XXIVIV SSlavalava CCupup Bulletin Number 4

SSundayunday 2211 FFebruaryebruary 22016016 Auken Rules the Roost

Gold Medal Winners - Team Auken: Dennis Silver Medal Winners - Team Swedish Juniors: Bilde, Morten Bilde, and Roy Ola Rimstedt, Simon Hult, Mikael Rimstedt Welland and Simon Ekenberg After an exciting fi nal that could have gone either way, delivered all the spectators could wish for in dramatic entertainment and was tied at the end of normal time it was the Swedish Jun- iors who fi nally met their Waterloo at the hands of team Auken in this year’s Slava Cup, when a ruling cost them 3 IMPs.

In the play off for third place Birman easily defeated Breno.

Th e Top 38 went to Dmitri Prokhorov and Pavel Gomerov with the holders Ehud Fridlander and Inon Liran second and Gennadi Rybnikov and Eugeni Zapadinski third.

Top 8 Team Results Team Carry Over Segment 1 Segment 2 Segment 3 Total SWEDEN JUN. 9 18 30 24 81 Final AUKEN 39 26 19 84 BIRMAN 16 50 53 119 Play-off BRENO 3.3 9 12 32 46.3 Last Gasp Mark Horton

n the second semi-fi nal Auken led 29-24.5 at the West took the ace and exited with a spade and half. declarer won and tried the king of hearts. West IOn 15 N/S reached 3♠ with ♠AK95 ♥Q64 took the ace and exited with a club and declarer ♦AJ1087 ♣8 facing ♠J8732 ♥K2 ♦642 ♣KJ2. East held won with dummy’s king pitching a diamond and ♠Q106 ♥10985 ♦KQ5 ♣A75 so there were 5 losers, gave up a heart. He had to lose a diamond at the but when declarer played a club from dummy Morten end, one down, -100. Bilde did not put up the ace and a loser had vanished, Closed Room along with 5 IMPs. West North East South Both teams sailed into 3NT on Board 18 with ♠J3 Tarnovsky Auken Birman Welland ♥7 ♦KQ97643 ♣J54 opposite ♠AK9 ♥QJ853 ♦A10 – – – 1♠ ♣Q92. Auken scored an overtrick IMP, but in the other Pass 2♣* 3♣ Double semi-fi nal Breno missed the game to lose 10 IMPs. Redouble 3♥ Pass 3♠ On 22 South opened 4♠ second in hand with Double 4♦ Pass Pass ♠KQ1098632 ♥J10 ♦106 ♣3 and West doubled Double All Pass holding ♠4 ♥K65 ♦AQ95 ♣AQ874. North kept 2♣ Like a forcing 1NT quiet with ♠AJ7 ♥874 ♦J742 ♣K102 and East bid When West redoubled 3♣ North decided to bid hearts 4NT (two places to play) with his ♠5 ♥AQ932 ♦K83 rather than diamonds–I leave you to determine the ♣J965. When Tarnovsky bid 5♣ Birman converted wisdom of that action. Unless passing would show a to 5♥, +650. willingness to defend 3♣ redoubled that looks the best When Bilde bid 5♣ Drijver doubled and that ended option. the auction and cost Birman 3 IMPs. East led the queen of clubs and declarer won per- Board 23. Dealer South. All Vul. force with dummy’s ace and played the king of spades. West took the ace and returned the four, declarer - ♠ 5 ing with the ten of diamonds. ♥ J 8 6 3 2 If declarer assumes that the diamonds are 4-0 she ♦ 10 9 8 6 4 can escape for one down by pitching a heart on the ♣ K 10 king of clubs and then playing a heart, as eventually ♠ A 7 4 2 N ♠ 10 8 West’s trumps can be neutralised, but when she played a diamond to the ace the die was cast and she had to ♥ A 7 4 W E ♥ Q 9 5 ♦ K Q J 7 ♦ — go two down, -500 and 9 IMPs to Birman, back in S ♣ 4 2 ♣ Q J 9 8 7 6 5 3 front, 41-34. ♠ K Q J 9 6 3 Board 24. Dealer West. None Vul. ♥ K 10 ♦ A 5 3 2 ♠ 10 4 2 ♣ A ♥ A K J 8 3 ♦ 2 Open Room ♣ K Q 9 8 West North East South ♠ A 6 3 N ♠ K J 9 8 5 D Bilde Drijver M Bilde Brink ♥ — W E ♥ Q 9 7 5 2 – – – 1♠ ♦ A Q 9 6 5 ♦ K 4 3 S Pass 1NT 3♣ Double ♣ A J 10 7 5 ♣ — Pass 3♥ Pass 3♠ Q 7 All Pass ♠ ♥ 10 6 4 West led the king of diamonds and East decided ♦ J 10 8 7 to ruff and switched to the three of clubs, declar- ♣ 6 4 3 2 er winning with the ace and playing the queen of spades, followed by the king and then the nine.

