Monday morning saw an important match-up from Group D of the open qualifying series, featuring China and Iceland, two of the favourites to make it through to the knock-out stages. The match started quietly, but there was plenty of action later on.

Board 4. Dealer West. All Vul.
	ª 9 5 © A J 6 3 ¨ K Q 7 5 § A 5 2
ª 7 © 10 7 4 ¨ A J 10 8 4 § K J 7 6		ª A K Q J 10 6 4 3 © 9 8 ¨ 9 6 § 4
	ª 8 2 © K Q 5 2 ¨ 3 2 § Q 10 9 8 3

It doesn't appear that the auction makes a great deal of difference to South's choice of opening lead. Is not the king of hearts normal? Well, apparently not, because on vugraph Zejun Zhuang chose the ten of clubs instead. Thorlakur Jonsson had no difficulty in getting the clubs right and had ten easy tricks for +620.

It seemed that Iceland had a major swing on the deal because in the other room Sverrir Armarnnsson did lead the king of hearts, then continued with the queen and a third heart. Weimin Wang duly got the clubs right so made the same ten tricks for a flat board but a big opportunity missed by Iceland.

It is easy to criticize South, who should surely have known how many hearts his partner held and that therefore it was correct to switch at trick three. Indeed, had North held only the ¨K and not also the ¨Q, it would have been necessary for South to find the switch. But North also had a chance. He might have overtaken the second heart to switch to the king of diamonds to establish the fourth defensive winner in time. That would not have been correct if declarer was 8-3-0-2 or similar and pitched his third heart loser on the ace of diamonds. And that was entirely consistent with South's carding. If South was not attempting to retain the lead so as to switch at trick three, he would normally play the ©Q only from a three-card holding, and would lead low from four. So, my sympathies lie mostly with North.

Board 7. Dealer South. All Vul.
	ª J 6 2 © 7 ¨ K 10 5 2 § A J 8 7 5
ª A K 9 3 © J 4 ¨ A Q 7 3 § Q 10 3		ª Q 10 5 4 © 9 5 3 2 ¨ J 9 § 9 4 2
	ª 8 7 © A K Q 10 8 6 ¨ 8 6 4 § K 6

The final contract was the same in the two rooms but the result very different. In the Closed Room, Jianming Dai led out three rounds of hearts. Amarnnsson ruffed and played a diamond to the king then a heart to his ten. Dai quickly cashed two diamonds for down one; -100.

Though the bidding strongly suggested that East would have the heart length, declarer is not dead if he cashes the top hearts and finds that the jack doesn't fall. There are possibilities in the club suit and for a trump reduction, and my own gut feeling is that the combination play will work out more often than the very committal play of finessing the ten.

Whether or not that view is correct, Zhuang did choose to play hearts from the top in the other room after the same start. After drawing four rounds of trumps, he played a diamond up and Matthias Thorvaldsson rose with the ace and switched to a low club. Putting in the §J would have made ten tricks now but Zhuang found the more elegant line of rising with the ace, crossing to the §K and cashing the last trump to squeeze west in the minors; +170 and 7 IMPs to China.

Board 8. Dealer West. None Vul.
	ª A K 7 6 2 © 6 2 ¨ K Q J 9 6 § 10
ª Q J 9 8 © K J 10 9 ¨ 6 3 § K Q 6		ª 10 © A Q 7 3 ¨ 10 7 § A J 8 7 5 3
	ª 5 4 3 © 8 5 4 ¨ A 5 4 2 § 9 4 2

The Chinese pair did well in the Open Room when they found the 4ª save over 4©. That cost 300 but their good result proved to be not good enough when their teammates played the wrong game at the other table. Five Clubs was one down for -50 and 8 IMPs to Iceland. I don't know if Haojun Shi's negative double absolutely guaranteed four hearts, but there has to be something wrong when a major suit in which there is a 4-4 fit never gets mentioned. If East had not guaranteed hearts, one can understand West bidding 3NT on the basis of his double spade stopper. Perhaps East/West would have had a better chance of getting to the correct contract had east doubled 2NT rather than bidding 3ª, thereby saving space to explore properly?

