| 37th World Team Championships | Page 7 | Bulletin 6 - Friday 28 October 2005 |
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Italy v Sweden (Bermuda Bowl) Slugging It Out When Italy and Sweden met in the twelfth round of the Bermuda Bowl qualifying, Sweden was in need of a good performance to enhance their chances of making the knockout phase. That would be challenging, of course, facing the round-robin leaders, but the young Swedes are not intimidated by any opponent. There were fireworks early on.
Alfredo Versace’s weak 2♥ in third seat and Lorenzo Lauria’s jump to game did not slow down Magnus Lindkvist and Peter Fredin. Thirteen tricks were easy, thanks to the friendly lie of the clubs. Fulvio Fantoni and Claudio Nunes had more interference to deal with in the Open Room
The Italians could have profited by simply doubling the 6♥ save – that goes for 1700 but is only a 6-IMP gain. Nunes’ pass of 6♥ was forcing, which prompted Fantoni to bid the maximum. He was lucky that the ♣Q was with the two-card holding. Plus 2220 was a 13-IMP gain for Italy. Sweden struck back two boards later to take the lead.
Fredrik Nystrom started with a spade, and Nunes played five rounds of the suit, hoping for a miracle or poor discarding. He got neither. At trick six, Nunes played the ♦Q from hand, overtaking with the king. He used his only trip to dummy to play a heart to the jack and Nystrom’s queen. Nystrom cashed the ♦A and exited with a club to Peter Bertheau’s king. Declarer could do nothing from there. That was one down; Plus 100 for Sweden. It was a different story at the other table.
Versace started with a low club to the king and ace. At trick two, Peter Fredin played the ♦10 from hand, ducked all around. Fredin then cashed five spade tricks, putting Versace under some pressure. Versace discarded one diamond and two hearts, but then he ducked again when Fredin continued with the ♦Q. That was five spade tricks, two diamonds and two aces for Plus 600 and a 14-13 lead for Sweden. Italy went back into the lead when they bid 3NT that made mostly because of a blockage in spades, but the lead was gone after the next board.
Bertheau’s 2♠ was non-forcing, and all the bidding made it difficult for the Italians to find the best spot of 3NT, although they were there briefly. Bertheau started with a heart, giving Fantoni no chance for 11 tricks. He won the ♥A, played a diamond to his queen and cashed two high clubs, but his only chance from there was a doubleton ♦K with West, so he finished one down for Minus 50.
No matter what the Italians did, Fredin always had nine tricks – six clubs, two diamonds and a heart. That was Plus 400 and 10 IMPs to Sweden, now leading 24-23. A couple of boards later, Sweden gained another 13 IMPs when Fantoni and Nunes bid to 6♥ off two aces, down two on a bad trump split. As the laborious auction progressed ever upwards, one of the vugraph commentators offered the view that “5♥is bad luck, 6♥ is bad bridge.” Indeed, the Swedes realized a handome profit by stopping in 4♥ at the other table. An aggressive bid by Versace paid off for Italy on this deal.
By the time the Italians got around to bidding spades, it must have been hard for them to tell that they had an 11-card fit and super playing strength between the North/South hands. Still, at Plus 680, they did better than North/South in the Closed Room.
Lindkvist led the ♠K, overtaken by Fredin with the ace. Fredin switched to the ♣Q, won by the ace. The ♥J went to North’s ace, and a second round of clubs was taken by South with the king. Fredin exited with the ♦9, taken by Versace with the queen. When North showed out, Versace claimed for three down and Minus 500. Italy closed to within 1 IMP on the following deal:
Nunes’ double showed two suits of the same colour over the artificial strong 1♣ opener. Nystrom’s 1♦ response showed a game-force with fewer than five 3-2-1 points (A=3; K=2; Q=1).Fantoni’s 2♠ bid indicated a good fit with South whether the suits were red or black. The only play for the 5♣ game involved a defensive error, and there was none coming. One down for minus 50.
A low diamond lead initially or a diamond switch by North would have defeated the no trump game, but Fredin started with the ♠9, which went to the queen and ace. Naturally enough, Lindkvist returned the suit his partner had overcalled. The result was an overtrick and a 10-IMP gain for Italy, now trailing only 39-38. The match began to unravel for Sweden near the end as they dropped 21 IMPs on two consecutive boards.
Lauria had to lose a trick in each suit, but he took nine tricks in comfort for plus 110.
Bertheau started with the ♦A, switching at trick two to a low club. Who would play anything but the ♣10 in Nystrom’s seat? The defense still might have prevailed if Fantoni took two finesses in spades, but that chance was reduced significantly when Bertheau discarded the ♠7 on the third round of hearts. After initially passing the ♠8 to Nystrom’s queen, Fantoni played the ♠J to the ace on the second round of the suit to claim Plus 420 and an 11-IMP gain for his team. More IMPs went to the Italians on the next board.
Versace actually took 12 tricks on the lead of the ♠K. He won the ace and played a low spade from dummy, ruffing high when the jack appeared. He drew trumps, ending in dummy, and played the ♠10, discarding his singleton heart. He could then re-enter dummy with the ♣A and discard three clubs from his hand on good spades.
Nystrom,s pass showed 0-4 (3-2-1) points. When partner overcalls, it’s usually best to lead his suit, as it was on this occasion. Nystrom’s only hope after the defense took a heart trick was something lucky in clubs or 3-3 spades, neither of which materialized, so he was one down for a10-IMP loss. Sweden’s lead had turned into a 19-IMP deficit. Sweden recovered an overtrick IMP on the penultimate board, then picked up a 12-IMP swing when the Swedes played 3NT, making, while the Italians holding the same cards bid to 5♣, which had no chance. Sweden closed the gap but still lost by 59-53 – 16-14 VPs, in an action-filled but not particularly well-played set. |
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