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: 7 Friday, 14 January 2000 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Decision Day! Today promises to be one of the most exciting in the history of these famous championships. In the Orbis Bermuda Bowl, there are so many permutations it is impossible to predict who will survive to the last eight. The teams most at risk appear to be Sweden, Italy, Brazil, France and Bulgaria, but even some of those ahead of them are in jeopardy. In the Orbis Venice Cup it looks as if China, Canada and USA 2 will fight it out for two out of three places, with the Americans having the toughest program. What is absolutely clear is that we are going down to the wire, with triumph and disaster both waiting to make an appearance. Meanwhile France and Poland are contesting the final of the Orbis Senior Exhibition Matches. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- When you need it, go for it! By Henry Francis A disastrous start condemned the Australian team to the bottom of the field in the Seniors Exhibition competition. However, the Australians regained a measure of respectability by winning four and tying one of their last six matches. They had some fine moments. For example, needing IMPs desperately in the next-to-last match, Bill Westwood picked up: S 8, H AKJ843, D AJ6, C AK2 His RHO opened one spade. Naturally he doubled, and when partner responded two clubs, he took the bit between his teeth in good old Aussie fashion and bid six clubs! He might have had second thoughts if he had known his partner's trump holding was J-9-8-7 and that the suit had to be brought in for no losers. No problem! Bobby Evans played the ace and king of trumps, and sure enough the queen-small fell on his left. Incidentally the swing on this board probably kept the World Champions out of the semifinals. Like most of the field, Neville Moses played four spades with four top losers on this deal from the final qualifying match: S A K Q 8 H 4 3 D A K T 7 C J 8 5 S 9 7 5 S - - H K 8 5 2 H A Q T 9 7 D Q 9 3 D J 6 5 4 C A 3 2 C K 9 7 6 S J T 6 4 3 2 H J 6 D 8 2 C Q T 4 Moses as North declared the hand and got a diamond lead to the queen and ace. He took only two rounds of trumps before playing the ace and ten of diamonds, crushing West's nine and setting up the seven for a heart discard. He lost only two clubs and a heart to make his game. Note the importance of drawing only two rounds of trumps. If declarer takes three rounds and then plays diamonds, East can cover the ten, forcing declarer to ruff. Then he would have to return to hand with a trump to cash the diamond, and he would not have sufficient control to handle the hearts while setting up his club trick. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Orbis Venice Cup - Round 12 Denmark v Canada The mouth-watering prospect of seeing an Orbis Venice Cup match on Vugraph was too much to resist. To ensure a balanced commentary, Peter Lund was brought to the commentator's table to balance the contributions of Eric Kokish. An awkward set of boards proved to be rather testing, especially under the glare of the spotlights. Board 2. N/S Game Dealer East. S A 9 5 2 H A 7 5 3 2 D 9 6 2 C T S 6 3 S Q J 7 H K J T 4 H 8 D Q T 5 D A K J 7 4 3 C K 9 8 5 C J 3 2 S K T 8 4 H Q 9 6 D 8 C A Q 7 6 4 Closed Room West North East South Saltsman Drøgem ller Cimon Møller - - 1D Dble 1H 1S 2D Pass 3D All Pass Do you think North, having five cards in a suit that her partner had promised some support for, should have doubled one heart. If you don't do that you may fail to expose a baby psyche by West. South led the eight of spades, and North won and switched to her singleton club. The defenders were not hard pressed to take the first six tricks, North getting two club ruffs, to leave declarer two down, -100. Open Room West North East South Cilleborg Reus Bilde Gordon - - 1D Dble 1H Dble 2D Pass 3D 4D Pass 4S Pass Pass 5D Pass Pass Dble All Pass With a likely trump trick, how unreasonable was it for East to sacrifice? The answer was -800, as the defence followed an identical path to that in the Closed Room. A fast start for Canada, 12-0. Board 4. Dealer West. S T 9 7 4 3 H J 3 D A 5 2 C A J 7 S A 8 S J H Q 9 7 6 5 H T 4 D 8 7 6 D K Q T 9 4 C K 8 5 C Q T 9 4 3 S K Q 6 5 2 H A K 8 2 D J 3 C 6 2 Closed Room West North East South Saltsman Drøgem ller Cimon Møller Pass Pass Pass 1S Pass 2C 2D Pass Pass 4S All Pass North's Two Clubs was presumably Drury. When South showed a minimum by passing over Two Diamonds, North still had enough to try for a vulnerable game. Ten tricks were easy, +620. Open Room West North East South Cilleborg Reus Bilde Gordon Pass Pass 1D 1S Dble 2D Pass 2S Dble Redble 3C 3S All Pass It doesn't look right to rebid Two Spades on the South hand. Why not bid Two Hearts? When North redoubled should South have jumped to game? This was a bad miss by the Canadian pair, and it cost them 10 IMPs. Bobby Wolff brought the house down at the end of this board by asking Peter Lund the following question, 'Peter, how would you bid those North-South hands if you were playing with yourself?' Board 5. N/S Game Dealer North. S 8 7 5 4 H T 7 6 5 2 D 9 3 C J 9 S T S K Q J H K J 8 H 4 3 D K Q 8 6 D T 7 5 2 C T 8 6 3 2 C K Q 7 5 S A 9 6 3 2 H A Q 9 D A J 4 C A 4 Closed Room West North East South Saltsman Drøgem ller Cimon Møller - Pass Pass 1S Pass Pass 1NT Dble Pass 2S Pass Pass 3C 3S All Pass West was happy to sit for 1NT doubled, and right she was, as there are only six tricks for the defence. Of course, North was not going to stand it and she removed to Two Spades. West decided to compete further and now North fell from grace by bidding again. If she had passed and led her doubleton diamond then she would have taken a ruff to defeat Three Clubs. There was nothing to the play in Three Spades, and declarer was two down, -200. Open Room West North East South Cilleborg Reus Bilde Gordon - Pass Pass 1S Pass 1NT Pass 2NT Pass 3H Pass 3S All Pass Once again the bidding was the key feature of the deal. North was able to bid a forcing notrump and then transfer to spades when South showed a strong balanced hand. The same two down meant a flat board. Should North respond to the opening bid of One Spade? Well, the great Maria Erhart, one of the most aggressive players in the world saw her partner open a Blue Club and rebid One Spade. Maria gave her the dummy, which we think says it all! Board 6. E/W Game Dealer East. S 9 8 H T 7 3 D K 9 