Bridge Today - April 2004

Bridge Today • April 2004 page 1
April 2004
ß
˙
∂
ç
Editor: Matthew Granovetter
The Magazine for People Who Love to Play Bridge
In this issue:
The NEC Cup

Pietro Campanile takes us on an exciting tour of this annual team
event in Yokohama — Page 9
Features
2 The Spring Nationals Open Pairs
7 Bridge Yesterday
32 Hand of the Month
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The Spring Nationals Open Pairs

by Matthew Granovetter
April 1, 2004 — The ACBL Spring East dealer North (Zia)

Nationals took place in Reno, Nevada, at None vul ßJ9743
the Reno Hilton, last week. In this issue, I’ll ˙ 10 7 3 2
present some hands from the first event, the ∂—
National Open Pairs, which had a two- çJ853
session qualifying and two-session final. West East
ßA65 ßKQ82
The Advantage of Poker ˙8 ˙54
Some bridge players were annoyed that ∂J542 ∂ Q 10 9 7 3
the bridge rate in the hotel was $89 a night, ç A Q 10 4 2 ç97
while the poker players in the casino’s South (Gawrys)
poker tournament had a $50 or $25 rate! I ß 10
heard there were about 300 bridge players ˙AKQJ96
who registered as poker players. One of the ∂AK86
best poker-faced bridge players is Piotr çK6
Gawrys of Warsaw. Piotr is known a player
who never changes expression; he is very Zia: “My partner opened 2ç on the
serious and few people have ever seen him South hand and rebid 3˙ over my 2∂. We
smile. Here’s one example, as described by play this not forcing. (He didn’t have a non-
his partner, Zia. forcing hand, but he was testing the sys-
tem.) I raised to 4˙. West led a diamond.
He ruffed in dummy and led a low spade to
the 10. When the 10 held, he never
changed expression.”
Here’s a similar “refusal to win the trick”

Piotr Gawrys almost smiling! strategy by Zia’s opponent in a 4ß con-
tract....
West dealer North reserving his trumps for later, not exactly a
E-W vul ß J 10 7 6 2 smart move on this hand.
˙AK75
∂ 10 9 Zia cashed the ˙Q and ruffed a diamond
çQJ in dummy. On the ˙A-K he threw a club
West East and a diamond. Then he ruffed a heart as
ß— ßKQ85 East threw his last diamond. This was the
˙ J 10 8 6 4 ˙932 position:
∂K62 ∂Q874 North
ç A 10 6 3 2 çK7 ß J 10 7 6
South (Zia) ˙—
ßA943 ∂—
˙Q ç—
∂AJ53 West East
ç9854 ß— N
ßKQ85
˙J W E ˙—
S
West North East South ∂K ∂—
pass pass pass 1ß ç 10 6 ç—
2ß 3˙ pass 3ß South (Zia)
pass 4ß (all pass) ßA94
˙—
Opening lead: çA ∂J
ç—
West continued to the çK and East
switched to a diamond. Zia won the ace and Zia ruffed the ∂J with the ßJ and East
led the ç8, discarding a diamond when was sorry he had failed to ruff earlier.
West played low. East also discarded a
diamond. Welcome to the “I don’t want to Here’s one more Zia tale from this event.
take my trick” club! East, of course, was Try it yourself....
North dealer North

N-S vul ß 10 8 2
˙A32
∂—
çAKQ8765 West leads the ˙10. East discards a spade
˙ 10 as you win the trick with the jack. You lead
South (you) a club to dummy and cash a second club,
ßKQ7 everyone following. What’s your plan from
˙KJ4 here?
∂ K J 10 9 3 2
ç4 The full deal is on the next page.
West North East South

— 1ç 2ß 3 NT
(all pass)
North dealer North Zia called for a spade from dummy.

N-S vul ß 10 8 4 When East went up with the ace, Zia fol-
˙A83 lowed with the queen. East now thought
∂— that Zia had K-Q doubleton and continued
çAKQ8764 with a low spade, so Zia played low and
West East took the rest.
ß6 ßAJ9753
˙ Q 10 9 7 6 5 4 ˙— Making 690 was worth a top score. By
∂A63 ∂Q742 the way, some East-West pairs were plus
ç 10 9 çJ53 400 on this board. Do you see how? N-S
South (Zia) pairs that reached the aggressive 6ç con-
ßKQ2 tract watched in dismay as East led the ßA
˙KJ2 and ßJ. When West returned a heart at
∂ K J 10 9 8 5 trick three the defenders took three more
ç2 tricks!
Zia, on his way to the overtrick
Runners-up were St. Louis veteran Roger

Lord, playing with his longtime partner
Jacqueline Sincoff. Here’s a tough problem
they created for one of their opponents.
Suppose you are North with this hand:
ß 9 7 4 ˙ 7 6 4 ∂ A 10 ç Q J 8 5 4
At favorable, your partner opens 3ç.

Nice. RHO doubles and say you jump to
5ç. This is doubled but RHO removes to
5˙. You pass and LHO bids 6˙. When this
is passed around to you, do you defend or
take the sacrifice in 7ç?
The full hand was this....

South dealer North Down five meant 1100 to East-West, but

E-W vul ß974 there was one problem: North-South had
˙764 two aces against the slam. I was thinking of
∂ A 10 presenting this hand as an “apportion the
çQJ854 blame between East-West” hand. But after
West (Lord) East (Sincoff) staring at it for a long time, I couldn’t blame
ß K Q 10 3 ßJ62 either player, and, after all, they did get
˙ K Q 10 8 3 ˙AJ92 most of the matchpoints for bidding the
∂QJ64 ∂K9532 slam off two aces!
ç— çA
South Suppose you, West, hold this hand at
ßA85 matchpoints:
˙5 ß K Q 10 ˙ A Q J 10 ∂ 10 7 ç A Q 10 9
∂87
ç K 10 9 7 6 3 2 Wow, lots of 10’s. You are vul vs. not
and open 1ç. North overcalls 1∂ and
South West North East partner passes. RHO bids 2ß (fit showing,
3ç double 5ç double spades and diamonds). You double and
pass 5˙ pass 6˙ LHO goes to 3∂, passed around to you.
pass pass 7ç double You double again and partner bids 3˙.
(all pass) Now RHO bids 3ß. What’s your call?
I think I might double this, but 3ß was West North East South
cold: 1ç 1∂ pass 2ß
double 3∂ pass pass
West dealer North (Sincoff) double pass 3˙ 3ß
E-W vul ß2 double (all pass)
˙K76
∂AKQJ6 Even if you don’t double 3ß, you get a
ç7642 bad score for -140 (and if you bid 4˙, it’s
West East worse). Many N-S pairs played in diamonds,
ß K Q 10 ß864 scoring 130 or less. This was another board
˙ A Q J 10 ˙95432 that helped the runners-up.
∂ 10 7 ∂82
ç A Q 10 9 çJ53 Finally, let’s go to the winners’ table.
South (Lord) Here are two exhibits (top scores) that
ßAJ9753 helped them to victory. The first begins
˙8 with the question: How do you score 2230?
∂9543 You know how to score 2220 (vulnerable
çK8 7NT making 7). But 2230? Think about it
if you like before reading on.
East dealer North (Cohen) One club was Precision, 16+ points, and
All vul ßKJ843 double by West was for the majors. When
˙ 10 8 5 Cohen redoubled to show a positive, East
∂6 passed, waiting for partner to bid his best
çKJ96 suit. But West thought that East held long
West East clubs for the “pass” and trusted partner (see
ß A Q 10 7 5 ß962 you in our next Partnership Bridge col-
˙K732 ˙QJ9 umn!). Berkowitz received the ∂8 lead to
∂83 ∂Q942 the queen. He wasn’t unhappy. He took 12
ç43 ç875 tricks after drawing trumps for a score of
South (Berkowitz) 2230. Here’s how it adds up:
ß—
˙A64 Trick score was 20 X 4 = 80
∂ A K J 10 7 5 Partial bonus = 50
ç A Q 10 2 Five redoubled overtricks at 400 each =
2000
West North East South And, of course, 100 for the insult.
— — pass 1ç
double redouble (all pass)
My last hand this month is from the East dealer North (Cohen)
final session. You hold, vul vs. not: N-S vul ßK9832
ß K 9 8 3 2 ˙ — ∂ K 10 9 8 ç J 8 6 4 ˙—
∂ K 10 9 8
Larry Cohen asked me how I would feel çJ864
with this hand after LHO opened 1ç and West East
partner preempted to 3˙. Now RHO ß 10 7 5 4 ßQ6
doubles and LHO leaves it in. Gulp. “Play- ˙A ˙Q875
ing with Marty Bergen,” said Larry in fond ∂A7632 ∂Q54
reminiscence, “we might be going for quite a ç932 çAK75
number. How would you feel playing with South (Berkowitz)
David as your partner?” With David? Well, ßAJ
he must surely have a good hand to bid 3˙ ˙ K J 10 9 6 4 3 2
vul vs. not. This was the full hand: ∂J
ç Q 10
East cashed two clubs and guessed wrong West North East South
when he shifted to a spade instead of a — — 1ç 3˙
diamond. On a high level, West, after double (all pass)
leading the ç2, can next show suit-prefer-
ence with the 3. Opening lead: ç2
After the spade return from East, David Readers, please check the website soon
was able to pitch his diamond on the çJ to for more Bridge Today articles about the
score 730. Congratulations. spring Nationals.
Bridge Yesterday
by Paul Zweifel
What’s Three Clubs?
Back in the good old days, a half century Zweifel partner

