Close Matches in first round of November Knockout

The November Knockout got underway tonight with three relatively close matches. The BERGlars prevailed over Mintt's Moments by 16 imps whilst the Palmy Punters had a winning margin of 15 over KAMM Carr's. The story of the round however came in the match between Auckland Tigers and DEAP Thinkers. The latter were ahead by 4 imps going into the last Board. At one table they chose to defend a vulnerable 3d doubled whilst at the other they defended 3s not vul and undoubled. Unfortunatly 3d made 5 and the net result was -14 imps.

The good news for DEAP Thinkers is that their 10 imp loss was the narrowest of the three losses which means that they are straight through to the plate final on 24th November.

The semi-finals for the Cup will be played on 17th November. They will be fought out between this weeks winners together with Homers Heros who, as top seeds, had the bye this week. Full details of all teams and how the draw works are at http://kiwiteams.blogspot.com/2008/11/draw-and-details-for-november-knockout.html.

Draw for November Knockout 17/11/08

Cup:
Match 1: Homers Hero’s: patricck/quikjanz & barry/jenm v Auckland Tigers: hoki/gogga & tigerboy/clavis
Match 2: Palmy Punters: ljs/noelwz & ken436/janwhy v BERGlars: gerry/tarakiwi & diatribe/bruzo

Plate:
(DEAP Thinkers: davetaupo/paul3210 & buch99/blinkers = Bye/Casual Match)
Match 3: KAMM Carr’s: kotuku/acolitecs & manawa/mccullagh v Mintt’s Moments: glennis/gillyfleur & jaymac/mintt

All matches start at 8.00 pm on 17th November. Home teams are named first and the first named player is the captain who is responsible for setting up the match.

Results of matches on 10/11/08

8.00 pm Matches:
November Knockout:
Match 1: BERGlars: gerry/tarakiwi & diatribe/bruzo beat Mintt’s Moments: glennis/gillyfleur & jaymac/mintt 45-29
Match 2: KAMM Carr’s: kotuku/acolitecs & manawa/mccullagh lost to Palmy Punters: ljs/noelwz & ken436/janwhy 10-25
Match 3: Auckland Tigers: hoki/gogga & tigerboy/clavis beat DEAP Thinkers: davetaupo/paul3210 & buch99/blinkers 33-23

Casual Matches
Match 4: Homers Hero’s: patricck/quikjanz & barry/jenm lost to Stroppy Gamblers: gambler3/stroppy & tkkiwi/andrewnz 27-42
Match 5: bythesea/clarkson & oakura/argyll2nz lost to derfson146/trudy nz & blair20/suescott 14-24

9.30 pm Matches (all casual matches):
Match 6: manawa/mccullagh & cyber/nztipg8 lost to noelwz/tkkiwi & kotuku/iamwill 23-71
Match 7: davetaupo/paul3210 & buch99/blinkers beat oakura/argyll2nz & idlelupino/sweetjane 69-31
Match 8: Homers Heros: patricck/quikjanz & barry/jenm beat Stroppy Gamblers: gambler3/stroppy & diatribe/minuet 51-13

Draw and Details for November Knockout

We have ended up with 7 teams in the November Knockout. Seven teams is not ideal but is manageable. All teams will get at least two “live” games. Teams who have a bye will always be provided with a casual game unless they specifically ask, before 5pm on the Monday, that they not play at all.

The teams entered are:

Homers Hero’s: patricck/quikjanz & barry/jenm
BERGlars: gerry/tarakiwi & diatribe/bruzo
Palmy Punters: ljs/noelwz & janwhy/ken436
DEAP Thinkers: davetaupo/paul3210 & buch99/blinkers
Auckland Tigers: hoki/gogga & tigerboy/clavis
KAMM Carr’s: kotuku/acolitecs & manawa/mccullagh
Mintt’s Moments: glennis/gillyfleur & jaymac/mintt

The seeded draw for round 1 is:

Match 1: BERGlars: gerry/tarakiwi & diatribe/bruzo v Mintt’s Moments: glennis/gillyfleur & jaymac/mintt
Match 2: KAMM Carr’s: kotuku/acolitecs & manawa/mccullagh v Palmy Punters: ljs/noelwz & janwhy/ken436
Match 3: Auckland Tigers: hoki/gogga & tigerboy/clavis v DEAP Thinkers: davetaupo/paul3210 & buch99/blinkers

Homers Hero’s: patricck/quikjanz & barry/jenm have been seed straight into the semi final. However they will still have a “casual” match tonight as follows:

Match 4: Homers Hero’s: patricck/quikjanz & barry/jenm v Stroppy Gamblers: gambler3/stroppy & minuet/andrewnz

Please note that captains are named first and it is the responsibility of the captain of the first named (home) team to set up the match. The home team captain chooses which pairs play each other.

