DailyDaily NewsNews 44th GENERALI European Bridge Championships

Friday, 25 June 1999 Issue: 13

Jean Paul Meyer, Executive Editor • , Editor • Stefan Back, Co-Editor Stelios Hatzidakis, Layout Editor Italy are in Pole position

The defending Champions are set to retain their title as the Generali European Open Teams Championship draws to a close. With just four rounds left they lead France by a full match. More significantly the Italians are 46 VPs ahead of the seventh placed team.They can almost Starting certainly book their flights but it looks as if there is going to be a desperate struggle for the remaining five berths.The other five teams chasing a place are Norway, Israel, Playing Times Sweden, Bulgaria and Poland. The pack has not given up yet but they will need some of these teams to falter in order to get back into the race. The hopefuls are Russia, Spain, Open Teams Netherlands, Great Britain and Belgium. Round 34 10.00 Round 35 14.15 Round 36 18.00 Bermuda is in sight Ladies Teams 1st 2nd With three matches left in the Generali European Ladies Team Championship six teams have Round 20 10.00 12.20 pulled clear in the race for the qualifying places. Austria, France, Netherlands, Round 21 15.10 17.30 Great Britain Denmark and Germany are all in control of their own destinies.Austria is favourites for the gold medal and their match with Germany this morning will surely have a sig- Seniors Teams nificant bearing on the final result. Round 27 12.20 As we go to press the Ladies are still completing Round 19.The result will appear in Saturday morn- Round 28 15.10 Round 29 17.30 ing’s Daily News. Attention all players Grandstand finish in prospect and captains With three rounds to play we are assured of an exciting finish to the Generali European Seniors Teams Championship. Poland 1 lead by three VPs from France 1 and P.E./France are The last round of the Generali Euro- a further three behind. France 2 is the only other team in with a chance of a medal but they pean Open Teams Championship will now are a full match behind the leaders. start at 11.00 on Saturday 26 June.

Airport Victory Banquet Transfers The Victory Banquet will be Marina Hotels and outside the held in the Corinthia San Gorg entrance to the Lido Lower Deck. In order to ensure a smooth transfer to the airport for your departure it is imperative Hotel on Saturday 26 June at Don't forget to bring your invi- that you complete a Bridge Malta Departure Time 7.30 p.m. at LIDO LOWER DECK. tation! Form. You will be able to check the If you have not received a form in your There will be no hotel room they are available at the Hospitality number and location of your table without it! Desks in the San Gorg Corinthia and SAS Radis- by referring to the notices that will son Hotels. be displayed in the Corinthia San Ladies, please remember it can Please return the completed form to one of Gorg, Radisson SAS and Corinthia be windy and cold! the Hospitality Desks thereby ensuring trans- port to the airport will be available. 2 Friday, 25 June 1999 44th GENERALI European Bridge Championships

OPEN TEAMS - RESULTS Round - 31 Round - 32 Round - 33 Country Imps Vps Country Imps Vps Country Imps Vps 1 Israel Bye 0018 0 1 Bye Bulgaria 00 018 1 Bye Romania 00 018 2 France Lithuania 58 49 17 13 2 Malta Hungary 21 57 8 22 2 Italy Portugal 62 29 22 8 3 San Marino Great Britain 21 62 7 23 3 Netherlands Greece 39 17 2010 3 Finland Spain 43 45 15 15 4 Romania Liechtenstein 14 69 4 25 4 Belgium Poland 2055 8 22 4 Denmark Lebanon 44 25 19 11 5 Luxembourg Switzerland 34 51 11 19 5 Slovenia Cyprus 41 5013 17 5 Monaco Great Britain 24 72 5 25 6 Portugal Austria 17 401020 6 Switzerland Russia 16 76 3 25 6 Cyprus France 49 42 16 14 7 Italy Spain 54 23 21 9 7 Germany Czech Rep 46 47 15 15 7 San Marino Ireland 15 65 5 25 8 Poland Netherlands 67 33 22 8 8 Lebanon Finland 26 41 12 18 8 Sweden Luxembourg 6027 22 8 9 Greece Russia 3031 15 15 9 Spain France 23 42 11 19 9 Czech Rep Malta 69 24 24 6 10Turkey Slovenia 32 37 14 16 10Lithuania Monaco 30100 2 25 10Hungary Croatia 36 60 10 20 11 Lebanon Germany 49 38 17 13 11 Sweden San Marino 58 19 23 7 11 Norway Netherlands 31 61 9 21 12 Cyprus Denmark 24 78 4 25 12 Great Britain Yugoslavia 48 27 19 11 12 Greece Estonia 57 34 2010 13 Iceland Czech Rep 45 38 16 14 13 Austria Ireland 66 7 25 4 13 Russia Liechtenstein 37 37 15 15 14 Norway Malta 76 19 25 4 14 Iceland Italy 31 74 6 24 14 Austria Germany 34 7 21 9 15 Hungary Belgium 6067 14 16 15 Portugal Denmark 57 49 16 14 15 Switzerland Yugoslavia 92 8 25 0 16 Finland Monaco 3061 9 21 16 Luxembourg Croatia 26 501020 16 Slovenia Israel 48 43 16 14 17 Ireland Sweden 39 61 1020 17 Liechtenstein Norway 35 76 7 23 17 Poland Iceland 26 48 1020 18 Croatia Bulgaria 078 1 25 18 Israel Romania 44 33 17 13 18 Bulgaria Belgium 39 59 11 19 19 Yugoslavia Estonia 35 39 14 16 19 Estonia Turkey 47 27 19 11 19 Turkey Lithuania 43 45 15 15

OPEN TEAMS - PROGRAMME ROUND - 34 ROUND - 35 ROUND - 36

1 Belgium Bye 1 Bye Denmark 1 Yugoslavia Bye 2 Germany Switzerland 2 San Marino Cyprus 2 Netherlands Great Britain 3 Luxembourg Czech Rep 3 Slovenia Ireland 3 Monaco Liechtenstein 4 Yugoslavia Sweden 4 Estonia Norway 4 Turkey Iceland 5 Croatia Greece 5 Israel Spain 5 Bulgaria Czech Rep 6 Great Britain Malta 6 Greece Italy 6 Spain Germany 7 Netherlands Liechtenstein 7 Finland Poland 7 Luxembourg Lebanon 8 Norway Slovenia 8 Iceland Monaco 8 Austria Croatia 9 Ireland Italy 9 Liechtenstein Germany 9 Poland San Marino 10Portugal Israel 10Switzerland Bulgaria 10Cyprus Romania 11 Iceland Finland 11 Austria Luxembourg 11 Russia Slovenia 12 Spain Turkey 12 Czech Rep Lithuania 12 Ireland Hungary 13 France Poland 13 Malta Lebanon 13 Italy Sweden 14 Russia San Marino 14 France Netherlands 14 Malta Finland 15 Cyprus Estonia 15 Great Britain Turkey 15 Greece Lithuania 16 Monaco Bulgaria 16 Croatia Romania 16 Israel Belgium 17 Lebanon Austria 17 Sweden Russia 17 Norway France 18 Romania Denmark 18 Belgium Yugoslavia 18 Denmark Estonia 19 Lithuania Hungary 19 Hungary Portugal 19 Portugal Switzerland

SENIORS TEAMS - PROGRAMME ROUND 27 ROUND 28 ROUND 29

1 Lithuania/Poland Portugal 1 Netherlands 2 Lithuania/Poland 1 Ireland Lithuania/Poland 2 Germany Austria 1 2 P.E./France Portugal 2 Italy 2 Netherlands 2 3 Czech Republic Netherlands 1 3 Turkey Italy 1 3 France 2 Spain 4 Bye Sweden 1 4 France 1 Poland 1 4 Great Britain 1 Poland 2 5 Turkey Ireland 5 France 2 Poland 3 5 Israel Great Britain 3 6 Sweden 2 Poland 2 6 Austria 2 Sweden 3 6 Czech Republic Belgium 7 Belgium Israel 7 Great Britain 2 Germany 7 Netherlands 1 P.E./France 8 Yugoslavia Sweden 3 8 Austria 1 Belgium 8 Portugal Great Britain 2 9 Poland 3 Austria 2 9 Great Britain 3 Czech Republic 9 Bye Turkey 10Great Britain 1 France 2 10Sweden 2 Israel 10Austria 2 Germany 11 Poland 1 Great Britain 2 11 Poland 2 Netherlands 1 11 Sweden 3 Italy 1 12 Netherlands 2 Great Britain 3 12 Ireland Bye 12 Poland 3 France 1 13 Italy 1 Lebanon 13 Spain Yugoslavia 13 Lebanon Austria 1 14 Spain France 1 14 Lebanon Great Britain 1 14 Yugoslavia Sweden 2 15 P.E./France Italy 2 15 Italy 2 Sweden 1 15 Sweden 1 Poland 1 Malta, 1999 Friday, 25 June 1999 3

