The Poles had surprised a few people,
including your reporter, by choosing to play against France.
However, they went into the second session of the match with
a lead of 13 IMPs.
Board 18. Dealer East. N/S
Vul. |
|
ª
Q 8
© K Q 2
¨ 10 6 2
§ 10 8 5
4 3 |
ª
A J 7 6 3
© A J 6 5
¨ 7 3
§ K 9 |
![Bridge deal](../../../../Graphics/Hand/board3.gif) |
ª
K 9 5 4 2
© 9 4
¨ A
§ A J 7 6
2 |
|
ª
10
© 10 8 7
3
¨ K Q J 9
8 5 4
§ |
Closed Room |
West |
North |
East |
South |
Palau |
Balicki |
Allegrini |
Zmudzinski |
|
|
1ª |
Pass |
2NT |
Pass |
4ª |
All Pass |
According to the convention card, 2NT
promised 10-15 with a fit. There were twelve easy tricks, +480.
It did not take long to see a more cultured approach from the
Poles.
Open Room |
West |
North |
East |
South |
Jassem |
Levy |
Tuszynski |
Chemla |
|
|
1ª |
Pass |
2NT |
Pass |
3§ |
Pass |
3ª |
Pass |
4§ |
Pass |
4© |
Dble |
Pass |
Pass |
Redbl |
Pass |
5¨ |
Pass |
6ª
|
All Pass |
|
|
This time 2NT was game forcing, and Tuszynski
introduced his second suit. Jassem marked time, and when his
partner rebid his clubs, he cue bid his heart control. When
Levy doubled, Jassem was able to confirm he had a first round
control. When his partner admitted to a diamond control, he
went to the excellent slam.
That was a well-deserved +980, and 11
IMPs to Poland.
Board 19. Dealer South. All
Vul. |
|
ª
K 10 5
© A K 4
¨ 9 6 4
§ K 8 5
2 |
ª
J 9 6 3
© 10
¨ A 7 5 2
§ J 10 6 4 |
![Bridge deal](../../../../Graphics/Hand/board3.gif) |
ª
Q 7
© Q J 7
¨ K Q 10 8
§ A Q 9 7 |
|
ª
A 8 4 2
© 9 8 6
5 3 2
¨ J 3
§ 3 |
Closed Room |
West |
North |
East |
South |
Palau |
Balicki |
Allegrini |
Zmudzinski |
|
|
|
Pass |
Pass |
1§ |
1NT |
2© |
2NT |
Pass |
3§ |
All Pass |
West's 2NT was a transfer to clubs. The
part score was very sound, and declarer made nine tricks; +110.
Open Room |
West |
North |
East |
South |
Jassem |
Levy |
Tuszynski |
Chemla |
|
|
|
Pass |
Pass |
1§ |
1NT |
2¨ |
2© |
Dble |
2NT |
All Pass |
Two Diamonds was a transfer to hearts,
and enabled Jassem to bid the suit as a take out request. Declarer
could not be prevented from scoring nine tricks, for +150 and
an IMP.
On this layout, 3NT cannot be defeated,
so full marks to Germany's Pony Nehmert & Andrea Rauscheid,
who racked up +600, which not surprisingly earned their team
12 IMPs.
Board 20. Dealer West. All
Vul. |
|
ª
K 3
© 7 6 3
¨ K J 10
8 3 2
§ A 7 |
ª
A Q 8 7 4
© 8
¨ 7
§ 10 6 5 4
3 2 |
![Bridge deal](../../../../Graphics/Hand/board3.gif) |
ª
10 6 5 2
© A K Q 4
¨ A Q 9 5
§ K |
|
ª
J 9
© J 10 9
5 2
¨ 6 4
§ Q J 9
8 |
Closed Room |
West |
North |
East |
South |
Palau |
Balicki |
Allegrini |
Zmudzinski |
Pass |
1¨ |
Dble |
Pass |
4ª |
Pass |
4NT |
Pass |
5¨ |
Pass |
5ª |
All Pass |
Was East overly aggressive when he tried
Blackwood over his partner's jump to game? It got his side to
an uncomfortable level, but the situation was such that it was
easy enough to survive, +650.
Open Room |
West |
North |
East |
South |
Jassem |
Levy |
Tuszynski |
Chemla |
2¨ |
Dble |
2NT |
Pass |
3§ |
Pass |
3¨ |
Pass |
3ª |
Pass |
4ª |
All Pass |
Two
Diamonds promised a weakish two-suiter, with at least one major.
