ORBIS WORLD BRIDGE CHAMPIONSHIPS DAILY NEWS JANUARY 7-21 BERMUDA 2000 JEAN PAUL MEYER, CO-ORDINATOR / MARK HORTON, EDITOR BRENT MANLEY & BRIAN SENIOR, ASSISTANT EDITORS STELIOS HATZIDAKIS, LAYOUT EDITOR ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Issue: 4 Tuesday, 11 January 2000 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Objective 294 Victory Points As we approach the half way stage of the Round-Robins in the Orbis Bermuda Bowl and the Orbis Venice Cup, we anticipate that that the eight qualifiers in each event will have to average around 15.5 VP per round. If we are right, then the qualifying score of the eighth placed team will be 294VP. At the moment, the teams occupying those vital places at the moment, France in the Orbis Bermuda Bowl and Canada in the Orbis Venice Cup have 149VP, an average of 16.5VP. A special hurrah is in order for the host nation, as both Bermudian teams recorded victories in the ninth round of their respective competitions. Orbis Bermuda Bowl Indonesia leads the way in the Orbis Bermuda Bowl with 178VP. Poland follows them on 173 and USA I on 162. Orbis Venice Cup In the Venice Cup, Denmark has a massive 198VP, giving them a comfortable lead over the second placed team, USA 1, who have scored 181VP. The Netherlands is third with 172. One of those almost inevitable coincidences is that in both competitions Europe currently has five teams in qualifying positions. Orbis Seniors Exhibition Matches Poland continue to lead the way with a total of 114.2VP. They are still undefeated, although they were held to a draw by Australia in Round 6. They are 20VP ahead of the second placed team, North America. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- OrbisVenice Cup - Round 7 France v Denmark Monday morning featured a match between two strong European sides who have both started well here in Bermuda. Board 1. Dealer North. S T 9 8 4 H - D T 6 4 C Q J T 6 4 3 S 7 6 3 S J 2 H A K 2 H T 9 8 7 5 D J 8 7 5 3 D K Q 9 C 5 2 C K 8 7 S A K Q 5 H Q J 6 4 3 D A 2 C A 9 The match began with both Souths opening One Heart and being left to play there on the 5-0 fit. If your style is to respond on hands like the North one to try to improve the contract, you would do very well on this deal as Four Spades rates to make. However, that style is not always successful and both Norths were 'happy' to pass. Kirsten Steen-Møller led a diamond against Veronique Bessis. Declarer won the ace of diamonds and led a low heart. Mette Drøgemüller won cheaply and played two more rounds of diamonds. Bessis threw her small club but ruffed the fourth diamond while Drøgemüller pitched a club. Another low heart drew the king and Steen-Møller cashed the heart ace then led the fifth diamond, on which everyone threw a spade. When Steen-Møller switched to a club, Drøgemüller erred by covering with the king. Bessis won, cashed her winning heart, and started cashing winning spades. When Drøgemüller ruffed, she had to give dummy a club trick; one down for -50. At the other table, Christine Lustin led a club. Dummy's queen held the trick and declarer, Charlotte Koch-Palmund, played a diamond to the queen and ace and returned a diamond. Danielle Avon won the king and played a club to the ace. Now Koch-Palmund played three rounds of spades. Avon ruffed the third round and played a diamond for declarer to ruff. Koch-Palmund played her last spade and it didn't matter who ruffed; with six tricks already in the bag she was always going to make her contract. She actually made two trump tricks in the end game for +110 and 4 IMPs to Denmark. Board 5. N/S Game Dealer North. S K Q J H K 8 7 6 3 2 D J 7 C K Q S A 8 6 5 S 7 4 3 H T 4 H J 9 D Q 2 D A K 8 6 5 C A 9 6 4 3 C 7 5 2 S T 9 2 H A Q 5 D T 9 4 3 C J T 8 Both Norths opened One Heart, but with a difference. Catherine D'Ovidio promised five cards and Bessis raised directly to Two Hearts (constructive, because a bad raise would have gone through 1NT). D'Ovidio raised herself to game and had no way to avoid the four obvious losers; -100. Bettina Kalkerup only promised four cards and Koch-Palmund responded One No Trump. Kalkerup rebid Two Hearts and played there for a comfortable +140 and 6 IMPs to Denmark. Board 7. Dealer South / All. S K T 6 5 2 H 6 D 8 2 C K J T 9 4 S J 4 S A 7 3 H Q 9 5 3 2 H A J T 7 4 D A J 6 D Q T 5 4 C Q 8 7 C A S Q 9 8 H K 8 D K 9 7 3 C 6 5 3 2 West North East South Lustin Kalkerup Avon K-Palmund - - - Pass Pass 2S Dble Pass 4H All Pass Two Spades was a weak two, promising five cards. When Avon doubled for take-out, Lustin jumped straight to Four Hearts, ending the auction. West North East South S-Møller D'Ovidio DrøgemüllerBessis - - - Pass Pass Pass 1H Pass 2C Dble 2D 3C 4H 4S Pass Pass Dble All Pass D'Ovidio did not open the North hand but she more than made up for that later in the auction. Two Clubs was Drury and D'Ovidio doubled to show her clubs. Drøgemüller's Two Diamonds showed a sound opening and Bessis competed in clubs. When Steen-Møller jumped to the heart game, D'Ovidio tried her spades -- an aggressive decision at the vulnerability. Steen-Møller doubled and Drøgemüller led her ace of clubs, declarer dropping the nine, then switched to the diamond queen. D'Ovidio ducked and ducked again on the low diamond continuation. Steen-Møller won the diamond jack and erred by switching to a heart. Drøgemüller won the ace and returned a heart and D'Ovidio