France vs Russia
Open Series - Round 29
On Wednesday evening, France had to play the first of two
consecutive Rama matches. Due to the idiosyncrasies of the schedule,
teams who have enjoyed a bye will have to play Russia and Italy in
their next two matches. Elsewhere in this issue you can read about
the outcome of the France-Italy match, but here we will restrict
ourselves to some of the interesting things that occurred in the
France-Russia encounter.
On the first four boards, we saw four swings, in different
directions.
Session 29. Board 1. Dealer
North. None Vul. |
|
ª A K 6 3 2 © 8 7 6 ¨ K 8 2 § Q 9 |
ª Q 5 © A K Q J 3 ¨ A 10 9 4 § K 8 |
|
ª J 8 7 © 5 4 ¨ J 7 6 5 3 § A 10 7 |
|
ª 10 9 4 © 10 9 2 ¨ Q § J 6 5 4 3 2 |
Open Room |
West |
North |
East |
South |
Petrunin |
Multon |
Gromov |
Quantin |
|
1ª |
Pass |
1NT |
Dble |
Pass |
2¨ |
Pass |
2© |
All Pass |
|
|
Very much left to their own devices, the Russians could not find
a way to bid game. Eleven tricks, +200 to Russia.
Closed Room |
West |
North |
East |
South |
Abécassis |
Kholomeev |
Soulet |
Zlotov |
|
1ª |
Pass |
3ª |
4© |
All Pass |
|
|
When Zlotov found the most aggressive of spade raises, Abécassis
was pushed into 4©, whether
he liked it or not. Dummy turned out to be quite useful, so ten
tricks were easy. France +420 and the first 6 IMP´s of the
match.
Session 29. Board 2. Dealer
East. N/S Vul. |
|
ª A 10 5 © J 6 ¨ 9 7 6 5 3 § K 10 2 |
ª 9 8 © K Q 10 9 7 ¨ K 8 § Q 8 7 4 |
|
ª K Q 4 3 2 © A 5 ¨ J 2 § A J 9 6 |
|
ª J 7 6 © 8 4 3 2 ¨ A Q 10 4 § 5
3 |
Open Room |
West |
North |
East |
South |
Petrunin |
Multon |
Gromov |
Quantin |
|
|
1ª |
Pass |
2© |
Pass |
3§ |
Pass |
3NT |
All Pass |
|
|
Quite natural bidding, and
with 25 hcp between E/W the contract looks normal enough. Yet
on a diamond lead declarer needs a fortunate layout, but he
went for it and found what he wanted: the §K10 onside. So it went: ¨K and §Q to the king and ace. Of course, the
defence had been forced to discard a diamond on the run of the
hearts, so leading a spade after the five hearts would have
worked as well, but as declarer could not be sure of this, he
tried another club to the nine. When this held, he even had an
overtrick, Russia +430. |
|
Jean-Christophe Quantin,
France |
Closed Room |
West |
North |
East |
South |
Abécassis |
Kholomeev |
Soulet |
Zlotov |
|
|
1ª |
Pass |
1NT |
Pass |
2§ |
Pass |
2¨ |
Pass |
2© |
Pass |
3© |
All Pass |
|
|
A transfer sequence saw the French ending up in what was a
reasonable enough contract for ten tricks and +170 to them, but the
match was level again at 6-6.
On the next board, we saw yet another partscore swing:
Session 29. Board 3. Dealer
South. E/W Vul. |
|
ª A 7 © A 6 2 ¨ A K J 10 9 8 § 7 3 |
ª K 10 6 2 © K Q 3 ¨ Q § K 10 9 8 2 |
|
ª Q 8 5 3 © 7 5 ¨ 7 5 4 3 § A J 6 |
|
ª J 9 4 © J 10 9 8 4 ¨ 6 2 § Q 5 4 |
Open Room |
West |
North |
East |
South |
Petrunin |
Multon |
Gromov |
Quantin |
|
|
|
Pass |
2§ |
2¨ |
3§ |
Pass |
Pass |
3¨ |
All Pass |
|
Andrei Gromov, Russia |
|
Due to their system, E/W
could not easily find the spade fit, so they sold out to
3¨. Now, Multon had to
play very well to see this contract home, but he did. The
defence started off with three rounds of clubs, declarer
ruffing. After four more trumps, West had discarded down to
three spades, all three hearts and thus no more clubs. So
Multon played the ªA
and another, won by West with the ten. The only safe exit card
for West was the ªK, so
he duly led it, but Multon ruffed and led a low heart. West
won, but with nothing but hearts left, he had to surrender.
