| 35th World Interzonal Team Championships, Paris, France | Thursday, 1 November 2001 |
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Italy vs Norway
When you're putting a match on Vugraph, particularly the deciding set of an important phase of the tournament, you hope for high drama and a relatively close score. Italy and Norway, in the deciding set of their Bermuda Bowl semifinal battle, delivered just what the organizers wanted. In a riveting match that wasn't settled until the last deal was played, Norway survived a series of reverses near the end to advance to the championship round against the surprising USA II squad. Norway entered the set ahead by 24 IMPs, and the set began quietly, with three straight pushes on relatively routine deals - 4ª making and overtrick, a slam bid at every table in the Bermuda Bowl and Venice Cup semifinals and a normal game with a normal opening lead to defeat it a trick. Norway picked up an IMP on Board 4 when Tor Helness took 12 tricks in 4© while Alfredo Versace took only 11 in 3NT on the same cards. An enterprising bid by Versace helped his team to a 5-IMP gain on the following deal.
Geir Helgemo's rebid of 2© gave Duboin the room to show his extra values with a second double, and Norberto Bocchi was soon playing the notrump game. Geir Helgemo led a low heart to the 7, jack and king. Bocchi played a club from his hand, ducking when Helgemo played the queen. There was no way to prevent declarer from taking a ninth trick from there, and Italy scored plus 400.
Versace's jump in hearts prevented the Norwegians from assessing their full strength and they went quietly, although Terja Aa took some time to pass. Glenn Grotheim started with the top two spades and gave Aa a spade ruff. The defense still had three tricks to come, so Versace was minus 200, but it was still a 5-IMP gain for Italy, now within 20 IMPs. The difference in opening leads led to a 13-IMP gain for Norway
on the next deal.
Lorenzo Lauria didn't fancy starting with either of the minors, so he went with a passive heart. Grotheim won and ran off four more rounds of trumps before taking his only legitimate chance with spades. When that suit was just right for declarer, he finished with 11 tricks and plus 650. Norway was back on top by 33 IMPs. Versace and Lauria overbid on the next deal to give up another
big swing.
All the bidding by the Italians kept the Helness and Helgemo from getting into trouble. Ten tricks was the limit, but that was where the Norwegians stopped, and they recorded plus 620. At the other table, Grotheim and Aa stayed out of the auction - to their benefit.
The 3© bid, a spade raise, was unlucky for the Italians since it gave Grotheim the chance to double for the lead. After Aa started with the ©A and another heart, Lauria had no chance unless Grotheim played a third round of hearts. He played the ¨8, and Lauria was one off. That was 12 more IMPs for Norway, whose lead had increased to 186-141. A berth in the Bermuda Bowl final seemed a near certainty. Not so fast - there was still a lot of bridge to play, and Italians did not earn their status as one of the top teams in the world by giving up. Norway picked up an IMP on the next board, but then the roof nearly caved in on them, starting with the following deal.
The 3© bid offered a choice of games and showed a four-card spade suit. Helgemo started with a low heart, and there was nothing to the play after that. He needed only to play on spades to take 10 tricks for plus 630.
Versace led the ¨3 to the 2 and jack, and Aa agonized over his play for several minutes before playing low. Another diamond came back, and Aa made another spectacular play by inserting the 8. It looked as though he was going to make the contract because Versace was the one with the ªA. Versace had other ideas, however. When he cashed the ¨A, dummy was squeezed. Whatever Aa discarded on the ¨A would cost him a trick. When Aa pitched a spade from dummy, Versace cashed the ªA and exited with a spade. He had only to wait for his heart trick. Plus 100 was worth 12 IMPs to Italy. The next deal was good for even more IMPs for Italy, the reigning World Team Olympiad champs.
In the semifinals of the Bermuda Bowl and the Venice Cup, this deal was played in 3NT at all but one table. Every declarer went down, including Helgemo. Giorgio Duboin started with the ©J, ducked all around, and continued with a heart to declarer's queen. Helgemo continued with a club to dummy's 10 and East's jack and, with diamonds splitting badly, he was soon one down. The one table at which 3NT was not the contract was in the open
room on Vugraph - and it was a stunning development.
