Marc Smith visits the middle rounds of Heat 8 in the New Alt Competition
Last week, we left things after four matches with the Group A standings looking like this:
| SALVO | 55.57 VPs |
| FREDIN | 53.94 |
| MOSS | 39.59 |
| VINITA | 36.76 |
| BLACK | 29.93 |
| ULI | 24.21 |
Elsewhere, BUQQY (China, Pakistan, Bulgaria) hold a substantial lead over AMATEURS (USA) in Group B. In Group C, CANTOR (Denmark, Germany, England, USA) are trailed by RIPPEY (USA, Poland, France), whilst KRUSE’S CARDCIRCUS (Denmark, Sweden) lead Group D.
As usual, we begin with some problems. We shall discover later how your choices would have worked. Firstly, with just the opponents vulnerable, you are South holding:
What action, if any, do you take?
Next, with both sides vulnerable, you hold as West:
What do you bid?
While you consider those, let’s get on with the action. The top two teams had opened a substantial gap between themselves and the rest of the field, and they met in the final match of the first round robin. Everyone found themselves under pressure on this early deal:
Gunnar Hallberg opted for a takeout double of North’s 1♠ opening and Jacek Kalita raised to game in spades. When Simon Hult decided not to compete, the Poles had beaten par. The Swedes could take three defensive tricks, but there was no chance of any more: N/S +620.
Andrew Black’s team lost only to the super-strong Zimmermann squad in the final of the Open Teams at the 2016 European Winter Games in Monaco. Two years later, playing as English Champions, they finished third in the 2018 European Champions Cup.
On this deal, Roger Lee preferred a 2♥ overcall on the East cards, but a well-judged underbid by Black had the effect of taking the momentum out of the auction. Sylvia Moss was able to show her heart support by raising to game, with the result that when David Gold’s 4♠ bid came back to her she felt she had done enough. Same three losers here: N/S +620 and a push.
In the match between ULI and VINITA, Morten Bilde made the same 3♠ bid as Black, with the same result: N/S +620.
After the same start, Allessandro Gandoglia raised to 4♠ on the South cards. The unfortunate effect of South’s higher pre-empt was that it found Hermant Lall with a hand that was simply too good to pass, so he bid a fifth heart. When Federico Primavera pressed on to 5♠ , the Italians were too high, but perhaps they were already assured of a poor result whatever North did at that point. A well-judged double by the young Danish star, Emil Jepsen, a World Junior champion in 2008, closed the auction. N/S-200 and 13 IMPs to VINITA.
After an identical auction to the previous table, the spotlight fell on Ilker Ayaz in the East seat. Persuaded perhaps by his spade void that the five-level did not belong to the opponents, he pressed on with 6♥. Allan Livgard doubled on the way out, and thus it was the Turks who were left holding the baby when the music stopped. Declarer could not avoid losing two clubs and a trump: N/S +300.
Alon Apteker preferred a takeout double and, when Gokhan Yilmaz raised to 4♠ , Peter Fredin found himself in the same position as had his fellow Swede at an earlier table. Fredin was not prepared to sell out, though, and waded in with a responsive double. Apteker showed at least two viable trump suits with his 4NT, and Fredin settled for diamonds facing what might have been a 1-3-4-5 or 1-3-5-4 shape. Ali Ucar’s double demonstrated excellent judgement by showing no interest in his partner bidding on.
The defenders can take the first five tricks, if North can find the ♥A lead and continuation but, of course, Ucar led the ♠Q. Fredin ruffed in dummy and led the ♥K. Ucar won with the ♥A and played a second spade, again ruffed in dummy. Declarer cashed the ♦A-Q, but was then stranded in dummy. When the Swedish star tried to get to his hand with the ♥J, South ruffed, played a club for his partner to score two tricks in that suit, and then received his second heart ruff. N/S +500 and 5 IMPs to SALVO.
The South players had to deal with the first of this week’s bidding problems on our next deal. Although almost everyone flirted with danger, some tables produced a par result:
Jacek Kalita opted for a takeout double of East’s 1♣ opening. When Simon Hult’s redouble was passed back to him, he then tried 1♦, presumably with the plan of redoubling to ask his partner to choose a major. He was saved the trouble when Gunnar Hallberg rebid 1NT on the East cards.
Hallberg won the spade lead in dummy and ran the ♣10. Kalita won with the ♣A and switched to the ♦Q. Declarer now cashed dummy’s spades, but North kept a stopper in both minors, limiting declarer to eight winners: E/W +120.
The swing in this match was generated by a difference in hand evaluation:
Andrew Black choose to overcall 1♠ on the South hand, and Slyvia Moss made a negative double. Here, too, East’s 1NT showed a minimum opening bid. Where Hult had passed in a similar situation at the other table, Moss decided that her spades were worth more than their HCP count, so she raised to game.
Roger Lee won the diamond lead in dummy with the ♦K and also led the ♣10, this time covered by the jack, queen and ace. The defenders could have taken four heart winners at this point, and Andrew black did switch to the ♥A. When Gold followed low, though, Black reverted to diamonds, continuing with the ♦J. Declarer won and cashed his spades but, here too, North pitched one diamond and one heart. Declarer played a club to the eight and cashed the ♣K, but that was it. Both defenders had only winners left: E/W -100 and 6 IMPs to BLACK.