Page 2 XIV Slava Cup - Metropol Hotel Open Room East led the jack of clubs and declarer went up with West North East South dummy’s ace, ruff ed a club, played a diamond to the ace, D Bilde Drijver M Bilde Brink ruff ed a diamond played the king of spades. East won 1♦ 1♥ 1♠ Pass and returned the ten of clubs and declarer put up dum- 2♣ Pass 2♦ Pass my’s queen and ruff ed West’s king. A spade to dummy 3♠ Pass 5NT* Pass was followed by a club ruff and these cards remained: 6♣ Pass 6♦ All Pass ♠ 6 5NT Pick a slam ♥ K J 6 4 North led the king of hearts and declarer ruff ed, ruff ed ♦ — a club and ran the jack of spades. A spade to the ace ♣ — was followed by a club ruff and after unblocking the ♠ — N ♠ — king of diamonds declarer ruff ed a heart and cashed ♥ 10 5 W E ♥ Q 8 7 3 the ace of diamonds. ♦ K J 10 ♦ Q S When North discarded the contract was two down, ♣ — ♣ — -100. ♠ 10 5 Make a note of that play in the spade suit. ♥ A 9 2 Closed Room ♦ — West North East South ♣ — Tarnovsky Auken Birman Welland How to tackle the hearts? 1♦ 1♥ Double* Pass Declarer suspected that West was 1-2-7-3, but could 2♥* Pass 3♦ Pass not be certain. 3♥* Pass 3NT Pass 4♣ Pass 4♠ Pass If East has the queen you will need to fi nd West with 6♦ All Pass the doubleton ten. On the other hand West might have the doubleton If 3NT sounded a warning note West chose to ignore it. queen or even ♥Q10. He ruff ed the heart lead, ruff ed a club, ruff ed a heart, If you cash the king of hearts, an alert West might ruff ed a club, cashed the king of diamonds, played a drop the ten from ♥10x. spade to the ace, cashed the ace and queen of diamonds Not wanting to go down if hearts happened to be and played a spade to the jack–that was three down 3-3 declarer crossed to the ace, fi nessed the jack and and 2 IMPs away. was one down, -100. Board 26. Dealer East. All Vul. Closed Room ♠ K Q 9 7 6 4 3 West North East South ♥ K J 6 4 Tarnovsky Auken Birman Welland ♦ 6 – – Pass 1♣* 3 4 * 5 5 ♣ 7 ♦ ♥ ♦ ♠ All Pass ♠ 8 ♠ A N 1♣ May be any including any other fi ve ♥ 10 5 W E ♥ Q 8 7 3 card suit also 5422 ♦ K J 10 8 7 4 3 ♦ Q 9 2 4♥ Spades S ♣ K 6 3 ♣ J 10 9 5 4 At this table declarer, under no pressure, took the win- ♠ J 10 5 2 ning view in hearts and +680 was worth 13 match ♥ A 9 2 winning IMPs. ♦ A 5 ♣ A Q 8 2 Open Room West North East South D Bilde Drijver M Bilde Brink – – Pass 1NT 3♦ 3♥* 5♦ Double Pass 5♠ Pass 6♠ All Pass 3♥ Transfer to spades

