Out of their hands
With one round to go and Iceland only
2 Victory Points ahead of them for fourth place in Group D of
Olympiad Open series, New Zealand felt themselves to be in contention
for the round of 16. Unfortunately, New Zealand needed some
help from Malaysia, Iceland's opponent. That was not forthcoming,
as Iceland pounded Malaysia, 84-21. New Zealand, of course,
did not help their own cause. In a seesaw battle, China prevailed,
49-48.
The first deal featured virtually double-dummy
defense by Weimin Wang and Zejun Zhuang.
Board 1. Dealer North. None
Vul. |
|
ª
K 10 6 3 2
© K Q 8
¨ K Q
§ 10 8 7 |
ª
J 5 4
© 6 5 4 3
2
¨ J 10 7 5
§ Q |
![Bridge deal](../../../../Graphics/Hand/board3.gif) |
ª
A Q 8 7
© A J 10 7
¨ A 4 2
§ 9 3 |
|
ª
9
© 9
¨ 9 8 6 3
§ A K J
6 5 4 2 |
West |
North |
East |
South |
Ju |
Newell |
Zhong |
Reid |
|
1©
(1) |
1NT |
3§ |
All Pass |
|
|
|
(1) 4+ spades, 8-13 HCP.
|
West led the ¨J to East's ace, and East
continued with the ©J, hoping partner could get in later for
a heart through dummy. That did not work out, and Reid finished
with 11 tricks for plus 150.
West |
North |
East |
South |
Blackstock |
Wang |
Henry |
Zhuang |
|
1ª |
1NT |
3§ |
Pass |
Pass |
Dble |
Pass |
3© |
All Pass |
|
|
Wang led the ¨K to the ace in dummy. Stephen
Blackstock, fearing a diamond ruff, played the ©A and ©J. Wang
won the ©Q, cashed the ¨K and, as though he could see through
the backs of the cards, played a club to South's king. Cooperating
beautifully, Zejun Zhuang returned a diamond. Wang ruffed with
the master trump and got out with a club. Blackstock ruffed,
but he had no other entry to his hand, so he could not take
two spade finesses (starting with the jack, blotting the 9,
and later finessing against the 10), thus finishing down one.
The Chinese still lost 3 IMPs, but it could have been much worse.
Look what happens if Wang cashes the ©K
and exits with a club. Blackstock can ruff the second round
of clubs and follow with the ªJ to the king, ace and 9. He can
then exit with a diamond. If Wang still had the ¨Q, he would
be endplayed, forced to play a spade, giving Blackstock a free
finesse, or a club, giving declarer an entry to hand with a
ruff. If Wang simply cashed his two red winners, followed by
a club, Blackstock would have a re-entry to hand with a diamond.
On this deal, Wang was again sterling
on defense, coming up with the only opening lead to defeat 3NT
with very little to go on.
Board 3. Dealer South. E/W
Vul. |
|
ª
A J 8 6
© J 6 2
¨ J 7 6
§ J 7 4 |
ª
Q 3
© 8 5 3
¨ A K 9
§ Q 8 6 5
3 |
![Bridge deal](../../../../Graphics/Hand/board3.gif) |
ª
K 9 4 2
© K 10
¨ Q 10 8 5
3
§ A K |
|
ª
10 7 5
© A Q 9
7 4
¨ 4 2
§ 10 9 2 |
West |
North |
East |
South |
Blackstock |
Wang |
Henry |
Zhuang |
|
|
|
Pass |
Pass |
Pass |
1©
(1) |
Pass |
1NT |
Pass |
3NT |
All Pass |
(1) Spades, possibly canape.
|
Actually, there was more than one opening
lead to defeat the contract - the ªA, followed by the heart
switch, but who would ever do that after East bid spades?
With three jack to lead from, Wang selected
the killer, the ©2. Blackstock put up the king, and Zhuang made
it easy on his partner by returning a low heart. Had Zhuang
cashed the ©Q at trick two, Wang would have been forced to play
the jack, which would have been fatal if West had started with
three to the 9. As you can see, on the lead of either minor
suit or a low spade, declarer can romp home with nine or 10
tricks with ease.
The defenders in the other room managed
a push on the deal with their own good effort.
West |
North |
East |
South |
Ju |
Newell |
Zhong |
Reid |
|
|
|
2© |
Pass |
3© |
Dble |
Pass |
5§ |
All Pass. |
|
|
Peter Newell also led a low heart, and
the defenders took the first three tricks with two hearts and
the spade ace, and Newell promoted a trump trick for himself
by continuing with the ©J at trick four, forcing declarer to
ruff with one of dummy's high clubs.