or so ago, when I was most active in tourna- South West North East
ment bridge, players were supposed to use a 1ç pass 1∂ pass
little inferential logic to figure out the 1˙ pass 1ß pass
obvious meaning of bids. This applied to 1 NT pass 4˙ pass
both partners and opponents, by the way. If ?
a bid was a little bit subtle so that it took
some brains to figure out its meaning, isn’t Now the question was “What’s one
that the edge that smart players are sup- spade?” except I asked it to myself. (In those
posed to have over dumb ones? days the opponents couldn’t ask questions
willy-nilly.) Well, it’s pretty clear that it was
Nowadays, this has all changed. In every a slam try; if North were only interested in
auction there are numerous questions like: game he could have bid four hearts directly
“What’s three clubs?” I’ve been told that over one. So with a maximum (15 points in
even though partner and I have no prior those 16-18 notrump days) I was supposed
understanding it’s my duty to tell the oppo- to bid six. With less, but more than a mini-
nent what I think the bid means. I consider mum, I could make a further bid, perhaps a
that about as smart as an NFL quarterback cue bid. Now, I don’t think it would really
announcing to the defense what the next have helped the opponents to know what
play is going to be. one spade meant, but why should I have
told them (and why should they have
Here are some examples. I was South: asked, for that matter)?
Partner held: ß J 10 x x x ˙ A Q ∂ A K x ç J x x
ß A x ˙ Q x x x ∂ A K J x x ç x x.
Over partner’s (Sid Lorvan) opening
My hand was: notrump I bid Stayman. When Sid re-
ß x x ˙ A K 10 x ∂ Q x x ç A Q x x sponded two spades, I didn’t think my
hand was quite good enough to bid the
Zweifel partner slam directly, so I made a retrospective
South West North East cuebid of three hearts. Sid next bid three
1ç pass 1∂ pass notrump denying three-card heart support;
1˙ pass 1ß pass as far as he was concerned, I had a legiti-
1 NT pass 4˙ pass mate five-card heart suit (that’s the way we
6˙ (all pass) bid them in those pre-transfer days). Now I
suddenly realized that the hands were a
True, he bid pretty aggressively, but with misfit, doubleton heart facing doubleton
hearts coming home and the çK onside, I (very likely the king) so I quit.
actually made 7.
Another example of a bid whose meaning
Partner’s bid of one spade is what I like should be obvious is the following.
to call a “retrospective cue bid.” When the
bid is first made, partner assumes it to be Partner Zweifel
natural, but the subsequent auction clarifies West North East South
that is was in fact a cuebid and a slam try. — — 1∂ 1˙
2ç double (inquiry)
Another example can be found in my
article in the Summer 2002 issue of Bridge This is an obvious negative double. It
Today, page 26. I held the following: was an obvious negative double in the days
before the negative was invented (I claimed
to the director — yes, even in the good old
days opponents would call the director on
you*).* Partner certainly isn’t doubling a
Addendum: In a recent column I forcing bid for penalties. The double can’t
asked readers to contact me if they had be lead-directional, at the two-level, because
any information about Ruth Chase the opponents might just redouble and
Goldberg-Gilbert. Sid Lorvan reminded make it. And if partner wants to raise, he
me that we played against her in the can simply bid two hearts. What else could
first Spring Nationals, Atlantic City, it be? So, by process of elimination, partner
1958. That’s the same tournament in has spades, but not enough to bid two
which Sid and I played the 1NT-2ç- spades (and by inference, a doubleton heart
2ß-3˙ hand described above. in case you don’t like spades). What could
be more clear?
* They called the director when I declined to tell

them what the double meant.
The NEC Cup

by Pietro Campanile
The NEC Cup is one of the most presti- Trendafilov, Stamatov-Tsonchev) and
gious invitational teams tournaments in the USA/Germany (a.k.a. “Three gals and an
overcrowded constellation of the interna- extra Molson to boot” — Sabine Auken,
tional bridge calendar. It is staged in Kerri Sanborn, Janice Molson and husband
Yokohama in the early-mid part of Febru- Mark).*
ary, and the Japanese Bridge League, gener-
ously sponsored by NEC, one of the largest There were plenty of other good quality
computer manufacturers in the world, contenders to make up the field: strong
traditionally provides a lavish setting and teams from Iceland, Israel, USA, Australia,
thoroughly professional staff overseen by Canada, open and ladies teams from China
the tireless efforts of Tadayoshi Nakatani. and from Chinese Taipei, not to mention
quite a few competitive local teams whose
This year’s edition took place from Feb. 9 performance would surprise more titled
to 15 and saw the arrival of yet again a opponents.
strong batch of foreign teams as well as the
participation of an abundant local contin- The format of the tournament is based
gent of players, some strong some not so on an eight-round Swiss of 20 boards per
strong, to complete a record total of 52 match, with the top eight finishers clashing
teams. in direct knock-out matches over 40 boards,
leading to a semifinals and a 64-board final.
It was difficult to pinpoint the pre-tour-
nament favorites: The general consensus The round robin matches provided a
short-listed as possible winners were teams rich and assorted melange of interesting
from Poland/Russia (Balicki-Zmudzinski, deals to choose from.
Gromov-Petrunin), the holders England
(Senior, Armstrong, Callaghan, Lambardi), The prize that might have been
Indonesia (Lasut-Manoppo, Karwur- One of the early matches between would-
Panelewen), Bulgaria (Karaivanov- be contenders for the title saw Bulgaria
square off against Iceland in round two.
*Since three players on this team live in the USA

(although Mark Molson is a Canadian) and one lives
in Europe, we will refer to this team throughout the
rest of the article as USA+. — Editor
Board 2 North North. Had he been right (if North had

East dealer ßQ82 been dealt a 2-5-3-3 with the ∂K), we
N-S vul ˙ K Q J 10 6 would have spent the next page extolling
∂95 his card-reading skills while filing his details
ç Q 10 9 to short-list him for the Best Played hand of
West East the tournament. Unfortunately, the cards
ß A K 10 6 ß943 were kind (unkind ?) and the ∂K was
˙A7 ˙8542 onside, meekly waiting to be finessed.
∂AQ42 ∂J8 Ingimarsson (North) cashed his hearts and
çK54 çAJ62 his ßQ before exiting with a diamond at
South trick 13 — 3NT, down one, -50.
ßJ75
˙93 At the other table Anton Haraldsson,
∂ K 10 7 6 3 being a practical chap, took the more mun-
ç873 dane view of running the ∂J after clearing
clubs and checking for a miracle stiff ßQ-J.
In the second board of the match both E- That was nine tricks and an early swing for
W pairs got to the normal 3NT spot from the Icelanders, who cruised to a 47-24 win,
the West seat. After receiving the ˙K lead, or 20-10 in Victory Points (VP).
they took their ace after ducking one
round, with both Souths signaling an even A tale of two openings
number of hearts. Karaivanov, being a true The fourth round featured the clash
Bulgarian and, therefore, quite reluctant to between the previous NEC Cup holders,
put his trust in the kindness of the cards, England, and USA+. The match turned out
led a club to the çJ, cashed the two top to be a cliffhanger, with England running
spades, getting false count from both oppo- up a 30-imp lead over the first 10 boards
nents, cleared the clubs, both opponents only to be caught and tied going into the
pitching a diamond, and played a heart to very last hand.
Pietro Campanile, author of this month’s

feature article, is seen here flanked by
Eric Kokish (left) and Rich Colker, right.
Pietro is an Arts Management
Consultant, who recently decided to take
up bridge journalism and is now the
assistant editor of the Israeli Bridge
Magazine as well as a frequent guest
writer for other bridge magazines. Pietro
is married to Migry.
Board 1 North head, since the action-bidder “par excel-

