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Bulletin 8 Friday, 20 July 2007 QUALIFYING RACES HOT UP

The theatre - the only cool place in the Palazzo Italy had another good day in the Junior Series, taking a maximum against Austria then winning 18-12 against early leaders Norway. Netherlands, however, had a good win over France and crept a point closer in second VUGRAPH place. The battle for the qualifying places for next year’s World Champi- onships is hotting up. Italy leads with 338 VPs, from Netherlands 328.5, MATCHES Poland 311, Germany 308, Norway 298, Russia 291.5, Denmark 285, France 283, England 272. Poland is looking very good for the Schools Championship. Though the Poles lost the morning match 10-20 toTurkey, perhaps the performance of France - England (Schools) 10.00 the day from the Turks, 25 against Wales and 23 against Israel left them with Poland - Russia (Juniors) 14.00 a comfortable lead. Poland leads with 205 VPs, from England on 176, Swe- den 175, Norway 172, France 170, Bulgaria 166.5, and Germany 158.5. France - Norway (Juniors) 17.30 21st EUROPEAN YOUTH TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS Jesolo, Italy

JUNIOR TEAMS TODAY’S RESULTS PROGRAM

ROUND 16 ROUND 18 Match IMP’s VP’s 1 DENMARK GREECE 1 CZECH REPUBLIC GREECE 66 - 34 22 - 8 2 RUSSIA HUNGARY 2 BELGIUM ROMANIA 51 - 54 14 - 16 3 GERMANY POLAND 3 ENGLAND SWEDEN 66 - 56 17 - 13 4 ITALY ENGLAND 4 POLAND SLOVAKIA 110 - 21 25 - 0 5 PORTUGAL BELGIUM 5 HUNGARY CROATIA 46 - 8 23 - 7 6 NETHERLANDS CZECH REPUBLIC 6 DENMARK TURKEY 47 - 14 22 - 8 7 FRANCE ROMANIA 7 RUSSIA LATVIA 57 - 39 19 - 11 8 GERMANY SCOTLAND 46 - 27 19 - 11 8 NORWAY SWEDEN 9 ITALY AUSTRIA 105 - 7 25 - 0 9 AUSTRIA SLOVAKIA 10 PORTUGAL NORWAY 44 - 58 12 - 18 10 SCOTLAND CROATIA 11 NETHERLANDS FRANCE 59 - 35 20 - 10 11 LATVIA TURKEY

ROUND 17 ROUND 19 Match IMP’s VP’s 1 GREECE LATVIA 1 GREECE NETHERLANDS 15 - 61 6 - 24 2 TURKEY SCOTLAND 2 FRANCE PORTUGAL 27 - 39 13 - 17 3 CROATIA AUSTRIA 3 NORWAY ITALY 47 - 61 12 - 18 4 SLOVAKIA NORWAY 4 AUSTRIA GERMANY 29 - 59 9 - 21 5 SWEDEN FRANCE 5 SCOTLAND RUSSIA 17 - 75 4 - 25 6 ROMANIA NETHERLANDS 6 LATVIA DENMARK 15 - 49 8 - 22 7 CZECH REPUBLIC PORTUGAL 7 TURKEY HUNGARY 11 - 29 11 - 19 8 CROATIA POLAND 46 - 51 14 - 16 8 BELGIUM ITALY 9 SLOVAKIA ENGLAND 1 -107 0 - 25 9 ENGLAND GERMANY 10 SWEDEN BELGIUM 26 - 54 9 - 21 10 POLAND RUSSIA 11 ROMANIA CZECH REPUBLIC 26 - 78 5 - 25 11 HUNGARY DENMARK

Today in History ROUND 20

At 10:56 p.m. EDT, July 20th 1969, American astronaut 1 BELGIUM GREECE Neil Armstrong, nearly 240,000 miles from Earth, speaks 2 ENGLAND CZECH REPUBLIC these words to millions listening and watching on television 3 POLAND ROMANIA at home: 'That's one small step for man, one giant leap for 4 HUNGARY SWEDEN mankind.' A moment later, he stepped off the lunar landing module Eagle, and became the first human to walk on the 5 DENMARK SLOVAKIA surface of the moon. Another astronaut, Edwin Buzz Aldrin, 6 RUSSIA CROATIA joined him a few minutes later, and together they took pho- 7 GERMANY TURKEY tographs of the terrain, planted a U.S. flag, ran a few simple scientific tests, and, the next day, departed. The astronauts 8 ITALY LATVIA left behind a plaque that read: 'Here men from the planet 9 PORTUGAL SCOTLAND Earth first set foot on the Moon - July 1969 A.D. - We came 10 NETHERLANDS AUSTRIA in peace for all mankind.' 11 FRANCE NORWAY

2 11-21 July 2007 21st EUROPEAN YOUTH TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS

SCHOOLS TEAMS TODAY’S RESULTS PROGRAM

ROUND 8 ROUND 11 Match IMP’s VP’s 1 LATVIA GERMANY 1 FRANCE LATVIA 75 - 20 25 - 4 2 BULGARIA WALES 2 CZECH REPUBLIC ISRAEL 37 - 34 16 - 14 3 NORWAY POLAND 3 HUNGARY NORWAY 21 - 69 5 - 25 4 ISRAEL ITALY 4 SWEDEN BULGARIA 47 - 51 14 - 16 5 FRANCE ENGLAND 5 DENMARK GERMANY 63 - 63 15 - 15 6 NETHERLANDS WALES 96 - 18 25 - 1 6 CZECH REPUBLIC TURKEY 7 TURKEY POLAND 48 - 23 20 - 10 7 HUNGARY NETHERLANDS 8 ENGLAND ITALY 59 - 38 19 - 11 8 SWEDEN DENMARK ROUND 9 ROUND 12 Match IMP’s VP’s 1 TURKEY LATVIA 1 LATVIA HUNGARY 35 - 30 16 - 14 2 ENGLAND NETHERLANDS 2 SWEDEN CZECH REPUBLIC 68 - 25 24 - 6 3 ITALY DENMARK 3 DENMARK FRANCE 42 - 70 9 - 21 4 POLAND SWEDEN 4 NETHERLANDS ISRAEL 45 - 24 19 - 11 5 WALES HUNGARY 5 TURKEY NORWAY 22 - 46 10 - 20 6 GERMANY CZECH REPUBLIC 6 ENGLAND BULGARIA 37 - 40 14 - 16 7 ITALY GERMANY 47 - 54 14 - 16 7 BULGARIA FRANCE 8 POLAND WALES 129 - 15 25 - 0 8 NORWAY ISRAEL ROUND 10 ROUND 13 Match IMP’s VP’s 1 LATVIA NORWAY 1 DENMARK LATVIA 43 - 46 14 - 16 2 ISRAEL BULGARIA 2 NETHERLANDS SWEDEN 61 - 37 20 - 10 3 FRANCE GERMANY 3 TURKEY HUNGARY 69 - 53 18 - 12 4 CZECH REPUBLIC WALES 4 ENGLAND CZECH REPUBLIC 56 - 76 11 - 19 5 HUNGARY POLAND 5 ITALY FRANCE 49 - 66 11 - 19 6 POLAND ISRAEL 58 - 18 23 - 7 6 SWEDEN ITALY 7 WALES NORWAY 8 -118 0 - 25 7 DENMARK ENGLAND 8 GERMANY BULGARIA 45 - 51 14 - 16 8 NETHERLANDS TURKEY

Today’s Schedule Closing Ceremony 10.00 Schools Teams, Round 11 Full details of the program for Saturday 10.00 Junior Teams, Round 18 evening will be given later but, for now, 14.00 Schools Teams, Round 12 please note that the Closing Ceremony will be held at 1900, 7-00 pm, and not as 14.00 Junior Teams, Round 19 shown in the official program. The venue 17.30 Schools Teams, Round 13 remains the theatre across the road 17.30 Junior Teams, Round 20 where the Opening Ceremonies were held.

