[paulg]

I'm really pleased to report that the Scotland Womens team won the Lady Milne Trophy this weekend in Limerick. There were a couple of wobbly sets that reduced their winning margin but I know that the team is really pleased and probably not sober yet.

On their behalf I'd like to thank everyone who has helped with practice matches for them on BBO.

And also to Fred and the BBO team. For the last three weeks they have been using the new features of the Partnership Bidding area to practise and have really appreciated the free robots, and my ability to use Dealer to generate specific hands.

The team was:

• Sheila Adamson (Sheila A) and Anne Martin (Galadriel)
  
• Sam Punch (Puncher) and Veronica Guy (sumorabbit)
  
• Maida Grant (Eastcote) and Sheila MacDonald (lucky bud)
  
• NPC: Brian Short

Paul

[dicklont]

Congratulations!

I suppose it would be appropriate to produce a limerick to their honour.
I'm no poet, but who gives it a try?

[dburn]

This deal from the final match may have laid to rest one of the more prevalent superstitions surrounding the pack of cards.

Scoring: MP

---

North, Veronica Guy for Scotland, played in four hearts on a trump lead after South, Samantha Punch, had produced an optimistic (an ancient Gaelic word meaning "ridiculous") raise to game in the sequence 1♥1♠-1NT-Pass-3♥-Pass-4♥. She won and led a low diamond, won the next trump, drew the last, messed around for a bit and led another low diamond. In practice East ducked this and could later have been squeezed in the pointed suits for eleven tricks, but declarer settled for ten.

It is worth noting that if North's ♦9 had been interchanged with East's ♦8, the contract would have failed. As I watched, I could envisage what Guy might have been thinking:

"Partner's raise was a little perverse,
But it might have been very much worse.
Game would not have been great
With the diamond eight,
But luckily, I held the Curse."

[y66]

Congrats to the Scotland Women's team and their coach.

[dicklont]

dburn, on Apr 21 2009, 01:46 AM, said:

"Partner's raise was a little perverse,
But it might have been very much worse.
Game would not have been great
With the diamond eight,
But luckily, I held the Curse."

vwd dburn.

[idc]

dburn, on Apr 20 2009, 06:46 PM, said:

"Partner's raise was a little perverse,
But it might have been very much worse.
Game would not have been great
With the diamond eight,
But luckily, I held the Curse."

vwd indeed Burn. In BBO commentary, I did note that the tournament was displayed in many places as "Lady Milne Limerick" and tried to start a competition. However, only Jim Hay took the lure and we both agreed our attempt was awful. Well, he said my last line was awful and I'm sure that comes to the same thing.

[y66]

Philip Alder's write up of board 10 from the final round appears in today's NYT. No limericks though.