Junior Pairs - Session 3 (The First Six Boards)
by Patrick Jourdain
It was time to find out how Cecilia Rimstedt and Sara Sivelind of Sweden were keeping ahead of the field. By chance they were playing the same three pairs that Bessis and Gaviard had started against in the previous session:
| Board 1. Dealer North. None Vul. |
| | ♠ Q 10 9
♥ Q 7
♦ A K 8 4
♣ K Q 7 5 |
♠ 6 3 2
♥ 10 8 6 5
♦ 10 9 3 2
♣ J 9 |  |
♠ A 8 5
♥ A K 9 3 2
♦ Q 6
♣ 8 4 3 | | | ♠ K J 7 4
♥ J 4
♦ J 7 5
♣ A 10 6 2 |
| West | North | East | South
|
| Rimstedt | Tromholt | Sivelind | Sorensen |
| | 1NT | 2♣ (i) | Dble
|
| Redble | 2♦ | 2♥ | 2NT
|
| All Pass
| | | |
(i) Any single suiter
North-South have 26 points but no obvious game, though 4♠ makes on the favourable lie of the cards. Sivelind came in showing a single suiter and South doubled to show points and Staymanic. West had to redouble to seek East’s suit as passing would show a willingness to play clubs. North volunteered diamonds and East made an intrepid but successful free bid of Two Hearts (it goes only one off, so even if doubled it improves the score). South tried a natural Two Notrumps that North wisely passed. When East led her fifth best heart declarer was home, cashing the clubs and giving up a spade and four hearts. 120 to N-S, for a 60% result.
| Board 2. Dealer East. N/S Vul. |
| | ♠ J 8
♥ A Q J 2
♦ K 6 2
♣ A Q 10 3 |
♠ A K 10 9 7 5 3
♥ 10 5 3
♦ 4
♣ 6 5 | |
♠ Q 2
♥ K 8 7 6
♦ 9 8 7
♣ K J 8 7 | | | ♠ 6 4
♥ 9 4
♦ A Q J 10 5 3
♣ 9 4 2 |
| West | North | East | South
|
| Rimstedt | Tromholt | Sivelind | Sorensen
|
| | | Pass | 2♦ (i)
|
| 2♠ | 2NT (ii) | Pass | 3♦ (iii)
|
| Pass | 3NT! | Dble | Pass
|
| 4♠ | Dble | All Pass
| |
(i) Weak
(ii) Enquiry
(iii) Minimum points, good suit
Sorensen opened a weak Two Diamonds and Rimstedt made a natural overcall. Tromholt enquired and found his partner had a good suit, though minimum points. He could envisage running six diamonds and had three outside tricks, so Three Notrumps looked the obvious game apart from a small defect… the lack of a stop in the enemy suit. When Sivelind doubled one can assume North would have run away, but Rimstedt ran first.
North’s double of Four Spades was sound, but his defence was not. He intelligently led the king of diamonds, which held the trick, but ignored the sight of dummy, screaming for a heart switch.
When North led a second diamond he had missed his chance to beat the contract. Rimstedt ruffed, drew trumps, led a club to the jack, ruffed a diamond back to hand, and led a second club. It made no difference what North did now. Declarer later led towards the king of hearts to claim 590 and 90% of the matchpoints for E/W. Had North switched at trick two to ace and queen of hearts, he would have had four winners to make when in with the ace of clubs and N/S would have had the 90% result.The girls now moved to meet Peter Marjai & Gabor Minaryk of Hungary:
| Board 3. Dealer South. E/W Vul. |
| | ♠ J 5 3
♥ A J 6
♦ Q 9 6 2
♣ 7 5 3 |
♠ 10
♥ 10 2
♦ A 10 8 4 3
♣ 10 9 8 4 2 | |
♠ A K Q 8 4 2
♥ K 9 8 4
♦ J 5
♣ Q | | | ♠ 9 7 6
♥ Q 7 5 3
♦ K 7
♣ A K J 6 |
| West | North | East | South
|
| Rimstedt | Minaryk | Sivelind | Marjai
|
| | | | 1NT
|
| Pass | Pass | 2♦ (i) | All Pass
|
(i) Both majors
South’s weak notrump was passed round to Sivelind who had a choice between bidding Two Clubs to show a one-suiter, or Two Diamonds to show both majors. She chose Two Diamonds and must have been disappointed that this ended the auction.
South led the ace of clubs and realising East had a singleton, switched to a low trump. Sivelind played low from dummy, and was rewarded when North also played low. She was able to win the jack, cash three spades throwing dummy’s hearts, ruff a heart, ruff a club and ruff a heart. The ace of trumps was her eighth trick to score up 90. But this would not be enough against those scoring 110 in Two Spades – the latter would have been close to an everage.