XIV Slava Cup - Metropol Hotel Page 3 Three Steps to Heaven

Mark Horton

hree Steps to Heaven is a song co-written and Board 6. Dealer East. E/W Vul. Trecorded by Eddie Cochran. Released in 1960, J 8 3 2 it became a posthumous UK number-one hit ♠ following his death in a car accident in the same ♥ A J year. ♦ Q J 5 ♣ Q J 10 9 Th ree sets of 12 deals would determine who would ♠ 10 5 ♠ A K 9 6 ascend to the winner’s podium in the 2016 Slava Cup. N ♥ K 7 5 4 3 ♥ 10 9 6 2 Th e Swedish Juniors started with a carry-over of 9 W E ♦ 9 ♦ A K 10 4 IMPs. S ♣ 8 7 5 4 2 ♣ 6 Board 2. Dealer East. N/S Vul. ♠ Q 7 4 ♥ Q 8 Q 7 2 ♠ ♦ 8 7 6 3 2 8 6 5 3 ♥ ♣ A K 3 ♦ A 2 ♣ A J 6 4 Open Room ♠ K 4 3 N ♠ A 5 West North East South ♥ J 7 W E ♥ A K Q 10 9 M Bilde Hult D Bilde Ekenberg ♦ 8 5 ♦ 10 9 7 3 S – – 1♦ Pass ♣ K Q 10 9 3 2 ♣ 7 5 1♥ Pass 2NT* Pass ♠ J 10 9 8 6 3♥ Pass 4♥ All Pass ♥ 4 2 North led the queen of clubs and South overtook it ♦ K Q J 6 4 and returned the eight of hearts to the king and ace. ♣ 8 Here too, North tried the fi ve of diamonds, but declarer played three rounds of the suit, ruffi ng, followed by a Open Room heart and claimed, +620. West North East South M Bilde Hult D Bilde Ekenberg – – 1♥ 1♠ 2♣ 2♥ Pass 2♠ All Pass Declarer lost two hearts and two spades, +140. Closed Room West North East South O Rimstedt Auken M Rimstedt Welland — — 1♥ Pass 3♣ Pass 3NT All Pass According to BBO South led the jack of diamonds (my guess is that it was the king, asking for an unblock or count) and North overtook it and returned the two for the nine and queen. Th inking he had struck gold South played a low diamond and declarer won with the seven, cashed fi ve hearts and played a club, +400 and 11 IMPs. South had to switch to a spade at trick three–should he have found that? If North had started with ♦A1072 might she not Roy Welland have returned the ten at trick two? Page 4 XIV Slava Cup - Metropol Hotel Open Room West North East South M Bilde Hult D Bilde Ekenberg Pass Pass 1♦ 3♣ Pass Pass Double All Pass West led his diamond and East won with the jack and switched to the king of hearts. When it held he contin- ued with the queen and declarer won with dummy’s ace, ruff ed a heart and played a spade to the queen and king. East cashed his diamonds, West pitching two spades, and continued with the ten of hearts, ruff ed and over- ruff ed. West cashed the ace of spades and exited with a club, waiting for the queen to score, +800. Closed Room West North East South O Rimstedt Auken M Rimstedt Welland Pass Pass 1♦ 2♣ Pass 2NT All Pass Mikael Rimstedt East led the king of hearts and continued with the ten, followed by the queen, declarer winning with the ace Closed Room and playing a spade to the ten and ace. A diamond to West North East South the ten and jack saw East continue with the master O Rimstedt Auken M Rimstedt Welland heart and the king of spades, followed by a club (bet- – – 1♦ Pass ter to cash the king of diamonds fi rst). 1♥ Double 3♥ Double Now declarer ‘escaped’ for three down, -150 and 12 4♥ Pass Pass Double IMPs, handing Auken the lead. All Pass At the end of the fi rst session Auken led 39-27. In these days when people open light and respond with nothing North no doubt felt she had to protect her equity by doubling with such a modest hand with most of its values in the opponent’s suits. North led the queen of clubs and South overtook it with the ace and switched to the queen of hearts, con- tinuing with the eight when it held. North took the ace and tried a desperate fi ve of diamonds. Declarer won with dummy’s ace, ruff ed a diamond (North dropping the queen) and ran the ten of spades – one down in a solid one as we used to say, -200 and 13 IMPs away instead of 5 in. Board 8. Dealer West. None Vul.