7 5 4 C T 9 4 S 7 6 5 S A Q J 4 2 H A Q J 6 2 H 8 5 D Q T 6 2 D J 8 C 6 C 8 7 5 2 S K T 3 H K 9 4 D A 3 C A K Q J 3 Closed Room West North East South Saltsman Drøgem ller Cimon Møller - - Pass 2C Pass 2D Pass 2NT Pass 3C Pass 3S Pass 3NT Dble All Pass According to the commentators, East doubled for a spade lead because that was the only suit bid naturally in the auction. Well, there must have been some reason. West, clearly not on the same wavelength, led the two of diamonds. On another day North would have had either the ace of hearts, or the queen of diamonds or any other extra value to give an easy nine or more tricks. Not this time and declarer could only arrive at eight winners, -100. Open Room West North East South Cilleborg Reus Bilde Gordon - - 2S 3NT All Pass West led a spade, and when East played the jack, South ducked. A heart switch from East would have given South a bloody nose, but there was no way East could know to do that. She played the queen of spades, and South had to take the king. There was nothing to do but run the clubs. West inexplicably released two diamonds, and although declarer had discarded a diamond from the dummy, she still had ten tricks and 11 IMPs. Board 10. Dealer East. S K 8 7 6 5 4 3 H 8 3 D A K C J 6 S Q J 9 S T H Q 4 H K 9 7 6 5 2 D J 6 D 9 5 2 C K Q T 8 4 3 C 9 7 2 S A 2 H A J T D Q T 8 7 4 3 C A 5 Closed Room West North East South Saltsman Drøgem ller Cimon Møller - - Pass 1D Pass 1S Pass 2D Pass 4S All Pass East led the six of hearts, and declarer, under no pressure, took eleven tricks, +650. There was much speculation that South should have gone on over Four Spades, as you can make a small slam in spades. On a heart or club lead, you go up with the ace, unblock the ace and king of diamonds, and cash the king of spades, followed by a spade to the ace. Now you play the queen of diamonds, getting rid of your loser in the suit that was led at trick one. The other ace remains in dummy as an entry to a winning diamond for a further discard. Open Room West North East South Cilleborg Reus Bilde Gordon - - Pass 1D 2C 2S Pass 2NT Pass 3S Pass 4C Pass 4D Pass 4H Pass 5D Pass 6D Pass 6S All Pass Canada looked set for another big pick up when they reached the spade slam. East led the seven of clubs, and declarer put up dummy's ace. When the next card she played was the ace of spades she no longer had a winning line, and the swing went the other way. 13 IMPs for Denmark. Board 11. Love All Dealer South. S A 7 6 5 4 H K D Q J C Q J T 5 2 S Q 8 S J 2 H A Q 7 6 5 3 H T 9 2 D 7 5 D A K T 4 2 C A K 4 C 9 7 3 S K T 9 3 H J 8 4 D 9 8 6 3 C 8 6 Closed Room West North East South Saltsman Drøgem ller Cimon Møller - - - Pass 1H 2H 3H 3S 4C Pass 4D Pass 4H All Pass North's bidding told West something about the distribution, but there was no reason to do anything other than win the opening club lead, cross to dummy with a diamond and take the losing heart finesse. It looks as if declarer can get out for one down, but declarer only made eight tricks, -100. Open Room West North East South Cilleborg Reus Bilde Gordon - - - Pass 1H 1S 2D 3S 4H 4S 5H All Pass Barry Rigal described East's bid of Five Hearts as grotesque. On hearing, this one of his colleagues said, 'Say what you think Barry, don't hold back.' The play developed along similar lines to that at the other table, but declarer managed nine tricks, so it was a flat board. Board 13. Dealer North. S Q H A K 9 8 4 D 7 5 4 C Q J 7 2 S A 7 3 S J 9 6 5 4 H Q J 5 3 H 6 2 D K J D 9 8 2 C 6 5 4 3 C A T 8 S K T 8 2 H T 7 D A Q T 6 3 C K 9 Closed Room West North East South Saltsman Drøgem ller Cimon Møller - 1H Pass 1S Pass 2C Pass 2NT All Pass South backed her slightly surprising decision in the bidding by making exactly eight tricks, +120. Open Room West North East South Cilleborg Reus Bilde Gordon - 1H Pass 2D Pass 2H Pass 2NT Pass 3NT All Pass Once again South bid conservatively, but North went on to game. West led the five of clubs to the two, ten and king and South played back the nine of clubs that was allowed to hold. Her next move was to run the ten of hearts. When that held she played a heart to the jack and king. Things were going well, but communications are a problem. If declarer cashes the clubs she has to make two awkward discards from hand. Declarer decided she could afford to leave her tricks in dummy stranded for the moment and played a diamond to the ten. West won with the jack and played back a club. It would not have helped to cash the ace of spades first. Declarer won and played the queen of spades. West won and played back a spade, won by declarer's ten. When declarer laid down the ace of diamonds, the appearance of the king meant she had nine tricks and Canada had ten IMPs. Board 14. Love All Dealer East. S A Q T 8 6 4 3 H 7 D 6 4 3 C 8 4 S - - S K J 7 2 H 9 8 6 4 3 H Q T 5 D K 7 2 D T C A K Q J 3 C T 7 6 5 2 S 9 5 H A K J 2 D A Q J 9 8 5 C 9 Closed Room West North East South Saltsman Drøgem ller Cimon Møller - - Pass 1D 2NT 3S 5C All Pass South led the nine of clubs, and declarer arrived at ten tricks. Should South have started with a top heart? Should someone have doubled? Open Room West North East South Cilleborg Reus Bilde Gordon - - Pass 1D 2C 4S Dble All Pass East must have been tempted to lead her singleton diamond, but dutifully led her partner's suit. West won with the jack of clubs and switched to the six of hearts, which ran to dummy's jack. A spade to the ace was followed by a club ruff, and declarer cashed the top hearts to get rid of two diamonds. However, East's SKJ7 were still good for three tricks, and the contract was one down. -100 and 4 IMPs for Denmark Board 16. E/W Game Dealer West. S T 8 7 2 H 4 2 D Q J 8 3 C 6 5 3 S Q J 5 4 S A K 3 H T 8 6 5 H A Q D A K 7 D 9 6 5 2 C 4 2 C A 9 8 7 S 9 6 H K J 9 7 3 D T 4 C K Q J T Closed Room West North East South Saltsman Drøgem ller Cimon Møller Pass Pass 1NT 2H 3H Pass 3NT All Pass In the good old days,West, facing a strong notrump, would have made a penalty double and collected around +800. Why South should want to bid facing a passed partner is a different question. Still, declarer was given a chance to show off. South led the king of clubs, and declarer held off until the third round. She cashed the ace and king of diamonds and two top spades before exiting with her remaining club. That forced South to lead into the heart tenace, +600. Open Room West North East South Cilleborg Reus Bilde Gordon Pass Pass 1C 1H Dble Pass 1NT Pass 3NT All Pass The play was identical to that at the other table, so it was a flat board. Denmark had had just the better of things, winning 16-14VP. As Eric Kokish was leaving the auditorium someone asked if he was coaching the Canadian team. When he replied in the affirmative, he was advised to work harder! