England Expects Y R O T S by Michael Byrne I H English players’ successes at World Championship level IN this anniversary year, it is only fair that stood as the record for the largest penalty position. West had suggested a six-card club we look back through the last 75 years at ever conceded in a World Cham pion ship. suit by overcalling vulnerable, and it looked the great achievements in world cham - (This record was broken in the 2005 like spades could well be 4-1. Was it too pion ships where our players have fought Bermuda Bowl where there were two 3400 much to hope that West had one heart and together to win as a country. penalties!) two diamonds? In that case declarer could In the final GB didn’t quite manage to cash the ace of trumps and then three The Bermuda Bowl overcome the USA, although this was a diamonds throwing his club. Then a heart high spot: to the nine and he would lose only one The most prestigious of the World Cham - heart and two spades – the nine and eight pionships is the Bermuda Bowl for Open being good cards to force out the jack and teams. Origi nating in 1950, it was at first a Game All. Dealer East. ten. Things didn’t quite go to plan as under challenge match between Europe, North ´ 8 7 5 4 the ace of trumps the king fell, and declarer America and Great Britain, but it meta - ™ 5 4 crossed to dummy to draw trumps and morphosed into a huge competition with t A K Q J 7 6 then run the diamonds; that was thirteen qualifiers coming from all of the zones. ® K tricks and +710, 14 IMP s to Great Britain. England competed (until 1999) as Great ´ Q J 10 2 ´ K It is rare that one table makes thirteen Britain, and won it in 1955, when the great ™ K N ™ 10 7 6 3 tricks and the other only seven, especially W E Terence Reese, Boris Schapiro, Ken neth t 8 4 S t 5 3 2 when they are in the same contract! Konstam, Leslie Dodds, Adam ‘Plum’ ® A J 10 9 6 3 ® 8 7 5 4 2 Sadly three of our players who were on Meredith and Jordanis Pavlides beat the ´ A 9 6 3 that team have since left us: John Arm - USA by a substantial margin. ™ A Q J 9 8 2 strong, Raymond Brock and Jeremy Flint. Since they have changed the format it t 10 9 The other members of the team are still has been very difficult for England to ® Q among our top players today: Graham qualify, as the European Championships is Kirby, Tony Forrester, and Robert Sheehan an incredibly tough competition, and (who came out of retirement long enough a bridge nation has to finish in the top six Both sides bid to 4 ™ after South opened the to win the Gold Cup last year) along with to make the Bermuda Bowl. In 1987 bidding (Jeremy Flint for GB with 1 ™ and NPC Tony Priday. England finished 2nd in the European Bobby Wolf for the USA with a canapé 1 ´) We have subsequently played in the Champion ships to Sweden, and qualified which gave them a chance to make game – Bermuda Bowl twice more, in 1991 for the Bermuda Bowl being held in Ocho 4´ has no chance on the actual lie given (Forrester, Andrew Robson, Kirby, Arm - Rios, a beautiful town on the North Coast that the trumps break badly. Sitting West strong, Roman Smolski, Tony Sowter, with of Jamaica. for us was the late Raymond Brock, who David Burn as coach and Sandra Landy In the initial round robin there were made a good start of leading the ace of NPC), where we lost a tight quarter-final eight teams and team GB finished second clubs and switching to a diamond, attack - match to Poland, and in 2005 where we to Chinese Taipei; holders USA and Euro - ing declarer’s com mu nication. Declarer didn’t make the knock out stages. pean champions Sweden were exempt to then finessed in hearts and Brock played the semi-final. The conditions of contest another diamond cutting declarer off from The Venice Cup stated that the two European teams would the table completely. He had no chance have to meet. Great Britain took an early now and attempted to draw trumps, losing The women’s equivalent is called the lead which they never relinquished and three spades and another heart for three ‘Venice Cup’ and started in 1974, the first won by 47 IMPs. Almost half of this margin down. tournament being held in Venice. England came from one deal where Sweden had a In the other room the American West led has had some success in this event, misunderstanding about a redouble and the queen of spades overtaken by the king winning in 1981 and 1985, beating strong conceded a penalty of 2800 – which long and Jeremy Flint looked deeper into the American teams both times in the final. 