2NT was game forcing, and the Poles were not hard pressed to
stop at a comfortable level. The same eleven tricks were made,
so there was no swing.
In the match between the USA and Argentina,
one East player declared One Heart (!) - perhaps after North
opened One Diamond and East made a rather powerful overcall
a la Mike Lawrence. +80 did not compensate for the missed game.
Board 21. Dealer North. N/S
Vul. |
|
ª
J 8 7
© J 5 3
¨ A K J
§ A J 9
2 |
ª
A Q 2
© K Q 6 2
¨ 9 7 6 5 3
§ 5 |
![Bridge deal](../../../../Graphics/Hand/board3.gif) |
ª
K 10 9 6 4
© 9 4
¨ 10 8 4
§ Q 6 3 |
|
ª
5 3
© A 10 8
7
¨ Q 2
§ K 10 8
7 4 |
Closed Room |
West |
North |
East |
South |
Palau |
Balicki |
Allegrini |
Zmudzinski |
|
1NT |
Pass |
2§ |
Pass |
2¨ |
Pass |
3NT |
All Pass |
|
|
|
In the aggressive style of the Polish
pair, once North had opened with a 15-18 INT, there was no way
South was going to stay out of game. A good view in clubs would
lead to nine tricks, but here East had an automatic spade lead,
and after five rounds of that suit and a heart switch, declarer
took a wrong view in clubs to go three down, -300.
Open Room |
West |
North |
East |
South |
Jassem |
Levy |
Tuszynski |
Chemla |
|
1§ |
Pass |
1© |
Pass |
1NT |
All Pass |
|
Levy
downgraded his hand, perfectly reasonable with four jacks and
poor distribution, and the result was that he got to play at
a comfortable level.
Once again the defenders started with
five rounds of spades. That made the discarding for declarer
a little awkward, and when he elected to part with three of
dummy's clubs, it was clear he was not going to take a winning
view in clubs - indeed, there was no real reason why he should.
He was one down, but still picked up 5 IMPs. That left France
just twenty behind, 23-43.
Board 22. Dealer East. E/W
Vul. |
|
ª
8 7 4 3
© 10 6 4
3 2
¨ J 4
§ 5 2 |
ª
-
© A K Q J
8
¨ A K 6 3
§ K J 8 7 |
![Bridge deal](../../../../Graphics/Hand/board3.gif) |
ª
A Q J 10 5 2
© -
¨ 9 8 2
§ Q 10 6 4 |
|
ª
K 9 6
© 9 7 5
¨ Q 10 7
5
§ A 9 3 |
Closed Room |
West |
North |
East |
South |
Palau |
Balicki |
Allegrini |
Zmudzinski |
|
|
2© |
Pass |
2NT |
Pass |
3© |
Pass |
3NT |
Pass |
4ª |
All Pass |
Two Hearts was weak in either major -
I'm sure you would get votes for other actions as well, and
after discovering, surprise, surprise, that East's suit was
spades, West decide to try for the nine trick game. East overruled
him, and had no real problems in arriving at ten tricks for
+620.
Open Room |
West |
North |
East |
South |
Jassem |
Levy |
Tuszynski |
Chemla |
|
|
3ª |
Pass |
4ª |
All Pass |
|
|
Once again, a possible slam in clubs went
a begging, as the suit was never mentioned. This time declarer
lost only to the king of trumps, to pick up two rather undistinguished
IMPs.
Six Clubs is clearly an excellent contract,
but it requires a certain amount of care. In the Women's match
between China and England, China went one down in Six Clubs.
As you might expect, it proved to be a big swing, but it went
to China, as the English pair in the other room had an accident,
and were in Seven Clubs doubled, down two, -500.
England's David Burn and Brian Callaghan
earned 12 IMPs for their team by bidding and making the slam.
