10th WORLD BRIDGE TEAM OLYMPIAD

Rhodes, Greece / 19 October - 2 November 1996

Thursday 31 October 1996

News of the day | Hand of the day | Results | Daily Bulletins

News of the day

Open Olympiad

Yesterday was one of the most exciting days in the history of bridge. At the conclusion of the semifinals, Denmark whooped and hollered because they had just beaten Indonesia and had earned a berth in the Open Olympiad final. France had staved off a tremendous comeback on the part of Chinese Taipei to keep their chances for a repeat victory in the Open competition.

And then it happened – the Indonesians compared scores and they discovered the match was a dead tie. When the Danish fans heard this, they found it hard to believe – why, the vugraph plainly showed that they had won by 5.

And that was the problem – one of the early boards had been misreported to the vugraph room, and Denmark had been credited with 5 more IMPs than they were entitled to. The official scorecards of both teams showed the same result – a 217-217 tie. That meant an eight-board playoff.

Going into the final board of the playoff, more drama! Denmark apparently had the match won, but the Danish adherents suddenly became apprehensive. It appeared that Dennis Koch-Palmund and Jens Auken were probing for slam – and the vugraph screen indicated that the slam would NOT make. Sure enough, Denmark got to the slam while Indonesia stopped in game. The swing was enough to make Indonesia the winner, 230-226.

In the other semifinal, France made a huge gain on Board 93 – bidding a grand slam that made while Chinese Taipei stopped in 3NT. That put the match just about out of reach of the Far East team, and France went on to win, 209-190. Nevertheless, it was a fine showing by a spirited Chinese Taipei team. (Incidentally Denmark made the same 16-IMP gain against Indonesia on Board 93 – Denmark making the grand slam at one table and Indonesia stopping in 3NT at the other.)

Of course the final between France and Indonesia was late in starting. France came roaring out of the starting gate, taking a 59-10 lead after 16 deals. They picked up another 2 IMPs in the second segment, so they will begin today's 64 boards with a lead of 96-45. This a 128-board match – the final 32 boards will be played tomorrow.

Women's Olympiad

The United States, ahead by 13 going into yesterday's deals, poured it on against defending champion Austria in the Women's Olympiad. They gained an additional 26 IMPs over the first 16 hands, then closed out the match with a 40-38 segment. That put the United States in the final, 264-223.

China was already a lock for a final berth before yesterday's play started. Canada stayed around to play 16 boards, but at that point they were trailing by 200, 306-106, and they withdrew. China started fast in the final, racking up 56 IMPs to only 20 for the Americans in the first segment. The U.S. gained back 16 over the next 16 deals, so the score going into today's final 64 boards is China 91, U.S. 71. This 96-board event will conclude today.

Hand of the day

Indonesia vs. Denmark, Open, Semi-Final

The most exciting board of the Denmark-Indonesia match was Board 93. Denmark was trailing by a substantial amount at this point, but this hand was a turning point.

Board 93. Game All. Dealer North.
			A K 10 8 2
			6 4
			A Q 5
			A 9 7
	9 7 3				J
	Q 9				K J 10 8 7 5 3
	J 6 3				8
	K Q 8 5 4				J 10 6 2
			Q 6 5 4
			A 2
			K 10 9 7 4 2
			3

West		North		East		South
		Koch-Palmund				Auken
		1		Pass		2 NT (1)
Pass		3 (2)		3		3 (3)
Pass		4 (4)		Pass		4 NT (5)
Pass		5 (6)		Pass		5 NT (7)
Pass		4 (8)		Pass		3 (9)
All Pass

⁽¹⁾ Game force with four spades.

⁽²⁾ No singletons or voids, better than a minimum.

⁽³⁾ Singleton club.

⁽⁴⁾ Asking bid.

⁽⁵⁾ A heart control (ace, king or singleton) plus one of the five key cards.

⁽⁶⁾ Asking bid.

⁽⁷⁾ A diamond control (ace, king or singleton) plus the Q.

⁽⁸⁾ "Do you have any controls you haven't shown?"

⁽⁹⁾ "No, I do not. However, since we have all the top controls, it is very likely that my diamonds will give us enough tricks for the grand slam."

The bidding was the key on this deal. Dennis Koch-Palmund had no trouble bringing in all 13 tricks after Jens Auken found the jump to 7. This was a giant 16-IMP gain because the Indonesian North-South didn't even smell the slam – they stopped in 3NT, making seven. Denmark picked up another 11 IMPs on Board 95 to send the match into an eight-board playoff.

Results

Semi-Finals, Open

Semi-Finals, Ladies

* Canada concedes the match

Play-off, Open

Play-off, Ladies

Final, Open

Final, Ladies