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Sitting Duck There is an old superstition that you should never shoot a sitting duck. It has obviously not been translated into Dutch, as witness this deal from Round 13 of the Orbis Venice Cup. Board 20. Dealer West. S J 8 5 H A Q J 3 D - - C K J T 5 4 2 S 7 6 S Q T 9 4 2 H T 9 8 6 4 2 H 7 D 7 5 3 D K Q 6 2 C 8 7 C Q 9 3 S A K 3 H K 5 D A J T 9 8 4 C A 6 West North East South Van Zwol Bilde Verbeek Cilleborg Pass 1C 1S 2D Pass 2H Pass 2S Pass 3C Pass 3D Pass 4C Pass 4D Pass 5D Pass 6D Pass Pass Dble 6NT Pass Pass Dble All Pass North-South got their wires crossed and came to rest in a hopeless contract. East though she was on to a good thing and expressed her opinion, but she was quickly disavowed when South retreated to safer waters. East's rhythmic double converted -1440 into -1880. In the other room the Dutch women played in Six Clubs for +1370. The actual loss was 11 IMPs, but the turnaround was 25 IMPs. The moral: leave those ducks alone! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Wild preempts are not always a good thing 15, the number of the day One of the crucial matches of round 15 was when ninth-placed France faced tenth-placed Sweden. The match finished with one single IMP advantage for Sweden, a draw 15/15 in VP. The following hand produced a major swing Board 15. N/S Game Dealer South. S 5 3 H K T 8 6 5 2 D K 7 C Q 8 6 S K 8 2 S Q J T 9 6 H 4 H Q J 7 3 D T 9 8 6 4 2 D J 3 C 9 3 2 C T 7 S A 7 4 H A 9 D A Q 5 C A K J 5 4 As cards lie the winning contract for North South is Six Clubs, ruffing a spade in the dummy. In the closed room the Swedes played a reasonable Six Hearts and went one down after losing two trump tricks. In the open room South, Thierry de Sainte-Marie, opened a semi-forcing two clubs and West, non vulnerable against vulnerable, thought it was time to preempt with a wild Three Diamonds. South finished in Six Notrump and received a diamond lead. He took in the dummy and played a heart to the nine and that was that a 15... no, 17 IMP swing. Wild bidding sometimes pays but not all time. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Orbis Venice Cup - Round 12 Germany v Great Britain By Tony Gordon (GB) Neither side had been impressive in their last four matches, but while Germany were well-placed in fifth position, Great Britain had seen the gap between themselves and the crucial eighth place widen to 28.5 VPs and needed some good results to keep their chances of qualifying alive. However, the match did not start well for Great Britain. Board 2. N/S Game Dealer East. S J T 5 2 H T 4 D T 8 5 C A Q J 4 S A K 6 4 3 S 9 7 H 9 5 H K J 7 6 3 D A K 7 4 D 2 C 8 2 C T 9 7 6 3 S Q 8 H A Q 8 2 D Q J 9 6 3 C K 5 Closed Room West North East South Rauscheid Smith Nehmert Davies - Pass Pass 1D 1S 1NT All Pass Pony Nehmert lead the S7 against Nicola Smith's 1NT contract and Andrea Rauscheid let dummy's eight hold the first trick. If Rauscheid had used her diamond entries to establish and cash her long spade, declarer would have been held to eight tricks; however, she ducked the diamond continuation from dummy and Smith emerged with two overtricks. The stakes were higher in the other room. Open Room West North East South Dhondy Auken McGowan v Arnim - - 2NT 3C Pass 3NT Pass Pass Dble All Pass Liz McGowan's 2NT opening showed a weak hand with either clubs and hearts or diamonds and spades and Daniela von Arnim's 3C overcall was a takeout of spades. Sabine Auken took a shot at 3NT and Heather Dhondy expressed her opinion about this contract in the usual way. As previously noted, a spade lead can hold declarer to eight tricks, however, McGowan led her diamond and that was +750 and 12 IMPs to Germany. However, Great Britain recovered these IMPs when Pat Davies made 3H on an endplay on board 5 and Germany missed the non-vulnerable 5D on board 6, and three boards later they gained revenge for the events of board 2. Board 9. E/W Game Dealer North. S K Q H Q J 8 4 3 2 D - - C A Q 8 6 3 S T 9 7 5 S 8 3 2 H A K 9 H T 7 5 D K 5 D A Q J T 9 2 C J 7 5 2 C K S A J 6 4 H 6 D 8 7 6 4 3 C T 9 4 Closed Room West North East South Rauscheid Smith Nehmert Davies - 1H Pass 1S Pass 2C All Pass Nehmert's silence during the auction was puzzling and Smith was left to play in a comfortable contract that she duly made with two overtricks. Once again the stakes were higher in the other room. Open Room West North East South Dhondy Auken McGowan v Arnim - 1H 2D Pass 2NT 3C Pass Pass 3NT Pass Pass Dble All Pass At this table McGowan did overcall in diamonds and when Dhondy first bid 2NT and then tried 3NT over Auken's 3C it was Germany's turn to express their opinion about this contract. The right lead would have beaten this contract as well, but Auken led the C6 and this time it was Great Britain who scored +750 for a 13-IMP gain. However, Britain's joy was short-lived. Board 10. Game All 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 Closed Room West North East South Rauscheid Smith Nehmert Davies - - 1H Pass 1S Pass 2NT All Pass Smith had no convenient bid over Rauscheid's 1S, so she passed and Nehmert became declarer in an ugly 2NT contract. Her cause was helped when Davies chose the HJ as her opening lead, but she was still short of tricks and careful defending by Smith ensured that she went two down. Open Room West North East South Dhondy Auken McGowan v Arnim - - 1H Pass 1S 2S Dble All Pass At this table Auken was able to bid a natural 2S over Dhondy's 1S, McGowan showed her extra values by doubling and that ended the auction. Declarer can always make her contract if she holds her trump losers to one by pinning the SJ, but that problem was solved for her when McGowan switched to the SJ after starting with the HK. Less than optimum defence subsequently presented Auken with an overtrick for +870 and 12 IMPs to Germany. 