This year, for the first time (?), the Trials to pick the next England team were opened up to any old palookas who cared to enter. Naturally, Michael Goldsmith and I wrote out our cheque for a modest £60 (not bad for a day and a half’s bridge, eh?) and squandered a July weekend in a bid to prove that we’re actually far better than most of you give us credit for. Naturally, we failed dismally, although there were a few moments when we felt we had a shot at qualifying. Our aim was awry and we duly shot ourselves in the foot instead.

But now in the comfort of your own homes you can face some of those tricky little decisions which sort the sheep from the rabbits.

1. South to make 3NT. No oppo bidding.

West leads § 4 (4^th) to East’s Ace and § 3 comes back (W plays 2).

1. how do you play the diamonds?
2. Assuming you get those right, W discards © 2 on the 3^rd diamond and both pitch spades on the 4^th. On © A, W plays the 3 and E the 9. On the next heart, W plays the 7. Your move.

2. We had an entertaining match against Stuart McPhee (the only other Oxon participant) and Mike Ash who did a bit better than us but still failed to qualify (alas).

Here’s a defensive problem I had against a 3¨ contract played by Mike Ash:

Stuart opened 1© with the North cards (he doesn’t usually need as much as 1 control to do so). Ash responded 2¨ , Stuart bid 2© and Ash went 2ª . Stuart retreated to 3¨ and put dummy down proudly. Michael led § K against 3¨ . I played the Jack and when Michael continued with his other club we took the first three tricks. What’s your plan from here?

3. Another hand from the McPhee/Ash match and a lead problem.

You hold ª K974 © 1096 ¨ 5 § AJ986. Stuart opens a mini-NT (9-11, I think) on your right and this is passed round to your partner who doubles. There is no further bidding. Your lead?

4. Another lead problem with a lot of points at stake. You hold ª 104 © 42 ¨ QJ7532 § 1052, dealer at green. Do you open 3¨ ? Of course, you do! Well I did, anyway. Next hand bids 3© , partner passes and RHO converts to 3NT. This is passed round to partner who doubles. RHO redoubles and 3NT redoubled becomes the final contract. LHO professes to little idea what the redouble means (SOS?). No pressure on the lead, then …..

5. A play problem after some lively bidding. You’re in 4© doubled.

You open 1© and West overcalls 2© (spades and clubs, about 5-9 points). North bids 2ª and East bids 3§ . You try 3© and partner bids 3NT (!). East persists with 4§ , you pass and partner reverts to 4© which East, after some thought, doubles. Clubs are led. Your plan?

6. This is the next hand and, after such a long struggle, the TD has called time. With 790 in the bag, you are dealt ª J1098762 © - ¨ J § AQ1053 first in hand at green. What do you open?

Say you open 4ª . LHO doubles and this is passed out. ¨ A is led and dummy goes down thus:

West continues with ª K. How do you play it?

7. You hold ª AJ8 © KJ2 ¨ J73 § 9842 at green. RHO opens 3NT 3^rd in hand (usual system), you pass and LHO tanks for a while before bidding 5¨ . Your lead?

8. You’ve recovered well and there’s still an outside chance of qualifying for Stage 2 when you come up against the South African/Australian combo of Robert Sheehan (see his name on the OBA honours board) and Michael Courtney. Can you stop them winning the tournament?

You hold an exciting ª 764 © A53 ¨ 98543 § 86, dealer at green again. LHO opens 1§ (Precision) and partner overcalls 2© (weak). RHO bids 2ª (natural, 8+ points) and you up the ante to 3© . LHO bids 4¨ , RHO tries 4NT, the 5§ response shows three of five aces and RHO jumps to 6NT.

1. what do you lead?
2. say you lead § 8. Dummy goes down with:

ª Q3

© 86

¨ AKQ107

§ AQ54

The 1^st trick goes 8, Q, 3 10. © 6 is led from dummy to the 2 and King. Your play?

If you’ve thought about it for more than 3 seconds, you’re probably too late to achieve anything by ducking.

(c) Say you win the 2^nd trick with © A. What do you play back?

9. Partner’s turn to have a tricky slam to make against Garvey/Cooke:

Michael opened 1NT (14-16). I went through a 2¨ transfer and rebid 3§ (GF, may not be a genuine suit). Michael signed off in 4© to show limited slam interest but I tried a cue of 5§ . Michael bid 5¨ and I passed the buck with 5© .

Should Michael bid one for the road? Say you bid 6© . West leads a generous ª A and switches to a club. Make your slam!

All in all, Smith/Goldsmith fell a long way short of England class on these and other hands but it was great fun to pit our wits against some of the country’s most ambitious players. I thoroughly recommend everyone else having a crack next year!