In both America and the UK, the two countries where I have played most of my bridge, tournaments are geared towards the expert. While there are major events that have novice or intermediate sections, I have become accustomed to seeing those events take place using separate boards and often starting at different times to the main events. As a consequence, the players in those events cannot but help forming the opinion that they are a side-event. When you don’t play the same hands as the experts you cannot discuss them and learn in the same way that you could if you played the same deals.

The National events in Australia are rather different. And specifically the Gold Coast (which I’m freely admitting is my favorite tournament of all time) is organized along completely different lines. I’ve been coming every year bar COVID since 2010 and I plan to come every year until they stop inviting me to write the bulletin!

The Gold Coast is about an hour and a half drive outside Brisbane; in February the weather is hot but not unbearable, with frequent showers to cool us down. (Brisbane suffers worse from flooding than fires in the summer – go figure!)

The event runs typically for eight days. The format is a three-day pair event (2 sessions qualifying three session final) with the field divided into groups based on ability/masterpoints, though everyone who wants can play up. There are separate categories for novice, intermediate, restricted, etc., and everyone plays exactly the same boards with sessions starting and ending simultaneously. Two sessions a day in morning and afternoon mean the evening is free for eating – and drinking. Warning: do NOT try to keep pace with the Australians. They have had more practice than you…

The teams event is exactly the same, with three days of qualifying – 12 x 14 board matches. Then a KO over the last two days in the main event, whose field normally starts at about 200 teams. Everybody plays in the same room, the giant conference center at Broadbeach.

The tournament is something of a family affair when it comes to the organizers – there have been only three such organizers in the last 30 years I believe. And Kim Ellaway, who is retiring this year, has been the floor manager for the last 20 years or so. The same dedicated group of Queensland staff have worked themselves to the bone and pressed their family into duty to ensure everyone has a good time.

Bridge in Australia is an extremely friendly and laid-back affair. Yes, there are tournament director calls, but as a spectator I feel that they have mastered the combination of playing seriously but not forgetting that bridge is a game.

So let’s work our way chronologically through the event.

The format of the pairs is that everyone in their respective events plays two sessions of 27 boards. Then in the open field the top 10 pairs N/S and E/W (based on percentage over the 54 boards) go into bracket one, the next 10 into bracket two and so on.

Here is a deal from the qualifiers. David Beauchamp, the victim of this play, generously reported a splendid hand, defended by Kate MacDonald and Ben Leung.

Leung led a top Diamond and Beauchamp won in dummy to lead a top Spade. MacDonald took this and shifted to a Club, letting Leung win to make the expert shift to the Heart Jack. The defenders cashed three Hearts. Next Macdonald led the 13^th Heart to allow Leung to ruff in with the Spade 10 and promote the trump Jack for 500 and virtually all the matchpoints.

Kate will be part of the under-26 team at the next WC. The Australian Bridge Federation had selected a team but were not funding it. As a result at this tournament a fund-raising effort from the players (with matching contributions from a couple of generous sponsors) basically covered the team’s costs. A great example of the good nature and kindheartedness of the players here.

In the finals of the pairs the field was closely bunched after the first set, with Smirnoff-Hung leading from a bunch of pairs close behind.
In the second session when the pairs who eventually finished first and second met up, this board constituted virtually the margin of victory.

Board 19, Dealer South, E/W Vul.

In Planet Sanity the auction saw most Norths bid Hearts, but E/W could outgun them in Spades and make a painless 650. Where Alex Smirnov was West he got to open 1¨ after Phil Markey (playing a system where all shapely 9-counts are a mandatory opening bid) passed in first chair.

In Markey’s style, you tend to think of a pre-empt, then double it at this vulnerability if facing a passed hand. So Ella Jacob of course pre-empted to 4©!

I’d be tempted to bid 4ª as East now, but Andy Hung doubled for takeout and now Smirnov was truly awkwardly placed. He guessed to pass, but +300 was worth only 1MP for his side and 17 for his opponents. Since the final margin for Jacob ‒ Markey over Smirnov ‒ Hung was 19 MPs, +650 for the second-placed pair would have meant a MP score of 10-8 in favour of the second placed pair a 1MP margin for first place!

The teams qualifier is 12 x 14 board matches over three days, and it always comes down to a final match with one or two teams almost sure to qualify, with the rest needing a big victory to make it through. The format is for teams 1 and 2 to get a bye, 3^rd through 6^th play a KO for the other two semi-final spots.

In the penultimate match, Round 11, Arjuna de Livera found himself at the helm in a delicate slam and proved equal to the task.

Board 11, Dealer South, None Vul.

After Morrison led a passive Heart, De Livera had no choice but to run the Hearts, reducing to one card in each black suit and four Diamonds. Morrison was forced to reveal his shape, coming down to this position as he still had to discard on the last Heart:

Morrison discarded the Club King and when declarer led a Club to the Ace, he pitched the Spade Queen. Now De Livera took two top Diamonds and exited with a Spade for the endplay at trick 12.

Could the defenders have done better? It is conceivable that if South pitches the Spade Queen first, declarer might not read the ending. In Jean Besse’s phrase, the Club King is a neutrino. By showing void on a suit we sometimes turn inference into certainty for declarer. Note equally that North must keep both Diamonds or HE turns the inference of the Diamond count into certainty for declarer.