♠ Q J 8 7 ♥ A 7 3 2 ♦ Q 10 8 2 ♣ 2 ♠ A 9 5 4 N ♠ K 3 2 ♥ J 6 4 W E ♥ K Q 10 8 ♦ 6 ♦ A K J 9 7 S ♣ Q 10 5 4 3 ♣ 9 ♠ 10 6 ♥ 9 5 Sabine Auken ♦ 5 4 3 ♣ A K J 8 7 6 XIV Slava Cup - Metropol Hotel Page 5 Heartbreak Hotel

Mark Horton

he second session of the fi nal was tough on both defenders took the last three tricks, +100 and 12 IMPs Tteams. to the Juniors, tying the match. Board 13. Dealer North. All Vul. Board 15. Dealer South. N/S Vul.

♠ 6 ♠ K J 9 2 ♥ K 6 5 2 ♥ K 4 ♦ K 8 7 5 ♦ K J 2 ♣ Q 10 7 3 ♣ 10 6 4 2 ♠ J 10 3 N ♠ Q 8 7 4 ♠ 10 8 7 N ♠ 6 ♥ Q 9 8 3 W E ♥ A J 10 7 ♥ A 8 W E ♥ J 10 7 6 5 ♦ J ♦ 9 2 ♦ A 9 8 7 4 ♦ Q 10 6 5 3 S S ♣ A J 9 5 4 ♣ K 8 2 ♣ A 8 5 ♣ Q J ♠ A K 9 5 2 ♠ A Q 5 4 3 ♥ 4 ♥ Q 9 3 2 ♦ A Q 10 6 4 3 ♦ — ♣ 6 ♣ K 9 7 3 Open Room Open Room West North East South West North East South M Bilde Hult D Bilde Ekenberg M Bilde Hult D Bilde Ekenberg – Pass Pass 1♦ – – – 1♠ Pass 1♥ Pass 1♠ Pass 2NT* Pass 4♦* Pass 3♦ Pass 3♠ Double 4♠ 5♦ Double Pass 3NT Pass 4♣* All Pass Pass 4♦ Pass 4NT* 2NT Spade support Pass 5♣* Pass 5♦ 4♦ Splinter All Pass West’s double of the splinter allowed his side to fi nd 4♣ Cue-bid the paying save. 4NT RKCB 5♣ 1 key card North’s jump to 3♦ ensured that South was never going to pass out 3NT, and the easy game was reached, +600. Closed Room West North East South O Rimstedt Auken M Rimstedt Welland – Pass Pass 1♦* Pass 1♥ Pass 1♠ Pass 2♦ Pass 3♠ Pass 3NT All Pass 1♦ 99% unbalanced except 3rd, 4 cards only if 4♦ (441) North’s more cautious approach left South to guess if it was a good idea to go past 3NT. East led the four of spades and declarer won with dummy’s ace and played a heart for the three, king and The Closed Room ace. East returned the two of clubs and West won with the ace and returned the jack of spades. Declarer won with dummy’s king and cashed six diamonds, but the Page 6 XIV Slava Cup - Metropol Hotel South led the ace of spades and when North followed Closed Room with the two he continued with a spade, declarer ruff - West North East South ing and running the jack of clubs. Th e queen of clubs O Rimstedt Auken M Rimstedt Welland was covered by the king and ace and declarer played – – 1♣ 1♠ the nine of diamonds, North going up with the king 3♠ 4♥ Double All Pass and exiting with a club. Declarer ruff ed and played a Being a level higher meant the penalty was in four fi g- heart to the ace. ures, -1100 handing the Juniors 7 IMPs. It was tough for North to unblock the king, which will lead to two down and when he played low declar- Board 21. Dealer North. N/S Vul. er ruff ed a spade, cashed the queen of diamonds and exited with a heart. Now there was no possible promo- ♠ — tion for North’s ♦J, only one down, -100. ♥ K 10 9 8 7 3 ♦ 8 5 3 Closed Room ♣ 10 9 5 3 West North East South ♠ K J 7 4 N ♠ A Q 10 9 8 5 O Rimstedt Auken M Rimstedt Welland ♥ J W E ♥ Q 6 4 – – – 1♠ ♦ A Q J 2 ♦ 10 9 S Pass 2♥* Pass 2♠ ♣ A 7 6 4 ♣ K Q Pass 2NT* Pass 4♠ ♠ 6 3 2 All Pass 2♥ 9-13, 3+♠ ♥ A 5 2 2NT Relay ♦ K 7 6 4 West led the ace of diamonds, which simplifi ed declar- ♣ J 8 2 er’s task, but the cards were lying in such a way that Open Room nothing else is better. West North East South Declarer ruff ed, drew trumps and played on clubs, M Bilde Hult D Bilde Ekenberg losing two tricks in that suit and a heart, +620 and 11 – Pass 1♠ Pass IMPs that restored Auken’s lead. 2NT* Pass 4♠ All Pass Board 19. Dealer South. E/W Vul. 2NT Spade support South led the four of diamonds, and under no pressure ♠ A Q J 10 9 3 declarer put up dummy’s ace and drew trumps, fi nish- ♥ 7 ing with eleven tricks, +450. ♦ Q 10 7 ♣ J 7 4 ♠ 7 5 N ♠ 8 4 ♥ J 9 4 3 2 W E ♥ K 10 5 ♦ K J 3 ♦ A 9 8 6 5 2 S ♣ 10 6 3 ♣ A 2 ♠ K 6 2 ♥ A Q 8 6 ♦ 4 ♣ K Q 9 8 5 Open Room West North East South M Bilde Hult D Bilde Ekenberg – – 1♣ 1♠ 2♠ 3♥ Pass Pass Double All Pass East led the king of diamonds and switched to the jack of spades. Declarer took dummy’s ace and played a heart to the queen and king. Th e defenders still had to score two clubs, two spades and a , three down, -800. Ola Rimstedt

