This column will concentrate mainly on the recently concluded Bermuda Sectional and will also provide some dates for your diary, including an interesting initiative on 24 October to get bridge players who have stopped playing back into the club.

The Sectional appears to have been a great success in terms of attracting more players, with a remarkable 40 per cent increase in table count and an average of 13 tables a session.

All this represents some great work by a few people and it appears that Jane King led the initiative to turn things around and boost the event, so thanks and congratulations to her.

Peter Donnellan continues to be a positive force at the bridge club and in his support for the Sectional, as does Jack Rhind who performs the demanding role of Tournament Director over all four days of the event . Well done all.

The winners for the week are reproduced below and it was good to see the separate 99er games which clearly helped in the success of the event.

Stratum A Winners

Friday afternoon- Jean Johnson- Tony Saunders

Friday Evening – Judy King – Martha Ferguson

Saturday morning – Peter Donnellan – Lynanne Bolton

Saturday afternoon- Gertie Barker – Jane Smith

Monday afternoon -Jean Johnson- Tony Saunders

Monday evening- Elizabeth McKee – Diana Diel

Stratum B Winners

Friday afternoon- Kathleen Keane – Donna Leitch

Friday Evening– Judy King – Martha Ferguson

Saturday morning- Peter Donnellan – Lynanne Bolton

Saturday afternoon - Peter Donnellan – Lynanne Bolton

Monday afternoon – Greta Marshall – Lynanne Bolton

Monday evening- Gill Gray – Julia Beach

Stratum C Winners

Friday afternoon Kathleen Keane – Donna Leitch

Friday Evening– Judy King – Martha Ferguson

Saturday morning – Annabelle Mann – Lorna Anderson

Saturday afternoon- Kathleen and Geoff Bell

Monday afternoon – Rosemary Smith – Marsha Fraser

Monday evening – John Luebkemann – Martha Ferguson

99er Winners

Friday afternoon- Barbara and Pat Cerra

Friday Evening – John Luebkemann – Lisa Ferrari

Saturday morning- Richard Keane – Diana Downs

Saturday afternoon – Heather and Michael Farrugia

Monday afternoon - John Luebkemann – David Pickering

Teams of Four Two Session Championship

Flight A - Jean Johnson – Tony Saunders – Julia Lunn – David Cordon

Flight B – Julia Beach – Russell Kraft – Lynanne Bolton – Peter Donnellan

Flight C – Pat Cerra – Richard Hall – James Fraser – Marsha Fraser

Adventures in Bridge Robert Todd Trophy – Leading Masterpoint Winner

1 24.35 Diana Diel

2. 20.89 Jean Johnson

3 17.81 Tony Saunders

4 17.76 Gertrude Barker

5 16.47 Elizabeth McKee

6 16.17 Margaret Way

7 15.53 Lynanne Bolton

8 14.82 John Burville

9 13.01 David Cordon

10 12.73 Peter Donnellan

Congratulations to all the winners and well done to Diana as leading masterpoint winner.

Other performances that took the eye were the three overall wins in the Open Section from Jean Johnson – Tony Saunders, Peter Donnellan- Lynanne Bolton who had an Open win and three B wins with Lynanne adding another B win with Greta Marshall, John Luebkemann who had two 99er and one C win with three different partners and Judy King- Martha Ferguson for sweeping A,B and C on Friday evening.

Well done to all and again, well done to the organisers who now seem to have got this event back on track.

Now to your diaries. On Tuesday 24 October, starting at 7.30pm the club will be hosting an ‘open’ game – no entry fee , no partner required, as long as you have less than 150 masterpoints and have played duplicate before you are welcome to play.

I think the idea is to try and regenerate interest from people who played duplicate at one time and don’t any longer. So if you know someone that fits into this category try and get them to attend or, better still, bring them down and play.

Other dates – STAC Week 30 October – 3 November.

Open Pairs – 4 November at 10am.

Junior Teams – 7 and 14 November at 7.30pm.

Open Teams – 20 and 24 November at 7.30pm.

Well, not much room left for the hand so I will drag out perhaps my favourite ever quiz hand, which beginner to expert get wrong when I give it to them!

S10765

HAQJ8

DAQ5

C54

SAKJ98

HK102

DK2

CA62

You are in 6 Spades and West leads the Club King; there are a couple of chances but when you play the Ace King of Spades and East shows out things get tight . You have to get rid of two Clubs. One can go on the Diamond Ace and the other on the 13 Heart if Hearts are 3-3 . Everyone I give this hand to starts on Diamonds given that you only have a total of five, but the answer is totally counterintuitively, to start on Hearts

The full hand :

S110765

HAQJ8

DAQ5

C54

SQ42 S3

H9753 H64

D74 DJ109863

CKQJ9 C10873

SAKJ98

HK102

DK2

C62

For you to make Hearts have to be at least 3-3.

Or the hand with the Spade Queen has to have 4 or more Hearts, as is the case here.

So on the actual hand you can safely pitch a Club on the last Heart once you know it is safe to play it and then play Diamonds, pitching your second Club – West can ruff, but it is too late and the slam makes.

What if Hearts are 3-3? Well you don’t play the last Heart – now you have to play three Diamonds pitching a Club and if that holds you now play the 13th Heart pitching the last Club- again, West ruffs in too late ! Pretty, pretty hand!