3 21st EUROPEAN YOUTH TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS Jesolo, Italy

JUNIOR TEAMS Young talent! by GeO Tislevoll RANKING AFTER ROUND 17 This nice play happened in Norway's (Schools) match against neighbours Denmark Fiftteen year old Harald Eide (Norway), brother of Petter Eide who is playing for 1 ITALY 338 the Norwegian Junior Team, showed good card playing 2 NETHERLANDS 329,5 technique. 3 POLAND 311 Schools Round 2. 18. Dealer East. N/S Vul. 4 GERMANY 308 [2 5 NORWAY 298 ] K Q 10 7 6 RUSSIA 291,5 { A Q 10 5 7 DENMARK 285 } A 8 4 2 8 FRANCE 283 [ A J 8N [ K 10 9 7 4 3 ] A J 4 ] 5 2 9 ENGLAND 272 W E { K 9 2 { J 4 10 CZECH REPUBLIC 258,5 } J 9 5 3S } Q 7 6 11 LATVIA 251 [ Q 6 5 12 BELGIUM 248 ] 9 8 6 3 13 SWEDEN 247,5 { 8 7 6 3 14 HUNGARY 242 }K 10 15 TURKEY 235,5 16 CROATIA 230 East had opened a weak Two , and Eide (South) found himself in Four . West had raised to Three 17 PORTUGAL 213 Spades, and North had doubled this to get South into the 18 GREECE 210 game. West led the ace of spades and intelligently con- 19 SCOTLAND 204 tinued the suit — trying to promote his heart jack. 20 ROMANIA 191 The contract seems very difficult to fulfill, but Eide made ten tricks in about the same number of seconds! He sim- 21 AUSTRIA 148,5 ply threw a diamond from dummy to the second trick, and 22 SLOVAKIA 144 East won it with the king. Then a third round of the suit, and South won the queen discarding another diamond from dummy. Now South played a . West played low, SCHOOLS TEAMS and North's king won. Eide had no problems arranging for two club ruffs in hand, with the trump eight and nine, and ROUND 10 also taking the diamond along the way. RANKING AFTER After the last club he played a second round of trumps towards dummy, and escaped with only one trump 1 POLAND 205 loser as well. At the other table Norway were allowed to 2 ENGLAND 176 play in Three Spades, minus two, meaning this nice play of 3 SWEDEN 175 the young talent was worth 11 IMPs to his team. 4 NORWAY 172 5 FRANCE 170 Appeal Hearing 6 BULGARIA 166,5 Following an incident in the vugraph room where a non- 7 GERMANY 158,5 playing captain complained about partisan behaviour of a 8 DENMARK 154 member of an Appeals Committee that earlier had ruled 9 LATVIA 148 against the team of that n.p.c., and the reaction from the member of staff that this called his integrity into question, a 10 ISRAEL 146 hearing was held where misunderstandings were cleared up 11 NETHERLANDS 142 and the two parties shook hands. 12 TURKEY 133,5 Your attention is drawn to the regulation requiring deci- sions of Tournament Directors, Appeals Committees and 13 ITALY 127 Tournament Officials to be accepted in a sportsmanlike man- 14 CZECH REPUBLIC 126 ner, and also to the obligation of EBL staff to restrain any par- 15 HUNGARY 113 tisan behaviour that might be misconstrued. 16 WALES 3 , Chairman of Appeals

4 11-21 July 2007 21st EUROPEAN YOUTH TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS

SCHOOLS TEAMS ROUND 7

BULGARIA v DENMARK

As the Schools Championship approached the half-way Had South chosen to bid 3[, his partner would have point, Bulgaria and Denmark were both just outside the responded 4] and that contract is cold. Ruff a spade, cash medal positions. Bulgaria started the match with a bang, the ace and king of hearts, then throw the third spade on outbidding their opponents to pick up a game swing on the the {K and play club winners, just giving up two heart first board of the match. tricks on any 3-3 or 4-2 trump split. Board 1. Dealer North. None Vul. Board 3. Dealer South. E/W Vul. [4 [ Q 7 2 ] K 9 8 ]K 6 { A K 9 7 6 3 { A 8 7 3 } A Q 7 } K Q 10 5 [ A J 10 8 5 3N [ K 6 2 [ —N [ K J 8 6 4 3 ] 6 4 ] Q J 7 2 ] A J 10 9 8 ] Q 7 4 W E W E { Q 8 { J 10 5 4 { J 10 5 4 { K 6 2 } 10 6 2S } 8 3 } J 8 6 4S } 9 [ Q 9 7 [ A 10 9 5 ] A 10 5 3 ] 5 3 2 {2 {Q 9 } K J 9 5 4 } A 7 3 2

West North East South West North East South Rohrberg Skorchev Tofte Spasov Rohrberg Skorchev Tofte Spasov 1} Pass 2} Pass 2[ 3} 3[ Pass 2] Dble 3] Dble Pass 4{ Pass 4] Pass 3NT All Pass Pass 4[ Pass 5} All Pass West North East South Siderov Mortensen Syusyuskin Ege West North East South Pass Siderov Mortensen Syusyuskin Ege Pass 1} 1[ 2NT 1{ Pass 1] Pass 3NT All Pass 2[ 3{ Pass 3NT All Pass Matias Rohrberg’s 2] opening was a simple , For Bulgaria, Stefan Skorchev and Dean Spasov found the but only promising five cards. Combined with Lars Tofte’s club fit immediately thanks to Skorchev’s raise it jockeyed the Bulgarians into a hopeless 3NT after opening and the natural positive response. Despite the the automatic heart lead. Tofte led a low heart to the ace interference, they were now on firm ground and even had then unblocked the queen on the heart return. Skorchev the luxury of exploring slam possibilities before settling in picked up the then tried the queen of spades, hoping the excellent game contract. After a spade lead to the ace to a stiff jack. Rohrberg teased him by throwing the and a heart switch for the jack and ace, Spasov ruffed a other black jack on the trick, and he was one down for spade, cashed the ace and queen of clubs, played ace and —50. ruffed a diamond, drew the last trump and eventually con- Zhivko Siderov did not open the West hand at the other ceded a heart; a safe +400. table but Ivan Syusyuskin overcalled 1[ and that convinced One can understand the auction at the other table. Over Niclas Ege to upgrade his hand to a 2NT bid, which Maria 3{, South is worried that he has only four hearts and no Mortensen raised to game. Had Siderov led his longest and diamond fit so doesn’t like the alternative of a 3[ cuebid. strongest suit in time-honoured fashion, the outcome However, 3NT worked out very badly as North had no would have been the same as at the other table, but he reason to remove it and the defence quickly took the first went for a low diamond lead instead. On winning the {K, six tricks for down two; —100 and 11 IMPs to Bulgaria. Syusyuskin returned a diamond to declarer’s queen. Ege

