MARCH 7 2020 LISTENER 59
BRIDGE by David Bird
TAKE 5
by Simon ShukerBARDEN’S
CHESS PROBLEMSWordsworth
Readers were asked to create an
alliterative synopsis for a well-known film.
Bruce Connett, Castor Bay: Jaws:
Joyous juveniles in jeopardy. Jaws jabs
jugulars, gets juicy jowls. Jittery jurist jousts
Jaws; Jaws is jelly. Jubilation.
Ian Penrose, Coromandel Town:
Bonnie & Clyde: Bonnie, beau Barrow
(Beatty) belligerently borrowing banks’
beloved belongings. Frustrated Feds forever
following fleeing felons’ flying Fords.
John Edgar, Christchurch: Casablanca:
Rick rekindles romance, rescues rival. Result:
rejection.
Vi McIntosh, Blenheim: Sound of
Music: Festering fascism foreshadowing
future forces father and feisty family to flee
to freedom.
Margaret Mills, Onetangi, What
We Do in the Shadows: Weirdos and
wackos walk up walls in Windy Wellington
while waiting to wage war against wild
werewolves. Who wins? Wait and wonder.
David Wort, Bay of Plenty: The Piano:
Prickly Pommy piano teacher plonked
perforce amongst prudish Pig-Island
pioneers promptly pigeonholes proper
partner, preferring passionate primitive
paramour.
Lyn Toka of Cambridge wins this
week with a terrific Titanic tear-jerker:
Transatlantic trip turns to tragedy.
Two teenagers – top-class tottie,
third-class transient; their talking
takes them to torrid trysts. Titanic tips;
travellers tumble to their turbulent
tomb. Teenagers tossed through the
turmoil towards timber too tiny to take
two. Tears trickle, teeth tremble, torpid
thumbs touch tenderly, then trail.
For the next contest, submit a short
story, 60 words or fewer, incorporating
the words “armchair” and “diamond”
however you like. Entries, for the prize
below, close at noon on Thursday,
March 12.by Lauren Buckeridge
Zhao Jun v Gao Rui, Chinese League,
2015
Material is level, and although Black (to
play) has an attack against f2 and a5,
this looks balanced by White’s planned
Rxd6. Appearances
are deceptive here, for
Black’s next turn induced
immediate resignation.
What happened?
(Answer on page 60.)North-South game, dealer SouthWest North East South
— — — 1C
1S Dble Pass 2NT
Pass 3NT All Pass
West leads the queen of spades against 3NT.
How would you plan the play? The original
declarer won the spade lead with the king and
immediately finessed the jack of diamonds.
When this move proved successful, he
continued with a club to the king. West took
the ace of clubs and cleared the spade suit.
Declarer cashed the queen and jack of clubs
but the suit failed to break 3-3. After declarer’s
early finesse in diamonds, this did not cause
any problem. He finessed the 10 of diamonds
and eventually claimed five diamonds, two
spades and two clubs for the contract. “Some
players would have led the king of clubs at
Trick 2,” said South, “but the diamond finesse
was a better chance than a 3-3 club break.”
Well, what do you make of that? If the
diamond finesse had failed, spades would
have been cleared and he would have gone
down. It seems to me that it is a better play to
lead the club king at Trick 2. You make when
clubs break 3-3. If they do not break evenly,
you can turn to the diamonds and still make
the contract when West has Q-x or Q-x-x. So,
you are adding in a 3-3 club break and paying
out only to the case where West holds four
diamonds to the queen. This is fairly unlikely
when West has declared length in spades, so I
reckon the original declarer was a lucky lad.BIDDING QUIZ
WEST West North East South
♠ K 8 6 4 3 — — — 1H
♥ 9 7 1S Pass 2D Pass
♦ A Q 10 6 3D Pass 3S Pass
♣ K 7?East’s 2D is constructive but non-forcing.
What will you say on the West cards?
(Answer on page 60.)EAST
♠
♥
♦
♣WEST
♠
♥
♦
♣
Q J 10 9 7
A 10
Q 6 4 3
A 9
SOUTH
♠
♥
♦
♣NORTH
♠
♥
♦
♣8 4 2
Q J 9 3
9 8
10 8 5 36 5 3
8 7 5 2
A K J 10 2
7A K
K 6 4
7 5
K Q J 6 4 28 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
abcdefgh
CN0996WIN THIS
The accessible guide to learning
te reo Maori, regardless of your
knowledge level.Submissions: wordsworth@
listener.co.nz or Wordsworth,
NZ Listener, Private Bag
92512, Wellesley St, Auckland- Please include your
address. Entries may be edited
for sense or space reasons.