Round of 16 Gromova v. Erichsen by Jos Jacobs At the halfway stage of the Round of 16, the outcome of most of the matches looked rather clear, as one team was leading the other by a margin of 30 or more. There were two exceptions, one of them being the Gromova v. Erichsen encounter. The Norwegians were leading the Russians by 8 IMPs so there should be a lot to play for. Alas, this was not fully the case, as at both tables we could see a few mistakes, probably due to fatigue after more than 40 boards already played in the day. Still, there was more than enough excitement, of course also due to the same tiredness of the players. After a quiet first board we saw a good slam bid at both tables on board 16, and then came an interesting hand: Board 17. Dealer North. None Vul.   ♠ J 4 ♥ 8 6 2 ♦ A K 5 4 2 ♣ K J 4 ♠ A 9 7 3 ♥ 10 ♦ Q 10 9 8 ♣ Q 9 8 6 ♠ K Q 8 6 5 ♥ Q J 5 4 ♦ J 7 3 ♣ 10   ♠ 10 2 ♥ A K 9 7 3 ♦ 6 ♣ A 7 5 3 2 Open Room West North East South Helness Gromov Helness Gromova   1♣ 1♠ 3♠ 4♠ Pass Pass Dble All Pass       South’s 3♠ showed hearts and a minor. Four Spades went down two for 300 to Gromova, but what about 4♥? Let’s have a look at what they thought about that in the other room. Closed Room West North East South Dubinin Erichsen Ponomareva Erichsen   1♦ Pass 1♥ Pass 1NT Pass 2♣ Pass 2♥ Pass 4♥ All Pass       Surprisingly enough, EW were not to be heard at this table. The disadvantage was that declarer had nothing to guide her in 4♥, but maybe she should have succeeded after all against the lead of the ♣6. Please keep in mind that 2♣ was Checkback, so declarer’s second suit was concealed. East plays the ♣10 and you win the ace. Your first move is to discard a spade on the ♦AK; next you play a trump to the ace, noting (or not) the fall of West’s♥10. What now? If both trumps and clubs are 3-2: next board please. But what if either suit breaks 4-1? What if they both break 4-1? If West led a singleton club, playing a club next does not cost. West cannot hold two clubs, as he led his lowest. The danger in drawing a second round of trumps is that East can draw a third round of trumps after ruffing a club, if trumps are 4-1. So why not play a club to the jack first? Of course this line fails if East ruffs from a doubleton trump… If you do so, at the actual layout East can ruff and cash a top spade, but he can do no further harm. Still, you have to play on carefully. After ruffing the spade you should not draw another trump, but first cash the ♣K. It does not matter if East ruffs or not, as the top trump is the entry needed to ruff out the last club. Contract made. At the table declarer drew a second round of trumps, causing her undoing. Down two and 9 IMPs to Gromova. The IMPs just lost were to come back with interest to Erichsen on the next board. Board 18. Dealer East. N/S Vul.   ♠ 7 5 ♥ 8 3 2 ♦ 10 2 ♣ Q J 10 8 6 2 ♠ K 9 2 ♥ A Q 10 6 4 ♦ A 4 ♣ K 4 3 ♠ Q 8 6 3 ♥ K 7 5 ♦ 9 6 5 3 ♣ A 7   ♠ A J 10 4 ♥ J 9 ♦ K Q J 8 7 ♣ 9 5 How can you go down in 4♥? Win the club lead, draw TWO rounds of trumps and try to ruff a club in dummy. If you play spades first, you will almost certainly run into sort of an automatic trump promotion, except if you happen to find ♠A doubleton in East (or if a less competent East hops up with her ♠A immediately). When the Russian declarer went down 10 IMPs went Norway’s way. Board 22 was a real bidding triumph for Tor Helness. Board 22. Dealer East. E/W Vul.   ♠ A 10 4 3 2 ♥ K 9 8 5 ♦ 6 ♣ 10 9 8 ♠ K Q 9 ♥ 3 ♦ K Q 9 8 5 4 ♣ Q J 4 ♠ J 6 ♥ A Q 7 4 ♦ A 10 7 3 2 ♣ 7 6   ♠ 8 7 5 ♥ J 10 6 2 ♦ J ♣ A K 5 3 2 Open Room West North East South Helness Gromov Helness Gromova     Pass Pass 1♦ 1♠ Dble 1NT Pass 2♣ 3♦ 3♠ 3NT All Pass     For this contract, the only thing needed was the ♥K right and so it proved. Erichsen +600. Closed Room West North East South Dubinin Erichsen Ponomareva Erichsen     1♦ 2♣ Dble 3♣ Pass Pass 5♦ All Pass     An interesting difference of opinion as to the requirements for an opening bid. Both East and West can open 1♦ if they so wish, but the Norwegian east left it to her partner. Probably expecting a club singleton with his partner, Dubinin never thought of 3NT, only to find out that there were three top losers in 5♦. Erichsen +12 IMPs. Board 23. Dealer South. All Vul.   ♠ K 5 ♥ 10 8 7 2 ♦ 8 5 ♣ A 7 5 4 3 ♠ 9 4 2 ♥ K J 9 5 3 ♦ K ♣ K 10 6 2 ♠ A Q J 7 6 ♥ 4 ♦ A 7 3 2 ♣ Q J 9   ♠ 10 8 3 ♥ A Q 6 ♦ Q J 10 9 6 4 ♣ 8 Fatigue struck again on board 23, but this time at both tables. Sighs of relief from both camps when they compared the results… The problem is: how can you go down in 4♠ after a club lead to the ace, a club ruff and a diamond continuation? You know that North does not have the ♥A, as otherwise he would have led a high club for his partner to ruff. The ♠K has to be onside, for if not there are four losers. The alternative chance is that South started with only two trumps, in which case the ♠A followed by two more rounds of clubs will do. Percentages are against that line, I would assume, so the simple line of ruffing a diamond and finessing in spades looks best. It would have been successful too, but it was not adopted at either table. So we saw a remarkable push. On the penultimate board, the Norwegians really proved they had been the better team in the second half: Board 27. Dealer South. None Vul.   ♠ Q 5 4 ♥ 4 ♦ A K 7 6 5 4 2 ♣ 10 7 ♠ J 6 2 ♥ 7 5 ♦ Q J 9 8 3 ♣ K J 8 ♠ A K 10 7 ♥ Q 10 6 ♦ - ♣ A 9 6 5 4 2   ♠ 9 8 3 ♥ A K J 9 8 3 2 ♦ 10 ♣ Q 3 Open Room West North East South Helness Gromov Helness Gromova       4♥ Pass Pass Dble All Pass Though a trick was lost in defence, the double still netted 300 and 4 IMPs to the winners. Closed Room West North East South Dubinin Erichsen Ponomareva Erichsen       4♥ All Pass       On a diamond lead ruffed by East, declarer could not avoid down three for a loss of a mere 150. The final result: 40-16 to Erichsen over the session, 58-26 overall.

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