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OPEN TEAMS Q-FINAL - 5TH Italy v Poland
That sinking feeling
Poland entered the fifth of six sets against the powerful Italian team trailing by only 22 IMPs with 32 boards to play. Poland managed to pull virtually even with Italy at one point, but then suffered a string of poor results that left them trailing by 48.
The Polish team did start well, earning a 6-IMP swing on board 2 then 13 on board 3.
| Board 3. Dealer South. E/W Vul. |
| | ♠ K 5
♥ J 2
♦ Q 9 8 6 5 4
♣ J 10 3 |
♠ J 9 4 3 2
♥ K 10 7 6 5 4
♦ J 7
♣ |  |
♠ 8 6
♥ A 9 8 3
♦ 3
♣ A K Q 8 5 2 | | | ♠ A Q 10 7
♥ Q
♦ A K 10 2
♣ 9 7 6 4 |
| West | North | East | South
|
| Jassem | Sementa | Martens | Duboin
|
| | | | 1♣
|
| 2♦ | Pass | 2NT | Pass
|
| 3♣ | Pass | 4♥ | All Pass
|
Giorgio Duboin started with a high diamond and tried to cash a second. Martens ruffed, ruffed a low club, picked up trumps and threw all of dummy’s spades on clubs. Plus 680.
At the other table, Boguslaw Pazur and Slawek Zawislak pushed Claudio Nunes and Fulvio Fantoni to 5♥ after discovering their diamond fit. They did not err in cashing their tricks, so plus 100 gave Poland a 13-IMP gain.
On the next board, Poland managed a 2-IMP gain. All of sudden, it was a 1-IMP match.
Italy scored 43 of the next 45 IMPs, however, and Poland was back in the hole. The slide started with board 5.
| Board 5. Dealer North. N/S Vul. |
| | ♠ 7 5 4 2
♥ A 10 8 4
♦ 10 8 5
♣ J 7 |
♠ A Q 9 8 3
♥ K 2
♦ K Q 7 3
♣ 10 5 | |
♠ K
♥ J 9 7 6 5
♦ A J 2
♣ Q 9 6 4 | | | ♠ J 10 6
♥ Q 3
♦ 9 6 4
♣ A K 8 3 2 |
| West | North | East | South
|
| Nunes | Zawislak | Fantoni | Pazur
|
| | Pass | Pass | Pass
|
| 1♠ | Pass | 2♥ | Pass
|
| 3♦ | Pass | 3NT | All Pass
|
Pazur started with a low club to the jack and queen. Fantoni played a heart to the king and North’s ace, and a club was returned. Pazur won the ♣K, cashed the ace and continued with a fourth round of the suit. Fantoni was up to nine top tricks at that point, and the lucky fall of the spade suit gave him 10 tricks for plus 430.
| West | North | East | South
|
| Jassem | Sementa | Martens | Duboin
|
| | Pass | 1♥ | Pass
|
| 1♠ | Pass | 1NT | Pass
|
| 2♦ | Pass | 3♣ | Pass
|
| 3NT | All Pass
| | |
Duboin started with the ♦9, taken by Martens with the ace. He tried a heart to the king, but Sementa won the ace and played the ♣J to the queen and king. A second diamond went to declarer’s jack. Martens played a low club from hand, taken by Duboin with the ace. Duboin cashed the ♥Q and played a diamond.
The contract was dead at that point. Martens had the choice of taking one spade trick by playing to the singleton king in his hand – or cashing his spade ace and queen but establishing one or more tricks for the defense. He played a spade to his king and cashed the ♥J, but when the suit did not split he was one down. Minus 50 and 10 IMPs to Italy.
More IMPs went to the Italians on board 7.
| Board 7. Dealer South. All Vul. |
| | ♠ 9 7 4 2
♥
♦ K J 10 6 5
♣ K J 7 5 |
♠ K Q J 3
♥ A Q 9 5
♦ 3
♣ 10 9 8 2 | |
♠ A 5
♥ J 7 6 4
♦ 9 8 7
♣ Q 6 4 3 | | | ♠ 10 8 6
♥ K 10 8 3 2
♦ A Q 4 2
♣ A |
| West | North | East | South
|
| Nunes | Zawislak | Fantoni | Pazur
|
| | | | 1♣*
|
| Pass | 1♥* | Pass | 1♠
|
| Pass | 2♣ | Pass | 2♦
|
| Pass | 2NT | Pass | 3♣
|
| Pass | 3♦ | Pass | 4♦
|
| All Pass
| | | |
Pazur’s 1♣ showed hearts. He and Zawislak did well to stop in 4♦, the limit on the North/South cards. It was plus 130, but still a big loss because their teammates had a disaster at the other table.