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 Neither East/West pair won any prizes for their bidding on this board as Germany reached 4H (!) and Great Britain finished in 3NT. However, with hearts 4-3 and diamonds 2-2 Nehmert had no problems in 4H and she made ten tricks on a club lead losing a diamond, a club and a trump. The cards were also well-placed for McGowan in her 3NT contract although it was not immediately obvious when she won the first trick with dummy's CA where her ninth trick was coming from. However, she followed the usual practice in these situations by running her long suit -- and the last spade squeezed von Arnim in the other three suits. Unable to keep four winning clubs, a heart guard and the DA, she reluctantly released a club and McGowan now had time to establish a diamond trick for her ninth trick. Board 20. Game All 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 North/South pairs bid unopposed to 4H on this hand, Germany with North as the declarer and Great Britain with South as the declarer. The British South received the ominous lead of the 9S which she won in hand with the Ace. Two rounds of trumps revealed the 4-1 break and she had no way of avoiding two down at this point. If she drew all the trumps, she would lose three spades and two clubs, whereas if she left a trump outstanding, as she did, she would lose a club ruff instead of the long spade. +200 to Germany. At the other table, McGowan led an aggressive low spade from the East hand and Auken was in with a chance of making her 4H contract when she successfully ran it round to her Queen. When the bad trump break was revealed, Auken drew all the trumps finishing in dummy and then led a low club. To beat the contract, Dhondy had to rise with the CA and continue spades thereby allowing McGowan to cash the long spade for the setting trick when she subsequently won her CK. However, this was far from obvious and when Dhondy ducked the club, the hand was over. +620 and 13 IMPs to Germany. When the smoke had cleared, Germany had won by 49-31 IMPs (19-11VPs), but dropped two places to seventh while Great Britain had fallen further behind the qualifying group. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Orbis Venice Cup - Round 13 Argentina v Brazil Though neither Argentina nor Brazil looked likely to make the top eight in the Venice Cup round-robin, matches between these long-time South American rivals are always fiercely contested. Their Round 13 match started with a bang with 42 IMPs changing hands in the first four boards. Board 1. Love All Dealer North. S 8 6 4 H T 3 2 D A K 6 C Q T 9 8 S A K 9 S J 5 H K 4 H A Q J 8 6 5 D Q J 9 8 3 2 D T C A J C K 7 3 2 S Q T 7 3 2 H 9 7 D 7 5 4 C 6 5 4 West North East South Tajtelbaum Espinosa-Paz Amaral Safra - Pass 1H Pass 2D Pass 2H Pass 3D Pass 3NT Pass 4C Pass 4H All Pass West North East South Iacaprato Gomes Garateguy Sampaio - Pass 1H Pass 2D Pass 2H Pass 4NT Pass 5C Pass 6H All Pass For Brazil, Lia Tajtelbaum was prepared to leave the final decision about slam to her partner. She showed a good hand by bidding round the houses but Marina Amaral was not sufficiently excited to go past game; +480. In the other room, Malena Iacaprato simply took control with RKCB and bid the slam on finding that her partner had one key card. On a club lead, Charo Garateguy could have played to ruff two clubs in dummy, but preferred to play on diamonds. The opening lead went to the jack, queen and king, and Garateguy played her diamond at trick two. Irene Gomes won the ace and returned a club to the ace. When declarer played the diamond queen, she covered and Garateguy could ruff, draw trumps and claim; +980 and 11 IMPs to Argentina. Board 2. N/S Game Dealer East. S K J T 2 H J 9 6 D A Q J C 9 3 2 S 8 6 S A Q 5 H K Q T H A 7 4 D K 8 6 D 5 3 2 C K Q T 8 5 C A J 7 6 S 9 7 4 3 H 8 5 3 2 D T 9 7 4 C 4 West North East South Iacaprato Gomes Garateguy Sampaio - - 1C Pass 3C Pass 4NT Pass 5C All Pass Three Clubs was a forcing raise and Garateguy asked for key cards but then settled for game on finding that a key card was missing. The opening lead was a heart to dummy's king. Declarer drew three rounds of clubs, eliminated the hearts and took the spade finesse. Then she played a diamond to the king and lost three diamond tricks for down one; -50. There is a small extra chance which comes in. After drawing trumps, take the spade finesse and eliminate the spades then hearts before leading a diamond towards the king. South can play the ten, which seems from declarer's point of view to be good enough to avoid the endplay. However, it costs nothing to duck the first diamond anyway and when North has her actual holding she has to overtake and is endplayed to let the contract make. In the other room, the Brazilians bid 1NT - 3NT. After a diamond lead and spade switch, declarer made an overtrick; +430 and 10 IMPs to Brazil. Board 3. E/W Game Dealer South. S A 7 4 H K T 9 4 D A T 8 6 C T 8 S J 8 6 3 2 S 9 5 H A J 8 5 3 H Q 2 D K Q 4 D 9 7 3 2 C - - C J 7 5 4 2 S K Q T H 7 6 D J 5 C A K Q 9 6 3 West North East South Iacaprato Gomes Garateguy Sampaio - - - 1C 2D Dble Pass 3NT All Pass West North East South Tajtelbaum Espinosa-Paz Amaral Safra - - - 1C 2NT Dble Pass Pass 3H Dble All Pass Showing both majors via a 2D overcall proved to be much safer than showing them by bidding an unusual Two No Trump. Where Iacaprato overcalled Two Diamonds, Gomes made a negative double and Marta Sampaio jumped to three Notrump. She made that easily enough after a spade lead, but +430 was not enough to cover the action at the other table. Tajtelbaum overcalled Two No Trump and Maria-Teresa Espinosa-Paz doubled then doubled again when Tajtelbaum removed herself to Three Hearts. Espinosa-Paz led a club and Tajtelbaum ruffed and gave up a spade. Chantal Safra won the spade and switched to the jack of diamonds to the king and ace. Back came a second club. Again declarer ruffed and gave up a spade, won by South. A third club came through and she ruffed. North over-ruffed and returned a trump. Declarer won and took a spade ruff but had only one more trump trick to come; three down for -800 and 9 IMPs to Argentina. Board 4. Dealer West. S Q T 9 6 5 3 H 3 2 D A J T C 7 6 S K J 8 7 S - - H J 7 6 5 H A 8 4 D 3 D K Q 9 8 7 4 C A Q 9 3 C K 8 5 4 S A 4 2 H K Q T 9 D 6 5 2 C J T 2 West North East South Iacaprato Gomes Garateguy Sampaio 1C 2S 3D 3S Pass Pass 4C Pass 5C All Pass West North East South Tajtelbaum Espinosa-Paz Amaral Safra Pass 2S 3D Pass 3NT All Pass Iacaprato's thin One Club opening worked well as it helped her side to reach Five Clubs. A heart lead might have been more taxing, but on the actual spade lead declarer could throw a heart from dummy, win the heart switch and cross to hand with a trump to pitch