Friday, April 25, 2013 Editors: Rich Colker, Barry Rigal Bulletin Number 6 Netherlands is 2013 Yeh Bros Cup Champion

2013 Yeh Bros Champion: Netherlands 2013 Yeh Bros 2nd : Italy Lavazza It was Netherlands (Ricco van Prooijen, Louk Verhees, Bauke Muller, Simon de Wijs) versus Italy Lavazza (Norberto Bocchi, Giorgio Duboin, Guido Ferraro, Agustin Madala, Antonio Sementa, Maria Teresa Lavazza), the two teams which had met in the 2011 World Championship semi-finals in Veldhoeven. Then the Dutch team went on to win their first world title, and so too here the Dutchmen were victorious. The Dutch won all three segments, though Italy was in it till the very end. Congratulations.

Yeh Bros 3rd : Denmark Yeh Bros 4th : Yeh Bros I The playoff for 3rd /4 th between Denmark (Sabine Auken, Roy Welland, Morten Bilde, Dennis Bilde) and Yeh Bros I (Chen Yeh (PC), JY Shih, Chen Dawei, Kazuo Furuta, Yalan Zhang, Wang Ping) was won by Denmark, 127-103. Again, congratulations.

Yeh Bros Open Pairs winners Yeh Bros Consolation Pairs The Yeh Bros Open Pairs was won by Krzysztof Buras and Grzegorz Narkiewicz. The Consolation pairs was won by Munawar Sawirudin and Bert Toar Polii. Congratulations.

1 KnockOut Brackets Top Bracket A1 Yeh Bros I (43) B1 Sweden (60) A8 Sweden (148) C1 Italy Lavazza (97) A4 Italy Lavazza (127) B2 Italy Lavazza (69) A5 China Red (42) ====> E1 Italy Lavazza A3 Denmark (92) B3 Denmark (89) A6 USA Kranyak (51) C2 Denmark (47) A2 China Blue (86) B4 China Blue (82) A7 Netherlands (67) Lower Bracket B5 Yeh Bros I (114) A9 USA Cheek (83) C5 Yeh Bros I (36.62) B9 USA Cheek (33) A16 England+Ph (63) C4 China Blue (17.65) D2 Yeh Bros I (17.95) B6 China Red (56) A12 Russia (84) C6 Russia (5.73) B10 Russia (82) A13 Chinese Taipei (55) D1 Denmark (20.21) E2 Netherlands B7 USA Kranyak (120) A11 Yeh Bros II (107) C7 USA Kranyak (17.91) B11 Yeh Bros II (27) A14 Hungary Sr. (54) C3 Sweden (19.19) D3 Netherlands (21.84) B8 Netherlands (80) E3 Denmark A10 Australia Youth (99) C8 Netherlands (22.90) B12 Australia Youth (52) E4 Yeh Bros I A15 New Zealand (55) Championship & Third-Place Playoff Teams C/O 1-16 17-32 33-48 Final E1 Italy Lavazza 6.5 25 25 22 78 E2 Netherlands 27 48 27 102

E3 Denmark 51 32 44 127 E4 Yeh Bros I 21 68 14 103

2 Yeh Bros Open Pairs: Final Standings

Rank Player Names IMPs 1 Krzysztof Buras Grzegorz Narkiewicz 134 2 Shi Haojun Shan Baisong 119 3 Fu Zhong Jie Li 113 4 Subhash Gupta Sartaj Hans 88 5 Frederic Wrang Johan Sylvan 35 6 John Hurd Joel Wooldridge -24 7 Jason Hackett Justin Hackett -46 8 Paul Hackett David Bakhshi -65 9 Sebastiaan Drijver Sjoert Brink -163 10 Krister Ahlesved Jonas Pettersson -191

Consolation Pairs

Rank Player Names IMPs 1 Munawar Sawirudin Bert Toar Polii 232 2 Manas Mukherjee Arun Jain 98 3 Patrick Huang Grace Huang 66 4 CM Lin Walter Chen 64 5 Paul Gosney Peter Gill 63 6 Sumit Mukherjee Subir Majumder 58 7 Michael Whibley Liam Milne 38 8 Nelson Ho Kirk Shen -149 9 Sue Grenside Nakatani Tadayoshi -156 10 Larry Chemaly Robert Stephens -314

“Oh, just missed qualifying…by 87 imps.” “You just had to my winner.”

“Wow, 2700! Now that’s a number “I can’t believe it’s all over.” you just don’t see every day.”

3 Championship – 1st Segment: Italy Lavazza vs Netherlands 3rd /4 th Playoff: Denmark vs Yeh Bros I by Barry Rigal

Bocchi v Prooijen

De Wijs Muller Duboin Sementa

Madala Verhees This would be a replay of the World Championship and Verhees’ decision to compete looks reasonable. semi-finals from Veldhoeven, 2011, when the Dutch The defenders led and continued spades in a futile had home advantage and ultimately their first world attempt to let West pitch hearts and get a ruff or to title. This one would be played on neutral territory; promote a for one defender or another. the cheering crowds would be somewhat smaller, Indeed, the play did finally involve some sort of though the tangible rewards of victory might be just guess for the location of the Ê9 but declarer held his as significant. losses to the five top winners.

Italy as bracket winner would have a 6.5 imp carry- In the other room de Wijs’ simple spade raise looks over. We will add this in to the totals as we go the least misdescriptive way to keep the auction through, but round it to 6 imps. open. The defenders led trumps, establishing the !8 as a slow heart winner. That was 140 and 3 imps; Bd: 1 North first blood to Netherlands. Dlr: North Í 72 Vul: None ! KQ1076 " AJ Bd: 2 North Ê QJ84 Dlr: East Í Q1032 West East Vul: N/S ! 6 Í KQ Í AJ1098 " AKQ8643 ! J94 ! A832 Ê " 87543 " 109 10 Ê K32 Ê A9 West East South Í AJ75 Í K64 Í 6543 ! ! ! QJ4 K109752 5 " " " KQ62 J75 9 Ê 10765 Ê AK5 Ê J87 South Open Room Í 98 West North East South ! A83 De Wijs Bocchi Muller Madala " 102 1! 1Í Pass Ê Q96432 2Í All Pass Closed Room Open and Closed Rooms West North East South West North East South Duboin v Prooijen Sementa Verhees De Wijs Bocchi Muller Madala 2!(1) 2Í 2NT Duboin v Prooijen Sementa Verhees Dbl Pass Pass 3Ê 2! Pass All Pass 4! 5" All Pass (1) Hearts plus clubs Both Easts took advantage of the vulnerability to In the Closed Room N/S found their club fit at once open 2!. (Yes, we aren’t sure that they would have

