Bridge - The Scotsman 09/01/2012

The 2011 Gold Cup Final was the 75th in Britain’s oldest and most prestigious teams competition.

A high standard match resulted in a win for the amateurs Peter Lee (Jeffrey Allerton, Frances Hinden, Graham Osborne Andy Bowles, John Howard) over Alexander Allfrey’s professionals (Andrew Robson, Tony Forrester, David Gold, Peter Crouch, Derek Patterson) Such matches are often decided by a slice of luck.

This freak from the first session suggested that it might be Lee’s day. Bowles and Howard play a natural system with many gadgets. South’s 2C response showed either a balanced hand, or a game-forcing minor one-suiter. 2S was a relay confirming a minimum opener and 3D revealed the minor. 3NT was an attempted sign-off, and 4D showed a self-supporting suit with slam ambition. North cuebid 4H and East’s lead-directing double allowed South to pass and North to redouble to confirm first round control. By cuebidding clubs, bypassing spades, South showed two losers, so the 5S cue had to be the ace. It did not occur to South, as he bid the Grand Slam, that partner might be void in his suit.

7D requires both a 2-2 trump break (or singleton queen) and the spade finesse. The final indignity was that on the run of the diamonds West became the victim of a show-up squeeze, having to bare his king of spades in order to hang on to his other black king. The same thirteen tricks in a more sensible 6D in the other room meant 13 imps to Lee.