the remaining heart on the king of spades. With diamonds 3-3 onside and trumps 3-2, there was nothing the defense could do; +600. Tajtelbaum did not open the West hand. Espinosa-Paz opened a weak two as North and Amaral overcalled Three Diamonds. Tajtelbaum responded Three No Trump, as who would not, but her lack of a second diamond meant that she had no good source of tricks in that contract. She was one down for -100 and 12 IMPs to Argentina, ahead by 32-10. Board 6. E/W Game Dealer East. S K 9 H A 7 6 2 D A 5 C A J 9 8 3 S Q 6 5 2 S A J 8 7 H Q 9 H T 8 4 D K 6 3 D J T 9 4 C T 7 5 4 C Q 6 S T 4 3 H K J 5 3 D Q 8 7 2 C K 2 West North East South Iacaprato Gomes Garateguy Sampaio - - Pass Pass Pass 1NT Pass 2C Pass 2H Pass 4H All Pass If you do not open One No Trump on the North hand, the auction might get messy and I would guess that this was a popular auction around the room. The Brazilians had a standard Stayman auction to Four Hearts and Garateguy led the diamond jack, covered all round. Gomes played the king of clubs, a club to the ace and ruffed a club. Next she cashed the ace of hearts and made the key play of a heart to the king, dropping the queen. She just lost a diamond and two spades for +420. West North East South Tajtelbaum Espinosa-Paz Amaral Safra - - Pass Pass Pass 1NT Pass 2C Pass 2D Pass 2S Pass 3C Pass 3D Pass 3NT All Pass Espinosa-Paz also opened One No Trump. Something went wrong with the Puppet Stayman auction because the 4-4 heart fit was missed. Three No Trump is definitely inferior to Four Hearts and it duly failed; by two tricks when declarer was not up to dropping both the doubleton queens, which might have given her a chance. -100 meant 11 IMPs to Brazil, who closed to 21-32. Argentina had a couple of useful gains to extend their lead to 45-21, then came something more substantial: Board 10. Dealer East. S J 2 H J 6 D 8 C A K Q J T 7 5 2 S T 9 5 3 S Q 6 H Q T 5 H K 9 7 3 D K J T 7 2 D A 9 4 3 C 8 C 9 4 3 S A K 8 7 4 H A 8 4 2 D Q 6 5 C 6 West North East South Iacaprato Gomes Garateguy Sampaio - - Pass 1S Pass 2C Pass 2H Pass 4NT Pass 5H Pass 6C All Pass West North East South Tajtelbaum Espinosa-Paz Amaral Safra - - Pass 1S Pass 2C Pass 2H Pass 5C All Pass Is there no middle ground between launching into Blackwood and effectively signing-off in game? The defense to the slam started with two rounds of diamonds, giving declarer some hope. However, when the spades failed to divide evenly, Gomes had to go one down for -100 and 12 IMPs to Argentina for stopping safely in game in the other room. It seems that Argentina outbid their opponents on the board, but would South have gone on to Six Clubs if she had also held the SQ or HK? I think not. Board 12. N/S Game Dealer West. S A Q 2 H A K T 5 4 D A 7 2 C K 8 S K 6 5 S J 7 3 H Q J H 8 7 3 D K Q 8 6 D J T 9 4 C Q J 9 2 C T 6 4 S T 9 8 4 H 9 6 2 D 5 3 C A 7 5 3 West North East South Iacaprato Gomes Garateguy Sampaio 1C Dble Pass 1S Pass 2H Pass 3H Pass 4H All Pass West North East South Tajtelbaum Espinosa-Paz Amaral Safra 1C Dble Pass 1S Pass 2H All Pass Sampaio outbid Safra on this one. After an identical start to the auction, Sampaio put more trust in her partner's combination of double then bid her suit, by inviting game. Gomes quickly raised herself to game and that was +650 against +200 in the other room; 10 IMPs to Brazil. Argentina led by 62-40 with three boards to go. Board 18. N/S Game Dealer East. S 7 6 5 2 H 9 6 4 D Q 3 C A J 9 5 S 8 S K 3 H A Q T 7 3 H K J 8 5 2 D 9 7 D A J 8 4 2 C Q 7 6 4 2 C 8 S A Q J T 9 4 H - - D K T 6 5 C K T 3 West North East South Iacaprato Gomes Garateguy Sampaio - - 1H 1S 3S 4S 5H 5S Pass Pass 6H 6S All Pass Three Spades was a splinter in support of hearts and Gomes did well to raise to Four Spades on the North cards given the vulnerability. That enabled Sampaio to compete with Five Spades over Five Hearts. Garateguy went on to Six Hearts, which is only one off and could even make on the lead of the ace of spades. With a shrug of her shoulders, Sampaio went on to Six Spades, ending the auction. Six Spades can be made double dummy, but is unlikely to be made in practice as declarer must take a first round club finesse to get to dummy to pick up the spade. Sampaio ruffed the heart lead and played a diamond to the queen and ace. She ruffed the heart return and tried to get to dummy by ruffing the third diamond. When Iacaprato could ruff in with the eight in front of dummy, the contract had to fail. Iacaprato returned a club, run to declarer's ten. Disappointed to have gone down, Sampaio had taken her eye off the ball and now played a second club in an attempt to get to dummy, so suffered a second ruff for down two; -200. West North East South Tajtelbaum Espinosa-Paz Amaral Safra - - 1H 1S 4H 4S 5H All Pass But -200 proved to be enough to win the board for Brazil. In the other room,Tajtelbaum made a straightforward raise to Four Hearts and again North, Espinosa-Paz, did well to compete with Four Spades. When Amaral bid on to Five Hearts, Safra passed! That is a surprising decision -- perhaps she assumed that her pass was forcing, though there seems no reason why it should be. The lead of the ace of spades meant that dummy's diamond loser could be discarded and Amaral came home with 11 tricks for +450 and 6 IMPs to Brazil. The final score was 62-48 to Argentina, converting to 18-12 VPs. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Orbis Bermuda Bowl - Round 1 USA 2 v Bulgaria Bul(garian) Market The match between USA 2 and Bulgaria in Round 13 of the Orbis Bermuda Bowl was a wild affair, won by Bulgaria 60-55. On the following deals, reported by Barry Rigal, Bulgaria earned 34 IMPs by right-siding one contract and with daring play on two others. Board 6. E/W Game Dealer East. S K 9 H A 7 6 2 D A 5 C A J 9 8 3 S Q 6 5 2 S A J 8 7 H Q 9 H T 8 4 D K 6 3 D J T 9 4 C T 7 5 4 C Q 6 S T 4 3 H K J 5 3 D Q 8 7 2 C K 2 West North East South Karaivanov Martel TrendafilovStansby - - - Pass Pass 1C Pass 1H Pass 3H Pass 4H All Pass Kalin Karaivanov led a low spade. Rumen Trendafilov took the SJ and SA before switching to the DJ. Stansby had no reason not to play trumps in the normal way, so West won the HQ to defeat the contract one trick. In the other room: West North East South Zia Nanev Rosenberg Mihov - - - 1NT (1) Pass 2NT (2) Pass 3C Pass 3D (3) Pass 3S (4) Pass 4H All Pass (1) 9-12 HCP. (2) Transfer to clubs. (3) Stayman. (4) Hearts. Rosenberg led the DJ, ducked all around. Rosenberg