Rounds 2 and 3:
Next week Homers Heros will play the winner of Match 3 and the winners of Matches 1 and 2 will play off. The winners of these matches will contest the final on the 24th November and the losers will play off for 3rd and 4th.

The Plate event will run as follows. The losing team from week 1 who loses by the least margin will qualify for the plate final and will only play a “casual” match next week. The other two losers will play off for the right to contest the plate final. The loser of that match will just play a casual match on the 24th November. The least loser from round 1 and the winner of the round 2 match will play off for the Plate on 24th November.

May the best team win!

November Knockout Starts

The Monday night November Knockout starts tonight. There are seven teams and will be three rounds to decide cup and a plate winners. A full draw and further details are contained in a separate post. Although the blog site has been somewhat dormant it will now spring back to life with draws and results each week!

Climbers reach the top

It's been and long and fraught ascent but the Central Climbers made it to the top of the ladder last night. The Snakes, who had beaten them twice previously, and who probably have the best overall record in the competition, self destructed in the last two boards. Earlier on they had given up 5 imps as a result of a misclick which wasn't noticed in time to use the undo button. It was a portent of things to come. With 3 boards to go it was 22-11 to the Snakes. Then nikzti/suescott for the snakes doubled and caught the weak 1nt. gerry/tarakiwi of the climbers wriggled and squirmed (snakes would have been proud of them) but nikzti/suescott kept their bottle and kept doubling. They collected 1100 against a vul game at the other table. It was now 32-11 to the Snakes and that should have been that. Next board nikzti/suescott had a gerber accident and played in 4c which gave 11 imps. On the final board at the other table jonz continued the kiwi teams tradition of strange and unusual things happening on the last board of matches by finding a different kind of abberation. She was declaring 3nt after partner had trasferred to spades. A cow flew by which momentarily distracted her into thinking she was playing in spades. The result was a vulnerable game swing and the final result 35-32 to the Climbers.

The bronze medal play off saw The Masters convincingly beat Western Gals 34-1. I don't have any details of this match. Perhaps one of the participants could post a comment filling us in.

In other mathes the higher teams prevailed so that the only change in the final week was at the top.

So (drum roll) I hereby present the medals:


Gold: - Central Climbers

Silver: - Snakes

Bronze: - The Masters


Thanks to all who participated. Running a ladder was a bit of an experiment and I'm not sure whether or not it worked that well and whether in future we would be best to try knock-outs, round-robins and/or swiss events. I would REALLY appreciate your feedback. Please post your comments below. See http://kiwiteams.blogspot.com/2008/09/posting-of-comments.html for how to post comments.

Final Ladder Positions

The Ladder competition concluded last night. The final positions are:

1. Central Climbers: gerry, tarakiwi, kermit, cascade, diatribe.
2. Snakes: susiecue, janwhy, nikzti, suescott, jonz, boatman.
3. The Masters: mastersg, tuckaway, clientje, cyber, ikanarat.
4. Western Gals: seychelles, Lmu, blinkers, sandrac, jenter62.
5. First Sun: mumofthree, kiwiannie, acolitecs, davetaupo, carriemac1, glennis.
6. Aussie Flavoured: oakura, argyll2nz, masham, wdavis, kelvingt.
7. Judy + North Shore: phoenix4, hairy_scot, oshlyn, dave27nz.
8. The Mavericks: tigerboy, andrewnz, buch99, clarkson, ickool.
9. Trans Global: kotuku, hermman, mpemble, tfacol.

