Source: IBPA Bulletin June 2026
Dick Freeman Award for Junior Hand Of The Year
Candidate 3
Nominee: Olivia Schireson
Journalist: Sally Brock
Article: Four-IMP vulnerable game swing
Event: European Transnational Championships
Source: IBPA Bulletin 727, August 2025, page 14
“My team did not do very well in the European Transnationals in Poznań, but this was a high spot:” I thought this hand was very well defended by East, my
teammate Olivia Schireson. The bidding was:
Dealer South. E/W Vul
 K 2 K Q 7 4 A Q 10 8 6 5 J |
||
| A 5A 5 2J 9 7 2A 7 6 4 |
||
| West | North | East | South |
| Pass | |||
| Pass | 1 |
Pass | 1 |
| Pass | 3 |
Pass | 3 |
| Pass | 4 |
All Pass |
Your partner leads the five of clubs. I am sure we would all win our ace, but what now? There is only one way to defeat the game: a low diamond switch. Declarer wins and plays a heart (best) and now East has to fly in with the ace of hearts and play another diamond.
Then in a trick or two she has to beat dummy’s king of spades with her ace and play another diamond, promoting a trick for her partner’s ten of spades. And Olivia did all of this.
| K 2K Q 7 4A Q 10 8 6 5J |
||
| 10 7 610 8 6 3K 3Q 9 8 5 |
A 5A 5 2J 9 7 2A 7 6 4 |
|
| Q J 9 8 4 3J 94K 10 3 2 |
I would like to tell you that this excellent defence created a swing for her team, but in the event it was marginal because at our table the bidding was:
| West | North | East | South |
| 3 |
|||
| Pass | Pass | Double | Pass |
| 4 |
Double | All Pass |
I won’t go into the details of the play! Suffice it to say that 4 did not play well, and we collected a 1400 penalty! So we scored 17 IMPs rather than the 13 IMPs
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