North dealer ß8652 lence” had no qualms about opening 1∂
None vul ˙AQ3 and later raising with three cards his
∂A9754 partner’s 1˙ bid, propelling his side to a
ç4 playable game that was missed at the other
West East table.
ß Q 10 ßAK93
˙5 ˙ 10 9 8 6 Had Mark Molson found the inspired
∂ K Q J 10 8 2 ∂3 lead of the ßQ, getting the defense off to
ç 10 6 5 2 çKJ98 four rounds of spades, Lambardi might
South have come to rue Senior’s carefree bidding
ßJ74 (even if he ruffs the fourth round of spades
˙KJ742 with the ˙7, declarer would still fail, be-
∂6 cause when he crossruffs the hand, East can
çAQ73 promote the setting trick by ruffing dia-
monds high at every opportunity). On the
West North East South actual ∂K lead, declarer won, finessed the
Callaghan Auken Armstrong Sanborn çQ, played the çA, ruffed a club low and
— pass 1 ç 1˙ led a diamond from dummy, with East
2 ç (1) 2 ∂ (2) pass 2˙ pitching a spade. Lambardi ruffed the
3∂ (all pass) diamond, then ruffed a club with the ˙Q,
cashed the ˙A and led another diamond
(1) diamonds leaving Janice Seamon Molson in a losing
(2) hearts bind. If she ruffed, declarer could pitch a
spade and would be able to guess from her
West North East South earlier play to ruff the third round of
M. Molson Senior J. Molson Lambardi spades low; if she discarded, declarer would
— 1∂ double 1˙ make his ˙7. At the table she chose to
pass 2˙ pass 4˙ discard a spade, but either way England
(all pass) would have ended up scoring an optimal
+420. At the other table Callaghan’s 3∂
Once upon a time, when FDR’s “New swiftly went down after the ˙A lead, fol-
Deal” speech had to share front page cover- lowed by three rounds of clubs and later the
age with the latest bridge escapades of Mr. ∂A. That was -50 but still 9 imps to En-
Ely Culbertson, there were players like Hal gland.*
Sims and Oswald Jacoby who wouldn’t
have hesitated to open the North hand. This match was dead even going into the
last board:
“Aces ain’t deuces,” Big Hal used to say.
This, perhaps, ran through Brian Senior’s
*Anti-editor: Sabine was uncharacteristically conser-
vative on this hand. She’d get almost as good a result
as Brian Senior after her original pass if she takes a
crack at 3∂! The defense takes two clubs, two club
ruffs, the ˙K and ∂K for +300.
West dealer North After an untroubled auction, Auken/

All vul ß J 10 9 5 4 Sanborn reached their normal contract of
˙K83 2ß. Callaghan found the excellent lead of
∂43 the ˙2, ducked to the jack, The club return
çJ73 was ducked to the king and a second heart
West East gave the defenders two more tricks. The
ßQ8 ß763 thirteenth heart now would have promoted
˙972 ˙AQJ6 the ßQ for the setting trick, and a diamond
∂A865 ∂ Q 10 7 2 would have forced an immediate guess, but
çK952 ç64 Armstrong played a second club. Sanborn
South won and backed her judgment by cashing
ßAK2 her top spades to make her contract, a
˙ 10 5 4 diamond going on the long club: +110.
∂KJ9
ç A Q 10 8 Perhaps Callaghan should have cashed
Open Room the ∂A before leading the second heart as
West North East South Armstrong’s failure to double 2˙ probably
Callaghan Auken Armstrong Sanborn precluded his holding ace-queen-jack-fifth.
pass pass pass 1 NT Armstrong’s defense would have been best
pass 2 ˙ (xfer) pass 2ß had Callaghan been dealt the ace or king of
(all pass) trumps instead of the ∂A.
At the other table, things were very Janice Seamon Molson has made an
different (hand rotated).... indelible mark in women’s bridge thanks to
her reputation as a gutsy fighter as well as a
ßAK2 superb technical player. Here she struck
˙ 10 5 4 again with a third-seat vulnerable 1˙, a
∂KJ9 “being on a roll” kind of bid, having just
ç A Q 10 8 reaped some juicy dividends on the previ-
ß763 ßQ8 ous boards. Her action pushed Lambardi/
˙AQJ6 N ˙972 Senior into an unsound 3NT. Janice led the
W E
∂ Q 10 7 2 S ∂A865 ∂2 to the jack and ace and Mark switched
ç64 çK952 to a deceptive ˙2. As a result, Janice won
ß J 10 9 5 4 the jack and cashed her ace. When that
˙K83 failed to oust the ˙K, she reverted to dia-
∂43 monds. With black clouds of many vulner-
çJ73 able undertricks looming perilously over his
Closed Room head, Senior cashed the ßA-K and was
West North East South delighted to see the queen drop. He cashed
J. Molson Lambardi M. Molson Senior his remaining winners and took the club
— — pass pass finesse for his contract: –200.
1˙ double 2˙ 2ß
pass 3˙ pass 3 NT
(all pass)
USA+ gained 7 imps and won the match Board 4 North

44-36, 16-14 in VP, completing a convinc- West dealer ß73
ing come-back against a tough opponent. All vul ˙QJ974
∂K7
Saving you, saving me (aha!) çQ875
After four rounds, the standings were West East
headed by Poland/Russia, who had just ßAJ965 ß K Q 10 4 2
completed a comprehensive 25-5 rout of the ˙K85 ˙ 10 6 3
second place Israeli team, thus achieving a ∂ 10 6 ∂4
commanding 17 VP lead over USA+. ç 10 4 3 çAK62
South
We had left the Bulgarians after their ß8
second round loss to Iceland, in a deal ˙A2
where the cards were lying rather too ∂AQJ98532
kindly for Karaivanov’s taste. It seems only çJ9
right to highlight this partnership’s chance Open Room
to shine in a match where they were facing West North East South
Slam Dunk, one of the top Japanese teams Shimizu Stamatov Miyakuni Tsonchev
in the competition. pass pass 1ß 2∂
3∂ pass (1) 3˙ 5∂
pass pass double (all pass)
It is very tempting for South to bid 5∂
over 4ß, especially if he hears any kind of
(1) I would like a diamond lead
encouraging noise from his partner. After
Stamatov promised diamond values with
Closed Room
his pass of 3∂, it would have taken some
formidable restraint for Tsonchev not to go
Karaivanov Hirata Trendafilov Chen
for the save in 5∂, even at equal vulner-
pass pass 1ß 2∂
ability.
2NT (1) pass 4ß (all pass)
“Taking insurance” is often an easy way

(1) good raise in spades
out when there is a high-level competitive
bidding decision to make, but here it could club.
have easily cost a double-digit swing as the
play in 4ß is not at all straightforward. If That was the line of Trendafilov in the
South manages to put in a diamond rebid at Closed Room after receiving a diamond
the four level, declarer might play him for a lead, ruffing the continuation and drawing
doubleton ˙A and try to slip through a trumps in two rounds. In this position
heart to the king, then strip his black exit many declarers played both top clubs before
cards and endplay him into giving him a ducking one, with the result that North was
ruff and discard to make the club loser able to play a heart to the ace and wait for
disappear. An alternative and much better the setting trick. Trendafilov, instead,
plan, especially after the given auction, cashed only one top club, noting the fall of
would be to play a low club from the East the 9, and then played the ç2 from hand,
hand at some point, hoping for the suit to taken by Chen with the çJ. Chen switched
split 3-3 and pitch a heart on the fourth to ˙A and a heart.
What the Bulgarian champion did not Our undercover “Moyse” from Russia
miss was that this line would give him the Board 5 North
additional chance of squeezing North in North dealer ßAK86
hearts and clubs whenever clubs were 4-2 N-S vul ˙9
with South holding a doubleton honor, ∂KQ7543
while cashing both top clubs would destroy çK9
the communications for the squeeze. After West East
declarer took the heart return with the ˙K, ß97 ßQJ53
he proceeded to cash his top spades and the ˙654 ˙ A 10 7 3 2
last trump gave North an impossible discard ∂A982 ∂J6
problem: ç Q 10 7 6 çJ2
ß— South
˙Q ß 10 4 2
∂— ˙KQJ8
çQ8 ∂ 10
ßJ ß— çA8543
˙8 N ˙ 10
W E
∂— S ∂— While most tables reached the normal
ç 10 çK6 3NT (down one), after E-W overcalled and
ß— raised hearts, here Alexander Petrunin
˙— chose the Moysian dimension:
∂QJ9
ç— Open Room
Trendafilov’s efforts were rewarded with Sanborn Gromov Auken Petrunin
a 3-imp gain for his team, when they were — 1 ∂ (1) 1˙ double (2)
in danger of losing 12 once 5∂ doubled 2˙ 4 ˙ (3) pass 4ß
went two off for -500. Nevertheless, it (all pass)
would have been better for declarer to give
up a club on the first round of the suit, (1) Precision
since, as the play went, if North held the (2) Negative, usually with four spades
çQ-J-x-x, he could win the second club and (3) Splinter “raise” to 4ß
play a third round, breaking up the
squeeze. Trying to fathom the reasons why
Petrunin opted to double instead of bid-
The last match of the second day, the ding 2ç or a top heavy 1NT has meant
sixth of the round-robin, saw another tough sleepless nights and deep blue rings around
battle between the two top placed teams my eyes. A lengthy stay in a secluded mon-
when USA+ played Poland/Russia. astery in the Himalayas to seek heavenly
guidance on the matter did not help me to
solve the enigma, so I ask any kind soul out
there who might be able to shed light on
*Anti-editor: Perhaps they play negative free bids or
the mystery* to contact me at the Buddhist
2ç would be a game force. He might not like to bid
Retreat, Mount Everest, Nepal.
notrump when partner’s diamonds could be two
small.
Board 5 North Since Petrunin’s first call basically guar-