threw the club ten. She played a spade to the king and ace and back came a diamond, which she ruffed. Now she played a spade and, after some thought, judged correctly to go up with the queen. When the jack dropped she cashed the spade nine then took the club finesse to get out for two down; -500 and 4 IMPs to France. Board 9. Dealer North. S J 8 H A K Q J 9 8 5 4 2 D - C Q 4 S T 4 2 S A K Q 9 7 5 H T 7 6 H 3 D 8 7 6 3 D K Q J 4 C J 9 6 C T 8 S 6 3 H - D A T 9 5 2 C A K 7 5 3 2 Both Norths opened Four Hearts and East overcalled Four Spades. Bessis passed the south hand and D'Ovidio went on to five hearts, ending the auction. Drøgemüller cashed two top spades and switched to a diamond; +450. Koch-Palmund doubled Four Spades and led two top clubs. She switched to ace and another diamond for Kalkerup to ruff. Kalkerup cashed a top heart but that was all for the defense; -500 and 2 IMPs to Denmark. Had South ruffed her partner's heart winner, she could then have given her a second diamond ruff for three down and 8 IMPs. Board 10. Dealer East / All. S A K 6 H A 8 3 D T 2 C A 9 7 4 3 S 4 3 S Q J T 8 7 H Q 7 4 H - D A K 9 3 D Q 8 7 6 5 4 C Q T 6 5 C K 8 S 9 5 2 H K J T 9 6 5 2 D J C J 2 Should South open in second seat? Koch-Palmund did and her side was soon in Four Hearts for +620. In the other room, Bessis did not and now it was critical which minor West chose to open in third seat, if she opened at all. Wanting a diamond lead, Steen-Møller chose One Diamond. D'Ovidio doubled, Drøgemüller bid One Spade and Bessis jumped to Four Hearts. Drøgemüller bid Five Diamonds, of course, and when that came round to D'Ovidio she doubled. Bessis thought about it for a while but eventually passed. Five Hearts makes even on a spade lead as you can establish the long club for your eleventh trick, but it appears normal to defend Five Diamonds. That contract was down one for -200 but 9 IMPs to Denmark who led by 24-6 at the halfway point. Board 11. Dealer South. S 7 2 H J T 5 3 D J 7 5 2 C 9 8 6 S J 9 6 3 S K Q H Q 7 4 H A 9 8 6 D 9 6 D K 8 3 C J T 4 3 C K Q 7 2 S A T 8 5 4 H K 2 D A Q T 4 C A 5 West North East South Lustin Kalkerup Avon K-Palmund - - - 1S Pass Pass Dble 2D All Pass When Avon made a balancing double, Koch-Palmund took the opportunity to show her second suit. She was allowed to play Two Diamonds, which West North East South S-Møller D'Ovidio DrøgemüllerBessis - - - 1S Pass Pass Dble Pass 2C Pass 3C All Pass Bessis did not bid the diamonds and her opponents bid up to Three Clubs under their own steam. D'Ovidio led a spade and Bessis won and returned the suit. Steen-Møller played the king of clubs to the ace and Bessis exited with a third spade. Declarer put in the nine and that was ruffed and over-ruffed. Steen-Møller drew the remaining trumps by leading to her ten then cashed the jack of spades, pitching a diamond from dummy. The stage was set for a nice ending with both declarer and defender doing their best. Steen-Møller led a heart to the ace and Bessis smoothly unblocked the king. Had D'Ovidio held the queen, that would have defeated the contract. As it was, Steen-Møller led a second heart to her queen then a diamond. When D'Ovidio played low, she put in dummy's nine. Bessis had to win both the defense's diamond tricks but was then endplayed to give a ruff and discard and the contract. Nicely done by both players; +110 and 5 IMPs to Denmark. Board 14. Dealer East. S 4 3 H A T 2 D T 9 8 6 5 C 7 5 3 S K J T S Q 8 7 2 H K 9 8 H Q 7 6 5 3 D K 7 3 2 D J C A 9 6 C J T 4 S A 9 6 5 H J 4 D A Q 4 C K Q 8 2 Koch-Palmund opened One Spade in second seat and Kalkerup scraped up a One No Trump response, ending the auction. Avon led a low heart to the king and ace and Kalkerup tried the six of diamonds to the jack, queen and king. Taking the diamond was an error on Lustin's part as ducking would have held declarer to two tricks in the suit. Lustin played back a heart, ducked to the jack and Kalkerup cashed her diamonds then played a club. The defense had kept too many spades and she emerged with two overtricks instead of one; +150. Denmark's favourite toy made an appearance at the other table. Drøgemüller opened Two Diamonds as dealer, showing 0-10 HCP with at least 5-4 in the majors. Bessis doubled and Steen-Muller redoubled to ask for her partner's longer major. Drøgemüller bid Two Hearts and played there. Bessis led a low trump, blowing the second defensive trump trick. D'Ovidio won the ace and returned a club to the queen and ace. Drøgemüller drew the missing trumps and played on spades for nine tricks; +140 and 7 IMPs to Denmark. Board 15. N/S Game Dealer South. S A K 9 8 H J D A 6 C A K 7 6 4 2 S J T 5 S 4 2 H 9 8 2 H A Q T 7 6 D K Q T 8 7 3 2 D J 9 4 C - C Q T 8 S Q 7 6 3 H K 5 4 3 D 5 C J 9 5 3 West North East South S-Møller D'Ovidio DrøgemüllerBessis - - - Pass 3D Dble 4D Dble 5C Dble Pass Pass 5D 6C All Pass Bessis found a wafer-thin responsive double because she liked her shape. Expecting North to be playing a major-suit contract, Steen-Møller made an intelligent lead-directing Five Club bid. When she ran back to her original suit, D'Ovidio bid the club slam. Dummy was not an impressive sight but, were it not for the Five Club bid, slam would still look pretty good. As it was, dummy just needed the club queen instead of the jack. On the expected 3-0 break, the slam had to go one down; -100. That didn't look good for France, but