DailyDaily NewsNews 44th GENERALI European Bridge Championships

Saturday, 26 June 1999 Issue: 14

Jean Paul Meyer, Executive Editor • , Editor • Stefan Back, Co-Editor Stelios Hatzidakis, Layout Editor Great Britain at the last gasp!

In one of the most sensational finishes in the long history of this illustrious tournament Great Britain, the defending Champions retained the Generali European Ladies Championship title on the very Ladies Teams Trophies last of their final match.

After seven years this will be the last Championship at which the wonderful tro- phy and replicas offered by Nils Jensen, President Emeritus of the and his wife Bibi will be awarded. This time the Generali European Ladies From the left: Bill Pencharz, President European Bridge League, Sandra , Heather Dhondy, Abbey Team Champions, Great Britain, keep the Walker, Liz McGowan, Jimmy Arthur (Captain), Pat Davies, & Philip King, (Coach). trophy forever. French Triple Today’s Playing Time

Open Teams Round 37 11.00

Airport

France I: from the left Bernard Liochon, President of the French Bridge Federation, Claude Delmouly, Mau- Transfers rice Aujaleu, Patrick Sussel, Jean Marc Roudinesco, Pierre Adad and José Damiani, President of the In order to ensure a smooth transfer to the airport for your departure it is imperative that I, the holders, secured the Gold medals in the Generali European Seniors Championship.It you complete a Bridge Departure Time Form. was a clean sweep for 'La Belle France' as their teams also finished second and third. If you have not received a form in your hotel room they are available at the Hospitality Desks in the San Gorg Corinthia and SAS Radis- Italy retain the title son Hotels. Please return the completed form to one of The Azzurri have retained their Generali European Open Teams Championship with a round to spare. the Hospitality Desks thereby ensuring trans- Sweden and France have both booked a trip across the Atlantic and Bulgaria,Norway and Poland port to the airport will be available. are heavy favourites to join them later today. 2 Saturday, 26 June 1999 44th GENERALI European Bridge Championships

OPEN TEAMS - RESULTS Round - 34 Round - 35 Round - 36 Country Imps Vps Country Imps Vps Country Imps Vps 1 Belgium Bye 0 0 18 0 1 Bye 0 0 0 18 1 Bye Yugoslavia 0 0 0 18 2 Germany Switzerland 31 52 11 19 2 San Marino Cyprus 47 80 8 22 2 Gt. Britain 31 28 16 14 3 Luxembourg Czech Rep 49 58 13 17 3 Slovenia Ireland 43 55 13 17 3 Monaco Liechtenstein 40 60 11 19 4 Yugoslavia Sweden 10 82 2 25 4 Estonia Norway 55 15 23 7 4 Turkey 37 47 13 17 5 Croatia Greece 38 71 8 22 5 Spain 24 69 6 24 5 Bulgaria Czech Rep. 61 19 24 6 6 Great Britain Malta 46 34 17 13 6 Greece Italy 26 59 8 22 6 Spain Germany 64 48 18 12 7 Netherlands Liechtenstein 53 31 20 10 7 Finland Poland 34 73 7 23 7 Luxembourg 26 77 5 25 8 Norway Slovenia 32 33 15 15 8 Iceland Monaco 27 45 11 19 8 Austria Croatia 77 36 23 7 9 Ireland Italy 39 47 14 16 9 Liechtenstein Germany 14 89 1 25 9 Poland San Marino 77 10 25 2 10 Portugal Israel 22 17 16 14 10 Switzerland Bulgaria 32 54 10 20 10 Cyprus Romania 39 36 16 14 11 Iceland Finland 34 56 10 20 11 Austria Luxembourg 81 35 24 6 11 Russia Slovenia 83 11 25 2 12 Spain Turkey 21 37 12 18 12 Czech Rep Lithuania 71 66 16 14 12 Ireland Hungary 65 48 19 11 13 France Poland 54 27 21 9 13 Malta Lebanon 22 57 8 22 13 Italy Sweden 55 50 16 14 14 Russia San Marino 48 40 16 14 14 France Netherlands 59 53 16 14 14 Malta Finland 16 85 2 25 15 Cyprus Estonia 43 64 11 19 15 Great Britain Turkey 55 46 17 13 15 Greece Lithuania 40 66 10 20 16 Monaco Bulgaria 24 46 10 20 16 Croatia Romania 71 78 14 16 16 Israel Belgium 36 71 8 22 17 Lebanon Austria 24 50 10 20 17 Sweden Russia 88 51 23 7 17 Norway France 53 19 22 8 18 Romania Denmark 46 22 20 10 18 Belgium Yugoslavia 67 44 20 10 18 Denmark Estonia 50 35 18 12 19 Lithuania Hungary 52 53 15 15 19 Hungary Portugal 55 35 19 11 19 Portugal Switzerland 18 58 7 23 SENIORS TEAMS LADIES TEAMS LADIES TEAMS - RESULTS FINAL RANKING FINAL RANKING ROUND 19

1 Great Britain 384 1 Bye Denmark 0 0 0 18 1 France 1 574 2 Spain Belgium 73 82 14 16 2 P.E./France 543 ½ 2 Austria 383 ½ 3 Germany Poland 38 54 12 18 3 France 2 527 3 France 382 ½ 4 Norway Great Britain 57 48 16 14 4 Netherlands 379 ½ 5 Italy Greece 55 50 16 14 4 Poland 1 526 6 Turkey Finland 39 91 5 25 5 Sweden 1 517 5 Germany 365 7 Israel Iceland 41 65 11 19 6 Italy 1 492 6 Denmark 353 8 Sweden Croatia 76 64 17 13 7 Poland 336 ½ 9 Hungary Austria 56 82 10 20 7 Czech Rep 486 10 France Czech Rep 51 57 14 16 8 Poland 2 482 8 Norway 327 11 Russia Netherlands 33 60 10 20 9 Israel 476 9 Finland 324 10 Poland 3 472 10 Israel 323 ROUND 20 11 Czech Rep 314 ½ 11 Germany 467 1 Croatia Bye 0 0 18 0 12 Netherlands 1 460 ½ 12 Italy 306 2 Finland Norway 37 66 10 20 13 Turkey 305 3 France Turkey 51 36 18 12 13 Great Britain 3 459 4 Denmark Sweden 76 88 13 17 14 Austria 1 459 14 Belgium 303 ½ 5 Hungary Poland 18 52 9 21 15 Italy 2 457 15 Russia 289 6 Belgium Russia 72 49 19 11 16 Sweden 287 ½ 7 Greece Israel 35 69 9 21 16 Turkey 450 ½ 8 Czech Rep Netherlands 40 66 10 20 17 Iceland 279 17 Great Britain 2 427 9 Iceland Italy 44 45 15 15 18 Croatia 273 18 Sweden 2 412 10 Great Britain Spain 85 8 25 2 19 Hungary 250 11 Austria Germany 16 69 5 25 19 Netherlands 2 410 20 Spain 244 20 Pres/Swe 399 21 Greece 222 ROUND 21 21 Lith/Pol 395 1 Netherlands Bye 0 0 18 0 22 Spain 391 2 Russia Denmark 49 60 13 17 23 Belgium 389 3 Great Britain Belgium 70 18 25 5 24 Great Britain 1 358 Bridge 4 Croatia Czech Rep 41 48 14 16 5 Iceland Turkey 68 53 18 12 25 Lebanon 351 6 Norway Austria 74 55 18 12 26 Portugal 341 Rama 7 Poland Greece 84 26 25 4 27 Ireland 324 8 Spain Germany 9 92 1 25 (10.0 0OPEN ROUND 37 (11.00h) 9 Israel Hungary 121 33 25 0 28 Austria 2 319 Bulgaria - Denmark 10 Sweden Finland 35 69 9 21 29 Yugoslavia 200 11 Italy France 38 60 11 19 Malta, 1999 Saturday, 26 June 1999 3

