39th World Team Championships Page 3 Bulletin 6 - Friday 4 September 2009


It's All About Clubs

by Brian Senior

In Round 11 of the Bermuda Bowl, high-flying Bulgaria defeated one of their serious rivals, China Long Zhu, by 44-10 IMPs, 23-7 VPs. Thirteen of those IMPs came when Danailov/Karakolev, for Bulgaria, bid a good slam missed at the other table, and 16 came on this deal.

Board 12. Dealer West. N/S Vul.
 ♠ A J 9
J
A J 7 5 2
♣ 7 6 4 2

♠ 4 3
Q 8 6 5
K Q 9 3
♣ Q 10 5
Bridge deal
♠ 10 8 7 5 2
10 9 3 2
10 6 4
♣ 9
 ♠ K Q 6
A K 7 4
8
♣ A K J 8 3

WestNorthEastSouth
DanailovDaiKarakolevYang
Pass1Pass2♣
Pass3Pass4NT
Pass5Pass7♣
All Pass    

WestNorthEastSouth
ZhaoStefanovFuAronov
PassPassPass1♣
Pass2Pass3♣
Pass4Pass4NT
Pass5Pass6♣
All Pass    

Jianming Dai’s decision to open the North hand made little difference to the final decision. At both tables, North had shown at least four-card club support, heart shortage and two key cards. Dai’s opening was Precision and did not promise genuine diamonds. Lixin Yang gambled out the lack of the club queen and probably knew that he faced exactly four-card support as Dai might have shown the queen had he held five clubs. Victor Aronov’s 1♣ was strong and 2 a natural positive. Aronov was in pretty much the same position as Yang when he settled for the small slam.

On another day, the queen of clubs would have appeared in two rounds and the swing would have been 13 to China, but today was Bulgaria’s day as the Chinese gamble did not pay off.

It looks easy to get to the position that both these North/Souths reached, so that it is down to South to decide whether to gamble if you get an uncontested auction. Twenty-three pairs out of 66 failed to play in a club contract. The breakdown was: Bermuda Bowl 15 6♣ making, three times 3NT, one 7♣ down one, one time 6NT doubled down, one time 6 down, and one time 5 down. In the Venice Cup 12 times 6♣ making and once 6♣ doubled making, one 5♣ making, four 3NT making, one 4NT making, one obscure 4♠ making. There was just one 6NT going down. In the Seniors Bowl there were 11 6♣ making, one 5♣ making, three 3NT making, one 7♣ down, four 6NT down and one 5 doubled down. Pride of place, however, goes to the pair who defended 5♠ doubled down eight for +2000, when somebody got a little too imaginative on the East/West cards.

It would be nice to know how many North-Souths had to contend with a mini-no trump from West or some psychic effort or other from East. Alas, that information is unavailable. But surely 23 pairs cannot miss clubs unless an opponent causes problems.



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