Meltzer v Milner |
Orbis Transnational
Teams - Final |
Two USA teams met in the final of the Orbis Transnational
World Open Teams Championship, though Milner included Fred Gitelman
of Canada and Meltzer, Cesary Balicki and Adam Zmudzinsnki of Poland,
making for a true transnational ending.
Milner gained an overtrick IMP on Board 1, but Meltzer
took the lead two boards later.
Board
3. Dealer South. EW Game |
|
ª |
9 |
|
© |
K J 9 4 2 |
¨ |
K J 5 |
§ |
K 10 6 2 |
ª |
10 6 5 4 |
|
ª |
A Q J 7 |
© |
A 8 7 3 |
© |
— |
¨ |
4 3 |
¨ |
A Q 8 6 |
§ |
9 8 7 |
§ |
A Q J 5 3 |
|
ª |
K 8 3 2 |
|
© |
Q 10 6 5 |
¨ |
10 9 7 2 |
§ |
4 |
|
West |
North |
East |
South |
Jacobus |
Weichsel |
Milner |
Meltzer |
|
|
|
Pass |
Pass
|
1© |
Dble |
2ª |
Pass
|
3© |
Dble |
Pass |
3ª
|
Pass |
4ª |
All Pass |
|
We have no information about the meaning of South's Two
Spade bid. Maybe it was a fit-jump, or maybe some kind of mixed raise.
Anyway, Peter Weichsel signed-off in Three Hearts and Reese Milner doubled
for a second time. When Mark Jacobus bid his spades, Milner raised to
game. The 4-1 trump split and shortage of entries to the West hand meant
that there was too much work to do in Four Spades and Jacobus drifted
one off; -100.
West |
North |
East |
South |
Zmudzinski |
Moss |
Balicki |
Gitelman |
|
|
|
Pass |
Pass
|
1© |
Dble |
4© |
Pass
|
Pass |
Dble |
All Pass |
|
Fred Gitelman made a big pre-emptive raise to Four Hearts. Again, East
doubled, but Adam Zmudzinski passed the take-out double, expecting to
beat Four Hearts while the fate of Four Spades was somewhat problematical.
Cesary Balicki had an unattractive opening lead and chose
the ace of clubs, the suit in which someone was most likely to hold
a singleton and therefore establishing the king would be least significant.
Balicki switched to ace then queen of spades.
Brad Moss won the king, throwing a diamond, then played
a diamond to the jack and queen.
He had to lose the two red aces but could manage the
rest; two down for -300 and 9 IMPs to MELTZER.
Board
5. Dealer North. NS Game |
|
ª |
8 6 5 3 |
|
© |
5 3 |
¨ |
A 10 9 |
§ |
Q J 7 6 |
ª |
A 10 7 4 |
|
ª |
2 |
© |
A 10 2 |
© |
Q 9 8 6 4 |
¨ |
8 5 4 2 |
¨ |
J 7 |
§ |
5 2 |
§ |
A 10 9 4 3 |
|
ª |
K Q J 9 |
|
© |
K J 7 |
¨ |
K Q 6 3 |
§ |
K 8 |
|
West |
North |
East |
South |
Jacobus |
Weichsel |
Milner |
Meltzer |
|
Pass
|
Pass
|
1¨
|
Pass
|
1ª
|
1NT
|
Dble
|
Pass
|
Pass
|
Rdble
|
Pass
|
Pass
|
Pass
|
Pass
|
3ª
|
All Pass
|
|
|
|
|
West |
North |
East |
South |
Zmudzinski |
Moss |
Balicki |
Gitelman |
|
Pass |
2© |
2NT |
3©
|
Dble |
Pass |
4ª |
All Pass
|
|
|
|
|
I guess that you would want to be in game on the North/South
cards, though only because you are vulnerable. The bad trump position
meant that nine tricks were the limit this time. That was +140 to Rose
Meltzer-Johnson but -100 for Gitelman; 6 IMPs to MELTZER.
Board
6. Dealer East. EW Game |
|
ª |
Q 8 5 4 |
|
© |
3 |
¨ |
A K J 8 6 2 |
§ |
10 4 |
ª |
A 9 2 |
|
ª |
K |
© |
A J 9 8 |
© |
K Q 7 5 4 2 |
¨ |
3 |
¨ |
4 |
§ |
A K 7 3 2 |
§ |
Q J 9 8 6 |
|
ª |
J 10 7 6 3 |
|
© |
10 6 |
¨ |
Q 10 9 7 5 |
§ |
5 |
|
West |
North |
East |
South |
Jacobus |
Weichsel |
Milner |
Meltzer |
|
|
1© |
Pass |
2§
|
3¨ |
4§ |
5¨ |
6§
|
All Pass |
|
|
|
West |
North |
East |
South |
Zmudzinski |
Moss |
Balicki |
Gitelman |
|
|
1©
|
Pass
|
2§
|
3¨
|
3©
|
5¨
|
5NT
|
Pass
|
6§
|
6¨
|
6©
|
All Pass
|
|
|
|
North/South have a double fit, of course, providing a
very cheap save. Both pairs found the diamond fit, but neither tried
spades, and the East/Wests were allowed to play the slam of their choice;
+1370 for Jacobus and +1460 for Balicki (after a club lead), for 3 IMPs
to MELTZER.