China went ahead with a game swing that
could have been another loss for them but for a reasonable but
unfortunate play by Martin Reid.
Board 4. Dealer West. Both
Vul. |
|
ª
Q J 8 5
© J 8 7
4 3
¨ A 10 7
§ 7 |
ª
10 6
© A 2
¨ 8 5 3
§ A 9 8 6
4 3 |
![Bridge deal](../../../../Graphics/Hand/board3.gif) |
ª
A K 2
© Q 9 6
¨ K Q 6 4 2
§ 10 5 |
|
ª
9 7 4 3
© K 10 5
¨ J 9
§ K Q J
2 |
West |
North |
East |
South |
Blackstock |
Wang |
Henry |
Zhuang |
1ª
(1) |
Pass |
2ª
(2) |
Pass |
3§ |
All Pass |
|
|
(1) 8-13 HCP, clubs or
the minors.
(2) Relay.
|
Wang, who seemed to be leading hearts
at every opporunity, tried it again, and again it was a success.
Blackstock put up the queen and ducked when it was covered.
He won the heart continuation with the ace and banged down the
§A, drifting off one because of the bad trump split.
West |
North |
East |
South |
Ju |
Newell |
Zhong |
Reid |
Pass |
Pass |
1NT |
Pass |
2§ |
Pass |
2¨ |
Pass |
3§ |
Pass |
3NT |
All Pass |
Reid
led a spade to the 10, jack and ace. Zhong followed with the
§10, ducking when Reid put in the jack. Reid could see that
another club play would force him to split again and the 9-8
would drive out his other honor for four club tricks. With that
in mind, he placed the ©K on the table, aiming to take out dummy's
entry to the soon-to-be-established clubs.
That was a fine place in theory but wrong
in practice on this occasion. Zhong won, played a diamond to
his queen, reentered dummy with a club to the ace and played
a second round of diamonds. With the ¨A on side and the suit
splitting, Zhong had four diamonds, two hearts, two spades and
a club for plus 600 and a 12-IMP gain.
New Zealand went back in front when their
relay system helped them to a good slam, while the Chinese stopped
in 3NT.
Board 6. Dealer East. E/W
Vul. |
|
ª
7
© 9 6 4
¨ Q 8 5
§ K J 10
9 7 4 |
ª
Q 6 5
© Q J 3
¨ K 10 9 7
2
§ 5 3 |
![Bridge deal](../../../../Graphics/Hand/board3.gif) |
ª
10 9 3 2
© A 10 5 2
¨ J 6 4
§ 8 6 |
|
ª
A K J 8 4
© K 8 7
¨ A 3
§ A Q 2 |
West |
North |
East |
South |
Blackstock |
Wang |
Henry |
Zhuang |
|
|
Pass |
2§ |
Pass |
2¨ |
Pass |
2NT |
Pass |
3§ |
Pass |
3ª |
Pass |
3NT |
All Pass |
|
Zhuang took the opening lead of the ¨10
in dummy with the queen and took the spade finesse at trick
two. Blackstock played back the ©Q at trick three and Zhuang
was held to 11 tricks for plus 460.
West |
North |
East |
South |
Ju |
Newell |
Zhong |
Reid |
|
|
Pass |
1§
(1) |
Pass |
1¨
(2) |
Pass |
1©
(3) |
Pass |
2©
(4) |
Pass |
2ª
(3) |
Pass |
3§
(5) |
Pass |
3¨
(3) |
Pass |
3NT (6) |
Pass |
4§
(7) |
Pass |
4¨
(8) |
Pass |
4©
(9) |
Pass |
4NT (10) |
Pass |
6§ |
All Pass |
|
|
|
(1) Strong.
(2) Negative.
(3) Relay.
(4) Five+ clubs.
(5) Short spades.
(6) 1-3-3-6 pattern.
(7) Controls?
(8) 0-1.
(9) Anything more?
(10) Club honor, no heart control.
|
The ©Q was led to East's ace, and Reid
won the heart continuation. He played the top two spades, pitching
a heart from dummy and ruffed a spade. When the ªQ came down,
he was table to claim for plus 920. That was 10 IMPs to New
Zealand, now ahead, 15-12.
When the same contract is played at both
tables by South and East, one of them has to be wrong, if not
both. That was the case on this deal.
