Your editor asked me to pen a few words about the Seniors Congress at elegant Eastbourne, but time has rolled on through the Riviera Congress at touristy Torquay and the annual week long jamboree that is the EBU Congress in bizarre Brighton. (Please bear in mind that I am not a sun seeker and Gayle and I treat these trips as part of our holidays, but taken in small doses.)

We have been playing at these events for some years, and have built up a goodly number of friends and / or teammates with whom it is fun to play, dine and drink.

As to the bridge, it really is another world away from club bridge, despite there being the usual 52 cards.

Would you double this hand for a Spade lead?

North

86

AK7

AJT85

QJ8

AQT4 73

T54 Q963

Q762 94

64 KT732

KJ952

J82

K3

A95

North /South have 27 points – bid to 3NT , but West doubled the contract for a Spade lead.

How was West able to tell East that he wanted a Spade lead?

West did this because their system allowed them to use a double to call for a lead of the last suit bid by North/South. This happened to be Spades!

So how do you make 3NT*, for a top or are you 1 down for a bottom. What’s the fun if we get beaten up like the above hand?

We get the chance to play against top players, including England’s World and European champion ladies, and European champion Seniors men, together with a host of other professionals who earn their living from bridge. Their income is not only from lecturing, writing books and articles for magazines, but surprisingly being paid by punters to play with them or in wholly financed teams. If you have a bit of spare cash just hire a bridge pro for a tournament!!

Bidding Systems

At these tournaments there is a whole range of bidding systems in use. This year the Polish and the Dutch brought their different styles. There was plenty of based “Three weak twos” that Gayle and I play, plus a range of Benji Acol style. is well accounted for, as is Precision. Also not many 1NT opening bids get unchallenged with players using their latest gadget to grab the contract.

The top young stars are playing a sort of club and transfer system. This system usually plays 5- card majors with a strong no

1. So what do you think this sequence means (with no opposition bidding):

1C – 1D – 1H – 1S -- 1NT

Translated as:

West: 1C flat hand similar to weak 1NT

East: 1D transfer to a four card heart suit

West:: 1H completion of transfer

East:: 1S transfer to 1NT, weakish hand partner, should play in 1NT

West: 1NT complete the transfer

2. Or what about, 1C – 1D – 1H - 1NT – 2S Translated as:

West: 1C as above

East: 1D as above, transfer to hearts

West: 1H as above complete the transfer

East: 1NT I have 4 spades, but non-forcing

West: 2S I have four spades as well, lets play here.

The good thing is that we can sit back and ask questions before the play. The bad thing is that these transfers are bidding our suits. One defence is to bid as if you were bidding against a 1NT opener. But I am not ready for the messes that we would likely get in to.

But, these guys and girls also provide us lower life (in bridge terms) with occasional stories to tell.

Mixing it with The Professionals!

In Brighton, at one of the expert lectures, was asked what chances we club players had of beating the stars. His answer was simple, the shorter the match the more likely that we could win. Over the standard 7 / 8 match, a 40% chance but over a 48 board match, he would expect the better players to win all the time.

So this summer Gayle and I have been in teams that have beaten Brian and Nevena Senior, Paul Hackett and David Burn. All professionals and each match a 7 board affair.

But the story that we are dining out on comes from Eastbourne and starts with Jenny Gray. Playing in the Swiss Teams event , having lost their first match, Jenny’s team were against a financed team that included Brian Senior and (the best of the best).

Jenny’s team won their 8 board match with a score of 20 – nil.

Meanwhile our team had also begun badly losing our first two matches. We were now drawn against the Senior / Forrester squad. We won by 18 – 2. This put the Pros bottom of the field!!

A major contribution to our win came from a hand that Gayle was playing in 4 Spades. She could see no way of making the contract but halfway through the play, Tony Forrester put his cards down and had a long think about what to lead next.

Gayle was quick enough to realise that if he had a problem, then she probably now saw the route to making the contract. Which she duly did.

So what is different from club bridge?

Same 52 cards, but the bidding is more aggressive and opponents mistakes in the play are much fewer.

For example you are unlikely to get an exploratory lead of an unsupported Ace, common to club bridge.

Though I have to say that I played a hand at Brighton where the lead of a low spade completely fooled me into a wrong line of play. It never occurred to me that she had led from A Q x x!!

Another hand from Brighton, dealer East

North

3

8654

7432

9754

A5 KQT7

KQ2 A9

A96 KQJ85

KQJ82 AT

J98642

JT73

T

63

Holding 38 points would you and your partner reach one of the several making slams ?

What difference would there be if South bid 2S over a 1D opening or 3S over a 2 level opening bid?

Andrew Robson commented that this was a very good defensive bid to make.