Results of matches on 17/9/08

Snakes: jonz/boatman & nikzti/suescott lost to
Central Climbers: gerry/tarakiwi & cascade/kermit 32-35

The Masters: mastersg/tuckaway & clientje/cyber beat
Western Gals: seychelles/lmu & jenter62/blinkers 34-1

First Sun: mumofthree/carriemac1 & davetaupo/paul3210 beat
Judy + North Shore: desilva/hairy_scot & oshlyn/dave27nz 36-6

Trans Global: kotuku/hermman & lexitnz/manawa lost to
Mavericks: tigerboy/andrewnz & buch99/clarkson 5-84

Tamworth Tigers: varange/roseof & lowiq/michael01 lost to jk_24653/nbailey & kiwi_joker/timsch 30-58

alanz/ant & diatribe/zog beat ljs/noelwz & ickool/pascalls 65-53 (24 Bds)

Aussie Flavoured: oakura/argyll2nz & masham/wdavis lost to glennis/gillyfleur & mpemble/as90 14-33

Kiwi Teams Ladder Draw; Final Round

Match 1: Snakes: jonz/boatman & nikzti/suescott v Central Climbers: gerry/tarakiwi & kermit/cascade

Match 2: v The Masters: mastersg/tuckaway & clientje/cyber v Western Gals: seychelles/Lmu & jenter62/blinkers

Match 3: First Sun: mumofthree/carriemac1 & davetaupo/paul3210 v Judy + North Shore: desilva/hairy_scot & oshlyn/dave27nz

Match 4: Trans Global: kotuku/hermman & tfacol v manawa v Mavericks: tigerboy/andrewnz & buch99/clarkson

NON LADDER MATCHES:
Match 5: Aussie Flavoured: oakura/masham & argyll2nz/wdavis v glennis/gillyfleur & ??? (to be advised)
Match 6: to be advised.

Snakes Secure Second

The Snakes won a close fought encounter against the Masters last night to maintain their spot at the top of the ladder. With only one week to go and with the last round involving first against second the Snakes cannot now finish worst than second. Of course they will be hoping for another win next week against Central Climbers, a team they have beaten twice already in this event. Central Climbers may be coming into form however as they sucessfully defended their second spot against previous leaders First Sun.

Lower down Western Gals and Judy + North Shore both won against teams below them meaning that for the first time in the event there was no change to the ladder positions.

It was a cruel slam hand which decided the fight for the top spot. You hold xx Kx AKJxxx Axx. Partner deals and opens with the auction starting 1s - 2d - 3s. After that you find out that you and partner hold all the aces and all the kings. Do you sign off, bid slam or grand slam? Who knows? I'm waiting for someone who knows more about biding than me to write the hand up! What I can tell you is that tuckaway opted for 7s. Cruelly that cost 22 imps as there is always one loser (a trump) and the hand was played in 4s on a slightly different auction at the other table. The Snakes won 32-19 so the result would have been different if tuckaway had opted for 6s!

Ladder Positions after Round 8

1. Snakes: susiecue, janwhy, nikzti, suescott, jonz, boatman.
2. Central Climbers: gerry, tarakiwi, kermit, cascade, diatribe.
3. The Masters: mastersg, tuckaway, clientje, cyber, ikanarat.
4. Western Gals: seychelles, Lmu, blinkers, sandrac, jenter62.
5. First Sun: mumofthree, kiwiannie, acolitecs, davetaupo, carriemac1, glennis.
6. Aussie Flavoured: oakura, argyll2nz, masham, wdavis, kelvingt.
7. Judy + North Shore: phoenix4, hairy_scot, oshlyn, dave27nz.
8. The Mavericks: tigerboy, andrewnz, buch99, clarkson, ickool.
9. Trans Global: kotuku, hermman, mpemble, tfacol.

Results of matches on 10/9/08

The Masters: mastersg/tuckaway & clientje/ikanarat lost to
Snakes: jonz/boatman & nikzti/suescott 19-32

Central Climbers: gerry/tarakiwi & kermit/cascade beat
First Sun: mumofthree/kiwiannie & carriemac1/davetaupo 48-17

Western Gals: Seychelles/lmu & sandrac/blinkers beat
Aussie Flavoured: oakura/masham & argyll2nz/kelvingt 59-17

Judy + NS: pheonix4/jenter62 & oshlyn/dave27nz beat
Mavericks: tigerboy/andrewnz & buch99/tinycrab6 40-20

alanz/ant & noelwz/ljs beat ickool/pascalls & diatribe/zog 21-17

Trans Global: mpemble/tfacol & hermman/lixixing beat glennis/gillyfleur & crowie_11/varange 36-18

alanz/ant & noelwz/ljs lost to ickool/pascalls & diatribe/zog 29-46

Kiwi Teams Ladder Draw; Round 8

Match 1: The Masters: mastersg/tuckaway & clientje/ikanarat v Snakes: jonz/boatman & nikzti/suescott