played another diamond to Nanev's ace and the Bulgarian followed with a club to dummy's king and a club to the ace. When the CQ dropped, Nanev cashed the top two hearts, and when the queen dropped, he pulled trumps and claimed, recording plus 420. Even if the HQ had not dropped, Nanev would have had great chances for his contract. After playing two top hearts, ending in hand, Nanev could have ruffed a club low, ruffed a diamond, felling the king, and played winning clubs. If East held the HQ,Nanev could ruff his last club and pitch a losing spade on the good diamond queen. Of course, if East ruffed in at any point, he would be endplayed, faced with the choice of leading a spade from his ace or playing a diamond to dummy's queen. Plus 420 was good for 10 IMPs to Bulgaria. Board 15. N/S Game Dealer South. S J 7 6 2 H 9 6 3 D K 7 C A 9 8 4 S A K S Q T 9 8 3 H K Q 5 2 H A 8 7 4 D Q J 8 D A 3 C K 6 3 2 C J 5 S 5 4 H J T D T 9 6 5 4 2 C Q T 7 In one room, Karaivanov and Trendafilov stopped in 4H making five for plus 450. In the open room: West North East South Zia Nanev Rosenberg Mihov - - - Pass 1C Pass 1S Pass 2NT Pass 3C (1) Pass 3H Pass 4D (2) Pass 4S (2) Pass 5H Pass 6H All Pass (1) Checkback Stayman. (2) Cuebid. If anyone could appreciate Nanev's opening lead, it would be Zia, who has conjured up some corkers himself over the years. Nanev, perhaps asking himself what Zia would have led, put the D7 on the track. Zia played low, winning the 9 with the queen. He followed with the HK and HQ, then the top spades in his hand. In dummy with the HA, Zia cashed the SQ. At this point, if he had cashed the DA, he would have brought home the slam. Once Zia got over the shock of seeing Nanev's king fall under the ace, he could have ruffed a spade in his hand, establishing the suit, pitched a club on the good diamond in his hand and claimed, giving up a club. As it was, Zia ruffed a spade low and played a diamond from hand to the king (!!!) and ace. Zia now had a good diamond in his hand but no way to get to it. His only choice then was to hope that South had the CA. Not this time, as Bulgaria put 11more IMPs in the bank. Finally: Board 20. Dealer West. S J 8 5 H A Q J 3 D - - C K J T 5 4 2 S 7 6 S Q T 9 4 2 H T 9 8 6 4 2 H 7 D 7 5 3 D K Q 6 2 C 8 7 C Q 9 3 S A K 3 H K 5 D A J T 9 8 4 C A 6 In one room, Stansby and Martel stopped in a sensible 6C, making six, for 1370. In the other room: West North East South Zia Nanev Rosenberg Mihov Pass 2C (1) Pass 2D (2) Pass 2H Pass 3C Pass 3H (3) Pass 3S (4) Pass 4D (4) Pass 4NT (5) Pass 5NT (6) Pass 7C All Pass (1) Precision style. (2) Forcing relay. (3) Confirming 4-6 in hearts and clubs. (4) Cuebid. (5) Cuebid. (6) Roman Keycard Blackwood. (7) Two keycards and a void. Rosenberg led the DK, ruffed in hand by Nanev, who immediately swung the CJ through East. When that card held and trumps proved to be 3-2, the Bulgarians happily scored up plus 2140, good for 13 IMPs and a narrow win in a wild match. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Bridge commands Patino's attention By Henry Francis Bridge and golf perpetually vie for the attention of Jaime Ortiz- Patino, President Emeritus of the World Bridge Federation. He is here in Bermuda, working with the WBF Executive Council to prepare for bridge's entry into the Olympics. Chances are excellent that bridge will be a demonstration sport at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. But he will take some time off this weekend to go to Florida to take care of the financial details concerning the multi- million-dollar tournament held recently at Valderrama, his world- famous course in Spain. He plans to attend the World Team Olympiad in Maastricht, the Netherlands, this summer to help with the revisions in the WBF constitution and bylaws -- changes made necessary by the WBF's affiliation with the International Olympic Committee. He also will go to Buenos Aires, Argentina, for the World Junior Championships next year, and to the 2001 Bermuda Bowl. One other bridge tournament also is on his schedule -- the IOC tournament at the IOC headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland. He plans to talk with Juan Antonio Samaranch, IOC President, about bridge and its entry into the Olympic fold. We asked Jimmy about his golf course. "The course has been ranked #1 on the continent of Europe for the past 10 years. And three of the holes have been listed among the top 500 holes in the world -- and three is the maximum allowed for any course. The par 3, 15th, the par 4, 18th and the par 5, 4th were the holes selected. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Bermuda on the run Onno Eskes, The Netherlands Mutual disbelief will be seen, when on Sunday the island will be flooded with marathon-runners for the annual Bermuda Marathon. If you can't understand that some people actually get some form of satisfaction from running 42 kilometers in a few hours, then try to explain that you are throwing around pieces of cardboard for nine hours a day, fourteen days in a row, and that you really like it! The Bermuda men's team showed that they are in excellent form for the running contest, as witness this deal from their match against Canada. Joe Wakefield held S KQ7 H AK87 D Q98 C 863. He opened 1C and after his partnership bid undisturbed to game (1C-1D-1H-1S-1NT-3NT) his left hand opponent suddenly doubled! Wakefield realized that this must have been based on a nasty club surprise and took the excellent view to run to 5D. David Sykes had no trouble heading this ball into the goal: he raised to 6D! 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 3 West North East South Sykes Maksymetz Wakefield Graves - - 1C Pass 1D Pass 1H Pass 1S Pass 1NT Pass 3NT Pass Pass Dble Pass Pass 5D Pass 6D All Pass 6D was of course no problem with the diamonds 2-2. More interesting was the play in 3NT, which was bid (and left alone) at the other table. After a club lead declarer cashed three spade tricks before switching his attention to the red suits and going down. That was exactly one spade trick too little. Had he cashed his fourth spade too, South would have been squeezed in three suits! The Canadians turned out to be quick learners. The next match, Fred Gitelman held S K5, H 8752, D 832, C KQJ6 and heard his Taiwanese opponents bid to 5C. Once bitten, twice shy; Fred passed and noticed happily that 5C went down while the opponents were again cold for 6D. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Bermuda Open Team Charles W. Hall, originally from the United Kingdom, is an accountant for a local retail company. He began playing cards as a child, graduating to bridge at the Olicania Bridge Club in North England. He became an ACBL Life Master in the early Nineties. He and partner Joe Taussig play Precision, but they are equally at home with other, natural systems. Has won several events at regional tournaments and has attended several of ACBL's North American Bridge Championships. His other interests are sailing, cultivating orchids and riding motor bikes (he fantasizes about riding Harley Davidsons). He is married to Lee, who is very supportive of his bridge playing. Bill Souster was born in England and has been in Bermuda since 1987. A former mathematics teacher, for the past six years he has worked as an actuary in the reinsurance business in Bermuda. He has represented Bermuda in five Bermuda Bowl qualifying events and in one Olympiad. David Sykes is a chartered accountant working for one of the leading insurance management companies in Bermuda. He is making his debut in international competition. Joe Taussig is president of First International Capital Ltd., an investment banking firm that raises capital for insurance companies, hedge funds and securities trading firms. He is playing in international competition for the first time. Charles Vaucrosson is the only native Bermudian on the open team, although he lived abroad (Canada and England) for about 18 years. He has played bridge for 50 years (duplicate for about 25). He helped organize the Tri-Country Trials (a playoff among Bermuda, Canada and Mexico) in the late Seventies and has played in all but a couple of them since. Charles has played in the World Team Olympiad and the Olympiad Pairs. Joe Wakefield is a former teacher turned attorney. He is married with one daughter and two grandchildren. Has won six regional championships, all in Bermuda. He has played in most of the World Bridge Team Olympiads since Monte Carlo in 1976. He is former president of the Bermuda Bridge Club and of Unit 198. His other hobby is golf. Kevin Comeau (non-playing captain) is former director and general counsel of Orbis Investment Management. He is now retired to spend more time playing golf, bridge and tennis. A native of Canada, Kevin has lived in Bermuda since 1989. 'As with my golf and tennis games,' Kevin says, 'I am working hard to raise my bridge game to an expected level of mediocrity.' ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Bermuda Ladies Team Judy Bussell is a financial controller for a large Bermuda security firm. She has played bridge since she was eight years old but took up duplicate only eight years ago. She became an ACBL Life Master in February of 1999. She was chairman of the Bermuda Regional last year and will take on the duties again this year. She is a former field hockey player and caddy for the regional tournament. Her view of the game: 'I would rather play bridge than eat!' Diana Diel is married to Coles Diel, Q.C., barrister. They have two sons and three grandchildren. A keen golfer, Diana has been ladies amateur champion three times and stroke-play champion twice. She has played for Bermuda in the World Cup (golf) in Venezuela. She is Lady Captain of Riddells Bay and Mid Ocean Golf clubs. She is also an associate of the Royal College of Music in piano. Her principal hobby is gardening. She and partner Audrey Smith won the Bermuda Bridge Club ladies championship two years ago. They qualified for the Orbis Venice Cup team last April. Jean Johnson has played in four world championships, twice on open teams and once in the Tri-Country Trials. She is past president of the Bermuda Bridge Club and past chairman of the Bermuda Regional. She has won the ladies pairs in Bermuda five times, the open pairs twice and is a past winner of the Norman Bach Trophy (most masterpoints at the Bermuda Regional). Stephanie Kyme began playing bridge when she arrived in Bermuda 20 years ago. She became an ACBL Life Master four years ago. She is now a Bronze Life Master (500 masterpoints). She is secretary of the Bermuda Unit. She is employed at Mutual Risk Management in Bermuda as personal assistant to the chairman of the captive group. Stephanie plays golf as well as bridge, and enjoys playing the piano in her spare time. Audrey Smith is a wife and mother of three children -- two boys and a girl. Her husband is a retired ophthalmologist. The two of them were born and reared in Scotland, where they graduated from Glasgow University. They moved to Bermuda 43 years ago, and for nearly 40 years he was the only eye specialist on the island. Audrey was taught bridge by her husband when they first married. They are regulars at the Bermuda Bridge Club. She and partner Diana Diel have been practicing for their appearance in the Orbis Venice Cup for three months and have been coached by Eric Kokish. 'Eric came to Bermuda for a few days in November,' Smith says, 'to try to make bridge players out of us. So, here we are, surprised and very nervous.' Margie Way has played in three world championships and two Tri-Country Trials. She is past president of the Bermuda Bridge Club and has won the Ladies Pairs in Bermuda four times. She is a keen tennis player and chairman of the tennis tournament committee. She is the mother of seven children and grandmother of nine. She also teaches bridge. David Schroeder (non-playing captain) moved to Bermuda 20 months ago from Chicago. He works for Marsh Global Broking (Bermuda) Ltd. as coverage and claims advisor. He is an attorney, graduating from the University of Chicago Law School in 1984. David learned to play bridge at age 13 (his parents remain avid players) and enjoys twice-weekly games with regular partner John Hoskins at the Bermuda Bridge Club. David's other interests include stamp and coin collection, naval history, ship model building and the stock market. 