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 CHYAH BURGHARD, TEXT LAYOUT EDITOR ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Issue: 6 Thursday, 13 January 2000 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Race for the eighth! Both the Orbis Bermuda Bowl and the Orbis Venice Cup feature tight races for the top eight qualifying spots. Play in the quarterfinal stages of both events begins on Saturday. Each team has five more chances to make the cut. Indonesia, which had slipped to third place after two losses on Wednesday, had a huge 14th round against one of the other strong contenders in the Orbis Bermuda Bowl to regain first place in the round-robin standings. Orbis Bermuda Bowl In the Orbis Bermuda Bowl, Indonesia routed Poland, 53-14, to surge back into first place with 256 Victory Points, just three ahead of second-place USA 1. Right behind the Americans are Norway with 250 VPs, followed by Poland with 242. Indonesia lost earlier in the day to Italy, 56-29, and to Brazil, 37-31. USA 1 was clobbered by Poland in the first match of the day, 73-32, but came back with victories against South Africa, 68-43, and Sweden, 44-31. Orbis Venice Cup In the Orbis Venice Cup, Denmark's lead of 23 VPs starting play Wednesday was whittled to 3 after two losses and a narrow victory. After 14 matches, the Danes had 268 VPs to 265 for second-place Austria. France was within striking distance at 262 and USA 1 was close with 259. Denmark edged Canada, 41-37, to start off Wednesday, but dropped their next two matches, losing to The Netherlands, 47-33, and to Argentina, 45-32. Austria moved from fourth to second in the standings with three wins, 66-41 over Argentina, 58-27 over USA 1 and 44-19 over New Zealand. In the Seniors Exhibition, Poland finished atop the standings in the first phase and will face North America in the next round. France was second and will face China in play starting today. The World Champs will play Australia in the 5th/6th play-off. All matches will consist of 40 boards. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Anti-doping Code All participants at this championship have been advised of General Condition of Contest 30 which states: "All players and officials are required to accept the regulations determined by the Olympic Movement Anti-doping Code...." The WBF Executive Council has established procedures for this tournament to comply with The Code which include: 1. Two (2) members from each semi-finalist team in the Bermuda Bowl and Venice Cup will be required to give urine sample(s) to a qualified laboratory technician selected by the WBF for the purposes of testing for violation of the Anti-doping Code. The selection of the players will be made randomly and by lot by the WBF. The testing will be performed by a laboratory approved by the IOC. At the time the sample is taken, players should inform the WBF about any prescription medication being taken in a sealed envelope. 2. The type of "dope" which will be included in the testing includes so-called "recreational" drugs such as cocaine, marijuana, hashish as well as so-called performance enhancing substances. Even caffeine over a specific concentration is prohibited. The WBF is informed that 8-12 cups of American coffee consumed over a 3-hour period can produce a positive result for caffeine. A complete list of the prohibited substances is available on the Internet at www.olympic.org or is available in the office of the WBF secretary at the Southampton Princess Hotel on the mezzanine level. 3. Any violations revealed by the test results (which may not be received for several weeks) will be referred to a special committee appointed by the WBF President for resolution which could include disqualification of the offending player or his/her entire team. Any appeal of the decision of the committee by any player subjected to discipline related to the anti-doping policy shall be to the IOC Court of Arbitration for Sport. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Orbis Venice Cup - Round 10 Austria v Canada Austria started the day in third place while Canada stood eighth -- good enough, but a lot less comfortable with one of the favourites, China, breathing down their necks. Board 1. Love All Dealer North. S A K T 7 6 H 7 4 D J 7 4 C 9 8 4 S 9 4 2 S Q J H A Q J 3 2 H K T 9 8 6 D 9 6 2 D Q 5 C K 7 C Q T 6 5 S 8 5 3 H 5 D A K T 8 3 C A J 3 2 West North East South Gordon Erhart Reus Terraneo - Pass Pass 1D 1H 1S 2S 3S All Pass West North East South Weigkricht Cimon Fischer Saltsman - Pass Pass 1D 1H 1S 2S Dble Pass Pass 3H All Pass The two auctions were the same up to two spades, showing a good heart raise. Now Sylvia Terraneo competed with Three Spades while Barbara Saltsman preferred to double -- it is possible that Saltsman was less secure about finding partner with a fifth spade. The double didn't get the job done, as Francine Cimon allowed her opponents to play Three Hearts. That had five top losers, but -50 was a bargain for the Austrians. Sharyn Reus led a heart against Three Spades and Dianna Gordon won and switched to a trump. Maria Erhart won the ace of spades, ruffed her heart loser, cashed a top diamond and played a spade to the king. When both spades and diamonds behaved, she had 12 tricks for +230 and 5 IMPs to Austria. Board 3. E/W Game Dealer South. S Q 8 5 H 5 D A K 9 6 3 C 9 5 4 3 S 9 7 S A K J 6 H Q J T 9 6 H A K 8 3 2 D J 7 D T C Q J T 7 C A 6 2 S T 4 3 2 H 7 4 D Q 8 5 4 2 C K 8 West North East South Gordon Erhart Reus Terraneo - - - Pass Pass 1D Dble 3D 3H Pass 4D Pass 4H 5D Pass Pass 5H All Pass West North East South Weigkricht Cimon Fischer Saltsman - - - Pass Pass 2D Dble 5D Pass Pass Dble All Pass Cimon's third seat weak two bid allowed her partner to get the bidding up very high and very quickly. With no suit yet mentioned, East/West had little option but to take the money in Five Diamonds Doubled. That money proved to be 500. In the other room, The one-level opening (which might have been three cards) meant that Terraneo could only raise to the three level. Once hearts were in the