it was worth a 3 IMP gain. In the other room, Kalkerup overcalled Three NoTrump over the diamond pre-empt, and played there. The 3-0 club split was also fatal to this contract. After a diamond lead,Three No Trump had to go two down for -200. Board 16. Dealer West. S K 7 6 5 3 H 9 D K 4 2 C Q J 9 4 S J 8 S Q 9 2 H Q 8 7 5 H K T D J T 9 8 7 D A Q 6 5 C 5 2 C A 8 7 3 S A T 4 H A J 6 4 3 2 D 3 C K T 6 Both Souths declared Two Hearts after East had opened One NoTrump. Against Koch-Palmund, the lead was a diamond. She ducked the jack and ruffed the continuation. The club king was ducked but the next club was won and a third diamond forced her to ruff again. Declarer played ace and another heart now. A fourth diamond would have forced her once too often and beaten the contract, but Avon gave her partner a club ruff instead and now declarer was in control; +110. In the other room the first two tricks were the same but Bessis played a club to the queen and ace. She ruffed the diamond return and played ace and another heart to the king. Here the fourth diamond was played and the contract had to go one down for -50 and 4 IMPs to Denmark. Declarer could have succeeded at the point where she played ace and another heart. Suppose instead that she plays two rounds of clubs. West ruffs and forces her with a diamond, but now when she plays ace and another heart East has no diamond left with which to hurt her. If the hand with the doubleton club has four trumps, this is the only chance to make the contract, while if hearts are 3-3 it is harmless. The only time it will cost the contract is if the doubleton trump gets to ruff a club, and it is not very likely that the same defender is short in both suits. Board 18. N/S Game Dealer East. S K 8 6 5 H Q 9 8 2 D 9 8 C J 6 2 S J 7 3 S A Q T 9 4 2 H K J T H A 5 D Q J T 7 D A 6 3 C T 7 5 C 9 4 S - H 7 6 4 3 D K 5 4 2 C A K Q 8 3 Both Easts declared Four Spades after South had made a take-out double of their One Spade opening bid. South led three rounds of clubs and declarer ruffed the third round and crossed to the king of hearts. Drøgemüller ran the jack of spades and, on seeing South show out, took the diamond finesse. When that lost she was one down, being unable to pick up the spades without loss. Avon made a better stab at the contract. When the jack of spades won, she continued with the seven of spades to the eight and queen. Next she tried a low diamond towards the dummy. Koch-Palmund went in with the king and found the only defense -- a fourth round of clubs! Declarer had to ruff in hand but meanwhile North threw her remaining diamond so that there was no entry to dummy to repeat the trump finesse. Of course, Avon tried to cross to a diamond, but Kalkerup ruffed for one down and 'just another dull push'. Well played and well defended. Denmark won the match by 47-13 IMPs, or 22-8 VPs, and continued their impressive run. France are still well-placed, but have been playing four-handed and could begin to suffer from tiredness. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Orbis Bermuda Bowl - Round 6 Norway v France By all accounts this was a match that had the VuGraph audience getting really involved, with plenty of cheering, especially by the Norwegian supporters. There was some excellent repartee between the commentators and the spectators, and a couple of well played hands. This deal might well be called, 'What a difference a nine makes'. Board 13. Dealer North / All. S A Q J 9 3 H K J 6 D J 6 C K T 5 S 8 7 6 5 S 4 H A 8 2 H 9 5 3 D Q 8 7 2 D K T 5 3 C 9 7 C A J 6 3 2 S K T 2 H Q T 7 4 D A 9 4 C Q 8 4 Closed Room West North East South StMarie SaelensmindeBompis Brogeland - 1NT Pass 3NT All Pass It is a matter of style whether you open a strong no-trump with a good five card major. A diamond lead would defeat 3NT, but declarer's luck was in, as East had no reason to do anything other than lead a club. Open Room West North East South Furunes Multon Helness Mari - 1S Pass 2C Pass 2S Pass 3S Pass 4S All Pass Just looking at the North-South cards, Four Spades looks easy. Declarer has five spades, three hearts, one diamond and one club. However, when East led a diamond, removing a vital entry, the 4-1 spade break meant declarer was under pressure. Multon ducked the opening lead to East's queen, and took the diamond continuation with the ace. He played a heart to the king, both East and West signaling honestly. Now came the jack of spades and a spade to the ten, East discarding a club. The bad trump break meant that declarer could not finish drawing trumps, and he played a heart to the jack,West again withholding his ace. The general consensus at this point was that declarer would go down, but Multon was not finished. He played the king of clubs. A smooth duck from East would have been the best defence, but we are pretty sure that Multon would not have gone wrong -- well at least Jean-Paul Meyer is sure! East won and returned a club at once, but declarer simply played low and claimed when West could not produce the jack. If you transfer the nine of clubs to the East hand, then the contract cannot be made! This hand is a perfect illustration of the eternal fascination of bridge. You make a brilliant play, and hold your loss to one IMP! Board 15. N/S Game Dealer South. S 8 H A K Q J 4 D 7 6 C T 7 5 4 2 S Q T 9 4 S K 7 5 3 2 H 6 3 H T 9 D J 8 2 D A K Q T C A K J 3 C 9 6 S A J 6 H 8 7 5 2 