'I was extremely honoured,' David says, 'to be asked to be non-playing captain of Bermuda's Orbis Venice Cup team.' ---------------------------------------------------------------------- A modest proposal David Burn, Great Britain Alan Truscott's article has provoked a swift response from one of our Internet readers. We certainly enjoyed reading it. Some of you will have noticed that Abbey Walker, the European champion, is carrying around a couple of sheets of paper. She is doing so under protest. They were prepared by her partner, and contain among other things the counter-measures she uses when her opponents open the bidding. She cites an opponent who used a bid of one club to show spades, or hearts, or diamonds, or clubs, or any of the six combinations of two of those suits, the four three-suited possibilities and even a balanced hand. The system card gave only a vague indication of the point count, but the style was described as 'strong'. This requires advance preparation by the defending side, since you may want to play in clubs, diamonds, hearts, spades, or conceivably nothing at all. Like all of the players in the event,Abbey was prepared for this to some extent. Since she is not allowed to have prepared defences at the table, she has been forced to rely on a complex procedure involving looking at her hand and bidding according to its contents. This wastes up to half a second on any given deal, and she was still at some disadvantage, because she was in a position that could never have occurred if players were forced to bid only suits in which they had length, provided that they also held good hands. The World Bridge Federation has consistently refused to espouse the obvious notion that bids that do not show strength or specified suits should be placed in the same category as coffee and other dangerous drugs. I shared that opinion, but Truscott has changed my mind. I believe that no call should be permitted unless there is a possibility that it could terminate the auction. Eliminating the Precision Club is only a partial solution. Unlike almost all readers, I have read thousands of convention cards over a period of twelve years as coach to international teams. There are, in truth, very few problems that cannot be solved by the application of a few general principles and some basic common sense. But that is not the point - as bridge becomes an Olympic sport, as the march of time carries us inexorably towards a new millennium, it is more important than ever that the game remains firmly rooted in the 1930s, where everybody knew what was happening. This will occur only if the following regulation is adopted as a matter of urgency: Any action by anyone must not be forcing. Of course, there will be die-hards who persist in the foolish belief that the object of bidding is either: to reach the optimum contract, or to prevent the opponents from doing likewise. I trust that these practitioners of chemical warfare will be given the short shrift they deserve by the governing bodies. The effect of my proposal would be to eliminate the strong 1C, the strong 2C, the take-out double, Blackwood, Stayman, cue-bids, asking bids and all manner of pernicious devices which place the opponents in the invidious position of having to defend against the right contract. An additional advantage would be that the game becomes a great deal faster. Since the chances of getting a plus score by bidding under the new regime would be minimal, hardly anyone would bother to bid at all. Even when an auction did start, it would not last very long. With no need for alerts and explanations, matches which currently take two hours would be over in a matter of minutes, and we could all spend most of our day at the beach instead of having to put some effort into exploring the unnecessary complexities of what ought to be a simple game. Instead of the Olympic motto -- "faster, higher, stronger" --let us adopt for our sport a new watchword: "Reddemus in lectum et stragulum super capitem trahemus", which being roughly translated means: "Let us go back to bed and pull the covers over our heads". ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. To make an appointment please contact the hospitality desk or call the Churchill Suite, room phone: 7554. Risks of passive investing Earlier this week when we wrote about the various styles of investing we categorised the styles into Active and Passive. The Active manager attempts to outperform a benchmark index. The differences between the active portfolio and the benchmark also expose the portfolio to the risk of under performing. In contrast, the Passive manager sits on her hands and tries only to match the performance of the portfolio's benchmark while sometimes keeping expenses low. During periods when active management styles generate returns that are lower than the market averages, just matching the index becomes more popular. We are in such a period now. In fact, over the last decade indexing has become very popular. The unprecedented bull market in the US has helped to convince investors that they need not pay a manager for active management. While a passive approach has benefits, there is, however, a significant risk in taking the passive indexing approach. The old adage "Buy Low, Sell High" is not followed by index funds. Just the opposite, as some stocks increase while others decrease over time the index fund matches these changes and ends up holding a larger proportion of the stocks that have done the best and a smaller proportion of those that have under performed. While the trend continues, this works well but when the trend reverses you have a problem. Consider, for example, what has happened to the weighting of major countries in a worldwide index of equities. In December 1989, Japan had just experienced the most fabulous period of stockmarket gains. In the late 1980s, Japan was considered to be the powerhouse of future global growth. The rest of the world was trying to re-engineer itself in the Japanese style. General Motors was considered to be a dinosaur. At this most optimistic moment, the Japanese stockmarket represented 42% of the value of investable equities worldwide. This was its highest weighting ever. And it was its most vulnerable moment. At the beginning of 1990, the Japanese stockmarket bubble burst. The average Japanese share subsequently declined 67% over the following eight and a half years. In August 1998, after this protracted bear market, the value of the Japanese stockmarket constituted only 9% of equities worldwide. It was difficult to find an investor who liked Japan's prospects. Yet this may well mark the bottom of the bear market and is probably the beginning of a new more positive phase for Japan compared to other stockmarkets. Placing 42% of your global portfolio in Japan at the top of the market and only holding 9% at what may well turn out to be its bottom is not Buying Low and Selling High. ======================================================================