Board 9. Dealer North. E/W Vul.
	ª Q 5 2 © Q 2 ¨ A K 4 § K J 9 7 6
ª A J 10 5 4 © 10 8 6 ¨ J 6 3 2 § 10		ª 9 8 7 © K 7 3 ¨ Q 9 7 § A Q 4 2
	ª K 3 © A J 9 5 4 ¨ 10 8 5 § 8 5 3

No trump range created a swing here. Adalsteinn Jorgensen's opening was 13-15, making it easy for Armarnnsson to transfer then pass the response. Two Hearts made exactly for +110 to Iceland.

Wang's 1NT opening was 15-17 and it was normal for Zhuang to transfer then invite game. Wang declined the invitation, of course, passing 2NT. Had Jonsson led a low club, Wang would have won a cheap trick and could then have played on hearts to bring home his contract. However, Jonsson actuall led the nine of spades to the king and ace. Thorvaldsson returned the ªJ and best play would have been for Wang to duck. If the defence continues spades, declarer can play on clubs and, if he reads the hand correctly, come to eight tricks. In practice, wang won the second spade and now there was no way home. He was one down for -50 and 4 IMPs to Iceland.

The opposition bid: 1¨ - 1ª - 2¨, and you hold :

What is your lead?

Jorgensen led a low club and, in the fullness of time, the defence came to six tricks for down one. Wang tried the more spectacular queen of spades. He found dummy with the ªAK and declarer with a spade void. The two spade tricks allowed declarer to make an overtrick - +110 and 4 IMPs to Iceland on Board 12.

Board 14. Dealer East. None Vul.
	ª J 5 3 2 © A Q ¨ K Q 8 6 5 § Q 9
ª 9 4 © J 9 8 4 3 ¨ 7 2 § A J 7 2		ª A Q 8 7 6 © K ¨ 10 4 3 § 10 6 5 4
	ª K 10 © 10 7 6 5 2 ¨ A J 9 § K 8 3

Unless declarer has second sight and drops the king of hearts, the defence can prevail against 3NT if East leads the right club at some point. In the Open Room, Jonsson led a low club at trick one and Wang won the jack with his queen and played a spade to the king. The heart finesse lost but declarer had no difficulty in getting the next club right for nine tricks and +400.

In the Closed Room, where the Icelanders had reached the same contract via a relay sequence so that dummy's precise shape was known, the opening lead was a low spade to the ten. Jorgensen took the heart finesse and now a switch to the §10 would have defeated the contract. Alas, Shi actually chose the six of clubs and Jorgensen made two club tricks and nine in all for a push.

Board 15. Dealer South. N/S Vul.
	ª 10 9 8 7 5 2 © 4 ¨ 3 § Q 8 6 3 2
ª J 6 © A 10 8 2 ¨ A 9 8 5 § 9 5 4		ª A Q 4 © Q J 5 ¨ K Q J 6 4 2 § 7
	ª K 3 © K 9 7 6 3 ¨ 10 7 § A K J 10

Five Diamonds is a nice safe contract which essentially requires on eof two finesses to succeed. However, Thorvaldsson had an awkward bid opposite Jonsson's intermediate jump overcall and chose the nine-trick game. When Wang led his singleton heart, 11 tricks were simple and Thorvaldsson probably felt relieved and quite happy about the deal.

In the Closed Room, the 2© response was a transfer to spades. Dai's 3NT bid, with ªJ6, was a brave call. Now, what suit did Armarnnson's double call for? A club lead would have led to a swift one down, while any other lead would allow 11 tricks to be made. Jorgensen led his singleton heart, and that was +1200 for Dai and 12 IMPs to China, who led 24-22.

Board 16. Dealer West. E/W Vul.
	ª Q J 6 © A K Q 7 3 2 ¨ A 9 8 3 § -
ª 7 5 4 3 © 8 5 ¨ - § A 8 7 6 5 4 3		ª K 8 2 © J 9 6 4 ¨ K 10 7 5 § J 9
	ª A 10 9 © 10 ¨ Q J 6 4 2 § K Q 10 2

The Chinese lead did not survive the next deal. In the Closed Room, Jorgensen opened a strong club then used a series of relays over the positive response to ascertain his partner's shape and number of controls. He settled for 4© and made 11 tricks without breaking sweat; +450.