In the top match, the Turkish East/West pair beat par:
Ilker Ayaz finished in the Top 10 of the Open Pairs at the 2015 European Transnational Championships. He was also a member of the Turkish squad that made it to the knockout stage of the Mixed Teams at the 2016 World Bridge Games in Wroclaw, Poland.
Like Kalita at the first table above, Norway’s Terje Aa chose to double on the South cards. The Turkish West also redoubled but, at this table, it was the North player who essayed 1♦. When that was passed back to Mert Bilgen he doubled, self-alerting it as ‘showing 2-3 diamonds’. Ilker Ayaz decided that this was as good a place as any to play, and Aa chose not to risk trying to find a better spot.
The Turks defended optimally, restricting declarer to just two top hearts and the cxA in addition to his two trumps tricks: E/W +300.
For the Turks, Gokhan Yilmaz opted for the 1♠ overcall. Peter Fredin chose to ignore his moderate heart suit and make a natural, limit bid of 2NT, which was raised to game by Alon Apteker. Yilmaz doubled to suggest, he thought, a non-spade lead.
Ali Ucar led a spade anyway which, as we have already seen, does the defence no harm. As at previous tables, declarer won in his hand to lead the ♣10, not covered here and run to the ace. Now Yilmaz laid down the ♥A and Ucar followed with the queen, presumably signalling possession of the ♥J. Clearly, the defenders can now take three more heart winners to beat the contract by a trick. When South next cashed the ♥K, though, the defence was in trouble. That he then continued with the ♥9, establishing the ♥8 as declarer’s ninth trick made no difference except to speed up the claim. Had South played a low heart on the third round of the suit, keeping the ♥9, North would have won with the ♥J, but he would subsequently have been squeezed in the minors when declarer cashed his spades winners. E/W +750 and 10 IMPs to FREDIN, who led 21-11 with five boards left in the match.
The Turks levelled the match on Board 12 by making a no-play game on an unfortunate opening lead. Then came what appeared to be a flat game: the Turkish declarer managed to scramble nine tricks in 3NT, but the Norwegian found himself in a tricky 4NT after a light 2/1 response, and that proved too high, so SALVO gained another 13 IMPs. The final score was 39-22, and thus SALVO had opened a 10-VP advantage over the Swedes, who remained in second spot. VINITA defeated ULI 34-4 to move up into third place, and BLACK hammered MOSS 50-2. That left the pre-tournament favourites just one place off the bottom of the table at the halfway point of the tournament.
The first match of the second round robin saw each of the leading three teams playing opposition in the lower half of the table. Proving that there is no such thing as an easy match in the Alt, though, only one of those top three teams managed to win.
The benefit of allowing the opponents to bid their hand at a low level reappeared in a key deal in this round, where most of the West players were faced with the second of this week’s problems.
Jenny Wolpert started with a redouble and Morten Bilde volunteered 2♥ on the North cards. John Hurd’s jump to 3♠ showed extra spade length rather than high card strength, so Wolpert simply raised to game. Vinita Gupta led the ♦K, which held, and then switched to a trump. Declarer won the second round of trumps, crossed back to the ♦A, and advanced the ♣Q. With a diamond ruff available as an entry to dummy, it did not matter whether South covered or not. Declarer now had a discard for his heart loser: E/W +650.
At this table, Soren Bilde was able to show an invitational or better three-card spade raise via a 2♥ transfer. Roger Lee was prepared to essay 3♥ on the North hand, but Andreas Plejdrup’s jump to game then ended the brief auction. Sylvia Moss led a heart here, so declarer won and immediately played two rounds of diamonds, ensuring that the loser in that suit could be ruffed in dummy. The defence therefore came to three tricks: E/W +620 and 1 IMP to MOSS.
Alon Apteker had an intermediate 2♠ opening available, showing 10-13 HCP and at least a six-card spade suit. When West raised to game over South’s takeout double, Andrew McIntosh decided that he did not have enough to take action so, here too, East bought the contract in the spade game. South led the ♦K but declarer won and was soon claiming ten tricks: E/W +620.
Terje Aa first represented Norway in 1984, collecting a bronze medal at the European Youth Team Championships. He again collected bronze from his debut in his country’s Open team, at the 1993 European Championships before going on to lose to the young Dutch team in the final of the Bermuda Bowl in Santiago, Chile later in that same year. He has twice won the Open Teams at the European Championships, in 2008 and in Ostend in 2018.
Gunnar Hallberg opened the normal 1♠ at the all-Scandinavian table. When Simon Hult jumped to game over South’s double, though, Aa judged not to go quietly on the North hand. Had Hallberg doubled, the 5♥ save would have cost 500, gaining the Norwegians a 3-IMP swing. When he persevered with 5♠, though, Aa gilded the lily with a double on the way out. We have already seen that declarer can make eleven tricks on a diamond lead, but Allan Livgard made no mistake, opening the ♥K. Declarer won and advanced the ♣Q but South declined to cover. With no fast entry to dummy, a winning finesse would not help declarer, so Hallberg won with the ♣A and ruffed a club. When North failed to show up with an unlikely ♣K-10 doubleton, declarer graciously conceded one down. E/W -200 and 13 IMPs to FREDIN.