North dealer ßAK86 anteed four spades, Gromov splintered to
N-S vul ˙9 4˙ with his control rich hand and a sup-
∂KQ7543 posedly useful shortage, slam being a sound
çK9 proposition facing ßQ and the two minor
West East aces. Petrunin received a club lead from
ß97 ßQJ53 Sanborn, won in hand to play a diamond
˙654 ˙ A 10 7 3 2 up and successfully sneak past the ∂A.*
∂A982 ∂J6
ç Q 10 7 6 çJ2 *a costly error, since the ∂A was the
South setting trick
ß 10 4 2
˙KQJ8 He then played a heart from dummy,
∂ 10 taken by Auken with her ˙A. He won the
çA8543 club return with dummy’s çK, ruffed a
Open Room diamond, and played three high hearts,
West North East South overruffing the nine with the ace on the
Sanborn Gromov Auken Petrunin fourth round. Then he played dummy’s
— 1 ∂ (1) 1˙ double (2) penultimate diamond. Auken ruffed high,
2˙ 4 ˙ (3) pass 4ß to return a low trump to the 7 and 8. The
(all pass) last diamond from dummy held his losses to
one more trump trick, 12 imps to Poland/
(1) Precision Russia. Nevertheless, USA+ won the match
(2) Negative, usually with four spades 58-26, or 22-8 in VPs.
(3) Splinter “raise” to 4ß
This result meant a considerable bunch-
ing up in the standings with the top five
teams separated by a mere 3 VPs with two
more rounds to go.
The seventh round saw the resurgence of

Poland/Russia as they blitzed England 25-4,
while the powerful come-back of another
USA team (Itabashi-Robison, Hayden-
Kantor) continued with a 17-13 win in the
derby with the hitherto undefeated USA+.
Whose suit is it, anyway?

One of the most curious deals of the
round was this one. A creative bidding
Alexander “Moyse” Petrunin
effort by the Canadian foursome churned
out a rather unexpected result in the match
against the Japanese open team.
East dealer North ment and managed to take only six tricks in
N-S vul ß9 their 4-4 spade fit, losing a trick in each
˙97432 minor, two hearts and three trumps for two
∂A762 down 100 and an imp to Japan. It was a
çK63 great hand for the “Joey Silver — Whatever
West East you can do, I can do better — Hall of Fame
ß5432 ß A J 10 8 collection” which has no doubt already
˙J5 ˙ K 10 8 6 been forwarded to the domiciles of current
∂Q93 ∂KJ5 and previous teammates (which I guess
çA985 ç42 must include 90% of Canadian bridge play-
South ers). Canada went on to win the match 51-
ßKQ76 32, 19-11 in VP.
˙AQ
∂ 10 8 4 These were the top-10 standings after the
ç Q J 10 7 seventh round:
Open Room
West North East South Rank Team VPs
Kaku Carruthers Takayama Silver 1 POLAND/RUSSIA 142
— — 1∂ 1ß 2 USA 133
(all pass) 3 USA+ 131
4 ISRAEL 129
Closed Room 5 INDONESIA 128
West North East South 6 ICELAND 125
Graves Imakura Mittelman Ino 7 CANADA 123
— — 1∂ pass 8/9 ENGLAND 120
1ß pass 2ß (all pass) 8/9 BULGARIA 120
10 CHINA LADIES 119
Never one to be hindered by paltry
considerations like vulnerability and suit
quality, Joey Silver decided to pull out one Crocodile Rock
of his trademark four-card overcalls to get Going into the last round of the Swiss
his 14 count out and working. When his and the two matches which looked likely to
overcall was passed out, he bought a decide the top seeding for the quarter-finals
dummy that despite its trump shortage were Poland/Russia vs. USA and USA+ vs.
contributed two precious cards. Cool and Israel.
collected, declarer ducked the opening lead
of the ∂3 to East’s king, finessed the ˙Q at
trick two, led the ç7 to dummy’s king, the
ß9 to the ten and king, and then advanced
the ç10. When Kaku ducked, Silver had
six sure winners and made the ßQ later for
a remarkable +80,
At the other table Mittelman-Graves

could not match their teammate’s achieve-
North dealer North eighth trick with the ˙K. [Editor’s note: As
N-S vul ß8743 the play went, it wouldn’t help for East to
˙K962 throw the ßK or ßK-J on the diamonds,
∂852 because declarer can then lead a low spade,
ç73 endplaying West. The ßJ was certainly
West East more likely to be in the South hand than
ß Q 10 5 ßKJ the East hand; nevertheless, West can save
˙ 10 ˙Q87543 the day by discarding a spade instead of a
∂A974 ∂63 club.)
çKQ964 çJ82
South In the Closed Room Gromov led the çK
ßA962 and a low club as Robison held off his ace
˙AJ until the third round. Gromov won the first
∂ K Q J 10 diamond, cashed his two remaining clubs,
ç A 10 5 then exited with a low spade leaving
Open Room Robison a trick short; –100, 6 imps to Po-
West North East South land/Russia.
Gromov Itabashi Petrunin Robison
— pass pass 2 NT The Americans came back strongly,
(all pass) though, to win the match 52-24, 21-9 in
VP. Israel beat USA+ 49-33, 18-12 VP, and
Closed Room in the other critical match-ups Canada beat
West North East South Iceland 21-9, while England defeated Bul-
Hayden Balicki Kantor Zmudzinski garia 16-14 to claim the last qualifying
— pass 2˙ double berth. China Ladies quashed the hopes of
pass 2ß pass 2 NT the last Japanese team in contention with a
(all pass) 21-9 win, which meant a seventh place
finish. Final round robin top-8 standings
In Poland/Russia vs. USA both Souths were:
declared 2NT. Zmudzinski got the friendlier
lead of the ˙10, induced by Kantor’s 2˙ Rank Team VPs
bid, which he won with the ˙J. He played 1 USA 154
on diamonds, Hayden winning the second 2 POLAND/RUSSIA 151
round and shifting to a low club. 3 INDONESIA 150
Zmudzinski won the third round, cashed 4 ISRAEL 147
the ˙A (West throwing a club) and his two 5 CANADA 144
remaining diamonds, then played ßA 6 USA+ 143
(Kantor carefully unblocking the king) and 7 CHINA LADIES 140
a spade. That was the chance for Hayden to 8 ENGLAND 136
take on the “Crocodile Dundee” mantle and
rise with his queen, swallowing Kantor’s The top three teams could now pick their
jack. But when Hayden decided instead for opponents: USA picked China Ladies,
the “Ebenezer Scrooge” cloak and tried a Poland/Russia chose the fourth placed
cheap ß10, Kantor was forced to win the Israeli team (probably on the strength of
jack and now had to give Zmudzinski his their round-robin 25-5 victory), and Indo-
nesia chose USA+. That left Canada vs. Rank Team VPs
England. There was no carryover except for 1 USA 154
half an imp going to the team in each 2 POLAND/RUSSIA 151
match that finished higher in the round- 3 INDONESIA 150
robin standings (this was for tie-breaking 4 ISRAEL 147
purposes). 5 CANADA 144
6 USA+ 143
In the quarter-finals the Chinese ladies 7 CHINA LADIES 140
team made quick work of the top placed 8 ENGLAND 136
USA with a one-sided 131-60 score, while
Indonesia managed to hang on to enough of
the 36-imp lead they picked up in the first
half to end the ambitions of Auken-
Sanborn and the Molsons, with a final score
of 71-57.
China Ladies were slowly turning into

the surprise of the tournament but few
were aware that it included plenty of talent
with players who have made frequent
appearances for the national team (includ-
ing Zhou Xiao Ying, the top ranked Chi-
nese lady player for much of the eighties,
and erstwhile partner of Sun Ming, who
had withdrawn from bridge activity for OK, guys, better luck next time. The USA+ team
family reasons). bites the dust against Indonesia
in the quarter-final.
The other two matches turned out to be
much tighter affairs with the lead fre-
quently changing hands. My wife, Migry,
was playing for Israel, partnered by Michael
Barel. Their teammates were Doron and
Israel Yadlin, two brothers.
The Israeli team, at the awards ceremony.