OPEN TEAMS - RANKING LADIES TEAMS - RESULTS AFTER 33 ROUNDS ROUND 17 ROUND 18

1 Italy 628 1 Bye Belgium 0015 15 1 Norway Bye 0018 0 2 Sweden Poland 21 46 1020 2 Czech Rep Turkey 52 32 19 11 2 France 603 3 Croatia Israel 32 46 13 17 3 Netherlands Greece 63 11 25 5 3 Norway 600 4 Turkey Germany 47 46 15 15 4 Belgium France 39 65 1020 4 Israel 596 5 Russia Iceland 58 8011 19 5 Austria Israel 62 36 2010 5 Sweden 592 6 Greece Czech Rep 53 75 11 19 6 Poland Spain 78 48 21 9 6 Bulgaria 583 7 Hungary Italy 34 74 7 23 7 Iceland Hungary 72 52 19 11 8 France Norway 57 42 18 12 8 Great Britain Denmark 18 59 7 23 7 Poland 582 9 Austria Finland 81 3024 6 9 Italy Russia 48 41 16 14 8 Russia 564 10Netherlands Great Britain 23 53 9 21 10Germany Sweden 52 16 22 8 9 Spain 562 11 Spain Denmark 25 707 23 11 Finland Croatia 66 2024 6 10Netherlands 559 11 Great Britain 552 LADIES TEAMS - PROGRAMME 12 Belgium 546 13 Austria 534 ROUND 20 ROUND 21 14 Hungary 525 15 Portugal 525 1 Croatia Bye 1 Netherlands Bye 16 Greece 524 2 Finland Norway 2 Russia Denmark 17 Ireland 517 3 France Turkey 3 Great Britain Belgium 4 Denmark Sweden 4 Croatia Czech Republic 18 Germany 511 ½ 5 Hungary Poland 5 Iceland Turkey 19 Lebanon 500 6 Belgium Russia 6 Norway Austria 20Denmark 495 7 Greece Israel 7 Poland Greece 21 Iceland 495 8 Czech Republic Netherlands 8 Spain Germany 9 Iceland Italy 9 Israel Hungary 22 Croatia 492 ½ 10Great Britain Spain 10Sweden Finland 23 Slovenia 475 11 Austria Germany 11 Italy France 24 Finland 472 25 Turkey 467 ½ SENIORS TEAMS - RESULTS 26 Romania 462 27 Czech Rep 460 ½ 28 Monaco 450 ROUND 23 ROUND 24 29 Estonia 438 1 Spain Lith/Pol 24 27 14 16 1 Lith/Pol Lebanon 51 2 25 3 30Switzerland 427 2 Czech Rep Italy 1 2 39 5 25 2 Turkey Spain 21 27 14 16 31 Lithuania 401 3 France 1 Poland 2 407 24 6 3 Great Britain 1 Pres/Swe 19 18 15 15 4 Netherlands 2 Israel 041 4 25 4 Ireland Germany 27 59 7 23 32 Yugoslavia 395 ½ 5 Great Britain 1 Yugoslavia 33 13 2010 5 Sweden 2 Austria 1 17 25 13 17 33 Liechtenstein 384 6 Great Britain 3 P.E./France 2038 1020 6 Bye Italy 2 00 018 34 Luxembourg 376 7 Sweden 1 Austria 2 37 2 24 6 7 Poland 1 Czech Rep 22 26 14 16 8 Netherlands 1 Italy 2 29 24 16 14 8 Italy 1 Sweden 1 2058 5 25 35 San Marino 350 9 Austria 1 Bye 0018 0 9 Portugal France 1 065 025 36 Cyprus 303 ½ 10Poland 3 Sweden 2 29 23 16 14 10Great Britain 3 Austria 2 34 23 18 12 37 Malta 245 11Germany Poland 1 7 309 21 11 P.E./France Poland 2 23 28 14 16 12 Lebanon Portugal 34 5 23 7 12 Yugoslavia Netherlands 2 8 602 25 13 Pres/Swe Great Britain 2 31 9 21 9 13 Belgium Netherlands 1 18 63 4 25 14 Belgium Ireland 26 2 21 9 14 Great Britain 2 Poland 3 1055 4 25 Bridge 15 Turkey France 2 17 19 14 16 15 France 2 Israel 37 19 2010 Rama ROUND 25 ROUND 26 1 Lith/Pol Yugoslavia 24 12 18 12 1 Austria 1 Lith/Pol 56 26 23 7 Radisson Hotel - 5th floor 2 France 2 Lebanon 41 1023 7 2 Israel Yugoslavia 75 13 25 0 3 Sweden 2 Belgium 21 42 9 21 3 Austria 2 Great Britain 2 18 21 14 16 4 Poland 3 P.E./France 4 32 8 22 4 Great Britain 3 Italy 2 48 18 23 7 (10.0 0OPEN ROUND 34 (10.00h) 5 Austria 2 Portugal 2041 9 21 5 Czech Rep Netherlands 2 34 34 15 15 France - Poland 6 France 1 Sweden 1 11 19 13 17 6 Great Britain 1 Poland 1 24 43 1020 7 Poland 2 Turkey 22 15 17 13 7 Pres/Swe France 2 209 18 12 8 Spain Poland 1 17 46 7 23 8 Lebanon Poland 2 28 25 16 14 0OPEN ROUND 35 (14.15h) 9 Netherlands 2 Great Britain 1 9 2012 18 9 Ireland Sweden 2 16 47 7 23 Israel - Spain 10Bye Czech Rep 0 0 0 18 10France 1 Turkey 17 47 7 23 11 Italy 2 Pres/Swe 37 14 21 9 11 Sweden 1 Belgium 58 3 25 2 12 Austria 1 Ireland 43 25 2010 12 Portugal Poland 3 32 22 18 12 (10.0 0OPEN ROUND 36 (18.00h) 13 Great Britain 2 Italy 1 25 33 13 17 13 Netherlands 1 Spain 38 34 16 14 Italy - Sweden 14 Netherlands 1 Great Britain 3 16 2014 16 14 Italy 1 Bye 0018 0 15 Israel Germany 26 19 17 13 15 Germany P.E./France 23 27 14 16 4 Friday, 25 June 1999 44th GENERALI European Bridge Championships

