| 37th World Team Championships | Page 6 | Bulletin 12 - Thursday 3 November 2005 |
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USA2 v USA1 (Bermuda Bowl) Closing The Gap When their semi-final match got underway on Wednesday, USA1 had a useful but in no way impregnable 45-IMP lead over their American rivals, USA2. USA2 cut the lead by 10 IMPs in the fourth set, putting themselves in position for a run at the final. The boards in the fifth set were more or less flat, but USA2 got the job done anyway. USA2 struck first, on the second board.
Eric Rodwell’s 1♣ was Precision, 1♦ negative. Jeff Meckstroth’s 2NT bid wrong-sided the contract - on the actual layout, anyway. Ron Rubin started with a low club, taken perforce in dummy. Meckstroth played a heart to his queen and took the losing spade finesse. Russ Ekeblad cashed the ♣K and played a spade to dummy’s bare ace. The hearts ran, but Ekeblad and Rubin held onto their diamonds, so when Meckstroth played a diamond to his queen, Rubin won and pushed another diamond through the jack, with Ekeblad holding the A 10; Plus 50 for USA2.
Fred Gitelman’s 2NT showed the power of his hand, likely with a long heart suit, and Brad Moss was happy to raise to game. Nick Nickell didn’t have much to go on, so he started with his best suit. That provided Gitelman with his ninth trick, and he landed an overtrick for plus 430 and 10 IMPs to USA2, now trailing by 25. Another 7 IMPs went to USA2 on deal 4 when USA1 went minus at both tables, in part thanks to clever defense by Rubin.
Freeman’s 2♣ showed one suit, which he revealed over the automatic 2♦. Nickell’s 2NT got the partnership too high. Gitelman started with the ♣10, ducked to East’s king. The ♦10 came back to Gitelman’s ace. Dick Freeman won Gitelman’s ♦Q with the king and took a spade finesse. Gitelman won and played a club to the jack and queen. Freeman pulled trumps and played another couple of rounds, but the defenders were not discomfited, and Freeman had to settle for eight tricks.
Dummy’s ♦9 held the trick on the opening lead, and Rodwell continued with the ♦10 to his queen, ducked. Ekeblad won the ♦J with the king and exited with the ♣J. Rodwell went up with the king and played a heart to the king. Ekeblad won with the ♥A, then played the ♣A and a club to Rubin’s queen. Rubin then put the ♠Q on the table, ducked all around. When Rubin followed with the ♠J, Rodwell thought about his play for a long time before ducking again. That was enough for Rubin, who cashed the ♠A and two more tricks in the suit for Plus 200. USA2 had trimmed the deficit to 20 IMPs. More IMPs went to USA2 when aggressive bidding by Ekeblad and Rubin at one table and skilful play by Moss at the other table paid off handsomely.
Moss didn’t care that his partner’s jump raise was weak fish - he had the goods, and he used them well. Freeman started with the ♥A, switching to a low spade. Moss took Nickell’s nine with the king, cashed the top clubs from hand to discard a diamond from dummy, then played a low heart to dummy’s queen. Nickell won the ♥K and played the ♦J. Freeman took Moss’s ♦K with the ace and played the ♣Q, ruffed in dummy. Moss now ruffed a heart with the ♠A and played a low spade to the ten, claiming his vulnerable game for Plus 620.
There were only three tricks available to East/West. USA2 gained another 9 IMPs, and the deficit was in single digits at 135-144. When Moss made an overtrick in 4♥ on Board 13, it was a 1-IMP gain and the USA1 lead had shrunk to 3 IMPs. USA1 was reeling, but they recovered over the final three boards of the set to regain some momentum. Board 14 was a 2-IMP gain for USA1 - Freeman went down one in 3♣, while Rubin went two off in the same contract. The next deal was good news for USA1 partisans.
Ekeblad’s 1NT rebid showed 16-18. Rubin did not fancy a raise considering the lower end of the range. Meckstroth led a heart, which resulted in Plus 180 for USA2.
Freeman was more optimistic, and the cards lay very well for Nickell. He took the opening diamond lead in dummy with the queen then called for a low club. Gitelman rose with the ace, and Nickell considered unblocking one of his honours. He finally played low, won the diamond return with the ace and cashed the ♣K, getting the good news. He cashed two more club winners, giving Moss a problem. On the fourth club, Moss discarded a spade, making Nickell’s task much easier. When Nickell played the ♠9 from hand, Moss rose with the ace. Declarer had his nine tricks for a 9-IMP gain. This was the final deal.
Nickell thought a long time about taking another bid, but he finally passed his partner’s non-forcing bid. Gitelman started with a low heart to dummy’s ace. Freeman played a low spade, taken by Moss with the ace (Gitelman played the ♠9). Moss continued with the ♣A and another club. Freeman won, pulled the last trump and got out of his hand with the ♠6, which went to Moss’s ten. Freeman ruffed the heart return, played a diamond to the ace, pitching a spade on the ♦K, then ruffed a diamond to hand. He could have made an overtrick by playing the ♠Q at that point, but he led another low spade and the defenders had five tricks. Still, Freeman was Plus 90.
Ekeblad’s 1♥ was canapé, and he was forced to bid his long suit at the three level when the bidding got back to him. Meckstroth started with the ♠A, switching accurately to the ♦Q at trick two. Ekeblad played a club from hand, taken by Meckstroth with the ace. Another club went to dummy’s king. When Ekeblad played the ♣Q, Rodwell ruffed with the ♦10, Ekeblad discarding a heart. There were still two hearts to lose, so Ekeblad was one down for a loss of another 4 IMPs. USA2 had won the set 35-18 to get to within 18 IMPs with 16 deals to play. |
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