Simon Kantor of the USA team
Slowly slowly… Canada vs. England

Board 3 North Open Room
South dealer ß42 South West North East
E-W vul ˙ 10 9 7 6 4 3 Mittelman Callaghan Graves Armstrong
∂K32 1˙ 1ß 2˙ 4 ˙ (splinter)
ç98 6˙ pass pass 6ß
West East double (all pass)
ßKQJ765 ß A 10 9 8 3
˙— ˙— (1) Splinter raise
∂ Q 10 6 ∂J98754
çQJ63 çK5 Closed Room
South South West North East
ß— Lambardi Carruthers Senior Silver
˙AKQJ852 2ç 2ß pass 3ß
∂A 4˙ pass pass 4ß
ç A 10 7 4 2 5˙ pass 6˙ 6ß
All four tables got to the same 6ß
doubled contract. In Poland/Russia vs. Israel, Petrunin
found himself in the increasingly common,
Poland/Russia vs. Israel albeit unfortunate, situation of opening a
Open Room strong club only to see the bidding return to
South West North East him at the 4ß level. He reasonably decided
Petrunin D. Yadlin Gromov I. Yadlin that this was not the hand for scientific
1 ç (1) 2 ß (2) pass 4ß prodding and placed a “bid on if you dare”
6˙ pass pass 6ß 6˙ on the tray. East dared and was
double (all pass) promptly doubled. Barel at the other table
knew that his partner would not contribute
(1) Strong, artificial much to the cause and went on slowly but
(2) Sound overcall in spades (you could say that surely to 6˙, again East saving twice. Both
again!) North players cleverly led the ç9 and
South won the ace. Alex Petrunin cashed
Closed Room the ∂A before returning a club while
South West North East Michael Barel returned the ç2 immedi-
Barel Zmudzinski Migry Balicki ately. Declarer had to lose two diamonds for
2ç 2ß double (1) redouble (2) –500. No swing.
5˙ pass pass 5ß
6˙ pass pass 6ß George Mittelman did not start playing
double (all pass) bridge yesterday and, after contemplating
his beautiful two loser hand, must have had
(1) Very weak a tingling feeling that if Mr. Murphy was to
(2) Fear not partner, I have you covered! be believed, his hearts would be routinely
outbid by the opponents’ spades and the
best chance he had to buy the contract was
to forego a 2ç opener, get his suit out
Board 3 North If those results, tactics, deception and

South dealer ß42 insurance, were interesting, consider the
E-W vul ˙ 10 9 7 6 4 3 sandbagging efforts of Joey “Now you see it,
∂K32 now you don’t” Silver, who took the pan-
ç98 oramic route, stopping to admire the view
West East in 3ß and 4ß before having to “save” in
ßKQJ765 ß A 10 9 8 3 6ß. Why “save” you might ask? Well, hmm
˙— ˙— ... believe it or not this is what happened at
∂ Q 10 6 ∂J98754 the table (sorry Pablo, but your check
çQJ63 çK5 bounced)!
South
ß— Brian Senior (North) appreciated that a
˙AKQJ852 heart lead was not only pointless but also
∂A potentially dangerous, but couldn’t tell
ç A 10 8 4 2 whether the defenders’ outside trick source
was in clubs or diamonds. Hoping to know
Canada vs. England more after seeing dummy and thinking it
Open Room might be important to hold the lead, Brian
South West North East made the expert lead of the ∂K. Unfortu-
Mittelman Callaghan Graves Armstrong nately for him, he was in no position to lead
1˙ 1ß 2˙ 4 ˙ (splinter) to trick two. Pablo Lambardi, who had been
6˙ pass pass 6ß granted that privilege, was not keen to cash
double (all pass) the çA at the potential cost of a 300-point
undertrick, and saw no pressing need to
Closed Room worry about dummy’s diamonds (his part-
South West North East ner held the ∂Q, right?). Accordingly, he
Lambardi Carruthers Senior Silver decided to exit “passively” with a heart to
2ç 2ß pass 3ß force dummy. John Carruthers was de-
4˙ pass pass 4ß lighted to accept that force and absolutely
5˙ pass 6˙ 6ß thrilled at being able to discard one of his
pass pass double (all pass) four clubs. The other three went on
dummy’s diamonds after trumps were
drawn and he chalked up +1660. Make it
immediately and to slowly be “pushed” to 19 imps to Canada.
the five- or six-heart level depending upon
his partner’s reaction to his 1˙ opening. In the other matches Indonesia gained 11
Graves, having been thoroughly schooled in imps against USA+ when Mark and Janice
the same softly-softly approach, volunteered Molson forged on to 7˙ but were unable to
a delicate 2˙ with his six-card support. convince Henky Lasut/Eddy Manoppo to
Long John Armstrong, however, has also sacrifice while China Ladies gained an
been round the block once or twice and unusual imp by selling out to 4˙ in one
took no notice of the Canadians’ pussy- room for –480 while doubling 6ß for +500
footing, taking the save in 6ß. Graves led a in the other.
trump. Mittelman cashed the ∂A when he
won the çA, down 500.
Cloak and Dagger Closed Room

Board 13 North West North East South
North dealer ßA962 Zmudzinski Migry Balicki Barel
All vul ˙J76 — pass pass 1ç
∂ 10 9 8 2 1ß pass pass 2 NT
ç95 pass 3 NT (all pass)
West East
ßK7543 ß— The Russians’ Precision 1ç opening
˙ A 10 9 5 2 ˙Q843 seemed tailor-made to bring the best out of
∂7 ∂QJ543 the Yadlins’ cloak and dagger repertoire.
ç63 çQ874 Here Petrunin (South) had a tough bid over
South Israel Yadlin’s 3∂ and decided to show his
ß Q J 10 8 strength as well as his diamond values with
˙K a double. When Doron Yadlin revealed his
∂AK6 shape, Gromov could either pass 3˙ to
ç A K J 10 2 show a minimum or “raise” his partner’s
Open Room diamonds. When he chose the latter,
West North East South Petrunin was once again on the spot, but
D. Yadlin Gromov I. Yadlin Petrunin with 26+ points on the line it would have
— pass pass 1 ç (1) been a remarkable view not to go to game.
2 ç (2) pass (3) 3 ∂ (4) double (5) Bidding 4ß on the way would have worked
3˙ 4∂ pass 5∂ but such a bid, after Doron had shown a
pass pass double (all pass) major two-suiter, would have required some
extensive prior knowledge of the hand
(1) Strong, artificial records. Five diamonds doubled went three
(2) Diamonds, or both majors down after ˙A and a heart, with declarer
(3) 5-7, perhaps more if no 5-card suit doing his level best to extricate eight tricks
(4) pass-or-correct by repeatedly forcing East with spades past
(5) Penalty of diamonds and/or not minimum West’s king.
At the other table Zmudzinski was right

to lead a heart against Barel’s 3NT, but he
led his lowest rather than his highest. Barel
won the ˙K, finessed in spades, and
spurned the club finesse for +600. That was
16 imps to Israel, losing the match by 5 now
at 27-32.
Heads or Tails? For Seeding Rights. “I don’t like this one bit!”
thinks Balicki
Luck be a lady tonight over 5ç have been forcing at red vs. green
West dealer North and, therefore, was his double showing an
N-S vul ß 10 9 7 3 unsuitable hand for bidding on? If, how-
˙K95 ever, the double was simply meant to show
∂KJ8743 values, then 5∂ from North should be
ç— clear-cut. My opinion is that the double of
West East 4∂ should promise a bid over 5ç and,
ßQ2 ßJ854 therefore, Gromov’s hand would have been
˙83 ˙ Q 10 6 4 best described with a “pass and pull” action.
∂A ∂62 As it went the Yadlins were down 800 in
ç J 10 9 8 6 5 4 2 çQ73 5ç doubled but Israel gained 11 imps when
South Migry brought home 6∂ against the odds
ßAK6 after Balicki decided to hide in the bushes
˙AJ72 with his eight-card club suit, thus denying
∂ Q 10 9 5 declarer the vital information that might
çAK have guided her to divine the actual layout.
Poland vs. Israel Migry got the çJ lead, on which she