OPEN TEAMS - RANKING GREAT BRITAIN LADIES NICOLA SMITH is married with two ABBEY WALKER, Age 23 lives in AFTER 36 ROUNDS children and lives in London. She was in the Oxford and works as a pension advisor.She British teams which won the European is single - but only just. In Cardiff she won 1 Italy 682 Ladies Teams in 1975, '79, and '81, and the a bronze medal in the European Schools 2 Sweden 654 in '81 and '85. She also has four Championship in 1995. silvers and one bronze, winning medals in 3 France 651 five consecutive Olympiads. In 1994 she ELIZABETH McGOWAN of Edin- 4 Bulgaria 647 won the Generali World Womens Individ- burgh is a bridge journalist. After the 5 Norway 644 ual, and the following year received the British Ladies team was eliminated at the 6 Poland 639 M.B.E (Member of the British Empire) quarter-final stage of the Rhodes Olympiad awarded by the Queen, for services to she and her partner formed a Mixed Team 7 Israel 624 bridge. For 17 years she has partnered... with members of the Icelandic Open team. 8 Spain 616 They won the World Mixed Team title with- 9 Russia 612 PAT DAVIES, who works for a com- out losing a match. Her partner is... 10 Netherlands 609 puter software company in Bath. She also has the 1981 European title and two world HEATHER DHONDY, 33, an 11 Belgium 606 titles won in partnership with Nicola, and accountant of London who is married to 12 Austria 601 the three silvers and a bronze in the another bridge-player, Jeremy. She was in 13 Great Britain 600 Olympiads. the team with Liz which won the World 14 Hungary 570 Transnational Mixed Teams in Rhodes. Her is married and has hobbies include playing the piano and golf 15 Ireland 567 recently moved to Aylesbury from Brighton (badly). 16 Greece 564 where she was a lecturer at the University. 17 Germany 559 ½ She has now taken up a post at the English JIMMY ARTHUR, the non-playing 18 Portugal 559 Bridge Union responsible for a project captain lives in and first captained called BRIDGE FOR ALL.She has the same the team in Rhodes. His wife, Jill, accompa- 19 Lebanon 557 list of European and World titles as Nicola nies the team, tending to the scoring and all 20 Denmark 541 and Pat. She first played in the Europeans other personal needs. The team coach is 21 Iceland 533 thirty years ago in Dublin. Sandra is the and they have a Sports Psy- 22 Finland 524 top-ranked woman in the WBF Master- chologist, Jane Townsend, who is part of the points list. Her partner is now... British group. 23 Croatia 521 ½ 24 Romania 512 25 Turkey 511 ½ 26 Slovenia 505 27 Czech Rep. 505 Victory Banquet 28 Estonia 492 The Victory Banquet will be Marina Hotels and outside the 29 Monaco 490 held in the Corinthia San Gorg entrance to the Lido Lower Deck. Hotel on Saturday 26 June at 30 Switzerland 479 Don't forget to bring your invi- 7.30 p.m. at LIDO LOWER DECK. 31 Lithuania 450 tation! 32 Yugoslavia 425 ½ You will be able to check the There will be no number and location of your table 33 Liechtenstein 414 without it! 34 Luxembourg 400 by referring to the notices that will 35 San Marino 374 be displayed in the Corinthia San Ladies, please remember it can Gorg, Radisson SAS and Corinthia be windy and cold! 36 Cyprus 349 ½ 37 Malta 268

SENIORS TEAMS - RESULTS ROUND 27 ROUND 28 ROUND 29

1 Lith/Pol Portugal 37 35 16 14 1 Netherlands 2 Lith/Pol 25 40 11 19 1 Ireland Lith/Pol 22 37 11 19 2 Germany Austria 1 10 36 8 22 2 P.E./France Portugal 86 5 25 0 2 Italy 2 Netherlands 2 27 37 12 18 3 Czech Rep Netherlands 1 33 41 13 17 3 Turkey Italy 1 51 36 19 11 3 France 2 Spain 35 11 21 9 4 Bye Sweden 1 0 0 0 18 4 France 1 Poland 1 35 17 20 10 4 Great Britain 1 Poland 2 14 44 7 23 5 Turkey Ireland 46 13 24 6 5 France 2 Poland 3 40 39 15 15 5 Israel Great Britain 3 19 20 15 15 6 Sweden 2 Poland 2 35 18 20 10 6 Austria 2 Pres/Swe 44 50 14 16 6 Czech Rep Belgium 58 6 25 2 7 Belgium Israel 38 33 16 14 7 Great Britain 2 Germany 37 17 20 10 7 Netherlands 1 P.E./France 27 14 19 11 8 Yugoslavia Pres/Swe 9 66 1 25 8 Austria 1 Belgium 21 39 10 20 8 Portugal Great Britain 2 18 43 8 22 9 Poland 3 Austria 2 49 29 20 10 9 Great Britain 3 Czech Rep 38 18 20 10 9 Bye Turkey 0 0 0 18 10 Great Britain 1 France 2 19 41 9 21 10 Sweden 2 Israel 5 38 6 24 10 Austria 2 Germany 11 31 10 20 11 Poland 1 Great Britain 2 19 48 7 23 11 Poland 2 Netherlands 1 45 38 17 13 11 Pres/Swe Italy 1 27 35 13 17 12 Netherlands 2 Great Britain 3 9 21 12 18 12 Ireland Bye 0 0 18 0 12 Poland 3 France 1 12 34 9 21 13 Italy 1 Lebanon 48 38 18 12 13 Spain Yugoslavia 74 10 25 0 13 Lebanon Austria 1 12 34 9 21 14 Spain France 1 7 52 4 25 14 Lebanon Great Britain 1 42 2 25 5 14 Yugoslavia Sweden 2 28 27 15 15 15 P.E./France Italy 2 49 34 19 11 15 Italy 2 Sweden 1 27 64 5 25 15 Sweden 1 Poland 1 21 15 16 14 4 Saturday, 26 June 1999 44th GENERALI European Bridge Championships

