|
Austria vs Germany
Venice Cup SemiFinal 4
At the half-way point in their semi-final match, Germany led
their long-time rivals Austria by 128-108 IMPs. Set four saw plenty
of action on vugraph. Germany had added an IMP to their lead when
Board 3 hit the table.
| Board 3. Dealer South. E/W Vul.
|
| |
ª Q 7 4 3
© A J 4 3
¨ K 9 8 4
§ 3 |
ª A 10 6 5
© 2
¨ A Q J 10 2
§ Q 5 2 |
 |
ª 9 8
© K 9 7
¨ 6 3
§ K J 9 7 6 4 |
| |
ª K J 2
© Q 10 8 6 5
¨ 7 5
§ A 10 8 |
| West |
North |
East |
South |
| V Arnim |
Erhart |
Auken |
Smederevac |
| |
|
|
Pass |
| 1¨ |
Dble |
2§ |
3© |
| 4§ |
All Pass |
|
|
| West |
North |
East |
South |
| Weigkricht |
Nehmert |
Fischer |
Rauscheid |
| |
|
|
Pass |
| 1ª |
Pass |
1NT |
Pass |
| 2¨ |
All Pass |
|
|
 Erhart Maria, Austria |
|
Maria Erhart did something very good for her side when she
found an off-centre take-out double that, I confess, would not
have occurred to me. That allowed Jovanka Smederevac to jump
in hearts and force her opponents to an uncomfortable level.
The lead against 4§ was
a heart to Erhart's ace. She switched accurately to a low
spade, the key to the defence, and that went to the jack and
ace. Smederevac won the first club lead and played king and
another spade. Sabine Auken ruffed and drew trumps before
taking the diamond finesse; down one for -100.
In the other room, Terry Weigkricht and Doris Fischer were
allowed a free run and settled in the safer looking spot of
2¨. Pony Nehmert led
her singleton club to the jack and ace but Andrea Rauscheid
did not give her a ruff, switching instead to a trump.
Weigkricht finessed and Nehmert took her king and switched to
ace and another heart. Weigkricht had the rest now for +130
and 6 IMPs to Austria. |
Note that a club ruff at trick and a spade switch could have
netted six tricks for the defence.
| Board 5. Dealer North. N/S Vul.
|
| |
ª Q 8 7
© A 6 2
¨ 9 5 3
§ 7 6 3 2 |
ª 10 4 2
© K 9
¨ A 10 4
§ A 9 8 5 4 |
|
ª A K J
© Q J 10 8 7 5 4
¨ K Q J
§ - |
| |
ª 9 6 5 3
© 3
¨ 8 7 6 2
§ K Q J 10 |
| West |
North |
East |
South |
| V Arnim |
Erhart |
Auken |
Smederevac |
| |
Pass |
1§ |
Pass |
| 2ª |
Pass |
3© |
Pass |
| 3ª |
Pass |
4© |
All Pass |
| West |
North |
East |
South |
| Weigkricht |
Nehmert |
Fischer |
Rauscheid |
| |
Pass |
1§ |
Pass |
| 2§ |
Pass |
2© |
Pass |
| 3§ |
Pass |
3© |
Pass |
| 4© |
All Pass |
|
|
Neither pairs' strong club methods coped well with this deal -
and indeed, it caused plenty of problems in other matches also. Von
Arnim showed a positive with one minor in a balanced hand then set
hearts as trumps, but Auken expected club wastage and made a rather
cautious sign-off in 4©.
Weigkricht showed five controls then showed her clubs. She had no
clear cuebid available at her third turn so simply raised to 4© and Fischer too took the cautious
view, fearing too much wastage; no swing.
| Board 7. Dealer South. All Vul.
