Marc Smith visits the final rounds of Heat 7 in the New Alt Competition

With three matches remaining in this seventh heat of the regular monthly Alt competition, it was USA ahead of Sweden, Turkey and England. These were the standings in Group A:

MOSS	88.79 VPs
FREDIN	83.39
SALVO	79.67
BLACK	64.73
LEBOWITZ	60.69
JEDI KNIGHTS	42/73

Elsewhere, MORAN (Ireland) has overtaken ULI (Austria/Italy) at the top of Group B, whilst SELIGMAN (USA/Poland) holds a huge lead ahead of second-placed RUSSIA in Group C.

As usual, we begin with some problems. We shall discover later how your choices would have worked. Firstly, with neither side vulnerable, you are East holding:

What do you bid?

Next, with just the opponents vulnerable, you hold as South:

What do you bid?

The leading two teams met head-to-head in Round 8, and a hard-fought match was tied 15-15 when the final board arrived at the tables.

This was a deal on which 3NT was a comfortable make and yet was apparently unbiddable. All 20 tables declared the doomed 4♥, 18 of them with the singleton diamond on lead. Not that everyone went minus. Sylvia Moss showed her 5-4 shape and game-forcing values and, after a brief look at slam prospects, she tabled dummy in the heart game against which Alon Apteker led the obvious ♦2. Declarer won in dummy with the ♦K and played a heart to his queen. Apteker won with the ♥K, cashed the ♠A, and then played a trump to his partner’s ace. Peter Fredin duly returned a diamond for his partner to ruff: N/S -50.

At the table that was a replay of the 2015 Bermuda Bowl final won by the Poles, the Swedish pair reached the same contract. Although given less information, Michal Nowosadzki still had no problem identifying the winning lead. Here, though, declarer spotted a potential extra chance. Taking the opening lead in dummy with the ♦J, Johan Sylvan advanced the ♠K at trick two. Winning with the ♠A, how obvious is it for Nowosadzki to switch to a trump now?

When the Pole exited with a club, Sylvan took full advantage. After winning in hand with the ♣A, he cashed his three spade winners, discarding all three of dummy’s remaining diamonds. The defenders’ diamond ruff had disappeared into thin air and the Poles could make no more than their two high trumps. An excellent N/S +420 and 10 IMPs to FREDIN, who won the match 25-15 to move back ahead of the Americans in the standings.

The key result in the round, though, was SALVO’s 35-6 victory over BLACK, which lifted the Turks above both of the teams ahead of them and to the top of the table. With just two matches remaining, there was barely a cigarette paper between the teams. These were the leading scores:

SALVO	96.25 VPs
FREDIN	96.19
MOSS	95.99

Round 9 pitted SALVO against MOSS, whilst FREDIN seemed to have a much easier task, against the cellar-dwelling JEDI KNIGHTS, although earlier in the week the British team had beaten the Swedes in their first meeting.

Both East players in the top match were faced with the first of this week’s problem hands.

Ali Ucar first represented Turkey in 2007. At the 2009 World Youth Congress on home soil in Istanbul, he narrowly missed out on a medal, finishing fourth in the Junior Pairs. He made his debut in the Turkish Open team at the 2016 European Championships.

Here, Ucar made what many would feel was the practical bid on these East cards, 3NT, which ended the auction. He won the spade lead with the ace, crossed to a high club, and led the ♠J from dummy, pitching the low diamond from his hand. When South won with the ♠Q and returned a spade, declarer had nine tricks without risking the diamond hook: E/W +400.

After the same start, Kevin Bathurst started with a negative double. When John Hurd responded with a 4♦ cue-bid, presumably showing both majors, Bathurst jumped to slam in clubs, which Ozgur Goksel doubled on the South hand. North led a diamond, but there was no way for declarer to avoid two heart losers: E/W -100 and 11 IMPs to SALVO.

It was like waiting for a London bus when, after a quiet start to the match, two significant swings came along one right after the other. The auction began the same way at every table in the two key matches, leaving all four South players to solve the second of this week’s problems.

For the Poles, Jacek Kalita advanced with 3♥. Presumably expecting his partner to hold 5♥/6♣ for this auction, not an unreasonable assumption in my view, Michal Nowosadzki jumped to game in clubs. That was not a success opposite this South hand. West led a spade and, when dummy’s queen was headed by the king, declarer was two down: N/S -100.

In the other match, the Swedish South settled for 3NT at his third turn:

David Muller led the ♠3 and declarer tried the ♠Q from dummy. When Graham Orsmond produced the ♠K, Anders Morath was in trouble. He played on clubs, Muller winning the second round and accurately switching to a diamond. Declarer was effectively forced to cash his second diamond winner whilst in dummy for the last time, meaning that when Muller later regained the lead with the ♥A, he had the ♦10 to cash for one down: N/S -50.

Against MOSS, Ozgur Goskel also advanced with 3♥ which, frankly, I cannot fathom unless there is something not alerted about which I do not know. Erke Suicmez seemed to know what was required of him, though, and essayed 3NT. Played from the North seat this contract has chances, although not if East can avoid a spade lead.

Kevin Bathurst could not, and opened the ♠8. Now declarer was in control: he won with the ♠Q and attacked clubs. John Hurd held up the ♣A for one round and then continued spades, declarer winning the third round. Suicmez cashed his clubs, took his two top diamonds, and played a heart. West could win and cash the ♦10, but then had to surrender the final trick to dummy’s heart winner: N/S +400 and 11 IMPs to SALVO, who won the match 38-22 to move 9 VPs ahead of the Americans.