4 resisted temptation at equal vulnerability but “Don’t de Wijs certainly appeared to have a normal double. ask don’t tell” is the order of the day.) Had East Thereafter E/W were in deep doo-doo. Madala did declared 4! after North got diamonds into the not go all out for overtricks (I suspect he might have auction at a lower level, then declarer might still have come close had he needed to). He won the heart had a slim chance: Ruff the second diamond, lead in hand, led a diamond up, won the next heart, dislodge the trump ace, win the trump continuation (a ruffed a heart as Muller pitched a club, then crossed shift to the Í9 sets up a slow winner in the form of to the ÊA and ruffed another heart low. That gave the Í7), draw trumps, play ÍA, ÍK, a spade up, and him five trump tricks and three side winners. With now you know North’s precise shape. You ruff and –470 in the other room declarer’s fate in 2" stood to play the ÊJ, since the chance of pinning the nine or hold the imp loss to 9 or 11. After a heart lead van ten is better than dropping the bare queen. Prooijen took the king and led a trump, though, to the queen, successfully, and now it was easy to relax. Both tables in 5" could take just their seven Instead of simply playing a second top trump he led diamonds and one trick in each major since the to the ÍK, and when Duboin ruffed, then cashed a defenders could get around to trumps when in with high trump and reverted to hearts, declarer was left the ÍK and prevent declarer from making more than with six top losers. 17-3 now to Italy. one trick out of the spades. No swing; still 3-0 to Netherlands, 6-3 overall. Chen Yeh made the same play as van Prooijen to go down in 2", but in the other room Welland opened While Wang Ping made 4! from Yeh Bros on the the South cards 2Í and after Shih doubled and lead of the Í9, 5" doubled lost 800 in the other room; Auken raised to 3Í Shih bid an inferential 4!. Auken Denmark led 9-1. challenged his inference and the defenders collected 800. Auken’s diamond lead let declarer try to ruff a Bd: 3 North diamond in dummy but Welland overruffed, played Dlr: South Í A2 back a trump, and declarer let it run to dummy for a Vul: E/W ! A653 club play. Auken won and forced declarer with " QJ1085 diamonds, then spades, and Shih ended up with four Ê A6 trumps two diamonds and one club. Denmark led 22- West East 1 now. Í --- Í Q109543 ! QJ1092 ! 87 Bd: 4 North " AK64 " 97 Dlr: West Í A Ê Ê Vul: Both ! A94 KQ94 J85 " J102 South Ê AQ10965 Í KJ876 West East ! K4 Í KQ853 Í 10962 " ! K762 ! J 32 " 8765 " Q943 Ê 10732 Ê --- Ê K843 South Open Room Í J74 ! Q10853 West North East South " AK De Wijs Bocchi Muller Madala Ê J72 Pass 1! 2" Pass 2Í Open Room Dbl All Pass West North East South Closed Room De Wijs Bocchi Muller Madala West North East South Pass 1Ê Pass 1"(!) Duboin v Prooijen Sementa Verhees 1Í Dbl 3Í Dbl Pass Pass 3NT All Pass 1! 2" All Pass Closed Room West North East South The swing on this deal seems somewhat fortuitous Duboin v Prooijen Sementa Verhees rather that due to any great philosophical difference Pass 1Ê(STR) Pass 1!(1) in strategy. Whether you respond to partner’s two- 1Í 2Ê 3Í Pass level as a passed hand with the South cards Pass 3NT All Pass is more about personal style, and Agustin Madala (1) Balanced 8-11 or three-suited doesn’t like to pass twice on any deal. I’m not sure what Bocchi would have done had West passed but Cui culpae? There must be more than enough blame

5 to go around with 6Ê on no more than the club not more, but here with a 14-count and a five-card , while 4! is cold on normal, if slightly careful, major he had no reason to put his hand into a 15-17 play. Declarer will win the top spade lead and use his notrump range. By contrast, van Prooijen was within two diamond entries to ruff spades, then cash the his notrump range and as is the common style these !A, cross to hand with a diamond ruff, and lead a days was essentially obligated to treat his hand as club towards the ace. West can score all three of his balanced, not hearts. I don’t dislike the style, but we trumps one way or another, or discard and let should not be blinkered to the fact that it is not an declarer score the ÊA for his eighth trick with two unfettered blessing. more trump tricks to come. While Madala could never make more than 1NT on Bocchi showed 2+ clubs, extras, then suggested the lead of the ÍQ van Prooijen was definitely in with notrump with an unbalanced hand. Van Prooijen a chance from the East seat. If Sementa had led a showed a strong hand, then clubs, where he could low diamond declarer could have won cheaply in have doubled for take-out and then at his second hand and knocked out the ÊA. Even on the lead of turn had to choose between a take-out double and the "Q the contract should have come down to the 3NT. Verhees (who was systemically obligated to spade view. Declarer wins in hand and runs the "10, conceal his hearts at his first turn) almost knew his then crosses to the ÊK. When that holds, he repeats partner had a singleton spade but thought the the diamond finesse and sets up the clubs. When opponents might be 4-4 in that suit. Maybe it is just West shifts to a spade honor the crux of the deal is too difficult a hand. whether to play East for ace-third or three small spades; a lot will depend on what you know about Both declarers in 3NT won the top spade lead from each individual leader’s style. Of course, that is why East and crossed to a diamond to run the ÊJ, and they pay the coaches the big bucks. Auken, in this now the defenders duly cashed out. No swing; still precise position (after a low diamond lead won in 17-3 to Italy. hand), did two spades and brought home 3NT while in the other room 3NT by South went down on Both our tables in the 3rd /4 th match managed to West’s ÍQ lead. It was 24-3 now for Italy and 34-1 collect +620. Yalan Zhang brought home 4! on a top for Denmark. spade lead by playing clubs before trumps, while in the other room Shih’s 2" opening for the majors (as The E/W pairs at both tables bid to a straightforward West) made it much easier for N/S to get to clubs. major-suit game for +620, then…

Bd: 5 North Bd: 7 North Dlr: North Í K75 Dlr: South Í 108732 Vul: N/S ! KJ862 ! " A106 Vul: Both K5 Ê K3 " AKJ953 West East Ê --- Í QJ106 Í A82 West East ! 9754 ! Q103 Í Í " 84 " QJ72 Q4 K965 Ê A64 Ê 1092 ! 104 ! 9873 South " 10642 " Q87 Í 943 Ê KJ752 Ê A8 ! A " K953 South Ê QJ875 Í AJ ! AQJ62 Open Room " --- West North East South Ê Q109643 De Wijs Bocchi Muller Madala 1! Pass 1NT Open Room All Pass West North East South Closed Room De Wijs Bocchi Muller Madala West North East South 1Ê Duboin v Prooijen Sementa Verhees Pass 1Í(") Pass 3! 1NT Pass 2Ê Pass 3NT All Pass Pass 2! Pass 3NT All Pass

