MP bits and pieces
by Kees Tammens
This World Youth Congress is a special event. When you don’t qualify for the quarterfinals in the Teams, you go in the BAM. This discipline you can describe accurately as the ultimate Matchpoint Game. Only one comparison so everything is allowed. It is absolutely not an issue if you score a board as +850 while your teammates also write +800; it only counts as 1-0. Only to experience a bad feeling when the next board your teammates announce +110 in a good 2♥ contract while your opponents in a terrible 2NT with the aid of some finesses make eight tricks for -120 and 0-1.
After the final of the teams and the finish of the BAM everybody continues in the Matchpoint Pairs. Half of the field will reach the finals and the non-qualifiers again return to the battle for the imps. So after returning home every participant can tell which discipline is hers or his: TEAMS or PAIRS?
BOARD-A-MATCH
In the last couple of boards in the BAM the brakes were switched off.
Session 6/board 28
West | North | East | South
|
| Jamilla | | Sigrid
|
2♦(weak) | Pass | 4♦ | ?? |
South: ♠A 10 8 ♥A Q 4 ♦K 3 ♣Q 8 6 4 3
I felt sorry for the Dutch twins in the NS seats. Your hand is not that good but you feel preempted by East. So South doubled and it was really impossible for North to pass this. 4♥ went down the terrible vulnerable two: -200 and 0-1:
Board: 28. Dlr: West/NS |
| ♠ 9 6 3 2 ♥ K 10 7 5 3 ♦ 7 6 ♣ J 2 | ♠ J 5 4 ♥ 9 8 ♦ Q J 9 8 4 2 ♣ 7 5 | | ♠ K Q 7 ♥ J 6 2 ♦ A 10 5 ♣ A K 10 9 | | ♠ A 10 8 ♥ A Q 4 ♦ K 3 ♣ Q 8 6 4 3 |
Then things were getting really serious:
Board:30 Dlr: East/None |
| ♠ A Q 10 7 ♥ K Q 10 9 3 ♦ 9 8 ♣ 8 2 | ♠ J 9 8 6 4 ♥ J 7 ♦ K J 7 5 4 ♣ 7 | | ♠ 3 ♥ 6 5 ♦ A Q 6 ♣ Q 10 9 6 5 4 3 | | ♠ K 5 2 ♥ A 8 4 2 ♦ 10 3 2 ♣ A K J |
West | North | East | South
|
| | 3♣ | Pass
|
4♣ | Pass | Pass | Dble
|
Pass | 4♥ | 5♣ | Dble
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All pass
| | | |
Was a t.o. dble by North directly over 4♣ the right thing to do? And was a pass over 4♣ (Double is surely penalty, and not a late/weak TO double) the right thing to do (South could have two small hearts)? Anyway, 800 looked 1-0, certainly when your teammates announce +50 in East-West. How?
all pass and west quickly leads a small diamond for the first five tricks.
MATCHPOINT PAIRS
In the first rounds we saw at many tables pairs from the same country playing each other. For the pairs championship the two Dutch pairs Drijver-Michielsen and Verbeek-Molenaar switched to Michielsen-Verbeek and Drijver-Molenaar. They met in the first round so the knives could come at the table.
Board: 15. Dlr: South/NS |
| ♠ 7 2 ♥ Q 5 2 ♦ Q J ♣ A K Q 9 7 5 | ♠ 9 6 ♥ J 10 9 7 ♦ K 10 9 7 5 2 ♣ 3 | | ♠ A J 10 8 5 4 3 ♥ 8 4 ♦ 4 ♣ J 10 8 | | ♠ K Q ♥ A K 6 3 ♦ A 8 6 3 ♣ 6 4 2 |
West | North | East | South
|
Molenaar | Verbeek | Drijver | Michielsen
|
| | | 1NT
|
2♦(♦+♥) | 2NT(tr to ♣) | 3♠ | Pass
|
Pass | 3 NT | All pass |
|
After a spade for the ace, East returned a diamond. Declarer went up with the ace, checked clubs and claimed twelve tricks on the ♦K+fourcard heart squeeze. Ducking ♠A won’t help defenders. West is always the victim of a throw in squeeze. Eleven or twelve tricks will be the most frequent scores, or will pairs go on to 6♣? Doubling 3♠ or 4♠? Wait and see.
