This would normally be Bermuda Regional Week and would have all the excitement associated with that, but clearly that can’t happen in this pandemic world.

We, however, have a lot of bright and energetic minds at work in Bermuda and what we can all look forward to now is Bermuda 2021 Online Tournament thanks largely to Bill Pollett, tournament chairman, Jack Rhind, tournament director and Peter Donnellan, Bridge Club chief director, who all just make so much happen in Bermuda bridge. I’m sure there are others who have helped, but for now huge plaudits and thanks must go to Bill, Peter and Jack.

The event starts today and runs through Wednesday with two single session events each day – all the information you need on the event including signing up instructions, rules of play and the full schedule can be found at www.bermudaregional.com.

Also available at the tournament will be the excellent Daily Bulletins produced by our favourite editor, Janet Evans, who will play a big part in making the online tournament something resembling the Regional. The sign -up for the event has been tremendous, with literally hundreds of our regular visitors deciding to take part, so you will meet many friends at the table.

The prizes are generous and are cleverly designed to entice the winners to the 2022 Regional where they can “spend“ their winnings.

All in all this has been an amazing project, and I can’t say enough about those who will have spent long and stressful hours bringing it to fruition – I know their efforts will be rewarded by the turnout and hopefully all our locals will take part in multiple sessions. Full results of all local winners will be in next week’s column.

This week’s hand is all about declarer play, as the bidding was replicated all over the field (see Figure 1).

South usually opened 2NT showing 20-22 balanced, North bid 3 Clubs (Stayman) and when South bid 3 Spades North raised to the spade game.

At every table West led the standout King of Diamonds.

Most declarers won the Ace and played Ace King of trumps, noting the 4-1 break. Now declarer usually continued drawing trump ending in dummy and ran the Club 10 which held. Now another Club to the Jack also held but when West showed out declarer had to concede a club and went down to a one trick defeat.

Before I get to the play by the successful declarer, which you can think about, the hand is really about the need for planning at trick one. Too many declarers are so keen to draw trump that they defer their planning until after that is done, and it is often too late.

Our successful declarer saw immediately that there were three unavoidable red suit losers and that the club finesse had to work for the contract to succeed. So after winning the Diamond Ace at trick one, she played the five of clubs and inserted the jack which held. Only now did declarer move on to drawing trumps in four rounds ending in dummy.

Now the 10 of Clubs was played and declarer ran this successfully – this left the lead in dummy to take yet another club finesse and declarer got home with 8 black suit winners and the two red Aces – success!

The difference between the successful and unsuccessful declarers here is subtle, but as you can see it was all about taking time to think right at the start of the hand and then executing – a really well played hand.

In closing, it is with great sadness that I report the passing earlier this week of Nea Willits, a longstanding member of the Club who played, and played well, right into her later years.

Nea was a favourite at the Club – a cheerful and strong character who always had a smile and was respected both for her bridge and for who she was as a person.

Until fairly recently she was still keen to maintain her physical and mental health and worked at it with the determination one would expect from her.

The Bridge Club will be a poorer place without her, and our thoughts are with her family, which includes our own Rachael and Teddy Gosling, and her many friends on and off the island.

BERMUDA BRIDGE CLUB RESULTS

Friday, January 15

1. Jane Smith - Alan Douglas

2. Elaine Stevens - Ian Hilton

3. Charles Hall - William Pollett

Saturday, January 16

1. Richard Hall - Tim Mardon

2. Martha Ferguson - John Luebkemann

3. Charles Roraback - Molly Roraback

Monday, January 18

North-South

1. Edward Betteto - Peter Donnellan

2. Jack Rhind - John Rayner

3. Louise Rodger - Greta Marshall

East-West

1. John Hodge - Sue Hodge

2= Richard Gray - Wendy Gray

2= Michael Tait - Jane Clipper

Tuesday, January 19 <149

1. James Mulderig - Robert Mulderig

2. Wenda Krupp - Jane Gregory

3. Marion Silver - Duncan Silver

Wednesday, January 20

1. Charles Hall - William Pollett

2. Richard Gray - Wendy Gray

3. Lynanne Bolton - Greta Marshall

Thursday, January 21

1. Margaret Way - Miodrag Novakovic

2. Betsy Baillie - Lisa Ferrari

3. Lynanne Bolton - Peter Donnellan