Bocchi likes to upgrade as much as the next man, if

6 Closed Room It is not that playing spades from the South seat is so West North East South clearly superior to playing it by North. But as the Duboin v Prooijen Sementa Verhees cards lie, as our two declarers from the North seat 1! discovered, a diamond lead by East sinks you from Pass 2Ê(R) Pass 2" the get-go, while if you play game from the South Pass 2!(R) Pass 2Í(Ê) seat West would probably lead a heart, and now you Pass 2NT Pass 3! (5-6) would win and play ace and another spade to kill the Pass 4! All Pass heart ruff, and find that the play worked for an entirely different reason. (And the counter-argument Both Souths suggested 6-5 in clubs and hearts, to this is that you go down in 4Í from the South seat Madala showing extras, Verhees’ auction consistent when East is 3-5-1-4 by taking the “unsafety” play.) with a minimum. Bocchi received a spade lead against his 3NT (had South been declarer West Both pairs in Denmark-Yeh Bros I made game, would not have enjoyed his choice, though of course Zhang 4Í from South, Auken 3NT as North after she the defense can succeed easily enough). He opened 1Ê and West showed diamonds, on a finessed and when a spade came back cashed out diamond lead. Yes, a club lead was certainly his eight winners rather than trying for any remote possible on this auction. chances, which might have generated a large number of undertricks. Minus 100 was not a terrible Bd: 9 North result here, but Duboin went for aggression with a Dlr: North Í AJ7632 top spade lead rather than a trump (for which one Vul: E/W ! K should not be too fast to blame him; he knew " 74 declarer’s most likely hand pattern was 2-5-0-6 and Ê 10743 that East could overruff in clubs very early on, so that West East it was only if dummy hit with a club that a trump Í K54 Í 1098 would be essential). Verhees was charmed to be ! A985 ! 632 able to score his three side-suit winners and seven " AJ2 " KQ103 trump tricks painlessly for 12 imps. Italy 23-15 now. Ê QJ5 Ê AK6 South Both N/S pairs then had a somewhat random chance Í Q to gain 10 imps on the spin of a coin. ! QJ1074 " 9865 Bd: 8 North Ê 982 Dlr: West Í J1085 Vul: None ! QJ72 " KQ6 Open Room Ê K9 West North East South West East De Wijs Bocchi Muller Madala Í K6 Í 94 3Í Pass Pass ! 96 ! K10843 " A87542 " 10 3NT All Pass Ê 432 Ê A10875 Closed Room South West North East South Í AQ732 ! Duboin v Prooijen Sementa Verhees A5 Í " J93 2 Pass Pass Ê QJ6 2NT Pass 3NT All Pass

Open Room Bocchi-Madala have given up on weak-twos at West North East South favorable in favor of two-suited actions. The 3Í bid De Wijs Bocchi Muller Madala put de Wijs under more pressure than Duboin was 1NT Pass 2! under in the other room but both Wests came Pass 2Í Pass 3NT through. It is a lot easier to face your teammates Pass 4Í All Pass when you are wrong by bidding too much than by Closed Room underbidding here. West North East South Duboin v Prooijen Sementa Verhees Van Prooijen led a spade, while Bocchi fished out a 1" 1! Dbl(4/5Í) club. Declarer won, ducked a heart, then cashed all Pass 2Í Pass 4Í his plain winners reducing down to a four-card All Pass ending where he led a spade from dummy and covered South’s card to force North to give him a

7 spade at the death. In what had been a set of boards where there were a remarkable number of deals with no potential for Both tables made game in the other match, though swing (the next was the seventh), all four tables next the Yeh Bros E/W pair had to contend with a comic played 4! off the two top clubs, making +450 on the notrump from Welland after North passed in first trump finesse. Then… seat. Bd: 13 North A flat vulnerable game for all four N/S pairs was Dlr: North Í Q9853 followed by a far from straightforward deal. Vul: Both ! 8654 " A93 Bd: 11 North Ê 2 Dlr: South Í 76 West East Vul: None ! 65 Í AJ Í 102 " AKQJ86 ! KJ9 ! 103 Ê 973 " K10872 " J65 West East Ê J94 Ê AK8765 Í AJ82 Í KQ95 South ! KJ43 ! A10972 Í K764 " 9 " 105 ! AQ72 Ê KQ54 Ê A2 " Q4 South Ê Q103 Í 1043 ! Q8 Open Room " 7432 West North East South Ê J1086 De Wijs Bocchi Muller Madala Pass Pass 1Ê Open Room 1" 1!(Í)2" 2Í West North East South Pass Pass 3" Pass De Wijs Bocchi Muller Madala Pass 3Í All Pass Pass Closed Room 2"(1) 3" 4" Pass West North East South 4! Pass 5! Pass Duboin v Prooijen Sementa Verhees 6! All Pass Pass Pass 1" Closed Room Pass 1Í Pass 2Í West North East South Pass Pass 3Ê Pass Duboin v Prooijen Sementa Verhees Pass 3Í All Pass Pass 1Ê 3" Dbl 4" Muller did well to compete to the three level and push Dbl Pass 5NT Pass his opponents to 3Í, but surely his choice of 3" as 6! All Pass opposed to 3Ê was short sighted (though in his defense he might have expected a diamond lead not Sementa rarely needs additional reasons to go to be fatal and he didn’t want to tip off the lie of the searching for the gold at the end of the rainbow. I cards). Personally, I’d rather get partner to do the suspect had Verhees not bid 4" Duboin would have right thing; that way he gets less irritated both with done so, and that would have got E/W to slam. As it himself and you when he leads a diamond, as here. was, when Duboin showed extras and had virtually Madala scooped up the trick and ran for home when guaranteed a singleton diamond Sementa had an spades split, collecting +140 while in the other room easy drive to slam. It was not quite as easy for Muller the club lead and heart shift left declarer very poorly facing a limited hand. In my opinion he did well to placed. It was 30-15 now, advantage Italy. Chen Yeh give up on the safety of the four level to look for did well to bring home +140 as North here to flatten slam, and his 5! bid here was just a general try. The the against 2Í making 140 by South; Denmark Bildes virtually duplicated the Italian auction to slam, still led 45-2. but Shi as West was handicapped by having to open 1" and that kept his opponents silent, thus making Ping’s job nearly impossible. They played game and Denmark led 45-2. It was still 24-15 to Italy in our main match.

