Round Robin, round 4

The penultimate round in section B of the Round Robins included a match between two well-placed teams at the time: Parioli Angelini from Rome, with 69.5 V.P. the leaders by a big margin, and Société Générale from France who were on 50 V.P. at the time.

Board 12. Dealer West, NS Vul.
	ª A Q 9 5 4 3 © 10 ¨ K Q 6 2 § 9 7
ª 8 2 © Q 8 7 5 4 ¨ J 9 4 § 10 8 2		ª K J 10 7 © 9 3 2 ¨ 10 8 § A K 5 3
	ª 6 © A K J 6 ¨ A 7 5 3 § Q J 6 4

Closed Room:
West	North	East	South
Versace	Sebbane	Lauria	Thuillez
	1ª	Pass	2§
Pass	2¨	Pass	3¨
Pass	3ª	Pass	3NT
Pass	4ª	All Pass

As the situation was already forcing to game, there is much to be said for passing 3NT. With the §AK out and the trumps stacked behind him, Sebbane had no chance in 4ª and quietly went down two. Parioli +200.

Open Room:
West	North	East	South
Quantin	Angelini	Multon	Sementa
	1ª	Pass	2§
Pass	2¨	Pass	2NT
Pass	3ª	Pass	3NT
Pass	Pass	Dble	All Pass

In spite of the game-forcing character of the situation 3NT might well have gone down, and a spade lead certainly was about the only way to help partner in finding the winning defence if it existed, which is actually the case.

Quantin duly led the ª8, which was covered by the nine and ten. Multon then played a low club, the queen winning. Sementa now crossed to the ¨K and played another club, taken by Multon’s king. When he switched to a heart next, Sementa could run this to dummy’s ten. Quantin won the queen and returned a spade, but nine tricks were there now: a spade, three hearts, four diamonds and a club. Parioli +750 and 14 IMPs, the first major swing of the match.

But what if Multon switches to a heart at trick two? If declarer ducks this to West’s queen, a spade will come back to put an end to all squeeze possibilities and set the contract. If declarer wins and goes after the clubs himself, EW will end up with their hearts established.

Very little happened, the French getting back a few IMPs on the odd overtrick, until seven boards later, when both teams had their chances again.

Board 12. Dealer West, NS Vul.
	ª Q 9 7 2 © 8 7 6 4 3 ¨ A 4 § 5 3
ª 10 6 5 © A 10 5 2 ¨ 8 5 § Q 6 4 2		ª K J 8 4 3 © 9 ¨ J 3 § K J 9 8 7
	ª A © K Q J ¨ K Q 10 9 7 6 2 § A 10

Closed Room:
West	North	East	South
Versace	Sebbane	Lauria	Thuillez
Pass	Pass	1ª	Dble
2ª	3©	Pass	4¨
Pass	4©	Pass	4NT
Pass	5§	Pass	6¨
All Pass

Even though the defenders did not find their heart ruff, there was no suitable parking place for the losing club as the only entry to dummy, the ¨A, will necessarily be gone before the hearts are established. This even applies if the suit breaks 3-2. Anyway, Parioli just scored +100.

Open Room:
West	North	East	South
Quantin	Angelini	Multon	Sementa
Pass	Pass	1ª	Dble
2ª	Pass	3ª	5¨
All Pass

When Angelini did not bid on his first occasion after the double, he also put an end to Sementa’s possible aspirations. Sementa thus settled for 5¨ and easily made it on a spade lead by drawing trumps first and conceding a heart and a club later. Parioli +600 and 12 more IMPs to double their lead to 24, but a chance missed by the French to save the board.

Then, we saw another string of quiet boards, the French picking up just 4 IMPs on a misdefence. When the end of the match came in sight, things livened up again:

Board 18. Dealer East, NS Vul.
	ª K 8 6 4 © 10 ¨ K Q 10 2 § A 8 6 4
ª 7 © A K J 9 7 4 3 2 ¨ A 4 3 § 9		ª A 10 5 3 2 © Q 6 5 ¨ 6 § Q J 6 2
	ª Q J 9 © 8 ¨ J 9 8 7 5 § K 10 7 3

Closed Room:
West	North	East	South
Versace	Sebbane	Lauria	Thuillez
		Pass	Pass
1©	Dble	2NT	3¨
Dble	Pass	3ª	Dble
Pass	4ª	Dble	Pass
4NT	Pass	5¨	Pass
6©	All Pass

According to the various Italian commentators, EW were on thin ice here, as Lauria’s double of 4ª might have been “for penalties” as well, suggesting spade strength rather than first-round control. When Lauria showed an ace, Versace bid the slam with some confidence after all, and this once again proved the right thing to do. Parioli +980.

Open Room:
West	North	East	South
Quantin	Angelini	Multon	Sementa
		Pass	Pass
4©	All Pass

We all know that in third position everything is different, but this 4© opening bid certainly was far off target this time. Another 11 IMPs out for the French to trail by 31 now.

On the last board, Parioli scored another 3 IMPs so the final score was 45-11 to them, or 22-8 V.P.