Farewell Address THE EBL from PRESS CONFERENCE

Bill Pencharz, President European Bridge League

This evening the 44th Generali European The Media Team (View Graph and Daily Bill Pencharz announced that the Bridge Championships will come to an end.The Bulletin) under the dynamic direction of Jean book reporting on the championships end of 14 days of top class international Paul Meyer with Mark Horton (who also and written by Brian Senior will be bridge competition. designed the Programme) and a team of ded- ready in a fortnight and will be offered icated commentators and scribes. to every participant - Open, Ladies and You, the players, are to be congratulated Seniors - They will receive the book for your dedicated and skilful participation in The EBL Internet Site by Panos Geron- through their national Federations. the four Championships which have been topoulos and Thanassis Matziaris held over the last fortnight.And you are also José Damiani, talking of the very The Appeals Committee under Jens to be very warmly congratulated for your important decision of the Olympic Auken's firm grip and with a special mention good humour and good sportsmanship. Committee to recognize Bridge as a for Herman de Wael as Chief Scribe. Federation, points out the next step The entry in the Ladies Pairs - 129 pairs - would be to recognize bridge as a par- Our charming Master of Ceremonies and has only been exceeded once before and in ticipant sport in the international Win- Protocol,Anna Maria Torlontano. the Open Teams and the Seniors Teams - 37 ter Olympics.That means the rules have and 29 teams respectively - we had the And last by no means least that triumvi- to be changed, as Bridge uses neither largest participation ever in a Generali Euro- rate in masterful Bridge Championship snow nor ice. pean Bridge Championship.And the standard organisation - Jean Claude Beineix,Ton Kooi- The format of the demonstration in the Ladies Teams was the highest ever jman and Anna Gudge. events in the Winter Olympic Games in seen. To all of you who have worked in the 2002 in Salt Lake City is not yet known, It is customary and right to take this Championship, of whom the people men- but there will certainly be an Open event and a Ladies event as in the IOC opportunity of thanking everyone who made tioned above are only a few, I again give my Grand Prix in Lausanne. What is not the Championships possible. grateful appreciation. defined is number of teams that will be First of all I would like to thank every- All of us who have spent the last fortnight competing. body who worked in the Championships - in Malta have grown to love this delightful Concerning the rules of the IOC The local organisation under the supervi- and historic Island. On behalf of all of you, I relating to doping, as far as bridge is sion of Mario Dix, with its charming hospital- am pleased to thank Michael Refalo, the Mal- concerned no announcement will be ity staff and fast footed caddies. tese Minister of Tourism, the National made before consultation with the Tourism Organisation of Malta and especially WBF. Technical Co-ordinator, Gianni Bertotto Margaret Parnis-, the promoter of and mis en place by Fulvio Colizzi, Franco José Damiani announced that a Uni- this Championship. versity Championship would be staged Crosta and Giancarlo Suar. It would be quite impossible to hold a in the Olympiad in Maastricht with the The Duplication Team headed by Natasha bridge championship of the quality of the help of FISU. Herment, ably assisted by Annie Checkroun, 44th Generali European Bridge Champi- Answering a question from Patrick Annamaria Orlandi, Nadia Protogene, Helene onships without the generous support of our Jourdain, Bill Pencharz confirmed that Vivier and (lucky man) Alex van Dongen. sponsor. Therefore, let me once again say the EBL executive has admitted Eng- Network Manager, Mark Newton. how much the European Bridge League - and land,Wales and Scotland as independent indeed all European Bridge Players - appreci- Federations and will be allowed to take Information Systems, including scoring part in future events. and viewgraph under the magic wand of Pro- ate the sponsorship of the Generali Group, fessor Gianni Baldi, ably assisted by Manojku- the Insurer without Frontiers. My special José Damiani thinks that WBF might accept England, Scotland and Wales as mar Nair and a team of ten computer and thanks go to the Generali Group's President, independent countries in World Cham- rama operators. Alfonso Desiata for his personal interest and support. pionships. The position could be differ- The Press Room, serenely controlled by ent in the Olympic Games where Elly Ducheyne and her daughter Caroline It has been a pleasure to spend the last Bridge must follow IOC rules. fortnight here in Malta. The Island of Malta Ducheyne. Bill Pencharz reported that the 45th has been a marvellous host in every possible Generali European Championship might The Line Up, Systems and Hospitality way. Desks effortlessly run by Corrie Lowerse, be held in Madrid, but no final decision Annalie Kooijman, Annaliese & Eric Schmidt- So, "Thank You" to all who worked in had been taken yet. Bott, Monique & Christian Callon, Irena & these Championships. Svend Novrup reminded everybody Janek Chodorowska under the direction of "Thank You" to the Island of Malta that Vanderbilt invented Contract Jan Louwerse. Bridge on November 1st, 1925, and that "Thank you" to Margaret Parnis England it might be a good idea to celebrate this The marvellous team of EBL Tournament and 75th anniversary all over the world. Directors under the leadership of Claude "Thank You" to the Generali Group Dadoun and his three lieutenants, Max Bavin A book with all the decisions of the and Antonio Riccardi (and congratulations But, most of all, "Thank You" to all of you Appeals Committee will be published after this championship. for the arrival of his third son) and Massimo - the Bridge Players. It's your Championship Ortensi. and you have made it great. Malta, 1999 Saturday, 26 June 1999 5

Czech Mate Brilliancy overruling 27th Grand Prix by Maureen Dennison brilliancy of Warsaw In Round 32 playing the Czech Republic Ger- many was losing but two boards improved the situ- Yesterday's bulletin contained an article 21-29 August 1999 ation back to a respectable14-16 loss. Both hands about a sparkling play in 3NT of one of the Dan- had their amusing side and both turned on the heart ish player.In reply to that the German Open team Sponsored by Siemens and suit.This was the story. reports that not only one of their players made Prokom Software. The first hand to consider was board 9. 3NT as well but also went for a chance twice as Take the opportunity to return to the City good as his Danish colleague: that hosted the 1999 European Open and Board 9. E/W Vul. Dealer North. Board 7. Game All. Dealer South. Seniors Pairs Championships and made an out- [ A J 9 7 4 3 standing impression on everyone who was for- ]J 2 [ A Q J 10 tunate enough to be there. { 10 2 ] A Q 8 6 } K 10 2 { K 8 4 [ K Q 10 6 N [ }8 2 ] 8 ] A K Q 9 7 6 3 [ 9 7 4 2 [ K 6 5 W E N { 9 6 5 3 { Q 7 4 ] 10 7 5 4 2 ] K W E } J 9 8 5 S } Q 6 4 { 10 9 { A Q J 3 2 [ 8 5 2 } 4 3S } J 7 6 5 ] 10 5 4 [8 3 { A K J 8 ] J 9 3 } A 7 3 { 7 6 5 } A K Q 10 9 Both Norths opened a Multi 2{, a weak major being the most likely option. On the East cards Eli- West North East South nescu bid 4] and everybody passed. This failed by Splettstoesser Hausler two tricks for - 200. 1} (1) 1{ (2) 2} (3) The Czech East bid only a quiet 2] and Ulrich Pass 2{ (4) Pass 2[ (5) Wenning bid 4[.West thought he knew what to do Pass 2NT (6) Pass 3} with that and the red card appeared. He led his sin- gleton ]8 and East cashed ace and king. Next came Pass 3NT All Pass a low club to jack and king.Wenning came to hand (1) with a high diamond. He led [8 and ducked when Precision (2) West split his honours.West continued with anoth- Good hand with diamonds or bad hand with er club to the ace and declarer led another spade hearts (3) towards table, taking the six with the seven. Now Clubs, 8+ (4) came the winning diamond followed by the Relay Programme (5) {A on which the losing club was discarded.The last 5332 (6) Saturday 21 August 11.00 Side Game Open pairs spade from South was the de grace for ten Do you have a small doubleton? (7) Saturday 21 August 17.00 H.Kalinowski Memorial Pairs tricks and 9 imps. I may have, but I have real good clubs Sunday 22 August 11.00 B.Bialek Memorial IMP Pairs Then two hands later came this. When East led {J, Splettstoesser ducked it, to Sunday 22 August 17.00 W.Szczesniewski Memorial Pairs Board 11. Love All. Dealer South. find out if East held five or six diamonds. East Monday 23 August 10.30 Side Game Open Pairs continued with a small one to the 10 and king, Monday 23 August 17.00 Friendship Pairs [ A 7 3 and declarer was hoping for the same line as Monday 23 August 17.30 Polish Journalists Pairs Champ. ] 10 4 2 explained yesterday. Five clubs, one diamond, two Tuesday 24 August 10.30 Polish Individual Championship { Q J 8 7 aces and a throw-in in diamonds would bring } K 10 2 home the bacon. Round [ 10 8 2 N [ 9 6 4 Splettstoesser cashed }AKQ, but when West Tuesday 24 August 17.00 Congress Mixed Pairs ] K ] A 9 3 W E showed out on the third round, he did not dis- Tuesday 24 August 17.30 Side Game Open Pairs { A K 10 9 3 { 4 2 card a spade, but the useless diamond. He would Wednesday 25 August 10.00 Polish Individual Championship } A 8 6 5 S } Q J 9 7 3 have been able now to test both major kings to [ K Q J 5 come down singleton. Either the spade or the Semi-final ] Q J 8 7 6 5 heart suit would have given him three additional Wednesday 25 August 10.30 Side Game Open Pairs {6 5 tricks to score up his game. Flexibility was the Wednesday 25 August 17.00 Congress Pairs }4 real subject this hand was all about. Declarer had Thursday 26 August 10.00 Polish Individual Championship to let go the diamond as soon as it became obvi- In the closed room South passed and Wladow ous, that it needed any stiff king instead of a Final opened 1{, North passed and - as he said for the throw-in. Splettstoesser started with a heart to Thursday 26 August 10.30 Side Game Open Pairs want of anything better - Elinescu bid 1]! After all, the ace as well, but could have cashed the [A Thursday 26 August 17.00 IMP Congress Pairs they do play canape openings! West rebid 2} where afterwards, if hearts would not have given him all Friday 27 August 10.00 Congress Pairs Session I he played for nine tricks. Against Wenning East bid the tricks he needed. Nine tricks made and a Friday 27 August 17.00 Congress Pairs Session II the more normal 1NT and when Wenning entered bunch of IMPs for Germany. the fray with 2] all passed. He was not displeased Saturday 28 August 10.00 Congress Teams Session I with dummy but there were some worrying holes in Saturday 28 August 17.00 Congress Teams Session II the suit! Play went, {A, spade switch to the Sunday 29 August 10.00 Congress Teams Session III king and another diamond towards table.West rose Sunday 29 August 17.00 Prize Giving with {K, cashed } A and led another spade.Wenning Journalists won with the ace. Now you note that he has no Congress Entry Fees and Concessions more losers in his hand outside the trump suit but Please do not forget to pay your bill (Ladies, Seniors, Juniors) he led the master diamond like a man eager to make for telephone and fax before leaving. 1 Session event DM 15 DM 10 a quick discard. East was fooled, thought hard, and 2 Session event DM 25 DM 15 trumped in with the ]9! All declarer's problems Elly Ducheyne Teams Tournament DM 30 DM 20 were over and Wenning had 110 to go with the 110 Press Room Side Games DM 10 DM 5 from the other room - another 6 imps back! 6 Saturday, 26 June 1999 44th GENERALI European Bridge Championships