I am obviously biased, as I held the South hand at the fourth table, and the right continuation seemed clear to me then, and still does:

I advanced with a fourth-suit 3♠: if partner cannot provide some spade help, do you really expect to make nine tricks on a spade lead? Opposite something like xx/Ax/AKxxxxx/Jx, you would just have to take your chances in 5♦, which is not such a bad contract. David Jones was able to bid 3NT, though, so there matters rested.

Here, too, East opened a spade, which ran to declarer’s queen. Fredin took the first round of clubs and continued spades, but declarer ducked, took his ♠A perforce on the third round, and could now drive out the ♥A for ten tricks. N/S +430 and 10 IMPs to JEDI KNIGHTS, who defeated the Swedes for the second time, 19-13.

After an excellent round for the Turks, these were the leading scores going into the final match:

SALVO	110.43 VPs
FREDIN	104.43
MOSS	101.81

In Round 10, it was MOSS vs JEDI KNIGHTS, FREDIN vs BLACK and SALVO vs LEBOWITZ. Who could score the biggest win against a team in the bottom half of the table? There was action in all three matches on our final deal this week:

We begin at the all-Swedish table. I will leave you to decide whether you think Simon Hult’s double of 3NT was well-judged. The obvious downside is that the contract was unbeatable, but the effect was to jostle Johan Sylvan out of his game and into a partscore. Against 4♣, the defence could score no more than their three aces: E/W +130.

Peter Fredin had to start with a Multi and, here too, East overcalled 3♣. Alon Apteker’s 3♥ showed a willingness to play in either major but, when Andrew Black bid spades, Fredin decided that his hand justified taking a second bid, despite having begun with a pre-empt. Deprived of his 3NT bid, perhaps David Gold should have doubled to show an interest in defending. He would, presumably, have doubled 4♥ had it come back to him, but the allure of a vulnerable game bonus was too much for Black, and he pressed on to the minor-suit game before Gold had another chance to express an opinion. Peter Fredin’s double just added insult to injury: E/W +100 and 6 IMPs to FREDIN. However, this was not enough for the Swedes to win the match, and they went down to a 29-30 defeat to BLACK, ending their chances of winning the title…?

After a similar start, John Hurd did not take a second bid on the North cards, which allowed Dan MacIntosh to take a shot at 3NT. Kevin Bathurst led the ♥8 to ten, queen and king. A diamond to the king, a club back to hand and a second diamond put South back on lead. Bathurst led a spade to his partner’s ace and a low heart came back. With South holding the ♥9, blocking the suit, it didn’t matter what declarer did, but MacIntosh correctly played low anyway. Bathurst made two hearts but that was all for the defence: E/W +400.

Like the second table in the first match, Alan Mayo started with a Multi and then bid again at his second turn. With no mention of declarer’s side suit here, Mickal Nowosadzki doubled. West was not now tempted to press on to the doomed minor-suit game.

An opening trump lead would have given the defence five tricks, limiting the British to just a 3-IMPs gain.  On Kalita’s ♠J lead, declarer was in even better shape. Rob Cliffe immediately played ace and a second diamond, Kalita winning and belatedly advancing the ♥10, covered all round. Cliffe ruffed a spade, bringing down East’s king, ruffed a diamond in his hand, and played the ♠Q discarding dummy’s club. East ruffed and cashed the ♥J, and the defenders scored a diamond at the end to nip the contract by a trick: E/W +100 and 7 IMPs to JEDI KNIGHTS. The British team won the match 20-17, leaving MOSS having to hope for good results everywhere else.

The Turks were allowed to duplicate the British auction above and Augustin Madala also led the ♥8 to queen and king. He then grabbed the ♦A at trick two and led a spade to his partner’s ace. Dennis Bilde played a heart through and Madala won with the ♥9. When he then played a second spade without first caching the ♥A, though, declarer was able to claim ten tricks: E/W +430.

This time, North’s 2♥ opening showed hearts and a minor, and Zack Grossack elected to overcall 2NT rather than bidding his suit. When South raised competitively to 3♥ and West joined in with a takeout double, North here also took another bid. Grossack decided that he could not introduce his minor suit at the five-level, so he settled for what he assumed was a sure plus score.

In response to his partner’s spade-showing double, Grossack kicked off the defence with the ♠K. Nafiz Zorlu quickly took the ♠A, crossed to the ♦A, and pitched his club loser on the ♠Q. West won the next trick with the ♦Q and tried to cash the ♣K, but declarer ruffed, ruffed a diamond, ruffed a second club, and took another diamond ruff with dummy’s last low trump. Rather than cashing the ♥A now, Zorlu ruffed dummy’s last club and ruffed the master diamond with the ♥A. When he then ruffed a spade with the ♥6, declarer was guaranteed his tenth trick with the ♥Q, irrespective of how trumps lay. A spectacular N/S +590 and a massive 14 IMPs to SALVO.

Not that they had the whole match their own way. This deal, though, was enough to carry them home, by a score of 39-31. With both of their rivals at the top of the table losing, their 8-IMP win was enough to produce the first overall victory by a Turkish team in the history of the Alt. Congratulations to Tuna Aluf, Huseyin Avkan, Namik Kokten, Nezih Kubac, Erke Suicmez, Ali Ucar, Gokhan Yilmaz, Sedat Aluf, Ozgur Goksel and Nafiz Zorlu

The final standings in Group A were:

SALVO	122.73 VPs
FREDIN	114.12
MOSS	110.90
BLACK	96.55
LEBOWITZ	81.22
JEDI KNIGHTS	74.49

Elsewhere, ULI (Austria/Italy) just pipped MORAN (Ireland) by less than 1VP to win Group B and earn promotion to the top flight. SELIGMAN (USA/Poland) were the runaway winners of Group C, leading second-placed RUSSIA by close to 30 VPs.

We will be back next week with the best of the action from the early stages of Heat 8.