Board 12. Dealer West. N/S
Vul. |
|
ª
Q 9 3 2
© K J 3
¨ A Q 10
6
§ 10 3 |
ª
A 10 7 6
© A Q 10 6
5
¨ J 9 4
§ 5 |
![Bridge deal](../../../../Graphics/Hand/board3.gif) |
ª
8 5 4
© 2
¨ K 8 7 2
§ K J 9 6
4 |
|
ª
K J
© 9 8 7
4
¨ 5 3
§ A Q 8
7 2 |
West |
North |
East |
South |
Ju |
Newell |
Zhong |
Reid |
1© |
Dble |
Pass |
2§ |
All Pass |
|
|
|
The takeout double looks suspect, but
the hand does have four spades and enough to open. This ugly
contract went down two. What about East's failure to double?
Did he think North-South had a better spot? Perhaps it was a
function of the methods which permit increasingly light opening
bids. At any rate, it appears an opportunity was missed.
The Chinese took a different view.
West |
North |
East |
South |
Blackstock |
Wang |
Henry |
Zhuang |
1¨
(1) |
Pass |
2§
(2) |
Pass |
Pass |
Dble |
All Pass |
|
(1) Hearts.
(2) Natural and non-forcing.
|
Zhuang led the ¨3, to the 4, 10 and king.
A heart went to the queen and ace, and Wang returned a trump
to the 9 and queen. Zhuang played the ªK, ducked, and continued
with the ªJ, taken by the ace. Stephen Henry took a spade pitched
on the ©A and played a diamond to the queen. Two more rounds
of diamonds were played, Zhuang ruffing. Declarer took five
tricks in all and was three down for minus 500 and 12 IMPs to
China.
New Zealand gained 7 IMPs when Reid made
a bid that worked out brilliantly in a competitive auction.
Board 14. Dealer East. None
Vul. |
|
ª
A Q 9
© K J 8
4
¨ 8 5
§ K 5 3
2 |
ª
K J 10 6 2
© 9 5 3
¨ J 10 6
§ A 8 |
![Bridge deal](../../../../Graphics/Hand/board3.gif) |
ª
8 4
© 10 6 2
¨ A K Q 7 4
3
§ 6 4 |
|
ª
7 5 3
© A Q 7
¨ 9 2
§ Q J 10
9 7 |
West |
North |
East |
South |
Blackstock |
Wang |
Henry |
Zhuang |
|
|
2NT (1) |
Pass |
3¨ |
Dble |
Pass |
4§ |
All Pass |
|
|
|
(1) Long diamonds, 8-13
HCP.
|
Blackstock and Henry collected their two
diamond tricks right off the bat, and they still had the §A
to come, but that was all. Plus 130 to China.
West |
North |
East |
South |
Ju |
Newell |
Zhong |
Reid |
|
|
3¨ |
Pass |
Pass |
Dble |
Pass |
4¨ |
Pass |
4© |
All Pass |
|
Reid's 4¨ bid was a master stroke, and
makes a lot of sense. Partner could easily be 5-4 either way
in the majors. Game in clubs is unlikely, but there must be
chances in the majors. In fact, North will often have a better
hand for the bidding than Newell did on this occasion. At any
rate, it was just the right spot. With clubs and trumps splitting
favorably, there were no problems coming to 10 tricks. Plus
420 was just what New Zealand needed.
Trailing 47-43, New Zealand went back
in front when an aggressive weak 2ª blew the Chinese out of
the auction.
Board 18. Dealer East. N/S
Vul. |
|
ª
10 6
© K J 4
¨ K J 6
§ K J 7
4 3 |
ª
A K 5 3 2
© 9 2
¨ A 7 2
§ A 9 5 |
![Bridge deal](../../../../Graphics/Hand/board3.gif) |
ª
J 9 8 7 4
© Q 5
¨ 9 5
§ Q 10 8 6 |
|
ª
Q
© A 10 8
7 6 3
¨ Q 10 8
4 3
§ 2 |
West |
North |
East |
South |
Blackstock |
Wang |
Henry |
Zhuang |
|
|
2ª |
Pass |
4ª |
All Pass |
|
|
Zhuang led the §2 and Henry ducked in
dummy with some vague notion of making his contract, perhaps
if South had led from §K 7 4 3. That resulted in down two, but
Henry was never making the contract anyway. China chalked up
plus 100.
West |
North |
East |
South |
Ju |
Newell |
Zhong |
Reid |
|
|
Pass |
1¨
(1) |
1ª |
2ª |
3ª |
4¨ |
Pass |
4© |
4ª |
5© |
5ª |
All Pass |
|
|
(1) Hearts.
|
With all the bidding going on, no one
knew who was bidding to make or to save, but Newell put a stop
to things with his double, which produced two down for plus
300 and a 5-IMP gain for New Zealand.
China gained 2 IMPs on the penultimate
board to produce the final margin of 49-48 in their favor. New
Zealand could console themselves that, with Iceland's performance
against Malaysia, there was nothing they could have done.
|