|
| |
ª A J 7 6 5
© J 4 3
¨ K Q 8 2
§ A |
ª Q 4 3
© A Q 8 2
¨ 10 9 6
§ 9 4 3 |
|
ª 8 2
© K 9 6
¨ J 7 5 3
§ 8 7 6 5 |
| |
ª K 10 9
© 10 7 5
¨ A 4
© K Q J 10 2 |
| West |
North |
East |
South |
| V Arnim |
Erhart |
Auken |
Smederevac |
| |
|
|
1¨ |
| Pass |
2¨ |
Pass |
3§ |
| Pass |
3ª |
Pass |
4ª |
| All Pass |
|
|
|
| West |
North |
East |
South |
| Weigkricht |
Nehmert |
Fischer |
Rauscheid |
| |
|
|
1NT |
| Pass |
2© |
Pass |
2ª |
| Pass |
3¨ |
Pass |
3ª |
| Pass |
4§ |
Pass |
4¨ |
| Pass |
4ª |
All Pass |
|
 Nehmert Pony, Germany |
|
The Austrian canapé auction rather pinpointed the heart
weakness and Auken had a fairly easy time in finding the best
opening lead. The ©9
went to the ace and Von Arnim returned a low heart to the
king. A third heart to the queen was followed by a passive
diamond exit, leaving Erhart with the queen of trumps to find.
She won the ace and tried the king of clubs, in the hope of
getting an honest count signal from Von Arnim. Whatever she
saw didn't help because she continued with ace and another
spade and was one down; -100.
I would have thought that the cuebidding sequence in the
other room had also indicated that a heart lead would be the
most effective one, but it was a little more difficult from
the west hand and Weigkricht actually chose a club. Rauscheid
won the ¨A, crossed to
the ªK and took heart
discards on the clubs, picking up the trumps along the way as
Weigkricht ruffed in on the fourth round; +710 and 13 IMPs to
Germany. |
| Board 8. Dealer West. None Vul.
|
| |
ª 9 8 4 3
© A Q 6
¨ K 9 7 4
§ 10 7 |
ª Q 10 7
© 8 3 2
¨ 10 8 6
§ A K 9 3 |
|
ª A K J 5 2
© K J 10 5 4
¨ 5
§ 6 2 |
| |
ª 6
© 9 7
¨ A Q J 3 2
§ Q J 8 5 4 |
| West |
North |
East |
South |
| V Arnim |
Erhart |
Auken |
Smederevac |
| Pass |
Pass |
1ª |
2NT |
| Dble |
4¨ |
4© |
Pass |
| 4ª |
5¨ |
Dble |
All Pass |
| West |
North |
East |
South |
| Weigkricht |
Nehmert |
Fischer |
Rauscheid |
| Pass |
Pass |
1ª |
2NT |
| Dble |
4¨ |
Pass |
Pass |
| Dble |
Pass |
4© |
All Pass |
 Smederevac Jovanka,
Austria |
|
The two auctions were identical as far as 4¨ but then Auken judged to
show her second suit immediately while Fischer preferred to
wait until her partner doubled. I doubt that these choices
affected the outcome significantly, rather, it was another
case of Erhart taking a solo action that was not found at the
other table when she went on to 5¨.
Auken led a top spade against 5¨ doubled but could not read
her partner's play of the seven and switched to a heart,
losing the defensive trick in that suit. Erhart won and
crossed to dummy with a trump to play a club up. Daniela Von
Arnim won and Erhart soon claimed one down; -100. Where 4ª might have proved to be
hard work due to the 4-1 trump split, 4© posed no major difficulty for Fischer.
She won the spade lead in dummy and played a heart up. Nehmert
took the ace to deal her partner a spade ruff, but with the
heart finesse marked on the auction there was only one diamond
to come from here; +420 and 8 IMPs to
Austria. |
| Board 9. Dealer North. E/W Vul.
|
| |
ª Q 8 6
© J 8 7 3
¨ Q 9 8 5
§ K J |
ª A J 9 3
© A
¨ K 7 2
§ Q 10 7 5 4 |
|
ª K 10
© 10 5 4
¨ A J 10 4
§ A 9 8 3 |
| |
ª 7 5 4 2
© K Q 9 6 2
¨ 6 3
§ 6 2 |
| West |
North |
East |
South |
| V Arnim |
Erhart |
Auken |
Smederevac |
| |
Pass |
1¨ |
1© |
| Dble |
1NT |
Pass |
Pass |
| Dble |
Pass |
Pass |
2© |
| 3§ |
Pass |
3© |
Pass |
| 3ª |
Pass |
4§ |
Pass |
| 5§ |
All Pass |
|
|
| West |
North |
East |
South |
| Weigkricht |
Nehmert |
Fischer |
Rauscheid |
| |
Pass |
1¨ |
2© |
| Dble |
4© |
Pass |
Pass |
| 5§ |
Pass |
6§ |
All Pass |
Again Erhart found a combination of calls that would not have
occurred to many of us, creating difficulties for her opponents. In
the circumstances, Auken/Von Arnim did very well to get to the club
game. But bidding to game proved not to be good enough. In the other
room, Weigkricht doubled the weak jump overcall then, rather than
make a second double at her next turn, bravely bid her clubs at the
five level. Fischer may have been looking at a weak no trump, but
all her cards looked to be working and she added the sixth club.