In the final match the Dalley team was safe, 2-13^th place were covered by the proverbial handkerchief. So, it was ‘win or go home’ for no all of them. As witness the fact that the second placed team lost 15-5 and dropped out of a qualifying spot.

Everyone else in the top 11 could qualify with a blitz or dial out with a big loss. And so it proved, with single deals making the difference between triumph and Heartbreak in quite a few matches.

Teams Qualifying R12

Board 20, Dealer West, All Vul.

Sophie Ashton for example brought home a spectacular slam here, to eliminate the pre-tournament favourites Milne and edge her team into the top six.

Ashton tried to show a five-card Club suit and slam interest, and when Wiltshire did not sign off in 4NT she awarded herself a sixth Club.

After the Spade lead Ashton won the Spade Queen and cashed one Diamond then crossed to a top Spade to lead a low Club up. Coutts took his Club King and exited unsafely in Hearts. Ashton won cheaply, unblocked the Club Queen and then cashed the top Diamond to ruff a Diamond, then the top Spade and Hearts ending in dummy.

In the two-card ending with the lead in dummy she led a Heart and executed a trump coup on Milne for a stellar 1370.

For the teams that did not qualify, there was a Swiss pairs.
Alan Watson and Rick Roeder on the very final deal of the Ivy Dahler and Friday butler Swiss Pairs that saw them go out with a bang.

Board 19, Dealer South, E/W Vul.

Watson opened 1♦ and jumped to 3NT over the 1♥ response and Roeder gave him a sixth. Yes, East might have doubled for a Heart lead, but then there would have been no story. Instead, Watson received the lead of the Spade 9 and ran four Spades then six Clubs, gleaning the information along the way that the Heart finesse rated to lose. This was the ending as the last Club hit the green baize:

This position is known as a winkle, and the correct defence – often missed at the table, this being no exception -- is for West to bare his Diamond King and keep his Hearts. When he does this declarer can pitch a Diamond from dummy (whereupon East discards his Diamond Ace) or a Heart when East follows suit. Either way the defence prevail.

Instead, West discarded a Heart and dummy threw a Diamond. East could not bare his Heart King, so pitched the Diamond Ace to avoid being thrown in. Watson crossed to the Heart Ace and exited in Diamonds, forcing West to give him trick 13 in his hand.

In the final Dalley [Paul Dalley and Tony Nunn, Arelene Dalley (Paul’s mother) and Ashley Bach] met Ware (Michael Ware and Pete Hollands, Hugh McGann and Matthew Thompson, Brian Mace and Tom Jacob). Each team was a mixture of Australia and New Zealand, McGann having moved to New Zealand a few years ago while many of the others have spent time in both countries at times.

Dalley led by 18 after one set, Ware by 15 after two and 11 after three.

The last set of 12 deals proved spectacular: in succession each side let through a game, went for 1400, then missed a grand slam! No swing…

The final deal would decide the event, Ware clinging to a 10 IMP lead, as board 48 was placed on the table.

Board 24, Dealer West, None Vul.

Open Room

Closed room

Both Wests were swinging till the very end – credit to McGann for putting the pedal to the metal when he must have expected to be in the lead. He reckoned they would open 1NT (15-17 or so) in the other room so he duplicated the action to avoid a swing – great table presence!

He bought the contract in 4 Spades and made 450. So, the fact that Hollands led a Heart rather than a Club against 5 Spades and Ware naturally enough shifted to Diamonds rather than Clubs, to flatten the board, didn’t matter. It was one of the most exciting sets of 12 deals I’ve seen, and full credit to all four pairs for the good and bad actions they took, to keep us on the edge of our seats. This was a victory to the Ware team to make up for the disappointment of last year where they led at the half in the final but lost.

This isn’t quite the end of the story. There were two boards that I wrote up which were given to me by other players. Each of them might qualify for an IBPA award – who knows?

The right system for the right hand
This was reported from the pairs final by Warren Lazer, the innocent bystander, handed a zero by his opponents.

Board 12, Dealer West, N/S Vul.

Blair Fisher saw his partner open 2♣ to show 11-16 with six Clubs.

Now Fisher knew he was facing a 1-3-3-6 with the Spade Ace and Diamond King and six semi-solid Clubs. He could envisage that Liz would be able to win the lead and unblock the Ace of Spades, pitch the third Heart on the Spade King and ruff out the Hearts with the Diamond Ace as the re-entry to dummy.
And indeed that was how the play developed. +1440 was of course all the MP for E/W and none for N/S; but at least Warren got the consolation prize with an entry for the best bid hand of the year.

The hero of the second deal from the teams qualifying was Olivia Schireson, one of the most promising under-21 players in the world, and reported by her partner on the deal, Michael Rosenberg.

Board 7, Dealer South, All Vul.

At one table, Debbie, who was West playing with Max Schireson, defended 3 Clubs. After a trump lead, this made easily. Debbie expected to lose a swing since 3 of either major was probably making. She did note 3 Hearts could be defeated double dummy, but didn't think there was any chance this would actually happen.

However, at the other table, Olivia Schireson was West partnering Michael Rosenberg. The bidding was (1H)2C-(X)3C, (P)P-(3H) all pass. Olivia led the Spade Ace and Michael played the 10 – upside down attitude. She switched smoothly to the Club Jack. East won the King and played his lower Spade back as suit preference for Clubs. This had been Olivia's hope ‒ and plan. She now led a low Club to Michael’s Club 10 and he gave her another Spade ruff for down one. Flat board!