Match 2: Central Climbers: gerry/tarakiwi & kermit/cascade v First Sun: mumofthree/kiwiannie & carriemac1/davetaupo

Match 3: Western Gals: Seychelles/lmu & sandrac/blinkers v Aussie Flavoured: oakura/masham & argyll2nz/kelvingt

Match 4: Judy + NS: pheonix4/jenter62 & oshlyn/dave27nz v Mavericks: tigerboy/andrewnz & buch99/derfson146

NON LADDER MATCHES:

Match 5: alanz/ant & ickool/pascalls v noelwz/ljs & diatribe/zog

Match 6: Trans Global: mpemble/tfacol & hermman/lixixing v glennis/gillyfleur & ??

Posting of Comments

Anyone can comment on this blog site and I encourage all kiwi teams players to comment on any posts. You don’t need any prior account or password.

To add your comment click on the word “comments” at the bottom of the post. This opens a new window which has a box for you to type your comment into. Once you have finished your comment you need to type the letters shown into the “word verification” box. (The blog site includes this feature in order to foil spammers!).

Next you need to choose an identity. If you have a google account set up (and can remember the password) you can use that. However most of you will not have an account and so you need to check either the “name/url” option or the “anonymous” option. If you choose “name/url” you just have to put your name in. This can be your real name or your BBO name. If you use anonymous you don’t have to put anything else in.

I would prefer that anyone who comments use their BBO name but, hey, it’s a free country and I don’t mind if your use any other name or if you post anonymously.

You should be aware however that all comments are immediately emailed to me and I will remove any comments that are:
abusive,
offensive,
obscene,
slanderous, or
which are in any way demeaning of my bridge playing ability :-)

So, why don’t you try a comment now by commenting on this post? If you can’t think of anything to say just put “test”. That way when you do have a comment that you’re just burning to make you will know how to do it!

Snakes Slither to Summit

The ladder had a big shake up this week as the draw contained matches where teams were generally 4 or 5 rungs apart. This was necessary in order to avoid having too many repeat matches.

The big match was the leaders, First Sun, up against the 5th placed Snakes. Aggressive game bidding by the Snakes on boards 3 and 4 saw a double game swing and a vulnerable swing to net 27 imps and effectively end the contest. First Sun fought on well but the Snakes ended their reign of 3 weeks at the top win a 46-25 win.

Central Climbers have risen to the second rung with a good win against Aussie Flavoured. It seems that their alternate name of Central Celler Dwellars will no be required. This team seems to have finally struck form with some being unkind enough to suggest that it was no co-incidence that tarakiwi was at the rugby last night!

In previous weeks, despite the reverse grid, lower runged teams have really struggled to beat their higher ranked opponents. The week The Masters were the only team to fend off the challenge from below. In a very close match the 13 imps exchanged on board 4 proved decisive. A very difficult 6nt was available. Tuckaway and Mastersg signed off in 5nt. Buch99 and Clarkson bid 6nt at the other table but buch99 couldn't quite bring it in. The Masters survived 25-21.

The previously unlucky Western Gals scored a 43-4 win against Trans Global. The board of that match being a grand slam bid and made by jenter62 and blinkers. Blinkers has been unwell and out of action for the past 8 weeks but she seems to have lost none of her edge. Trans Global have done a sterling job in the last 6 weeks to remain in the top four but are now unlucky to find themselves crashing all the way to the bottom on the strenth on one loss. Whoever plays them next week should be wary!

Ladder Positions after Round 7

1. Snakes: susiecue, janwhy, nikzti, suescott, jonz, boatman.
2. Central Climbers: gerry, tarakiwi, kermit, cascade, diatribe.
3. The Masters: mastersg, tuckaway, clientje, cyber, ikanarat.
4. Western Gals: seychelles, Lmu, blinkers, sandrac, jenter62.
5. First Sun: mumofthree, kiwiannie, acolitecs, davetaupo, carriemac1, glennis.
6. Aussie Flavoured: oakura, argyll2nz, masham, wdavis, kelvingt.
7. Judy + North Shore: phoenix4, hairy_scot, oshlyn, dave27nz.
8. The Mavericks: tigerboy, andrewnz, buch99, clarkson, ickool.
9. Trans Global: kotuku, hermman, mpemble, tfacol.