D 9 5 4 3 C Q 8 Closed Room West North East South StMarie SaelensmindeBompis Brogeland - - - Pass Pass 1H 1S 2H 3H Pass 4S All Pass South led the five of hearts and North cashed two winners in the suit before switching to a diamond. Declarer had no real reason to divine the spade position and in the fullness of time he went one down. Open Room West North East South Furunes Multon Helness Mari - - - Pass 1C 1H 1S 2H 2S 3H 4S All Pass This time South led the eight of hearts and play developed along similar lines. North took the king and ace of hearts and switched to the seven of diamonds. Helness let that run to dummy's jack and played a spade, hoping as at the other table to see a singleton ace appear. No luck and the king lost to the ace. South returned a diamond, and declarer won and played a spade. This was the critical moment. Reflecting on the bidding, what could North have for his vulnerable bid at the three-level? It had to be some decent distribution. After considerable thought, long enough for one spectator to point out that he was 2-1 on to make the contract on the basis that playing either the nine or ten of spades would win, whilst the queen would lose, Helness earned a round of applause and 10 IMPs. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Danish Delight The Danish ladies headed the field at the end of the first day, missing a maximum on the day by a single IMP. Kirsten Steen-Møller brought in a game swing on the first board of their third round win over New Zealand. Board 1. Dealer North. S K 6 5 H J 4 D Q 8 C A J T 5 4 2 S A T 3 S 8 4 2 H Q T 9 H K 7 6 5 2 D 7 5 3 2 D A T 9 6 C K 6 3 C 7 S Q J 9 7 H A 8 3 D K J 4 C Q 9 8 West North East South Drøgemüller Steen-Møller - 1C 1H Dble 2H Pass Pass 3H Pass 3S Pass 3NT All Pass West led the queen of hearts and, when that was ducked, continued with the heart ten to the jack and king. It was clear from the bidding that East had to have an entry to her long hearts. The only hope, then, was to find that the hearts were blocked. Kirsten won the second heart and took the club finesse then rattled off six rounds of clubs. Note the importance of the eight of hearts, without which West would have been able to unblock the suit by discarding the nine on the run of the clubs. Watching the discards carefully, she judged that East had shown the ace of diamonds so continued with the diamond queen. There was no way for the defense to untangle the heart suit now and Kirsten had nine tricks for an excellent +400. In the other room, the New Zealand declarer went two down in the same contract for a well-deserved 11-IMP swing to Denmark. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Orbis Venice Cup - Round 3 India v Austria Another routine game Board 6. Dealer East. S J T 9 7 3 H K 7 4 3 D 2 C K 9 4 S 6 S K 5 4 H A J T 9 5 H Q 2 D K J 8 7 3 D A T 5 4 C T 8 C Q J 5 3 S A Q 8 2 H 8 6 D Q 9 6 C A 7 6 2 West North East South Krishna Erhart Divakaran Smedeverac - - 1D 1S 2H 4S All Pass At the other table Doris Fischer and Terri Weigkricht had a free run to Three Diamonds by East. South led the eight of hearts and Doris went up with the ace, played a diamond to the ace and finessed on the way back. Well done for +110. In the closed room, Jovi Smedeverac was not deterred from overcalling by the lack of a fifth spade, and a few seconds later she found herself in game. West led the seven of diamonds and East won and returned a trump. Jovi let that run to dummy and repeated the finesse,West discarding a heart. As the ace of hearts was undoubtedly onside, a 2-2 trump break would have enabled declarer to claim, but now she needed three club tricks. After drawing the last trump, she played a club to the eight (that must have been a happy sight!) nine and jack. When she got in with the king of hearts, she cashed the king of clubs and seeing the ten from West, finessed the seven on the next round to bring home the contract. As Maria Erhart commented, 'If you bid like this you have to play well!' ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The Man From Del'Monte Ishmael Del'Monte is one of the rising stars of Australian bridge. He was the hero of this hand from Australia's Round 6 win against Canada. Board 6. Dealer East. S A Q T 7 3 2 H J 7 5 4 D A C 9 4 S 9 S K 6 H K 9 8 6 2 H A Q T 3 D K T 9 8 2 D Q 7 6 3 C 8 3 C A J 7 S J 8 5 4 H - - D J 5 4 C K Q T 6 5 2 West North East South Richman Graves Del'Monte Silver - - 1C 3C Dble Pass 3H Pass 4H All Pass One Club was strong and the double was for take-out. Looking at four hearts, and with West having made a take-out double of clubs, it was not obvious to Alan Graves that his side was cold for 11 tricks in spades and he sold out to Four Hearts. Joey Silver led the king of clubs, an ambiguous lead which could have been from ace, king or king, queen. Graves played the four and Del'Monte ducked. Silver led a second club, hoping to perhaps give his partner a ruff. Del'Monte won the jack and played a top heart. The 4-0 trump break meant that he had to take four rounds to draw them all. Next, Del'Monte cashed the ace of clubs, throwing dummy's spade loser. Now came the key play: he continued with the seven of diamonds and ran it! It seemed that South had to have at least four diamonds and when the seven drew the ace Del'Monte had the rest for a great +650. Declarer cannot play the diamond queen first as he has no way back to his hand to take the second-round finesse. Team-mates were +200 in the other room so Australia gained 13 IMPs. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Back to the Future In our continuing account of the World's most famous Championship, we move on two years to the start of an era that was to be dominated by the greatest team the world has ever seen. 7th Bermuda Bowl 1957 - NewYork, USA Noone knew it at the time, but the 1957 Bermuda Bowl marked the beginning of a dynasty. Italy had shown definite promise in the 1951 loss to North America and now their stars had gained maturity. The result: Italy defeated North America by 10,150 points in the 224-board 1957 world championship. This was the largest winning margin in world championship history. It marked the third straight year in which Europe had prevailed against North America. It also marked the start of Italy's dominance of world bridge -- a dominance that lasted until 1976, when Brazil defeated the Italians in the World Team Olympiad and North America ended their championship run in the Bermuda Bowl. In between Italy won every Bermuda Bowl except in 1970 and 1971, when their stars were in temporary retirement. They also won every Olympiad except the first in 1960.The Olympiad, which takes place in years that are divisible by four, just like the Summer Olympics, was added to the WBF field of events to give all member countries a chance at winning a world championship. Although there are some restrictions, the general plan is for each nation to send one team to the Olympiad site to battle for the title. Italy's team, winners of the 1956 European Team Championships, consisted of Eugenio Chiaradia, Massimo d'Alelio, Guglielmo Siniscalco, Pietro Forquet, Giorgio Belladonna and Walter Avarelli. Carl'Alberto Perroux was non-playing captain. Chiaradia, Siniscalco and Forquet had made a strong impression on observers during Italy's loss to North America in the 1951 Bermuda Bowl. The North American team, winners of the Spingold Master Knockout Teams championship at the 1956 Summer Nationals, consisted of Charles Goren, Billy Seamon, Helen Sobel, Peter Leventritt, Boris Koytchou and Harold Ogust, with Rufus 'Skinny' Miles as non-playing captain. Bridge became a spectator sport during this championship. Several hundred enthusiasts packed the Madison Room to watch each evening session on vugraph (the three afternoon sessions were not vugraphed). The special arrangements set up by the staff enabled the audience to follow the play card by card. As the championship was held in North America, it was played using total points scoring. The most important ingredient was the projector-screen arrangement. Essentially this was a modern version of the familiar magic lantern. You put a slide into the lantern, shine a light through and a picture shows on a screen. Special slides were prepared in advance with the heart and diamond pips in red and the others in black, arranged much like the hands of a newspaper column. The 52 cards of each deal were written on plates with a grease pencil. Since the hand had to be flashed on the screen without delay, it was prepared in a carefully isolated room next to the Closed Room. Play in the Closed Room began 15 or 20 minutes before play in the Open Room, permitting the preparation of one or two hands in advance. The players in the Open Room were seated within a specially built soundproof room with a glassed front. The audience could see them, but the players could see out only a few feet from the fishbowl -- not far enough to see even the first row of the audience. This optical effect was produced by having the lights much brighter inside the fishbowl than outside where the audience sat. Since the difference in lighting made the glass act like a mirror, it was necessary to rub soap over a portion of the glass front. During the auction, each call was repeated by Tournament Director Al Sobel, stationed inside the fishbowl with a phone hooked up to the loudspeaker. The operator of the projector would write each bid on the slide with his grease pencil, causing it to appear on screen. Thus the audience would first hear and then see each bid. Various experts took turns commenting on the bidding and play, thus filling in the pauses while the players considered their next bid or play. The panellists also explained some of the knottier points. Alfred Sheinwold began the commentary each evening, then would turn the mike over to such well-known bridge luminaries as B. Jay Becker, Sam Fry Jr, Dick Frey, Oswald Jacoby, Charles Goren, Billy Seamon and Peter Leventritt. Bridge enthusiasts found the fishbowl-screen arrangement fascinating. Despite the Italian runaway, there was standing room only every night. It was a splendid show. But many others besides those present got their chance to watch during the final session -- a full hour of the match was telecast (WOR-TV) to an audience estimated at several million. It's time to return to the match, which began quietly enough on Sunday afternoon, January 6, in a suite on the fourth floor of New York's Biltmore Hotel. Four players, a scorer and a referee sat in isolation in the Closed Room, while a handful of spectators, mostly bridge reporters, watched the play in the Open Room. After the first 12 boards, North America led by an insignificant 30 points, the value of a major-suit overtrick. North America had some good