Board
8. Dealer West. Love All |
|
ª |
K 7 6 4 |
|
© |
A J 7 4 2 |
¨ |
9 8 3 |
§ |
3 |
ª |
— |
|
ª |
A J 10 9 5 |
© |
Q 9 5 |
© |
8 3 |
¨ |
A 4 |
¨ |
7 6 |
§ |
A K 9 8 7 6 52 |
§ |
Q J 10 4 |
|
ª |
Q 8 3 2 |
|
© |
K 10 6 |
¨ |
K Q J 10 5 2 |
§ |
— |
|
West |
North |
East |
South |
Jacobus |
Weichsel |
Milner |
Meltzer |
|
West |
North |
East |
South |
Zmudzinski |
Moss |
Balicki |
Gitelman |
1§
|
1© |
1ª |
2¨ |
3§
|
3¨ |
4§ |
4© |
5§
|
Pass |
Pass |
5¨ |
Dble
|
All Pass |
|
|
|
Jacobus's Three No Trump rebid stole the pot. He would
have been defeated by a heart lead, but Meltzer had not had time to
show her heart support, so it was natural for Weichsel to lead a diamond.
Jacobus had ten tricks; +430.
Zmudzinski's Three Club rebid allowed Moss to get his
diamond support in at a comfortable level. Gitelman was never going
to defend Five Clubs now. When he bid Five Diamonds, Zmudzinski doubled.
He led the nine of hearts, thinking that Balicki might have a singleton.
That solved the heart problem for Gitelman. He won the heart ten and
tried the queen of diamonds. Zmudzinski took his ace and led the nine
of clubs, looking for a spade ruff. When Gitelman ruffed the club, Zmudzinski
smiled ruefully and shortly afterwards wrote down -550 on his scoresheet;
14 IMPs to MILNER.
Board
10. Dealer East. Game All |
|
ª |
J 8 4 |
|
© |
K Q 10 |
¨ |
10 9 8 6 5 2 |
§ |
K |
ª |
K 9 7 6 5 3 |
|
ª |
A 10 2 |
© |
A 8 6 2 |
© |
5 |
¨ |
K J 7 |
¨ |
Q 4 |
§ |
— |
§ |
Q J 8 7 6 4 3 |
|
ª |
Q |
|
© |
J 9 7 4 3 |
¨ |
A 3 |
§ |
A 10 9 5 2 |
|
West |
North |
East |
South |
Jacobus |
Weichsel |
Milner |
Meltzer |
|
West |
North |
East |
South |
Zmudzinski |
Moss |
Balicki |
Gitelman |
|
|
2§ |
Pass |
2¨
|
Pass |
2ª |
Pass |
3ª
|
Pass |
4ª |
All Pass |
|
Do you like that vulnerable Three Club opening? The suit
isn't great but it was the action chosen at four of the six tables in
the various finals. Each time, Three Clubs was passed out for -200 or
-300. Milner conceded the latter score.
You may like Balicki's Precision-style Two Club opening
no better, but it was a lot more successful. Zmudzinski enquired and
discovered that his partner had a minimum with no four-card major. That
was not great news, but after a while he decided that he might as well
see it through and bid Three Spades. Balicki raised to game and there
was no real problem in the play after a low heart lead; +620 and 14
IMPs to MELTZER.
Board
11. Dealer South. Love All |
|
ª |
A K 10 9 |
|
© |
10 8 7 5 |
¨ |
A 5 |
§ |
10 8 7 |
ª |
— |
|
ª |
Q J 8 6 2 |
© |
K Q J 4 3 |
© |
9 2 |
¨ |
8 2 |
¨ |
10 7 6 4 3 |
§ |
A Q J 6 4 3 |
§ |
5 |
|
ª |
7 5 4 3 |
|
© |
A 6 |
¨ |
K Q J 9 |
§ |
K 9 2 |
|
West |
North |
East |
South |
Jacobus |
Weichsel |
Milner |
Meltzer |
|
|
|
1¨ |
2NT
|
Pass |
3© |
Pass |
©
|
All Pass |
|
|
|
Surprisingly, Weichsel never joined in the auction, despite
his partner's One Diamond opening bid. Four Hearts looks as though it
could be quite a struggle, but Milner got out for only one down after
the lead of the king of diamonds; -50.
West |
North |
East |
South |
Zmudzinski |
Moss |
Balicki |
Gitelman |
|
|
|
1¨ |
2NT
|
Dble |
3© |
Pass |
Pass
|
3ª |
Pass |
4ª |
Pass
|
Pass |
Dble |
All Pass |
|
Moss got himself to Four Spades and Balicki informed
him that this was not going to make. Balicki led his club to the jack
and Zmudzinski continued with two more rounds of clubs. Balicki ruffed
and switched to a heart. Moss won the ace of hearts and played a spade
to the ace, confirming the bad trump break. He continued with four rounds
of diamonds then exited with a heart. Balicki could be endplayed now
to get only one more trump trick; two down for -300 and 8 IMPs to MELTZER.