LADIES TEAMS - RANKING Silence is golden - Working or how to make on declarer’s mind AFTER ROUNDS 18 commentators silent by Ulf Nilsson, Sweden (coach) When the opponents bid a thin game and 1 Austria 346 ½ by Hans Werge everything is working for them, the defenders 2 France 332 must get their imagination going. Resorting to This is a very sad story, because it comes falsecards is a weak tool since declarer often 3 Netherlands 321 ½ from a very bad experience I had today being a must play for a certain layout. A more effective spectator in the . Naturally I ought to 4 Great Britain 320 defence is to try and create losing options, to lure know that I should keep silent and leave it to the declarer from the right (only) path. 5 Denmark 305 experts and their microphones to teach the Here is a successful example from Sweden's bridge lessons. 6 Germany 303 match against Romania, signed, sealed and deliv- My unlucky moment arrived when I saw the ered by Mats Nilsland. 7 Turkey 276 diamond suit distributed like this: 8 Norway 273 Open Sess.7. 7. Game All. Dealer South. {K 10 9 Czech Rep 273 [ 9 8 5 4 2 ]Q 7 6 10Poland 273 { Q 8 { A J 9 6 {Q 6 2 11 Finland 268 }9 5 { 7 5 4 3 2 12 Israel 266 [ A K 10 7 6 N [ Q J 3 ]4 3 W E ]K 5 13 Italy 264 West was the lucky owner of the ace of { K 7 { J 10 9 5 14 Belgium 263 ½ spades, the only trick for the defence against 3NT } J 8 7 6 S } A Q 4 3 - apart from what the above mentioned diamond [– 15 Russia 255 suit might bring in. ] A J 10 9 8 2 16 Sweden 244 ½ Double dummy, there is no problem in realiz- { A 8 4 3 ing that South has a stopper in the suit because } K 10 2 17 Hungary 231 the 7 of diamonds is a winner.This meant that the West North East South 18 Croatia 228 defence could never arrive at more than one spade trick and three diamond tricks. 1] 19 Spain 227 So when the commentators wondered why a 1[ Pass 2] 3] 20Iceland 227 couple of declarers had gone down in 3NT and Pass 4] All Pass to wake up some of the spectators, I gave them 21 Greece 195 Lead: ace of spades the good advice that South might an even- Declarer ruffed and was now destined to tual switch to the diamond queen!! make the contract with the normal line of play. Probably you might agree upon the fact that Hearts 2-2 with the king in position, the diamond SENIORS TEAMS - RANKING mathematically, the best play will be to cover the king to the left and the ace of clubs to the right. queen.But if you only look at this as a Bridge prob- A diamond from hand, king from West and lem, to me it seems much more likely, that West jack from East. Diamond continuation taken with AFTER 26 ROUNDS will make this switch from {QJ98 - where you the queen in dummy and now it seems that play- must duck with {K10 - than with {Q9 or {Q8. ing on hearts or clubs won't matter. If you start On the other hand if West has {QJ then you 1 Poland 1 495 with clubs and they away the ace of diamonds need to cover to deal with East's {A986. then you'll get two ruffs in dummy instead. If 2 France 1 492 Not to mention, if a keen West player makes declarer had played a heart nothing would have 3 P.E./France 489 the switch from {AQ98! stopped him from making his contract, but play- 4 France 2 470 But let' s go back to what happened after I ing a club seemed to be every bit as good. Now 5 Sweden 1 458 had given this well meant advice: look what happened when Mats took the ace and 6 Italy 1 446 None of the three gentlemen even com- pretty much knowing the hand by now led the 7 Czech Rep 438 mented a single word on this board any longer - heart five! This gave declarer a choice that looked 8 Poland 2 432 so now I ask for an explanation from Messrs. rather more appealing by now, thinking that the Lund, Senior and Sundelin. 9 Italy 2 429 king might be offside. If West has a singleton ]K My questions are: or ]Kx then rising with the ace and playing to 10Germany 429 Do you really prefer a silent audience? ruff your losers in dummy works just fine, letting 11 Poland 3 428 Is this really so uninterest- West ruff with the master if he wishes to. 12 Israel 423 ing? Of course I wouldn't write this if he had 13 Netherlands 1 411 ½ finessed. 6 IMPs to Sweden instead of 10 IMPs 14 Great Britain 3 406 ½ Kindly away compared to the partscore played at the 15 Austria 1 406 Hans Werge other table. 16 Turkey 405 17 Sweden 2 371 18 Netherlands 2 369 EBL Press Conference 19 Great Britain 2 362 20Spain 353 21 Belgium 351 The EBL Press Conference will be held 22 Pres/Swe 345 on Friday 25th June, 11 a.m. 23 Lith/Pol 341 at the Corinthia Marina Hotel 24 Great Britain 1 337 Room 2 (4th floor) 25 Portugal 319 26 Lebanon 306 27 Ireland 289 Drinks will be served after the Press Conference All Journalists are kindly invited to participate 28 Austria 2 285 29 Yugoslavia 184 Malta, 1999 Friday, 25 June 1999 5

SENIORS TEAMS - Round 20 France I - Germany

Moving into the final third of the Seniors com- pair got too high, going two down in 4[ to lose 6 Board 22. East/West Vul. Dealer East. petition the holders, France 1 was a match clear of IMPs. the field and looking good to retain their title. In [7 6 Round 20 they met the useful German team who Board 17. None Vul. Dealer North. ] 9 7 4 2 is current German Open Team Champions. { J 9 4 [ 10 7 4 } K J 9 5 ] 10 9 7 5 2 Board 13.All Vul. Dealer North. [ A Q J 9 2N [ K 10 5 4 3 { K J 9 ] A 10 5 ] J 8 [ K 7 4 W E }K 9 { K Q { A 8 7 ] Q 5 4 3 [ J 8 5 3N [ A K Q 6 2 } 8 7 2S } Q 6 3 { A J 5 3 ]8 ]A K 4 W E [8 }Q 10 { A Q 6 { 8 7 ] K Q 6 3 [ J N 10[ A } A Q 89 5 4S } 7 56 2 3 { 10 6 5 3 2 2 ] A J 6 ] 9 2 W E [9 } A 10 4 { Q 7 { K 10 8 6 ] Q J 6 3 S West North East South } A K 7 5 4 3 } J 2 { 10 5 4 3 2 Gromöller Aujaleu Schneider Adad [ Q 8 6 } J 10 3 ] K 10 8 7 Pass Pass { 9 4 2 This deal was the highlight of the match.The 1} Pass 1] Pass } 9 8 6 French East/West pair settled for 4[ and made it 4[ All Pass with an overtrick for +450.The Germans played West North East South 1} was strong and 1] showed positive values for higher stakes in the Closed Room: Gromöller Aujaleu Schneider Adad with at least five spades. Looking at a balanced 1{ Pass 1] West North East South minimum but with a big spade fit, Gromöller just jumped to 4[, ending the auction. Aujaleu led a 3} 3] All Pass Gromöller Aujaleu Schneider Adad Pass 1} Pass heart to the queen and ace and Gromöller drew trumps and took a club pitch on the {A to make Wilhelm Gromöller's 3} showed 2{ Pass 2[ Pass opening values but that was not sufficient to ten tricks; +620. 3] Pass 4[ Pass A club lead beats 4[ and it was duly found by tempt Werner Schneider to get involved over 3]. 5[ Pass 6[ All Pass Gromöller led out three rounds of clubs and Humburg in the other room to earn Germany 12 Schneider ruffed as dummy pitched a low spade. IMPs. 1} was strong and 2{ showed a positive with He switched to the ]9, covered by the ten, jack at least five clubs in an unbalanced hand. 2[ was Board 23.All Vul. Dealer South. and queen, and Pierre Adad returned a heart to natural and 3] showed spade support with four the king and ace. Gromöller switched to the [J, controls. Schneider showed his minimum by jump- [7 5 ducked to declarer's queen, and Adad cashed the ing to 4[ but Gromöller went on, asking for good ] Q J 7 6 3 ]10 then played a diamond to the jack and king. trumps. Schneider had those so bid the slam. {9 4 Schneider cashed the [A and there was still The lead was the ]Q and Schneider won, } Q 9 5 another diamond to come for the defense; three cashed the [A, then crossed to the }A before [ K 8 2N [ A 10 9 6 4 down for -300. drawing trumps ending in hand. Now he led a ] K 10 8 ] A 9 4 2 That looked OK for Germany but in the W E club and Adad put in the jack. Schneider thought { A 3 { J 10 5 other room Claude Delmouly and Jean Marc a good while about that but finally called for a } 10 7 4 3 2S } K Roudinesco bid to 3NT on the East/West cards small club and when the king came down he had [Q 3 and this was let through by a low heart lead from made his slam.That was a 22 IMP decision, +980 ]5 South; +630 and 8 IMPs to France. being worth 11 IMPs to Germany when -50 { K Q 8 7 6 2 Board 15. N/S Vul. Dealer South. would have meant 11 IMPs to France. } A J 8 6 [ Q 9 5 4 3 Board 21. North/South Vul. Dealer North. West North East South Gromöller Aujaleu Schneider Adad ]A 9 [K 1{ { 10 7 2 ] K J 10 4 } K J 6 Pass 1] 1[ 2} { A K 10 5 3 2{ Pass 2[ All Pass [ 8 7N [ K J 2 } K Q 3 ] K J 10 6 4 2 ] 8 5 3 W E [ A Q 10 9 6 4N [ J 7 2 Adad led the {K to the ace and Schneider { A 9 6 { K 8 ] 8 5 3 2 ] Q 9 7 cashed the king and ace of spades then led a low S W E } 7 5 } Q 8 4 3 2 { 8 6 { J 9 7 4 heart to the ten and jack. He could take the heart [ A 10 6 }8S }5 4 2 against the queen later so lost just one ]Q 7 [ 8 5 3 trick in each suit for +140. { Q J 5 4 3 ]A 6 In the other room, Delmouly was in 4[, which he managed to bring home for +620 and } A 10 9 {Q 2 10 IMPs to France. West North East South } A J 10 9 7 6 It looks as though 4[ should fail by a trick but Gromöller Aujaleu Schneider Adad West North East South Delmouly played it nicely to take advantage of a 1{ Gromöller Aujaleu Schneider Adad defensive slip. South led his singleton heart to the 1] 1[ 1NT Pass 1{ Pass 2} jack and ace and Delmouly immediately returned a heart. South pitched a diamond so Delmouly 2] 2[ 3] 3[ 2[ 3] Pass 4} All Pass won the king and played the ]10 to the queen. Pass 4[ Pass 5{ North switched to a club for the king and ace and Schneider led a heart to the queen, king and Pass 6} All Pass back came a second club, ruffed by declarer. Del- ace and Maurice Aujaleu led a spade to the ten at mouly cashed the top spades then ruffed a club trick two. He tried a diamond to the ten and king Aujaleu effectively drove to slam once Adad and threw dummy's diamond loser on the ]9. next and Schneider switched to a club, solving responded at the two-level then showed rebidd- Next he crossed to the {A and ruffed another declarer's only remaining problem (he would able clubs.The defense led two rounds of spades club, ruffed a diamond, and led a club off the table have established diamonds for a club pitch other- and Adad ruffed high and claimed; +1370. The to make his last trump en passant. wise); +140. slam was also reached by Humburg/Mattsson in That was just enough to earn France 1 a 25- In the other room the German North/South the other room so there was no swing. 24 win, but that converted to a 15-15 draw in VPs. 6 Friday, 25 June 1999 44th GENERALI European Bridge Championships