results early in the match. They gained 1230 points on the following deal. Board 7. Dealer East / All. S 3 H K T 7 2 D K J C K J T 9 4 2 S 9 8 7 4 S K 2 H A 8 5 4 H Q J 9 6 3 D 5 3 D A 8 6 4 C A 7 5 C Q 6 S A Q J T 6 5 H - - D Q T 9 7 2 C 8 3 West North East South Leventritt Siniscalco Goren Forquet - - 1H 2S 3H 4C Pass Pass Dble All Pass Goren started with the queen of hearts, and Siniscalco elected to let it ride to his hand, discarding a spade from dummy. Leventritt took his ace and shifted to a trump. Declarer had to lose two trumps, a diamond and a heart for down one; -200. West North East South Chiaradia Koytchou d'Alelio Ogust - - 1H 2S 3H Pass Pass 3S Dble All Pass In general the Italians were strong in the opening lead department, but not this time. Chiaradia led the ace of hearts, and from that point on Ogust had no problems. He ruffed and led a diamond. D'Alelio won and returned a diamond. At this point Ogust could have scored two overtricks by using the king of hearts to get a club pitch, then finessing in trumps. But Ogust wasn't taking any chances -- he took his club discard on the king of hearts, cashed the ace of trumps and gave up a trump to the king. D'Alelio could have promoted a trump trick for partner by leading a third diamond, but when he actually returned a heart, Ogust was able to claim ten tricks -- +1030 (counting the honours!). The result after 24 boards was more significant -- Italy led by 1500 points. After 12 action-packed hands, North America had picked up 520 points, reducing the Italian lead to 980. Italy rebounded in the second half to lead by 1310 after 48 boards. Italy still led by 990 points after 72 boards. Chiaradia got a round of applause from the 300 spectators when he brought home a slam on this deal. Board 59. Dealer North. S Q J 7 H A 9 4 3 D 9 3 2 C 8 6 5 S 6 4 2 S T 3 H Q J T H 7 6 5 2 D K 7 6 5 4 D J T 8 C 4 3 C A J 9 7 S A K 9 8 5 H K 8 D A Q C K Q T 2 Chiaradia opened a strong Two Clubs and eventually became declarer in Six Spades. At the other table, the North American pair rested in Three NoTrump, easily making of course. Chiaradia won the opening heart queen lead with the king, and led the spade eight to the jack so he could start clubs from dummy. He won the king when East ducked, and he got back to dummy overtaking the nine with the queen, the ten falling from East. When he led a second club, East rose with the ace. East had received conflicting signals from West -- a low-high in clubs signifying an odd number, but a high-low in trumps, showing a third trump that possibly could be used for ruffing. East got it wrong -- he did not lead a club for partner to ruff for the setting trick. Instead he switched to a diamond. Chiaradia rose with the ace, used the carefully preserved spade five to get to his seven, and took a finesse against the jack of clubs. He then cashed the good club and the remaining trumps, squeezing West to a pulp in the red suits. With two tricks to go, West had to make a discard holding the king of diamonds and the queen-jack of hearts. Dummy still had the ace-nine of hearts and declarer the queen of diamonds. Well done. The North Americans made their best effort over the next twelve boards, winning 1040 points to go ahead by 50. Jubilant American supporters were assuring one another that the Italians would never regain the lead, but the next twelve boards proved them bad prophets. Italy picked up 1150 points to lead by 1100 points after Board 96. One of the biggest swings of the championship occured on Board 82. Board 82. N/S Game Dealer East. S K Q H Q 8 7 5 D A K 2 C A J T 7 S - S J T 9 5 4 H 4 H A T 6 3 D Q J T 9 7 5 4 3 D 8 6 C 9 6 4 2 C Q 3 S A 8 7 6 3 2 H K J 9 2 D - - C K 8 5 Both North/Souths played in Six Hearts. When Koytchou was declarer as South, Siniscalco led a very favourable two of clubs to the ten, queen and king. Koytchou led the jack of hearts, won by Forquet, who shifted back to clubs. When Koytchou cashed the trump queen, he learned the heart situation. He took dummy's top spades, picked up Forquet's remaining trumps and claimed. D'Alelio had it much rougher. Leventritt, who had overcalled Five Diamonds over the opening One Spade, led the queen of diamonds. This was won in dummy as declarer discarded a club. D'Alelio led a heart to the jack and a second heart to the queen, Goren ducking again. Goren took the third heart and returned a diamond. D'Alelio drew the last trump, hoping for a favourable spade break or reasonable luck in finding the queen of clubs. He cashed dummy's spades, getting a complete count. He crossed to the club king, cashed the ace of spades and took the club finesse. Curtains! Goren won and cashed spades for down three and a gain of 1730 points. Incidentally, if West had had the queen of clubs, d'Alelio would have made his slam. West would have been forced to come down to three clubs in order to keep a high diamond to cover dummy's remaining diamond. Board 87. Dealer North / All. S K T 9 8 4 H T 5 4 D K T 8 3 C A S A Q 7 S J 6 5 H A K 6 2 H Q J 8 7 3 D 2 D 7 5 C J 8 7 6 2 C K T 4 S 3 2 H 9 D A Q J 9 6 4 C Q 9 5 3 West North East South - Pass Pass Pass 1H 1S 2H 3D 3H 4D Pass Pass 4H Dble Pass 5D Dble All Pass With the spade ace onside and the spades splitting 3-3, the Italian declarer brought home eleven tricks for +750, good for a 550-point gain. North America made small gains over the next 24 boards, whittling