Open Room discarded a spade from dummy; now cash-
West North East South ing the second top club could have some-
I. Yadlin Petrunin D. Yadlin Gromov what simplified her task, forcing Balicki to
3ç pass 4ç double find the ßQ exit when in with the ∂A and
4∂ double 5ç double leaving declarer to draw the correct infer-
(all pass) ences in later play. At the table, instead,
Migry knocked out the ace of trumps and
Closed Room threw a heart, instead of a second spade, on
West North East South the club continuation, sensibly deciding to
Balicki Barel Zmudzinski Migry play for hearts 3-3 or ˙Q doubleton. She
pass pass pass 2 NT drew the outstanding trump and tried to
pass 3 ç (1) pass 3 ∂ (2) ruff out the ˙Q. When that failed, there
pass 3 ˙ (3) pass 3 NT was little to do apart from hoping for an
pass 4∂ pass 6∂ “allegedly” impossible layout by playing
(all pass) West for a 2-2-1-8 shape and hoping that
Zmudzinsky (East) was holding the spades as
(1) Puppet Stayman well as the ˙Q. She ran her trumps to find
(2) At least one four-card major that she had indeed squeezed Zmudzinski
(3) Four spades in the majors and brought home 1370.
Once Doron Yadlin (East) chose a re- Methods, methods

strained 4ç initial action over his partner’s One of the pleasures of covering an event
3ç opening, probably mindful of his major- such as this with Eric Kokish, a.k.a. the
suit values and of earlier random holdings Archimandrite of Bidding Theory, is the
from his partner in the same position, the chance to listen to his deep analysis of
stage was set to uncover another potential otherwise plain bidding sequences, which
agreement black-hole: Would Gromov’s pass are turned inside out and given a totally
new and often unexpected meaning to plug looks right, 4˙ to complete a 5-5, 4ß with
some gaping holes in a natural system. This an independent suit, or four of a minor
hand provided Eric with plenty of ammuni- with three or four of those to complete his
tion to vent his spleen at the many players pattern. Here West bids 4ç, after which all
who were rambling in the dark, because of is again sweetness and light.”
“inferior” agreements:
Canada vs. England Open Room
West dealer ßAQ73 Senior Silver Lambardi Carruthers
N-S vul ˙9762 1ß pass 1 NT pass
∂Q7532 3˙ pass 3 NT pass
ç— 4ç pass 4˙ (all pass)
West East
ßKJ965 ß— To prove Eric’s point, one need only look
˙AKQ5 ˙ 10 4 3 at the Senior-Lambardi auction where the
∂— ∂ A 10 9 6 Englishman managed to actually bid out his
çAQ86 çKJ9732 shape only to have Lambardi give prefer-
South ence to hearts since he could not bring
ß 10 8 4 2 himself to believe that 4ç was natural
˙J8 when he was looking at K-J-9-x-x-x in the
∂KJ84 suit.
ç 10 5 4
Poland/Russia vs. Israel Open Room
Kokish: “I could write a book on this one, West North East South
but the anticipated sales numbers would D. Yadlin Balicki I. Yadlin Zmudzinski
cause me to rethink my position. Before 1ß pass 1 NT(1) pass
getting into what happened, I will share my 3˙ pass 4˙ (all pass)
theoretical and heretical opinions with you.
After 1ß-1NT, I believe that West should The Yadlin brothers finished also in 4˙,
settle for 2˙, which gives him his best +450, but did not even get close to uncover-
chance to get his shape across if the bidding ing their club fit.
continues. And here I am aware that many
would pass 2˙, but I wouldn’t recommend
that either. East bids 3ç over 2˙ and all is
sweetness and light. Blah blah blah. If West Board 12 North
jumps to 3˙ I would love to bid 4ç with
the East hand but my agreement is that this
would be an advance cue-bid for hearts (5ç
would be natural). What’s left for me is
3NT or 3ß and I’m a 3ß guy because it
leaves opener the most room to finish de-
scribing his hand. But then I believe that
3ß doesn’t mean a lot while 3NT does
(extras, lots of stoppers, 2-2-(5-4) shape).
Over 3ß West can bid 3NT when that The Israeli team is busy scoring it up....
West dealer ßAQ73 Canada vs. England Closed Room

N-S vul ˙9762 West North East South
∂Q7532 Mittelman Armstrong Graves Callaghan
ç— 1ß pass 1 NT (forcing) pass
West East 3˙ pass 4ç pass
ßKJ965 ß— 6ç double pass pass
˙AKQ5 ˙ 10 4 3 redouble (all pass)
∂— ∂ A 10 9 6
çAQ86 çKJ9732 At one table, however, the basic natural
South bidding tools of the veteran Graves-
ß 10 8 4 2 Mittelman partnership worked wonders.
˙J8 George not only leaped to 6ç once Graves
∂KJ84 disclosed his club suit at the four level, but
ç 10 5 4 promptly redoubled Armstrong’s lead direct-
ing double, a well grounded action taken
Poland/Russia vs. Israel Closed Room straight out of the “Don’t you know who I
West North East South am?” — Mittelman’s book of gutsy bridge,
Petrunin Migry Gromov Barel since the Canadian was sure that since
1 ç (1) pass 2ç pass Graves was extremely unlikely to hold a
4 ∂ (2) pass 4 ß (3) pass doubleton spade, a two down penalty was
5ç (all pass) odds against, with the mathematics there-
fore favoring the redouble. And right he
(1) Strong, artificial was. Callaghan (South) had too many
(2) Exclusion Blackwood spades to follow Armstrong’s advice, so he
(3) One keycard outside of diamonds led the ˙J. Graves won, cashed the çA,
and led a low spade. When Armstrong put
The Russians seemed to be best posi- in the queen Graves ruffed, drew trumps,
tioned to land in 6ç thanks to Gromov’s ruffed out the ßA, and claimed: +1580.
2ç reply over his partner strong club open- That was 15 imps to Canada, who trailed
ing, but Petrunin launched himself into by 11 with eight hands to go, 73-84, after
Exclusion RKCB and then he demurely bid that well-deserved gain.
5ç when Gromov showed one key card
outside of diamonds. The truth is Gromov England, however, managed to survive
read 4∂ as simply void-showing and had another tight battle and defeat the valiant
meant 4ß as a cue-bid. Petrunin scored two Canadians 97-93.5. In the other close
overtricks in 5ç for +440. No swing. match Israel scraped through by the tiniest
of margins, beating the pre-tournament
favorites by 64-63.5, a victory by half an
imp, leaving Poland/Russia, along with
USA, to rue their quarter-final picks.
The two semifinal matches were: Indone-

Semifinal sia vs. Israel and China Ladies vs. England.
Match
Silence is golden Open Room

East dealer ßQ94 Callaghan Lu Armstrong Hou
N-S vul ˙Q8 — — 1 NT pass
∂Q87 2 ˙ (xfer) pass 2ß pass
çKQJ54 2 NT pass 3˙ pass
West East 3 NT (all pass)
ßKJ862 ß A 10
˙ 10 ˙AJ965 Closed Room
∂9543 ∂ A K 10 West North East South
çA76 ç932 Wang Senior Yan Lambardi
South — — 1 ç (strong) pass
ß753 1ß pass 2˙ pass
˙K7432 2 NT pass 3 NT (all pass)
∂J62
ç 10 8 The “en passant” 3˙ call from Armstrong
(although a reasonable bid) would come
Board 2 provided the first swing in both back to haunt him, as Hou was dissuaded
matches. In the Indonesia-Israel match, from leading her five-card heart suit. With-
Doron Yadlin (West) opted to simply trans- out a heart lead, declarer’s task was consid-
fer to 2ß after the 1NT opening, a choice erably more difficult. Hou found the lead
that must have taken into account their of the ç10 and Armstrong ducked twice,
partnership’s aggressive opening style. Two took his çA on the third round, and played
spades made with an overtrick, +140. At the the ˙10, queen, ace. He continued with the
other table Karwur showed no such re- ∂A hoping for something to happen and
straint and Panelewen was happy to accept then ended up playing for a magic layout in
his 2NT game invitation. Barel (South) led spades with Q-x-x onside. When that failed,
the inevitable heart to the 10, queen and Lu could collect all of her clubs and play a
ace, and declarer now started spades, playing heart to Hou’s king. Declarer also lost a
ßA and running the ten. Migry took her diamond for three down, –150.
queen and played the çK, ducked all
round with Barel playing the 8. She then Wang (West) got the çK lead. Trusting
switched to the ˙8, covered by the ˙9 and Lambardi’s signal, she took the second
ducked by Barel in the hope that his part- round of clubs and started hearts, Senior
ner had started with Q-8-x. That was covering the ten. The fall of the 8 on the
declarer’s ninth trick for +400 and first second round meant that she could develop
blood to Indonesia. a third winner on power. South switched to
a diamond to the queen and ace, but a
In the other match the auctions were spade shift would have been better. Wang
quite different. “Those who speak too drove out the ˙7, Lambardi exited with his
much will end up with flies in their last heart, and Wang played ∂K and a third
mouth.” This Italian saying could easily diamond to establish the thirteenth dia-
serve as the caption for this board.... mond in her hand. Wang took two spades,
three hearts, three diamonds and the çA
for +400 and a 10–imp gain. The score was Manoppo’s systemic 1∂ opening worked
China 10, England 2, and an early sign that very much against him, since it silenced the
England was in for a much tougher battle possible diamond overcall from the opposi-
than they might have anticipated. tion. The Indonesians sailed to 3NT where
they lost four diamonds, the çK and the
The ghost of the singleton king of clubs ßA.
Board 16 North
West dealer ß 10 9 6 At the other table, the bidding made it
E-W vul ˙AQ6 somewhat easier for Barel to locate his side’s
∂J3 4-3 spade fit. Nevertheless his decision to
çAJ875 bid 4ß was not straightforward and it
West East earned him a free one-month supply of
ßA72 ßQ43 falafel when it proved to be a winner. After
˙987 ˙J542 a diamond to the ace and a diamond back
∂ 10 9 6 5 ∂AQ872 Barel crossed to a high heart to pass the
ç432 çK ß10, which held. The ß6 went to the 8
South and ace, and back came a second heart.
ßKJ85 Barel won in hand, lost the club finesse and
˙ K 10 3 finished with ten tricks for +420 and 11
∂K4 imps. Israel took the lead 27-22.
ç Q 10 9 6
In the other match, the English got to
Indonesia vs. Israel 3NT while the Chinese stopped in 1NT.
Open Room Their conservative action, however, gener-
West North East South ated unexpected dividends when 3NT
D. Yadlin Manoppo I. Yadlin Lasut turned out to be no fun for those who still
pass 1 ∂ (1) pass 1ß deny the validity of the “rule” that the çK
pass 1 NT pass 3 NT is always singleton offside. Since Brian
(all pass) Senior, like Manoppo, belongs to that
stubborn minority, he had no practical
(1) Precision (could be as few as two) chance to take nine tricks after a diamond
lead. Despite blocking the diamonds, the
Closed Room defense still managed to collect three dia-
West North East South mond tricks, the ßA and, the singleton çK!
Karwur Migry Panelewen Barel At the other table Lu (in 1NT) took ten
pass 1ç 1∂ 1ß generous tricks after the ∂2 lead to the ∂K,
3∂ pass pass double a losing club finesse and a low diamond
pass 3ß pass 4ç return to her singleton ∂J! It was another
pass 4˙ pass 4ß big gain for China, now leading 48-14.
(all pass)
A few boards later China struck again:
Board 25 North Indonesia vs. Israel