FREDIN won the match 45-22, whilst SALVO was losing 21-39 against ULI. The Turks retained their place at the top of the leaderboard, but their advantage over the Swedes had been reduced to just 0.25 VPs with the rest of the field almost a whole match behind. It was beginning to look like a two-horse race for the title.
In Round 7, FREDIN was up against last-placed ULI whilst SALVO had to face the always-dangerous MOSS. In a match of many swings, Board 14 created excitement in more than one match:
The Norwegians bid efficiently to a small slam. Gabriella OIivieri led her singleton diamond to the jack and ace, and declarer claimed twelve tricks after drawing trumps. N/S +920.
Ulrike Schuster also opener with a strong 2♣. When she bid and rebid her clubs, though, Italy’s Federico Primavera decided that he had heard enough and jumped to the grand slam.
Peter Fredin led a trump and, with just twelve top tricks, no finesse positions and no suits in which extra tricks might be established by ruffing, it was immediately clear to the Austrian declarer that the thirteenth trick could only come from a squeeze. There was little indication which squeeze to play for, so she drew trumps, played three rounds of hearts, ruffing, cashed the ♦A, and ran her trumps, playing for West to hold the ♦K and sole control of the spades. When that failed, declarer was one down: N/S -50 and 14 IMPs to FREDIN, who scored a huge victory, winning the match 80-29.
As the cards lie, one winning line which is perhaps not impossible to envision is a double squeeze pivoting around hearts. Declarer plays three rounds of spades, ruffing to leave West in sole control of that suit, and cashes the ♦A. With East holding both diamonds higher than declarer’s ten, neither defender can both retain a guard in the suit they alone control and keep three hearts when declarer runs the trumps.
In the match between SALVO and MOSS, Sedat Aluf and Nafiz Zorlu bid the North/South cards to 6♣ for the Turks. N/S +920. At the other table, the Bermuda Bowl champion Poles were more ambitious.
The Poles began with a 2♥ response showing at least three Neapolitan controls (A=2, K=1), but thereafter the auction followed fairly standard methods. Quite what induced Jacek Kalita to raise to the grand slam when his partner had Blackwooded them to 6NT, is not clear to me. Theoretically, though, he was quite correct.
It was a bit much to expect West to find the only lead to legitimately beat the contract, the ♠Q, and Ozgur Gokram duly led a safe club. Obviously, declarer cannot isolate the spade menace by ruffing in 7NT, but he actually does not have to as East can be squeezed out of one of his potential major-suit guards to produce the double squeeze scenario. Declarer just runs his long suit, throwing diamonds (or the fourth spade) from dummy. When the sixth club is cashed, East has to keep ♦K-J, and must therefore give up his three-card holding in one of the majors, leaving West in sole control of that suit. Whichever major East gives up, the double squeeze then pivots around the other major.
Had Michal Nowosadzki played the hand this way, I could have written up the deal as a possible ‘Best Played Hand’ award contender. Instead, he went for the psychological line of play – he won the opening club lead in hand and advanced the ♠J. When West followed with a low spade, he ran the jack and claimed 13 tricks when East could not produce the ♠Q.
Of course, as the cards lie, Gokram could have defeated the contract by covering the ♠J. Look at it from the defenders’ point of view, though. Firstly, do you really think declarer is going to run the ♠J at trick two in a grand slam when you know he is missing both the queen and the ten? Secondly, do you want to expose yourself to a simple finesse against the ten if declarer started with, say, ♠ J-9 doubleton or ♠J-9-x? Surely, leading the ♠J is just a fishing expedition by declarer trying to find out more about the hand, isn’t it? One could certainly be forgiven for thinking that was the case. On this occasion, though, it seems that declarer saw running the jack as his only realistic chance. The result was a spectacular N/S +1440 and 12 IMPs to MOSS.
This result helped MOSS to a 47-39 victory in the match. The loss relegated SALVO to second place, now more than 11 VPs behind the leaders. In the third Group A match, BLACK defeated VINITA 45-26 to move up into third place, but still some distance behind the top two.
With three matches remaining, these were the standings:
| FREDIN | 94.36 VPs |
| SALVO | 83.07 |
| BLACK | 68.14 |
| MOSS | 68.10 |
| VINITA | 63.50 |
| ULI | 42.83 |
Elsewhere, BUQQY (China, Pakistan, Bulgaria) still lead Group B ahead of AMATEURS (USA). In Group C, CANTOR (Denmark, Germany, England, USA) lead RIPPEY (USA, Poland, France), and KRUSE’S CARDCIRCUS (Denmark, Sweden) have a half-match lead in Group D.
The leading two teams in Group A are scheduled to meet head on in Round 10. We will be back next week with the best of the action from the last three rounds of Heat 8.