France +110. |
Closed Room |
West |
North |
East |
South |
Abécassis |
Kholomeev |
Soulet |
Zlotov |
|
|
|
Pass |
1§ |
Dble |
1ª |
Pass |
2ª |
3¨ |
Pass |
Pass |
3ª |
All Pass |
|
|
After the natural 1§
opening, E/W easily found their spade fit and thus could compete to
the three-level. No less than ten tricks were made, so France scored
another +170 and 7 IMP´s.
On the next board, the French handed back these IMP´s with
interest::
Session 29. Board 4. Dealer
West. All Vul. |
|
ª 10 7 2 © K Q J 4 ¨ A § K J 10 8 4 |
ª A Q © 10 9 8 6 5 2 ¨ Q 6 § 7 6 5 |
|
ª J 9 8 4 © A 7 3 ¨ J 10 9 8 4 3 § - |
|
ª K 6 5 3 © - ¨ K 7 5 2 § A Q 9 3 2 |
Open Room |
West |
North |
East |
South |
Petrunin |
Multon |
Gromov |
Quantin |
Pass |
1§ |
Pass |
1ª |
Pass |
2§ |
Pass |
2¨ |
Pass |
3ª |
Pass |
4§ |
Pass |
4¨ |
Pass |
6§ |
Dble |
All Pass |
|
|
Petrunin apparently doubled to draw attention to the spade
situation, but it did not matter that Gromov simply led a diamond.
Declarer had nowhere to go and had to concede one down. Russia +200.
Only finding both major suit aces on side would have seen the slam
home.
Closed Room |
West |
North |
East |
South |
Abécassis |
Kholomeev |
Soulet |
Zlotov |
Pass |
2§ |
Pass |
2¨ |
Pass |
2© |
3¨ |
5§ |
All Pass |
|
|
|
Upon hearing his partner bid hearts, Zlotov made the sensible
move of not even enquiring any further, but simply settling for what
he thought was the best contract. He was right and Russia scored
+600 here, a swing of 13 IMP´s. They were back in the lead.
After two quiet boards, the French had a lucky escape:
Session 29. Board 7. Dealer
South. All Vul. |
|
ª K © K 10 9 8 7 2 ¨ 6 4 3 § Q 7 5 |
ª A 9 8 6 5 432 © J 6 ¨ Q J § 9 |
|
ª J 10 © A 4 ¨ A 10 9 7 5 2 § J 10 6 |
|
ª Q 7 © Q 5 3 ¨ K 8 § A K 8 4 3 2 |
Open Room |
West |
North |
East |
South |
Petrunin |
Multon |
Gromov |
Quantin |
|
|
|
1NT |
2ª |
3¨ |
3© |
Dble |
4ª |
Dble |
Pass |
5§ |
Pass |
5© |
Dble |
All Pass |
After the off-shape 1NT by Quantin, 3¨ showed hearts, so the heart lead against a
spade contract seemed likely. On this lead, 4ª is one off, and the French would no doubt have
found this defence. Quantin however did not want to defend and
settled for 5§. This would
have been down one, but when Multon corrected to hearts, 5© became the final contract, two
down when the club ruff was easily found after a spade lead to the
ace and a club return. Russia +500.
Closed Room |
West |
North |
East |
South |
Abécassis |
Kholomeev |
Soulet |
Zlotov |
|
|
|
2§ |
3ª |
Pass |
4ª |
All Pass |
South led the §K but then
he shifted to a low spade. Declarer now could rise with the ace and
take the losing diamond finesse to get rid of his losing heart in
time. A lucky +620 for France which brought them 3 IMP´s on the deal
instead of a loss of 12.
For compensation, here is a board on which it seems that the
French, at their turn, did not find the proper defence in the Closed
Room.