XIV Slava Cup - Metropol Hotel Page 7 Closed Room Board 23. Dealer South. All Vul. West North East South ♠ 8 3 O Rimstedt Auken M Rimstedt Welland ♥ K J 8 7 4 – Pass 1♠ Pass 2NT* Pass 3♣* Pass ♦ Q 8 4 3 3♥* Pass 4♣ Pass ♣ J 2 4NT* Pass 5♣* Pass ♠ A K 10 6 5 N ♠ 9 2 6♠ All Pass ♥ 10 9 5 W E ♥ A Q 2 2NT Spade support ♦ 10 6 ♦ K 5 S 3♥ Splinter ♣ K Q 7 ♣ A 9 8 6 4 3 4NT RKCB Q J 7 4 5♣ 1 key card ♠ ♥ 6 3 South cashed the ace of hearts and switched to a trump, ♦ A J 9 7 2 and declarer was able to ruff two hearts in dummy to ♣ 10 5 get up to the required number of tricks, +980 and 11 IMPs to Sweden. Open Room Open Room West North East South West North East South M Bilde Hult D Bilde Ekenberg M Bilde Hult D Bilde Ekenberg – – – Pass 1♠ Pass 2♣ Pass – – Pass 1♣ 3♣ Pass 3NT All Pass 1♦ Double* Pass 1♥ Pass 2♠ Pass 3♣ South led the two of diamonds and declarer took ten Pass 4♦ Pass 4NT* tricks, +630. Pass 5 * Pass 6 ♥ ♣ Closed Room All Pass West North East South West led the three of clubs (you can see how catastrophic O Rimstedt Auken M Rimstedt Welland the jack of hearts would have been) and declarer won with dummy’s eight and played a spade to the jack and — – – Pass 1♠ Pass 2♣ Pass ace. Back came a trump and declarer won in dummy, 2♦* Pass 2♥* Pass East discarding the eight of hearts, and ran the ten 2♠ Pass 2NT* Pass of hearts to West’s singleton jack–a heartbreaking one 3♠ Pass 4♦ Double down, -50. 4♥ Pass 4♠ All Pass Closed Room North led the four of diamonds and South won with West North East South the jack, cashed the ace and exited with the ten of clubs. O Rimstedt Auken M Rimstedt Welland Declarer cashed the top spades and was one down, -100 – – Pass 1♣* and the see-saw battle continued as it was Auken’s turn 1♦ Double* 2♦ 2♥ to take the leader’s jersey. Pass 4♥ All Pass Th ey led 63-57 going into the last set. West led the ten of diamonds and declarer won with dummy’s queen and played a spade to the jack and ace. West switched to the jack of hearts and declarer won in dummy, ruff ed a spade, crossed to dummy with a club and played the queen of spades, covered by the king and ruff ed. Declarer cashed the ace of diamonds, but when East could ruff the next club declarer was a trick short, no swing. Rather than ruff a second spade, declarer can play a club. East can ruff and play a trump, but declarer can overtake the queen of hearts and draw trumps for eleven tricks. East can hold declarer to ten tricks by exiting with the king of spades. The Open Room

