| 9th World Youth Team Championship | Page 3 | Bulletin 9 - Thursday 28 August 2003 |
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USA2 vs Italy Semifinal Segment 4 (Boards 49-64) With 16 boards to play in their semi-final match against Italy, USA2 tralied by 60.5 IMPs. Surely their hopes of successfully defending the title won two years ago in Brazil were dead and buried. If so, nobody told the Americans that. They came back strong in those 16 boards and gave the Italians a terrible scare.
Mazzadi’s 1¨ opening might have been based on a doubleton diamond with long clubs while Wooldridge promis ed at least three cards and usually four. Lo Presti had to start with a negative double where Hurd could simply raise diamonds. The diamond raise ended the auction when Furio di Bello judged not to bid a second time with the West cards. At the other table Bathurst repeated the clubs and bought the contract. Against 2¨ the defence began with three rounds of clubs but crashed the queen in the process. Wooldridge was happy to let East take a club ruff and pitched a losing spade from the dummy. When he managed to play the hearts for one loser, expecting East to hold the greater length there, he had eight tricks for +90. Lo Presti led a heart against 3§ but there was nothing to the play. Bathurst took nin etricks for +110 and 5 IMPs to USA2; 119.5-175.
Mignocchi opened 1NT and Bathurst transferred to clubs then showed spade shortage. When Mignocchi chose to support clubs rather than bid no trump, Bathurst asked for key cards then bid the small slam. Stelio di Bello’s 1§ promised only two cards and 2§ was forcing for one round. When Stelio showed his strong no trump, Furio set clubs as trumps and, after a couple of cuebids, blasted the slam. Six Clubs is not agood contract, but at least both pairs managed to get it played by East, which offered more prospects of getting a favourable lead should one be needed. As it happened, every important card was well-placed so that declarer could not go wrong; flat at +920 and still Italy 175-119.5.
The Americans had a standard auction to 2©, while the di Bellos got to the inferior spot of 2ª when Stelio responded with that bid, showing 8-11 with five spades and four hearts. Mazzadi led a low trump against 2© but ducked the heart return to dummy’s jack. The ªQ held the next trick and Mignocchi crossed to the king of clubs to ruff a spade then played two more rounds of clubs. Mazzadi could ruff and cash the ©A but the defence could only come to a spade and a diamond from here; +110. Two Spades was not a pleasant spot for Stelio. The lead was the §10 and eventually both defenders came to ruffs to beat the contract by a trick; –100 and 5 IMPs to USA2, closing to 124.5-175.
Given a free auction, the di Bello brothers bid up to the spade game, while Lo Presti’s take-out double helped to keep the Americans low, stopping in just 2ª. Against 2ª, Lo
Presti led a heart to Mazzadi’s queen and back came a trump,
ducked to the queen. A second heart to the ace permitted Mazzadi
to lead a second trump, thereby restricting declarer to one club
ruff in the dummy. That would have been sufficient had Bathurst
got the diamond position right, but he failed to do so, expecting
North to hold more than two cards in the suit for his double of
1§. Bathurst ended
up a trick short for –100.
Where Mignocchi wa shappy to overcall 1NT, showing his handtype and range, Stelio preferred to double in hope of finding a spade fit. Bathurst had an easy raise to 3NT, while Furio had a tricky choice and opted for the cautious 2§ response because jumping in a four-card minor was an unattractive option. Mazzadi led a heart against 3NT but Mignocchi ducked the first trick and, with on eof the minor-suit aces in the short heart hand, could no longer go down; nine tricks for +400. Furio had sufficient high cards between the two hands to overcome his lack of trumps and came to eight tricks for +90 but that was a further 7 IMPs to USA2, who had closed to 134.5-175.
Bathurst made an invitational raise to 4NT and Mignocchi accepted, suggesting diamonds as an alternative contract. Bathurst settled for 6NT and now Mazzadi made a very surprising choice of opening lead, a low heart. I have always understood that one should generally make attacking opening leads against small slams played with a trump suit, but to do so against 6NT when the strong hand is on the right and both opponents are balanced is not a style with which i can agree. Here it gave declarer four heart tricks if he needed them. Mignocchi won the ©Q and crossed to the ¨J to play a spade to the king. He later played a second spade to the queen, not believing that he would have the entire heart suit; +1440. On any lead, a successful spade play will give twelve tricks, of course. Furio looked for a heart fit before inviting slam. Looking at a minimum, Stelio declined the invitation and he came to only eleven tricks, not that this mattered in the slightest; +660. USA2 had picked up another 13 IMPs and at 147.5-175 it was beginning to get interesting.
Lo Presti showed his hearts, relayed, then showed the diamonds,
before settling for partscore when his partner could do no more
than bid 3©. Bathurst led a low spade and Mignocchi won the ace
and returned his singleton diamond. A diamond ruff now followed
by a spade to the king for a second diamond ruff would have led
to one down, but Bathurst erred by cashing the ªK before giving
the ruff and now the defence had only four tricks; +140.
There was some badly needed relief for Italy when Lo Presti was allowed to make 4§ doubled on this deal. The contract can only be defeated by a trump lead and two more rounds of trumps when they get in with the ace of spades, preventing a ruff of the fourth spade in dummy. On the actual lead of a diamond, Lo Presti could win in dummy and play a spade to his king then concede a heart. Nothing could prevent his winning the §Q and leading again towards the ªQ, later ruffing a spade, as East would not be able to get in to lead the third round of clubs now that declarer had cut the defensive communications with that early heart play; +510. Meanwhile, the di Bellos reached 4© in the other room on a club lead. The combination of four-one trumps and four-two diamonds wa sjust too much to overcome even though South could only get in once to lead spades through the ace. The contract was down one for –100 but 9 IMPs to Italy; a little breathing space at 184-157.5.