LADIES - Round 17 Turkey v Germany What about the Gap? West North East South West North East South Rauscheid Aykut Nehmert Kara Ozan Auken Altinok von Arnim Pass Pass 1{ 1[ Pass 2} (1) 1] Dbl 3] 4{ Pass 2{ (2) Pass 2] (3) 4] Dbl All Pass Pass 3] (4) Pass 4[

(1) asking Rauscheid lost the same tricks, Germany +790. On the next hand, both Souths struggled in (2) no canape-type rather hopeless contracts: (3) asking (4) one-suiter in spades Board 14. Love All. Dealer East. [108 East started with a small club to jack and king. ] A 6 5 4 Auken cashed [A and tried a small diamond. East { A Q J 8 jumped in with the ace and returned a diamond } K 9 3 immediately. Declarer played a spade to the jack, East took the queen and exited in diamonds Pony Nehmert, Germany [ A 9 7 4 [ K J N again. Declarer discarded a small club, ruffed a ] K Q 8 ] J 10 7 Writing about matches in these days means W E club in her hand and drew the last trump. Judge- { 6 5 { 9 4 3 2 ment day had come, when she played a small that the journalists either have a look at the top } 10 6 5 4 S } A Q J 2 or they have a look at the "gap". heart. East played low and Auken tried the jack. [ Q 6 5 3 2 West took the queen, returned another heart This means they are watching teams in 7th or ] 9 3 2 8th place who try hard to narrow the gap to the and scored one down,Turkey +50. { K 10 7 teams in front of them, or they are watching the At the other table, South was not interested teams in 5th or 6th place, who are eager to make }8 7 in partner's major: their life easier by widening the gap. And all this West North East South West North East South because a ticket to the Bermudas is at stake! Ozan Auken Altinok von Arnim When the German and the Turkish ladies met Rauscheid Aykut Nehmert Kara 1{ Pass in round No. 17, the fifth placed team (Germany 1[ Pass 2} 266 VP) played No.7 (Turkey 250 VP), so all the 1[ Dbl Pass 1NT Pass 2[ Pass 3NT VPs the teams gained here would sort of count All Pass All Pass twice. West led a club to partner's jack, who Nothing really happened on the first twelve There was not much East/West could have switched to the [KJ afterwards. Declarer played boards with Germany leading by 10:9, as no team done here, although after a heart lead, it seems low both times, so East exited safely in diamonds. gave away much on a set of non-exciting deals. that the contract depends on who held the {A. Von Arnim,still hoping for a heart to score Nevertheless - and here's the short glance at the As all was well for South, she scored an overtrick, dummy's }K, tried a small heart, but had to put up top - the leading ladies from Austria piled up a Turkey +430 and a useful 10 IMPs to tie the the ace, when West played ]8. Now she cashed 53:0 lead in their match on the same hands! match again. her remaining diamonds and finished two down. Back to Germany vs.Turkey, second half. Ger- This board paved the way for "swing-time" in At th other table, the Turkish South player many drawing first blood: both directions. Here is number one: ended somewhat higher and must have been Board 13. Game All. Dealer North. happy with the very peaceful attitude of her left hand opponent: Board 18. N/S Vul. Dealer East. [ Q J 9 3 ]A 3 West North East South [ A 10 6 5 { 5 3 2 Rauscheid Aykut Nehmert Kara ] Q J 9 7 3 } K 7 5 4 1NT (1) Pass { A 3 2 }10 [ K 8 5 2 N [ 10 6 Pass Dbl Pass 2[ ] K J 9 8 2 ] Q 10 7 6 4 Pass 2NT Pass 3[ [ Q J N [ K 8 7 2 W E ] A 5 ] 8 4 2 { – { Q 9 7 4 Pass (!) All Pass W E S { J 10 4 { K Q } A J 9 2 } Q 3 (1) 11-13 [ A 7 4 } A K J 4 3 2 S } Q 9 6 5 ]5 Kara finished four down, Germany winning [ 9 4 3 { A K J 10 8 6 another 3 IMPs, but having missed a good oppor- ] K 10 6 } 10 8 6 tunity to score a lot more. { 9 8 7 6 5 The first real big swing went to Turkey on the }8 7 In the Closed Room North/South showed following board: their majority in points but gave in, when West West North East South Board 17. Love All. Dealer North. bounced into game on distributional values: Ozan Auken Altinok von Arnim West North East South [ A K J 8 3 2 Pass Pass Ozan Auken Altinok von Arnim ] 9 6 3 1} 1] Dbl Pass Pass Pass 1{ {7 2 3} Pass 3] Pass (1) Dbl Rdbl 1] 3{ }K 5 3NT All Pass [ 10 9 [ Q 6 4 4] All Pass N (1) heart honor ] Q 10 8 4 2 ] A 7 W E Altinok lost a spade, a club and a trump, { 9 5 4 3 { A 10 8 6 S Ozan duly showed her heart stopper when Turkey +620: } J 4 } Q 9 6 2 asked to do so, but North got South's message, In the Open Room East/West reached 4] [7 5 led a heart and declarer finished two down with- before North had shown her full strength. Possibly ] K J 5 in seconds, when East did not have enough aces impressed by her partner's 4{-bid as well, North { K Q J to bring home nine tricks, Germany +100. doubled the final contract just to lose 5 IMPs: } A 10 8 7 3 In the Open Room things looked a little bit Malta, 1999 Friday, 25 June 1999 7 different from North's point of view: Board 21. N/S Vul. Dealer North. took her [Q and continued the suit, so Nehmert finished two down.Turkey +200. West North East South [9 3 The Open Room saw East flirting with "Mis- Rauscheid Aykut Nehmert Kara ]4 ter Luck": { K 9 8 6 5 3 2 Pass Pass } A Q 2 West North East South 1} 1] Dbl Pass Ozan Auken Altinok von Arnim [ A J 10 6 5 N [ Q 8 7 2 2} Pass 3} Pass ] K 8 3 ] Q 10 9 7 5 1{ Pass W E 3NT All Pass { A 10 4 { 1[ Pass 2} Pass } 4 3 S } K 10 9 7 2{ 2[ 3{ All Pass Rauscheid bid only 2}, but felt she had [K 4 When Altinok raised herself to what could something in reserve, when Nehmert invited ] A J 6 2 her to game. She convincingly bid 3NT, and have been a 4-2 Fit, she was left to play in 3{. { Q J 7 North decided not to lead the suit she had bid. South led a spade to North's 10. Back came a } J 8 6 5 This gave Rauscheid all the she needed spade, but Altinok ruffed, cashed three rounds of to develop additional tricks, so she nicely sur- West North East South hearts and played a club to the queen and ace. vived and finally scored eleven tricks, Germany Ozan Auken Altinok von Arnim North returned another spade, and declarer +460, an 11 IMP-pick up on the way to widen 1{ Pass 1] ruffed with the {K.Then she cashed the }K and the gap. 1[ 2{ 2[ 3{ led her thirteenth heart discarding a club from Turkey stroke back immediately: 3[ Pass 4[ Dbl dummy. North ruffed and played back a trump, All Pass but East took the queen, and cross ruffed the Board 19. E/W Vul. Dealer South. rest,Turkey +130 and 8 IMPs in. East/West took the "slow way" to game, The big swings of the second half ended with [ 9 7 6 3 which on this occasion was good enough to con- a slam hand: vince East, that this was not a make.Auken led her ] K 8 7 Board 23. Game All. Dealer South. { Q 7 2 singleton heart, von Arnim played the ace and gave } 8 4 2 her partner a ruff. North continued with }A and [ 8 3 2 [ A Q 10 2 [ J 4 another club, but Ozan took the king, cleared the ] A K J 10 7 N spades and claimed for ten tricks.Turkey +590. ] A Q 10 9 4 ] J 5 { A 10 4 W E In the Open Room, the "weaker" opening bid }A10 { 9 8 4 { K J 6 3 managed to silence East/West completely: } 9 S } A Q 10 7 6 [ 9 N [ A 10 7 4 West North East South ] 6 4 2 ] 8 [ K 8 5 W E Rauscheid Aykut Nehmert Kara { Q 9 7 6 2 { K J 8 5 ] 6 3 2 S { A 10 5 2{ Pass 2NT } J 8 5 2 } Q 6 4 3 } K J 5 3 Pass 3} Pass 3NT [ K Q J 6 5 All Pass ] Q 9 5 3 West North East South {3 Hearing her partner's Weak Two-opening, Kara } K 9 7 Ozan Auken Altinok von Arnim inquired via 2NT and went on to game, when 1NT (1) Aykut showed club values. Rauscheid led a spade West North East South 2} (2) Pass 2NT (3) Pass and the defenders collected five tricks to set the Ozan Auken Altinok von Arnim 3] Pass 3NT All Pass contract by one, Germany +50, but again not good 1[ enough as Turkey scored another 11 IMPs. Pass 2{ (1) Pass 4{ (2) (1) 10-12 A different 4441-approach gave Turkey an Pass 4NT Pass 5{ (2) take-out without clubs even bigger lead: Pass 6] All Pass (3) forcing Board 22. E/W Vul. Dealer East. (1) hearts, at least invitational (2) splinter Von Arnim led a small club to the 9, overtak- [ A K 10 4 3 en by declarer's 10, who let the ]J run. North ] 8 6 2 East was on lead and went for }4, hoping to ducked, won the second heart and returned a {7 5 set up a club trick, as long as the [A was still diamond to jack and ace. South played back the } A J 3 alive.Auken won with the king, played a diamond {10, but Altinok took her king, finessed success- [ J 9 7 5 N [ 6 to the ace, ruffed a diamond with ]9, played a fully in spades and came to nine tricks in the end, ] Q 4 3 ] A K 7 5 heart to the king, ruffed another diamond with W E scoring four hearts, three spades, a club and a dia- { A 9 4 { K Q J 6 ]Q, drew trumps and claimed, Germany +1430. mond,Turkey +400. } Q 8 2 S } K 10 7 6 At the other table, slam was reached as well: At the other table, East/West left to their [Q 8 2 own devices without any interference from West North East South ] J 10 9 South, did not find their way to game: Rauscheid Aykut Nehmert Kara { 10 8 3 2 Pass West North East South } 9 5 4 Pass 1NT Pass 2} Rauscheid Aykut Nehmert Kara In the Open Room East/West had no prob- Pass 2] Pass 3[ Pass lem to bid this 25 hpc-game: Pass 4} Pass 4{ 1] Pass 2} Pass Pass 4NT Pass 5{ West North East South Pass 6] All Pass 2] Pass 2NT All Pass Rauscheid Aykut Nehmert Kara 1{ Pass Nehmert looked at her 10-count and heard East didn't feel like jumping to 3NT,as West - 1[ Pass 2] Pass that South held no keycard. Four keycards had to taking their light opening style into account - 3} Pass 3NT All Pass be with North, so [K had to be with South. East could have had a much weaker hand than she therefore saw no reason not to lead [A.When actually held. With another look at her missing But the problems were yet to come, when Rauscheid put in [9, showing an odd number of spade stopper, Nehmert decided that a quiet Nehmert realized that she had to steal an early cards, Nehmert knew her partner could ruff and 2NT would do. Rauscheid admitted later on, that trick, before the defenders would cash their played another spade. Germany scored +100 and she should have probably raised to 3NT as well. spades. She took South's ]J and played a club to 17 IMPs to bring the match back to where it Nehmert found a squeeze to manage ten tricks, the queen, hoping that South would not go up started from, a tie. Germany +180, only to find out that she had lost with the ace and lead a spade through. When Turkey scored one further IMP on the very 9 IMPs,Turkey narrowing the gap again. North appeared to hold this card, her chance of last board to win the second half by 38:36, the Another big board for the Turkish ladies saw scoring game seemed to have increased, but not overall result being 47:46, 15-15 VPs.And the gap them back in the lead: for long. Aykut underled her spade honors, Kara is still the same 8 Friday, 25 June 1999 44th GENERALI European Bridge Championships

