Bridge: Young Team Wins Reisinger and Qualifies for Title Playoff

LANCASTER, Pa., Nov. 20 —A young foursome that is sure to become known as “the Steves” won the Rei singer board‐a‐match team championship here in the early hours of this morning, winding up the biggest ever Fall National Championships of the American Contract Bridge League.

The winners were Steve Goldberg of Marietta, Ga., Steve Robinson of Washing ton, Steve Parker of Alex andria, Va., and odd man out, Lou Bluhm of Atlanta. Their average age is about 30. None of them had pre viously won a major national team championship.

They become the first team to qualify for the playoffs that will eventually select the 1974 North American world championship team. For this purpose they wilt have to select another pair, and they should note that there are two New York ex perts with the right nominal qualifications: Steve Altman and Steve Goldstein.

The Steves entered the final session in third posi tion in the field of 15 teams, survivors of an entry of 106, and won 17 boards of a pos sible 30. This was good enough to win since none of their closest rivals could beat average.

A famous foursome includ ing Bill Grieve and George Rapee of New York, Eric Murray and Sam Kehela of Toronto, moved up in the last session to take second position: Grieve thus failed narrowly in his bid to win four consecutive Reisinger titles while his partner, Rapee, was trying for three straight victories.

Final Team Standings

The final standings were: Goldberg team, 35.14; Rapee team, 33.67; Thomas Weik, Lebanon, Pa., Walt Walvick, Washington, Mike and Kathie Cappelletti, Alexandria, Va., 33.28; Dr. George Rosen kranz, Mexico City, Dan Morse, John Grantham, Hous ton, Roger Bates, Tucson, and Mark Blumenthal, Phila delphia, 32.60; Simon and Robert Becker, Philadelphia, Joseph Asber, Bethlehem, Pa., Dr. Eugene Davidson, Hershey, Pa., Jerry Resnick, Trenton, N. J., 31.67.

Most of the pairs in the Reisinger final attempted a game with the North‐South cards of the diagramed deal. The combined point count was below normal standards, but the contract proved un beatable it South adopted the right line of play.

The bidding sequence shown was a popular one. South was willing to try game in hearts when his partner of fered a single raise and East made a take‐out double.

One declarer went astray after receiving an opening spade lead. He won with the ace and tried immediately for ruffs in the dummy by leading a club. East won with the jack and shifted to a trump.

South won and was able to ruff two clubs in the dummy using a spade lead as the re‐entry to his hand but this left dummy with nothing but diamonds and there was no quick road back to the closed hand to draw trumps.

East won the lead of the diamond king with the ace and cashed his remaining club winner. West pitched his remaining diamond and a diamond play from East cooked South's goose. He could not prevent West from scoring the trump eight to set the contract.

The right play for South after winning the first trick was to lead his singleton dia mond postponing a club lead. East would have had a chance to lead a trump but the trump situation would have come to South's aid with the heart jack appearing doubleton he would have been able to draw trumps ending in dummy and cash all the diamonds although in practice he would have post poned this play in favor of one club lead.

The best defense for East saving overtricks after a dia mond play at the second trick would have been to lead two high trumps, but the declarer would have had no difficulty in making 10 tricks.

Notice that if East‐West had been sure that the heart game would succeed, they could have tried four spades, a sacrifice that would be down two tricks if the de fenders maneuver a quick trump ruff with an opening trump lead or a heart lead with a quick club shift.