You are hereWaikato Area Pairs 2014
Waikato Area Pairs 2014
The final round of the 2014 Waikato Area Pairs was held at Hamilton on Sunday 3 August.
WAP Champions 2014
Defending champions Ian and Cynthia Clayton were looking to recover after a poor result in Round 5 and hold off the in-form pair of Ian Bond and Lynette Morgan. Also well in the hunt were Jenny Millington and Dallas Dagg, Malcolm Smith and Lindsay Reid, Gary Foidl and Yuzhong Chen, and Clare Coles and Kate McFadyen.
In the Open-Intermediate section it was neck and neck between Mike Barton and Anne Williamson and Elaine Rayner and Ross Stewart, while in the non-opendivision Anna and Jacob Kalma held a commanding lead and just needed to turn up to take that title – Jacob was unable to make it but Anna played with another junior grade player to keep them in the competition.
A total of 14 tables which is an excellent number for the last round and overall the table numbers are up on average about 1 table per round this year. Our regular Auckland visitors Susan Rowe and Cheryl Winsor attended along with fellow big city stars John Buckleton and Tracey Lewis.
After a quick seed we were underway with a 28 board Mitchell. Board 17 was interesting:
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6H looks a pretty good spot for EW, but Norths who chose to open that rather marginal hand in the 1st seat would have made the bidding a bit tricky. Exactly half the EW pairs got there.
Should be no problems for NS to bid their grand though on board 28:
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Regardless of what North opens, South will know by their second bid at the latest they have a combined 35 HCPs and it is just a matter of choosing which grand to go for. No point playing in 7H if 7NT makes I reckon and it isn’t too hard to count 16 tricks off the top. One feisty EW pair competed to 4S in the bidding which had the desired result of ensuring their opposition were in 6H. Nine of the 14 pairs bid the 7NT with one pair choosing 7H. One pair was in 6NT and 2 were in 6H. One pair had a bit of a misunderstanding and played it in 4 to gift their opposition 100% of the match points (not mentioning any names but they do rhyme with Melon and Cars).
Results for the morning then saw Herman Yuan and Michael Neels top the EW field with 61.68. Just 9 MPs behind them on 60.44 were Lesley Quilty and Sonia Crawford and Tim and Helen Healy. Sitting on top of the NS tree were Ian and Cynthia with 65.25. Next was Susan and Cheryl with 58.93 and then Allan Barclay and Judith Bishop with 57.55. Anna, and her substitute Judith Howard scored 52.06 to be well ahead in the non-open competition.
Making a doubled contract and earning some chocolate were Doris Chapman and Phil Thompson, Josie McKenzie and Jena Robinson, Ayako Imahashi ana Margarey Fitzgerald, Melva Johnstone and Val Waite, Olive Daviss and Mary Ronke, Tracey and John, and Lesley and Sonia.
After a quick AGM it was into the afternoon session. Board 6 and EW hold (West on the left):
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With East the dealer and no input from NS do you get to 6NT? Will depend on your system as to who plays it but from East what is your plan after the ten
lead? You get in and lead the K
. North puts up the 5 and South the 2. Then you lead the 6 and North puts up the 10. What to do next? Try for the drop? Does that 5, 10 mean they have the Queen or not? Or do they have the 7 and South has the Queen doubleton? A virtual chocolate fish to Gary and Yuzhong – one of three pairs to bid 6NT, but the only ones to get the play right and make it.
Board 22 sees West holding:
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Red vs Green vul and you may get 2 passes, or you may get South open 2NT showing a weakish 5-5 minors hand. The full hand is:
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As North what do you do over 2NT then X? How do you bid on as East? Much easier if West is allowed to bid 2C and then after 2D and a 2NT, a transfer to hearts looks the thing to do. Problem is that it looks like 2 losers if the 4D is led from North but only if it is led from South. Well no-one got to 6H but a few pairs were in 5. Well done to Mary and Olive though who bought the contract as NS in 5CX – 3 away got them most of the match points.
A battle of the majors could ensue in Board 19. With South the dealer and EW vulnerable:
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Playing Standard American 1NT should be mandatory from South. Acol players will bid 1S, Precision players 1C. Over 1NT two passes to East seems reasonable who will X. After 2C or 2D from partner (assuming South doesn’t bid 2S) they are good enough to go 2H and West can make at least a single raise, but a bid to game is not unreasonable. After a 1S opener, probably no bid from West and then 2S from North. As East do you X or bid 3H? Either way you may get to 4H and then South has to decide whether to pass or go 4S. Doubling is not really a plan here. Should they choose 4S (which makes) then does either E or W go to 5H? A good plan as it happens. Over a Precision 1C opener it will largely depend on what (if any) defensive system you have over the big 1C. After the 1D response from North I think X still shows a biggish hand and even if South says 1S there is a genuine 2H rebid from East which hopefully West supports! Two NS pairs got to play it in 4S and picked up maximum matchpoints: Cynthia and Ian, and Anna and Judith. An early Christmas present for Tipa and Ella who, sitting EW, played it in 4HX making. But with 9 of the tables playing it in a contract we’ll have to award this battle of the majors to hearts.
The afternoon then saw Kate McFadyen and Clare Coles top the NS field with 60.43. A great result for Intermediate pair Ayako and Margaret with 55.95 in 2nd place, followed by Anne and Mike with 55.85. Playing EW, Gary and Yuzhong carried on their recent excellent form with 65.48. Jenny and Dallas were next with 57.02 and then Lesley and Sonia with 56.90.
At the end of the day then a great win for Gary and Yuzhong followed by Lesley and Sonia and then Herman and Michael.
Final placings for the event then:
Best non-open pair: Anna and Jacob Kalma
Best Open – Intermediate: Mike Barton and Anne Williamson
3rd: Lynette Morgan and Ian Bond
2nd: Yuzhong Chen and Gary Foidl
1st: Cynthia and Ian Clayton.
So the Claytons defend their title with 2012 Champions Gary and Yuzhong recovering brilliantly from an ordinary first 2 rounds to finish 2nd. The full results are attached below.
My thanks to all our regulars and the host clubs. Jane Stearns takes over as Manager next year while Anna Kalma will be Treasurer and Scorer. I will be around for the first 2 rounds and then Heather, Zachary, and I are off to Europe, the Middle-East and Africa! Not as exciting as the Waikato Area Pairs I know but possibly safer …
Ed
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To see full details (where available) of the results, click on the links below:
Sunday 16 February at Matamata
Sunday 16 March at Cambridge
Sunday 13 April at Waikato
Sunday 25 May at Te Aroha
Sunday 6 July at Morrinsville
Sunday 3 August Hamilton
Results will also be published on the Compassmate and X-Clubs website as a courtesy service to those clubs using Compass scoring.
The final ladder after Round 6 is also attached below.
Click here for the 2014 WAP schedule.
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| Waikato Area Pairs Final Result.pdf | 234.84 KB |
| Waikato Area Pairs Rules of Competition updated August 2013.doc | 27.5 KB |