OPEN - Round 31 Netherlands v Poland Sixth against ninth and, with time running out, poor spot after their Polish 1} opening but the spade to North's jack.Westerhof cashed the ]A a crucial match for both teams. Netherlands East/West intervention drove them to the safety and led a low spade to queen and king, but picked up an overtrick IMP on Board 1 but the of their 5-4 club fit. It takes a diamond lead and declarer had no dummy entries so could not first significant swing went to Poland: heart switch to defeat 3}, but De Boer chose a reduce his trumps as had happened in the other spade and Kowalski soon had nine tricks; +110 room. Nab got two trump tricks and Westerhof Board 3. East/West Vul. Dealer South. and 9 IMPs to Poland. the [A for one down; -100 and 5 IMPs to Netherlands. [ A Q 4 2 Board 6. East/West Vul. Dealer East. ] A 7 4 2 Board 11. None Vul. Dealer South. { 9 4 2 [7 }106 ] 9 6 2 [ Q J 8 6 5 2 { A K Q J 8 7 ]6 5 [ K 6N [ J 9 8 5 ] Q J 10 6 5 ] 9 8 } K 9 8 {8 4 W E } J 6 2 { A Q J [ 8 4 3 210{ KN [ K Q J 6 58 } 7 4S } A J 8 5 3 ] A 10 5 ] K 8 3 [K 10[9 3 W E N { 9 5 3 { 10 ] A K Q 2 ] J 7 4 3 [ 10 7 3 W E ]K 3 } A Q 4S } J 10 6 5 { Q J 10 7 6 5 2 { K 9 3 { 7 6 5 3 [ A 10 9 } –S } A Q 10 9 } K Q 9 2 ] Q J 7 4 [ A 7 4 { 6 4 2 ] 10 9 8 West North East South } 7 3 2 {A De Boer Romanski Muller Kowalski } K 8 7 5 4 3 Kwiecien Bertens Pszczola Nab Would you open on the East cards? For Jacek West North East South Pass Pszczola the answer was yes. He opened 1[ and De Boer Romanski Muller Kowalski 1] Pass 1[ Pass Michal Kwiecien responded 1NT.Bertens did not 2{ Pass 2] All Pass overcall so Pszczola got to show his clubs. Now ---2} Kwiecien gave jump preference to 3[, ending the 2{ 2[ 2NT 3[ The two auctions were identical but they auction. Bart Nab led the queen of hearts, solving 5} Pass 5{ All Pass attracted very different opening leads. For the declarer's problem in that suit, so Pszczola soon Netherlands, Huub Bertens tried the ace of spades, had ten tricks; +170. A spade lead held 5{ to just making for +400. after which there was no way for the defense to Without the heart lead, declarer will eventu- In the France v Lithuania match, Lithuania bid and put declarer under any serious pressure; +140. ally be able to pitch a heart from dummy on his made 6{! South opened 1} and North was on Jacek Romanski led the }10 against Wubbo fourth club. lead against the slam. He led his partner's suit and De Boer. Declarer won the }A and played the Bauke Muller did not see an opening bid in the declarer put in the ten, ruffed out the king, and ]8, ducked. Had he now played four rounds of East cards. He passed and it was left to Romanski crossed to the ]J to take two spade pitches on diamonds, the defense would have been power- in fourth seat to open 3{, where he played for a the }AQ. less. However, De Boer tried a spade to the king comfortable +110 and 7 IMPs to Poland. West North East South and ace. A second club went to the nine and After eight boards, the score was 25-3 to Kwiecien Westerhof Pszczola Nab Apolinary Kowalski played the }K, on which Poland. Then something very unfortunate hap- declarer threw his losing spade and North a dia- pened to the Netherlands when one of their 1} mond. Kowalski continued with his last club and players, Huub Bertens, was taken ill and could not 1{ 1[ Dble Rdbl this time De Boer ruffed high while Romanski continue.There was a delay while this was estab- 4] 4[ Dble All Pass pitched another diamond. Now Kowalski lished and while a substitute could be found.After switched to a diamond. He won the ]K and gave a 20-minute pause, Jan Westerhof stepped in to Pszczola led the ]3 against 4[ doubled. Romanski a diamond ruff for down one; -100 and complete the session. Kwiecien won the queen and returned his low 6 IMPs to Poland. heart to the jack. It wasn't too difficult to work Board 10.All Vul. Dealer East. out what Kwiecien was looking for and Pszczola Board 5. North/South Vul. Dealer North. [ A J 4 3 switched to the }Q to surround the king.West- [ Q J 4 ]A erhof covered the }K with the king and it was ruffed. Kwiecien tried another heart winner but ] 8 5 2 { Q 10 4 westerhof ruffed and, after a little thought, led a {Q 8 } Q 6 4 3 2 spade to the ace.There were two club losers to } A J 10 9 3 [ K 10 9 5N [ 8 2 come; -300 and 3 IMPs to Netherlands. [ 10 3 [ 9 8 7 5 ] K Q 8 7 6 3 ] 10 N W E ] A Q 9 3 ] J 10 6 { 7 { K J 8 6 3 2 Board 12. North/South Vul. Dealer West. W E { K 7 6 3 { A 10 5 4 2 S } J 7 } A K 9 5 [Q 4 } 8 7 4S } Q [ Q 7 6 ] A J 9 5 [ A K 6 2 ] J 9 5 4 2 { Q 6 5 3 ] K 7 4 { A 9 5 } Q 6 3 {J 9 }108 [ K J 9 7 6 [ A 10 5 3 2 } K 6 5 2 N ] Q 10 3 ] 8 7 4 2 Both Wests played 2] after North had made W E { J 7 { 10 2 Nab/Bertens bid 1} - 1NT. A low diamond a .Against De Boer, the lead was a S lead allowed the defenders to take five diamond diamond to the jack and ace. He ducked the } K 7 5 } 10 9 tricks then switch to hearts and take four of spade switch to North's jack and now Romanski [8 those for three down; -300. cashed the ]A then returned a low spade to the ]K 6 queen and king. De Boer crossed to the }A to { A K 9 8 4 West North East South play king of diamonds and ruff a diamond.A sec- } A J 8 4 2 De Boer Romanski Muller Kowalski ond club to dummy allowed him to make anoth- West North East South Pass Pass 1} er low trump and he soon had eight tricks. 1] 2} 2] 3} In the other room, Jan Westerhof led a low De Boer Romanski Muller Kowalski All Pass club. Kwiecien ran this to his jack and led a dia- Pass Pass 2[ 3{ mond to the jack and ace. A second club was 3[ Dble Pass 5} The Poles might well have reached the same played to dummy's ace and now declarer tried a Pass 5{ All Pass Malta, 1999 Friday, 25 June 1999 9