Session 29. Board 11. Dealer
South. None Vul. |
|
ª K 8 6 2 © K Q J 7 5 ¨ A K 9 § 9 |
ª J 9 7 5 © A 8 4 3 ¨ J 7 5 3 § 3 |
|
ª A Q 3 © 6 ¨ 8 4 2 § K Q 7 6 4 2 |
|
ª 10 4 © 10 9 2 ¨ Q 10 6 § A J 10 8 5 |
Open Room |
West |
North |
East |
South |
Petrunin |
Multon |
Gromov |
Quantin |
|
|
|
Pass |
Pass |
1© |
2§ |
Pass |
Pass |
Dble |
All Pass |
|
In the Open Room, Quantin did the obvious thing: he sat the
double of 2§ and collected
three undertricks. France +500.
Closed Room |
West |
North |
East |
South |
Abécassis |
Kholomeev |
Soulet |
Zlotov |
|
|
|
Pass |
Pass |
1© |
2§ |
2© |
Pass |
4© |
All Pass |
|
Zlotov decided not to go for a big penalty, so Kholomeev found
himself in what looks like a shaky game. On the lead of the §K, declarer can win the ace but
what should he do? If he plays for spade ruffs a trump switch will
probably cause his undoing. At the table, however, the contract was
made when the defenders never touched trumps though declarer did go
after the spades. So Russia got their +420 and France gained only 2
IMP´s.
Session 29. Board 15. Dealer
South. N/S Vul. |
|
ª J 9 2 © 7 6 5 2 ¨ 7 2 § A K 8 4 |
ª 8 7 6 © K 10 ¨ Q J 9 5 § Q 9 7 6 |
|
ª K 10 © 9 8 ¨ A K 10 8 4 3 § J 10 5 |
|
ª A Q 5 4 3 © A Q J 4 3 ¨ 6 § 3 2 |
Open Room |
West |
North |
East |
South |
Petrunin |
Multon |
Gromov |
Quantin |
|
|
|
1ª |
Pass |
2ª |
3¨ |
3© |
4¨ |
4ª |
All Pass |
|
When the save was not taken, nothing to report, France +620.
Closed Room |
West |
North |
East |
South |
Abécassis |
Kholomeev |
Soulet |
Zlotov |
|
|
|
1ª |
Pass |
2ª |
3¨ |
4ª |
5¨ |
Dble |
All Pass |
|
Here the save was taken, so the direction of the swing
hinged on the defence. There are six tricks available for the
defenders but they have to be very exact to get all of them.
Zlotov did very well when he led the ©A. From here, it should be not too
difficult any more: club to the king, spade to the queen,
ªA and club to the ace,
club ruff.
When Zlotov did not continue on his good work but led
another heart instead, the club ruff was gone, as was one of
the undertricks. Down only three, Russia +500 and 3 IMP´s to
France.
With the match still about level, the board below was to
decided the eventual outcome of it. |
|
Philippe Soulet,
France |
Session 29. Board 18. Dealer
East. N/S Vul. |
|
ª 4 © A 8 2 ¨ 10 9 8 4 § A K Q 10 4 |
ª K 10 7 6 © Q J 10 9 ¨ A 3 § 8 7 6 |
|
ª A 5 3 © K 6 5 4 ¨ Q 6 § J 9 5 3 |
|
ª Q J 9 8 2 © 7 3 ¨ K J 7 5 2 § 2 |
Open Room |
West |
North |
East |
South |
Petrunin |
Multon |
Gromov |
Quantin |
|
|
Pass |
Pass |
1¨ |
2§ |
Pass |
2ª |
Pass |
2NT |
Pass |
3¨ |
Pass |
3© |
Pass |
3ª |
All Pass |
|
|
|
The light, but systemic 1¨
opening was more than the French could cope with. It had become
virtually impossible for them to even realise that diamonds might
well be a useful suit to play in. Russia +200 when 3ª was down two.
Closed Room |
West |
North |
East |
South |
Abécassis |
Kholomeev |
Soulet |
Zlotov |
|
|
Pass |
2ª |
Pass |
2NT |
Pass |
3¨ |
Pass |
5¨ |
All Pass |
|
When Zlotov could open in 2nd position to show his twosuiter,
game was quickly reached. Zlotov then guessed correctly in trumps to
score his 11 tricks needed and a fine +600 to Russia. The 13 IMP´s
gained here were enough to secure their 18-12 V.P. victory
(43-29). |