Board 24. Dealer West. All
Vul. |
|
ª
K J 10 6
© 10 2
¨ J 10 8
5 4
§ 7 5 |
ª
A Q
© A K J 8
3
¨ K 9 7
§ A Q 2 |
![Bridge deal](../../../../Graphics/Hand/board3.gif) |
ª
9 7 4 2
© 9 6
¨ A 6 2
§ K J 10 4 |
|
ª
8 5 3
© Q 7 5
4
¨ Q 3
§ 9 8 6
3 |
Closed Room |
West |
North |
East |
South |
Palau |
Balicki |
Allegrini |
Zmudzinski |
2¨ |
Pass |
3§ |
Pass |
3NT |
Pass |
4§ |
Pass |
4© |
Pass |
6NT |
All Pass |
After
the game forcing Two Diamonds, the response promised an ace
in a minor suit. The meaning of Four Clubs is not entirely clear,
but if West had been able to rebid Two No-Trumps, Three Clubs
would have been Stayman. However you interpret the auction,
the final contract was not without its chances.
North led the five of clubs - low from
a doubleton - and declarer won with the ace and took the heart
finesse. When it held, he played three more rounds of the suit,
discarding two spades from dummy, as North discarded the four
of spades and the five of diamonds. The Polish pair play Suit
Preference, low (lower suit), high (higher suit) when discarding.
South switched to the five of spades after winning with the
queen of hearts, and although declarer can get home by going
up with the ace and playing for the spade diamond squeeze, he
not unreasonably took the finesse and was one down.
Suppose after the heart finesse holds,
declarer goes back to the club suit, cashing the ace, and then
overtaking the queen with the king. He now knows that North
started with a doubleton club, and when he subsequently discovers
that North also started with only two hearts, he might at least
consider the possibility of the squeeze when South switches
to a spade.
Open Room |
West |
North |
East |
South |
Jassem |
Levy |
Tuszynski |
Chemla |
1§ |
Pass |
1ª |
Pass |
2© |
Pass |
2NT |
Pass |
4NT |
All Pass |
|
|
One Club was three way, natural, prepared
or strong, and the response was a positive. The Poles stopped
at a safe level, and recorded eleven tricks, for +460 and 11
IMPs, pushing the Polish lead to 39 IMPs.
One final thought, if the West hand could
have been ªAx ©AKQJ8 ¨K97 §AQ2, then there would be twelve top
tricks.
Board 26. Dealer East. All
Vul. |
|
ª
A 10 4 3 2
© 6
¨ K J
§ Q 8 7
3 2 |
ª
Q
© Q 10
¨ A 8 6 4 2
§ A K J 10
9 |
![Bridge deal](../../../../Graphics/Hand/board3.gif) |
ª
K 9 6 5
© J 8 3
¨ Q 10 9 7
3
§ 4 |
|
ª
J 8 7
© A K 9
7 5 4 2
¨ 5
§ 6 5 |
Closed Room |
West |
North |
East |
South |
Palau |
Balicki |
Allegrini |
Zmudzinski |
|
|
Pass |
3© |
All Pass |
|
|
|
West led the ace of clubs, and switched
to the queen of spades. Declarer took dummy's ace, East following
with the six, standard count, and cashed the top trumps. When
he played the five of diamonds, West played low, and the king
of diamonds was the contract fulfilling trick. Poland +140.
Should West have got this problem right?
He knew his partner had a singleton club,
and East had petered in hearts, presumably showing three. If
East had started with four spades, then it was clear that the
contract could be defeated by going up with the ace of diamonds,
and continuing with the king and jack of clubs. East would ruff,
and cash the king of spades.
Open Room |
West |
North |
East |
South |
Jassem |
Levy |
Tuszynski |
Chemla |
|
|
Pass |
2© |
3§ |
All Pass |
|
|
Jean-Paul Meyer assures me that Paul Chemla
does not like preempting, but he had enough for a super solid
French style weak two bid. That made life very awkward for Jassem,
and the final contract was not a success. Declarer arrived at
six tricks, -300 and 4 IMPs for France.
Board 27. Dealer South. None
Vul. |
|
ª
A 6
© A K 5
¨ A K J 10
6 5 3
§ 6 |
ª
10 8 5 4
© 10 6 4
¨ 2
§ A K 9 7
3 |
![Bridge deal](../../../../Graphics/Hand/board3.gif) |
ª
Q
© Q J 8 3
¨ Q 9 8 7
§ Q 8 4 2 |
|
ª
K J 9 7 3 2
© 9 7 2
¨ 4
§ J 10 5 |
Closed Room |
West |
North |
East |
South |
Palau |
Balicki |
Allegrini |
Zmudzinski |
|
|
|
Pass |
Pass |
1§ |
Pass |
1¨ |
Pass |
3NT |
All Pass |
|
After a Polish Club and a negative response,
Balicki took a pot at game, probably hoping to leave the defenders
in the dark. His prayers were answered when East led the queen
of hearts, but his first hope vanished when West discarded on
the second round of diamonds, and the second string to his bow
did not materialise when the spades did not come in. Declarer
took his seven tricks and resigned, two down, -100.
