Moving house is traumatic but moving bridge club is worse. Young Chelsea left Barkston Gardens, its home for over 30 years, exactly two years ago, and since then we have all been living a nomadic existence, relying on the kindness of others. Well — last Friday manager Nick Sandqvist kept his promise and opened the doors of the new, expanded YC in Goldhawk Road, right opposite the Tube station. And what an opening it was. The famous Friday night IMPs duplicate kicked off with 66 pairs jost-ling for a seat, and some sadly arriving too late to find one. It was FANTASTIC. Well worth the wait and heaven to see all the old regulars again plus lots of new faces. Mike Scoltock and Nick Wilkinson won. This combination of gutsy bidding and fine play contributed:
West started with the Ace of hearts and, on seeing his partner’s ♥J, shifted to a small spade. Mike ducked it to the Queen, and the return of the ten was covered by the Jack, King and Ace. The ♣Queen came next, allowed to run when East followed low, and a second round of trumps was drawn.
A good start, but declarer needed an extra trick in diamonds to dispose of the spade loser. He played ♦K and another, noting West’s 9. Reasoning that West probably had at least two heart honours to go with the ♠K, he was probably too good for a 3♥; opening with the ♦Queen as well. Mike followed his gut feeling; he rose with the ♦Ace and played the Jack of diamonds from table. This neatly pinned the ten in the West hand, and Mr Scoltock had his game — a massive result with many pairs allowed to make 4 hearts the other way.
Comments
Join the debate for just £1 a month
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for £3.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just £1 a monthAlready a subscriber? Log in