| 12th World Bridge Championships | Page 2 | Bulletin 9 - Sunday 18 June 2006 |
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No Salvation by Brent Manley Going into the final set against the French team Bridge+ in the Rosenblum round of 64, the powerful George Jacobs squad was down only 4 IMPs. With 14 boards to go and Zia Mahmood, Michael Rosenberg, Adam Zmudzinski and Cezary Balicki playing, the Jacobs team seemed well placed to overcome that small deficit and move into the round of 32. It didn’t work out that way, but the issue was not settled until the final board of the match. The first swing went to Jacobs.
Zmudzinski’s 3NT opener showed a long, sold minor suit. When Bogdan Marina bid 4♥ over Balicki’s 4♣, the vulnerability deterred the Poles from taking further action. The result was plus 450. At the other table:
After Yves Jenneteau started the bidding the same way, Edouard Beauvillain took a more aggressive stance and paid a 2-IMP price when Rosenberg doubled and the result was minus 500. Bridge+ struck right back on the next deal, however.
Rosenberg started with the ♥Q, which went to the king and ace. The ♣J was taken by North with the ace, and a low diamond was played to dummy’s jack, The defenders eventually came to one diamond and three heart tricks, and Beauvillain was plus 110. At the other table, the Poles got too high.
Balicki’s 2♥ showed a hand of limited strength with hearts and a minor. Over the 2NT inquiry, the 4♦ rebid showed five hearts and six diamonds. The contract was not without chances but was doomed by the 4-1 trump split. Marina led the ♣10, taken in the North hand. Balicki played a diamond immediately, taken by Queran with the ace for a spade switch. Balicki went up with the ace and ruffed a spade to hand. Now he cashed his two high diamonds, discarding spades from dummy, and played the ♥4 from hand, covering the queen with the king. Queran won the ♥A, cashed the ♥J and gave Balicki a ruff-sluff with a spade continuation. No matter which hand Balicki ruffed in, the contract was dead. Minus 50 cost Jacobs 4 IMPs. Balicki and Zmudzinski defended well on the next deal, but they still lost 2 IMPs.
Balicki started with three rounds of clubs. Queran ruffed, played a spade to dummy’s jack and a heart to his jack. Balicki won the ♥Q and exited with the ♦K. Queran won the ace and played a heart to dummy’s 10 and South’s ace Now the ♦J and a third diamond promoted the ♥9 in Balicki’s hand for the setting trick. It was still a loss, however, because at the other table East/West never got into the auction: North opened 1NT and was raised to 2NT, the final contract. On the lead of the ♦10, declarer had eight tricks for plus 120. Jacobs struck for 10 IMPs on the following deal:
Zmudzinski started with a low heart – jack, queen ace. Marina played a diamond to the king, then the ♦Q to South’s ace. Zmudzinski cashed the ♣A and ♣Q, then led a club to Balicki’s king. That was it for the defense. Even if Zmudzinski had played a low club after the ace, the suit was blocked, so the defenders could never take more than three tricks in the suit unless South had another entry. That was plus 150 to Bridge+. At the other table, Zia had a different view of the West hand.
North led a low heart and Zia quickly wrapped up 10 tricks for plus 630. Jacobs had taken the lead, 100-99. Bridge+ regained the lead on the next deal.
Balicki reasoned that his partner was short in spades, where the North hand had almost no strength, so his other cards were more likely to be working. The result was a poor contract. Queran started with his singleton heart, ducked in dummy and also by Marina. This was necessary to defeat the hand. The ♦K was next, ducked, and the ♦Q was taken by the ace. Queran cashed the ♠A and tried the king, ruffed by declarer. A club went to the king, but when Zmudzinski tried to cash the ♦J, Marina ruffed. Zmudzinski overruffed, cashed the ♣A and ruffed a club, but nine tricks was his limit. That was minus 100.
Zia also led a trump, but Rosenberg won the king when declarer ducked in dummy, playing another trump at trick two. Declarer eventually emerged with nine tricks for plus 140 and 6 IMPs to Bridge+, now ahead 105-100. Bridge+ gained 3 more IMPs on the next deal.
There were six tricks – no more – in a heart contract and Marina’s pass eliminated any chance that East-West would find their nine-card club fit unless Zmudzinski balanced. He did not, so Queran went one down for minus 100.
Whereas Marina knew that his partner’s hand was limited (they play the Polish club system), Rosenberg could not pass with 8 high-card points – game could be missed. One level higher in the same strain meant minus 200 for Zia. The Bridge+ lead had grown to 108-100. Jacobs went back in front on board 24.
Over the natural, limited 2♣ opener, 2♦ asked for more information: 2♠ showed a hand with no four-card major and with shortness; 2NT asked, 3♣ showed six clubs and four diamonds or shortness in diamonds; 3♠ showed a singleton or void in diamonds with a maximum. Zmudzinski’s bidding showed a very good hand, so Balicki made one more stab at slam over 3NT. With the ♣K doubleton onside, 12 tricks were easy. The same situation made 3NT a makeable contract, but it didn’t happen.
Zia led a low heart, which went to the jack, queen and king. Jeanneteau played two rounds of spades, ending in hand, and then the ♣10. Zia played low and, after long thought, declarer inexplicably went up with the ace. The result was one down and 10 IMPs to Jacobs, now ahead 110-108. Over the next three boards, each side gained 3 IMPs, and the score stood at 113-111 in favor of Jacobs with one deal to play. Board 28 was a disaster for Jacobs.
It was a routine contract, and Jeanneteau had no difficulty taking nine tricks for plus 110.
Balicki explained Zmudzinski’s 1♠ bid as a transfer to 1NT, usually without a stopper in hearts, or showing long clubs. Balicki had nothing to say over 2♥, but he showed his four spades when Zmudzinski doubled. Asked the meaning of 3♦, Balicki explained to his screenmate that Zmudzinski was showing four diamonds and five or more clubs. When dummy came down, Balicki could see he was in a bad contract. With three top losers in the majors and the certainty that he was going to be tapped in hearts (he was), there was no lie of the cards that would permit him to take 10 tricks legitimately (even with 3-3 clubs, it would take a serious defensive error for Balicki to escape with no losers in trumps). Marina started with the top two hearts and continued with a third round. Balicki ruffed and played the ♣J to Queran’s king. Queran cashed the ♠A and continued with a spade. Balicki played another two rounds of trumps, but he took only two more tricks from that point. He got back to hand with the ♦Q, but when he tried to cash a high spade, Marina ruffed and cashed two more heart tricks, conceding a diamond to dummy’s ace at trick 13. Four down and plus 400 to Bridge+. That was 11 IMPs to Bridge+, winners by the score of 122-113. |
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