8 Bd: 14 North Closed Room Dlr: East Í K7652 West North East South Vul: None ! 874 Duboin v Prooijen Sementa Verhees " AKJ 1Í Ê J2 Pass 3Í 3NT Pass West East 5Ê All Pass Í A43 Í Q8 ! J95 ! AK1062 I don’t see how Madala could have got this right on " 954 " Q63 Ê 10986 Ê K75 . Facing a passing partner a spade lead South seemed far more likely to get the tricks going for his Í J109 side than playing for ruffs. In the other room, of ! Q3 course, Italy might well have counted themselves " 10872 Ê AQ43 lucky to lose only 10 imps when Duboin picked his partner’s “minor,” assuming that 3NT was unusual. Open Room But the singleton diamond was on lead and the West North East South defenders cashed out quickly. It was now 31-25 Italy. De Wijs Bocchi Muller Madala 1! Pass 2! Pass Pass Dbl Yeh Bros I picked up their first sizeable swing of the Pass 2Í All Pass set playing 3NT by West on a spade lead, and Closed Room defeating 4!. They trailed 15-12. West North East South Duboin v Prooijen Sementa Verhees 1! Pass Bd: 16 North 2! 2Í All Pass Dlr: West Í KQ83 Vul: E/W ! J10 " Though there were no imps at stake in our main 642 Ê AQ97 match the underlying philosophical issues for a West East partnership (who is the catcher, who is the pitcher?) Í A5 Í J6 makes this deal a very stimulating one to me. Should ! AK9 ! Q75432 " " South stretch to balance and North play him for a A873 K105 Ê 10652 Ê 83 Yarborough? Should North pre-balance and South South play him for less than customary here? It doesn’t Í 109742 matter so long as you have a defined style; color ! 86 " QJ9 me...undecided. Ê KJ4 Denmark bought the hand in 1NT (after the ÍJ lead) Open Room and in 2Í and made them both. The lead was up to West North East South De Wijs Bocchi Muller Madala 51-2. 1Ê Pass 1" Pass 1NT Pass 2" Pass Bd: 15 North 2! All Pass Dlr: South Í J8753 Closed Room Vul: N/S ! Q982 West North East South " 8 Duboin v Prooijen Sementa Verhees Ê 1NT Pass 2" Pass 1096 2! Pass Pass 2Í West East Pass Pass Dbl Pass Í Q Í AK4 3! 3Í All Pass ! AJ743 ! 106 " K62 " 1093 Against 3Í the defenders did nicely by leading two Ê Ê Q754 AKJ82 hearts and signaling for diamonds to let the South defenders cash two tricks and play a third. Declarer Í 10962 ! K5 won and led a spade up. Duboin took the ace and " AQJ754 played a fourth diamond and Verhees misguessed Ê 3 by ruffing low. Not enough: 2! on a trump lead made +170 painlessly enough and Netherlands gained 2 Open Room imps to trail 31-27 at set end. Meanwhile in our other West North East South match while Shi-Ping overreached to 4!, down after De Wijs Bocchi Muller Madala the (necessary) active black-suit lead, The Bildes 1" misjudged and defended 2Íx. Declarer did not 1! Pass 2Ê 2" misguess trumps at the critical moment, and claimed 3Ê Pass 3" Pass +470. That reduced the match margin to 51-21 at set 5Ê All Pass end.

9 Championship – 2nd Segment: Italy Lavazza vs Netherlands 3rd /4 th Playoff: Denmark vs Yeh Bros I by Rich Colker

Bocchi v Prooijen

De Wijs Muller Duboin Sementa

Verhees Madala

The Italians had lost the first segment by 2 imps, 27- In the Open Room Bocchi got a club lead. He ruffed, 25, but their 6.5-imp carryover still gave them the crossed to the !A, led a diamond to the ace (Muller upper hand at 31.5-27 — though that is certainly no showing out), ruffed a heart (jack from Muller), reason to get complacent. When the Dutchmen diamond to the seven, !Q covered and ruffed, and decided not to concede just yet the players all took then claimed (draw trumps and concede a spade — their seats. Buckle up, buckaroos. Giddyup! no finesse); +1370.

The first deal was an easy 4Í game for both N/S We’d like to tell you that 4NT in the Closed Room pairs, and with three inescapable losers (absent a was keycard asking and that 5" showed two trump lead from K107) and no more, both declarers keycards. We’d like to — but we can’t. It turns out took 10 tricks for a push at +420. that 4NT was undiscussed. Van Prooijen took it as a general try for slam and Verhees deduced (that’s Bd: 18 North code for guessed) that his partner had to have Dlr: East Í QJ2 reasonable controls, good enough diamonds for slam Vul: N/S ! Q10964 " " AK1072 and a “likely” club void. So he bid 6 . In any case van Ê --- Prooijen brought home the slam (club lead, ruffed, West East spade finesse, ducked, spade to the ace, !A, club- Í 106 Í K98743 heart cross-ruff) for +1370. Still 31.5-27. ! 8532 ! KJ7 " J65 " --- Ê AQJ9 Ê K653 Bd: 19 North South Dlr: South Í 1075 Í A5 ! ! Vul: E/W 109643 A " " Q9843 J10 Ê 108742 Ê AQ3 West East Open Room Í AQ83 Í 4 West North East South ! ! De Wijs Bocchi Muller Madala 82 AQJ75 1Í Pass " AK932 " Q754 Pass(0-9) 2NT(!+") Pass 3Ê(") Ê 108 Ê J94 " Ê " Dbl 3 4 6 South All Pass Í Closed Room KJ962 ! West North East South K " Duboin v Prooijen Sementa Verhees 86 Ê 1Í Pass K7652 1NT 2Í(!+m) Pass 2NT(R) Pass 3"(!+") Pass 4NT Pass 5" Pass 6" All Pass

10 Open Room choice. If de Wijs started with the doubleton ÍJ10 he West North East South must ruff high and play his other high trump, De Wijs Bocchi Muller Madala smothering the Í10. But if Madala started with his 1Í actual spade holding de Wijs had to ruff with the Í9. 2" 2Í 3Í Pass De Wijs ruffed high for +620. 3NT Pass 5" All Pass Closed Room In the Closed Room Duboin slightly mistimed the West North East South play. He won the !K with the ace, cashed the "AK Duboin v Prooijen Sementa Verhees pitching a heart and a club, then led a club to the ace 2Ê and ruffed a club instead of taking the opportunity to 2" Dbl 3Ê 3Í shorten his trumps immediately before taking the first Pass Pass 5" All Pass club ruff. He continued: heart ruff, club ruff, heart ruff. But now, in his hand with the ÍKQ94 and Ê8, he 5" looks to require declarer to pick up the stiff !K led the ÍK to the ace and still had to lose a trump offside (barring a defensive lapse in leading clubs and a club. That was just a lost overtrick, +620. No where declarer gets to pitch one on the third heart). swing; Netherlands leading 40-31.5. Bocchi led the ÊA followed by the ÊQ. Madala overtook (in case Bocchi had the doubleton), led a Bd: 21 North third club and now de Wijs pitched a heart as Bocchi Dlr: North Í K6 followed helplessly. Now de Wijs cashed the !A and Vul: N/S ! 4 when the king fell he claimed 11 tricks; +600. " 10986 Ê AQ7632 In the Closed Room van Prooijen led a low spade West East (since Verhees had bid the suit) to the king and ace Í A8532 Í QJ1097 and now things weren’t quite as simple as in the ! J1097 ! K532 Open Room. Duboin, not knowing where the " KJ4 " 32 defenders’ values were (none of the club honors had Ê 8 Ê J9 yet been revealed and South had bid both black South suits), reasonably tried the heart finesse. Verhees Í 4 won, played a club to the queen, and quicker than ! AQ86 two shakes of a lamb’s tail Duboin was down two " AQ75 when van Prooijen gave Verhees a heart ruff after Ê K1054 cashing the ÊA, –200. 13 imps to Netherlands, who took over the lead at 40-31.5. Open Room West North East South Bd: 20 North De Wijs Bocchi Muller Madala Dlr: West Í A8 Pass Pass 1" Vul: Both ! KQ854 1Í 3Ê(Ê+")3" 3Í " J94 Pass 4Ê Pass 5Ê Ê K107 Dbl 5" Pass Pass West East Dbl All Pass Í KQ9432 Í 76 Closed Room ! 109 ! AJ632 West North East South " --- " AK1076 Duboin v Prooijen Sementa Verhees Ê A8642 Ê 5 Pass Pass 1" South 1Í 3Ê(Ê+")4Í 5Ê Í J105 All Pass ! 7 " Q8532 Both N/S pairs reached five-of-a-minor via a fit- Ê QJ93 showing jump by North. Madala played in his four- four diamond fit doubled while Verhees played in his Both Wests played a comfortable 4Í. In the Open seemingly safer six-four club fit undoubled. (Well Room de Wijs won the !K opening lead, cashed the then, clubs was safer — at least illusorily.) Both "AK pitching a heart and a club, ruffed a heart, declarers lost one spade and two diamonds so cashed the ÊA, ruffed a club, ruffed a diamond, Netherland picked up 3 more imps to lead 43-31.5. ruffed a second club, ruffed a heart and exited with the Ê8 to Madala who ruffed with the ÍJ and returned the "9, presenting de Wijs with a losing

