Well Done Demme (and Nisbet does it again)

2006,2007,2008.2009,2010 and 2012.  What do those years all have in common?  In each of those years Pamela Nisbet has won the Canadian Womens Team Championships.  And she has done it on very different teams with different partners.  No wonder the Demme team wanted her to play on their team this year!  Clearly if you want to win, get Pamela!

Below in her first victory!

The 2006  CWTC GOLD MEDALISTS
Heather Peckett, Marcia Christie, Pamela Nisbet, Rhonda Foster

There were, sadly, only six teams entered in this years CWTC with the winner representing Canada in the World Mind Games in Lille.

I was drafted (for the trials only) to temporarily replace Julie Fajgelzon who was too sick to play.  

During the Round Robin it looked like the Fung team: Kismet Fung,Susan Culham, Francine Cimon, Brenda Bryant, Samantha Nystrom and Isabelle Smith were going to have an easy team.  They beat everybody else in the Round Robin and were in first place with quite a lead over second.  Demme,  Ina Demme, Hazel Wolpert, Linda Wynston, Debbie Bennett and Pamela Nisbet pipped out our team for second place and Macnab held the fourth spot.

Fung easily handled Macnab in the semifinal and we lost to Demme.  Thus Fung met Demme in the final.  And the final is rarely easy.  I was on the train coming home from Montreal and by the miracle of BBO and my iphone I got to watch the whole match.  The train was very late so I was glad to have some fun bridge to watch.

Fung ended the first quarter with a small lead.  During the second quarter Demme took the lead with a 71 to 60.  They added another 17 imps in the third quarter and went on to win 150 to 128.  As you can see it was a close match all the way.  So you can find many boards where if the players had made some slightly different choices the result could have gone the other way.  On the last deal of the second quarter Demme picked up 12 imps.

 

Dealer: West Vul: Both	Smith/Wolpert ♠ A865   ♥ K75   ♦ K9   ♣ 9732
Thomson/Bryant ♠ 3   ♥ Q10963   ♦ A1062   ♣ K54		Wynston/Cimon ♠ Q1094   ♥ AJ4   ♦ J8   ♣ QJ106
	Nystom/Demme ♠ KJ72   ♥ 82   ♦ Q7543   ♣ A8

Imps is all about bidding (and making) vulnerable games.  In the Closed Room Cimon, East opened 1♣  in third chair.  Bryant bid 1♥  and Cimon was prepared to pass that out opposite a partner who had not opened the bidding.  Demme balanced with a double, Bryant bid 2♥  and Wolpert bought the contract with a 2♠ bid.  A red suit lead from East was fatal so when Cimon led a heart Wolpert was able to bring home her contract.  Things were however, more exciting in the Open Room.

Wynston started with 1♣  in third and here Nystrom overcalled with 1♦ .  Thomson bid 1♥  and North, Smith doubled showing spades.  Now Wynston could use a support double to show three card heart support.  When Nystrom bid 1♠  Thomson jumped to her vulnerable game, 4♥ .  Now Smith had a tough decision.  Perhaps expecting a bit more from Nystrom she pushed on to 4♠ .  4♠  on the lie of the cards is quite unpleasant.  Nystrom did well to get out for down 2 and -500.  But as it turns out accurate defense will defeat 4♥ .  So the second quarter ended with a useful 12 imps to Demme.   And this resulted in Demme taking over the lead as the quarter ended.

I am copying Mike Yuen’s picture of the winners below.  Thanks Mike

2012 CWTC Gold Medal Winners Debbie Bennett, Lesley Thomson, Linda Wynston, Hazel Wolpert, Ina Demme and Pamela Nisbet.  

Ray and I have already bought tickets to Lille and we will be there for part of the event to cheer our teams on, report, and do some Master Point Press business.  See you there, ladies.