Over the 1© overcall, Mazzadi’s 2© was a transfer, showing spades, and Lo Presti jumped straight o the spade game. Mazzadi had quite a bit to spare and made a cuebid but then signed-off to leave the rest up to his partner. Lo Presti did not like his balanced near-minimum so passed 5ª but that was already a level too high. A club was led to the ace and Lo Presti drew trumps then gave up a diamond. But there was no escape from two heart losers and the contract had to fail by a trick; –50. Wooldridge did very well when he settled for a raise to 3NT rather than attempting to play in spades – though 4ª is OK. This was an intelligent attempt to create a swing, based on the danger represented by South’s heart length once North had bid no trump. Four Spades might have been in serious jeopardy on a singleton heart lead if North held say, ©KJx. Three No Trump was s ure thing, of course, and Hurd made an overtrick after a club lead; +430 and 10 IMPs to USA2. Italian relief had been short-lived as again the match closed up at 167.5-184.
Wooldridge’s multi left Furio awkwardly placed and he chose to show his minors with a leap to 4NT then judged to pass the response. Stelio had too much for him, of course, but had the ace-king been in spades rather than hearts Furio’s decision would hav ebeen the winning one; +640. Mazzadi did not have an opening bid in his style so Bathurst got to open the West hand at the one level. Whne he later jumped in clubs, Mignocchi had a clear heart cuebid, given that he had shown nothing to that point. Four Hearts was great news for Bathurst and he drove to slam. He chalked up +1370 and that was worth 13 IMPs. The margin was down to single figures and the momentum was all with the Americans at 180.5-184.
Wooldridge made a negative double then passed the 2§ response quite happily – double could have worked out much worse for him had Hurd been single-suited. Stelio started with ace and another trump but the major suits were so well-placed for declarer that the defence could not actually get at six tricks, even if declarer had difficulty in finding eight by himself. Hurd made exactly for +90. Mazzadi did not make a negative double. He passed and now Lo Presti reopened with double. Mazzadi responded 1NT and played there on a spade lead, ducked to his queen. He knocked out the ace of clubs and Mignocchi ran the spades. When he did not next find the heart switch, Mazzadi had an overtrick for +120 and 1 IMP to Italy; 185-180.5.
With 4ª a comfortable make, both East players judged well to take the save in 5§ doubled. Both had to go three down as there was no dummy entry to lead up to the ¨K; It was flat at –500; still Italy 185-180.5.
Lo Presti opened 1NT and Mazzadi transferred to 4©. With the club position protected, 4© by North was never under threat. The actual diamond lead gave declarer three tricks in that suit and Lo Presti threw two clubs and a spade from dummy then played ace and anothers pade to set up his ruff. When he took the ruff he continued with the heart finesse and had twelve tricks for +680. Hurd’s 1¨ opening meant that Wooldridge became declarer in 4© at the other table. Declarer ducked the spade lead and played safely for his contract, spurning the trump finesse when the inevitable switch came, to guarantee a spade ruff in dummy. He came to just ten tricks; +620 but 2 IMPs to Italy. Who could have imagined that the overtrick in this game would prove to be so crucial at the end of the day? Italy led by 187-180.5 with just three deals to go.
Wooldridge’s off-centre but entirely reasonable in the circumstances pre-empt did not affect the final contract, but it may have helped to convince his partner to make a fatal misjudgement in defence. At both tables the lead was a diamond to declarer’s ace, and a club was led towards dummy. Where Lo Presti went in with the ace and defeated the contract by a trick, Hurd ducked and that was the setting trick dead and buried. Italy scored +420 and +50 for 10 IMPs. With only two deals to play the lead was up to 16.5 IMPs at 197-180.5. If anyon ethought that the brave American challenge was over they were to be proved very much mistaken.
Disaster for Italy!.Bathurst/Mignocchi did very well to bid to the garnd slam in the face of an opposing weak two opening. Mignocchi transferred to hearts then checke don key cards, found one and asked for the queen of trumps. Six Diamonds showed both the ©Q and ¨K and Mignocchi took a shot at seven. A spade lead into the ace-queen meant that there were thirteen tricks without having to find the queen of diamonds, though the diamond play would have become clear anyway as South turns up with three cards in both hearts and clubs to go with his long spades; +1510. Wooldridge opened a multi and Furio overcalled 2NT. He had a mental lapse when stelio transfrred with 3¨ and passed. There was no problem in making 3¨ and Stelio actually came to twelve tricks, but +170 was totally inadequate and USA2 had picked up 16 IMPs from nowhere. With on eboard to play the margin was just half-an-IMP at 196.5-197.
It says a lot for the charachter of the di Bello brothers that they could come back from the disaster of the previous deal and bid competently to a grand slam on the very next deal – and once again in the face of an opposing pre-empt. Both East/West pairs did very well to overcome the opposing intervention. There was little to the play and the board was a push at +1510. After all the drama and excitement, Italy had survived by the narrowest of margins, 197-196.5. The defending champion USA2 team had bowed out of the tournament but had given us a terrific match and could be proud of their performance, even if every member of the team would have some board to rue where one extra trick would have made all the difference. |
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