THE DUTCH LADIES

Marijke van der Pas – Jet Pasman – Anneke SimonsMartine Verbeek – Wietske van Zwol

BEP VRIEND onships in Salsomaggiore, Italy. Malta will be her works as a book-keeper in her own administra- Bep Vriend (1946), a bridge teacher from eleventh European Championships. tion firm. For the Venice Cup in Tunisia 1997 she Amstelveen learned bridge in 1965.With her pre- made her debut in an international championship vious partner Carla Arnolds she won the Euro- by renewing her partnership with Wietske van pean Ladies Pairs in 1993 and the World Ladies JET PASMAN Zwol with whom she played from 1992 to 1994. Pairs in 1994.With her she became fifth during the Jet Pasman (1953) comes from Broek in In 1998 Verbeek-van Zwol were member of the World Ladies Pairs in Lille 1998. Since 1974 she Waterland, a small village north of Amsterdam. She team that won the gold medal at the last Euro- has played in 11 European Championships and in started bridge in 1974. From 1989 to 1993 Jet was pean Union Championships in Salsomaggiore, the last 5 Olympiads.After Perth 1989 (silver) and captain of the Dutch Ladies team during 3 Euro- Italy. Malta will be her debut in the European Yokohama 1991, Tunisia 1997 was her 3rd Venice pean Championships, one Olympiad and 2 Venice Championships. Cup appearance. Since 1994 she has been part- Cups. Since 1979 she has been partnering Anneke nering Marijke van der Pas. Bep and her husband Simons. As a player Jet represented the Nether- Anton Maas (a frequent member of the Dutch lands in 4 European Championships and 2 WIETSKE VAN ZWOL Open Team) form one of the Dutch leading Mixed Olympiads. Tunisia 1997 was her debut in the Wietske van Zwol (1963), a native from Joure Pairs. In 1994 Vriend-Maas with van der Pas-Tam- Venice Cup.Jet Pasman,a sports teacher,is married in the very north of Holland is now living in mens won the European Mixed Teams. In 1998 to the coach of the Ladies team: Chris Niemeijer, Tilburg in the southern part of the country. She Vriend-van der Pas were member of the team that a former player of the Dutch Open team. In 1998 is married to Carel Berendregt and works as a won the gold medal at the last European Union Pasman-Simons were member of the team that business economics researcher. In 1982 she Championships in Salsomaggiore, Italy. Malta will won the gold medal at the last European Union learned to play bridge. From 1995 until the 1997 be her twelfth European Championships. Bep Championships in Salsomaggiore, Italy. Malta will European Championships in Montecatini Wietske Vriend is a honorary member of the Dutch Bridge be her fifth European Championships. played with Ine Gielkens. With her she won the Federation and in April, 1998 she received for her European Union Ladies Pairs in Belgium in 1996. merit for bridge a Royal decoration. For the 1997 Tunisia Venice Cup Wietske ANNEKE SIMONS renewed her partnership with Martine Verbeek. Anneke Simons (1951), a personnel manager, Wietske played in 2 European Championships MARIJKE VAN DER PAS lives in Amsterdam together with Kees Tammens and in one Olympiad. In 1998 van Zwol-Verbeek Marijke van der Pas (1949) from Utrecht, has a bridge journalist and their son Bas aged 15. were member of the team that won the gold been playing bridge since 1967. She first played in Anneke learned bridge at the age of 20 and medal at the last European Union Championships the Dutch Ladies team in 1979.With her previous since 1979 she has been playing with Jet Pasman. In in Salsomaggiore, Italy. Malta will be her third partner Elly Schippers she won the European 1988 she gave up bridge for four years. Anneke European Championships. Ladies Pairs in 1980. She played 10 European played 4 European Championships and 2 Olympi- Championships and the last 5 Olympiads. After ads.Tunisia 1997 was her debut in the Venice Cup. Perth 1989 (silver) and Yokohama 1991, Tunisia In 1998 Simons-Pasman were member of the team ED FRANKEN (1943), lives in Haar- 1997 was her 3rd Venice Cup appearance. She is a that won the gold medal at the last European lem (west of Amsterdam). He is the captain of the bridge journalist and also works for the Dutch Union Championships in Salsomaggiore, Italy.Malta Dutch Ladies Team since the European Champi- . Marijke is living together with will be her fifth European Championships. onships in Vilamoura, 1995. Jaap Trouwborst, captain of the Dutch Open Team. Since 1994 she has been partnering Bep Vriend.In 1994 van der Pas-Tammens with Vriend-Maas won MARTINE VERBEEK CHRIS NIEMEIJER (1946) is the the European Mixed Teams. In 1998 Vriend-van Martine Verbeek (1962) born in Amsterdam, coach of the Dutch Ladies Team since 1987. He is der Pas were member of the team that won the is living together with Ron Pannebakker in Rot- married to Jet Pasman and is a former player of gold medal at the last European Union Champi- terdam. She learned bridge at age 14. Martine the Dutch Open team.

