Slammed in Salt Lake
With three deals to go in their semi-final match with Italy, the
gallant Canadian team, which had trailed by more than 40 IMPs to
the world champion Italian squad, found themselves behind by a single
IMP. The tide turned on the 10th board of the set, propelling Canada
into the final of the 4th IOC Grand Prix against Poland.
Fred Gitelman and Joe Silver were the heroes on two decisive deals
late in the match. Ironically, it wasn't until the match was over
that Gitelman realized he wasn't actually the goat.
Dealer East E/W vul
|
|
ª 8 5
© J 10 7 3
¨ J 10 9 8 6
§ A 6 |
ª J 3 2
© A Q 8 5 4
¨ A 4 2
§ J 10 |
|
ª A K 10 9 7 6 4
© K 9 2
¨ K 3
§ 3 |
|
ª Q
© 6
¨ Q 7 5
§ K Q 9 8 7 5 4 2 |
West |
North |
East |
South |
Gitelman |
Duboin |
Silver |
Ferraro |
|
|
1ª |
4§ |
4ª |
5§ |
5ª |
Pass |
6ª |
All Pass |
|
|
In the closed room, Lorenzo Lauria and Alfredo Versace stopped
in game, so Canada had a chance for a major swing, and Giltelman
was up to the task. In the highly competitive auction, Gitelman
had confidence in his partner. "I knew he wouldn't bid 5ª
unless he thought he could make it," Gitelman said. "If
he thought he could make 5ª,
I thought he could make six."
Gitelman was correct, and plus 1430 put the Canadians ahead by
12 with two deals to go. As it happened, the set of deals was a
wild one, and the action was not over.
On the next deal, Lauria and Versace bid to a club slam, so the
match was in the balance. Would Gitelman and Silver be up to the
challenge?
Dealer South Both vul
|
|
ª 2
© Q 9 7 6 5 4
¨ 10 7 5
§ 9 7 4 |
ª A K
© A K 10 8
¨ Q J 3
§ A 8 6 5 |
|
ª Q 10 9 7
© 2
¨ K 6 4
§ K Q J 3 2 |
|
ª J 8 6 5 4 3
© J 3
¨ A 9 8 2
§ 10 |
West |
North |
East |
South |
Gitelman |
Duboin |
Silver |
Ferraro |
|
|
|
Pass |
2NT |
Pass |
3§ |
Pass |
3© |
Pass |
4§ |
Pass |
4¨ |
Pass |
6§ |
All Pass |
Gitelman's 3¨ bid
may look strange, but there was method to his, you might say, imaginative
call. Gitelman can explain: "I knew that if I cuebid 4©,
my partner would not be able to cuebid spades, so I psyched the
diamond cuebid."
Ferraro led the ¨A
and Fred put down the dummy, noting that his partner did not thank
him for the 13 cards lying on the table in front of him. Very quickly,
Silver was claiming, and Gitelman feared the worst - that Silver
was claiming for down one.
"I thought we might have won it on the previous board,"
Gitelman said, "but then I thought we had lost it on that board."
In fact, it wasn't until the match was over and the team was making
comparisons that Gitelman became aware that Silver had actually
claimed 12 tricks, not 11.
The final board was flat - Italy gained 1 IMP
- and Canada had pulled a huge upset, knocking off the defending
Olympiad champions, who had been having their way with the field
in Salt Lake City.
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