5 21st EUROPEAN YOUTH TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS Jesolo, Italy played a club to dummy then the queen of spade to the The Bulgarians had a simple quantitative auction after the king and ace, picked up the clubs then reverted to spades strong club opening and natural positive response but Sko- and had ten tricks for +430 and 10 IMPs to Denmark. rchev judged to stay out of slam. After a low spade lead had run around to the jack, Skorchev no doubt regretted his Board 4. Dealer West. All Vul. failure to upgrade the ace-jack of partner’s known five-card [ A J 8 6 suit — though, of course, South did not have to have the ] A K 10 5 king and queen of ; 13 tricks for +720. {A J Mortensen opened 2} and Ege relayed to discover that he was facing 18-19 balanced. He invited slam and } Q 4 2 Mortensen accepted by responding as if to Blackwood, [ 10 9 4N [ K Q 5 2 over which Ege bid the small slam. Here the lead was the ] Q 9 8 7 6 ] 4 W E king of spades. Mortensen ducked, won the club switch { 10 8 3 { 9 6 5 and unblocked the diamonds. Then he played the Vienna } J 10S } 9 8 6 5 3 , cashing the top hearts, before crossing to dummy [7 3 with a club and cashing the minor-suit winners. Had the ] J 3 2 ]Q been in the East hand, along with the [Q, Mortensen would have succeeded but, alas for him, the simple heart { K Q 7 4 2 finesse was the winning option this time and he was } A K 7 down one for —100 and 13 IMPs to Bulgaria, a 25 IMP swing on the position of the ]Q. There is no particular West North East South reason to play for the squeeze except, of course, that Rohrberg Skorchev Tofte Spasov making a slam in that fashion assures you of an in Pass 1} Pass 2{ the Bulletin. Pass 2NT Pass 4NT In the Schools, 6NT was bid and made ten times, All Pass Mortensen being the only one to go down, four pairs stopped in game, and there was one 6}-1. In the Juniors, West North East South 6NT was bid 15 times and always made, 6{ was made Siderov Mortensen Syusyuskin Ege once, five pairs stopped in game and there was one 7NT Pass 2} Pass 2{ down one. Pass 2] Pass 2[ Pass 2NT Pass 4NT Board 9. Dealer North. E/W Vul. Pass 5[ Pass 6NT [ A J 7 All Pass ]4 { A J 10 4 3 } K 10 7 6 [ K Q 9 5N [ 10 8 2 ] K J 8 7 3 ] A Q 10 6 5 W E { Q 5 { K 8 } A 3S } 9 8 4 [ 6 4 3 ]9 2 { 9 7 6 2 } Q J 5 2

West North East South Rohrberg Skorchev Tofte Spasov 1{ 1] Pass 2{ Pass 2] Pass 4] All Pass West North East South Siderov Mortensen Syusyuskin Ege 1{ 1] Pass 4] All Pass

Both Wests drove to game facing partner’s , which Ivan Syusyuskin seems normal enough. However, game should fail on care-

6 11-21 July 2007 21st EUROPEAN YOUTH TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS ful defence. Ege led the {2 and Mortensen won the ace then returned the suit. Syusyuskin drew trumps, played a spade to the king, ducked, then a heart to hand for a sec- ond spade play. Mortensen won the jack and switched to a low club and that was one down for —100. Spasov led the }Q, ducked, then switched to the {2, when perhaps a higher card would have been clearer, and Skorchev put in the ten, an expensive error. Tofte won the diamond and drew trumps, eliminating clubs along the way, then exited with the {Q and Skorchev was endplayed to give the contract; —620 and 12 IMPs to Denmark. Though the {2 may have made it more difficult for North, had he stopped to think about which four tricks the defence had to take, he might have seen that no harm would come from rising with the ace and letting declarer make the king and queen of diamonds separately should he hold Kxx. Board 11. Dealer South. None Vul. [ A Q 7 ] A J 9 4 { 7 5 2 } A 8 7 [ 10 9 4N [ K 8 6 5 3 2 Zhivko Siderov ] 8 5 3 2 ] 10 W E ace and another to give his partner a ruff for down one; { K 3 { A 10 9 4 —50 and 10 IMPs to Bulgaria. } 10 6 3 2S } K J Bulgaria led by 47-26 after twelve boards, then came a [J dramatic turn-around in the match, starting with this huge ] K Q 7 6 swing: { Q J 8 6 Board 13. Dealer North. All Vul. } Q 9 5 4 [ J 9 3 West North East South ]— Rohrberg Skorchev Tofte Spasov { K 10 9 4 Pass } A Q 9 8 6 5 Pass 1NT 2[ 3[ [ A Q 8 6 4 2N [ K 10 7 5 Pass 3NT All Pass ] A Q 5 4 ] K 9 8 6 W E { 6 2 { Q J 7 5 West North East South }10S }4 Siderov Mortensen Syusyuskin Ege Pass [— Pass 1NT Pass 2} ] J 10 7 3 2 Pass 2] Pass 4] { A 8 3 All Pass } K J 7 3 2

Tofte came in with a 2[ overcall and Spasov cuebid, Sko- West North East South rchev judging to play the no trump game. Tofte did not lead Tofte Spasov Rohrberg Skorchev a spade now, preferring the four of diamonds, which went Pass Pass 2] to the jack and king. Rohrberg switched to a spade, ducked 2[ 3} 3] 3[ to the king, and Tofte reverted to diamonds, leading the ten 4[ All Pass to dummy’s queen. Now Skorchev cashed the hearts and spades and East was squeezed then endplayed; +400. West North East South Syusyuskin did not overcall and his opponents had a nor- Siderov Mortensen Syusyuskin Ege mal Stayman auction to the heart game. Syusyuskin led his 1} Pass 1] trump, which declarer won in hand to play a diamond up. 1[ Pass 2NT 4} Siderov won the {K and switched to a club, ducked to the 4[ 5} Pass Pass king. Now Syusyuskin switched back to diamonds, playing Dble All Pass

7 21st EUROPEAN YOUTH TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS Jesolo, Italy