5{ made easily for +600. Perhaps the Dutch In the Closed Room, Kwiecien opened 1{ on by North and declarer gave up a spade.Wester- had a misunderstanding in the other room as a the West hand and Westerhof overcalled 1[.The hof led another low diamond to keep control and consequence of having to play a scratch partner- Dutch were soon in 4[ and made ten tricks for the contract eventually went one down for +100 ship. +420.That was not nearly enough. to the Netherlands. De Boer opened 1NT and that was doubled In the other room Kowalski opened a multi West North East South on his right. For reasons best known to himself, and De Boer doubled. Romanski passed that and Kwiecien Westerhof Pszczola Nab he ran to 2{ and stood North's double. Surely if Kowalski corrected to 2], where he was allowed Pass Pass Pass 1{ you are going to run it is better to try 2}.That to play. De Boer found the slightly surprising lead 1[ Dble Rdbl 3} might not get doubled, but if it is you can choose of his singleton spade, despite seemingly not Pass 3[ Pass 4} to redouble to ask partner to pick between the needing to take ruffs. However, if partner has a Pass 4{ All Pass next two suits up the line, resulting in the 4-4 trump trick, perhaps you do want a ruff with the heart fit being reached. West hand. Kowalski won the spade in dummy Did Westerhof think his final bid was forcing The defense to 2{ doubled was merciless. and played a heart to the seven, jack and queen. and Nab not, or was it just a misjudgement on Romanski led his singleton heart to the ace and De Boer switched to a diamond to the ace and someone's part? Anyway, +150 meant 10 IMPs to Kowalski switched to his singleton club. Romans- Kowalski led a club to his ten and De Boer's ace. Poland. ki won that and the defense merrily cross-ruffed De Boer played back a second diamond and the next few tricks, establishing and cashing the declarer ruffed and played the ]K to the ace. A Board 14. None Vul. Dealer East. ]J along the way.There was still the {K to come club to the king and a spade ruff left Muller with to hold De Boer to just three tricks; -1400 and the winning ]9 for the setting trick; -50 and [K 4 14 IMPs to Poland. 4 IMPs to the Netherlands. ] A Q J 4 2 Why did Kowalski play the ]K rather than a { A 10 3 Board 18. North/South Vul. Dealer East. low one on the second round? Remember that } A J 9 [ A 8 5 3 East followed with the seven on the first round of [ Q 10 9 8 5 3 [ – ] J 10 8 6 trumps. If he started with ]97 or ]107 then play- N ing the king would the remaining card and ]108 ]63 { J 9 7 4 W E save a trick in the suit. { Q 4 { K J 9 8 6 5 2 }6 } 8 7 3S } Q 10 5 4 [ –N [ K Q 10 7 Board 20.All Vul. Dealer West. [ A J 7 6 2 ]K 4 ]9 5 3 W E [ K J 9 ] K 9 7 5 { Q 10 8 5 2 { A 3 ]Q J 7 {7 } A 10 7 5 3 2 S } K J 9 8 { Q 10 9 5 3 } K 6 2 [ J 9 6 4 2 }105 ] A Q 7 2 West North East South [ A Q 6 [ 10 7 2 {K 6 N De Boer Romanski Muller Kowalski ] 10 6 ] A 9 5 3 }Q 4 W E 3{ Dble { A K 7 4 { 8 6 3[ 4{ Pass 4] West North East South } Q 9 6 2S } A J 4 3 Pass 4NT Pass 5] Kwiecien Westerhof Pszczola Nab [ 8 5 4 3 Pass 7] Dble Pass 1} 1[ ] K 8 4 2 Pass 7NT All Pass 2{ 3[ 3NT Pass {J 2 5} All Pass } K 8 7 When 7] got doubled, Romanski hardly thought at all before converting to 7NT in the West North East South Both Wests opened 1NT and were raised to hope that there might be thirteen tricks, espe- De Boer Romanski Muller Kowalski game via a Stayman sequence. Both Norths led a cially with the help given by the double of 7]. It low diamond to the jack and both declarers won 1} Dble was not to be. He won the heart lead and took and led a club to the jack and king. South 5} Dble All Pass the club finesse and drifted three off for -150. returned his remaining diamond and North won the ten. On vugraph, Romanski returned the {9, West North East South That was +400 to Poland but +550 for the the ten then nine combination suggesting some Kwiecien Westerhof Pszczola Nab Netherlands; 4 IMPs to the Dutch. useful holding in both majors (or neither). De 2[ Pass Board 19. East/West Vul. Dealer South. Boer won the diamond and could have put North Pass Dble 3{ 4{ under some pressure had he cashed the clubs. Pass 5] Pass 6] [ A K J 9 4 3 However, he didn't want to commit himself to All Pass ]2 using the ]A as his entry to dummy to take the { A 6 5 4 spade finesse, so he crossed to the }A and took 2[ was weak with either one minor or both }J 7 the spade finesse now.When that lost Romanski majors. The Dutch pair were probably happy to [5 [8 6 2 could cash the diamonds and exit safely and wait N for another trick at the end for two down; -200. get to six in the circumstances and even more so ] A Q 10] 9 7 4 W E When Westerhof won the {10 he switched when they discovered that six was the limit on { K 9 7 3 { Q J 10 8 to the [9 to dummy's ten.This might have been the hand; +980 and 15 IMPs to Netherlands, who S } A 8 4 3 2 } K 9 5 correct had South held a spade honour instead of needed them. [ Q 10 7 the ]K, but on the actual layout it was a disaster. Board 16. East/West Vul. Dealer West. ] K J 8 6 5 3 Kwiecien cashed ducked a heart to the ten and {2 jack and Westerhof exited with the ]7 to [ K J 10 2 } Q 10 6 dummy's ace. Declarer cashed his clubs and ]10 West North East South Westerhof was squeezed. He threw one diamond { K 8 5 4 but could not afford another one or a spade. He Kwiecien Westerhof Pszczola Nab } A J 10 7 threw his remaining heart instead but that was no 2{ [ Q [ 9 6 3 better. Kwiecien played ace and another diamond N Pass 2[ Pass 3[ ] K 7 5 2 ] 9 8 6 4 and Westerhof had to lead into the spade tenace Dble Pass 4{ All Pass at the end; +600 and 13 IMPs to Poland. { A Q 10 6W E { 9 7 S Poland won the match by 67-33 IMPs, 22-8 } K 6 4 3 } Q 8 5 2 2{ was a form of multi but the weak variety VPs, greatly improving their chances for qualifica- [ A 8 7 5 4 would always be a weak two in hearts, so 2[ was tion.The unfortunate illness to Huub Bertens had ] A Q J 3 natural. 3[ would have made so bidding 4{ was not helped the Dutch cause. This loss left them { J 3 2 the best the Poles could do on the board. The with a lot to do to make the top six and qualify }9 good lead of South's singleton trump was ducked for Bermuda. 10 Friday, 25 June 1999 44th GENERALI European Bridge Championships