Press Conference Bulletin Prizes

Bridge Olympiad 2000 Prizes will be given to bul- On October 28 of this year the first press conference of the Bridge Olympiad 2000 will be letin authors in the following held in Maastricht in the Provinciehuis. In this conference the promotional plans for the four categories: Olympiad will be presented and the internetsite will be launched. Besides this Mr. José Dami- ani, president of the WBF, will officially send out to the NCBO's the invitations for the Bridge a) Best article Olympiad. Mr. Damiani will also be presented the first copy of the first special Bridge Olympiad Maastricht magazine that will be sent to all the 110.000 members of the Dutch Bridge Feder- b) Best defense ation.The second special Olympiad magazine will be issued in August 2000. Finally the first spe- c) Best declarer cially designed Bridge Olympiad Maastricht articles will be shown during the conference. We cordially invite you all to come over to this conference: d) Best bidding October 28 at 16.00 hour in Provinciehuis, Maastricht Holland. Malta, 1999 Saturday, 26 June 1999 7

In September 1998, the World Bridge Federation (WBF) organized the 1st International Olympic Committee Grand Prix presided over by Juan Antonio Samaranch, President of the International Olympic Committee. Now, the WBF is proud to announce the 2nd International Olympic Committee Grand Prix

which will be conducted once again under the auspices of the IOC, 20-24 September 1999.

Venue Prize money As on the first occasion, the Grand Prix will be held at the Open Contest - $25,000 for the winner, $15,000 for the runner- Olympic Museum in Lausanne, Switzerland. up and $10,000 for the 3rd-placed team. Women's Contest - $10,000 for the winner and $5,000 for the Program runner-up. The Opening Ceremony will be held at 18.00 hrs on Monday 20 September 1999, and the event will be concluded with the Prize- Schedule of Play Giving Ceremony at 19.30 hrs on Friday 24 September 1999. Date Times of Play Format Monday 24 September 19:00 - 22:45 Tuesday 25 September 14:00 - 18:00 19:00 - 22:45 The Open Teams of Brazil, China, France, Italy, The Netherlands and USA have been invited to participate in the Wednesday 26 September 14:00 - 18:00 19:00 - 22:45 event. Thursday 27 September 14:00 - 18:00 19:00 - 22:45 The format will be a round robin (all against all) of 24-board Friday 28 September 11:00 - 13:00 14:00 - 19:00 matches.The first four teams will qualify for the semifinals.The win- ners of the semifinals will meet in the final, while the losers will contest the 3rd place play-off. There will also be a Women's Contest in which a European Team comprising Auken-von Arnim (Germany), Bessis-d'Ovidio The matches will be transmitted on Bridge Vision in the Museum's (France), Davies-Smith (Great Britain) and Erhart-Terraneo Auditorium and reported on this and other Internet sites across the (Austria) will face a North American Team. world.

A.C.R.A.F. S.p.A.

Founded in Ancona in 1919 as a pharmacy laboratory, the Angelini Group is today one of the leading privately held Italian companies, with pres- tigious brands, annual billings of close to $1.7 billion and more than 4,000 employees.The Angelini Group consists of 23 companies in Italy and abroad doing business in various product areas. A.C.R.A.F. S.p.A. which embodies the origins of the Group and its traditions, has made the Angelini name famous through its discovery, develop- ment and marketing of highly successful pharmaceuticals. From the outset, the intense and persistent commitment to innovation demonstrated by the Angelini Group has assured its prominent position within, and synergistic effect upon, some of the most important areas of the pharmaceuticals marketplace, from raw materials to prescription drugs, both in Italy and abroad.The same indication has been instrumental in securing a position of leadership for its OTC products. 'Wealth has only one moral justification: the creation of new jobs.' Francesco Angelini 8 Saturday, 26 June 1999 44th GENERALI European Bridge Championships

OPEN - Round 33 Italy v Portugal That's Entertainment A fantastic show for the audience - that was West North East South a heart bringing down the queen, reentered the appropriate description of the Vu Graph Ferraro Barbosa De Falco Sa dummy via a club and discarded a diamond match between Italy and Portugal. It contained all Pass on dummy's jack of hearts, Portugal +420. Well a spectator is looking for: interesting hands, lively 1NT Pass 2] Pass done, and no swing but far from being a bore. bidding sequences and flashy plays. 2[ Pass 3NT Pass A High standard of bidding and play could be Portugal was off to an excellent start. They 4[ All Pass seen on board 10 as well: had already collected a couple of IMPs on the first boards, when the computer decided to deal Barbosa led {10 to the queen and king. Fer- Board 10. Game All. Dealer East. the following hand: raro drew trumps and played four rounds of dia- [ K 5 3 2 monds, discarding a heart from dummy.Ten easy Board 5. N/S Vul. Dealer North. ] J 9 6 4 2 tricks, Italy +620. {K In the Open Room Bocchi - Duboin were [ A J 10 8 7 6 }Q 9 4 one of only two pairs in the whole field to beat ]A [ – [ J 10 9 7 this game: N { K 9 6 4 ] 10 ] A K 7 W E }7 3 West North East South { A 10 9 7 6 5 3 2 { J 4 Diegues Bocchi Castanheira Duboin S [5 2 N [3 } K J 7 5 } A 10 8 3 ] 10 5 4 2 ] Q 9 8 Pass [ A Q 8 6 4 W E { A 10 8 7 { Q J 5 3 2 1{ Pass 1[ Pass ] Q 8 5 3 } K J 10 S } A 9 5 4 1NT Pass 3{ Pass {Q 8 [ K Q 9 4 3[ Pass 4[ All Pass }6 2 ] K J 7 6 3 South started with a heart to North's ace Italy, without mentioning their club fit, reached {– who did not switch to his singleton diamond, but the 6{-slam, that depended on locating the }Q, } Q 8 6 2 }2 instead. South cashed }AQ and returned a West North East South West North East South heart to the jack. Declarer played three rounds of trumps, cashed another heart, played a diamond Ferraro Barbosa De Falco Sa Diegues Bocchi Castanheira Duboin to the ace and a diamond to the king. South 1[ Pass 1[ Pass 2} scored his {Q and 4[ was one down, Italy +100. 2{ Pass 2NT Pass Pass 2{ Pass 2] The next board was exciting as well: 3{ Pass 3NT Pass Pass 3{ Pass 3] Board 8. Love All. Dealer West. 4} Pass 4] Pass Pass 3NT Pass 4[ 6{ All Pass All Pass [7 5 ] Q 10 8 Ferraro had an easy ride, when North after a It seems the Italians found out quite early {4 couple of spades and hearts discarded two clubs that they had no club control.They stopped safe- } A Q J 6 5 4 3 on West's never-ending trumps, Italy +1370. ly in 4[ making five, when South led }5. [ J 10 4 N [ A K 6 3 2 The Vu Graph audience knew that this was In the Open Room the Italian supporters ] A K J 6 ] 3 2 not going to happen in the Open Room, as the W E expected a big swing, as the Portuguese cue bids { J 10 7 6 { A 5 2 Portuguese pair discovered their club fit and in the reds suit were likely to tell de Falco what } 10 7 S } K 8 2 decided to play there: to lead. [ Q 9 8 West North East South West North East South ] 9 7 5 4 Diegues Bocchi Castanheira Duboin Ferraro Barbosa De Falco Sa { K Q 9 8 3 1} 1[ }9 1[ Pass 4{ 2{ 2NT Pass 3[ Pass 4] Pass 5{ In the Closed Room de Falco made a very 4[ Pass 6} All Pass Pass 6[ All Pass good bid, received a helpful lead and was the only South led the [A and declarer was in trouble. declarer so far to score game. But - surprise, surprise - de Falco led the {J! He had to manage to draw trumps without any Declarer ruffed, played a heart to the ace, ruffed a West North East South loser and to set up the diamonds without running diamond, discarded a club on the ]K, ruffed a Ferraro Barbosa De Falco Sa into a ruff. Castanheira demonstrated how easy heart, ruffed a diamond, ruffed a heart, ruffed a dia- 3} 3NT All Pass this was. He ruffed the spade lead, ran the }J, mond and claimed; Portugal +1430 and 13 IMPs. played a club to the ten and led a diamond to the When on the next board Italy went down in South opted for a small diamond and de Falco 9 and king, Portugal +1370. 6] while their opponents played in 5] making, won the first trick with the {J. When the spade Needless to say,that his play would have given Portugal was in the lead by 29:0! finesse failed, South switched to a club. North took him a lot of IMPs in many of the other matches, Then the wind changed and Italy entered the his ace and drove out East's }K, but declarer here it was just good enough for a push. scoreboard: cashed four rounds of spades and the {A and And another highlight was already on its way: ended up with ten tricks, scoring ]AKJ as well, Board 7. Game All. Dealer South. when North's discarded a heart early in the play. Board 12. N/S Vul. Dealer West. In the Open Room, Portugal reached 4[, a [ 7 6 4 contract, in which everybody else had gone down: [ A J 10 9 8 ] A 9 8 7 4 ] Q 10 8 7 5 2 { 10 West North East South { 10 } 7 6 3 2 Diegues Bocchi Castanheira Duboin }9 Pass Pass 1[ Pass [ A 10 8 N [ K Q 9 3 2 [ K 7 6 4 N [ Q 5 3 2 ] K J 2 ] 10 6 2[ 3} 3[ Pass ] 3 ] J 9 6 W E W E { K J 6 4 3 { A 8 7 5 4[ All Pass { A K 9 7 { Q J 8 5 S S } J 5 } K 10 Was this another swing for Italy? The defense } A 7 5 4 } 8 2 [J 5 started with }A and }Q to the king and ruffed. [– ] Q 5 3 South returned a heart to dummy's king and Cas- ] A K 4 { Q 9 2 tanheira found the right play to make his game. { 6 4 3 2 } A Q 9 8 4 He cashed [AK, played a heart to the ace, ruffed } K Q J 10 6 3 Malta, 1999 Saturday, 26 June 1999 9