| West | North | East | South
|
| Jassem | Sementa | Martens | Duboin
|
| | | | 1♥
|
| Pass | 1♠ | Pass | 2♦
|
| Pass | 4♦ | Pass | 4♠
|
| Pass | 5♦ | Pass | Pass
|
| Dble | All Pass
| | |
Krzysztof Jassem started with the ♠K, inexplicably ducked by Krzysztof Martens. A second spade went to Martens’ ace, and he could still have defeated the contract by continuing with a trump, but he got out with a club, allowing Duboin to discard his spade loser on the ♣K and score all nine of his trumps separately for plus 750 and a 12-IMP gain.
Three pushes followed, then came this deal.
| Board 11. Dealer South. None Vul. |
| | ♠ A 2
♥ A J 6 2
♦
♣ K J 10 8 7 5 4 |
♠ Q 10 7 4
♥ K 10 9 5 4
♦ A K 7
♣ Q | |
♠ K 9 3
♥ Q 7 3
♦ J 4 3 2
♣ 6 3 2 | | | ♠ J 8 6 5
♥ 8
♦ Q 10 9 8 6 5
♣ A 9 |
| West | North | East | South
|
| Nunes | Zawislak | Fantoni | Pazur
|
| | | |
Pass |
| 1♥ | 2♣ | 2♥ | Dble
|
| Pass | 4♣ | All Pass
| |
Again, Zawislak and Pazur stopped on a dime and went plus 130, and again suffered a double-digit loss because of what happened at the other table.
| West | North | East | South
|
| Jassem | Sementa | Martens | Duboin
|
| | | | Pass
|
| 1♥ | 2♣ | 2♥ | 3♣
|
| 3♦ | 3♥ | Pass | 4♣
|
| Pass | 5♣ | Pass | Pass
|
| Dble | All Pass
| | |
The only lead to defeat the contract is a trump because it limits declarer to one heart ruff. Martens, however, started with a heart, and it was quickly over. Antonio Sementa won the ♥K with the ace, ruffed a heart, ruffed a diamond to hand, ruffed another heart as the queen appeared, ruffed another diamond, cashed the ♣K and claimed when the queen fell. With the good ♥J and two trump tricks in dummy, he lost only a spade for plus 650 and another 11 IMPs.
There was more bad news for Poland on the next deal.
| Board 12. Dealer West. N/S Vul. |
| | ♠ J 10 8 7
♥ J 2
♦ J 10 9 4
♣ Q 8 7 |
♠ Q 9 4
♥ A K 10 3
♦ K 3
♣ 10 5 3 2 | |
♠ K 6 5 3
♥ 8 7 6 4
♦ A 8
♣ A K 4 | | | ♠ A 2
♥ Q 9 5
♦ Q 7 6 5 2
♣ J 9 6 |
The auction was identical at the two tables.
| West | North | East | South
|
| Jassem | Sementa | Martens | Duboin
|
| Nunes | Zawislak | Fantoni | Pazur
|
| 1NT | Pass | 2♣ | Pass
|
| 2♥ | Pass | 4♥ | All Pass
|
Against Claudio Nunes, Zawislak stated with the ♦J. Nunes studied dummy a long time before winning with the ace and playing a heart to his 10. Zawislak won the ♥J and played the ♠J. Nunes played low from dummy and Pazur went up with the ace. Declarer lost only a club trick from there for plus 420.
Sementa also started with the ♦J. Jassem won the ace in dummy, played a heart to his ace, a club to dummy’s ace, a heart to his king, a club to the king, followed by a third round of hearts. Duboin, in with the ♥Q, played a club to his partner’s queen, and Sementa exited with a deceptive ♠10. According to the play record, Jassem played the ♠K from dummy, losing to the ace, then played the queen when Duboin continued the suit. It seems more likely that he would have put in the 9. In either case, he was down when the played the ♠K from dummy. That was 10 more IMPs to Italy
It is worth noting that North had discarded the ♠8 on the third trump, so there was virtually no lie of the cards that would make his play of the ♠K correct.
After a promising start, Poland lost the set 49-33. Italy went on to a 210-173 win in the match.
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