The tale of two tens My Maltesers President’s dinner by Maureen Dennison I fear our high spot has come and gone as the Bill Pencharz's address at the President's din- teams we have left to play are mostly in the mid- ner on Wednesday night contained the following The first two boards Ireland v Germany dle of the table. But we must not lose hope - we story. brought in 11 imps but it might have been nearly may yet overtake Cyprus. It is a didactic tale two lessons. First an exam- twice that. On board one Pat Walsh opened 3} - The player in our team who, I think, is in the ple of one of the fundamental and earliest rules in their system a gambling 3NT. Niall Toibin most difficult position is Ollie Clare. His partner you are taught in Bridge - always, always think looked at his hand. is Marek Stankiewicz, our star. Because of this carefully before playing to trick one. And second What did he have? Ollie is expected to play more and do better than that no Bridge Player, none whatever, is as good his playing standard would otherwise suggest. In as he thinks he is. [ A 7 3 addition, the partnership reached the champi- A light aeroplane was flying from Malta to ] J 5 4 2 onships lacking match practice due to illness. Naples. It contained only three passengers - a There are so many elements to think about in {7 2 Bridge Player,a Priest and a Boy Scout.The Bridge this game we all love that it is not always easy to Player was pretty typical of his sort. Loud and } J 9 3 2 remember to make life easy for partner. In the bombastic, he recounted how he had visited the following hand against Austria, I thought Ollie did Generali European Championships, seen some He decided it was enough and bid 3NT. well to defend accurately, despite being given lit- VuGraph and how he would have done much bet- tle help by his partner. ter than the Champions. Not that either of his Board 1. Love All. Dealer North. North/South Vul. Dealer North. co-passengers listened much to what he said. The plane had not gone far - it was still over [ J 9 6 5 2 [ Q 10 9 8 4 the Mediterranean between Gozo and Sicily - ] Q 10 9 8 ]3 2 when the pilot came back to speak to the pas- {J 8 {A 8 sengers. }K Q } A K 10 7 "I have some grave news" he said. "We forgot [ A 7 3 [ Q 10 to fill up before take-off, and will run out of petrol N [ K 2N [ J 7 3 ] J 5 4 2 ] K ] A K J 9 6 ] 10 8 7 5 4 within three minutes. Presently we are on auto- W E W E pilot, but when the fuel runs out we shall plunge { 7 2 { A K Q 10 9 5 3 {5 {6 4 S into the sea and all still in the plane will be killed!" } J 9 3 2 } 8 5 4 } Q 9 8 6 4 S } J 5 2 "We have some parachutes" the pilot continued, [ K 8 4 [ A 6 5 ] A 7 6 3 "but unfortunately only three. So three of us will ]Q bail out and one will perish. But not me. I must {6 4 { K Q J 10 9 7 3 2 make a report of the accident, so I must be } A 10 7 6 }3 saved".The pilot was standing by the exit where the parachutes were stowed. Without another North led a spade, the only lead that gave West North East South 1[ Pass 2{ word, he pulled back the door, pulled on one of declarer a genuine chance at the contract for the parachutes, jumped and was gone. dummy put down [Q10. If he got this right, play- 2NT Pass 3] 4NT Pass 5] Pass 6{ The Bridge Player was the passenger closest ing the ten as the cards lay he had his nine to the exit. "I'm off" he shouted, as he quickly fol- All Pass tricks. However he called for the queen and that lowed the pilot out of the door. was one down. It was a flat board as in the other That, of course, left just the Priest and the Ollie (West) started with two top hearts. room the opening 3NT was removed to four of Boy Scout.The Priest was a kindly man, and in any Declarer ruffed the second round and ran all his the running minor and nine tricks were the event he knew that sooner or later he would diamonds. Five discards were easy enough but limit. have to answer to a Higher Authority. So he said then West had to decide whether to relinquish to the Boy Scout "My son, I am an old man with control of spades or clubs. Perhaps he should much of my life behind me. You are young, with Board 2. N/S Vul. Dealer East. have made his decision earlier but at least the all your life before you.Therefore you must take length of time he took at this stage meant that [ K J 6 the remaining parachute. I insist " ] J 9 4 there was no point in unguarding his king of spades because declarer would not go wrong. So, "Don't worry, Father," replied the Boy Scout, { K Q 7 2 in the event he discarded a club and declarer had "there are still two parachutes left, so we shall } A 7 4 to go one down. both be saved." "How can that be?" asked the Priest in [ A N [ 9 8 4 3 2 East could have made life much easier.All he ] K 7 3 ] A 8 6 needed to do was his length in spades and amazement. "Easy" replied the Boy Scout, who W E {J 8 {A 3 then throw them all away. was an observant lad. "The Bridge Player - he } K J 10 8 5 3 2 S } Q 9 6 East's reaction to West's good defence? took my Back Pack!". [ Q 10 7 5 'Well defended, partner'? ] Q 10 5 2 No. 'I don't like your 2NT bid - you should { 10 9 6 5 4 have doubled for take-out'! Well, as a matter of fact I don't think much of }– Sponsors Corner 2NT either, but I prefer 2]. I would not want to make any suggestion that partner should For the Germans Splettstößer opened 3}, with long clubs and short hearts. In addition, bid- HUNGARY showing 9-12 with long clubs. Häusler bid 3NT ding hearts directs the lead against an opposing but it was not hard for McGann to lead from spade contract.The trouble with bids like 2NT is The Hungarian Teams want to his five-card suit setting up five defensive that if you end up as a defender you have given express their gratitude to Hungarian tricks. away too much information about your hand. Foreign Trade Bank (Mkb) main sponsor Without interference at the other table Toib- of the Hungarian Bridge Association and in-Walsh bid 1}/1[/2}-3}/3NT. Had North's also to the other sponsors, Hegyvidek diamond holding been K Q 10 2 the world and Correction SC Budapest, Mr Imre Sesztak and Tur- his wife would lead the {K. However Frerichs led boteam Kft Beregdaroc as well as Cser- low and Toibin let this run to his jack.When the On Wednesday there was a slight mis- tex Kft Budapest and Interface Kft. Bp }A was dislodged the defense switched to a take in the name in one of the Romanian for their contribution that made it pos- spade as the only hope of defeating the contract. sponsors that should have read: sible for them to take in the 44th Gen- When declarer ran the clubs there was some erali European Bridge Championships. muddled defending and the ]6 gave Niall Toibin Germanos Battery his twelfth trick! Malta, 1999 Friday, 25 June 1999 11

