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  Bermuda's
Venice Cup team battled the heavily favored Netherlands squad to
the wire Saturday, only to lose by 1 IMP. The locals will have a
second chance today when Chief Tournament Director Bill Schoder
reviews the facts of a disputed board that could turn defeat into
victory for Bermuda.
Here is what happened. In the
third match of the round-robin, Audrey Smith, playing with Diana
Diehl against Bep Vriend and Marijke van der Pas, opened 2©
as North and was allowed to play there. She took eight tricks, but
turned one wrong in the process. The official scorer had her doing
down one for minus 50.
In the other room, East-West (Judy
Bussell and Stephanie Kyme) bid to 3§
and were defeated one trick for minus 100.
That resulted in a 4-IMP swing
to the Netherlands, enough for a 44-43 win (15-15 in Victory Points).
If the board is a push, as Bermuda claims it should be, Bermuda
will win, 43-39.
After the match but within the
correction period, Smith realized she did not go down in 2©
and should have been credited with plus 110. They spoke to a tournament
director and officially filed a protest, but the matter could not
be handled because the Dutch team had left the playing area and
could not be found.
Schoder said he will speak to
the players involved in the match to determine the facts and make
a decision about the scoring of the board before play begins today.
He said there was nothing else
he could do in the absence of the Dutch team. 'It's like trying
to put feathers back into a pillow when they get away,' he said.
Meanwhile, the Bermuda squad,
most of whose members are playing in international competition for
the first time, were on tenterhooks awaiting the decision. 'It's
important to us,' said Smith, 'to win any match.'
Here is the deal in question.
| Dealer
West. NS Game |
|
ª |
A 6 5 |
|
| © |
K Q 9 6 4 3 |
| ¨ |
10 |
| § |
8 7 6 |
| ª |
Q 10 8 |
|
ª |
K 7 3 |
| © |
A J |
© |
10 7 2 |
| ¨ |
J 8 5 3 2 |
¨ |
K 9 4 |
| § |
J 5 4 |
§ |
K Q 3 2 |
|
ª |
J 9 4 2 |
|
| © |
8 5 |
| ¨ |
A Q 7 6 |
| § |
A 10 9 |
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Smith, playing 2©
as North, recalls getting the opening lead of a low diamond. She
won the ¨A
in dummy and played a heart: jack, king, 2. She then played the
ªA and
another spade, taken by East with the king. East played the §K
and continued with a club when Smith ducked.
Smith won the §A
and played dummy's other heart, taken by West with the ace. Smith
says she doesn't remember what West did at that point, but there
doesn't seem to be any way for the defenders to take more than two
black tricks from that point, since there is no way for West to
promote the ©10
in her partner's hand.
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