North dealer ß J 10 7 Open Room
N-S vul ˙ A 10 7 6 West North East South
∂ 10 9 7 5 3 D. Yadlin Manoppo I. Yadlin Lasut
çJ — pass 1ç pass
West East 2 ç (inverted) pass 2˙ pass
ßAK6 ßQ943 3 NT (all pass)
˙8 ˙QJ9
∂AK84 ∂62 Closed Room
ç 10 8 6 4 2 çAQ95 West North East South
South Karwur Migry Panelewen Barel
ß852 — pass pass pass
˙K5432 1 ∂ (2+) pass 1ß pass
∂QJ 2ç pass 2 NT pass
çK73 3ß pass 4ç (all pass)
China Ladies vs. England Lu (East in the second auction) showed

Open Room excellent bidding judgment. Her sequence
West North East South to 5ç, exploring all possible alternatives on
Callaghan Zhou Armstrong Dong the way, was a good demonstration of how
— pass pass pass effective this pair could be. Five clubs rates
1ç pass 1ß pass to be a much better spot than 3NT but the
2ß pass 2 NT pass blockage in hearts could come to the rescue
3∂ pass 3 NT (all pass) of a lucky declarer. Both Armstrong and D.
Yadlin got a heart lead against 3NT, but
Closed Room from different sides. At the Englishman’s
West North East South table the ˙3 from South went to the ace
Hou Senior Lu Lambardi and the ˙10 back was correctly ducked by
— pass pass pass Dong. Armstrong, however, was unaware of
1 ∂ (2+) pass 1ß pass the blockage and decided to run his tricks
2ç pass 2˙ pass before taking the club finesse. So he cashed
3ß pass 4ç pass four rounds of spades and two top dia-
4∂ pass 5ç (all pass) monds and then finessed in clubs. But
cashing the thirteenth spade allowed North that, if that failed, the opponents would not
to get rid of that cursed ˙7, which was have a clear idea of his values and his
blocking the suit. As a result, Dong could distribution and might decide not to con-
now cash her two winning hearts when she tinue hearts. He came to hand and took the
got the lead with the çK. Three notrump club finesse. His foresight was rewarded
was down one and 10 more “heavy” imps when the actual layout meant that the
went to China. China 64, England 47. defense could not extricate their heart
winners. Since the Indonesians stopped in
Doron Yadlin (West) got the ˙6 lead, 4ç after an auction that was similar to that
and the queen won the first trick. He saw of the Chinese until the critical pass over
no reason to delay the club finesse, hoping 4ç by Karwur, Israel gained 6 imps.
Both leading teams managed to stretch where the 6 is simply a neutral or semi-
their leads, completing two convincing wins neutral card and three each where it is
over their opponents: China Ladies vs. respectively high or low. Anders Wirgren
England 94-65 , Israel vs. Indonesia 92-47. has recently published an illuminating
The final was going to be China Ladies vs. article on signaling systems, pointing out
Israel. that each method has its bad cases but that
it’s important to play with the percentages
Signaling woes when trying to resolve ambiguous situa-
The first hand of the final supplied tions. His opinion on the case in question
plenty of material for discussion: tends to back up Barel’s judgment at the
table: “West is missing these spots: 9865432.
Board 1 North Since there are two higher and four lower,
North dealer ß 10 8 5 3 the 6 tends to be high. So I would go wrong
None vul ˙AKQ3 at the table, just like Barel.” That can come
∂ Q 10 7 as a little consolation to the Israeli defender
çQ7 who lost 11 imps for being “right.”
West East
ßQJ97 ß642 The Israeli pair’s carding agreement
˙97 ˙62 caused another unfortunate swing on board
∂J ∂A986 6:
çKJ9865 ç A 10 4 2
South
ßAK
˙ J 10 8 5 4
∂K5432
ç3
Against 4˙ both West players led the ∂J,

7, ace, low. East returned the ∂6 and both
declarers followed with the 5, concealing
two lower spot cards in an attempt to con-
vince West that the 6 was a high diamond
suggesting a switch to spades. Wang
Yanhong was not deceived and switched to
the ç6 (fifth from six). Yan Ru won the ace
and dealt her partner another diamond ruff
for one down, –50. Michael Barel got it
wrong at the other table by switching to the
ßQ, +450, 11 imps to China.
Where can we find one imp?
While at first glance it may feel right to The Russians and Poles search but come up empty-
play the ∂6 as a low spot, as Wang did once handed after their quarter-final match against Israel.
declarer ditched the 3 and the 5, a deeper
analysis reveals that the guess is a totally
even-money proposition, with nine layouts
Board 6 North that it should have been much easier to get

East dealer ßJ9 this right (in comparison to the earlier
E-W vul ˙ 10 7 5 3 board) since a singleton ∂10 with East
∂Q853 would mean that declarer was exactly
çAK7 7-1-5-0. Dong discarded hearts on the ∂Q
West East and çK and took the trump finesse for
ß7 ßK3 +450. That was 11 imps to China, pulling
˙AKQ2 ˙94 away to a 30-6 lead.
∂A92 ∂ J 10 7 6 4
ç J 10 8 3 2 ç9654 After some wild imps changing hands in
South the next ten boards, Israel struck back:
ß A Q 10 8 6 5 4 2
˙J86 Board 18 North
∂K East dealer ß K 10 9 6
çQ N-S vul ˙8543
∂J4
Both Souths opened 4ß and played çQ75
there, without opposition bidding. This West East
proved to be an easy hand to defend for ßA874 ßJ3
Wang/Yan when East followed to the ˙A ˙AKQ9 ˙J762
with the 9. West cashed two more hearts ∂ 10 9 ∂AQ87
and the ∂A, –50. ç 10 6 2 çAJ8
South
In contrast, Barel/Migry had their prob- ßQ52
lems. Barel led the ˙K, asking for count, ˙ 10
and Migry followed with the 4, even cards ∂K6532
showing an even number of cards (when çK943
even cards are available). West switched to
the ∂A, trying to get some clarification, 3, Both sides got to 4˙, but the systemic
10, king. East was trying to discourage a differences meant that Yan would declare it
diamond continuation while asking for a from the East seat, after a weak notrump
heart (lowest even is the most discouraging opening and a Stayman sequence, and Barel
card, suit-preference implications not rel- from West. Yan took the ß2 lead with
evant in “unknown-length” situations). But dummy’s ace, presumably in order to take a
West “knew” that East could not hold the diamond finesse and set up some winners
∂4 or ∂6, which would be more clearly on which to pitch her possible club losers.
discouraging, in that order. As the ∂10 was Her ∂9 went to the 4, 7, king, with Doron
most likely to be from relative shortness, Yadlin (North) making the good play of not
declarer figured to indeed be shorter in covering with the jack. South played back a
hearts than diamonds. Therefore, Barel did heart, which she won in dummy and con-
not revert to hearts and continued dia- tinued with a second diamond to the jack
monds, hoping that East could ruff and and ace. (If North had played the ∂J on the
would also hold the ace of trumps to set the first diamond, declarer, with three diamond
contract. Perhaps he was unlucky in find- tricks in the bank, would have known to
ing the actual layout, but my gut feeling is lead spades at this point.)
Board 18 ß K 10 9 6 and play a third round of trumps, leaving