The board was switched at the first table, so it was Sko- Skorchev led the queen of diamonds and, knowing that he rchev who opened 2], weak with hearts and a minor, and could not ruff a diamond in dummy, Rohrberg won the Spasov who bid 3}, pass or correct, over the 2[ interven- king, drew trumps then played on clubs; ten tricks for +620. tion. Rohrberg showed a good spade raise and Skorchev Mortensen also led the {Q but Siderov, mindful of the showed a maximum by in turn cuebidding 3[. All looked fact that 3{ was a weak bid, chose to win in hand then set for a fiercely competitive auction, but from here N/S draw trumps. He next crossed to dummy with the {K lost their way and allowed their opponents to play 4[. and ran the }Q to the king. Down to only one trump, Worse, they failed to find the heart ruff to defeat the con- declarer was now forced and could not get even a sec- tract so that was +620 to Denmark. ond club trick so was down two for —200 and 13 IMPs to I suppose that, from South’s point of view, he had Denmark. already shown a good hand when he bid 3[, so thought Siderov’s play looks horrible because of the result, but he should leave future decisions to partner. North, let’s look at it. Ace and another club is fine whenever meanwhile, must have been concerned that his partner North has }Kx or }Jx, but it fails when she has }9x or would turn up with strong hearts, when neither 4[ nor any singleton (}KJ9 with South is a no-win situation so we 5} would be making. However, I feel that North should can forget about that possibility). North is unlikely to hold bid on, given South’s 3[ bid. That sounds like suitability a singleton club because he is known to have only eight red for playing in the minor, as partner has shown no inter- cards, assuming diamonds to be 7-1, and anyway, there is no est in hearts. point in playing for a sure losing position. Either line is suc- If that looked bad for Bulgaria, events at the other table cessful when North holds }Jx, ace and another is neces- were no better. Mortensen opened the North hand, sary when he holds }Kx, but the queen play is necessary allowing Ege to show strong club support at his second against }9x. Given the auction, isn’t }9x more likely than turn. Now Mortensen’s extra distribution and low point- }Kx? count strongly suggested bidding on, as either or both Despite the above, I think that Siderov misplayed the games could be making. Actually, l slam is both cold and clubs. Better would be to lead the first club from hand, in- very good for N/S, but maybe that is tough to get to. When tending to finesse the ten or eight, then cross to the dia- Syusyuskin left the decision to Siderov and that decision mond to lead the queen and pin either the doubleton nine was to double, Denmark had another +1150 on the {Q or jack. The point is, of course, that North may misdefend lead and 18 IMPs. by going in with the king from his actual holding, or hesi- tate before playing low. I know he shouldn’t but…. Board 16. Dealer West. E/W Vul. Denmark had the lead now and the remaining boards con- tinued to go badly for Bulgaria. The final result was 79-59 in [ K 6 4 favour of Denmark, converting to 19-11 VPs. ]7 { Q J 10 8 6 3 2 }K 6 Wanna Learn ? [ 8N [ Q 9 3 2 ] A K Q 6 3 ] J 9 5 W E If so, why not come to Miedzyzdroje (Poland) for a { A 7 5 { K 4 YOUTH TRAINING CAMP organised by the Polish } A 7 4 3S } Q 10 8 2 Bridge Union? [ A J 10 7 5 ] 10 8 4 2 August 12-25 2007 {9 } J 9 5 Lectures will be held by the best Polish trainers: A. Aleksandrzak, W. Krystofczyk, R. Kielczewski and L. Nowak, with world grandmasters and West North East South Krzysztof Martens as guests. Rohrberg Skorchev Tofte Spasov 1] 3{ 4] All Pass We offer: Tournaments everyday West North East South Boat-cruise on the Baltic Sea Siderov Mortensen Syusyuskin Ege Sports activities, volleyball, table tennis etc 1} 3{ Dble Pass There are prizes for the best in the overall standings. 4] All Pass Entry Fee: 200 Euros Both the natural 1] opener and the strong club opener reached 4] without difficulty (that was a very aggressive Contact: 4] raise by Tofte but 3] would have done the trick just as Jen Grygier; [email protected], [email protected] well).

8 11-21 July 2007 21st EUROPEAN YOUTH TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS

2006 ShenHua A well timed defence Declarer Play Award by Tobias Tornqvist Parallel Winner 2: Fu Zhong From: Open 1/4 Final of The 3rd All-China Games 27th May Ida Gronkvist is one of the players in the Swedish squad of four. She is not only a good bridge player but also a Board 15. Dealer South. N/S Vul. very young one, as she has recently turned twelve years [ A K 8 5 old. Ida’s partner in the Schools is Sandra Rimstedt, who ] K 8 2 has a lot of experience and furthermore has celebrated eight more birth days than Ida. Their team mates are Idas {6 older brother Mikael (14) and Erik Fryklund (20). Ida has } K 10 9 4 3 not a lot of experience, since she has only played for one [ J 9N [ Q 7 4 3 year, but she is very talented and has a good feeling for ] A Q 9 ] J 10 6 4 3 the game as the board below will show. W E { Q J 10 5 { 8 2 Dealer West. N/S Vul. S } Q 8 5 2 } 7 6 [ J 10 9 5 [ 10 6 2 ] A Q J 7 2 ]7 5 {K 6 { A K 9 7 4 3 }K 2 }A J [ K 6 4 3 2N [ 8 West North East South ] 5 4 ] K 10 9 8 W E Shi Hao Jun Fu Zhong Zhuang Ze Jun Jack Zhao { 7 5 2 { A Q J 9 8 S 1{ } A 10 5 } Q J 7 Pass 2} Pass 2{ [ A Q 7 Pass 2[ Pass 3{ ]6 3 Pass 3NT All Pass { 10 4 3 } 9 8 6 4 3 At several tables, East had led the heart jack, denying a high- er honour, so declarer knew he should West’s queen. West North East South West continued hearts, but declarer could safety finesse clubs Sandra Rimstedt Ida Gronkvist into West. Pass 1]* Pass 1NT At other tables, the heart two was led and it was a standard coup for West to play the queen. For those declarers who dared Pass Pass 2{ Pass not duck, their contract was doomed at once. Fu Zhong faced Pass 2] Pass Pass the same difficult situation. Should he duck the first round at the 2[ All Pass risk of losing five heart tricks immediately, or win with the heart king and depend on four or five fast tricks in clubs? * 4+ Knowing that five club tricks was anti-percentage, Fu ducked Sandra had an awkward lead and chosed to lead he king the heart queen. This was the first and most important deci- of clubs, declarer unblocked the queen and winning the sion on the hand, but the contract was not yet home. Holding so many points, West knew his partner could hardly have an ace. A small trump went to the five, eight and queen. Ida entry, thus continuing hearts would be hopeless. He switched continued in clubs and declarer won in hand and then to the jack of diamonds. played another trump to the nine, dummy discarded a Fu Zhong realized that he had made the correct decision at diamond and Ida followed suit. Sandra now played the the first trick when he saw West’s switch. After winning the ace and then queen of hearts, so declarer took the trick second trick with ace of diamonds, Fu played a heart from with dummy’s king. At this point declarer played a heart dummy, establishing the king and cutting the defenders’ lines of from dummy. Ida chosed not to ruff, which was a good communication at the same time. id(e)a as doing so would produce eight tricks for declar- West won the heart ace and played the spade nine. Now Fu er, but discarding a club. Declarer ruffed and now had a read West’s shape: the spade nine was perhaps from a double- problem, as he both needed to play another round of ton, he must have three hearts for his plays in that suit and, since he was not afraid to attack diamonds, he should hold at trumps as well as taking the diamond finesse. He even- least jack-ten-eight to four or queen-jack-ten to four in that tually took the diamond finesse and then played dummy’s suit. It seemed likely that there were four clubs in the West last heart. Now Ida took action by ruffing with the spade hand. ace, declarer pitched a diamond. Ida gave Sandra a club Fu Zhong made up his mind on a throw-in. ruff and back came the king of diamonds, locking declar- He played the ace-king of spades, the heart king, and a club to er in dummy. Since dummy had only diamonds left to dummy’s ace. He then cashed the diamond king and ran the club play, Sandra got a trump trick en passent and that was jack. Finally a diamond endplayed West. A neat, proficient play! one down. Well done!

