Dubious Logic

World Pairs

Well, the World Championships are over, having managed to fit the Mixed, Women's, Senior's and Open Pairs and three teams events, together with a number of consolation competitions, all into just two weeks – none of that seeming-to-go-on-forever you get with some games.

Despite the transnational nature of the events – lifting the requirement for same-nation make-up of teams and pairs – it turned out being from the same country was an ingredient for success. Even with increased ease of travel and perhaps more importantly, the facility of communication afforded by email and the Internet, there's no replacement for face-to-face practice and the attendant exchange of views on failures and successes afterwards.

It was a good championship for the Americans; as reported last week they took the mixed and they added both the women's and open teams events and the women's pairs. However, they missed out again on the Open Pairs, not as in recent times to the Europeans, but to Asia when a pair from China, Zhong Fu and Jie Zhao kept their nerve when the French leaders for sessions three and four, faltered in the fifth and last set. English pairs had a good showing with two appearing in the top ten – the first such showing for the twenty plus years I was able to search through.

Strangely, writing about top quality pairs is harder than teams; the secret they say is to play a careful game and accept the gifts when (if) they come along, maintaining concentration at all times is essential. From the Women's pairs:

A normal auction starting with West's 2NT leads to 3NT when no major fit comes to light. The lead a club to the king and ace; what now?

Against the winners, a Dutch declarer player ace and knave of diamonds, ducked. She now switched her attention to spades, small to ten and king. She could duck a club and with the third round but she couldn't stop the ace of spades being won by the player with the club winner. Now because she had released a diamond trick for the defence, suddenly there were five tricks against her; -50 got only 5 matchpoints out of 34, the new world champions had just led their longest suit and played normal bridge. West made a poor choice of lines; either playing spade immediately and relying on the diamond finesse or, best I think, advancing the diamond knave at trick two, would have been successful.

Published Saturday 1.Jul.2006