East dealer ˙8543 Yan a trick short. One down, –50.
N-S vul ∂J4
çQ75 Barel (West) got a trump lead. He won in
ßA874 ßJ3 hand and played the ∂10 to the jack
˙AKQ9 ˙J762 (which he must have been pleased to see),
∂ 10 9 ∂AQ87 queen and king. Hou returned a spade and
ç 10 6 2 çAJ8 Barel ducked, won the spade return and
ßQ52 ruffed a spade. With the ∂9 an entry to
˙ 10 ruff his fourth spade with the ˙J, Barel
∂K6532 now had the necessary communications to
çK943 draw trumps and cross back to dummy with
the çA to cash his last two diamonds.
A heart to dummy now revealed the bad Losing only a spade and a diamond meant a
trump split, and when she played back a big +450 and 11 imps to Israel.
second spade, Doron could rise with the ßK
After 32 boards China Ladies led 93-80, Closed Room

and those early “signaling” swings had had West North East South
a huge effect on the half-time score. Barel Zhu Migry Dong
— — 2ç pass
Board 38 North 2∂ pass 2˙ pass
East dealer ßQJ86 3∂ pass 4∂ pass
E-W vul ˙ K 10 4 3 2 5∂ (all pass)
∂92
çK8 Once again the strong club opening did
West East not fare well against competition, although
ß 10 5 3 ßA Lu’s view to drive immediately to game
˙5 ˙AQ9876 with her hand had something to do with
∂ J 10 8 7 6 ∂AK4 the poor final score. It’s a mystery why Lu
çQJ94 çA52 did not double 2ß for takeout. Perhaps
South double was not available to her for systemic
ßK9742 reasons (maybe it shows an upper range
˙J balanced hand). Doron’s “greedy” double
∂Q53 added insult to injury, and the contract
ç 10 7 6 3 went two off for -500.
Open Room At the other table a good old-fashioned

West North East South natural sequence got the Israelis to a deli-
Hou D. Yadlin Lu I. Yadlin cate 5∂. Barel took the trump lead with
— — 1 ç (strong) 1 ß dummy’s ace and played ˙A, heart ruff,
pass 2ß 4˙ pass çQ to king and ace, finessing the ten on
pass double (all pass) the way back, spade to the ace, heart ruff,
spade ruff, heart. Dong ruffed in with her
∂Q and Barel threw his last spade. Dong
played back a trump but Barel had to make Closed Room

two of the last three tricks for +600 and a South West North East
healthy 15 imps injection to revitalize the Dong Barel Zhu Migry
Israeli hopes to win the trophy. The score Pass 2 ∂ (1) 2ß double (2)
was: China 103, Israel 95. pass 3˙ (all pass)
A couple of misunderstandings cost Israel (1) Multi

dearly in some of the first boards of the last (2) Competitive, not penalty
set of 16 and the gap between the two teams
widened until this deal all but sealed It is difficult to blame either of the
China’s victory. Yadlins for their action on this board.
Doron’s reopening double is clear-cut and
Board 59 North his brother’s subsequent pass could easily
South dealer ß A K 10 4 2 have nailed the only plus for their side,
None vul ˙— since the alternative calls of 3ß, 3NT (yuk!)
∂QJ93 and 4∂ would mostly work only if matched
çK762 with the kind of values that will defeat 3˙.
West East Yan had no problems in making the con-
ßJ9 ßQ753 tract and the resulting 11-imps gain meant a
˙KJ9843 ˙ 10 7 6 156-118 score with five boards to play.
∂K4 ∂ A 10 7
ç943 çAQ5 The final score was 163 to 130. China
South Ladies had demonstrated a remarkable
ß86 ability to successfully scrap with the best
˙AQ52 scrappers in the business, like Senior-
∂8652 Lambardi and the Yadlins, while playing
ç J 10 8 equally well against more technical pairs.
Good teams make their own luck and it was
Open Room evident to anyone who had been watching
South West North East that China was indeed the team of destiny
I. Yadlin Wang D. Yadlin Yan this year, consistently doing the right thing
pass 2 ∂ (1) 2ß 3˙ on the deals that mattered.
The Israeli team played well for the most
(1) Multi part, too, and their accomplishment in
reaching this final after defeating Indonesia
and the Poland/Russia powerhouse is in no
way diminished by losing to such a worthy
winner.
China Ladies win the whole thing!

Hand of the Month
On this hand from the NEC tournament, Mark Feldman, our chief technical proof-
South played in 4ß against the lead of ∂A reader, pointed out a very interesting play
and a diamond. for West. After winning the çJ, he should
shift to the ˙2 instead of ˙A and ˙2. It
North looks like this is a poor play, since he can
ßAJ965 later be endplayed, but the answer to this is
˙K85 that declarer doesn’t know that West has
∂ 10 6 only two hearts! Imagine that West has
ç 10 4 3 three hearts to the ace. When he shifts to
West East the ˙2, declarer wins the king and must
ß8 ß73 hope for a 3-3 club split.
˙A2 ˙QJ974
∂AQJ98532 ∂K7 Now let’s review the play on the real
çJ9 çQ875 layout where West has only two hearts.
South The ∂A is led and a diamond continuation
ß K Q 10 4 2 is ruffed. Declarer draws trumps and leads
˙ 10 6 3 çA and a club (or, better, a low club before
∂4 cashing an honor). West wins the çJ and
çAK62 shifts to the ˙2, pretending he has three of
them. Declarer wins the ˙K in dummy
Declarer ruffed the second diamond, and, unless he has x-ray vision, tries for a 3-
drew trump, and led çA and a club. West 3 club break by cashing the top clubs. On
won the jack and shifted to ˙A and a the third round of clubs, West discards his
heart. Now declarer won in dummy and ˙A, which he has just underled! Now
played all the trumps, squeezing East in declarer cannot fall back on an endplay and
hearts and clubs. must lose two heart tricks.
NEWS! Starting with the May issue, articles will appear on the
Bridgetoday.com website as they come (hot) off the “press.”
Please check the MAGAZINE page for these articles.

Bridge Today - April 2004

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Bridge Today • April 2004 page 1

Editor: Matthew Granovetter

The Magazine for People Who Love to Play Bridge

The NEC Cup

2 The Spring Nationals Open Pairs

32 Hand of the Month

The Spring Nationals Open Pairs

April 1, 2004 — The ACBL Spring East dealer North (Zia)

Here’s a similar “refusal to win the trick”

North dealer North

West North East South

North dealer North Zia called for a spade from dummy.

Zia, on his way to the overtrick

Runners-up were St. Louis veteran Roger

At favorable, your partner opens 3ç.

The full hand was this....

South dealer North Down five meant 1100 to East-West, but

What’s Three Clubs?

Back in the good old days, a half century Zweifel partner

* They called the director when I declined to tell

The NEC Cup

*Since three players on this team live in the USA

Board 2 North North. Had he been right (if North had

Pietro Campanile, author of this month’s

Board 1 North head, since the action-bidder “par excel-

West dealer North After an untroubled auction, Auken/

USA+ gained 7 imps and won the match Board 4 North

“Taking insurance” is often an easy way

Board 5 North Since Petrunin’s first call basically guar-

The seventh round saw the resurgence of

Whose suit is it, anyway?

At the other table Mittelman-Graves

China Ladies were slowly turning into

The Israeli team, at the awards ceremony.

Slowly slowly… Canada vs. England

Board 3 North If those results, tactics, deception and

Cloak and Dagger Closed Room

At the other table Zmudzinski was right

Poland vs. Israel Migry got the çJ lead, on which she

Once Doron Yadlin (East) chose a re- Methods, methods

West dealer ßAQ73 Canada vs. England Closed Room

The two semifinal matches were: Indone-

Silence is golden Open Room

Board 25 North Indonesia vs. Israel

China Ladies vs. England Lu (East in the second auction) showed

Against 4˙ both West players led the ∂J,

Board 6 North that it should have been much easier to get

Board 18 ß K 10 9 6 and play a third round of trumps, leaving

After 32 boards China Ladies led 93-80, Closed Room

Open Room At the other table a good old-fashioned

played back a trump but Barel had to make Closed Room

A couple of misunderstandings cost Israel (1) Multi

China Ladies win the whole thing!

Hand of the Month

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