9 21st EUROPEAN YOUTH TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS Jesolo, Italy

Welcome to 46th International Pula Bridge Festival ! 8th — 15th September 2007, Pula, Croatia Bridge, sea, sun - perfect holidays on the Adriatic coast in a 3000 years old city from Roman times. Over 100 teams, close to 300 pairs. Players from more than 35 countries visited Pula tournament last year. Direct cheap flights… from London, Moscow, Glasgow, Dublin, Oslo and many other European cities. Affordable accommodation…. You can get accommodation from 10 Euro person/day! Luxurious hotel Histria (venue) from 50 Euro person/day (half board included). Appealing prizes… With entries of 15 Euro/session prizes are: First place in open teams: 2,000 Euro; The winner of open pairs: 2,000 Euro; Total fond of over 30,000 Euro; Special prizes in different categories & The best player of the festival Well organized with: bi-daily bulletin "Goodmorning Bridge"; Live broadcast on BBO; Bridge-mates, Tournament web page, International TD-s from various European countries; Efficient and friendly staff and computing team. Info & hotel bookings at: [email protected] or +385 91 7888 600 Web: www.crobridge.com/pula/eng

The Swedish Delegation

Have you met the Swedish juniors? If not, I bet they want to Eric (20) — Relaxed and good looking semi-blond with meet you! At least it seems as though they all want to meet loads of time for that special someone, seeks stunning someone and we asked them to specify who that might be. wealthy young girl. Oh well, the looks aren’t important real- ly... or the money... I guess a guy is cool too... Cecilia (18) — Very pretty, crazy and slightly violent blond girl Ida (12) — Very pretty and innocent looking girl with a vo- seeks submissive male for verbal degradation. No hanky panky! cabulary that might make a sailor faint, seeks cute cowboy to Eric (23) — Vraiment charmant et très joli avec les yeux ride off into the sunset. magnifiques. Il veut rencotrer une fille qui aimes bien faire la Micke (14) — Smart and cute boy seeks pretty (Danish?) menage et la cuisine. Peut-être une bonne masseuse? girl with extended knowledge of bridge conventions for sys- Karl (23) — Handsome, wealthy half Norwegian seeks a fit tem discussions and romantic bidding practise for two. nymphomaniac for short but intense workouts. Sandra (20) — Stunning blond girl seeks mate with perfect Simon (22) — Muscular blond paramedic student with genes for her future children. If you are a genius, future World great life-saving skills, wants pretty victims for mouth-to- Champion or Nobel Prize winner, please step forward. mouth and CPR practice. Kicki (24) — Charming girl with sarcastic humour seeks Bjorn (24) — Mysterious blond male seeks tea-drinking sneaky talkative partner. But watch out for her boyfriend — companion for gambling nights. Bjorn likes RKCB ‘1430’ so he knows where your mama lives... much that he applied it to his personal life, thus anyone be- Emma (22) — Beutiful but a little mean girl, seeks nice tween 14 and 30 are welcome. man for drinking games and more or less intimate dancing. Sara (24) — Gorgeous World Champion, only available on Available until closing ceremony. For more information, week days. Hint: Make no moves until the third date. please contact her agent.

10 11-21 July 2007 21st EUROPEAN YOUTH TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS

Made with Finesse Sports News by Patrick Jourdain Football Ben Green of the England Junior team found a neces- Champions League 1st Qualifying Round sary but unusual first round finesse in trumps on this 1st Leg last-deal partscore battle of their Round 16 match Olimpi Rustavi (Georgia) 0-0 Astana against Sweden: (Kazakhstan); Khazar (Azerbaijan) 1-1 Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia); APOEL Board 20 Dealer West; Game All (Cyprus) 2-0 BATE (Belarus); Zeta [ A K 7 4 3 (Montenegro) 3-1 Kaunas (Lithuania); ] K 9 7 4 TNS (Wales) 3-2 Ventspils (Latvia); Linfield FC (Northern {7 6 Ireland) 0-0 Elfsborg (Sweden); Murata (San Marino) 1-2 Tampere United (Finland); Derry City (Ireland) 0-0 Pyu- }K 2 nik (Armenia); Dudelange (Luxembourg) 1-2 MSK Zilina [ Q 8N [ 6 5 (Slovakia); Masrsaxlokk (Malta) 0-6 FC Sarajevo (Bosnia); ] J 10 8 6 5 ] A Q W E Pobeda (Macedonia) 0-1 Levadia Tallinn (Estonia); Hafnar- { Q 10 5 { A K 8 4 3 2 fjordur (Iceland) HB Torshavn (Faroes); FC Sheriff } 9 7 4S } A 5 3 (Moldova) 2-0 FC Rangers (Andorra); NK Domzale [ J 10 9 2 (Slovenia) 1-0 KF Tirana (Albania). ]3 2 Under-20 World Cup Semi-final {J 9 Austria 0-2 Czech Republic } Q J 10 8 6 Uefa Under-19 Championship — Group Stage West North East South Russia 2-6 Serbia; Spain 1-1 Portugal; Austria 1-1 Happer Asplund Green Thalen Greece; Germany 1-1 France. Pass 1[ Dble 2[ Pass Pass 3{ 3[ Tennis 4{ All Pass Maria Sharapova has been dropped from the Russia team for the Fed Cup final against South might have given the England pair a more difficult Italy in Moscow in September. The world problem with an immediate Three Spades. Against Four number two angered Russian tennis officials Diamonds South led the queen of clubs, overtaken by after pulling out of last week's semi-final at North’s king. Green ducked and then won the ace when the last minute, saying she was not fit. North played a second club. Cycling Realising he needed three entries to dummy to set up Robert Hunter (BAR) became the first an extra heart trick Green led a diamond to the TEN South African to win a stage of the Tour de on the first round. Next came a heart to the queen, the France, winning a sprint finish to the ace of hearts and a trump to the queen. Now he was eleventh stage ahead of second-placed Fa- able to take the ruffing finesse in hearts and get back bien Cancellara (CSC). Michael Rass- to dummy with a small trump to dummy’s five. That mussen still leads the overall standings by 2’35’’ from allowed him two discards on the hearts and eleven Alejandro Valverde, with Iban Mayo at 2’39’’. tricks in all. Golf The same contract at the other table lost two clubs and Tiger Woods had a solid 2-under par two spades for 6 IMPs to England and a win by 17-13 vic- round of 69 in the first round of the tory points. British Open at Carnoustie, Scotland. The first-round leader looked likely to be Sergio Garcia at —6 at the time we went to press. Other leading names had a mixed day: Paul McGinley —4; Michael Campbell —3; Retief Goosen, Padraig Harrington —2; Thomas Bjorn, Luke Donald, Jim Furyk —1; Darren Clarke, Ernie Els +1; Colin Mont- gomerie, Paul Lawrie, Ian Poulter, Adam Scott +2; Chris DeMarco +3, Justin Rose +4,

