| 12th World Team Olympiad | Page 5 | Bulletin 7 - Saturday, 30 October 2004 |
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Round 8: England v Germany Women by Tony Gordon These were two of the fancied teams in group B, but neither of them could be completely happy with their performances so far as they occupied ninth and fifth places, respectively, going into this match. However, England would be a lot happier after this encounter as an emphatic win reversed their positions. After partscore swings to each team in the first four boards, the next board produced something more substantial:
Michelle Brunner was happy to pass her partner’s takeout double of Pony Nehmert’s weak 2ª opening and Rhona Goldenfield began with three rounds of clubs. That was one saving grace for declarer, but she was still facing an unappetising task. She exited with the ¨Q and the defence took their two top diamonds and the ©A and then Goldenfield continued with the 13th club which Nehmert ruffed in hand. She crossed to dummy with a heart to lead the ª9 and when Brunner covered with the ten she won with the jack. The ª8 lost to the ten and Brunner’s ª4 exit let her win the last two tricks with the ªA5 over declarer’s ªK3, so Nehmert was three down for +800 to England.
In the other room Daniela von Arnim opted for 3NT instead of passing and Nicola Smith led a spade round to declarer’s ten. After a club to the ace and a club back to the jack and queen, Smith switched to the ©J. Von Arnim ducked this and the heart continuation but won the third round and played the §K. When the suit broke 3-3 she cashed the thirteenth club and her two top diamonds and then threw Smith in with a spade. That gave her nine tricks and +400, but it was still a loss of 9 IMPs.
At both tables West led from her heart sequence and East overtook and cashed a second heart before switching to a club which declarer correctly ducked, so the club ruff went begging. That only cost the second undertrick against 5ª, but cost the contract against 4ª, so Germany’s more aggressive approach earned 11 IMPs. That gain put Germany ahead, but they missed a good slam on board 7 to trail 27-16 at the halfway point. Germany pulled back 8 IMPs on board 10 when England played in the wrong partscore, but thereafter it was all one-way traffic in the opposite direction.
Andrea Reim led the ¨K against Goldenfield’s 3ª and when this held the trick she continued with a second round to the jack and ace. Now declarer ducked a spade, won the heart continuation and cashed the ªA. She could now take a ruffing finesse against Reim’s ¨Q and although Nehmert could overruff dummy and cash a heart, dummy’s third club went away on the good ¨9 and Goldenfield had nine tricks for +140 to England.
In the German strong club auction, 1© was either natural or a strong balanced hand, 1ª was essentially a second negative and 2¨ was the route to show a weak hand with spades. As a result Germany were able to stop a level lower but with the contract played from the other side of the table. Smith’s ©K lead was ducked by declarer, so she switched to a low club taken by the ace. When Sabine Auken continued with the ¨10 Heather Dhondy rose with the king and played a second club to the jack and king and declarer cashed the red aces and played a third diamond. To get home she had to discard dummy’s remaining club, but she ruffed with the seven and Smith overruffed with the ten and cashed her club winner. Now the thirteenth club ensured the defence came to two more trump tricks whatever declarer did, so Auken was one down for –50 and 5 IMPs to England.
At this table, where von Arnim’s 2§ rebid showed a non-minimum with at least six diamonds, Germany reached game from the less desirable side and Dhondy’s club lead through dummy’s doubleton ace quickly established three club tricks for the defence. After winning the §A on the second round declarer played a diamond to the king and ace and Dhondy cashed her two club winners before exiting with the ¨5. Auken, who had discarded two diamonds from dummy and a spade from hand on the clubs, now needed five heart tricks to bring home her contract, so she won the ¨Q, cashed the ©K and then finessed the ©J, but Dhondy won and cashed the ¨9 for two down and +100 to England.
The English sequence had the double benefit of hiding the long diamond suit and playing the hand from the more desirable side, but the fate of the contract still hung in the balance after Nehmert led the ªQ. Brunner won in hand with the king and played a diamond towards dummy on which Nehmert followed with the ten. Declarer can succeed by ducking this, but that would have been an inspired view, and she covered with the king. Reim won her ace and needed to find a club switch to defeat the contract, but she played back a spade and declarer could now clear diamonds and get home with four diamond tricks, two spades, two hearts and a club for +400 and 11 IMPs to England.
Brunner was allowed to play peacefully in 3¨ and she made the obvious nine tricks for +110 to England.
There was unsurprisingly more action at the other table where Smith’s competitive raise in hearts encouraged Dhondy to go on to game and Auken expressed her opinion in the usual manner. Despite the ©Q falling and the ªA being onside, dummy had insufficient entries for declarer to lead towards her hand the necessary number of times in the black suits and a red suit lead would have resulted in one down, but von Arnim began with the ªJ and declarer duly emerged with ten tricks for +590 and 12 IMPs to England. England won by 61-25 IMPs, 23-7 VPs, to move up to seventh while Germany dropped to ninth. |
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