48 English Bridge February 2016 www.ebu.co.uk
THE PREMIER LEAGUE is held over three weekends
and the winners represent England in the
subsequent Camrose series. It attracts all the top
players in the country and is a fierce competition.
Last year the event was won by Allfrey and they
again found themselves at the top of the table, ahead
of Mossop by just one victory point, with one match
to go. Hinden and De Botton were also close behind.
Allfrey played Hinden in the final match and
managed a 10-10 draw.
Meanwhile at the other table Mossop was playing
De Botton, with a win for either side likely to move
them into first place.
The first swing occurred immediately when
Liggins and Erichsen playing for De Botton, bid a
decent slam which was missed at the other table on
the following deal:
West North East South
Jason Liggins Justin Erichsen
Hackett Hackett
1´ 2® 3®
Pass 4® Pass 4´
Pass 4NT Pass 5™
Dble 6´ All Pass
Liggins essentially drove to slam after his partner's
unassuming cue bid and checking for aces along the
way, despite the fact that he failed to cue-bid over
4®. The contract relies only on the diamond finesse
through the overcalling hand, since the third
diamond will disappear on the club once the king
has been driven out. On the other table:
West North East South
Malinowski Price De Botton Simpson
1´ 2® 3®
Pass 4® Pass 4t
Pass 4™ Pass 4´
All Pass
Price's partner Colin Simpson did co-operate
with a cue-bid over 4®, and yet the slam was
missed. Did Price do enough with his great trumps?
Certainly for both Souths, the trump quality would
have been a concern, and sometimes it is necessary
for the hand with good trumps to take the pressure
off partner by taking control of the auction.
Mossop, however, were to fight back straight away,
including a useful swing on the
following deal:
Board 1. Love All. Dealer North.
´ A K Q 9 8 6 5
™ 2
t Q J 7
® A 7
´ 7 4 ´ -
™ Q J 7 5 4 ™ K 10 9 3
t 10 9 5 2 t K 8 3
® 10 4 ® K 9 8 5 3 2
´ J 10 3 2
™ A 8 6
t A 6 4
® Q J 6
N
W E
S
Board 3. E/W Game. Dealer South.
´ K 5 3
™ K 2
t K J 8 5 4
® 5 3 2
´ 10 ´ Q J 8 7 6
™ A 8 7 5 ™ Q J 4
t A Q 7 3 t 10 6 2
® K Q 7 6 ® A 10
´ A 9 4 2
™ 10 9 6 3
t 9
® J 9 8 4
N
W E
S
Premier League 2015 by Heather Dhondy
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