USA II vs France
Bermuda Bowl - Round 9
Selecting a match to watch is a complex affair and can
frequently only be dicided after several hours of discussion
involving the consumption of vast amounts of liquid. Every
member of the Daily News has different criteria. Despite the
obvious conflicts involved we we are generally fortunate in so
far as the chosen encounter produces several newsworthy
deals.
Our nap selection for Round 9 was the Bermuda Bowl contest
between France and USA II.
For once, the boards were generally unproductive but there
was one sensational deal that caused problems and swings in
virtually every match. Before we show you that, here are some
key deals from our main feature: |
|
 Martel Chip, USA
|
We start with a deal where both declarers failed in 3NT. Our
photographer described the contract as 'Tacchi proof' - meaning it
was impossible to go down. Alas, our protagonists were not familiar
with the theory.
Board 3. Dealer South. E/W Vul.
|
|
ª A 9 7 5 2 © J 9 2 ¨ Q 7 3 § 8 3 |
ª 4 3 © A Q 8 ¨ A K 5 4 § A 9 5 2 |
 |
ª K 10 8 6 © 7 5 3 ¨ 10 6 § K Q J 7 |
|
ª Q J © K 10 6 4 ¨ J 9 8 2 § 10 6 4 |
Closed Room |
West |
North |
East |
South |
Stansby |
Quantin |
Martel |
Multon |
|
|
|
Pass |
1§ |
Pass |
1ª |
Pass |
1NT |
Pass |
3NT |
All Pass |
North led the three of diamonds and essentially declarer did not
manage to divine the spade position, finishing one down, -100.
Open Room |
West |
North |
East |
South |
Abecassis |
Weichsel |
Soulet |
Sontag |
|
|
|
Pass |
1NT |
Pass |
2§* |
Pass |
2¨ |
Pass |
2NT |
Pass |
3NT |
All Pass |
|
|
This time North led the five of spades for the eight (was the six
a viable option?) jack and four. Declarer covered the return of the
four of hearts with the eight and when North played back the seven
of spades the moment of truth had arrived. With little to go on,
declarer put in the ten and had no further chance. Later on he tried
a low spade, hoping South had started with ªAQJ alone and finished two down, -200 and 3 IMPs
for USA II.
As Tacchi said, once the heart finesse is right you have eight
tricks and the obvious chance for a ninth is a spade to the king. If
only it was that simple!
Board 4. Dealer West. All Vul.
|
|
ª A 9 7 3 © 4 2 ¨ Q 9 § A 8 6 4 2 |
ª - © K Q J 10 8 6 ¨ K J 7 6 § Q 7 3 |
 |
ª K 10 8 6 4 2 © 9 7 3 ¨ 10 § K J 10 |
|
ª Q J 5 © A 5 ¨ A 8 5 4 3 2 § 9 5 |
Closed Room |
West |
North |
East |
South |
Stansby |
Quantin |
Martel |
Multon |
1© |
Pass |
1ª |
Pass |
2© |
Pass |
4© |
All Pass |
North led the queen of diamonds and South put up the ace and
switched to the nine of clubs. North ducked and in due course was
able to give South a club ruff for one down.
Open Room |
West |
North |
East |
South |
Abecassis |
Weichsel |
Soulet |
Sontag |
1© |
Pass |
1ª |
2¨ |
2© |
2ª |
4© |
All Pass |
Once again the opening lead was the queen of diamonds and South
put up the ace. However, he returned the four of diamonds and
declarer was now in the box seat. He ruffed and ran the seven of
hearts. When that held he wanted to find a safe route to the ten
tricks that were rightfully his, the only danger being a defensive
ruff of some kind. Abecassis played the king of clubs and when that
held he ruffed a spade and advanced the jack of diamonds. He was
safe for +620, which he claimed moments later.
Board 7. Dealer South. All Vul.
|
|
ª J 3 © A 7 4 ¨ 10 9 4 3 § 10 7 5 4 |
ª K 10 7 6 2 © J ¨ A 6 2 § A Q 9 8 |
 |
ª A Q 9 8 © K 6 5 3 2 ¨ K 7 5 § K |
|
ª 5 4 © Q 10 9 8 ¨ Q J 8 § J 6 3 2 |
Closed Room |
West |
North |
East |
South |
Stansby |
Quantin |
Martel |
Multon |
|
|
|
Pass |
1ª |
Pass |
2NT* |
Pass |
3§ |
Pass |
3ª |
Pass |
3NT* |
Pass |
4§ |
Pass |
4NT |
Pass |
5¨ |
Pass |
5© |
Pass |
6ª |
All Pass |
After the popular 2NT game forcing response West was able to show
his club suit and slam interest via a 'serious' 3NT bid. Duck soup
to the Americans and an easy +1430.