Page 8 XIV Slava Cup - Metropol Hotel Top Team 8 Butler Scores after Completion of Round Robin

Rank Name Team IMPS per Board 1 Mikael RIMSTEDT SWEDEN JUN. 0.80 = Ola RIMSTEDT SWEDEN JUN. 0.80 3 Dennis BILDE AUKEN 0.61 = Morten BILDE AUKEN 0.61 5 Bar TARNOVSKI BIRMAN 0.56 = Alon BIRMAN BIRMAN 0.56 7 Andrea MANNO BRENO 0.46 = Massimo LANZAROTTI BRENO 0.46 9 Frederic WRANG SWEDEN 0.37 = Johan SYLVAN SWEDEN 0.37 11 Diyan DANAILOV BULGARIA 0.33 = Jerry STAMATOV BULGARIA 0.33 13 Tom HANLON BRENO 0.24 = Juan Carlos VENTIN CAMPRUBI BRENO 0.24 15 Simon HULT SWEDEN JUN. 0.16 = Simon EKENBERG SWEDEN JUN. 0.16 17 Bas DRIJVER BIRMAN 0.14 = Sjoert BRINK BIRMAN 0.14 19 Ivan SEMENOV STOICHKOV 0.03 = Vadim KHOLOMEEV STOICHKOV 0.03 21 Peter BERTHEAU SWEDEN -0.31 = Per-Ola CULLIN SWEDEN -0.31 23 Vitold SLIVA STOICHKOV -0.57 = Pavel VOROBEI STOICHKOV -0.57 25 Sigurbjorn HARALDSSON ICELAND -0.60 = Jon BALDURSSON ICELAND -0.60 27 Vladimir MARASHEV BULGARIA -0.63 = Ivan TSONCHEV BULGARIA -0.63 29 Th rostur INGIMARSSON ICELAND -0.67 = Sveinn Runar EIRIKSSON ICELAND -0.67 31 Sabine AUKEN AUKEN -0.91 = Roy WELLAND AUKEN -0.91

