Coming Up Short

Down by 13 IMPs at the halfway point of their match with the Swedish team captained by Peter Fredin, the Richard Schwartz squad needed something good to happen if they were to advance to the semifinal round.

The vugraph match pitted Zia Mahmood and Michael Rosenberg against Fredin and Magnus Lindkvist.

On the second board, both East-West pairs made dubious decisions in competitive auctions.

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

West	North	East	South
Fredin	Rosenberg	Lindkvist	Zia
		Pass	1ª
Dble	2©	Pass	4ª
Pass	Pass	5©	Pass
Pass	Dble	All Pass

The favorable vulnerability was just too tempting, but 5© was likely a phantom save. Zia would have had no chance on a black-suit lead, and even on a heart lead he would have had to play nearly double dummy to get home with 10 tricks.

Against 5© doubled, Zia led the ¨K and Rosenberg kept leading diamonds whenever he got in, eventually running Lindkvist out of trumps. The final result was three down and plus 500 to the Schwartz team. There was hope among the Schwartz partisans for a swing, but it didn't work out. In the other room, David Berkowitz opened the East hand 3©, and when South bid 4©, showing spades and a minor, Larry Cohen raised the ante to 5©, also doubled and down three for a push.

On this deal, Zia decided to take it easy with a hand many players would bid preemptively - and it worked out very well for his side.

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

West	North	East	South
Fredin	Rosenberg	Lindkvist	Zia
	Pass	1ª	2§
2© (1)	Pass	4§	Pass
4¨ (2)	Pass	4©	All Pass

(1) Natural, non-forcing.
(2) Last train: slam try.

The vugraph commentators could not understand why Lindkvist, playing a strong club system, did not open his hand 1§. Considering that his hand is mostly clubs and that the vulnerability was favorable, Zia might have bid his suit one or two levels higher, but he chose to give a different impression with a calm 2§ bid.

Despite his wasted club values opposite his partner's splinter, Fredin did make one slam try with his 4¨ bid, but Lindkvist chose the conservative path in light of the non-forcing nature of of Fredin's original heart bid.
Rosenberg led a club and Fredin played a low spade from dummy. Zia won the §A, but that was it for the defenders as Fredin scored plus 680.

At the other table, the South player, where Peter Stromberg and Fredrik Nystrom opposed Berkowitz and Cohen, the auction was much more heated.

West	North	East	South
Cohen	Stromberg	Berkowitz	Nystrom
		1§	4§
4©	Pass	5NT	Pass
6©	All Pass

Berkowitz and Cohen were probably always going to get to the slam after Cohen started with the Precision 1§, and the high-level interference from Nystrom only shortened the auction.

Cohen had no difficult in the play, taking all 13 tricks for a 13-IMP swing to Schwartz, trailing at that point by only 2 IMPs.

The next deal was a heart-breaker for the Schwartz team.

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

West	North	East	South
Fredin	Rosenberg	Lindkvist	Zia
		1ª	Dble
2©	3©	Pass	4©
Pass	Pass	Dble	All Pass

Fredin's 2© was a "good" spade raise. With the ¨A K and his five trumps, Lindkvist expressed his doubts about Rosenberg's chances in the heart game.

The defense started with the ¨A, on which Fredin played the jack, effectively freezing the suit, although it didn't matter. Lindkvist switched to the ª2, which went to the 9, king and ace. Rosenberg played the ªJ, covered and ruffed, then followed with dummy's two high hearts, getting the expected bad news. When he tried the §A, Lindkvist ruffed and played a spade to Rosenberg's 10. The ª4 went to the 6, and Rosenberg ruffed the spade return with the 10. He still had to win the red queens but he was two off for minus 500.

The North-South pair in the other room could also be expected to have trouble, so there was hope that Berkowitz and Cohen would go plus as well, perhaps even pushing the board. It didn't happen.

West	North	East	South
Cohen	Stromberg	Berkowitz	Nystrom
		Pass	2§
Pass	2¨	Pass	2©
Pass	2NT	Pass	3NT
Pass	Pass	Dble	All Pass

Berkowitz knew the suits were breaking badly for declarer, so he tried to increase the penalty.

He started with a low spade to the 9, king and ace. Stromberg the played a club to dummy's ace, Berkowitz pitching a heart. A diamond from dummy went to 2, 4 and 8 - and Berkowitz had the first of his chances to defeat the contract. To prevail, Berkowtiz needed to cash his two diamonds before exiting with a low heart or a low spade. Berkowitz did not cash his winners, however, getting out with a heart. Stromberg erred by not cashing another high heart, instead playing a second round of diamonds to Berkowitz' king. Again, Berkowitz had a chance to cash his other diamond and exit with a heart, killing the contract. Instead, he played a second round of hearts, taken in dummy with the king.

Now a third round of diamonds put Berkowitz in and he had to exit with a low spade to keep from playing into the heart tenace. Stromberg took Cohen's 7 with the 10. This was the layout with five tricks to go.

	ª J 4 © Q 10 ¨ --- § 3
ª 8 © --- ¨ --- § Q 10 9		ª Q 6 5 © J 9 ¨ § -
	ª --- © 3 ¨ 9 § K J 8

Stromberg played the ª4 and the defenders were the victims of a winkle. If Berkowitz played low, Cohen would have to win the ª8 and play back into the dummy's club suit. If Berkowitz played the ªQ to keep his partner from being endplayed in clubs, declarer's ªJ would be good and Stromberg would be home with three spades, two clubs, three hearts and a diamond.

Had Berkowitz been able to work out the layout of the diamond suit, he could have assured down one by winning the ¨K on the first lead of the suit, which would have allowed Cohen to win the second or third round and push the spade through declarer's hand, eliminating the end position which was fatal to the defense.

Even if Berkowitz had solved the difficult defensive problem, the team was still going to lose 7 IMPs. As it was, it was a 15-IMP loss for Schwartz.