In the other room Wang, playing two-over-one, rebid a quiet 2© then showed his diamonds over Zhuang's minimum-showing jump to 3NT. When Zhuang was able to cuebid spades, Wang asked for trump honours with GSF and Zhuang settled for the small slam.

The 5NT bid had marked dummy with a club void. After some thought Thorvaldsson, who could see that there might be an awkward trump break, came up with the brilliant lead of the seven of clubs! Zhuang thought for a long time before deciding on his line of play but finally ruffed the opening lead. He continued with ace and a low heart, ruffing, and the queen of diamonds from hand. There was no recovery from that start and the slam had to go one down for 11 IMPs to Iceland.

Even after the club lead, a low diamond at trick two might see declarer home thanks to the favourable positions of the ªK and §A, and certainly on a non-club lead either the ace of diamonds or a low diamond away from the ace should see declarer get home with 12 tricks. Matthias Thorvaldsson, however, deserved his swing, and it was very unlikely that declarer was going to succeed after the club lead.

The same brilliant lead was found by Takis Kannavos of Greece in their match with Monaco. As reported by his partner, Costas Kapayannides, Kannavos realised that, on the auction:

North had to be void in clubs. The same unsuccessful line of play was chosen as in our featured match.

No doubt this is one of the deals you will read about in newspapers and magazines when you get home but, remember, you saw it here first!

Board 17. Dealer North. None Vul.
	ª 7 4 © K Q 10 8 7 4 ¨ 8 7 3 § A J
ª K 9 5 2 © 9 3 ¨ K J 9 2 § K 10 3		ª Q 10 8 6 3 © J 2 ¨ Q 10 § Q 9 8 2
	ª A J © A 6 5 ¨ A 6 5 4 § 7 6 5 4

Three No Trump is cold for North/South but how to get there? In practice, both tables reached the apparently doomed 4© by North. In the Closed Room, Jorgensen was down one for +50 to China. But something went wrong in the Open Room. Jonsson led a low spade to the jack and king and back came a club, also to the jack and king. A second club was won by the ace and nowWang drew two rounds of trumps then ruffed a club. He crossed to the ace of diamonds to ruff the last club then played a spade to the ace and led a diamond. Thorvaldsson erred by failing to go up with his king. When Jonsson had to win with the queen, he was endplayed to give a ruff and discard; ten tricks for +420 and 10 IMPs to China.

North had opened the bidding with 1© and perhaps Thorvaldsson thought it inevitable that declarer held the ¨Q. In that case, the only hope was that he would duck the ¨9, hoping to drop a doubleton king in the East hand. Of course, this analysis does not stand up to scrutiny. North will always cover the diamond because if East does have a doubleton king he will be endplayed when he wins it.

Board 18. Dealer East. N/S Vul.
	ª 10 9 8 © A 7 6 5 ¨ 5 3 2 § K J 5
ª A 7 2 © K J 8 4 2 ¨ 4 § A 7 4 3		ª K 6 3 © 10 3 ¨ Q J 7 § Q 10 8 6 2
	ª Q J 5 4 © Q 9 ¨ A K 10 9 8 6 § 9

The lead against 3© was a low diamond to the jack and king. Zhuang switched to a low spade and the eight forced the king. The ten of hearts was covered by queen and king and ducked smoothly by Wang. Thorvaldsson continued with ace and another club. Wang won and gave his partner a ruff and Zhuang played back a spade to establish the defensive trick in the suit. There were two trumps to lose also and Thorvaldsson was two down for -100.

Events in the Open Room were made to be almost irrelevant by the Closed Room where the Chinese pair clearly had a difference of opinion regarding the meaning of West's double of 2¨. Armarnnsson got everything right to come home with two doubled overtricks and a score of +580; 10 IMPs to Iceland.

The match ended with a win to Iceland by 48-34 IMPs, converting to 18-12 VPs.

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