Results of matches on 3/9/08

First Sun: mumofthree/kiwiannie & davetaupo/strider_nz lost to
Snakes: Jonz/boatman & nikzti/suescott; 25-46

Aussie Flavoured: oakura/masham & argyll2nz/wdavis lost to
Central Climbers: cascade/kermit & gerry/diatribe; 12-41

The Masters: mastersg/tuckaway & clientje/cyber beat
Mavericks: tigerboy/phoenix4 & buch99/clarkson; 25-21

Trans Global: kotuku/hermman & tfacol/mpemble lost to
Western Gals: jenter62/blinkers & Lmu/judy o; 4-43

NON LADDER MATCH:
susiecue/janwhy & tinycrab6/petal25 lost to noelwz/ljs & glennis/gillyfleur; 15-20

Ladder Draw; Round 7

Match 1: First Sun: mumofthree/kiwiannie & davetaupo/strider_nz v Snakes: Jonz/boatman & nikzti/suescott

Match 2: Aussie Flavoured: oakura/masham & argyll2nz/manawa v Central Climbers: cascade/kermit & gerry/diatribe

Match 3: The Masters: mastersg/tuckaway & clientje/cyber v Mavericks: tigerboy/andrewnz & buch99/clarkson

Match 4: Trans Global: kotuku/hermman & tfacol/mpemble v Western Gals: jenter62/blinkers & Lmu/judy o

NON LADDER MATCH:
Match 5: susiecue/janwhy & tinycrab6/petal25 v noelwz/ljs &glennis/gillyfleur

First Sun fights off Masters

First Sun remains at the top of the ladder after a bloody battle with the Masters where both sides inflicted heavy casualties. A mere 102 imps changed hands over the 12 boards. Typical of the cut and thrust were boards 2 and 12. On board 2 First Sun extended their lead by 16 imps when they bid to a making 6 clubs while the Masters signed off in a non making 5nt. Some revenge was had on board 12 however when First Sun opened a 3 way multi at favourable vul. LHO overcalled 3h and responder pre-empted to the hilt with 3 spades and 3 points! 4th in hand thought he could beat this with his 11 count and AQTx in spades. He found the double button. Now opener who, of course, had the strong minor option, couldn't be sure what was going on and passed. First Sun did well to make 3 tricks but this was 18 imps out. Interestingly 18 on the last board was still not enough and the result of the carnage was 57-45 to First Sun.

Kiwi Teams had only its second ever draw last night as Western Gals tried to fight their way off bottom rung against the Snakes. I've mentioned before that Western Gals are the unluckiest team in the competition and last night was no exception. They were 7 imps behind with two boards to go and managed to score exactly 7 on board 11. All they needed was something good to happen on board 12. With both dealers playing a strong 1nt that was the opening bid and the contract at both tables. Both leaders chose the Qh lead from xx QJTxx JTx Txx. This wrapped up the first 5 tricks at both tables and then declarer had 8 tricks on top! No chances of generating an imp there! The 31-31 all draw means that the Snakes not only held their position but they get to go up one place as Judy + North Shore drop a place because they haven't been able to play for two weeks. The Snakes are now in line to challenge for second or third on the ladder and with 3 weeks to go are a good bet to make it all the way to the top!

Other matches saw the higher placed teams grind out wins so that there was only the one change to the ladder. Next weeks draw will be interesting however as many of the higher ranked teams in the mid to lower ladder are due for a crack at teams in the top half.

Ladder Positions after Round 6

1. First Sun: mumofthree, kiwiannie, acolitecs, davetaupo, carriemac1, glennis.
2. Aussie Flavoured: oakura, argyll2nz, masham, wdavis, kelvingt.
3. The Masters: mastersg, tuckaway, clientje, cyber, ikanarat.
4. Trans Global: kotuku, hermman, mpemble, tfacol.
5. Snakes: susiecue, janwhy, nikzti, suescott, jonz, boatman.
6. Judy + North Shore: phoenix4, hairy_scot, oshlyn, dave27nz.
7. Central Climbers: gerry, tarakiwi, kermit, cascade, diatribe.
8. The Mavericks: tigerboy, andrewnz, buch99, clarkson, ickool.
9. Western Gals: seychelles, Lmu, blinkers, sandrac, jenter62.