In the Open Room Portugal pushed the Ital- home with ten tricks, Italy +180. ians to the five-level, but missed the chance to Another low-level contract gave defenders beat their contract: and declarers a hard time: West North East South Board 14. Love All. Dealer East. Diegues Bocchi Castanheira Duboin [A 9 1{ 2{ Dbl 4] ] J 8 3 2 Pass Pass 5{ 5] { A 9 8 5 4 3 All Pass }5 West led the {A, but did not find the spade [ K N [ J 10 7 4 3 2 ] 9 7 5 4 ] A Q 10 switch. In with the }A, the defenders could have W E played another spade, to take away one of { Q J 7 { 2 dummy's trumps and kill the clubs tricks. Diegues } A K Q 9 4 S } 8 7 3 did not realize this opportunity and switched to [ Q 8 6 5 a heart. North won with the 7 and drove out the ]K 6 }A.West now found the spade switch, but it was { K 10 6 all too late. Declarer took the ace, played a heart } J 10 6 2 to the king, ruffed a club with the ]Q, played a Austria await their fate heart to the jack and ace and claimed, Italy +650. In both rooms the bidding ended in 2[: In the Closed Room Ferraro - de Falco celebrat- In the Open Room East/West did not even ed a victory for their methods, when they pulled Open Room enter the bidding; a nasty little gadget out of their "system bag", which took the opponents by surprise: West North East South West North East South Diegues Bocchi Castanheira Duboin Ferraro Barbosa De Falco Sa West North East South 2{ Pass 2[ Pass 2NT Ferraro Barbosa De Falco Sa 2[ All Pass Pass 4{ Pass 4[ (1) 1[ Pass 2] 3} All Pass All Pass Closed Room East started with the }A and switched to a (1) West North East South hearts or spade support, 3 - 7 low heart.West won with the king and returned a Ferraro Barbosa De Falco Sa club. Declarer had to lose two more tricks in the First of all, Ferraro's system allowed him to 2[ All Pass trump suit and finished one light, Italy another +50. open his four-card major, which shut out North, Portugal must have been still under shock in who did not feel like bidding 2]. De Falco came Against de Falco South led }J to West's ace. the Open Room on the next board, in which they up with his two-way bid and South ended up play- Declarer played [K to North's ace and finessed lost a lot of IMPs instead of regaining a big number: ing 3} down one, Italy +100. in hearts, when North returned the ]8. Instead Spectators liked de Falco's line in an insignifi- of giving his partner a ruff, South played another Board 17. Love All. Dealer North. cant looking 1NT-contract on the very next board: heart and declarer was all right again. He drew another round of trumps pinning North's [9 and [ 9 7 4 3 Board 13. Game All. Dealer North. lost five tricks only, Italy +110. ] K 6 5 4 {9 4 [ K Q 10 9 6 At the other table Diegues played the hand } Q 10 6 ] K 9 6 from the other side. North led his singleton club [ 8 5 [ A K J 2 { 10 9 to the ten and king. [K to the ace and a heart N switch looked suspicious to West, so he went up ] J 3 2 ] Q } Q 4 2 W E with the ace and put [J on the table as well, Por- { J 10 7 6 { A K 8 5 3 2 [ 8 3 2 [ 7 5 4 N tugal +110 to push the board again. } A K 8 3 S } J 4 ] J 5 ] A 10 7 3 W E Then Italy scored "sticks and wheels", when [ Q 10 6 { J 7 5 { A K 6 2 West made an overoptimistic bid: ] A 10 9 8 7 } K 8 6 5 3 S } A J {Q [A J Board 16. E/W Vul. Dealer West. } 9 7 5 2 ] Q 8 4 2 [ K Q 9 5 4 3 { Q 8 4 3 ]Q 7 In the Closed Room, Italy missed 6{: } 10 9 7 {8 West North East South } 8 6 5 2 The bidding in both rooms was identical: Ferraro Barbosa De Falco Sa [ 10 6 N [ A J 2 West North East South ] K 10 9 6 3 ] J 8 5 2 Pass 1} 1] W E Diegues Bocchi Castanheira Duboin { J 9 7 2 { K 6 4 3 1[ 3] 4{ Pass 5{ All Pass Ferraro Barbosa De Falco Sa }Q 10 S }A 9 [8 7 Pass 1NT All Pass At the other table Portugal seemed to be on ]A 4 the way up high, but all of a sudden West's In the Open Room Castanheira won the club { A Q 10 5 thoughts were led astray: lead with the jack, cashed the }A and led a low } K J 7 4 3 West North East South diamond towards the jack. South smelled danger, West North East South so he jumped in with the queen, saw partner's 10 Diegues Bocchi Castanheira Duboin Diegues Bocchi Castanheira Duboin and switched to [A and [J. North overtook the 2} 2] 3] second spade to cash three more, which left 2[ Dbl Pass 4} Pass 4{ All Pass declarer with exactly seven tricks, Portugal +90. 4] (!) Pass Pass Dbl In the Closed Room against de Falco the }10 All Pass East introduced his longest suit on the four- was led as well, but de Falco continued with }A level, and even if West regarded this as non-forc- and a flashy spade! South was trapped and con- Bocchi led a diamond to his partner's queen. ing, he still has a raise to 5 in his own hand.The tributed the jack. North overtook with the Duboin cashed {A and gave North a ruff. Back moment he passed 4{, his mind must have been queen and returned the king, but South had to came a club to the ace and declarer misguessed somewhere else, probably still in 4] doubled, so win the ace and could do no better than to the hearts to lose a trick to North's queen. Later Italy gained 6 Imps, when they could have lost 11. return a heart which North ducked to declarer's on the defense scored three more tricks in spades, 62 unanswered IMPs to Italy turned the match 10. After the fog had cleared up declarer came clubs and hearts, so that was +1100 to Italy. completely, the final score being 62:29, 22-8 VPs. 10 Saturday, 26 June 1999 44th GENERALI European Bridge Championships