Board: 16. Dlr: West/EW |
| ♠ K J 6 4 2 ♥ A 10 6 2 ♦ 2 ♣ J 8 4 | ♠ A 7 ♥ 5 4 3 ♦ Q 9 4 3 ♣ A 10 9 3 | | ♠ 10 5 ♥ K Q 9 ♦ A J 8 5 ♣ K 7 6 5 | | ♠ Q 9 8 3 ♥ J 8 7 ♦ K 10 7 6 ♣ Q 2 |
West | North | East | South
|
Molenaar | Verbeek | Drijver | Michielsen
|
Pass | Pass | 1♣ | Pass
|
1♦ | 1NT | 2♦ | 2♠
|
3♦ | Pass | Pass | 3♠
|
Dble | All pass
| | |
The common partscore battle, ended by a double of the final contract. West’s lead was ♠A followed by a second trump. Declarer took ♠J and played a small diamond for ♦A in East, who returned a diamond, ruffed in dummy. With ♥K and ♥Q offside declarer needed some form of endplay to hold her losers to five. She played a club from dummy to ♣Q and ♣A in West. A heart was played for ♥Q in East. He took ♣K for down one, a heart from hand disappearing on ♣J. But also if East had played a diamond, declarer would have escaped for down one. She takes ♦K, throwing a club from dummy and ruffs the last diamond from South. Now ♣J for ♣K in East who has to give ruff and sluff or play a heart.
Hard to estimate this 100. 3♣ or 3♦ will probably make but also many other scenarios are possible.
BIG NUMBERS ALL AROUND
Of course a bulletin is happy to describe any well bid, played or defended hand. But there is always room for good stories. From +180 till 1070. We will see all possible numbers on the frequency chart during the qualifying rounds of the pairs championship. Juniors are glad to pull the trigger. The bulletin is also anxious waiting for heroic actions in adventurous boards that produced unusual numbers. Also the redoubled and making contracts have always an interesting angle.
Board: 19. Dlr: South/EW |
| ♠ 8 6 3 ♥ K 8 ♦ Q 8 5 4 ♣ J 10 7 4 | ♠ K 2 ♥ 5 4 2 ♦ A 10 9 6 ♣ Q 5 3 2 | | ♠ Q J 10 9 5 4 ♥ 10 6 ♦ K J 3 2 ♣ K | | ♠ A 7 ♥ A Q J 9 7 3 ♦ 7 ♣ A 9 8 6 |
West | North | East | South
|
| | | 1♥
|
Pass | 1 NT | 2♠ | 3♥
|
All pass |
|
| |
First a chance for declarer:
After ♠K for ♠A declarer played ♥A and ♥K followed by ♣J, ♣K, ♣A. Last trump drawn with ♥Q and ♣9 for ♣Q in West, East throwing an encouraging diamond. ♦A and diamond, ♦J, ruffed by South who showed the hand announcing to lose one more spade. Too quick: ♣8 overtaken by ♣10 and a diamond ruff would set up a diamond as the eleventh trick, with ♣7 as an entry.
West | North | East | South
|
Molenaar | Philipsen | Drijver | van Lankveld
|
| | | 1♥
|
Pass | 1NT | 2♠ | 3♥
|
3♠ | Pass | Pass | Dble
|
All pass |
|
| |
It seemed that most of the field would play in 3♥ for 170 so the vulnerable down against 3♠-doubled could well have been a good score. South led the singleton diamond for ♦J in East who played a spade. South took ♠A and had to decide whether to reach his partner in hearts or clubs (is the first diamond that North played Lavinthal?). In real life, South hoped for ♣K, played a small club after which declarer wrapped up ten tricks for 930.
The second board at the same table also was a battle between hearts and spades.
Board: 20. Dlr: West/All |
| ♠ 7 2 ♥ K Q J 4 2 ♦ K ♣ K Q 8 7 3 | ♠ Q 4 ♥ 9 8 6 3 ♦ Q J 9 8 6 ♣ 10 5 | | ♠ K J 10 8 6 ♥ A ♦ A 10 5 4 ♣ J 9 2 | | ♠ A 9 5 3 ♥ 10 7 5 ♦ 7 3 2 ♣ A 6 4 |
West | North | East | South
|
Failla | Verbeek | Zanasi | Michielsen
|
Pass | 1♥ | 1♠ | 2♥
|
Pass | Pass(3♣?) | Dble | Redble
|
2♠ | Pass(3♣/3♥?) | Pass | Dble
|
All pass |
|
|
|
Maybe it is advisable for North to bid straight away after 2♥. South could have a perfect hand, two aces or ♥A +♠K and anyway it seems unlikely that you are allowed to play in 2♥. After the redouble North with a primarily offensive hand, better bids 3♥ (4♥?) so things will develop smoothly. Maybe hoping for a spade stack in South, North decided to go for the +200.
A heart for the bare Ace, a spade for ♠Q, ♦Q, ♦K and Ace and ♠K for the Ace in South, who played another heart to shorten declarer, who was happy to claim ♥A, four tricks in spades and five in diamonds for +1070.
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