38 English Bridge June 2011 www.ebu.co.uk This deal from the 1985 final showed declarer having to work hard for her game: E/W Game. Dealer West. ´ A J 6 3 ™ A J 4 t A J 10 5 ® K 6 ´ 10 7 4 2 ´ K Q ™ 10 8 3 N ™ Q 7 5 2 W E t 8 3 S t K Q 9 6 ® Q 9 7 3 ® 8 5 2 ´ 9 8 5 ™ K 9 6 i h t 7 4 2 c c a T ® A J 10 4 n o R : o t o h P For Great Britain, the declarer was Michelle Brunner as South, playing in 3NT on the The England team, winners of the Women’s Series at the 2008 Beijing World Bridge Games. lead of a low club. She took the natural line From the left: Martin Jones (NPC), Heather Dhondy, Nicola Smith, Catherine Draper, of taking a diamond finesse, and then won Sally Brock, Sandra Penfold (Coach), Anne Rosen and Nevena Senior. the club return on the table. If declarer now plays a heart to hand and takes another declarer an eighth trick, and Brunner who are still going strong today. Sally Brock diamond finesse she will go down, as with cashed three hearts ending in her hand. At and Sandra Landy were on the team both the dia monds lying badly she has only seven this point West was squeezed: she had to times, along with Nicola Smith and Pat tricks. Instead, Brunner played a low spade guard the spades and the queen of clubs. Davies who retired when the home nations off the dummy, seeking further chances. When she let go a spade, declarer had a devolved in 1999. The team was completed East won and played a third club, and she complete count, and played a spade to the in 1981 by Maureen Dennison and Diana was back in her hand to take a diamond ace dropping the king as if by magic. This is Williams, and in 1985 by Michelle Brunner finesse. East could win and exit with the known as a ‘show-up squeeze’ as West’s and Gill Scott-Jones. nine of dia monds pinning declarer’s seven, spades weren’t tech nically winners, but they but she won and played a diamond back ‘showed up’ her partner’s bare K-Q. The Bridge Teams Olympiads giving the lead to East once more. East Unlike the Open team, our gold-winning elected to get off lead with a heart, giving women’s teams feature many of the stars The other world champion ships where English players have done well are the World Teams Olympiads, which have taken ENGLISH WOMEN’S SUCCESSES AT THE WORLD TEAMS OLYMPIADS place every four years since 1960. The event changed its name to World Bridge YEAR VENUE POS. TEAM Games (and, slightly, its format) in 2008, 1964 New York 1st Rixi Markus, Fritzi Gordon, Dorothy Shanahan, when it became part of the World Mind Dimmie Fleming, Jane Juan, Mary Moss, Sports Games. NPC Harold Franklin In the Open series England won a silver 1976 Monte Carlo 2nd Fritzi Gordon, Rixi Markus, Nicola Gardener (Smith), in 1960 (Terence Reese, Boris Schapiro, Sandra Landy, Charlie Esterson, Rita Oldroyd, Nico Gardener, Albert Rose, Jeremy Flint, NPC Graham Cooke Ralph Swimer, NPC Louis Tarlo), and 1980 Valkenburg 3rd Sally Sowter (Brock), Sandra Landy, Pat Davies, bronze in 1964 (Terence Reese, Boris Nicola Gardener (Smith), Rita Oldroyd, Michelle Brunner, Schapiro, Joel Tarlo, Jeremy Flint, Kenneth NPC Raymond Brock Konstam, Maurice Harrison-Gray, NPC 1984 Seattle 2nd Sally Horton (Brock), Sandra Landy, Pat Davies, Louis Tarlo) and 1976 (Tony Priday, Claude Nicola Smith, Gillian Scott-Jones, Sarah Scarborough, NPC Hugh Kelsey, Coach Gus Calderwood Rodrigue, Willie Coyle, Robert Sheehan, Jeremy Flint, Irving Rose, NPC Terence 1988 Venice 2nd Michelle Brunner, Sandra Landy, Pat Davies, Reese), before a magnificent run in 2008 Nicola Smith, Liz McGowan (Scotland), Sandra Penfold, NPC Graham Endicott, Coach Richard Fleet where they proved that they were still one of the strongest nations in the world. 1992 Salsomaggiore 2nd Pat Davies, Nicola Smith, Michele Handley (Barker), Sandra Landy, Liz McGowan (Scotland), Sandra Penfold, England reached the final, beating tough NPC Mark Horton, Coach Brian Senior Bulgaria and Romania in the early knock- out rounds before shredding Ger many in 2004 Istanbul 3rd Sally Brock, Kitty Teltscher, Heather Dhondy, Nicola Smith, the semi-final despite being down over - Michelle Brunner, Rhona Goldenfield, NPC Alan Mould, Coach Christine Duckworth night.