| 37th World Team Championships | Page 6 | Bulletin 3 - Tuesday 25 October 2005 |
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Canada v China (Bermuda Bowl) The Battle Goes On . . . Monday’s first match on vugraph featured two struggling teams hoping to improve themselves in the round-robin standings – China and Canada. At the start of the second day of play, China found themselves in 17th place out of 22. Canada was in a three-way tie for last with Jordan and Portugal. Canada scored 2 IMPs on the first deal – the difference between 4♠ down one at one table and down one doubled at the other – but China scored big on the next one.
Both sides have 20 high-card points, but East-West have the boss suit, and the friendly division of the North-South spades makes 4♠ a lock.
The 2♥ opener was intermediate, perhaps influencing Jian Ming Dai and Li Xing Yang to stop short of game. There was nothing to the play, and Yang finished at plus 170. For Canada in the open room, Allan Graves and Boris Baran were never in the auction.
Baran started with a low trump, won in dummy with the queen. When Jie Zhao played a second heart from dummy, Graves followed with the discouraging ♠2. Zhao won with the ♥A and started playing on diamonds. Baran could have ruffed in with the ♥K on the third diamond and played the ♠A and a spade to his partner’s king to assure defeat of the vulnerable game, but he did not and Zhao romped home with plus 620 and 13 IMPs for his team. Both teams missed a chance, albeit an obscure one, to score a game on the following deal.
As you can see, the lead of the ♣Q assures defeat of the contract, but Hobart started with a normal low heart. The contract can now be made, but only if West can see all the cards: ♦A, ♠9 to the ace and 10, low spade to the queen and king, ♠5 to the 7, then discard two clubs on the major-suit aces. Easy, right? Dai did play low from dummy on the opening lead, ruffing and cashing the ♦A, but then he simply exited with a low diamond, hoping that whoever won would have to do something helpful. Hobart won and quickly had the ♣Q on the track. One down.
Baran also received the opening lead of a low heart, but he took his discard immediately, throwing a spade from hand, then cashed the ♦A and led a club up to the king and was quickly down one for a push. Canada took the lead on the next deal.
Zhao was strangely silent with such good shape and favourable vulnerability after opening 1♦. The opening lead of the ♥8 did not trouble Baran in the least, nor did the 4-0 trump split as he waltzed in with plus 680. At the other table, Miittelman liked his hand much more than Zhao.
Mittelman played skilfully to emerge with a fine result. He ruffed the opening spade lead and played the ♦Q from hand, correctly going up with the ace – he did not want East in the lead. Declarer then played the ♣7 from dummy, and when Yang played the 3, Mittelman ducked. Dai started unblocking by winning with the ♣Q. West returned a spade, ruffed by South. Next came the ♣A, and again Yang unblocked by playing the king. This has the effect of making a winner out of dummy’s ♣10, but when Mittelman played a third round of clubs, East could ruff with the ♦K and push a heart through. That was minus 300 and a 9-IMP gain for Canada. China went back into the lead on the next deal as Yang made a nice defensive play.
Graves started well by leading the ♦7 rather than the king or queen. Baran won the ♦A and switched to the ♣7. Fu went up with the ace and played the ♠10 to the king and ace. He cashed the ♠Q, pitching a diamond, then played a low club to the 8 and Graves’ king. The way Fu had played the contract, it could not be defeated, but Graves got out with his ♦K rather than a low one, and Fu ended up with two overtricks for plus 170.
Yang started with the ♥J, won by North. The ♠10 went to the king and ace, and diamonds were discarded on the ♠Q and ♠7. A low diamond was led to West’s ace. North ruffed and played three more hearts, putting East on lead. Had Yang played the ♦K, he would have been able to cash another diamond as North discarded clubs, but he would then have been forced to play into North’s club tenace or to give him the good dummy. Instead, Yang exited with a low diamond to West’s jack, and on the club return he won with the king and could cash two more diamonds for two down. A well-earned 9 IMPs for China. Canada took the lead again when China bid a good slam that went down on a bad trump break while Baran and Graves stopped in game. China increased their lead of 33-27 when they judged well in competitive auctions in both rooms.
Zhao did not err in selecting his opening lead – the ♠K. Fu ruffed dummy’s ace, and declarer could not avoid two more spade losers for one down and minus 100.
East-West did well on this deal not the bid on, collecting plus 300 for a 9-IMP gain. Canada closed to the final margin of 5 IMPs when the Chinese bid a slam off an ace and the trump queen, going down for an 11-IMP loss. |
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