Weigkricht won the heart lead and played the §Q to the king and ace. A second club lost to the
jack and Nehmert's spade switch saved Weigkricht the worry of
finding the queen of diamonds - which you was heavy favourite to do
anyway. That was +1370 for Austria and +620 for Germany; 11 IMPs to
Austria.
| Board 10. Dealer East. All Vul.
|
| |
ª 9
© 7 2
¨ A J 8 7 6 3 2
§ 7 5 3 |
ª Q 4 3
© J 10 6 5
¨ -
§ K Q J 9 6 2 |
|
ª K J 5 2
© Q 8 3
¨ K 10 9
§ A 10 4 |
| |
ª A 10 8 7 6
© A K 9 4
¨ Q 5 4
§
8 |
| West |
North |
East |
South |
| V Arnim |
Erhart |
Auken |
Smederevac |
| |
|
1ª |
Pass |
| 2© |
3¨ |
Pass |
5¨ |
| Pass |
Pass |
Dble |
All Pass |
| West |
North |
East |
South |
| Weigkricht |
Nehmert |
Fischer |
Rauscheid |
| |
|
1¨ |
1ª |
| 2§ |
Pass |
2NT |
Pass |
| 3NT |
All Pass |
|
|
The Austrian run continued with another double-figure swing.
Fischer's 1¨ opening silenced
Nehmert and the Austrians overbid to the bad no trump game.
Rauscheid led the ace of hearts to take a look at dummy then
switched to a low diamond. Nehmert won the ace and returned a
diamond, ducked. Now Rauscheid just cashed out for down one;
-100.
Erhart found the courage (it is called something else when the
result is -1100) to overcall 3¨ and Smederevac raised to game. You or I might
have been tempted to redouble with the South hand when Auken
doubled, but then we are not as used to playing with Maria and
Smederevac was happy to put down a rather suitable dummy in 5¨ doubled. Auken led a spade and
Erhart won the ace and gave up a club. Unable to attack trumps to
good effect, the defence was powerless to prevent Erhart from
ruffing two clubs in dummy for +750 and 12 IMPs to Austria, who had
moved into the lead by a single IMP.
| Board 11. Dealer South. None Vul.
|
| |
ª A J 8 4
© A J 9 7 5
¨ K 3
§ K 5 |
ª Q 10
© 8 3
¨ J 6 5 2
§ Q J 10 9 7 |
|
ª K 9 7 3 2
© -
¨ Q 10 9 8
§ 6 4 3 2 |
| |
ª 6 5
© K Q 10 6 4 2
¨ A 7 4
§ A 8 |
| West |
North |
East |
South |
| V Arnim |
Erhart |
Auken |
Smederevac |
| |
|
|
1© |
| Pass |
2NT |
Pass |
3§ |
| Pass |
3¨ |
Pass |
3© |
| Pass |
3ª |
Pass |
4¨ |
| Pass |
4NT |
Pass |
5ª |
| Pass |
5NT |
Pass |
7© |
| All Pass |
|
|
|
| West |
North |
East |
South |
| Weigkricht |
Nehmert |
Fischer |
Rauscheid |
| |
|
|
1© |
| Pass |
2NT |
Pass |
3© |
| Pass |
3ª |
Dble |
Pass |
| Pass |
Rdbl |
Pass |
4§ |
| Pass |
4¨ |
Pass |
4© |
| Pass |
4NT |
Pass |
5¨ |
| Pass |
6© |
All Pass |
|
The Austrian lead did not survive the next deal as
Erhart/Smederevac bid to the hopeless grand slam. Two No Trump was a
forcing heart raise and 3§/¨ showed
values in the bid suits. After an exchange of cuebids, Erhart took
control, asking for aces then inviting seven by bidding 5NT.
