2D. In fact all teams except Scotland opened in front of the 1N bid and that is why 1N was doubled by us and not by Scotland. Unlucky for Wales.

Board 16 was flat in the Wales - Scotland match but generated major swings in the other two matches ...

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East -West were vulnerable and West dealt. The man playing Flannery opened 2H but everyone else started with 1S. After the 2H opening the opposition did not have a way in and it was easy to play in 4H. When North passed over the 1S opening, Northern Ireland stopped safely.

At the other tables - twice North overcalled 3D (weak) and twice North overcalled 2D. Over 2D, one East showed his clubs while the other doubled for takeout. South raised, naturally, but couldn't tell for sure to whom the hand belonged - it could be either. And he then sold out to 5H.

Where the overcall was 3D is was clear to South that East-West owned the hand, so he pushed forward with 5D and now West had a problem. At both tables, after West bid 5H East raised to 6H and with two cashing aces that was one off. So the 3D bid - not with the suit quality you'd like to have for a pre-emptive bid - pulled in 13 imps for each of Northern Ireland and CBAI.

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108

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107

The first half against Scotland ended 20-26 in favour of the opposition. The second half was also a low scoring set - with only 11 imps changing hands on the first 10 boards (compare that with 28 imps and 31 imps in the other matches). One curious hand saw the bidding open on your left, your partner shows the majors, and then RHO bids 3NT. Your assets include AKQ832 of diamonds. Both players passed quietly and just cashed the first 6 tricks. Only Mesbur-Fitzgibbon managed to get to the cold 5C on this hand (but North helped by bidding diamonds). We had to wait until the penultimate board of this set for some fireworks ....

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South was dealer at RED and opened with a weak two bid at all tables (via a multi-2D at two tables). When Peter Goodman opened 2S it went P-P-P and gentle defence let him make 11 tricks. When Scotland opened, Filip Kurbalija overcalled 3D and North later doubled Tim's raise to 5D. This was pulled by South on the basis of the known club fit and while one table played 2S making 5, this table played 5S making 2 - and it was doubled for +800. The decision to pull wasn't that bad as 5D-X was slated to make an overtrick for +650. In fact it is a very respectable slam for East-West and even an acceptable grand slam - strange to think East-West didn't bid at all in one room!

In the other matches West either came in over 2S (once) or passed and came in later (once over 2S and twice over multi-2D).

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When the totals were added up Wales had bragging rights (41-40 in imps) in this match but each team went away with 15 VPs. In their final match CBAI had a surprise win over England which pushed them back into second place and the trophy was won - for the fourth year running - by Team Ireland - so, well done to John Carroll & Tommy Garvey, Tom Hanlon & Hugh McGann, Nick Fitzgibbon & Adam Mesbur. The Welsh team ended in a solid 3rd place, with a 56% score well clear of fourth and within touching distance of second.