XIV Slava Cup - Metropol Hotel Page 9 Stalemate

Mark Horton

n the fi rst deal of the set N/S held♠ 8764 fi nesse, cashed the ace of diamonds and then played ♥1065 ♦KJ83 ♣J2 opposite ♠AKQ10 ♥73 winning spades, +150. O♦AQ1097 ♣109. Closed Room Th e Rimstedts bid 1♦-(2♣)-3♦ losing two hearts and West North East South two clubs (West had ♠92 ♥KQJ2 ♦2 ♣AK7653) +110. Ekenberg D Bilde Hult M Bilde In the other room Ekenberg was able to 1♦ – – 1NT 3♦ with 2♥, so his side got to the heart game. N/S found Pass 3♠ Pass 4♠ their heart fi t and bid 4♠, but when that was doubled All Pass they ran to 5♦ which cost 300 and 9 IMPs. East led the king of clubs and declarer won and cashed For the umpteenth time we had a nE/W leader. all his spades. On 28 E/W held ♠KJ853 ♥43 ♦KJ82 ♣K10 fac- On the last of these East had to discard from ♥AQ ing ♠Q1094 ♥K10765 ♦Q ♣Q93. ♦K42 ♣Q7 and pitched the queen of hearts. Declarer Th e Swedes got all the way to game after 1♠-2NT*- took a diamond fi nesse and exited with a club. West 3♣-4♠–South had ♠A2 ♥AQ ♦A1097 ♣AJ762 but won with the jack and played a heart and East could after a diamond lead declarer escaped for one down. win and cash a club but then had to lead into the dia- Auken stopped in 3♠, but North didn’t fi nd the mond tenace. heart lead so they were +140 and back in front, 71-69. Very well played for +420 and 7 IMPs. On 29 E/W were cold for 5♦ with ♠J632 ♥9 ♦KJ972 To defeat 4♠ East must lead an impossible diamond ♣Q106 opposite ♠AQ10 ♥105 ♦AQ863 ♣AK5 but at trick one. in both rooms they misjudged the deal, doubling N/S Board 35. Dealer South. E/W Vul. in 4♥ (South held ♠K8754 ♥AK7432 ♦- ♣43) and conceding -790 – no swing. ♠ 10 5 4 3 Board 30. Dealer East. None Vul. ♥ 5 2 ♦ Q 9 ♠ A Q J 10 9 6 ♣ A K Q 8 3 ♥ K 5 3 ♠ K J 9 N ♠ A Q 7 6 ♦ 3 ♥ K 4 W E ♥ A J 3 ♦ J 7 5 2 ♦ A K 8 3 ♣ A 8 4 S ♠ 7 5 2 N ♠ 8 4 3 ♣ J 9 5 2 ♣ 10 6 ♥ J 10 8 7 4 W E ♥ A Q 2 ♠ 8 2 ♦ 8 6 ♦ K 4 2 S ♥ Q 10 9 8 7 6 ♣ J 6 5 ♣ K Q 9 7 ♦ 10 6 4 ♠ K ♣ 7 4 ♥ 9 6 Open Room ♦ A Q J 10 9 7 5 West North East South ♣ 10 3 2 Welland O Rimstedt Auken M Rimstedt Open Room – – – 2♥ West North East South Pass Pass 2NT Pass Welland O Rimstedt Auken M Rimstedt 3NT All Pass – – 1NT 3♦ South led the nine of hearts and declarer was soon All Pass claiming eleven tricks, +660. West led the jack of hearts and then switched to a club. Declarer won with dummy’s ace, took the diamond

Page 10 XIV Slava Cup - Metropol Hotel Closed Room Your BBO Operators West North East South Ekenberg D Bilde Hult M Bilde – – – 3♥ Pass Pass 3NT Pass Pass Double All Pass South led the eight of spades and declarer won with dummy’s jack and played a club, North going in with the queen and returning a spade, which declarer won with the queen to play the ten of clubs. North won and played a heart but declarer won in dummy and played a club and came to ten tricks, +950, tying the match! Board 36. Dealer West. All Vul.