Open Room |
West |
North |
East |
South |
Jassem |
Levy |
Tuszynski |
Chemla |
|
|
|
Pass |
Pass |
2§ |
Pass |
2¨ |
Pass |
3¨ |
Pass |
3ª |
Pass |
4¨ |
Pass |
5¨ |
All Pass |
|
|
|
Would Chemla rebid his spades or raise
diamonds? He preferred the latter, and Tuszynski rapidly led
the queen of spades. That would certainly have been a killer,
as he would be able to get a ruff later on. However, it was
not his lead, and on the other side of the screen Jassem, forgetting
that Chemla had responded Two Diamonds, was gazing into space,
and clearly had no intention of leading anything. Eventually
Chemla reminded him it was his turn to start, and of course
he played the ace of clubs. There was no defence from this point,
and Chemla scored +400 to collect 11 IMPs, reducing the deficit
to 24 IMPs.
Board 28. Dealer West. N/S.
|
|
ª
Q 7 4 3
© K Q J
¨ 10 7 3
§ K 9 8 |
ª
K 10 8 2
© 9 8 7 3
¨ J
§ 6 5 3 2 |
![Bridge deal](../../../../Graphics/Hand/board3.gif) |
ª
9 6 5
© 6 4 2
¨ K 9 8 4
§ J 7 4 |
|
ª
A J
© A 10 5
¨ A Q 6 5
2
§ A Q 10 |
Closed Room |
West |
North |
East |
South |
Palau |
Balicki |
Allegrini |
Zmudzinski |
Pass |
Pass |
Pass |
1§ |
Pass |
1ª |
Pass |
2NT |
Pass |
3NT |
All Pass |
|
West led a heart, and declarer won in
dummy and established his ninth trick by taking the spade finesse.
West won and played a second heart. Declarer won in hand, unblocked
the ace of spades, and cashed the ace of diamonds. When the
jack fell, he could set up a second trick in the suit, giving
him a total of ten, and +630.
Open Room |
West |
North |
East |
South |
Jassem |
Levy |
Tuszynski |
Chemla |
Pass |
Pass |
Pass |
2¨ |
Pass |
2© |
Pass |
2NT |
Pass |
3§ |
Pass |
3¨ |
Pass |
6NT |
All Pass |
|
Two Diamonds followed by Two-No Trumps
showed 19-23 points, so perhaps North's leap to slam was a little
hasty. Chemla won the heart lead in dummy and played the seven
of diamonds. East played a surprising nine, and the queen collected
East's jack. Declarer was in with a chance now, and after establishing
four diamond tricks by playing low towards the ten, Chemla asked
about the location of the king of spades. When West claimed
possession of his majesty, France had recorded another poor
result at the slam level. 12 IMPs to Poland made the score 74-38
IMPs.
Board 29.Dealer North. All
Vul. |
|
ª
J
© 10 9 8
¨ A K J 7
6 4
§ 8 7 4 |
ª
10 7 5 3
© Q J 6 5
3 2
¨ 8
§ 5 3 |
![Bridge deal](../../../../Graphics/Hand/board3.gif) |
ª
9 8 2
© K 7
¨ Q 2
§ A K Q 10
9 2 |
|
ª
A K Q 6 4
© A 4
¨ 10 9 5
3
§ J 6 |
Closed Room |
West |
North |
East |
South |
Palau |
Balicki |
Allegrini |
Zmudzinski |
|
Pass |
1NT |
Pass |
2¨* |
Dble |
Pass |
2ª |
Pass |
3¨ |
All Pass |
|
East's opening bid gave the Poles a problem
they could not solve. It was easy to take eleven tricks for
+150.
Open Room |
West |
North |
East |
South |
Jassem |
Levy |
Tuszynski |
Chemla |
|
Pass |
1§ |
1ª |
Pass |
2¨ |
Pass |
3¨ |
3© |
4¨ |
Pass |
5¨ |
All Pass |
|
|
|
That was well done by the French pair,
who picked up 10 IMPs.
It had been a fascinating set, where the
French had got most things right at the game level, but had
dropped a lot of points when they went higher.
He smart money was still on Poland.
|