| 36th World Team Championships, Monte Carlo, Monaco | Thursday, 6 November 2003 |
Italian Power Italy are on everyone’s list as potential champions, and there has been a certain measured tread to their play during the early rounds, like a Ferrari completing a few warm up laps prior to race day. When they met Pakistan in Round 5 of the Bermuda Bowl they appeared to be using cruise control.
With the red suit kings behaving so nicely, this was a simple +640, and an obvious opening for the Italians.
When Duboin bid Five Clubs, Paul Chemla, commentating on VuGraph, pointed out that as his previous bid had shown clubs and extra values he almost certainly had to have excellent red cards. Bocchi reached the same conclusion and added a sixth club. When North led the king of spades declarer knew he was on to a winner, as now South had to have one of the red suit kings. When he turned up with both declarer had all the tricks and 13 IMPs.
Two Clubs promised the majors, and East took that very seriously indeed. When declarer failed to negotiate the spade suit he was three down, -150.
Two Clubs was inverted – but surely short of what was required – and North was clearly expecting more. East led the five of hearts and West eventually put up the ace and switched to the six of spades. That was clearly the indicated play, as East would certainly have led a heart from ©K10xx rather than a spade from ªA10xx. The defenders quickly cash out for one down and 6IMPs.
The Italians like to open all sorts of hands 1NT. West led the ten of hearts and when the king held declarer found his luck was in when the spades produced five tricks, +90.
During a lull in the play, a fellow aficionado informed me that so far Barry Rigal had used the phrase, ‘A hand of power and quality’ 73 times. It was certainly the right description of East’s hand here, and Giorgio could not resist a smile when he saw his partner’s hand. Three Hearts was easy enough, declarer losing two spades, a heart and a diamond. +140 put 6 more IMPs on the Italian scoreboard.
North led the eight of diamonds, and declarer won and tested the clubs. When they failed to break he took a spade finesse. The defenders were not obliging enough to switch to hearts, so declarer had to get the spades right to make his contract, and when he played South for the ten he was down. The commentators predicted a swing to Italy and it duly materialised, but not quite in the way they imagined.
You might like to record this one for posterity, as my memory suggests that the last time an Italian pair missed a game, dinosaurs walked the earth. However, it still added points, declarer emerging with ten tricks, +130. On Board 26 Nunes opened 1NT with ªAKJ ©J953 ¨K §Q10872. He was facing ªQ1075 ©Q107 ¨A108 §J64 and with a favourable lead made nine tricks, +150. At the other table Pakistan played these cards in Two Spades, but a defensive cross ruff saw them lose the first six tricks. Those six IMPs made the score 43-0!
There was nothing to the play, declarer losing three aces, +420.
When North bounced into game, Bocchi was put in an awkward position. Double was the ‘flexible’ alternative, (a favourite comment of bidding panellists) but it left Duboin with nowhere to go. He took his best option by passing, but that gave Pakistan 5 IMPs. Hurrah!
Neither side had any difficulty in bidding this slam, but you might enjoy an insight into the sophisticated methods of the Italian pair:
Two Spades showed a minor suit and after the waiting bid of 2NT, Three Spades showed hearts. South’s double allowed West to pass and now East revealed his minor was diamonds. Italy had cruised to victory by 50-6 IMPs, 25-5VPs. |
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