Note that if North rises with the queen of diamonds at trick two and plays a second trump declarer still makes the contract. She can draw a third trump and play four rounds of spades ditching clubs from dummy. North ruffs but East still has the king of hearts for a trick. East would lose only two clubs, two trumps and a heart.
| Board 4. Dealer West. All Vul. |
| | ♠ 10 8 7 6 2
♥ J 6
♦ A 10 9 8
♣ A Q |
♠ Q
♥ A Q 5 2
♦ K Q J 5
♣ K J 8 3 | |
♠ 4
♥ K 8 4
♦ 7 6 4 3 2
♣ 9 7 6 2 | | | ♠ A K J 9 5 3
♥ 10 9 7 3
♦ None
♣ 10 5 4 |
| West | North | East | South
|
| Rimstedt | Minaryk | Sivelind | Marjai
|
| 1♣ (i) | 1♥ (ii) | Pass | 1♠!
|
| Dble (iii) | Pass | 2♦ | 2♠!!
|
| Pass | Pass | 3♣ | 3♠
|
| 4♦ | Dble | All Pass
| |
(i) 17+
(ii) Either spades or both minors
(iii) Take-out
Rimstedt opened a Strong Club and North bid One Heart showing either spades or both minors. South initially expected this to be the minors but they should have a principle that allows him to bid something like Three Clubs to show willingness to play in that contract or at least Three Spades. Anyway, when West made a take-out double of One Spade and North passed it was now clear that they had a massive fit.
Perhaps South thought he could engineer a doubled spade contract, because he now bid spades at the lowest possible level on each round. This policy backfired when his partner, who was in the dark about the strength of South’s spades, doubled Four Diamonds. Marjai now had to decide whether he could make Four Spades (actually Five is cold). He gave it a long look but eventually passed Four Diamonds Doubled. In defence they took one spade, two clubs and two diamonds to score +500, but it was not as good as the 650 (or more, if doubled) available in spades. 650 would have led an average for N/S here.
The girls met a Croatian pair next:
| Board 5. Dealer North. N/S Vul. |
| | ♠ Q 10 9
♥ Q J 8 7 6 5
♦ K 5
♣ 10 3 |
♠ 5
♥ 10 9 4 2
♦ Q 10 9 3 2
♣ Q 7 4 | |
♠ K 8 7 2
♥ A 3
♦ A J 7 6
♣ 9 8 5 | | | ♠ A J 6 4 3
♥ K
♦ 8 4
♣ A K J 6 2 |
| West | North | East | South
|
| Rimstedt | Stanicic | Sivelind | Martinovic |
| | Pass | 1♦ (i) | 1♠
|
| Pass | 2♠ | Pass | 4♠
|
| All Pass
| | | |
(i) Precision
Slavica Martinovic overcalled One Spade and, when raised, went straight to a sensible game. Rimstedt led a diamond and Sivelind cashed two tricks in the suit and switched to a club. Declarer won and played the king of hearts. Sivelind, seeing partner’s signal, took this at once and led a second club. Declarer won with the king, reached dummy with a club ruff, and successfully ran the queen and ten of spades. But when West showed out there was no way to pick up East’s trump king as South had one trump too many. She played winning hearts, but Sivelind simply refused to ruff. Eventually declarer was forced to trump her winner in hand and concede a trick to East’s king of spades for one off and an 87% score for E/W.
| Board 6. Dealer East. E/W Vul. |
| | ♠ J 10 4 3
♥ K 8 3
♦ Q J 7 2
♣ 7 2 |
♠ A Q 8 6 2
♥ Q 10 6
♦ K 10 3
♣ 10 6 | |
♠ 9 7
♥ 7 5 2
♦ A 8 6 5 4
♣ A Q 3 | | | ♠ K 5
♥ A J 9 4
♦ 9
♣ K J 9 8 5 4 |
| West | North | East | South
|
| Rimstedt | Stanicic | Sivelind | Martinovic |
| | | Pass | 1♣
|
| 1♠ | 1NT | Pass | 2♣
|
| Pass | Pass | 2♦ | 2♥
|
| Pass | Pass | 2♠ | Pass
|
| 3♦ | All Pass
| | |
This was a typical partscore battle with East ending in Three Diamonds. South led the king of spades and Sivelind won and took a losing finesse in clubs. South played a second spade won in dummy, and declarer quite reasonably cashed the king-ace of trumps before ruffing the club in dummy. North over-ruffed and forced declarer with the third spade. Sivelind ruffed, and led a heart to the ten. North won, laid down his winning trump, and forced out declarer’s last trump with the fourth spade. South was left with a winning heart and a club to cash, so declarer went two off for 100 to North-South, and a great board for them. Even a best play of the trump suit declarer has to go one down. 100 would have been worth about an average score for N/S.
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