This was a critical match for both teams since a big win could virtually guarantee qualification. At the same time a big loss would put either team in real jeopardy. (Since there are two Wangs, we will refer to them by their initials.) The match started with a system pickup for Italy.

Board 1. Dealer North. Love All Q 10 3 A 10 8 7 2 10 2 A Q 4 A K 7 5 2 6 4 Q 9 5 4 K Q 8 6 K J 7 5 4 2 K 10 8 5 3 J 9 8 J 6 3 A 9 3 J 9 7 6

Norberto Bocchi (Italy)

Buratti opened the North hand with an 11-14 notrump, Li with 1. Over the former X. Wang as West showed the majors with a 2 bid which Fu contemplated passing. But in the end he relayed with 2 and Wang bid 2 to end the auction.

After the lead of the 10, ducked around to the queen, declarer played three rounds of spades. Buratti shifted to the A and a second heart, to beat the contract (a trump, a diamond, a club and three hearts).

By contrast Bocchi and Duboin could reach diamonds more easily over the 1 opening though they climbed to the four level.

The defence would have done best to lead trumps, but they did not. (North led a spade, allowing Duboin to lead a club toward the king at trick two.) That allowed declarer to come to 10 tricks. Then another slightly fortunate systemic pickup for Buratti-Lanzarotti.

Board 3. Dealer South. E/W Game A Q 10 5 2 10 4 A 5 8 7 6 5 K J 9 8 7 6 4 3 A 9 3 2 Q J Q 9 3 J 10 6 2 Q 9 J 3 2 — K 8 7 6 5 K 8 7 4 A K 10 4

Lanzarotti opened the South hand with 1 and had to rebid 2 over the 1NT bid, showing spades. Buratti bid 2 and that ended the auction. The cards lie very well for a crossruff. In fact, on the lead of the Q declarer made 10 tricks in a canter. However Li and W. Wang found the club fit and bid to 5 - which needs a little more than the A right. When that did not oblige, the Italians had 6 more IMPs and an 11-IMP lead.

Then the Chinese squared the match with good results from both tables.

Board 6. Dealer East. E/W Game A K Q 7 K 9 5 4 3 9 5 3 2 — 8 5 3 10 9 4 2 J 10 8 7 6 2 A 7 A K 4 8 4 2 K Q 7 6 3 J 6 Q Q J 10 8 6 A J 10 9 5

Over Fu's strong club Lanzarotti bid 1NT - that showed spades and diamonds or hearts and clubs. That led to a contract of 5 doubled played by North, and the defence were never going to get it wrong with East on lead.

The auction from the Open Room suggests North should have been declarer there too, but Duboin led the 5, and that let declarer wrap up 5. The Italians picked up the lead with two excellent partscore results. They found a 4-4 spade fit on a hand where the field was toiling unnecessarily in 1NT. Then they were allowed to make a hopeless 1NT. Next came something more dramatic.

Board 9. Dealer North. E/W Game Q 8 4 3 7 2 K Q 5 3 2 10 8 J 10 6 2 9 7 5 J 8 6 4 K Q J 10 8 4 9 J K Q 9 7 4 3 2 A K A 10 9 5 3 A 7 6 A 6 5

Both teams declared 3NT after East had preempted with 3, and the opening lead at both tables was the J. This overtaken with the queen and East continued with the K. The suit preference overtones of playing the honours in that order points clearly to East having a heart entry, not a spade. So Duboin threw a heart. But X. Wang threw a spade, and that was the ninth trick.

The Italian lead was up to 21, and another 13 IMPs came when the Italians bid a slam on a finesse (but they had a clue in the auction that the finesse was likely to work). The lead was 34 by Board 13, but China picked up only their second swing of the set when Bocchi-Duboin had a major bidding accident and played a decent 4 in 4 down one when Duboin treated a 5-3-5-0 hand as a spade-diamond two-suiter. The match got even closer when Bocchi missed a chance for a great coup.

Board 15. Dealer South. N/S Game 6 4 2 10 9 8 K J 8 6 4 8 4 — Q J 5 A 6 4 2 Q A Q 10 7 9 5 3 2 A Q 10 6 5 J 9 7 3 2 A K 10 9 8 7 3 K J 7 5 3 — K

The Chinese East-West played quietly in 5, making 11 tricks. Bocchi declared 6 on a top spade lead. Now declarer can come home via a spade ruff, A and heart ruff, a trump to the ace, heart ruff, Q covered, heart ruff, a second round of trumps, and the J, pitching a diamond from dummy. In the four-card ending, a diamond to the 10 endplays North to lead into the diamond tenace. But Bocchi played on diamonds prematurely and went one down.

Italy's margin was down to 15, but China bid a hopeless game on a combined 21 count for a loss of 6 IMPs. Then Buratti-Lanzarotti outbid their counterparts.

Board 17. Dealer North. Love All — 7 3 A Q 8 7 4 3 2 A Q 6 5 A K 8 7 5 4 9 6 3 2 K J 8 9 6 10 J 9 6 J 4 3 10 8 7 2 Q J 10 A Q 10 5 4 2 K 5 K 9

Buratti-Lanzarotti bid 1 - 1 -(1)-2-2-(Dbl)-3-3NT-4-4-4-6. That was worth 10 IMPs when the Chinese pair stopped in 3NT in the other room. And finally the reverse of this result - another 13 IMPs for Italy.

Board 20. Dealer West. Game All K Q A 6 5 2 K 6 A J 10 6 3 A 8 3 J 9 6 2 Q J 10 9 7 K 8 4 3 A J 2 10 7 5 4 9 4 7 10 7 5 4 — Q 9 8 3 K Q 8 5 2

This time the Italians stopped in 5, whereas the Chinese bid on to 6 off two cashing aces. All of a sudden the Italians had a victory by 45 IMPs.