The first Bridge event played in the new Union Club premises was the Open teams tournament. This year, 11 teams contested and after a full round robin, the winners were Team Two, consisting of Berta Sullivan, Victor Attard Bondi, Graham Penney and Albert Sacco, with a score of 159 vp's.
In second position, with 147 vp's, was Team Five of Phyllis Aquilina, Charlotte Xuereb, Eileen Mifsud and Terry Davies. The Performance Prize was won by Jane Henderson, Dorothy Rizzo, Karen Pleven and Binda Blomeyer who went up from their predicted 11th position to ninth.
Bridge pairs events, or as the Italians more aptly call them Mitchells, are a lot of fun, particularly for the highly spirited players, who not infrequently gamble and risk getting their fingers burnt.
Rightly or wrongly (who knows!), in the pairs game, this kind of gambling is well rewarded when it works and inadequately penalised when it fails. Not so in teams events. Here, a slight deviation from the most likely successful line of play could cost a lot of points.
On the hand below from an early round of this year's teams tournament, three no trump was easily bid at all tables.
Unfortunately, although the contract is cold, only one pair managed to make it. Here in Malta, over 90 per cent of the Bridge played by the leading players is match pointed pairs.
Consequently, our minds are geared to a style more appropriate to obtaining maximum benefits from that type of scoring; for example, by making one or two overtricks rather than securing the contract.
This is particularly important where game bonuses are involved. Take the South seat, concentrate on making your game contract (as indeed you should be doing in a teams competition) and plan your play after West leads the knave of Spades.
If you ducked the Ace, East takes the King and switches to the Queen of Clubs. Now, unless the Diamonds work, you're sunk. Seven tricks are cold, one Spade trick, three in Hearts, two in Diamonds and the Ace of Clubs. Ducking the Spade lead, sets up the Queen. But that is still only eight tricks and with East on lead, you are now doomed. Yet this contract is cold. Try again.
With careful play of the Diamonds, the contract is 100 safe. You must win the Ace of Spades immediately and play a Diamond from dummy. Now, all you need to do is just cover whatever card East plays. Whether West wins this trick or not, your nine tricks are now guaranteed. This line of play will yield at least nine tricks however the outstanding cards are distributed among our opponents. As the cards lie here it pays good dividend.
In a pairs contest, when the Diamonds break 2-2, this line of play will give you a bottom. But that's another story.
This year, the very popular Lions tournament was ditched in favour of two new tournaments, a ladies pairs championship and a separate men's championship.
In the local Bridge circle, the fairer sex hugely outnumbers the men and it was readily predictable that a separate male event could not be sustained. Indeed, with only five pairs contesting, the men's tournament should not even have started.
Twenty-nine pairs are contesting the ladies competition and after four rounds the leaders are: 1. Cecilia Portelli and Alice Portelli 239.41; 2. Giovanella Despott and Marian Colombo 232.10; 3. May Sultana and Mary Rose Grima 229.67.
In the men's tournament, Francis Consiglio and Albert Ganado are leading with 266.25. Mario Aquilina and Albert Portelli are second with 232.92.