11 21st EUROPEAN YOUTH TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS Jesolo, Italy

SCHOOLS TEAMS ROUND 7

NORWAY v SWEDEN

by Peter Ventura

In this battle of Scandinavia, Norway and Sweden clashed to help with the opening glead. Hegge tried a low spade but in Round 7 in the Schools. In today’s first match Norway, West discarded a heart, so dummy’s five held the trick. and Sweden will play each other again — this time in the Declarer played on spades, to the queen and king. Hegge Juniors. tried his best to defeat the contract by playing a low dia- mond but, even though Rimstedt played low from dummy, The match begun with two flat boards then this came to the ten and ace, from here on declarer cannot go wrong along: as the cards lie. Rimstedt continued by cashing a top club and then exited with a diamond. East won the king and Board 3. Dealer South. E/W Vul. played back a diamond, establishing declarer’s ninth trick in [ Q 7 2 that suit; N/S +400 and 12 IMPs to Sweden. ]K 6 Only a heart lead beats the contract. Sweden followed this up with an even larger swing. { A 8 7 3 } K Q 10 5 Board 4. Dealer West. All Vul. [ —N [ K J 8 6 4 3 ] A J 10 9 8 ] Q 7 4 [ A J 8 6 W E { J 10 5 4 { K 6 2 ] A K 10 5 } J 8 6 4S } 9 {A J [ A 10 9 5 } Q 4 2 ] 5 3 2 [ 10 9 4N [ K Q 5 2 ] Q 9 8 7 6 ] 4 {Q 9 W E } A 7 3 2 { 10 8 3 { 9 6 5 } J 10S } 9 8 6 5 3 Open Room [7 3 West North East South ] J 3 2 M. Gronkvist Johansen Fryklund Bogen { K Q 7 4 2 Pass } A K 7 2{* Pass 2]* Pass Pass 4[ Dble All Pass Open Room West North East South Closed Room M. Gronkvist Johansen Fryklund Bogen West North East South Pass 1}* Pass 1{ Grude S. Rimstedt Hegge I. Gronkvist Pass 2NT Pass 3{ Pass Pass 3NT Pass 4} Pass 1NT Pass 2}* Pass 4{ Pass 6} Pass 2{* Pass 3NT All Pass All Pass What was the reason behind the fact that the Norwe- Micke Gronkvist kicked off with a light multi opening, gians ended up in small slam on the 3-3 fit? North’s open- against which the Norwegian pair ran into some serious ing bid showed at least three clubs and on the second problems. 2] was for pass or correct and when Lars round he preffered to show a strong rather Arthur Johansen judged to play in 4[ rather than 3NT Erik than the suit lengths. Three Diamonds showed a fifth dia- Fryklund happily made his contribution to the auction. The mond. North had no intention of helping his partner, thus defence took two red tricks and three trump tricks for he told the same story once again by bidding 3NT. Without down two and N/S —300. any four-cards nor three-card diamond support, In the Closed Room Tor Eivind Grude didn’t find any South reasonable enough placed North with a 3-3-2-5 opening bid to show the West hand in his stockpile of shape, thus he bid 4} as slam try and then 6} over part- weapons, therefore Kristoffer Hegge didn’t have any clues ners’s supposed cuebid. North should have corrected to

12 11-21 July 2007 21st EUROPEAN YOUTH TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS

[A J ]10 {— }— [ 10N [ Q 5 ]9 8 ]Q W E {— {— }—S }— [7 ]J {2 }—

On the last diamond North lets a heart go and East has to throw in the towel. Fortunately for Sweden, Rimstedt took the successful heart finesse instead. The accident in the Open Room was expensive for Norway, as that was worth 17 powerful IMPs to Sweden. At this point Sweden was leading by 29-0. Board 5. Dealer North. N/S Vul. [8 5 ] K Q J 7 3 Micke Gronkvist { A J 10 2 }K 10 6{, but no, he kept on taking poor decisions. If partner had [ A Q 6 3 [ K J 7 equal length in the minor suits he would have bid 3} over N ] A 9 6 5 4 2 ] 8 2NT, wouldn’t he? Declarer lost two trumps and a spade W E trick, so two down and N/S +200. This was the auction in { — { K Q 7 6 the other room: } A 8 5S } Q J 9 7 2 [ 10 9 4 2 Closed Room ]10 West North East South { 9 8 5 4 3 Grude S. Rimstedt Hegge I. Gronkvist } 6 4 3 Pass 1] Pass 2{ Pass 2NT Pass 3] Open Room Pass 6 NT All Pass West North East South M. Gronkvist Johansen Fryklund Bogen 2{ was not game forcing, nonetheless Sandra Rimstedt 1] Dble All Pass leaped to 6NT over 3]. Rimstedt has improved during the last year thanks to a lot of practise in the American Closed Room Nationals. Her declaring skills have already been given West North East South attention in the bulletin. Here, a lot of IMPs were at stake. Grude S. Rimstedt Hegge I. Gronkvist Hegge did well by finding the only lead that could cause 1] All Pass declarer some problems — the king of spades. After that lead there are actually only two options in the play; Erik Fryklund, Swedish Open Team Champion just a few either you play for the squeeze, in case East holds the months ago, defied the common understanding that a take- major-suit queens, or you finesse in hearts. In order to out double over 1] should contain four spades if with a lim- prepare for the squeeze Rimstedt let the spade king hold ited hand. To see a double from partner must have been a the trick and she won the club shift in dummy. With the delightful for Micke Gronkvist as West. E/W can make 4[ but bulletin editor behind her shoulder I thought she should two down in 1] doubled was worth more; N/S —500. When go for the more exciting squeeze. In that case it’s neces- Hegge judged differently in the Closed Room, Rimstedt was sary to cash the two top heart in hand, on which the left to play in 1] undoubled. Declarer made the same num- queen might drop, giving declarer twelve painless tricks. ber of tricks, so down two, N/S —200, but 6 IMPs to Sweden. If there is no heart queen in sight, declarer runs all the Norway scored their first IMP on Board 7 and here came minor-suit tricks to this ending: their first large swing.

13 21st EUROPEAN YOUTH TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS Jesolo, Italy

Board 9. Dealer North. E/W Vul. Open Room [ A J 7 West North East South ]4 M. Gronkvist Johansen Fryklund Bogen { A J 10 4 3 Pass Pass } K 10 7 6 1[ Dble Pass 2] 2[ All Pass [ K Q 9 5N [ 10 8 2 ] K J 8 7 3 ] A Q 10 6 5 W E { Q 5 { K 8 Closed Room } A 3S } 9 8 4 West North East South [ 6 4 3 Grude S. Rimstedt Hegge I. Gronkvist ]9 2 Pass Pass { 9 7 6 2 1[ Dble Pass 2] } Q J 5 2 All Pass

Open Room Despite the unfavourable vulnerability, Micke Gronkvist West North East South bid over 2]. He couldn’t afford a bid at the three level, thus M. Gronkvist Johansen Fryklund Bogen he rebid the spade suit. That was a winning move since the 1{ 1] Pass Swedish girls bought 2] in East/West’s direction. Gronkvist 2{* Pass 2] Pass could have done better in 2[, although E/W recording 110 4] All Pass was OK.