11 Bd: 22 North Both Easts declared 4Í on a club lead. Muller won Dlr: East Í J10842 and crossed to a high spade to lead a diamond up. Vul: E/W ! 7 " AK8652 Bocchi won and returned a spade to dummy. Muller Ê Q pitched a diamond on the ÊK and led another West East diamond up. Bocchi won and Muller claimed 10 Í 5 Í AKQ93 tricks; +620. Sementa won the ÊA and immediately ! AJ654 ! 93 " --- " 1093 led a low diamond to the jack. Verhees continued Ê AK98754 Ê 1032 clubs and Sementa won the king, pitching a heart, South then led the "10 to the king. Van Prooijen tried a Í 76 heart but now Sementa ruffed a diamond, noting the ! KQ1082 " QJ74 fall of the ace, and drew trumps while ruffing his Ê J6 losing diamond to claim 11 trick; +650. Another imp to Italy, now 45.5-43. Open Room West North East South Bd: 24 North De Wijs Bocchi Muller Madala Dlr: West Í 6 Pass Pass Vul: None ! AJ96 2Ê 2" 2Í 3! " 6 5Ê Pass 6Ê 6" Ê AQ109754 Dbl All Pass West East Closed Room Í QJ5 Í A9874 West North East South ! 54 ! Q3 Duboin v Prooijen Sementa Verhees " KQJ985 " 10743 Pass Pass Ê 32 Ê KJ 1Ê 1" 1!(Í)3!(!+") South 4Ê 4" 4NT Pass Í K1032 6Ê All Pass ! K10872 " A2 In the Open Room De Wijs bid clubs and clubs Ê 86 (“Majors, we don’t need no stinkin’ majors.”) and reached the excellent 6Ê, only to have Madala rain Open Room on his parade and save in 6". The save turned out to West North East South be a good one when Madala had to lose just two De Wijs Bocchi Muller Madala spades, one heart and one club for down three, 3" 5Ê All Pass –500. Verhees’ fit-showing jump in the Closed Room Closed Room seems to have inhibited van Prooijen, and Duboin West North East South was allowed to rest in 6Ê. He ruffed the opening "K Duboin v Prooijen Sementa Verhees lead, drew a round of trumps and claimed 12 tricks Pass 1! 1Í 4! (lose a heart, ruff a heart, and pitch two on top 4Í 5Ê Pass 5" spades) for +1370, and 13 imps back to Italy Pass 5! All Pass Lavazza, who regained the lead, 44.5-43. De Wijs’ 3" opening made it difficult for Bocchi to Bd: 23 North show both of his suits — especially given their Dlr: South Í 9852 discrepancy in lengths. Bocchi won the diamond lead Vul: Both ! J8 and led a club to the queen and king. Muller cashed " AK4 the ÍA and continued the suit. Bocchi won the king, Ê Q1043 pitching a heart, ruffed a spade, establishing the ten West East for a heart pitch, the cashed the ÊA and claimed 11 Í AJ104 Í KQ763 tricks; +400. ! 10732 ! AK4 " 106 " Q852 In the Closed Room van Prooijen’s 5Ê bid may have Ê K87 Ê A guaranteed longer clubs (since a 2! opening would South have shown a heart-club two-suiter with longer or Í --- equal hearts). No matter: Verhees was always ! Q965 coming in hearts. The defense could only get one " J973 club and one spade (ÍA led, diamond shift to the Ê J9652 ace, heart to the ace and heart back, losing club finesse, claim) for +450 and 2 useful imps back to

12 the Dutch, 45.5-45. finesse was not, but both contracts came home on- time: +420 for Italy, +400 for Netherlands, 1 imp to Bd: 25 North Italy, now 55-46.5. Dlr: North Í 108632 Vul: E/W ! 109 Bd: 28 North " J82 Dlr: West Í 96432 Ê K86 Vul: N/S ! K764 West East " 63 Í AJ94 Í Q75 Ê J4 ! --- ! AJ432 West East " Q97653 " K104 Í 85 Í K107 Ê A42 Ê 95 ! A95 ! QJ South " K4 " AQ972 Í K Ê KQ10965 Ê 732 ! KQ8765 South " A Í AQJ Ê QJ1073 ! 10832 " J1085 Open Room Ê A8 West North East South De Wijs Bocchi Muller Madala Open Room Pass Pass 1! West North East South 2" Pass 2NT 3Ê De Wijs Bocchi Muller Madala 3Í Pass 4! Pass 2Ê Pass 2" Pass 4Í Pass 5" All Pass 2NT Pass 3NT All Pass Closed Room Closed Room West North East South West North East South Duboin v Prooijen Sementa Verhees Duboin v Prooijen Sementa Verhees Pass Pass 1Ê(STR) 1Ê Pass 1" Pass 1" Pass 1! Pass 2Ê Pass 2Í Pass 1Í Pass 2" 3Ê 2NT Pass 3NT All Pass Pass Pass 3" All Pass A spade lead will beat 3NT from the West side but In 5" de Wijs won the club lead and played a the contract is impregnable by East. (On a heart lead diamond to…the ten. No problem. Easy game, this declarer must duck to North’s king but after a spade bridge. Madala won the ace, perforce, and played back North has no re- to lead a second spade.) the ÊQ and a third club, ruffed in dummy. Next the Both declarers sat West so in both cases the "K revealed the trump position and de Wijs cashed defense was critical. Bocchi led a spade and Madala the !A, pitching a spade, then called for a low spade found the heart back for a quick and dirty +50. Van and when the king appeared claimed 11 tricks; +600. Prooijen led a heart to the queen and now Duboin Did we mention that bridge is an easy game? led a club to the queen and banged down the king for +430. That was 10 more imps to Italy, who In the Closed Room Duboin-Sementa came to rest in regained the lead at 56.5-55. Ping Pong anyone? the far more secure (though less rewarding) 3". Duboin won the heart lead in dummy, pitching a Bd: 29 North spade, led a spade to the king and ace, cashed the Dlr: North Í KQ ÊA and got out with a second club. Van Prooijen Vul: Both ! K3 " KJ8732 won and returned a heart. Duboin ruffed and led a Ê diamond to the king and ace, later losing a second KJ6 West East trump for +130 and 10 imps back to Netherlands, Í A96 Í 10542 who retook the lead, 55-44.5. ! QJ52 ! A1094 " A " 6 On Board 26 both Norths declared club partials and Ê A10872 Ê Q953 made 11 tricks for a push. On Board 27 3NT and 4! South were both viable contracts, each needing a pointed- Í J873 suit finesse to work. But 3NT needed specifically the ! 876 " "K onside while 4! needed either that or the ÍQ Q10954 Ê 4 onside. The diamond finesse was on, the spade