picture, East/West could judge to go on to Five Hearts. Erhart led a top diamond and switched to a club. Gordon took the ace, drew trumps and claimed; +650 and 4 IMPs to Canada. Board 5. N/S Game Dealer North. S J 8 7 5 4 H 9 8 4 D J 7 6 2 C 5 S K S Q 6 3 2 H A T 5 H J 6 D 9 8 4 D Q T 3 C K T 8 7 6 2 C A Q 4 3 S A T 9 H K Q 7 3 2 D A K 5 C J 9 West North East South Gordon Erhart Reus Terraneo - Pass Pass 1C Pass 1D Pass 1H 2C Pass 3C Pass Pass 3H All Pass Terraneo opened a strong club and her rebid was two way, either natural or strong and balanced. Her subsequent pass confirmed the natural type and Erhart competed with Three Hearts over Three Clubs. If you knew where everything was, you could do pretty well in a heart contract after the start of a club lead to the ace and a low diamond switch. But, of course, Terraneo did not know where everything was. She rose with the ace of diamonds and ruffed her club loser then played a spade to the ten and king. A diamond came through to the jack, queen and king, and she tried the queen of hearts. This was allowed to hold and a low heart continuation went to the jack. Reus cashed the ten of diamonds then played a club. The defense had a heart and a spade to come for down two; -200. West North East South Weigkricht Cimon Fischer Saltsman - Pass Pass 1H Pass 1NT Dble Rdbl 4C 4H 5C Dble All Pass Saltsman opened a natural One Heart and then redoubled to show a strong hand. Terry Weigkricht's jump to Four Clubs proved to be counterproductive for her side as it pushed Cimon to bid more hearts than she really wanted to do. Doris Fischer went on to Five Clubs and Saltsman doubled. After a heart lead, there were two diamonds, a spa de and a heart for the defense; -300 and 11 IMPs to Canada. Board 6. E/W Game Dealer East. S 4 H 8 7 5 D A J 9 8 7 6 4 3 C 6 S Q 9 8 6 5 2 S K 7 H 6 3 H A J T 4 2 D K T D Q 5 C J 7 5 C Q T 9 3 S A J T 3 H K Q 9 D 2 C A K 8 4 2 West North East South Gordon Erhart Reus Terraneo - - 1H 2C Pass 5D All Pass When Terraneo overcalled, Erhart leaped straight to game in her long suit. When the diamonds were evenly divided, she had 11 tricks; +400. West North East South Weigkricht Cimon Fischer Saltsman - - 1H 2C Pass 2D Pass 2S Pass 3D All Pass Cimon contented herself with a simple diamond bid and then repeating the suit over Saltsman's Two Spade rebid. Saltsman showed discipline in passing because of the apparent misfit but this was not the time for caution; +150 but 6 IMPs to Austria. Board 8. Love All Dealer West. S J T 9 2 H K T 5 4 D K 5 4 C 6 3 S 8 3 S A Q 7 6 4 H A Q 7 6 2 H - - D 7 3 D Q J T 2 C J T 9 8 C K Q 4 2 S K 5 H J 9 8 3 D A 9 8 6 C A 7 5 West North East South Gordon Erhart Reus Terraneo Pass 1H 1S 2NT Pass 3H Dble 4H All Pass Erhart stated that she had misread the four of diamonds as being the ace, hence the odd opening bid. Two No Trump was at least a limit raise in hearts and Three Hearts showed a minimum. When Reus doubled for take-out, Terraneo just assumed that it would be taken out so raised to game without allowing Gordon to show her preference. Of course, her preference might well have been to pass out the double. One must assume that a double of Four hearts from West would have been value-showing rather than penalty. The contract drifted three down for - 150, better than Three Hearts Doubled down two from declarer's point of view. West North East South Weigkricht Cimon Fischer Saltsman Pass Pass 1S Dble Pass 2H Dble All Pass For some reason, Cimon did not open the crisp seven-count! Fischer's One Spade opening was doubled for take-out and she in turn doubled the Two Heart response for take-out. Weigkricht passed, of course, but could they beat it? The lead was the queen of diamonds to the king. Cimon played a spade to the king, cashed the ace of diamonds, then played a second spade to the queen. Fischer cashed the jack of diamonds, on which Weigkricht pitched the club jack, then switched to the king of clubs to dummy's ace. A diamond was ruffed and a club given up. When the defense played another club, Cimon could ruff and, with six tricks in the bag, simply make two trump tricks by force to make her contract. +470 was worth 12 IMPs to Canada, who led by 33-16. Board 10. Dealer East. S A Q 9 8 6 5 H Q 8 D K Q 8 7 C A S K 7 4 2 S J 3 H - - H A K 9 7 2 D J 6 5 3 D A 4 2 C T 9 6 5 4 C K Q 3 S T H J T 6 5 4 3 D T 9 C J 8 7 2 West North East South Gordon Erhart Reus Terraneo - - 1D Pass 1S Pass 1NT Pass 2C 2S All Pass West North East South Weigkricht Cimon Fischer Saltsman - - 1C Pass 1D 1S Pass Pass Dble 2D 2H Pass 2NT All Pass Curiously, it was at the table where East/West bid spades that North/South managed to buy the contract in spades. The curious opening bid by Reus was simply a miss-sorting error and nothing of devious intent. Reus led a top heart against Two Spades and switched to the king of clubs, on which Gordon deposited the nine. Perhaps Reus expected the ten from that holding, because when Erhart led the queen of diamonds from hand she took her ace and attempted to cash the queen of clubs. Erhart ruffed, played diamond king and ruffed a diamond. She threw her heart loser on the jack of clubs, ruffed a heart and led the eight of diamonds to the jack. She lost two trumps from here but was home with eight tricks; +110. At the other table, the lead against Two Notrump was a low spade to dummy's jack. Weigkricht led the king of clubs to the bare ace and Cimon switched to the king of diamonds, ducked, and continued with the queen. Weigkricht won the ace and played two more rounds of clubs, establishing the suit. With the jack of diamonds as an entry to the clubs, the winning defense now is to put declarer in hand with the fourth club. She can cash her clubs and put North in with the fourth diamond to get a second spade trick, but has no access to the two heart winners in dummy and goes one off. Who would have thought that the problem would be a shortage of entries to the East hand? But Saltsman could not read the position and switched to a heart after winning the club jack. Weigkricht had eight tricks now for +120 and a 6 IMP gain. Board 