Into the breech

Things have been tough for some of the Junior teams, all of which were thrust into the Power Rosenblum Knockout for lack of a larger turnout among the younger players. They have made the most of their opportunities to learn from the more experienced players while taking a few lumps along the way.

In the first session of the final day of round robin play, a local squad of Juniors faced a team captained by former world champion Ron Rubin, lying fourth in their bracket and anxious to solidify their position as qualifiers for the knockout phase.

The Juniors - Donald and Sebastien Lachance (not related), Martin Funk and Emilie Gauthier - acquitted themselves well despite losing the match.

In the open room, Donald and Funk faced Rubin and Matt Granovetter, a veteran player and editor of Bridge Today magazine.

This board seemed like a poor result for Funk and Lachance, but it turned into their only gain of the first half.

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

West	North	East	South
Funk		Donald L.
			Pass
3¨	Pass	4ª	All Pass

Ignoring the vulnerability, Funk charged right in with his diamond preempt. That did not dissuade Lachance from bidding the spade game, however. Rubin led the §K, overtaken by Granovetter with the ace, followed by the ªA and another spade. Lachance might have done better to run the ¨Q at trick four. Granovetter's only winning play then would have been a club, taking out dummy's entry before the diamonds could be established.
Instead, Lachance ruffed his club and played a low diamond. Granovetter grabbed the king and returned the suit, forcing Lachance to overtake so that he could take the heart finesse. He finished two down for minus 200.
At the other table, West was more cautious, giving Sebastien Lachance and Gauthier room to find their best spot.

West	North	East	South
	Sebastien L.		Gauthier
			Pass
Pass	1§	1ª	2©
2ª	3©	3ª	4©
All Pass

West could have defeated the contract by leading his singleton club, assuming East reads it and gives him his ruff after coming in with the ©A on the first lead of trumps. A spade exit would then assure the defenders of four tricks. West started with the ¨A, however, and Gauthier made it home with 10 tricks. Gauthier won the diamond continuation with the king, discarding her losing spade, and ran the ©9 to West's 10. A club went to dummy's ace and another heart was played from dummy. East went up with the ace, but that was the last trick for the defense. Plus 420 was good for a 6-IMP gain for the youngsters.

In the second half, Sebastien Lachance played well on this deal to earn a small swing for his side.

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

West	North	East	South
Gauthier		Sebastien L.
Pass	1¨	Pass	1ª
Dble	2ª	3©	All Pass

Rubin led a low spade to the jack, queen and ace. Lachance played a club to the 9 and queen, and Granovetter played the ¨Q, overtaken by Rubin with the king. Rubin continued with the §8, which Lachance won with dummy's ace. He then played a diamond to Granovetter's jack. Granovetter cashed the ªK and forced dummy to ruff with a third round of spades.

When Lachance led a club from dummy, Granovetter did his best to promote a trump trick in partner's hand by ruffing in with the 9, but Lachance overruffed with the queen and ruffed a diamond low. On the fourth round of clubs, Granovetter tried again with the ©8, but Lachance overruffed with the ace and played a heart to the 10. The ©K was trick number nine for plus 140 and a 3-IMP gain. At the other table, Donald Lachance and Funk played 3ª, down one for minus 50.

On this deal, Rubin played expertly to land a heart game, but he didn't get the most testing defense.

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

West	North	East	South
			2©
Pass	4©	All Pass

Gauthier started with the ¨K and continued with the ¨Q. She switched to a low spade at trick three and Sebastien Lachance won the ace to return a trump. Rubin won the ©A and cashed the queen, finding out about the bad break, then set about reducing his trumps. He cashed the §A, ruffed a club, played a spade to dummy's 10 and ruffed another club. Back in dummy with the ªK, he was poised to play a winning club at trick 11, shedding his good spade if East discarded. The lead would still be in dummy at trick 12 and Rubin would be sitting with the ©K 10 over East's ©J 8.

Lachance would have done better to play low on the spade at trick three. Rubin could still make the contract, but only if he started his trump reduction after cashing only one high trump (he needed the other one as a dummy entry. A world-class player such as Rubin would be a favorite to find the correct line of play, but even world champions have been known to take their eye off the ball now and then. Ducking the ace would have given the defense at least a small chance.