| 37th World Team Championships | Page 4 | Bulletin 12 - Thursday 3 November 2005 |
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Italy v Sweden (Bermuda Bowl) Sweden Get That Sinking Feeling - By Mark Horton Bridge is close to being unique in so far as at any given moment you have no idea of the score in your match. Of course, you may get a feel for the way things are going depending on the results at your table. In the third session of the Bermuda Bowl semifinal between Sweden and Italy, the Swedish pair in the Closed Room must have thought they were scoring heavily, but in the other room their compatriots undoubtedly had a different view. The first board showed the aggressive style of both teams.
Open Room
East led the king of spades and West overtook it and played back the jack of spades. When that held he switched to a heart and declarer played low. East won and played the queen of spades. Declarer ruffed, played a club to the ace, a club to the king, ruffed a club with the ten of hearts and claimed +420. Closed Room
This time the defenders started with a more challenging three rounds of spades and declarer ruffed. He played a club to the ace, a club to the king and ruffed a club with the ten of hearts. Of course it was entirely possible that West had refused to overruff with ♥K9xx, but after due consideration declarer played a heart to the ace to flatten the board. To my simplistic way of thinking, after ruffing the spade declarer should cross to dummy with a club and take the heart finesse.
Open Room
You can contrast Fredin’s Gung Ho rebid with that of his counterpart in the other room. Tacchi remarked that in Vaupillon East would risk a double. After East had led the queen of clubs it seemed to the VuGraph audience that a bemused declarer was wondering where the rest of his partner’s hand was. He discarded a spade from dummy and won in hand, playing a heart to the ace and a diamond to the king and ace. East switched to the jack of hearts and drew trumps when he got in with the ace of spades, holding declarer to five tricks, -250. Closed Room
Declarer was a level lower and when East led the nine of hearts he was a little better placed. He won and played a diamond to the king and ace. East returned a cunning five of hearts and declarer put up the king. Now he was booked for down four, East drawing trumps when he got in with the ace of spades. Still, that gave Italy 2 IMPs.
Open Room
South led the ace of spades and continued with the jack, ruffed by North who returned a club. Declarer won in hand and played a heart. When the king came up declarer could claim +620. Closed Room
West led the ace of hearts and continued the suit, declarer ruffing and playing the queen of clubs. East won, cashed a second club and played a heart. Declarer ruffed and played the ace of diamonds and a diamond. West put up the queen and East had to win with the king. He tried a club, but declarer simply discarded the nine of diamonds. He was one down, -100, but Italy gained 11 IMPs.
Open Room
This was a disastrous board for Sweden. South cashed the ace of hearts and after long thought switched to a low diamond. Declarer won in hand with the king, played a club to the queen, cashed the ace of clubs discarding a spade, ruffed a club, played a spade to the ace, and a spade. North won and played a diamond, ruffed in dummy by declarer who then ruffed a spade, ruffed a diamond and played a spade to ensure two overtricks, +1070. Closed Room
North’s 1♠ denied a major and showed 4+ diamonds and 4+ HCP. It’s hard to see why North jumped to Five Clubs – West must have thought Xmas had arrived (it had, but at the other table.) West led his singleton diamond and declarer won with the six. That was just about the only piece of good news for declarer who played a spade to the jack and a spade to the king, taken by the ace. West switched to the nine of hearts and declarer won with the ace and played the king of clubs. West won and played the ten of spades and declarer ruffed and tried the queen of diamonds. West ruffed and the contract was three down, -500 – a terrific result for Sweden that cost them only 11 IMPs.
Open Room
The Two Diamond bid showed hearts or spades plus one or both minors. West led the king of hearts followed by the queen, and East overtook and cashed the ace of clubs and exited with the ten of clubs. Declarer won, played the six of spades to the ace and a spade to the queen. At this stage he was probably reasonably confident that East was 2-6-3-2, but that didn’t help with the vital question of who had the queen of diamonds. Declarer drew the last trump and cashed two clubs, discarding a diamond from hand. Only 16 IMPs rested on declarer’s decision. Given the aggressive style of the Italians it was surely even money as to who had the queen. Eventually declarer called for a diamond from dummy. It was the … king. One down and Fredin could not conceal his disappointment. Closed Room
When it didn’t matter declarer not only got the diamond right, he was allowed to discard a losing heart on the clubs, so he made eleven tricks, +200 and 7 IMPs.
Open Room
Three Diamonds was a comfortable spot and declarer was not hard pressed to record ten tricks for +130. Closed Room
When West showed 12-15 with the minors East took a pot at game. North led the ten of hearts and declarer won with dummy’s ace and knocked out the ace of diamonds, South winning the second round of the suit. Declarer won the heart continuation in hand (it was impossible for South to find the spade switch that is required to defeat 3NT) and played the ten of spades to the three, king and ace. South switched to a club and declarer put up the king and cashed his diamonds before exiting in clubs. One way or another the defenders had to give declarer a ninth trick, +400 and 7 IMPs for Sweden.
Open Room
Italy took a phantom against Four Spades. The defenders made no mistake in the heart suit so the contract was two down, -300. Closed Room
Four Clubs was one down, but it was worth 6 IMPs to Sweden.
Open Room
South clearly expected more from his partner and he drove to the hopeless slam. East led his heart and declarer won in dummy and played a spade. West went in and gave his partner a heart ruff for a swift one down. Closed Room
East again led his heart and declarer won in dummy and played a spade. Once again West went in with the ace, but he knew a ruff would not be enough to defeat the contract and he switched to a club to flatten the board.
Open Room
The Swedes reached another slam that could only be made if East was obliging enough to lead a diamond. Of course he led a club and the contract drifted two down, -200. Closed Room
This contract was not in danger and Italy had been gifted another 13 IMPs, putting them firmly on the road to the final. |
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