In 2] the trumps split nicely, so declarer could pitch a Closed Room club in hand since the defence cannot touch the club suit; West North East South N/S +110 and that was another 6 IMPs for Sweden. Grude S. Rimstedt Hegge I. Gronkvist 1{ Pass Pass Board 12. Dealer West. N/S Vul. 1] 2} 2{* Pass [ J 9 8 7 4] All Pass ]3 { K 6 5 Fryklund was declarer as East in the Open Room while } Q J 8 7 3 Grude declared as West. Against Fryklund, South led a low [ K Q 6 2N [ 5 4 diamond and North has to be careful not to be endplayed. ] 10 9 7 6 ] J 8 5 Perhaps the danger isn’t obvious, but stranger things than W E { J 10 4 { 9 8 3 that have happened in the game of bridge. However, S Johansen defended properly, thus N/S +100. } 9 6 } A K 10 5 4 Rimstedt had a more awkward choice of lead the North [ A 10 3 hand. When she led a low spade declarer could win the ] A K Q 4 2 nine and claim ten tricks; N/S +620. That was 12 IMPs to { A Q 7 2 Norway, who still trailed though, 13 to 43 IMPs at this }2 point. Open Room Board 10. Dealer East. All Vul. West North East South [J 6 M. Gronkvist Johansen Fryklund Bogen ] Q J 3 2 Pass Pass Pass 1] { A K J 7 Pass 1[ Pass 4[ } Q 8 4 All Pass [ A K Q 5 2N [ 9 7 3 ] A K 5 ] 9 8 Closed Room W E { 8 { 9 5 4 3 2 West North East South S } J 7 6 3 } K 9 5 Grude S. Rimstedt Hegge I. Gronkvist [ 10 8 4 Pass Pass Pass 2}* ] 10 7 6 4 Pass 2{* Pass 2] { Q 10 6 Pass 3} Pass 3{ } A 10 2 Pass 3NT All Pass

14 11-21 July 2007 21st EUROPEAN YOUTH TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS

Bogen and Johansen seems to seek all odd-suit fits as Board 18. Dealer East. N/S Vul. trumps (remember 4[ and 6}) but this time they hit the [2 jackpot when they landed in the only playable game. East ] Q 9 7 led the king of clubs and then switched to a diamond. Declarer won in hand, ruffed a couple of clubs and ran all { A 8 5 his high cards in the red suits. West had to win two trump } J 9 8 7 6 3 tricks but that was it; N/S +620. [ A K 7 4N [ Q J 10 9 5 In the Closed Room Ida Gronkvist opened 2} forcing ] K 10 ] A 6 2 W E and then showed hearts and diamonds and an unbalanced { K Q 10 6 4 3 { 9 7 2 hand. Hegge once again displayed his leading skills as he } AS } 10 2 started with a spade, the only lead that gives the defence a [ 8 6 3 chance. Grude won the first trick with the queen and then continued correctly by shifting to a club. North played the ] J 8 5 4 3 queen, as she wanted to give the impression of holding AQ {J in the suit. East won the king and then played a spade to } K Q 5 4 the ten and king. At this point a club sets the contract but for some reason West played more spades. When the dia- West North East South mond suit produced four tricks, the game was made; N/S M. Gronkvist Johansen Fryklund Bogen +600. That was disappointing for Norway, although 1 IMP Grude S. Rimstedt Hegge I. Gronkvist to them. Pass Pass 1{ Pass 1[ Pass Board 13. Dealer North. All Vul. 4}* Pass 4]* Pass [ J 9 3 4NT* Pass 5{* Pass ]— 5]* Pass 6[ All Pass { K 10 9 4 } A Q 9 8 6 5 We saw the same auction at both tables, where West cue- [ A Q 8 6 4 2N [ K 10 7 5 bid clubs and then asked for aces and checked if E/W were ] A Q 5 4 ] K 9 8 6 in control of the queen of trumps. The last large swing of W E { 6 2 { Q J 7 5 the match went to Norway as Bogen against 6[ led his sin- S gleton diamond and got a ruff while Ida Gronkvist tried the }10 }4 king of clubs instead. That was the difference of 14 IMPs. [— The Swedes won the match 63—42 IMPs, 19—11 VPs, and ] J 10 7 3 2 consolidated their position in the top tier in the Schools. { A 8 3 } K J 7 3 2

Open Room West North East South M. Gronkvist Johansen Fryklund Bogen 1} Pass 1] 1[ Pass 2}* 4} 4[ 5} Pass Pass Dble All Pass

Closed Room West North East South Grude S. Rimstedt Hegge I. Gronkvist 3} Dble 5} All Pass

Micke Gronkvist doubled in the pass-out seat, other- wise it could have been a striped-tailed ape double since N/S are cold for slam. There was only one trick for the defence to take, so N/S +950 and that was 7 IMPs and a glimpse of recovery for Norway, as the Swedes played 5} undoubled. Tor Eivind Grude

15 21st EUROPEAN YOUTH TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS Jesolo, Italy

Milan Revisited Seven Spades Thursday’s bulletin featured a 4[ contract made, doubled, The most talked about deal of the Thursday afternoon by Milan Macura of the Czech Junior team. We now hear vugraph match between the Junior teams of Norway and that the declarer for the Czech Scools team, Marketa Dud- Italy was Board 16, where the two Andreas, Boldrini and kova, also made 4[, though on a rather different line. Manno, overbid a little to put Boldrini in the spade grand slam. Board 18. Dealer East. N/S Vul. Board 16. Dealer West. E/W Vul. [ 10 9 8 3 [ K Q 10 7 5 4 ] 10 7 6 ]A { 4 3 2 { A K Q 6 } A 8 6 }J 4 [ J 7 5 4 2N [ A K 6 [ J 6 3 2N [ 9 ] — ] A 8 4 2 ] K J 9 4 ] 10 7 6 3 W E W E { A 10 8 7 { J 9 6 { 8 4 { 10 7 5 3 2 } K 7 4 3S } Q 9 2 } 9 8 3S } K 6 2 [Q [A 8 ] K Q J 9 5 3 ] Q 8 5 2 { K Q 5 {J 9 } J 10 5 } A Q 10 7 5 The lead against 7[ was the six of hearts, third and fifth, South had overcalled 1] over a loose 1} opening and and West’s jack was won by declarer’s ace. Boldrini showed Dudkova found herself in 4[ on the lead of a low heart good technique by playing a spade to the ace then ruffing a from North. She ruffed in hand and cashed the top heart before playing the [K and discovering the bad news. spades, confirming the 4-1 split, then played the nine of Erik Berg, East, was careful to throw a heart away, rather diamonds to the queen and ace, cashed the jack of than a potentially more revealing diamond. spades and played a diamond back to the jack and king. Boldrini crossed to the jack of diamonds and ruffed South played a heart and this time Dudkova won with another heart. With his trumps down to the same length dummy’s ace, throwing a club from hand. She continued as West, he now had to decide how many diamonds to cash by playing a diamond to hand then the fourth diamond. before taking the club finesse, which had to be winning, and North discarded the last heart on this trick so declarer playing for the . If clubs were three-three, it played a club to the queen then ruffed a heart. North would not be necessary to cash even one more diamond. could over-ruff but was then endplayed to give a trick to Simply take the club finesse and repeat it then run winning the king of clubs; ten tricks. clubs through West, who could ruff in at any time but would be over-ruffed and declarer would draw the last trump and cash winning diamonds. If West did not ruff, declarer would keep throwing diamonds from hand and still be in dummy at trick twelve for the trump coup. However, that line required an even club split, and we all know that a four-two break is much more likely than three-three. If declarer could cash two more diamond winners, leaving just one uncashed, he could then take the club finesse as before. The third round of clubs would be a winner and, once again, West could ruff in, be over- ruffed, and that would be the end of the hand, or he could discard and declarer’s last diamond would go away. Once again the trump coup would finish West off. Boldrini tried to cash the third round of diamonds, which was ruffed, and down he went. But, he played it correctly, with the odds. At the other table, the Norwegians stopped in the small slam and Alberto Sangiorgio led the two of clubs. There was real danger that Allan Livgard would go off in six, rising with the ace to protect against a singleton lead. No, he got it right, finessing to make his slam and see Norway gain 14 IMPs. But it was Italy who went on to Marketa Dudkova win the match by 61-47 IMPs, 18-12 VPs.