17. Love All Dealer North. S A Q J T 7 H 7 6 4 D 5 C K 7 6 2 S K 8 5 4 3 S 9 6 H J T 9 5 H K 8 2 D J T 7 D K 9 8 3 2 C 8 C Q J 3 S 2 H A Q 3 D A Q 6 4 C A T 9 5 4 West North East South Gordon Erhart Reus Terraneo - 1S Pass 2D Pass 2S Pass 2NT Pass 3C Pass 3H Pass 3S Pass 4C Pass 4S Pass 6C All Pass The canape auction made North declarer, and the slam a lot worse proposition as either red suit position could be attacked at trick one. You might make Six Clubs double dummy, but in real life it looks normal to go down. Erhart received a heart lead and put in the queen. When that held she played two top clubs then ace of spades and ran the ten of spades to the king; Down one for -50. Winning lines require more finesses or risk going down with trumps 2-2 if declarer embarks on a cross-ruff from the start. West North East South Weigkricht Cimon Fischer Saltsman - Pass Pass 1D 1S Pass 1NT 2C Pass 2S Pass 3C Pass 4C Pass 5C All Pass Cimon did not see an opening bid in the North cards and there was never any danger of the Canadians getting overboard. Five Clubs was a comfortable contract and duly made for +400 and 10 IMPs to Canada. Two boards later, came more of the same. Board 19. E/W Game Dealer South. S 3 H A K 7 5 D K 2 C A K 8 7 6 4 S Q 9 7 4 2 S A K 6 5 H Q 3 2 H J 8 4 D J 7 5 4 D Q 9 3 C 2 C J 9 5 S J T 8 H T 9 6 D A T 8 6 C Q T 3 West North East South Gordon Erhart Reus Terraneo - - - Pass Pass 1C Pass 1H Pass 2C Pass 2D Pass 2H Pass 3C Pass 4NT Pass 5C Pass 6C All Pass One Club was strong and One Heart showed 6+ HCP but less than three controls. Erhart was looking for a five-card diamond suit in the dummy, which would have given the slam a reasonable play, at least. And, of course, a slightly better heart holding would also have helped. As it was, the contract was very poor. Erhart ruffed the second spade, played ace of clubs and a club to the queen, and ran the ten of hearts. When that lost, she was one down; -50. West North East South Weigkricht Cimon Fischer Saltsman - - - Pass Pass 1C Pass 1D Pass 2H Pass 3C Pass 3D Pass 4C Pass 4S Pass 5C All Pass The natural auction seemed to be far better controlled and once again the Canadians stopped comfortably in game. +400 was again worth 10 IMPs. Canada led by 57-27 with one board to go, but Austria finished with a bang. Board 20. Dealer West. S Q 6 4 H K Q J 8 D K 5 C J T 9 5 S J 9 8 S K T 5 2 H T 4 3 2 H 9 D T 6 3 D J 9 8 7 4 2 C A 8 4 C K 7 S A 7 3 H A 7 6 5 D A Q C Q 6 3 2 Both Norths had a free run to Four Hearts and received a diamond lead. Both Cimon and Erhart won the queen and played a heart to the king then cashed the heart queen. On seeing the 4-1 break, Erhart crossed to the ace of diamonds to lead a low club to her jack. The idea was to make it more difficult for West to win the first club if she held a doubleton honour, and also to set up a ruff and discard position to put pressure on whoever won the defensive club tricks. Reus won the king of clubs and switched to a low spade. This ran to the queen and Erhart played a club to the queen and ace. She won the spade return, drew trumps and had ten tricks; +620. When Cimon saw the bad trump break, she played the jack of clubs from hand. That lost to the king and Fischer resisted the temptation to switch to a spade. She exited passively with a diamond to dummy's ace and Cimon played a club to her ten. When that held, she crossed to the ace of hearts and played a spade to the queen and king. Back came a second spade. She won the ace and exited with a third spade but Weigkricht could win that and play a trump and the contract was two down; -200 and 13 badly needed IMPs for Austria. The last board pulled the Austrians up to only a 40-57 IMP loss, converting to 11-19VPs. Austria slipped to joint fourth, while a big win from China meant that Canada also slipped, to joint eighth, despite their win. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- SYSTEMIC GERMS By Alan TruscOtt Some of you will have noticed that Bob Hamman, the World Bridge Federation's top-ranked player, is carrying around a large book. He is doing so reluctantly. It was prepared by two world-class experts and has 450 pages. It lists the counter-measures his team is using against the methods of the 57 pairs they may have to play against in the Bermuda Bowl. He cites an opponent who used a canape overcall of one spade over one diamond to show either clubs, or hearts, plus three or four cards in spades, but maybe two. The system card did not give any point count, but the style was 'aggressive'. This requires advance preparation by the opening bidder's side, since you may need to play in spades. Unlike most of the pairs in the event, Hamman was, up to a point, prepared for this. Since he is allowed to have prepared defenses at the table, he consulted his book and his partner did the same. This wasted 10 minutes, and they were still at some disadvantage: They were in a position that they had never been in before. The opponents had experienced the situation, and there were nuances that were not available to Hamman. Other players in this situation are much worse off. Few teams have the foresight and financial resources to pay an expert to prepare such a book. They have to rely on a quick look at the opponents' methods before the match starts, after they have discovered which pair they will be facing. The World Bridge Federation has long held to the position that all methods are acceptable in world team championships provided they are fully disclosed in advance. I shared that opinion, but Hamman has changed my mind. I believe that purely destructive conventions -- systemic germs -- should be barred by regulation, as they are in world pairs contests. (Eliminating Brown Sticker conventions is an incomplete solution.) Unlike almost all the readers of this, I have read the convention cards of the Bermuda Bowl partnerships. There are many problems. The worst of them would be eliminated by the following simple regulation: The first action by a partnership must EITHER guarantee 9 high-card (4-3-2-1) points OR guarantee length (4+ cards) in a specified suit. Many partnerships will demand, but I hope not get, exceptions for the methods they favor. Some of the effects would be: 1. To bar Multi. (Highly controversial). This was manageable in its original form, but the convention cards show that there are many varieties. And that affects the opponents. 