LADIES - Round 17 Netherlands v Great Britain by Tony Gordon (GB) Third placed Great Britain had a tough day on still under the impression that declarer held the Thursday with matches against the teams ranked [Q, did not find the spade switch, declarer was 4th, 6th and 8th, respectively. First up were the safely home. 11 IMPs to the Netherlands who Netherlands who were only 4 VPs behind Great now trailed by 17 IMPs. Britain. After a quiet first half which left Britain leading 15-10 IMPs, the second half started with Board 23. Game All. Dealer South. a bang. [ 8 3 2 Board 13. Game All. Dealer North. ] A K J 10 7 { A 10 4 [ Q J 9 3 } A 10 ]A 3 [ 9 N [ A 10 7 4 { 5 3 2 ] 6 4 2 ] 8 W E } K 7 5 4 { Q 9 7 6 2 { K J 8 5 [ K 8 5 2 N [ 10 6 } J 8 5 2 S } Q 6 4 3 ] K J 9 8 2 ] Q 10 7 6 4 W E [ K Q J 6 5 { – { Q 9 7 4 ] Q 9 5 3 S } A J 9 2 } Q 3 {3 [ A 7 4 } K 9 7 ]5 Open Room { A K J 10 8 6 Marijke van der Pas,The Netherlands West North East South } 10 8 6 Abbey Walker had an obvious penalty pass. This Open Room SmithVriend Davies van der Pas contract went three down for +800 and 8 IMPs 1[ West North East South to Great Britain, now ahead by 25 IMPs. Pass 2] Pass 3] SmithVriend Davies van der Pas Board 22. E/W Vul. Dealer East. Pass 3[ Pass 4{ Pass Pass 1{ Pass 4NT Pass 5{ 1] Dbl 3] Dbl [ A K 10 4 3 Pass 5] All Pass All Pass ] 8 6 2 {7 5 2] was game forcing and 3[ was a relay. I The Dutch misjudged things badly in the } A J 3 believe 4{ showed the shortage, but when van Open Room with Marijke van der Pas' takeout [ J 9 7 5 N [ 6 der Pas showed no Aces, Vriend stopped in 5]. double of 3] on her essentially one-suited hand ] Q 4 3 ] A K 7 5 Since a spade ruff defeats 6], that was perhaps W E seemingly the culprit. With no clear-cut resting { A 9 4 { K Q J 6 just as well, but Davies led her trump and Vriend place and with her side holding the majority of } Q 8 2 S } K 10 7 6 score +680. the points, Bep Vriend decided to pass, however, [ Q 8 2 Nicola Smith had no problems in making an over- ] J 10 9 Closed Room trick after a spade lead for +930 to Great Britain. As the Netherlands scored +170 in the other { 10 8 3 2 West North East South room, Britain began the second half with a 13- } 9 5 4 Simons Walker Pasman Landy IMP gain. Open Room 1[ Pass 2] Pass 4] Board 16. E/W Vul. Dealer West. West North East South SmithVriend Davies van der Pas Pass 4NT Pass 5} [ J 10 7 2 1} Pass Pass 6] All Pass ] Q J 8 1[ Pass 1NT (1) All Pass { K J 8 5 The British pair were quickly in 6] and 26 }K 5 (1) 11-16, but unbalanced if 14-16 IMPs hinged on Pasman's . Unfortu- [ 9 5 [ Q 8 nately for the Netherlands, but fortunately for N Great Britain, she led a diamond and the slam ] 6 3 ] A 9 7 5 Smith was not encouraged to move over the W E made. The 13-IMP gain gave Britain a winning { A Q 10 6 4 3 { 9 7 2 1NT rebid with her motley nine-count, and van S der Pas led the ]J taken by declarer with the Ace. margin of 30 IMPs (53-23) and victory by 21-9 } Q J 4 } 10 7 3 2 VPs. One hurdle overcome, two to go. [ A K 6 4 3 A club to the Queen and Ace followed and Vriend switched smartly to a low spade to hold Pat ] K 10 4 2 Davies to seven tricks. { } A 9 8 6 Closed Room In the Open Room, van der Pas opened 1[ West North East South fourth in hand and Smith overcalled 2{. Vriend Simons Walker Pasman Landy raised to 4[ and that ended the auction.The lead 1} Pass was the }Q, but there was only the ]A to lose; 1[ Pass 2] Pass +480 to the Netherlands. 3} Pass 3NT All Pass

Closed Room The stakes were higher in the Closed Room West North East South where the Dutch pair reached game. Since Simons Walker Pasman Landy declarer was clearly short in spades, Landy decid- ed to lead a spade, but she began with the [8 to 2} (1) Pass 2{ Dbl avoid potential blocking problems. Unfortunately, All Pass instead of solving a problem it created one for (1) Weak two in diamonds or various strong hands her partner who could not envisage the actual layout. Jet Pasman covered the [8 with dummy's Opening the East hand did not turn out well [9 and Walker won with the King and switched for the Dutch in the Closed Room since Sandra to a diamond. Pasman won in hand and led a club Landy had an automatic of 2{ and to the Queen and Ace and when Walker,who was Abbey Walker, Great Britain Malta, 1999 Saturday, 26 June 1999 11