16 11-21 July 2007 21st EUROPEAN YOUTH TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS

SCONFITTA (QUASI) INDOLORE by Furio Meneghini Gli azzurrini-ini negli ultimi tre incontri hanno giocato DiFranco-Mistretta approdano al normale 4[ e iniziano un bridge meno falloso di quanto fatto in preceden- a prendere alla quinta presa; niente di strano se nell’altra za...ogni volta per tre quarti di match. Negli ultimi cinque sala i nostri non si intromettessero e Trimarchi riuscisse board hanno invece saputo trasformare una sconfitta a fermarsi prima di 4] destinati al -800. Le successive decorosa, un pareggio e una vittoria in una mezza disfat- mani piatte però aiutano ad assorbire il colpo, i nostri ta e due sconfitte di misura. Ci si interroga sulla man- cominciano a lasciar andare alto i teutonici e con un paio canza di fondo della squadra, ipotesi non del tutto pere- di doppi score un down di qui un down di là ricuperano grina dato che incontri di 20 board non capita di giocar- quasi per intero il gap. li spesso, e anche se a vent’anni la freschezza mentale Poi arriva un botta e risposta. non scarseggia davvero è altrettanto vero che man- tenere la concentrazione è un’arte che si impara con l’al- Board 10 —E — All lenamento e l’esperienza. [ K Q 2 Com’è come non è, gli School si siedono contro la ] A K 4 Germania e per invertire la tendenza partono subito con { A Q 7 3 un bell’handicap di 13 } K 9 6 Board 1 — N — None [ A J 3N [ 9 7 6 [ A Q T 9 7 6 5 ] J 7 5 2 ] Q T O E ] 6 4 3 { K T 8 6 { 4 {7 6 } A 2S } J T 8 7 5 4 3 }5 [ T 8 5 4 [ J 8 4N [ 3 2 ] 9 8 6 3 ] — ] A K J 9 7 5 { J 9 5 2 O E { A J T 8 5 { 9 4 3 }Q } K 9 8 4 3 S } J 6 [K Sala aperta: ] Q T 8 2 { K Q 2 ONE S } A Q T 7 2 pass pass 1{ double 2} 2] pass 3NT fine

DiFranco dopo che il compagno ha fiatato (niente com- menti, please) non può esimersi da saltare a 3NT, gioca bene e mette a referto 7 prese, le stesse dell’altra sala dove però di Senza se ne giocava solo 1 perchè Est non se la sente di inserire le }. Board 11 — S — None [A Q ] A K 4 3 2 { A Q J 8 }T 4 [ J 5N [ K T 6 3 ] T 7 6 ] 9 5 O E { K 9 6 5 { T 7 3 } K J 8 6S } 9 7 3 2 [ 9 8 7 4 2 ] Q J 8 {4 2 Eugenio Mistretta } A Q 5

17 21st EUROPEAN YOUTH TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS Jesolo, Italy

Sala aperta:

ONE S pass pass 1} 2{ double 2] pass pass 2[ Pass 3NT fine Ancora uno sbrigativo 3NT dei siciliani (dopo “oscure” interferenze DONT), fatte giuste per la voglia di risparmiare energie, mentre i tedeschi (ignoro la se- quenza dichiarativa, ma so che hanno lasciato in panchi- na la Giampietro, per timore che le sue origini italiane la disturbassero) chiedono uno slam dove dovrebbero andar bene un po’ troppi impasse. Dunque parità, che non si sblocca neanche dopo altri due colpi grossi.

Board 12 — W — N/S [ 8 5 3 ] T 9 8 5 3 {6 } A 9 7 6 [ J T 6N [ A K 9 7 4 ] K 7 ] A Q 2 O E { A K T 8 { 7 5 3 2 Massimiliano Di Franco } K T 8 4S } J l’attacco e incassano le prime sei. In aperta Mistretta ha [Q 2 una visione divina e toglie, suggerendo una manche ] J 6 4 rossa, la Eggeling gentilmente incassa l’Asso di } prima { Q J 9 4 di rinviare la terza [, le ] sono divise come se le avesse } Q 5 3 2 messe lì il dichiarante e questo scopre con percettibile soddisfazione.

Lo slam —bruttino- si farebbe pizzicando la Dama di Si arriva tremebondi alle sporche ultime cinque e in atout seconda fuori impasse, stando bassi sull’attacco } aperta la storia sembra ripetersi, perchè DiFranco-Mis- e facendo il doppio impasse a {, ma il dichiarante italiano tretta subito si arrestano malinconicamente a 4[ dove si non vede le carte e paga; le vede invece il germanico, che realizza il grande in entrambi i neri nonché a Senza (di là per sua sfortuna giocava appena la manche. il normale 6[) e alla penultima regalano clamorosa- mente 3NT. Trimarchi-DelleCave invece si vestono da salvatori della patria e prima portano a casa un prob- Board 14 — E — None lematico 4], per finire incassando quanto di loro spet- [ 9 5 2 tanza sul 4] nemico. ] A J 9 Ancora una sconfitta dunque, ma 14-16 si può sop- {T 9 portare, specie avendo perso solo 1 Victory alla fine. } K Q J 9 7 [ A 6 3N [ K J 8 7 4 ] Q T 7 ] 6 5 4 O E { Q 4 { 8 3 2 } A 6 5 3 2S } T 4 [Q T ] K 8 3 2 { A K J 7 6 5 }8

Contro 3NT da Nord i nostri non possono sbagliare

18