the Italian lead down to 780 points. Bridge reporters were speculating in print whether the Italians would be able to hold their lead in the 104 boards still unplayed. It didn't take long for that question to be answered in unambiguous fashion. Things got so bleak for the Americans onWednesday that they called it Black Wednesday. Outdoors, BlackWednesday looked like any other January day, but that certainly wasn't true inside the Biltmore Hotel. The North American team was taking a terrible beating. By the end of the day, Italy led by an awesome 5630 points after 148 boards. Thursday was just as bad. Italy picked up 1060 points in the first half of the afternoon session, making their lead 6690 points. Then they added 1710 points in the next half, increasing their lead to 8400 points after Board 172. With only 52 boards left to be played, there was no longer any speculation as to which team would win the match -- the only question was how big the winning margin would be. It was unfortunate that the match was all over but the shouting on Friday night. That's the night when WOR-TV televized the bridge action for a full hour. But bridge enthusiasts still tuned in -- they weren't going to miss the chance to see the stars play on television, even if it was a foregone conclusion that Italy was going to win. Television viewers were able to get a feeling of what it was like to compete in a world championship match. At first North America lifted the spirits of the television viewers as they made some moderate gains. However, this was Italy's tournament -- the Italians staged a strong finish to win by 10,150 points. How did Italy pile up such an awesome margin? In general the dummy play of both teams was about equal. However, Italy frequently arrived at superior contracts -- games when the North Americans stopped in partials, slams when their opponents rested in game. The Italians frequently made super-weak opening bids and overcalls but seldom were made to suffer. The North Americans, by contrast, played a conservative style, and this seemed to work to their disadvantage quite often. On defense, the Italians frequently found the devastating opening lead. They also avoided psychic bids. The North Americans tried several, usually with unhappy results. Another major point -- Italy came to the table with three well-established partnerships. North America did not. All in all, it was a case of the better team winning. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- One of those days It was not a happy day Sunday for Orbis Bermuda Bowl teams from the South Pacific. Between them in six round-robin matches, Australia and New Zealand managed one victory and a total of 60 Victory Points. In the vugraph match Sunday morning, Australia was clobbered by Indonesia, 60-11. In the next round, they lost to Guadaloupe, 72- 41, before recovering in Round 6 against Canada, 56-41. New Zealand was defeated by Italy, 56-38, by Brazil in the early afternoon vugraph match, 50-24, and by Poland in Round 6, 61-24. New Zealand's match against Brazil is the featured match from the second day of competition. Brazil started off with a bang, stealing the board with ease. Board 1. Dealer North. S 9 8 5 2 H Q J 9 4 3 2 D 8 C Q 3 S Q T 4 S A H K 8 6 H T 5 D A 4 D K Q T 6 5 3 C A J 6 4 2 C T 9 8 7 S K J 7 6 3 H A 7 D J 9 7 2 C K 5 West North East South Mello Newell Janz Reid - 2H 3D Pass 3NT All Pass Peter Newell's weak 2H bid propelled Roberto Mello and Ricardo Janz into the notrump game, which might have been defeated had Newell led his suit (Mello would have to be careful not to duck the second round of hearts, lest Martin Reid discard his CK on the third round of hearts, creating an entry in North's hand). In any event, Newell led the S5 and Mello made it home with nine tricks by working on clubs right away to score plus 400. At the other table: West North East South Jacob Chagas Mace Branco - Pass Pass 1S Pass 3S All Pass Gabriel Chagas' decision to pass the North hand worked out well, since he was able to preemptively raise Marcelo Branco's opening 1S bid and blow Tom Jacob and Brian Mace right out of the auction. Branco went down one for minus 50, but it was an 8-IMP pickup for Brazil to start the match. Brazil was up 14-0 after three boards, and they increased the margin to 27 when New Zealand bid to a hopeless slam on this deal. Board 4. Dealer West. S K H A J 8 7 3 D 8 7 3 C T 7 4 3 S Q J T 6 3 S 8 7 5 4 2 H Q 4 H 9 6 2 D K T 4 D 6 5 2 C Q 8 6 C 9 2 S A 9 H K T 5 D A Q J 9 C A K J 5 West North East South Mello Newell Janz Reid Pass 2C (1) Pass 2D Pass 3H Pass 4C Pass 4H Pass 4S Pass 5C Pass 6C All Pass (1) Limited hand with 4+ clubs and a five-card major. This is one case in which the 4-4 fit is not advantageous. With a correct guess in the trump suit, 6H is makeable. 