Board
12. Dealer West. NS Game |
|
ª |
A K Q J 9 5 4 |
© |
4 3 |
|
¨ |
8 4 |
§ |
A 9 |
ª |
10 8 2 |
|
ª |
6 |
© |
10 7 5 |
© |
A K 2 |
¨ |
K Q 6 3 2 |
¨ |
A J 10 7 |
§ |
3 2 |
§ |
K Q 8 6 5 |
|
ª |
7 3 |
|
© |
Q J 9 8 6 |
¨ |
9 5 |
§ |
J 10 7 4 |
|
West |
North |
East |
South |
Jacobus |
Weichsel |
Milner |
Meltzer |
Pass
|
1ª |
Dble |
Pass |
2¨
|
3ª |
4¨ |
All Pass |
|
West |
North |
East |
South |
Zmudzinski |
Moss |
Balicki |
Gitelman |
|
Pass |
1§ |
Pass |
1ª
|
Pass |
1NT |
Pass |
2§
|
Pass |
2ª |
Pass |
2NT
|
Pass |
3NT |
All Pass |
|
East has bid Four Diamonds under pressure so should West
bid on to game? Probably the answer is yes, but it is obviously less
clear than if east had had the opportunity to jump to Four Diamonds.
The play is a little awkward in Five Diamonds from declarer's point
of view, but the favourable positions in both minors mean that the problems
are all in his mind and 11 tricks are always made; 6 more IMPs to MELTZER.
They led by 50-16 at this point but MILNER finished the set strongly,
though they needed some good fortune on this next deal.
Board
13. Dealer North. Game All |
|
ª |
2 |
|
© |
K 8 7 6 |
¨ |
K 10 7 5 2 |
§ |
Q J 3 |
ª |
K Q J 9 5 4 |
|
ª |
A 7 6 |
© |
Q 9 |
© |
J 5 4 2 |
¨ |
9 6 |
¨ |
A 4 3 |
§ |
A 9 8 |
§ |
K 7 4 |
|
ª |
10 8 3 |
|
© |
A 10 3 |
¨ |
Q J 8 |
§ |
10 6 5 2 |
|
West |
North |
East |
South |
Jacobus |
Weichsel |
Milner |
Meltzer |
|
Pass |
1§ |
Pass |
1ª
|
Pass |
1NT |
Pass |
4ª
|
All Pass |
|
|
|
West |
North |
East |
South |
Zmudzinski |
Moss |
Balicki |
Gitelman |
|
Pass |
1§ |
Pass |
1ª
|
Pass |
1NT |
Pass |
2§
|
Pass |
2ª |
Pass |
2NT
|
Pass |
3NT |
All Pass |
|
Balicki/Zmudzinski did very well to reach the cold Three
No Trump when Zmudzinski enquired, found that his partner was minimum
with three spades, and asked again with Two No Trump. When Balicki showed
that he was completely balanced, Zmudzinski passed Three No Trump and
that was +600.
A club lead and continuation beats Four Spades, but even
on the actual diamond lead it takes the finesse of the nine of hearts
to create a parking place for the club loser. Jacobus duly brought home
his game to pick up a fortunate IMP for MILNER.
The next deal saw Balicki make a shaded opening that
got his side to a poor game, which duly failed by a trick, while Milner
passed and subsequently played a partscore, making; 6 IMPs to MILNER.
Board
15. Dealer South. NS Game |
|
ª |
Q 8 7 5 4 2 |
|
© |
7 2 |
¨ |
5 |
§ |
J 8 7 3 |
ª |
A 10 6 |
|
ª |
K J 9 |
© |
A 9 8 5 |
© |
Q J 10 |
¨ |
7 6 4 3 |
¨ |
A K 10 9 8 2 |
§ |
A 6 |
§ |
K |
|
ª |
3 |
|
© |
K 6 4 3 |
¨ |
Q J |
§ |
Q 10 9 5 4 2 |
|
West |
North |
East |
South |
Jacobus |
Weichsel |
Milner |
Meltzer |
|
|
|
Pass
|
1¨
|
Pass
|
2¨
|
Pass
|
2NT
|
Pass
|
4¨
|
Pass
|
4©
|
Pass
|
4ª
|
Pass
|
5¨
|
Pass
|
6¨
|
All Pass
|
|
The inverted raise led to a smooth auction to the top
spot; +940.
West |
North |
East |
South |
Zmudzinski |
Moss |
Balicki |
Gitelman |
|
|
|
Pass
|
1§
|
Pass
|
2¨
|
Pass
|
2©
|
Pass
|
2ª
|
Pass
|
3¨
|
Pass
|
3©
|
Pass
|
3ª
|
Pass
|
4§
|
Pass
|
4¨
|
Pass
|
5¨
|
All Pass
|
|
Zmudzinski opened a Polish Club, either a weak no trump
or a strong club, and Two Diamonds was natural and forcing. The whole
auction was very unclear from here and neither player felt confident
to bid the slam; +440.
That was 11 IMPs to MILNER, who trailed by 33-50 after
16 of the 48 boards of the final.