13 Open Room They were; a push at –50. West North East South De Wijs Bocchi Muller Madala On Board 31 both Souths declared 1NT and took 1NT Pass 2Ê seven tricks for +90. Still 65-56.5, Netherlands. Pass 2" Pass Pass Dbl 3" Dbl(T/O) Pass Bd: 32 North 4" Pass 4! All Pass Dlr: West Í A8 Closed Room Vul: E/W ! 763 West North East South " A104 Duboin v Prooijen Sementa Verhees Ê AQ953 1NT Pass 2Ê West East Dbl Pass Pass 2" Í 1064 Í KQ532 Dbl 3" Dbl Pass ! QJ1085 ! 4 3! All Pass " 983 " J52 Ê 76 Ê KJ102 Muller’s double of 3" got his side to the incredible South heart game with no high cards, mirrored shortages Í J97 and needing both rounded-suit kings onside (not ! AK92 totally unlikely given North’s opening bid). Madala led " KQ76 his club and Muller rose with the ace, drew trumps in Ê 84 three rounds via the finesse, then led a club toward the queen. Bocchi won the king and shifted to the Open Room ÍK. Sensing North’s shape from his 3" bid Muller West North East South won, cashed the ÊQ and the "A, then exited with a De Wijs Bocchi Muller Madala spade to Bocchi for a ruff and a discard to Pass 1Ê 1Í Dbl claim 11 tricks; +650. Pass 1NT Pass 3NT All Pass Duboin’s double of 2Ê seems to have prevented van Closed Room Prooijen from showing his diamonds; perhaps a 2" West North East South bid in this position would have shown something else Duboin v Prooijen Sementa Verhees (majors; club strength/weakness; heart transfer?). Pass 1NT Pass 2Ê But Sementa’s double of 3" looks much the Pass 2" Pass 3NT equivalent of Muller’s in the Open Room. Here, All Pass though, Duboin simply settled for bidding 3! and that ended the proceedings (not surprising given the Muller got off to a low spade lead to dummy’s jack tenuousness of a 4! contract). Duboin also made 11 and Bocchi tried a club to the queen and king. Back tricks on much the same line of play but only scored came the ÍK and now we can see that all Bocchi had up +200 for his efforts. 10 imps to Netherlands, back to do was to cash his winners from the top. But that on top again at 65-56.5. Our necks are getting sore. is not how the game is played. With the spades lying five-three and the length likely with East he decided Bd: 30 North to play the odds in diamonds by crossing to dummy’s Dlr: East Í AQ84 queen and leading back to the…ten. Ugh! Now Vul: None ! Q5 Muller quickly cashed out for down one, –50. " K Ê A96532 In the Closed Room Sementa led the ÍQ (Rusinow). West East Van Prooijen won, led a heart to the nine and ten Í J7632 Í 109 (trying to find the suit three-three) and back came a ! J972 ! K10864 spade to the king for a third spade. In dummy with " 10963 " J84 the ÍJ van Prooijen cashed the "K, then led a Ê --- Ê QJ8 diamond to the…ace. When a third diamond South revealed the suit to be three-three he was up to nine Í K5 tricks and he cashed them all quickly for +400 and ! A3 another 10 imps. " AQ752 Ê K1074 The battle this set was fierce, with the lead changing hand five times, often less than a single imps Both N/S pairs reached the excellent 7Ê contract separating the two teams. But at the end it was 75- here needing only for trumps not to be three-zero. 56.5.

14 Championship – 3rd Segment: Italy Lavazza vs Netherlands 3rd /4 th Playoff: Denmark vs Yeh Bros I by Barry Rigal

Bocchi v Prooijen

De Wijs Muller Duboin Sementa

Madala Verhees Bd: 33 North Open Room Dlr: North Í Q8652 West North East South Vul: None ! K986 De Wijs Bocchi Muller Madala " K652 1Ê(15+!) Pass Ê --- 1" Dbl 1NT Pass West East 2!(Í) Dbl Rdbl 3! Í J1093 Í AK7 All Pass ! J43 ! Q Closed Room " QJ10 " 984 West North East South Ê 863 Ê AQJ1074 Duboin v Prooijen Sementa Verhees South Í 4 1NT Pass ! A10752 2! Dbl 2Í 3! " A73 Pass Pass 3Í All Pass Ê K952 Muller’s optimistic strong club went some way Open Room West North East South towards stealing the board but Bocchi showed his De Wijs Bocchi Muller Madala red suits and Madala raised hearts. Declarer won 2!(1) 3Ê 4! the club lead and played a diamond. Muller overtook All Pass de Wijs’ queen and played a second club. Declarer (1) majors Closed Room ruffed, played a spade and Muller rose with the ace West North East South to play a third club. Dummy was now dead but Duboin v Prooijen Sementa Verhees declarer’s hand was high bar a diamond loser +170. Pass 1Ê 1! Pass 4! All Pass The game looks close to unbiddable, but if East had Both tables reached 4! with a minimum of fuss. not opened a strong notrump, N/S might have had a Bocchi-Madala have given up on weak twos non-vul., chance in the Closed Room. However, Sementa not Í 2! is majors, 2Í minors, hence the auction here. only opened a strong notrump he competed to 3 . Right he was. He escaped for two down, losing two Bd: 34 North hearts, two clubs and two trumps (South could have Dlr: East Í 52 given his partner two clubs ruffs for down three but Vul: N/S ! AQJ10 ensured the set by cashing his hearts early). " J86432 Ê 7 West East Í J9764 Í A108 ! 642 ! 73 " Q9 " AK10 Ê QJ10 Ê K9654 South Í KQ3 ! K985 " 75 Ê A832 “Mine says they’re out of Kung Pao Chicken.” 15 Bd: 35 North Open Room Dlr: South Í Q875 West North East South Vul: E/W ! A98 De Wijs Bocchi Muller Madala " 32 1! Pass 2"(!) Dbl Ê AQ93 2! Pass 3! Pass West East 4! All Pass Í AK93 Í J642 Closed Room ! 652 ! J10 West North East South " KQ865 " J Duboin v Prooijen Sementa Verhees Ê 8 Ê KJ10752 1! Pass 2NT(!) Pass South 3! Pass 3NT All Pass Í 10 ! KQ743 While Sementa is an optimist, here his 3NT bid " A10974 seems really out in left field. It might have worked, I Ê 64 admit, but it still seems wild to me. Equally, de Wijs’ 2! bid after the double looked to deny extras (here Open Room of course he was a little better than he might be but West North East South at the vulnerability he was close to minimum). Both De Wijs Bocchi Muller Madala Wests seem blameless to me. In context, facing an 1! invitation, de Wijs was not ashamed of his hand. 3 2" 3!(FG!) Pass 4! imps to Netherlands when 3NT went two down in the All Pass appropriate way while 4! was down one. 88-61 now. Closed Room West North East South Bd: 37 North Duboin v Prooijen Sementa Verhees Dlr: North Í AJ4 2"(!+") Vul: N/S ! 9753 Pass 2NT Pass 3NT (5-5) " KQ92 Pass 4Ê Pass 4! Ê AK All Pass West East Í 1063 Í K752 Duboin had an easy top spade lead and trump shift. ! KQJ64 ! 1082 He won the second diamond to play another trump " A5 " 1076 and declarer took the diamond ruff. But when he Ê Q98 Ê 1053 tried the club finesse the defenders won, then took a South ruff and two diamonds for down three. Í Q98 ! A By contrast, Madala came a little closer after two top " J843 spades. He ruffed and took the club finesse. East Ê J7642 won and gave his partner the ruff. Now declarer had a one trick in each suit and six trump tricks for down Open Room one and 3 imps. 75-61 now. West North East South De Wijs Bocchi Muller Madala Bd: 36 North 1NT Pass Pass Dlr: West Í 964 2"(!/Í) Pass Pass Dbl Vul: Both ! K92 Pass 3" All Pass " K87 Closed Room Ê J974 West North East South West East Duboin v Prooijen Sementa Verhees Í J32 Í AQ75 1Ê Pass 1Í ! AJ853 ! Q106 Pass 1NT Pass 2! " J5 " 964 Dbl 2Í Pass 3" Ê AQ6 Ê K105 Pass 4" Pass 4Í South Pass 5" All Pass Í K108 ! 74 After Bocchi’s normal but maximum strong notrump " AQ1032 Madala seems to have decided that simply finding a Ê 832 fit would give him a positive expectation against the result in 1NT, and he might have been right. But of