♠ A 6 3 ♥ K 5 2 ♦ 9 8 5 4 ♣ K 9 2 Nikolay Skarzhinski ♠ Q 10 9 8 5 4 N ♠ 2 ♥ A 7 4 W E ♥ Q 9 ♦ K 6 3 2 ♦ A J 10 S ♣ — ♣ A Q J 7 6 5 4 ♠ K J 7 ♥ J 10 8 6 3 ♦ Q 7 ♣ 10 8 3 Auken played in 3NT and South led the jack of hearts. It looks as if the defenders should collect four tricks, but they allowed declarer to take eleven, +660. Closed Room West North East South Ekenberg D Bilde Hult M Bilde 1♠ Pass 2♣ Pass Daniil Tsvetkov 2♦ Pass 3♣ Pass 3♠ Pass 4♣ Pass 4NT All Pass North led the fi ve of hearts and declarer put up dum- my’s queen – one hurdle surmounted. Th e ace of clubs was followed by the queen and when that was ducked a third clubs saw North win with the king. Would he fi nd a match winning spade switch? He returned..... the king of hearts. Declarer won, crossed to the ace of diamonds and cashed the clubs, +660 when the queen of diamonds appeared. 81-81 and four more deals might be required to determine the winners.

Polina Smirnova

XIV Slava Cup - Metropol Hotel Page 11 Top 38 Pairs Winner Top 38 Second-placed Top 38 Third-placed Dmitri Prokhorov and Ehud Fridlander and Gennadi Rybnikov and Pavel Gomerov Inon Liran Eugeni Zapadinski

Top 38 Pairs Standings after 15 Rounds Position Name VPs Position Name VPs 1 GOMEROV Pavel PROKHOROV Dmitri 578.5 20 GREENBAUM Leonid LITMAN Mikhail 451.0 2 FRIDLANDER Ehud LIRAN Inon 559.5 21 SENIOR Nevena TRENDAFILOV Roumen 448.0 3 RYBNIKOV Gennadi ZAPADINSKI Eugeni 541.5 22 GUDKOV Anatoli POTEMKIN Nikolai 444.5 4 GULEVICH Anna KHONICHEVA Elena 518.0 23 BERKTAS Can KANDEMIR Isin 439.0 5 BASKAN Burak SOHTORIK Yusuf 511.0 24 MITYAGINA Anastasia ARTAMONOV Igor 438.5 6 DUBININ Alexander GROMOV Andrey 509.0 25 BAKAL Mikhail CHURLIN Igor 430.0 7 PONOMAREVA Tatiana GARKAVYI Alexander 504.5 26 OTCHERTSOV Alexei SHUDNEV Andrey 430.0 8 GERASIMOV Alexei ZAYTSEV Alexei 501.0 27 VOROBEYCHIKOVA Olga ROZENBLUM Mikhail 427.5 9 ROMANOVSKA Maija ORLOV Sergey 492.5 28 KOZLOV Sergei PETRUNIN Alexander 426.0 10 KHIUPPENEN Yuri SNO Eugeni 489.5 29 LEBEDEVA Maria KHAZANOV Igor 405.0 11 GALAKTIONOVA Olga DANILEVSKI Alexander 489.0 30 KAZANTSEV Oleg VOLKOV Dmitri 404.5 12 KRASNOSELSKI Mikhail RUDAKOV Eugeni 486.5 31 VAN ENGELEN Bas ZVEZDIN Zigfrid 400.0 13 NIKITINA Alexandra GUSEV Slava 478.5 32 CHUBAROVA Svetlana FAYUSTOV Alexander 399.5 14 BELINKOV Arkadi DEMIN Slava 465.5 33 ANDREEV Yuri ROGOV Dmitri 397.0 15 GROMOVA Victoria TAZENKOVA Tatiana 458.5 34 ULANOVSKI Leonid ZHMAK Maxim 384.0 16 KHOKHLOV Yuri MATUSHKO Georgi 458.0 35 ZHENOVA Natalia KONDRASHENKO Alexei 375.5 17 HACKETT Paul MOSSOP David 455.0 36 ZENKEVICH Svetlana REKUNOV Vladimir 347.5 18 TATARKIN Vladimir VORONOV Andrey 454.0 37 GONCHAR Elena LADYZHENSKI Alexander 344.0 19 GRUMM Iris MADSEN Christina Lund 451.5 38 BIZER Leonid RISKIN Alexander 299.0

All Results Subject to Offi cial Confi rmation

Page 12 XIV Slava Cup - Metropol Hotel