Open Room |
West |
North |
East |
South |
Abecassis |
Weichsel |
Soulet |
Sontag |
|
|
|
Pass |
1ª |
Pass |
2© |
Pass |
2ª |
Pass |
3¨ |
Pass |
3NT |
Pass |
4ª |
All Pass |
When West did not bid 3©
it was reasonable to infer that he did not have two hearts. In that
case you might expect East to find an alternative to 4ª. Even so, West gave quite a lot
of thought to bidding on, but eventually made the pass that cost a
lot of IMPs.
The following deal is the one that caused mayhem across the
field. What follows is a sample, with several of the results being
repeated at a number of tables.
Board 9. Dealer North. E/W Vul.
|
|
ª 8 6 5 © K 10 9 5 ¨ A Q 7 5 4 3 § - |
ª A Q 7 4 3 © Q 7 ¨ J § 10 8 6 5 3 |
 |
ª K J 2 © A 6 2 ¨ K § A K Q J 9 2 |
|
ª 10 9 © J 8 4 3 ¨ 10 9 8 6 2 § 7 4 |
As you can see, East/West are cold for a slam in either black
suit and North/South have a paying save in diamonds.
Of course, in order to secure a slam bonus you have to bid one,
and that was not always the case:
Australia vs Venezuela Venice Cup
Open Room |
West |
North |
East |
South |
Tache |
Cormack |
Hirschhaut |
Moir |
|
Pass |
1§ |
Pass |
1ª |
Dble |
Redble |
2© |
2ª |
Pass |
4ª |
Pass |
Pass |
5¨ |
5ª |
All Pass |
Probably best not to dwell on that auction too long.
Australia vs Hong Kong Bermuda Bowl
Open Room |
West |
North |
East |
South |
Sze |
Bilski |
Lai |
Brown |
|
1¨ |
3¨* |
5¨ |
Pass |
Pass |
Dble |
All Pass |
Three Diamonds promised a solid suit and was asking West to bid
3NT with a diamond stopper (In Ireland it would promise a diamond
stopper and ask West to bid 3NT with a solid suit). The pre-emption
caused a problem that east/West could not solve - at least they
collected +100.
Poland vs Guadeloupe Bermuda Bowl
Open Room |
West |
North |
East |
South |
Bouveresse |
Pszczola |
Moers |
Kwiecen |
|
Pass |
2§* |
Pass |
2¨* |
Dble |
3§ |
5¨ |
6§ |
6¨ |
Dble |
All Pass |
Spades were never in the picture and this time the penalty was
-300.
Norway vs Italy Bermuda Bowl
Open Room |
West |
North |
East |
South |
Duboin |
Helness |
Bocchi |
Helgemo |
|
1¨ |
Dble |
3¨ |
4ª |
5¨ |
6ª |
Pass |
Pass |
7¨ |
Dble |
All Pass |
Just as in our second example, it was easier to find the save
where North had opened the bidding. -500 was cheap.
England vs Italy Venice Cup
Open Room |
West |
North |
East |
South |
Courtney |
Naveh |
Brock |
Melech |
|
Pass |
2NT |
Pass |
3©* |
Pass |
3ª |
Pass |
3NT |
Pass |
4§ |
Pass |
4¨ |
Dble |
4© |
Pass |
4NT |
Pass |
5§ |
Pass |
6§ |
All Pass |
|
|
There is no obvious reason to open the East hand 2NT but it
worked well enough when East decided to look for a slam. +1370
Closed Room |
West |
North |
East |
South |
Lieberman |
Dhondy |
Birman |
Smith |
|
Pass |
2§ |
Pass |
2ª |
3¨ |
6§ |
6¨ |
7§ |
Pass |
Pass |
7¨ |
Pass |
Pass |
7ª |
All Pass |
West's bid of Seven Clubs is hard to understand, as East's jump
to slam surely meant that at one first round control must be
missing. However, South took out insurance - after all, West could
have been void in diamonds. East must have been of the same opinion
- and her partner's pass over Seven Diamonds surely suggested she
had first round control of that suit. You can't blame North for
failing to lead her ace, but you might question her choice of the
ten of hearts. That gave declarer no option but to play low - and
then claim a mere 2210.
USA II vs Austria Venice Cup
Closed Room |
West |
North |
East |
South |
Breed |
Fischer |
Quinn |
Weigkricht |
|
Pass |
2§* |
Pass |
2ª |
3¨ |
4NT* |
6¨ |
Pass* |
Pass |
7NT |
Pass |
Pass |
Dble |
All Pass |
|
The convention card of the American pair says they play both DOPI
and DEPO over intervention. Unless we are missing something,
whichever was in use (we think it is usual to use DEPO at higher
levels as in this situation) West appears to be showing an odd
number of aces. -1700 was the embarrassing payment.
By the way, USA II beat France
21-9VP. |