16 course van Prooijen opened a strong club to let Garozzo’s rule Madala led his singleton, which South describe his three-suited hand. The speeded up play just a little. Muller decided sensibly partnership was always going to game and once that North was more likely to have the four spades South showed short hearts the final destination was than South. He led a spade to the ace and claimed going to be the 4-4 fit (if there was one). 13 tricks and 13 imps a moment later. 101-61 for Netherlands. While Bocchi followed a very safe line for ten tricks in the Open Room, setting up spades while ruffing Bd: 39 North hearts in dummy and eventually losing a trump Dlr: South Í 83 " Vul: Both ! AK9873 promotion to East’s 10, Verhees could not afford " A8 such luxuries. He was fortunate enough to receive a Ê AK3 spade lead. When he played low from dummy and West East the king went in he had arranged a late entry to his Í Q9742 Í 6 ! 2 ! 10654 hand. Spade continuations might have been the most " 965 " J42 challenging but nothing mattered. After the heart shift Ê 10862 Ê QJ954 he unblocked clubs while drawing trumps and played South to take four clubs, four trump tricks and three major- Í AKJ105 ! QJ suit winners, ruffing out the clubs and coming back to " KQ1073 his hand while drawing the last trump. 88-61 now. Ê 7

Bd: 38 North Open Room Dlr: East Í Q West North East South Vul.: E/W ! 9632 De Wijs Bocchi Muller Madala Í " Q1098542 1 Pass 2! Pass 3" Ê 6 Pass 3Í(1) Pass 4Ê West East Pass 4" Pass 4Í Í A9742 Í KJ86 Pass 4NT Pass 5! ! J10 ! A54 Pass 6! Pass 7! " 73 " AKJ All Pass Ê AQJ10 Ê 984 Closed Room South West North East South Í Duboin v Prooijen Sementa Verhees 1053 Ê ! KQ87 1 Pass 1! Pass 3"(Í+") " 6 ! Í Ê Pass 3 Pass 3 K7532 Pass 4Ê Pass 4! Pass 4Í Pass 4NT Open Room Pass 5Ê Pass 6Ê West North East South Pass 7NT All Pass De Wijs Bocchi Muller Madala 1Ê 1NT(1) Both tables reached the grand on artificial auctions. 2!(Í)3" 3Í Pass We could tell you what they meant if we had time to 4Ê Pass 4" Pass find out. But then we’d have to kill you. No swing. 4Í Pass 5" Pass 6Í All Pass Bd: 40 North Closed Room Dlr: West Í Q865 West North East South Vul: None ! 42 Duboin v Prooijen Sementa Verhees " J107 1NT Pass Ê Q1083 2! 4" Pass Pass West East Dbl Pass 4Í All Pass Í K10 Í J742 ! J873 ! 6 We think Muller showed a minimum with his 3Í bid, " K532 " AQ64 hence van Prooijen was only worth one slam try. But Ê A92 Ê KJ65 Muller, despite being minimum, had such great South controls and he assumed well-placed diamonds that Í A93 he went on over the non-cooperating bid, and ! AKQ1095 promised a heart control at the same time. That was " 98 enough for van Prooijen to bid slam. Following Ê 74

17 Open Room Sementa’s opening lead of the !Q went to the ace. West North East South Van Prooijen got the ÊQ past Sementa, and Duboin De Wijs Bocchi Muller Madala ducked. Now declarer guessed to lead a low club to Pass Pass 1" 1! the queen, king and ace. A heart came back, ruffed 2Í Pass 3Í Pass in dummy, then a club to the ten, ruffed by Sementa 5" Pass Pass Dbl who returned a third heart, ruffed in dummy. All Pass Declarer now led the ÍJ from dummy, covered all Closed Room around, and at this point had a way to make by West North East South drawing trumps (ruffing the last heart in the Duboin v Prooijen Sementa Verhees process), then leading a diamond to the king to cash Pass Pass 1" 1! dummy’s good clubs. When he finessed in diamonds 1Í(not Í) Pass 2Ê 2! he had an extra diamond loser and was down 100. Dbl Pass 3Ê 3! 3Í Pass 4Ê Pass In the other room Bocchi also won the heart lead 5" All Pass and passed the ÊJ, but then he tried to the Ê9 by leading the ten from hand; the defenders forced Both tables played 5", Muller being doubled there. In him again and he was now a and a trick the Closed Room Sementa received the defense of behind. He ended up losing control, and was two two rounds of hearts. He ruffed, guessed spades and down. No swing. Still 101-63. played a second spade. The defense won the ÍA and played a third spade. Declarer ruffed in dummy and Bd: 42 North led a third heart. North pitched his spade so Sementa Dlr: East Í AK10743 ruffed, cashed the "AQ, and could now have crossed Vul: Both ! A4 to dummy, drawn the trump, taken the club finesse, " 432 then pitched his heart on the good spade. Instead he Ê 94 drew two rounds of trumps and played the spade to West East let North ruff in for down one. Í Q98 Í 52 ! 85 ! KQ10963 Muller received the defense of two top hearts as well. " Q98 " A He guessed spades but next ruffed a heart to hand, Ê KJ875 Ê Q1062 drew trumps, and relied on clubs being three-three South with the queen right. Not his best effort, I think. 2 Í J6 imps to Italy, down 101-63. ! J72 " KJ10765 Bd: 41 North Ê A3 Dlr: North Í A1054 Vul: E/W ! A103 " Q87 Open Room Ê J102 West North East South West East De Wijs Bocchi Muller Madala Í Q Í K863 1! Pass ! K7652 ! QJ94 Í ! " J965 " A43 Pass 1 2 Dbl Ê A97 Ê Q4 Pass 3Í Pass 4Í South Dbl All Pass Í J972 Closed Room ! 8 " K102 West North East South Ê K8653 Duboin v Prooijen Sementa Verhees 1! Pass Open Room 1NT 2Í All Pass West North East South De Wijs Bocchi Muller Madala We can all see how to defeat 4Í after the !K lead 1NT Pass 2! went to the ace and a heart came back. Muller had Í Pass 3 All Pass to play his partner for the "Q and ÊK. Play back a Closed Room heart to kill the ruff, then win the "A and shift to a West North East South club. But the distribution was not so clear to Muller. Duboin v Prooijen Sementa Verhees If declarer had been 6-2-2-3 maybe a club back was 1" Dbl 1!(Í) necessary. Even if this does not stand up to Dbl 2Í Pass Pass ! Í analysis, Muller did shift to a club. Declarer won in 3 Pass Pass 3 Í Dbl All Pass hand and ran the J, covered all around, and now