6C has two inevitable losers. In practice, Newell went down two for minus 200. At the other table, Chagas and Branco stopped in 4H, making five for plus 650 and a 13-IMP swing. The most interesting deal of the match involved a 10-IMP loss for New Zealand. Board 7. Dealer South. S K T 9 2 H 3 D K 4 3 C K T 9 4 3 S Q J 7 5 4 S 6 H A K J 8 2 H Q 9 5 4 D 6 D Q 9 8 7 2 C 8 5 C A J 7 S A 8 3 H T 7 6 D A J T 5 C Q 6 2 West North East South Mello Newell Janz Reid 1S Pass 1NT Pass 2H Pass 3H Pass 4H All Pass Newell led a club, taken by Mello in dummy. When Mello played a spade from dummy, Reid hopped up with the ace and returned a trump. Mello was then able to ruff out the SK and take 10 tricks, losing only a West North East South Jacob Chagas Mace Branco - - - Pass 1D (1) Pass 1NT Pass 2H (2) Pass 2NT (3) Pass 3H All Pass (1) Showing spades. (2) Five or more hearts. (3) Invitational in hearts. Chagas led a low diamond to Branco's 10, and Branco switched to a heart, taken in dummy with the 9. Rather than lead a spade as Mello had done, Jacob ruffed a diamond at trick three, a move which drew comments from the vugraph panel as to the wisdom of this line of play. Indeed, as play progressed it appeared that Jacob was on his way to down one. After ruffing the diamond, Jacob played the SQ to Branco's ace, and another trump came back, taken in the West hand. Now came a spade ruff, diamond ruff and a spade ruff. At trick nine, Jacob played a diamond from dummy and discarded a spade when Branco followed with the DA. Branco returned a low club to the king and ace, and this was the position: S K H - D - C 10 9 S J S - H K H - D - D Q C 8 C J 7 S -- H 10 D -- C Q 6 Jacob played the good DQ, ruffed by Branco and overruffed by Jacob. At this point, Chagas could not find a good discard. When he let go the C9, Jacob could then play the C8, covered by the 10, jack and queen. Branco's last card was the C6, which he had to play to dummy's good 7 in dummy. The interesting aspect of the play was small consolation, considering that New Zealand lost another 10 IMPs. New Zealand scored 7 IMPs when Jacob and Mace bid a game not reached at the other table, and they racked up another 12 on this deal, which featured accurate defense by Jacob and Mace and a curious play by Mello. Board 10. Dealer East. S A 9 6 H Q J 2 D A K Q 8 7 2 C 2 S J 4 S Q T 7 5 3 2 H A 9 6 5 4 3 H - - D 9 3 D J T 6 4 C Q 9 4 C A K 7 S K 8 H K T 8 7 D 5 C J T 8 6 5 3 West North East South Mello Newell Janz Reid - - 2D (1) Pass 2H (2) Dble 2S 3C Pass 3NT All Pass (1) Multi. (2) Pass or correct. East led the D4, taken in the closed hand. Newell played the HQ and HJ, both ducked by West. Newell then played the D8 from his hand. Janz won the D10 and put the C7 on the table. It appeared that Janz wanted to get his partner in to cash the HA but did not want to block the club suit in the event Mello had a doubleton CQ. Anyway, Newell put up dummy's CJ, and Mello played low! West North East South Jacob Chagas Mace Branco - - 2S Pass 3S 3NT All Pass Mace led the S3 to the 8, jack and ace. Chagas played the HJ, and Mace had to make the first of four discards on the heart suit. Jacob won the first round of hearts and returned his S4, clearing the suit. Chagas then played three rounds of hearts, on which Mace tossed a club and two spades. Chagas' only hope then was that diamonds were breaking. When they did not, he went down one for a 12-IMP swing to New Zealand. That was about it for New Zealand. The second half of the match featured only small swings, along with five push boards. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The Killing Opening lead By Henry Francis C. T. Hsu of China playing against the World Champions, found the killing opening lead on this deal from the Seniors Exhibition event. Board 7. Dealer South / All. S K T 9 2 H 3 D K 4 3 C K T 9 4 3 S Q J 7 5 4 S 6 H A K J 8 2 H Q 9 5 4 D 6 D Q 9 8 7 2 C 8 5 C A J 7 S A 8 3 H T 7 6 D A J T 5 C Q 6 2 West North East South Rohan Hsu Baratta Lu - - - Pass 1S Pass 1NT Pass 2H Pass 4H All Pass On most leads declarer easily scores 10 tricks on a crossruff. But Hsu led his singleton heart. Karl Rohan won with the eight and led a diamond. Hsu didn't have another trump to lead, so he ducked, hoping partner had the ace. Lu won with the 10 and sent back another trump. Rohan overtook the jack with the queen and led dummy's singleton spade. Lu leaped in with the ace and led a third trump, devastating declarer. Rohan led the jack of spades, covered and ruffed. When he then ruffed a diamond, Hsu unblocked his king. Rohan gave up a spade to Hsu's 9, and the switch was to a diamond. Rohan ruffed Lu's jack and cashed his good spades. But there was nothing he could do about his losing club - down one. This represented a 12-IMP gain for China because the North at the other table did not find the trump lead and China scored up the heart game. All in all, this was a very strange match. Almost every time a pair at the above table took an aggressive action, disaster followed. Board 4 is an example. Board 4. Dealer West / All. S K H A J 8 7 3 D 8 7 3 C T 7 4 3 S Q J T 6 3 S 8 7 5 4 2 H Q 4 H 9 6 2 D K T 4 D 6 5 2 C Q 8 6 C 9 2 S A 9 H K T 5 D A Q J 9 C A K J 5 West North East South Rohan Hsu Baratta Lu Pass Pass Pass 2NT Pass 3D (1) Pass 3H Pass 4C (2) Pass 6C All Pass (1) Transfer (2) Five hearts and at least four clubs Who can blame Lu for thinking a slam was in the cards? He hoped to find somewhat better clubs in dummy. He won the opening spade lead with the king and took the diamond finesse. Rohan produced the king and led another spade. Declarer correctly guessed the heart position, but he had no way to pick up trumps and was down one for a 13-IMP loss. Fequently when they took a passive stance, they found themselves making enough over- tricks to score game. In general China escaped most of the worst problems and as a result scored a 24-6 victory. ----------------------------------------------------------------------