Appeals No 22 & 26 Appeal No 22 had also been some hesitation in East/West's bid- Contract: ding.They had not told this to the Director at the 4], played by North. Appeals Committee: table. East/West disputed there had been more than normal breaks in tempo.They had of course Jens Auken (Chairman, Denmark), Herman De Result: alerted and explained their actions, but had not Wael (Scribe, Belgium), Naki Bruni (Italy), Peter Ten tricks, +620 to North/South. paused for thought in the bidding. Lund (Denmark),Anton Maas (The Netherlands). The Facts: The Committee: Open Teams Round 20 Two Spades was weak, and Three Spades was Decided not to consider any breaks in Spain v Slovenia pre-emptive, partner should not bid Four. tempo. Since these had not been brought to the The tray had come back from South/West, attention of the Director at the table, there was Board 10. Dealer East. Game All. after a considerable delay. All the players agreed now no way to properly establish whether or not the break in tempo had been of the order of 90 [2 there had been unauthorised information. seconds. ]– The Committee would give a ruling on misin- { A K Q 7 4 2 formation, since East/West were unable to prove The Director: } A 10 9 7 6 4 that either explanation was correct. However, the Committee found the link Found that Four Hearts by North was an [ A K 10 9N [ Q J 8 5 4 3 action that was suggested by the break in tempo ] A J 8 4 ] Q 6 2 between the possible misinformation and W E North's decision to double too small to warrant and that Passing would have been a Logical Alter- { J 6 { 9 5 native. } K J 5S } Q 2 giving an adjusted score. North decided to double Four Spades and [7 6 should live with the consequences. Ruling: ] K 10 9 7 5 3 As to East/West, the Committee decided Score adjusted to -200 to East/West. { 10 8 3 they could be allowed to keep their good score, }8 3 as they were guilty of nothing worse than incom- North/South appealed. West North East South plete agreements. Often, a bidding misunder- Senk Goded Ambroz Lantaron standing leads to a bad score.When occasionally The Players: it leads to a good one, the mere fact of the mis- Pass Pass Did not deny the break in tempo. understanding is not enough reason to take the North explained he was not able to bid Three 1NT 2NT 3{ Pass good score away. Hearts in his system, but when he learnt from 3NT Dble 4{ Pass East that East/West did not have game values, he 4[ Dble All Pass The Committee's decision: felt that Four Hearts was a self-evident call. Director's decision upheld. He had asked about the meaning of 3[ once Contract: again, especially since he was aware of the pause 4[ doubled, played by West. Relevant Laws: and knew the Director would be called. He Law 40A. explained his decision by counting points. His Result: partner held at least the values of a weak No- Ten tricks, +790 to East/West. Deposit: Trump opening, and he would always raise that to game on this hand. He thought some 90% of play- Returned, but only just. The Facts: ers would bid 4] on his hand. This was the same hand as Appeal 21. (see East/West pointed out that the break in Wednesday's bulletin) tempo makes the call of 4] to be less risky. North called the Director at the end of the hand. The Committee: Three Diamonds had been explained to him Appeal No 26 Found the call of Four Hearts to be quite rea- as invitational in Spades, but West had told South sonable, but was not certain that it was the only it had promised a stopper in Diamonds. Appeals Committee: Logical alternative. A 7222 distribution with 6½ losers is not very good, and two spade losers are Jens Auken (Chairman, Denmark), Herman De The Director: inevitable. The hesitation took away all doubts Wael (Scribe, Belgium), Naki Bruni (Italy), Peter that could very well have remained in a substan- Found out that East and West, even after the Lund (Denmark),Anton Maas (The Netherlands). hand was over,could not agree on the true mean- tial minority of players.Ton Kooijman's analysis in ing of Three Diamonds. East said they had recent- a previous article suggests that the definition of a Open Teams Round 25 logical alternative in the EBL should be: ly agreed upon the meaning "invitational in Ireland v Portugal spades", but West couldn't recall. A Logical Alternative is any action that would be The Director did not see how the different Board 20. Dealer West. Game All. taken by some of the players' peers, where some has explanation could be the reason for the bad to be interpreted as around 25%. result to North/South. [9 7 ] A K 9 8 7 6 5 The Committee felt that Pass was a logical alternative. Ruling: {8 3 The Committee also found that the Director Result Stands. }102 had been wrong in calculating the Adjusted [ K 8 5 4 3 2N [ A Q 10 score. If North is deemed to have passed, West North/South appealed. ]102 ]Q3 W E will play three Spades and is very likely to make { J 7 { 10 9 5 4 2 8 tricks. The Players: } A 9 8S } J 7 6 The Committee's decision: In the Committee, West stated that East's [J 6 explanation had been correct. ]J 4 Director's decision changed, Score adjusted North said that he had originally planned { A K Q 6 to Three Spades down One, -100 to East/West. upon going to 5 or 6 in some minor.But then East } K Q 5 4 3 had indicated Spades, and West had indicated he Relevant Laws: West North East South lacked spades but was holding a diamond stopper. Law 16A, Law 12C2. Therefore North suspected some bad misfits Sa Keaveney Barbosa Timlin around the table.That was why he had doubled. 2[ Pass 3[ Pass Deposit: North/South told the Committee that there Pass 4] All Pass Returned. 12 Friday, 25 June 1999 44th GENERALI European Bridge Championships

For Outstanding Service Several members of The were honoured at the President's dinner on Wednesday evening. For their work in connection with the organ- isation of the 44th Generali European Bridge Cham- pionships Margaret Parnis-England received the silver medal of the EBL and Mario Dix received the bronze medal of the EBL. José M. de Oliveira received the silver medal of the EBL in recognition of his outstand- ing service. For her enormous contribution to the EBL, Anna Maria Torlontano was awarded the gold medal. ASSISTANT SQUEEZE Danish brilliancy overruling the computer by Johan Wedeen/Coach Sweden Ladies Team by Svend Novrup (DK)

In the ladies match between Sweden and What has happened to Denmark, so often by a diamond for East. Israel, the Swedish player Eva Liss Gothe had the placed in top of the table but in Malta for exam- It was soon obvious what the computer had in opportunity to try an unusual form of squeeze - ple drawing Liechtenstein, losing to Monaco and mind as it won the third diamond and finessed }9! The Assistant Squeeze. getting totally wiped out by Norway in one and Gødtfredsen does not play double dummy In an ordinary squeeze it is important that the same day. When the match against the like that but he is a good analyst so he found the squeeze card is played by one hand, and that Netherlands was put on VuGraph on Wednesday another legitimate - and press friendly - way of there is (at least) some threats on the other. In morning it seemed that the Dutch were fighting taking nine, no, ten tricks. the Assistant Squeeze the squeeze comes from to get among the top six while Denmark was try- He cashed three top clubs, getting the bad the hand between the two hands with menaces!! ing to avoid the bottom dito. news in the suit and correctly discarding a spade In fact it is very strange as the Danish team from his hand. He thought for quite some time Round 16, Board 9. consists of very strong and experienced players. while the atmosphere in the VuGraph got very EW Vuln. South Dealer. The nestor, Steen Møller, had 403 caps ahead of tense. Gødtfredsen had to realize that he needed Malta (only his old time partner Stig Werdelin has a singleton heart in East, either the 10 or the K. [ J 10 5 more - 439). Peter Schaltz has 370 caps. Everybody Because of the 2{ bid he chose to play for the ]K ] K 7 2 has lots of medals from Olympiads (Dorthe asking for ]9 from Dummy winning with the ace { K 9 6 3 Schaltz even a gold medal from Venice 1988), Euro- in hand, dropping the king. Everybody clapped } 6 5 4 peans etc, but here things just do not function. their hands while he continued with a low heart And even then, in flashes, they display their to ]J, finessed for ]10, cashed another heart - [ K 6 2N [ A 8 7 ] J 9 8 6 5 4 ] Q 10 skills. The only debutant, Søren Gødtfredsen, and carefully remembered to get his overtrick, W E { 7 { Q J 10 5 4 made the VuGraph audience cry out for joy with endplaying East with the diamond originally } K S J 10}his declarer 8 play on board 7.7 They had seen the reserved2 for the ninth trick to get a spade lead [ Q 9 4 3 winning play and were excited while Gødtfredsen into the AQ. was considering. Would he find it? The computer Looking at the scores from the other match- ]A 3 had already given its bid on a winning line of play es you saw nothing but 3NT-1 (among them the { A 8 2 and probably felt that Gødtfredsen was headed Dutch result) and some 3NT-2 which tells you } A Q 9 3 for defeat: just how well Gødtfredsen played the hand. A worthy candidate for the best play of the cham- South opened 1NT and everybody was satis- Board 7. Game All. Dealer South. pionships. fied. With plays like that, may be Denmark will West led the ]8 to East's queen, which was [ A Q J 10 ] A Q 8 6 advance a little in the standings during the later allowed to hold. East continued hearts to declar- stages. They made a beginning by winning this { K 8 4 er's ace. On a the small spade that came next match 22-8. West played the 6, dummy the jack and East }8 2 ducked. [ 9 7 4 2N [ K 6 5 On the continuation of the [10 East played ] 10 7 5 4 2 ] K W E JOURNALISTS low again and West won with the king.West con- { 10 9 { A Q J 3 2 tinued with a heart to dummy's king, East and } 4 3S } J 7 6 5 Clippings competition for you! declarer throwing small diamonds. Believing [8 3 spades to be split 4-2, Eva Liss now tried a club ] J 9 3 GENERALI will give money prizes finesse of the queen without success. to journalists who publish articles on { 7 6 5 these European championships with the West played the ]J, dummy throwing a club } A K Q 10 9 name of the sponsor. as did East and declarer. On the next heart Please send your clippings to: dummy threw a diamond, East the last club and West North East South declarer a spade. On the last heart dummy threw Nab Godtfredsen Bertens Moeller WBF JOSE DAMIANI 40 rue Francois Premier the last club, East the queen of diamonds and 1} 75001 Paris declarer a club. Pass 1{ 2{ Pass The end of the story is now close. When Pass 2[ Pass 3] Please give the name of the publica- West played the }J to declarer's ace, dummy Pass 3NT All Pass tion and the date of each clipping, and, if could discard the small spade but East had no you know it, the approximate circulation card she could do without. 1{ showed hearts, and the rest was natural. of the publication. Each article will get a At the table East tried throwing a diamond East led {A and {Q. The computer ducked ticket for a random draw, held by IBPA. There will be five winners - $100 each. No and the ace of clubs and three tricks in diamonds (much too often it does not follow the play) but one may win two prizes. gave Eva Liss her contract. on the video we could see that Gødtfred- End of September is the deadline to With a little help from yours friends, every- sen made ready for the pedestrian endplay by send your clippings. thing in life will become much easier! winning, planning to cash five club tricks followed