Monaco Strikes Back! Intuition faster by Guy Dupont than Computer Up to now when the Bulletin has published down. by Chris Chambers, (GB) any news from Monaco it has mainly been pieces When the hero met his partners he was able of information coming from the Appeal Commit- to exchange the following dialogue: The article 'Calculating a Slam' from bulletin tee. '+100 for us'. 11 (Wed.) was something a red rag to a mathe- But here bridge is the main concern, with a 'Why did they bid up to 3[, we stopped in two?' matician. The hand in question came from the sparkling defense from Perrino Guinvarch in the 'They also stopped in two'. match between the German and Hungarian match against Greece, won by Monaco 17/13 just Actually, Perrino 's defence was only recover- women and was posed as follows: after Greece had defeated France in the previous ing his money from a previous board when the round. Greeks defended against 4[. Here is the hand: [ 10 x Board 10. Game All. Dealer East. ] A x x Board 19. E/W Vul. Dealer South. [ J 9 6 5 { K x x [Q 4 ] K 9 6 } K Q 9 x x ] A J 6 { A 9 7 4 3 N { J 10 6 }Q W E } K J 7 6 3 [ Q 7 [ 10 4 3 N S [ A K 9 6 5 [ 10 7 2 ] A 7 3 2 ] 10 5 4 N W E ] 7 ] Q 9 8 5 4 3 { K J 6 2 { 5 [ A K J 9 x x W E { A K 8 7 { Q 3 } A J 10S } 8 6 5 4 3 2 ] K x x } Q 9 4S } 10 8 [ A K 8 2 {Q x [ J 8 3 ] Q J 8 }A x ] K 10 2 { Q 10 8 { 9 5 4 2 } K 9 7 Stawowy and Farwig for Germany bid to 6[ } A 5 2 and Barbara Stawowy was presented with effec- West North East South tively three lines on a heart lead; finesse in trump West North East South Pass 1NT immediately, cash one top honour and then Perrino Guinvarch Pass 2} Pass 2[ finesse, cash both honours and switch to clubs to Pass Pass 4[ All Pass dispose of both diamonds. in a deep gesture of team harmony took to her 1[ Pass 1NT Pass Have a guess what West led! notepad to find out which line was superior. She 2{ Pass 2[ All Pass The seven of spades away from queen dou- found the combination play 'only 47.56%' and bleton! Daniel Perrino chose the risky lead of the four The declarer played a small one from dummy congratulated and commiserated her team-mate of spades away from his queen and was happy to and the ten drew declarer's king. Later South on taking the unsuccessful finesse. see his partner contributing with the jack. Declar- finessed the queen and East lost a trick in every Armed with a spreadsheet I have checked the er took his king and played the queen of clubs that suit. On another lead the declarer would have results. Ignoring really obscure lies (West 4-6-0- went to South's ace and he played a second round easy time double finessing diamonds perforce and 3, East 1-1-8-3 etc.) the immediate finesse is of trumps. Not surprisingly West played a small dropping the queen of trumps. almost 50%.You will make whenever East has the trump from his hand and saw, with some astonish- Two successful underleads of the queen of queen except for Qxxxx when (and the trump ment, North taking the trick with the queen. trumps doubleton in the same match! But like spots may well be significant too) you can cash But the best was to still to come! Perrino wine, not to be abused! three rounds of clubs without East ruffing. That played a small heart away from his ace so Guin- Although this second deal was reported yesterday requires clubs 3-3 or J10 opposite xxxx. Obvi- varch was able to win with the king and could it is worth repeating because of the remarkable sym- ously length in the hand with more vacancies is play a third round of trumps to put the contract metry of the two hands. Editors more likely and you get about 30% of that minis- cule fraction (about 2%).That brings you down to 48.63%. Airport Transfers Sunday 27th June The intermediate alternative of cashing one top honour is nothing like as good. In isolation of These times relate ONLY to the Villa Rosa, cross the road and get the bus from Villa Rosa course you gain one singleton - queen offside - Bernard, Marina, San Gorg and Radisson as the buses cannot pass the Bernard Hotel. and lose four - each 'x'. Here you have some Hotels. Those staying at the Forum, Valentina All departure times given are for the first chance of recovery, you can fall back on clubs 3- and St Georges Park (La Vallette) Hotels will stop at the Villa Rosa Hotel.The bus will then 3 etc. Nevertheless that further dilutes your have transport provided directly to their hotels go to the Marina five minutes later, then the chances and success comes only 43.50% of the and their times will be posted in those hotels. San Gorg a further five minutes later and final- time. Times given below are BUS departure ly the Radisson five minutes after that. The combination play wins whenever there is times. Passengers must be outside their hotel VERY IMPORTANT, please only use doubleton or singleton queen either side, 32.78% with their luggage so that the bus can depart the bus that is given for your flight number of the time. If trumps are 4-1 and the queen on time. Residents of the Bernard Hotel MUST and time. doesn't fall however, you are in great difficulties. Bus Departure Time Flight Number Leaving an opponent with a small trump means she can kill a club with it, leaving you with just 04.30 KM100 07.05, KM582 07.15, KM218 0725 eleven tricks (five spades, four clubs, two hearts) 04.45 KM138 07.30, KM104 07.30, KM378 07.50, KM352 08.00 no matter what the club distribution.That is quite 05.00 KM390 07.45 a loss but if someone holds [Qxx you have your 07.30 KM404 09.20, KM612 09.25 10.00 3 Buses AZ887 12.35 additional chance with clubs 3-3 slightly improved 11.00 4 Buses LH3913 13.20, BA6939 13.45, KM490 14.15, KM??? 14.00 due to the even spade break. That's still only 12.00 KM512 14.30, KM468 14.50 36.49% of those breaks and the fraction for hold- 12.15 KM468 14.50, KM328 15.15 ing both }J10 and [xx adds less than 1%. So you 13.40 4 Buses AZ885 16.10, KM102 16.10, KM390 16.20 only get 3/8 of the [Qxx. All that comes to 14.00 KM264 16.25, KM628 16.30 48.04%. 15.15 KM476 17.15, SR649 17.05 So Barbara was spot on, by 0.59% without a 21.30 KM742 00.05, KM800 00.50 computer! That represents a bit more than the chances of making with [Qxxxx onside. 11th World Teams Bridge Olympiad

August 26 - September 9 2000 Maastricht - The Netherlands

Due to the increasing numbers of NCBO's the Bridge Olympiad 2000 in Maastricht is expected to be the biggest Olympiad Teams Tournaments ever organised.The World Bridge Federation is inviting all the NCBO's to participate in the matches for the Olympic titles in the Open Teams and the Women's Teams. Players can also compete for the Olympic title for the Mixed Transnational Teams.This Mixed Transnational Team com- petition that will be organized in the second week of this fortnight event will probably be the biggest ever organized during the Bridge Olympiads. The official invitations to the countries will be sent (including detailed hotel information) by the WBF in October 1999. The host for this WBF tournament is the , with Maastricht being the host city.

Maastricht, the oldest city in the Netherlands, is one in which a rich, centuries-old past blends intriguingly with the dynamic atmosphere of modern, urban life. Maas- tricht's rich cultural heritage has been well preserved in over 1400 monuments, tan- gible reminders in stone of the glories of Medieval and Roman civilizations. Maastricht, the most southern situated city in Holland, has nearly 120.000 inhabi- tants. Known for centuries for its hospitality, friendliness and charm, Maastricht makes you feel at home from the very first day of your stay. And thanks to its relaxed atmosphere, its numerous pubs and pavement cafés, its excellent restaurants and smaller, more intimate 'eatcafes', its wide variety of shops and department stores, and its romantic streets and picturesque squares over 12 million visitors come for shorter or longer stays each year.

The Venue The venue for the World Teams Bridge Olympiad is the Maastricht Exhibition and Congress Centre (MECC), which is only 10-15 minutes from the center of the city.

Hotel Accommodation In the official WBF invitation, coming in October 1999, a large number of hotels will be offered with different price categories. On top of that a variety of alternative accommodation will be available including guest houses, self catering apartments and small hotels.

The Internet site for the Bridge Olympiad will be starting in October 1999 (www.bridgeolympiad.nl).