2. To bar opening one notrump bids if the minimum is below nine points. 3. To bar opening bids, such as two spades, that show a weak preempt in an unspecified suit. 4. To bar opening bids that show either a weak two in the next suit or a strong hand. 5. To bar overcalls, such as the one spade overcall quoted above, that can be weak and have no anchor suit. 6. To bar Crash over strong club openings unless 9 points are guaranteed. 7. To bar two clubs over an opposing one notrump to show an unspecified one-suiter unless 9 points are guaranteed. 8. To bar many of the methods that are used here over the opposing one notrump unless 9 points or an anchor suit are guaranteed. (In this area, almost every pair has a different method.) 9. To bar strong-pass systems and ferts, which are now out of fashion. 10. To bar an opening four-club bid showing a preempt in either minor. (This is not Brown Sticker, because it is above 3NT.) 11. This does NOT bar the Gambling 3NT opening, because it has the 9- point minimum. The WBF is understandably reluctant to do anything that interferes with the Laws. But the Laws provide for regulation by sponsoring bodies, modifying the Laws. Regulations are often imposed by NCBOs, and by the WBF itself for world pairs events. If the WBF will adopt the regulation suggested above the great majority of players will be happy. Players who dream up conventions designed purely to disrupt the opponents' bidding will have to mend their ways. This is not a total solution, but Hamman's book will be much smaller next time around. Wealthy teams, who can pay for a book, will have a reduced advantage. And systemic germs will not slow the play down. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Last minute Fireworks The Round 9 matches in the Orbis Bermuda Bowl & Orbis Venice Cup featured a quiet set of boards (well one of our reporters fell asleep at the table he was watching!) that suddenly exploded into life at the end. The featured match on Vugraph involved USA I and New Zealand. Despite the funereal pace of play, there was still a fair sized audience when the penultimate board (remember they start with boards 19 & 20) settled on the table. Board 17. Love All Dealer North. S T 9 H 4 3 2 D Q 8 6 5 4 C K 5 3 S Q J 4 S A 8 H K J 9 H A Q 5 D 7 3 D A K J T 9 C Q T 9 7 6 C A J 8 S K 7 6 5 3 2 H T 8 7 6 D 2 C 4 2 West North East South Rodwell Newell Meckstroth Reid - Pass 1C 1NT 2C Pass 2S Pass 3NT Pass 4C Pass 4D Pass 4H Pass 4S Pass 5NT Pass 6C All Pass With South on lead Six Clubs was not really at risk. East won the opening lead of the two of diamonds. There was no losing line from this point, and declarer quickly claimed 12 tricks and +920. West North East South Crombie Hamman Cornell Soloway - Pass 2C Pass 2S Pass 2NT Pass 3NT Pass 4C Pass 4D Pass 4H Pass 4S Pass 6D All Pass A complex auction led to Six Diamonds played from the short side. Everyone could see that a spade lead would be fatal, and that is what they expected Bob Hamman to put on the table. They were disappointed, as the opening lead was the three of clubs. When you have a powerful holding in the opponent's trump suit, it is usually a good idea to try and talk declarer out of a finesse, but this was the wrong time. Keep in mind there are inferences from the bidding that are not as clear as usual, as we are not exactly sure what information was available to North. Declarer won in hand and took a diamond finesse. When that held he returned to hand with a heart to the jack and repeated the diamond finesse. When South showed out, he cashed the ace of diamonds, pitching a club from his hand, and overtook the queen of hearts with the king to take a club finesse. Declarer could now cash the three ace s in dummy in any order and exit with a spade, not caring who won it. A good recovery, but should he have been given the chance? This board cost Great Britain a mountain of points in their match against Denmark in the Orbis Venice Cup. In the Open Room, Drogm ller & Steen-Møller reached 6NT played by East, and declarer used a heart entry to play on clubs, thereby securing five club tricks. That meant she could easily collect the remaining tricks she needed to record +990. Closed Room West North East South Dhondy Kofoed-BildeMcGowan Cilleborg - Pass 2D Pass 2H Pass 2NT Pass 3S Pass 3NT Pass 4C Pass 4D Pass 4H Pass 4S Pass 6C Pass 7C All Pass Three Spades was a transfer to 3NT, after which West made a slam try in clubs. North, who is doubtless ready to help a well-known American player with his opening leads, selected the ten of spades. Declarer won with dummy's ace, crossed to hand with the jack of hearts and ran the ten of clubs. The club suit behaved, but the entry position was such that declarer was no longer in a position take more than one diamond finesse. If declarer attacks clubs by playing the queen, unblocking the jack from dummy, then there are enough entries to bring home four diamond tricks. Is that a better line than the combination of the ruffing diamond finesse plus the chance of a singleton or doubleton queen of diamonds, or even DQxx with South? Whatever, the contract had to go one down, and Denmark had 14 IMPs. Board 18. N/S Game Dealer East. S K T 8 6 4 H T D J 8 6 4 C Q 8 2 S Q J S A 3 H A Q J 8 6 H K 9 7 5 2 D A K 9 7 2 D Q T 5 C 4 C K 9 3 S 9 7 5 2 H 4 3 D 3 C A J T 7 6 5 Open Room West North East South Møller Walker Drogm ller Landy - - 1H Pass 2NT Pass 3NT Pass 4C Pass 4S Pass 4NT Pass 5H Pass 6H All Pass An efficient auction to the virtually lay-down slam. Denmark +980. Closed Room West North East South Dhondy Kofoed-BildeMcGowan Cilleborg - - 1H Pass 2NT Pass 4H All Pass You can see how popular it is to use 2NT to show a game forcing raise of partner's suit, as it was the response made at both tables. East showed a minimum with her rebid, and West decided to call it a day. She had a recollection that the jump to Four Hearts denied an ace. She was absolutely right, but unfortunately that was an agreement she had with another partner! That was another big swing for the runaway leaders, who had won the match at the death. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Orbis Venice Cup - Round 8 Germany v France By Tony Gordon (GB) When fourth-placed Germany faced sixth-placed France, Germany led 11-2 after 5 boards. Board 6 turned out to be a turning point in the match, but not in the way one might suppose. Board 6. E/W Game Dealer East. S A K Q J H T 9 8 6 D 7 3 C J 7 4 S T 4 3 2 S 8 H A K 3 H Q 5 2 D A J T D K 9 8 6 4 2 C 9 5 2 C A Q 3 S 9 7 6 5 H J 7 4 D Q 5 C K T 8 6 Closed Room West North East South Farwig Lustin Stawowy Avon - - 1D Pass 1S Pass 2D Pass 3NT All Pass In the Closed Room, Barbara Stawowy and Katrin Farwig took the direct route to 3NT and Christine Lustin cashed her four top spades before switching to the H10. Stawowy won in hand with the HQ and decided to play South for the DQ in view of North's monopoly of the spade honours. She therefore played a diamond to dummy's Jack and when the finesse succeeded she had the rest of the tricks. Open Room West North East South Bessis Auken D'Ovidio v Arnim - - 1D Pass 1S Pass 2D Pass 2H Pass 3D Pass 3H Pass 3NT Pass Pass Dble Pass Pass 4D All Pass In the Open Room, Catherine D'Ovidio and Veronique Bessis took a more probing route to 3NT and Sabine Auken chanced her arm with a lead- directing double in the pass out seat even though she had only four spades to cash. However, the threat was only too real to Bessis and she retreated to 4D. A 10-IMP gain to Germany you might think, but there was a cruel twist to come. Daniela von Arnim led a spade to Auken's Jack and she switched to the H9. After a slight pause, D'Ovidio flourished the D10, a card that was also visible in the dummy and announced that she had started with fourteen cards! The director was summoned and France were duly fined 3 IMPs, but Germany's loss was the greater. After this escape, France took control of the match with four big gains in the next seven boards. Board 8. Love All Dealer West. S J T 9 4 H 6 3 2 D 6 4 C A T 8 4 S A Q 6 3 2 S K 8 7 H Q J 5 H A 9 8 7 D T 9 3 D A K J 2 C 9 2 C K J S 5 H K T 4 D Q 8 7 5 C Q 7 6 5 3 Closed Room West North East South Farwig Lustin Stawowy Avon Pass Pass 1D Pass 1S Pass 2NT Pass 3NT All Pass Open Room West North East South Bessis Auken D'Ovidio v Arnim Pass Pass 1D Pass 1S Pass 2NT Pass 3C Pass 3S Pass 3NT Pass 4S All Pass Clubs were led and continued against the German 3NT and Stawowy won the second round perforce and played a spade to the Queen and another one to the King, discovering the bad break. She now needed the DQ to be onside, so she crossed to the SA and took the diamond finesse. When that failed she was two down. A heart was led against the French 4S contract and von Arnim took her King and switched to a trump to the nine and King. A second round of spades revealed the 4-1 break and Bessis now had to guess which finesse to take. After considerable thought she played a club to the King and when that held she was home and dry. She drew one more round of trumps, cashed the HQJ and then crossed to the DA and discarded her remaining club on the HA. Although the diamond finesse subsequently lost she still had ten tricks and France had 11 IMPs. Board 10. Game All Dealer East. S A K 8 6 5 2 H 9 3 D A J 6 5 C Q S Q 9 7 4 S 3 H K Q 6 H A 5 4 2 D Q 8 4 3 D K 7 C T 6 C A K J 8 7 5 S J T H J T 8 7 D T 9 2 C 9 4 3 2 Open Room West North East South Bessis Auken D'Ovidio v Arnim - - 1C Pass 1S 2S 3C All Pass Closed Room West North East South Farwig Lustin Stawowy Avon - - 1C Pass 1S 2S 3C Pass 3NT All Pass D'Ovidio had no problems in making an overtrick in her 3C contract, but she must have wished she was in 3NT. Farwig was in 3NT in the other room and Lustin led the SA and then switched to a diamond. Farwig ran this to dummy's Queen and then erred by playing the C10. With a certain club loser, she could no longer make the contract and she went two down for 8 IMPs to France. On board 12 France reached a poor 3NT in the Closed Room, but were gifted the contract on a misdefence. 10 IMPs to France who now led 31-20. Board 13. Game All Dealer North. S 9 5 H Q T 8 D K C K T 8 7 5 4 3 S J 7 4 S T 8 3 2 H A J 4 2 H K 7 6 D J 9 8 7 2 D 6 5 4 C 9 C A 6 2 S A K Q 6 H 9 5 3 D A Q T 3 C Q J Closed Room West North East South Farwig Lustin Stawowy Avon - Pass Pass 1D Pass 2C Pass 2NT Pass 3C Pass 3S Pass 4C Pass 5C All Pass In the Closed Room France reached 5C with three top losers, but unless a heart was led (or the AC was led followed by a heart switch) all but one of declarer's potential losers would rapidly disappear. However, Stawowy led a spade and that was +620 to France. Open Room West North East South Bessis Auken D'Ovidio v Arnim - 2NT Pass 3C All Pass In the Open Room, Auken opened 2NT showing a preempt in a minor with less than two of the top honours. Facing what was likely to be a six or seven card club suit headed by the Ace or King, von Arnim opted for a conservative pass or correct 3C. That was the right view on the actual layout, but on a diamond lead she made the same twelve tricks as in the other room for a 10-IMP loss. That was the end of the major swings and France eventually emerged victorious by 48-27 IMPs (19-11 VPs), but stayed in sixth place while Germany dropped one place to fifth. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Handle with care By Onno Eskes This heart game from round 8 had to be handled very delicately. Ten declarers failed; only Martin Reid, Albert Bitran and Fred Gitelman found the safe way home. Board 15. N/S Game Dealer South. S Q 8 4 3 H Q D J 8 7 5 2 C A 6 5 S 7 S A K 6 2 H K 9 7 4 2 H J 6 3 D A K 4 D T 9 6 C K Q 4 2 C J T 7 S J T 9 5 H A T 8 5 D Q 3 C 9 8 3 West North East South Gitelman - Silver - 1H Pass 2H Pass 4H All Pass Gitelman won the spade lead in dummy with the SA and did not fall in the first trap, cashing the SK prematurely, in which case declarer will lose control. Fred continued with a heart to the king, felling the queen. He realized that continuing hearts would again result in loss of control, so he played the CK to drive out the ace. North won the CA (ducking would probably have been better) and persisted in spades. Fred, who had played the hand rather defensively until now, realized that the time to change gear had come. He took the SK, ruffed a spade, cashed the DAK and CQ and crossed to the CJ. The fourth round of spades from dummy allowed him to score his H9 en passant for his tenth trick. Other things that have to be handled with care are words like 'inevitable', as in '6C has two inevitable losers' in yesterday's bulletin, concerning this hand: 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 v d Pas Zhang Vriend Gu Pass Pass Pass 1C 1S 2H 3S Dble Pass 4C Pass 6C All Pass Marijke van der Pas led a spade. Ling Gu played quickly as if there were no problem in the play at all. Two top trumps, followed by the SA, throwing a diamond from dummy. The HK was followed by four more rounds of hearts. Marijke van der Pas is still puzzling how she could escape and leave declarer with the allegedly 'two inevitable losers'. Ruffing a heart would endplay her immediately; instead she discarded on all the hearts, but that was only delaying the execution. Ling Gu exited with a club at trick 10 and Van der Pas had to concede a ruff-and-discard or lead into the diamond tenace. Very elegant. All other declarers in 6C went ingloriously down when they tried a diamond or club finesse at trick two. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- World Watchers These championships are being followed around the world on the Internet. We are getting a lot of comments about the Daily News (mostly favourable!). This comes from Virginia Crawford. I am just writing to let you know how much we are enjoying downloading your bulletins each morning and reading the most interesting material therein. It's great to be able to "almost be there" via the Internet! I would like to comment on the following hand, which was written up in Issue 4 of the Bulletin: 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 This hand was bid to Six Clubs by New Zealand in their match against Brazil (on Vugraph) and was down two. Although your reviewer stated in the Bulletin that this was a hopeless contract, it can be made on elimination lines. Play the CAK, SK, HK, SA HA and throw West in with a club. He must now either lead a diamond or concede a ruff and discard (one of North's diamonds having been discarded on the SA). Yalan Zhang and Linq Gu of China bid and made 6C against the Netherlands (Venice Cup). The Canadian women also bid 6C but were down one. (Thanks again for making this event so interesting to bridge players around the world! You can read about the deal from the Orbis Venice Cup match between China and The Netherlands in the left-hand column. Even though the declarer had a little help thanks to West's overcall, both she and Virginia did well. The Editor) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Orbis Bermuda Bowl - Round 11 Sweden v Poland No jinx this time At the start of the Round 11 Orbis Bermuda Bowl match between Sweden and Poland, Vugraph commentator Barry Rigal noted that Bjorn Fallenius, of the Swedish team, has a remarkably successful record against Poland in high-level competition. "I hope," Rigal said, "that I didn't just put the kibosh on Sweden." For much of the match, it appeared that, indeed, Sweden was headed for a loss in the well-played match. Near the end, however, Sweden came up with two big swings to pull out a 33-20 victory. Poland jumped into the lead after the first board. Board 1. Love All Dealer North. S 6 5 H K T 4 D T 9 8 2 C Q 9 7 3 S A J T 2 S 7 4 H Q 6 3 H A 9 5 D A K J 6 D 7 5 4 C K 8 C J T 5 4 2 S K Q 9 8 3 H J 8 7 2 D Q 3 C A 6 West North East South Romanski Nilsland Kowalski Fallenius - Pass Pass 1S 1NT All Pass Mats Nilsland led the S6 to the queen and ace and Jacek Romanski followed with the CK. Fallenius won the ace and switched accurately to the H2. Romanski put up the HQ, covered and ducked. The H10 was returned, ducked and overtaken by Fallenius with the jack for a third round of the suit. Romanski tried the SJ, ducked, and then played a club. Nilsland considered his play for some time before putting up the queen and getting out with the D10 to the 4, queen and ace. On the run of the diamonds, Nilsland had the foresight to unblock his D9 and D8 to avoid being thrown in to concede the final two tricks in clubs. After Romanski cashed his good D6, he had to lead from the S10 2 into Fallenius' K 9. Well defended for minus 90. Unfortunately for Sweden, Peter Fredin and Magnus Lindkvist bid up to 3NT with the East-West cards and, although Lindkvist took one more trick than Romanski, it was still down one and 4 IMPs to Poland. Poland gained an overtrick IMP on the next board for a 5-0 lead, and there was very little scoring for several boards after that. On this deal, Fallenius and Nilsland did well to overcome interference from Romanski and Kowalski to earn a push. Board 4. Dealer West. S J 5 4 2 H A T D A J 9 C A K 9 5 S K S Q 6 3 H K Q J 7 6 5 H 9 8 3 2 D 2 D 7 5 4 C 8 7 4 3 2 C J T 6 S A T 9 8 7 H 4 D K Q T 8 6 3 C Q West North East South Fredin Tuszynski Lindkvist Jassem Pass 1NT Pass 2H 3H 3S Pass 4C Pass 4D Pass 4NT Pass 5C Pass 6S All Pass Piotr Tuszynski and Krzysztof Jassem had a virtually free run at the spade slam once Fredin passed in first seat. Romanski and Kowalski made it much more difficult for Nilsland and Fallenius, but they landed on their feet nonetheless. West North East South Romanski Nilsland Kowalski Fallenius 3H Dble 4H 5H Pass 6C Pass 6D Pass 6S All Pass There was little to the play after an opening heart lead -- Nilsland took two spade finesses to bring home the contract for plus 1430. A 6-IMP swing to Sweden on Board 12 changed the low-scoring affair from 6-3 Poland to 9-6 Sweden. Poland struck back on Board 13 for a 9- IMP swing to regain the lead. Board 