Smederevac decided that her sixth trump was an extra trick and bid
the grand - down one for -50.
Nehmert also began with a forcing heart raise and Rauscheid
showed a decent hand with no particular distributional feature to
show. A series of cuebids again led to North asking for key cards
but she then settled for the small slam, having been warned that the
second round of spades would be a problem; +980 and 14 IMPs to
Germany.
| Board 14. Dealer East. None Vul.
|
| |
ª 10 8 7
© A J 9 3
¨ 10
§ Q 6 4 3 2 |
ª Q 6
© 6
¨ K Q 7 6 5 3
§ K 10 9 8 |
|
ª K 9 5 3
© Q 10 8 5 4
¨ A J 8
§ A |
| |
ª A J 4 2
© K 7 2
¨ 9 4 2
§ J 7
5 |
| West |
North |
East |
South |
| V Arnim |
Erhart |
Auken |
Smederevac |
| |
|
1© |
Pass |
| 1NT |
All Pass |
|
|
| West |
North |
East |
South |
| Weigkricht |
Nehmert |
Fischer |
Rauscheid |
| |
|
1ª |
Pass |
| 2¨ |
Pass |
2© |
Pass |
| 3¨ |
Pass |
3NT |
All Pass |
The West hand was a bad one for the German methods and
semi-forcing 1NT response was the best solution that Von Arnim could
find. With no attractive rebid, Auken passed, only to find that the
combined 24-count was delivering a cold game, duly bid by Austria in
the other room. Both declarers took nine safe tricks for 6 IMPs to
Austria.
| Board 15. Dealer South. N/S Vul.
|
| |
ª A 7
© 4 2
¨ K 9 5 3
§ K 8 7 4 2 |
ª K 8 2
© A 9 7
¨ Q 8 7 4
§ Q J 6 |
|
ª Q 4 3
© J 8 6 3
¨ A J 6
§ A 10 5 |
| |
ª J 10 9 6 5
© K Q 10 5
¨ 10 2
§ 9 3 |
| West |
North |
East |
South |
| V Arnim |
Erhart |
Auken |
Smederevac |
| |
|
|
Pass |
| 1NT |
Pass |
Pass |
2§ |
| Pass |
2¨ |
Pass |
2ª |
| Pass |
Pass |
Dble |
All Pass |
| West |
North |
East |
South |
| Weigkricht |
Nehmert |
Fischer |
Rauscheid |
| |
|
|
Pass |
| 1¨ |
Pass |
1© |
Pass |
| 1NT |
Pass |
3NT |
All Pass |
The two flat 12-counts do not fit well together and it was no
surprise that Weigkricht could not find a way to come to nine
tricks; down one for -50 after a club lead.
Von Arnim's mini no trump kept her side at a safe level and
Germany was already booked for a modest gain when Smederevac came in
with an overaggressive 2§
overcall to show both majors. Two Diamonds asked for the
overcaller's longer major and when Smederevac showed this Auken
doubled. Von Arnim gave that a long look but eventually did the
right thing by passing.
It looks as though the contract can go for 800 if the defence is
accurate, but the actual 500 was still quite enough for the Germans.
Von Arnim led the jack of clubs, Rusinow, and Smederevac did well to
cover. Now Auekn was on lead and wasn't sure that it was a good idea
to play another club. She switched to a spade and Smederevac put in
the jack. Von Arnim thought for some time before, surprisingly,
playing the king. Smederevac won the ªA and played a heart to the ten and ace. Von
Arnim played a trump and Auken won the queen and returned her low
club. That was an important play and there was another important
play to come as Von Arnim switched to the queen of diamonds. The
defence had their seven tricks now for +500 and 11 IMPs to
Germany.
Note that without the diamond play from West there is a danger
that declarer can draw trumps and play three rounds of hearts to
endplay East and force her to lead up to the king of diamonds.
Austria gained just 1 IMP on the set and trailed
by 156-175 with 32 boards to play the next
day. |