18 claimed when he led a diamond and the ace Open Room appeared. 10 imps to go and Italy still had life in West North East South them, 28 imps down. De Wijs Bocchi Muller Madala Pass 1Ê(2+) 5" Dbl Bd: 43 North All Pass Dlr: South Í Q102 Closed Room Vul: None ! QJ " 432 West North East South Ê QJ543 Duboin v Prooijen Sementa Verhees West East Pass 1" 5" Dbl Í 53 Í AJ9864 All Pass ! 105 ! A62 " AQJ1098 " --- Ê 872 Ê AK96 Another board with huge swing potential. N/S can South make 6Í by North but go down on the Lightner Í K7 double for the club ruff if South is declarer. The ! K98743 " K765 weakness and strength of the short minor came to Ê 10 the fore here. Both Norths could open, both Souths doubled 5" expecting there was a chance they could Open Room buy a foot not a hand opposite. And they were right West North East South in a sense. 5"x went quietly two down in both rooms. De Wijs Bocchi Muller Madala No swing, still 101-75 to Netherlands. Pass 3" Pass 3Í Pass The Danes sealed their match with a somewhat 4Í All Pass fortuitous goal; they were leading 104-103 at this Closed Room point. After 1Ê-(5") Morten Bilde offered a choice of West North East South slams with 5NT, his partner bid 6Í, Bingo! That was Duboin v Prooijen Sementa Verhees 15 imps and the match since 5"x down 300 was the Pass result from the other room. They finished up winning Pass Pass 1Í 2! 126-103 so had slam gone down it would have 3" Pass 3Í All Pass swung 24 imps. And you can see what the margin would have been then. After South led his singleton club against 4Í Muller ducked a heart and North won to play a top club Bd: 45 North through, covered and ruffed. Muller won the next Dlr: North Í 976 heart and laid down the ÍA before trying to ruff the Vul: Both ! AJ86 " last heart. North overruffed, cashed his trump and K5 Ê club winner, and gave up. KQ93 West East Í Í Í Q1082 AJ54 In 3 Sementa knew about the bad breaks. He won ! K9 ! 743 the club lead and played ÍA, ÍJ. Verhees won and " AQ9842 " 10 shifted to hearts and declarer gave up two trumps, Ê 2 Ê J10854 two hearts and eventually a club. 2 more imps to South Italy, 26 down, five to play. Í K3 ! Q1052 " J763 Bd: 44 North Ê Dlr: West Í Q754 A76 Vul: N/S ! 865 " Open Room AJ West North East South Ê AJ82 De Wijs Bocchi Muller Madala West East 1Ê Pass 1"(!) Í Í 2" 2! Pass Pass 1082 3 Í Í ! ! 2 Pass 3 All Pass J432 K1097 Closed Room " 4 " KQ1096532 West North East South Ê Q10643 Ê --- Duboin v Prooijen Sementa Verhees 1" Pass 1! South " ! Í 2 2 Pass Pass AKJ96 2Í Pass 3!(Í) Pass ! AQ 3Í All Pass " 87 Ê K975 In the Open Room Bocchi led a top club and

19 continued the suit: 8, A, and declarer ruffed. Next he Open Room finessed in spades and the defenders won and West North East South played three rounds of hearts. Duboin ruffed high De Wijs Bocchi Muller Madala and drew trumps ending in dummy, then gave up a Pass club for down one. De Wijs took a totally different Pass 1" Pass 1! tack after two rounds of clubs. He ruffed in hand, Pass 1NT All Pass then cross-ruffed diamonds and clubs. Madala Closed Room pitched his fourth diamond on the fourth club, so de West North East South Wijs was forced to ruff with the ÍA, then ruff the Duboin v Prooijen Sementa Verhees fourth club back to hand for his eighth trick. But he Pass had run out of steam, and in a sense it is not clear Pass 1" Pass 1! that this line would ever have made the hand unless Pass 1Í Pass 1NT a straightforward approach would have succeeded as All Pass well. No swing, music to Dutch ears. 26 up, 3 to go. A quiet 1NT was not what Italy wanted to see. Bd: 46 North Bocchi made an overtrick after a club lead. 77-102. Dlr: East Í A82 Vul: None ! 8764 " K105 Bd: 48 North Ê Dlr: West Í AK Q93 Vul: E/W ! AK1082 West East " 10862 Í QJ4 Í K Ê ! J1095 ! AK3 A6 " QJ8 " 742 West East Ê Ê Í 106 Í Q985 A84 KJ7652 ! J76 ! Q9543 South " AJ54 " Q Í 1097653 Ê Ê ! Q2 10842 J53 " A963 South Ê Í J7432 10 ! --- " K973 Open Room Ê KQ97 West North East South De Wijs Bocchi Muller Madala Open Room 2Ê Pass West North East South 2" Pass 2NT Pass De Wijs Bocchi Muller Madala 3NT All Pass Pass 1! Pass 1Í Closed Room Pass 2Ê(1) Pass 2"(2) West North East South Pass 2NT Pass 3NT Duboin v Prooijen Sementa Verhees All Pass 1Ê 1Í (1) 16+/ !+Ê Dbl 2Í 3Ê 3Í (2) 8+ 3NT All Pass Closed Room West North East South Duboin had a tough run to 3NT, Muller an easy one. Duboin v Prooijen Sementa Verhees Both made comfortably but Muller guessed both Pass 1Ê Pass 1Í clubs and hearts for the overtrick. 27 up, two to go. Pass 1NT(R) Pass 2! Pass 2Í Pass 3Ê Bd: 47 North Pass 3NT All Pass Dlr: South Í AJ105 Vul: N/S ! Q2 " A973 Both tables played 3NT, and both managed to Ê J63 unscramble the diamond spots to cash their nine West East winners with a minimum of fuss. It was 102-78 to Í Q92 Í K83 Netherlands, and what had seemed to me to be a ! J654 ! K107 " KQ64 " 102 remarkably well-played match by both sides had Ê Q4 Ê K9875 seen the losers concede just over 2 imps per deal South but yet lose comfortably top a Dutch team playing in Í 764 good form and good luck. ! A983 " J85 Ê A102

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