Lauria's 2¨ opener showed a balanced hand of 18-20 high-card points. Aa 's decision to enter the auction (showing the majors) opposite a passed partner seems suicidal. Indeed, the Italians were happy to exact a fitting punishment for Aa's rash action. Lauria led the ªA and continued the suit. Grotheim played the ¨8 to North's queen, and a heart was returned. Versace got in with the ©Q and continued with the ªJ to dummy's queen. Grotheim tried another diamond, taken by Lauria with the king. A second heart but Versace in, and he picked up dummy's last trump with the 10. On this trick, Grotheim was in difficulty, and he had to discard a club. If Lauria had kept all four clubs, the defense could have inflicted a six-trick set for plus 1400. Lauria, however, threw a club himself and ended up having to give Grotheim a trick in the end. Even so, it was minus 1100 for the Norwegians, now gasping for air after the 15-IMP loss. The margin was now 19 IMPs. It seemed that only moments before it had been 46. Italy's run continued on Board 11 when Versace and Lauria bid a good slam that Helness and Helgemo didn't even sniff at in the other room. The 11-IMP swing put the margin at 8 IMPs. Either side could have gained on the next deal, but both played notrump partials, taking 10 tricks on a favourable lie of all the important cards. There were four boards to go, and Norway was hanging on by a fingernail. Norway got some breathing room on Board 13.
Bocchi led the §5, and though Helness guessed hearts to bring his trick total to nine, he still needed a successful guess in spades. He didn't work it out, however, and was one down. Good guesses were also needed in the other room, and things worked out much worse for Italy.
Grotheim led the ªJ, and Versace thought about his play for some time before putting up the queen - his first wrong guess. With the diamond suit wide open, declarer couldn't afford to play low, so he won the ace. Next came three rounds of clubs, ending in dummy, and it came time to guess hearts. When Versace played a low heart from dummy, the Italian partisans in the Vugraph audience thought he might put in the 9, bringing home the contract. Instead, he played the king and another heart to the jack. Aa won the queen and the defenders were good. Down four added 7 IMPs to the staggering Norwegians' IMP bank. With three boards to go they were ahead by 15. The margin shrank to 5 on the next deal.
Duboin started with the ¨J, which went to Bocchi's ace. Bocchi played back a spade, ruffed by Helgemo. Declarer entered dummy with a club to the ace to take the losing heart finesse. Another club came back, and there was no way Helgemo could come to more than nine tricks and he was minus 50.
Grotheim led the ¨Q to the 5, ace and 9. Aa got off lead with the ©3, and Versace put in the queen. Grotheim played the §9 to the jack, 2 and king. Versace cashed the ©A and played the 10 to Aa's jack. Aa could have insured defeat of the contract by returning a club, cutting communication with dummy's winners. When he exited with a diamond, Versace went up with the king and ran the rest of his trumps, squeezing Grotheim, who took away any guess Versace might have had by discarding all his diamonds. Plus 420 was a 10-IMP gain for Italy, who seemed to have enough momentum to pull out a victory and make it to the final of a world championship for the second straight year. The penultimate board was a push, as Norway played a cold 3NT for
plus 600 and Italy, skating on the edge, went past 3NT to a beatable
5§.
On the lead of the ©J, Helness had nine tricks. He didn't try for overtricks and scored up plus 600.
Aa had a chance to double for a diamond lead, which would have scuttled the contract, but he passed and Grotheim made the normal lead of a heart. Versace claimed soon after for plus 600. With one board to go, Norway clung to a 5-IMP lead.
Aa considered his lead for some time before starting with the §10. Lauria pondered his line of play for a long time before finally rising with dummy's ace, playing the 9 from hand. Lauria played the ¨Q and ruffed when Grotheim covered with the king. A heart ruff was next, followed by the ¨A for a heart pitch and the ¨J for a club pitch. Lauria then played a low club from dummy to his king. Aa ruffed and it was his turn to think. The Vugraph audience could see that if he played the ªA and the ªJ that Lauria would have two inescapable heart losers, but he seemed to be pondering some other move. Finally, to the great relief of the Norway partisans, Aa plunked his spades honors on the table, earning his team a trip to the Bermuda Bowl final against USA II. They surely used the entire rest of the day Wednesday to recuperate from the exhausting match. |
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