| The Spades Connection - A Tradition Since 2000!
The Spades Connection is a non-profit organization which was founded in September of 2000 by a group of friends. Our purpose was and continues to be bringing people together under the pretense of competitive card playing while forming new friendships along the way as well as rekindling old ones. We strive to present a well-organized event while allowing time for as much social interaction and memory making as the weekend progresses. We take great pride in putting on the best live events possible. It is our continued goal for you and your friends to join with others who have found our reputation to be that of "The Premier Event for all Live Spades players".
I attended the most recent (Aug. 2004) Nashville event. JJ Doll (+Doll) and her dedicated staff of volunteers put on another superb show! I had the opportunity to play with and against some very skilled individuals. The unique, multiple round format allowed every person the opportunity to play as many "mini" single elimination (eight team) games as they wanted to. More than 25 of these tournaments were conducted! Spades is a game in which the best players usually triumph; however, anyone can win on any given day! It reminds me of the parity in the National Football League. Sure enough, the very last qualifiers for the TOC came though with blazing colors in the playoffs, as they defeated higher seeded Teams, and won First Place!
Congratulations to the Tournament of Champions Winners: MVS_Iris & Sjs_LordWolf and Runners-Up Icon_Christina & Icon_Melissa. Check out the October 21-24th event in Pittsburgh. You will glad you did! Here is the address: (www.thespadesconnection.com)
See if you can find the winning play in this hand from the famous "Vegas '99" Zone Spades Series. This was the first of the National Championships, and drew more than 250 Spades players to the Harrah's Casino. | |
| The Score: N / S 394 E/W 373
The Bidding: West - Nil North - 5 East - 3 South - 3
The Vegas '99 event was the first official Spades National Championship, and was sponsored by the MSN Zone. In this qualifying Round game, West opened with a solid call of Nil, despite his seemingly tenuous spade holding. (The deuce of spades made the suit manageable). The rest of the bidding was routine, as East reached for game with his three bid. The defeat of the Nil was in order; however, a set of the "cover" hand would still prevent the game from ending.
West led his six of diamonds to his partner's King, and South's ten spot. (I like the lead of the seven of hearts; however, bizarre distributions and placement of spot cards have been known to sink otherwise solid Nils). Next came the diamond Ace, the nine, and the Jack. North cut with his seven spot, and made the curious play of cashing his heart Ace. (drawing the deuce, King, and seven). The heart four caught the ten, Queen, and three. South now plopped the nine of clubs on the table (why not a diamond?). West inserted the four, and North won his King, with East dropping a small card. Next came the ten of clubs, as East covered with his Jack, and South correctly ruffed with the King of spades. South pushed the Queen of diamonds, and North wisely cut this card with the Ace of spades. The six of clubs drew another heart pitch from East, and South continued with his plan of trumping with a high spade - this time the Queen. Another diamond pulled West's last spot card, as North trumped with his last spade (the ten), and East underruffed with the three, as he reduced his trump lenghth. A most unusual three card ending was reached: | |
| North led the Jack of hearts. (It really did not matter which heart he played). What was East's best play in this scenario?
Send your solution/ analysis to heartsmoon@aol.com
The results and winning line will be published in the October column.
The Spades Connection -- "Live" Spades Events
The World Series of Spades - Chicago, IL Sept 17-19
For a listing of "live" officially sanctioned Spades events, please go the Grand Prix Site.
The strongest Spades field ever assembled will be gathering for the Sixth
Grand Prix National Championship. Three former National Championship winners have registered, as well as author John Galt (Strichman). In addition, Jay Tomlinson of the Expert Spades Site is planning on attending. Winners from the Spades Connection series, Cases Ladder Leagues, and Hardwood (Silvercreek) round out a top notch 32 Team field. The six - Round Swiss paired format provides the perfect setting for intense competition. A Duplicate Spades tournament is scheduled on the last day of the event. A full report of the results appears in the next column.
Have a nice September! | |
