Inter-County Tollemache Qualifying round

Wiltshire Pair’s success in the Corn Cairdis Cup

Inter-County Tollemache Qualifying round (28/29 Nov 09)

The Tolley is the premier inter-county teams event with the qualifier being held at the end of November and the final in February. It is many years since Wiltshire qualified for the final.

This year we got 50% which was only a few % off qualifying. Playing 10 boards a match, we beat 4 teams (including Kent, the defending champions), drew 1 and lost 4.

Our big loss was to Bedford and the fate of that match was decided (against our intrepid pairs) by the KS being off side in two successive "slam" hands. If we had beaten Bedford by the margin they beat us we would have qualified.

So the team are confidant that next year Wiltshire will do even better.

A real dilemma hand was board 21 of Session 3 (our match against Devon). Dealer N with N-S vulnerable:-

The potential for all hands under or over bidding is delicious and extraordinary though it may appear 4H by E-W is unbeatable provided the right card is played at trick 2.

A typical auction started 2D (multi), pass, 2H (weak response) with W really under the cosh. Could N have hearts? Surely safer to bid diamonds? If diamonds are indeed bid the bidding will stop there and the contract drift one off. If hearts are bid then E will go on to the four level and because of the vulnerability N-S should shut up. On the lead of the AS, it looks all over for E-W with control being lost by forced spade ruffs. But not of course if a small heart is led at trick two (starting to deny North any ruff) and South subsequently deliberately stripped of his spades by declarer!

Roger K.

Results can be found in Group A on
http://www.ebu.co.uk/results/2009August-December/TollimacheQ/index.htm

Wiltshire Pair’s success in the Corn Cairdis Cup

The Corn Cairdis (Cup of Friendship) is a friendly competition between Ireland and England. The competition has run for 17 years now and it provides a unique opportunity for bridge players from both countries to meet at and away from the bridge table and is staged in each country on alternate years.

The match is played on three levels with teams of four acting as - representatives of county players, representatives of club players, and representatives of the EBU and CBAI (Irish BridgeUnion). The event is played as four 20 board matches for each team - playing against each of the opponents teams plus a second match against the opponents’ equivalent set of representatives.

This year the match was staged by the North Dublin region of the CBAI - at Malahide, Ireland's "Riviera". The Malahide club has a superb purpose built clubhouse and generally the hospitality provided was superb - even to the extent that an unscheduled duplicate session was played on the final evening, with each of the England team partnered by one of our hosts, and alcohol flowed freely from the Malahide bar.

Gayle and Colin Webb were invited to play for the "Club" side, teamed with Martin Canto and Baz Caygill who play in clubs in Northern England. They won three of our four matches, losing only to the Irish County team.