13. Dealer North. S K Q J 8 7 2 H - - D J T 8 7 5 C 8 5 S 6 5 S 9 3 H A K 9 8 H Q 5 4 3 2 D A K 9 D 4 2 C A K 7 6 C Q J T 2 S A T 4 H J T 7 6 D Q 6 3 C 9 4 3 West North East South Romanski Nilsland Kowalski Fallenius - 4S Pass Pass Dble All Pass Had Kowalski bid his long suit, no doubt he would have made it, losing only two spades. Even a third round of spades would not have hurt so long as Kowalski made the routine play in hearts. As it was, 4S could have been defeated two tricks for plus 500 (Kowalski can get a diamond ruff), but Romanski overtook Kowalski's lead of the CQ and played two more rounds, allowing Nilsland to ruff, pull trumps and drive out the top diamonds. Plus 200 to Poland. This might have been a 10-IMP gain for Sweden, but it didn't work out that way. West North East South Fredin Tuszynski Lindkvist Jassem - 3S Pass 4S Dble Pass 5H Pass 6H All Pass The bidding left Fredin no way to ask about spade control, so he took the reasonable chance that Lindkvist was short in spades. Besides the two spade losers, Lindkvist also lost a trump trick for minus 200 and 9 IMPs to Poland, now leading, 15-9. Poland gained another 2 IMPs thereafter and were leading, 17-9, when this deal came up. Board 17. Love All Dealer North. S Q J 9 7 3 2 H J T 3 D 6 4 C 8 4 S A T 8 4 S 6 H A 9 4 H K Q 6 D K J T 5 D A Q 9 7 C T 2 C A 9 7 5 3 S K 5 H 8 7 5 2 D 8 3 2 C K Q J 6 West North East South Romanski Nilsland Kowalski Fallenius - Pass 1D Pass 1S Pass 2C Pass 2H (1) Pass 3NT All Pass (1) Fourth-suit forcing. Romanski considered moving over 3NT, but after long thought he passed. Fallenius started with clubs, and Kowalski had to settle for nine tricks and plus 400. At the other table, Fredin and Lindkvist had an impressive auction to the optimum spot. West North East South Fredin Tuszynski Lindkvist Jassem - Pass 1D Pass 1NT (1) Pass 2C (2) Pass 2D (3) Pass 2H (4) Pass 2S (5) Pass 3D (6) Pass 3S (7) Pass 4S (8) Pass 6D All Pass (1) Forcing relay. (2) Showing 1-4-4-4, 4-1-4-4 or canape in the minors (3) Which? (4) 4-5, diamonds and clubs. (5) Shape ask. (6) 1-3-4-5 (7) Setting diamonds as trumps and asking for keycards if opener is not minimum. (8) Maximum with two keycards and the trump queen. Lindkvist duly took 12 tricks to record plus 920 and earn his team an 11-IMP swing. Sweden had regained the lead, 20-17. The Swedes added another double-digit swing on the next deal. Board 18. N/S Game Dealer East. S K Q 4 2 H 8 3 D A T 9 3 2 C A T S A J 6 5 S 9 8 3 H Q J 5 2 H T 9 4 D Q 8 4 D K 7 C Q 3 C J 9 8 7 2 S T 7 H A K 7 6 D J 6 5 C K 6 5 4 West North East South Fredin Tuszynski Lindkvist Jassem - - Pass Pass 1C 1D Pass 1H Pass 1S Pass 1NT All Pass Fredin's opening in third seat was sufficient to slow down North- South, and they didn't even try for game. Jassem got he HQ lead from West, but he managed nine tricks for plus 150 without undue strain. At the other table: West North East South Romanski Nilsland Kowalski Fallenius - - Pass 1D Pass 1S Pass 1NT Pass 3NT All Pass Despite the shortage of high-card points and dull shape, Fallenius liked his hand. Once he opened, the Swedes were almost certain to get to game, which they did. Romanski led the H2, to the 3, 10 and ace. Fallenius led a low diamond to dummy's 10 and Kowalski's king. The H10 was ducked, and the heart continuation was taken by Fallenius with the king. When the DJ held the trick, Fallenius led a spade toward dummy. Romanski hopped up with the ace and cashed his heart trick, but that was it for the defense -- and for Poland in the match. Poland gained 3 IMPs when Romanski opened a gambling 3NT and played it there for plus 690, while Fredin and Lindkvist settled in 5C for plus 600. The match was still within reach with a board to go -- Sweden's lead was 10 IMPs -- but Tuszynski had to make a well-judged bid to hold the loss to 3 IMPs. Board 20. Dealer West. S 7 4 H A 9 7 2 D A K Q T 6 4 C 9 S T 3 2 S K Q J 8 6 5 H Q T 8 H K 5 4 D 7 5 3 D - - C Q J 5 3 C A T 8 6 S A 9 H J 6 3 D J 9 8 2 C K 7 4 2 West North East South Romanski Nilsland Kowalski Fallenius Pass 1D 1S Dble Pass 2S Dble Pass Pass 3D Pass 3NT All Pass On the low spade lead, Fallenius had no legitimate chance for nine tricks, and the Poles did not slip on defense. Plus 100 to Poland. At the other table: West North East South Fredin Tuszynski Lindkvist Jassem Pass 1D 1S 2D Pass 2S 3S 3NT 4S 5D Pass Pass Dble All Pass Had Lindkvist been allowed to play 4S, he would have had excellent chances to make it. Double dummy, the contract can be defeated with a low club lead (South wins the first round of spades and gives partner a club ruff and still gets his CK) or a heart lead to North's ace followed by a club switch. Whether either lead is likely is debatable -- and academic, since Tuszynski took the push to 5D, doubled by Fredin. It looks as though 5D should go down two tricks, but Tuszynski managed to get out for down one and minus 200, still a 3-IMP gain for Sweden. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- What a difference a day makes Yesterday we reported how the world's number one ranked player, Bob Hamman, failed to find the killing lead against a slam. In Round 10 of the Orbis Bermuda Bowl he once again found himself in the hot seat. Board 14. Love All Dealer East. S 9 6 4 3 H T 5 2 D J 2 C 9 7 4 2 S A J T 8 S K Q 7 H Q 9 H A K 8 7 D K 7 6 5 4 3 D Q 9 8 C A C 8 6 3 S 5 2 H J 6 4 3 D A T C K Q J T 5 West North East South Duboin Hamman Bocchi Soloway - - 1C Pass 2S Pass 2NT Pass 3NT Pass 4H Pass 5D Pass 6S All Pass Bocchi & Duboin play a complicated system, that almost always gets them to the right contract, but this time it did not quite do the business. Still, Six Spades will make unless North hits on a club lead. Bob Hamman unerringly selected the seven of clubs, and declarer's goose was cooked. He needed a 3-3-spade break, as well as a favourable position in diamonds. The latter was present, but the lack of the former, combined with declarer's attempt to make his contract, saw him go four down, -200. West North East South Meckstroth DeFalco Rodwell Ferraro - - 1NT Pass 2C Pass 2H Pass 3D Pass 3H Pass 3NT All Pass Against 3NT, South led the king of clubs. That deserved to be as killing as the lead against Six Spades, but South was in possession of all the important cards. When Rodwell played off four rounds of spades, the last one was fatal. South elected to release a club, but now declarer could establish his game going trick in diamonds. +400 and 12 IMPs for USA I. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- CHINESE OPEN TEAM CAO Xueliang Professional player, 36 years old. Represented China since 1999. Second of PABF Championships 1999. Many national titles. YANG Lixin CAO Xueliang's partner for the past 8 years. Same records as CAO. FU Zhong Professional player, 32 years old. Runner-up in PABF Championships 1997 and 1999. Represented China in many World Championships and other international events. Winner in the Open Pairs of China Cup International Championships 1998 and 1999. Many national titles. JU Chuancheng FU's partner since 1996. Professional player, 30 years old. Runner-up in PABF Championships 1999. Winner in the Open Pairs of China Cup International Championships 1998 and 1999. Many national titles. LIU Chuan Professional player, 37 years old. Represented China in Bermuda Bowl and PABF Championships 1997. Many national titles. ZHANG Qiang LIU's partner since 1998, 32 years old. ZHANG is a senior employee of an investment company. Many national titles. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- CHINESE LADIES TEAM ZHANG Yalan WBF Life master. Started to play bridge in 1978, and began to represent China in international events in 1984. Third place in Venice Cup 1991; second place in Team Olympiad 1996; second place in Venice Cup 1997. Many national titles. GU Ling ZHANG's partner. WBF Life master. Same titles as ZHANG. SUN Ming WBF Life master. Started to play bridge in 1975 and began to represent China in international events since 1984. Third place in Venice Cup 1991; second place in Teams Olympiad 1996; second place in Venice Cup 1997. Many national titles. WANG Hongli SUN's partner. WBF Life Master. Started to play bridge in 1987. Second place in Teams Olympiad 1996. Many times PABF champion. WANG Wenfei WBF Life Master. Started to play bridge in 1987, and began to represent China in international events in 1993. second place in Teams Olympiad 1996; second place in Venice Cup 1997. Many national titles. ZHANG Yu WANG Wenfei's partner. WBF Life Master. Started to play bridge in 1987, and began to represent China in international events in 1996. second place in Teams Olympiad 1996; second place in Venice Cup 1997. Many national titles. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ORBIS INVESTING IS OUR STRONG SUIT A daily column on investing by Orbis Investment Management Limited You may meet a senior representative from Orbis Investment Management Limited at the hotel. Investing in Equities Of the major classes of assets, equities are generally considered to be the type that will generate the greatest returns but will experience more risk as they do so. They also offer significant opportunities for active managers. Both theory and practical experience support this first conclusion. The theory is based on the premise that when an investor is presented with a choice between two investments and he expects each to have the same average return, he will prefer the less risky one. This is because there is more chance that the risky one might have experienced a poor return when the investment is sold. Steady gains are preferred to those that gyrate wildly. Accordingly, risky investments should have higher returns than those with less risk. As time passes and the effect of volatility becomes small in comparison to the accumulated gains, the distinction becomes less significant. Equities are generally riskier than bonds or cash; their prices are more volatile. In general, equities can be expected to have higher returns on average than cash or bonds. A review of average returns for various asset classes reveals that equities, over the long term, have in fact generated higher returns than either bonds or cash. This is why most long-term investors traditionally have a fairly significant proportion of their portfolio in equities. However, do not overlook the qualification about long- term investing. If you are investing for less than five years, the volatility of equities may well result in your experiencing a poor or negative return. Investors looking back over five years since 1925, would see that 35% of the time there would be a decrease in the US stockmarket. This is not unique to the US market. For the last 34 years, the Japanese market has experienced a similar incidence of declines The diversity of equities also creates more opportunities to take advantage of in-depth proprietary research. Most investment managers take a "top-down" approach. First they determine, from their economic outlook, which countries to invest in, then which industries and finally which companies. As a result, they are often buying or selling shares based on industry or country factors and not company-specific factors. For "bottom-up" investors, like Orbis, this offers opportunities. Bottom-up investors first look at shares which appear to be attractively priced and then only limit their focus on these companies when they consider their portfolio to be too concentrated in a particular country or industry. We often find great companies that are selling at very reasonable prices because the average investor has lost faith in that country as a whole. As a result of being able to identify these opportunities, we think that investing in equities offers far more opportunity to add value than can be achieved using other asset classes. It is important that we do our own research. We are generally most excited when our view differs from the common outlook. This is often when the greatest opportunity arises. While it can be discomforting to differ, it is when others come to share your view that the rewards are reaped. ======================================================================