Canadian Women Countdown To The Venice Cup

Our
team will be leaving for Shanghai
in about 10 days.  It seems incredible that the time has gone so
fast. 

Isabelle wrote to us that
the local Ottawa Bridge Club held a fundraiser
for the players going to China.
(Jeff, Waldemar, John, and Isabelle),  and raised over $1600.00! Colin the
club owner provided a golf shirt for each member of the men’s and women’s
teams. He asked that we take a team picture while in Shanghai  waring the shirts.  

I would like to get a copy
of the picture and post it for all of you to see. I applaud the support of the
Ottawa Bridge Club.  I have thought for some time that there should be a
better way of fundraising for  our championship teams than relying on the
players or other helpful people  to fund the players once the teams are
picked.  It simply isn’t possible to do a good job when you only have a
few months and the players are also busy practicing and preparing.
We should do the fundraising across the country with a team that works on
the preparation year round.  Maybe we need a special game which is not
played for points but for donated prizes, scored across the country.  I
would be interested in ideas that others might have.  Please post your
thoughts.

Thanks to the generous continuing support of Master Point
Press. all of our team
have copies of Sabine’s wonderful book, I Love This Game
When we were practicing in Montreal Rhoda talked about winning by taking all of your
defensive tricks.  While I certainly think that is true I would add that
winning a championship is often about doing the simple things like taking your
nine tricks on defense against 3NT.    In her book Sabine describes the great
German come from behind victory against France in the 2001 Venice Cup Final.  On Board 12 Cronier playing for France was in 3NT on this hand (roated for convenience).

            J1087
            J5
            K72
            A863

KQ93               
   642
A32               
      Q1064
864               
      QJ53
752               
      94
    
       A5
            K987
            A109
            KQJ10

Pony’s opening lead was the D6 (2nd or 4th).  Declarer played low from
dummy and won her ace.  She played a club to the Ace on which Andrea
contributed the nine, a Smith signal saying she liked the opening lead.
Declarer played the HJ, covered by the queen, king and ace.  Pony
continued with another diamond.  What do you play now?

Cronier ducked the diamond and Andrea found the spade switch to defeat the
contract.  Declarer can work out the the diamond suit does not present a
danger.  After the play to trick one neither defender can have five
diamonds.  Declarer should rise on the diamond king when Pony continued
the suit. After the heart play declarer can give up the H10 to make 9 tricks
and by winning the second diamond the defense cannot prevail.

This
hand provides a great example of the need for both defender and declarer to
count their tricks.  Andrea was able to realize that a diamond
continuation would not provide enough tricks for the defense and found her best
chance, a spade shift.  Declarer didn’t get deeply enough into the hand to
determine that her best chance of nine tricks was to win the second diamond
lead.

Sabine
goes on to show some brilliant hands that illustrate these principles.
(Check out chapter 12 if you have the book).