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: 11 Tuesday, 18 January 2000 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Book your Seat Now! It is hard to believe, but the semifinals of the Orbis Bermuda Bowl and OrbisVenice Cup are providing the same level of excitement as the quarterfinals. All four matches have ebbed and flowed, and there is no reason why that pattern should not continue today. Orbis Bermuda Bowl In the struggle between the North American teams, USA 2 made the first move, winning the second session by 24 IMPs. However USA I hit back hard in the third session, taking it 54-1. They gained another 3 IMPs in the final session of the day, to lead by 29 IMPs. At the end of the first session in the other semifinal, Brazil led by 0.3 of an IMP! Then it was Norway by 5.7, then 3.7 before Brazil became the first to get a little daylight, winning the last session 43-19 to lead by 20.3 IMPs. Orbis Venice Cup USA I won the first three sessions to open up a lead of 65 IMPs. Denmark began a charge at the start of the closing session of the day and more than halved the margin. USA I hit back, but the Danes still picked up 23 IMPs to trail by a manageable 42 IMPs going into the remaining two sessions. The Netherlands made a fantastic start to the second session, picking up three huge swings in a row, going on to gain 36 IMPs. Austria fought back and by the close of play had reduced the margin to just 9.3 IMPs. Orbis World Transnational Teams Championship After six rounds, the Great Britain squad comprising Jeremy Dhondy, Alan Kay, Peter Goodman and Mike Pownall are leading the star-studded field. Orbis World Computer Bridge Championship With one round to go in the Round-Robin of the Orbis World Computer Bridge Championship, the French WBridge5 is leading the field with 83 out of a possible 120 VPs. The other scores are GIB (US, 81), Micro Bridge9 (Japan, 73), Bridge Buff (Canada, 68), Q+Plus Bridge (Germany, 62), Blue Chip Bridge (Great Britain, 48), Bridge Baron (US, 43) Meadowlark Bridge (US, 22). After today's final Round-Robin match, the top four performers will go on to the semifinals. Thirty-eight boards will be played in the semifinal matches, with the IMP-results of the 10 boards played against the same opponent in the Round-Robin being fully carried over. ===================================================================== ANSWERS TO QUIZ By Alan Truscott 1. Oldest player in the Bermuda Bowl: Jessel Rothfield, Australia, 82. 2. Youngest players in the Bermuda Bowl: Boye Brogeland, Norway, 26. (he will be 27 on Jan 26. Jerry Stamatov of Bulgaria is 3 months older). 3. Oldest player in the Venice Trophy: Ella Grace, Hong Kong, 81. 4. Youngest player in the Venice Trophy: Abbey Walker, Great Britain, 23. 5. Tallest player in the Bermuda Bowl: Norbert Bocchi, Italy, 1.96 metres. (Near miss: Seamus Browne, Australia, 1.95 metres). 6. Bermuda Bowl orVenice Cup team with no player born in the country:Australia: (2 New Zealanders; 2 Americans; 1 Scot; 1 Indian). Winning entry: John Wignall, New Zealand. 5 correct, but had Browne instead of Bocchi. ===================================================================== OrbisVenice Cup - QF Session 6 Germany v Austria By Tony Gordon (GB) Having led virtually throughout the match, Austria took a healthy-looking lead of 42 IMPs into the final session. They then proceeded to open the door to Germany, but Germany were ultimately unable to take advantage of the situation. 2-IMP gains to Germany on each of the first two boards reduced the margin to 38 IMPs, then: Board 3. E/W vul. Dealer South. S Q T 5 2 H Q T D A T 9 4 C Q 8 5 S 6 4 3 S A J 9 7 H A J 8 7 5 4 3 H 9 D 8 D J 7 3 C K 9 C J 7 6 4 2 S K 8 H K 6 2 D K Q 6 5 2 C A T 3 In the Closed Room Sabine Auken and Daniela von Arnim played in 3NT on the North/South cards and made an overtrick after a heart lead; +430 to Germany. Open Room West North East South Rauscheid Erhart Nehmert Smederevac - - - 1NT Dble Redble 2D Pass Pass Dble Pass Pass 2H Pass Pass Dble All Pass Andrea Rauscheid's double of 1NT showed a one-suited hand and Pony Nehmert's 2D over Maria Erhart's redouble should have delivered a somewhat better suit. Austria doubled this and Rauscheid's retreat to 2H, but after a spade lead to the nine and King the contract could not be defeated; +670 and a massive 15 IMPs to Germany. A part-score swing on the next board brought Germany another 6 IMPs, then: Board 7. Both vul. Dealer South. S J T 9 7 H J 3 2 D J 4 C 8 6 3 2 S Q 8 6 5 4 S A 2 H T 9 7 5 4 H - - D 8 2 D A Q T 9 7 6 5 C 4 C A K Q J S K 3 H A K Q 8 6 D K 3 C T 9 7 5 Open Room West North East South Rauscheid Erhart Nehmert Smederevac - - - 1NT Pass Pass 5D All Pass Nehmert took the direct route to 5D over Jovanka Smederevac's opening 1NT and made eleven tricks for +600 to Germany. Closed Room West North East South Weigkricht Auken Fischer v Arnim - - - 1H Pass Pass 2H Dble 2S Pass 3D All Pass Doris Fischer's 3D was 100% forcing, but Terry Weigkricht viewed to pass; +150 to Austria but 10 IMPs to Germany, now only 6 IMPs behind. Board 9. E/W vul. Dealer North. S J 6 5 H 9 4 3 D J 4 3 C K J T 8 S T 8 7 S A 9 3 H Q J 5 H A K T 7 D Q T 8 6 D K 9 7 2 C A Q 3 C 7 6 S K Q 4 2 H 8 6 2 D A 5 C 9 5 4 2 In the Closed Room, Fischer opened 1H as East (1NT would have shown 15-17) and passed Weigkricht's rather heavy 1NT response. Auken led the SJ (!) and Weigkricht ducked the first two rounds of the suit. Von Arnim now found the club switch that would have ensured the defeat of 3NT, but 1NT was impregnable. Weigkricht rose with the DA and played a diamond to the King and Ace. She made seven tricks for +90 to Austria. In the Open Room, Nehmert's 1NT range was 14-16 so she opened 1NT and was raised to game. Spades were led and continued and Smederevac cleared the suit. If Nehmert could guess who held the DJ, Germany would take the lead; however, she immediately ran the D9 and was one down.5 IMPs to Austria, who now had a little breathing space. Board 12. N/S vul. Dealer West. S T 9 8 H A K T 7 D Q T 6 2 C J 5 S 5 3 S J 6 H Q J 8 H 9 6 2 D A K J 8 7 5 D 9 4 3 C Q 4 C T 9 6 3 2 S A K Q 7 4 2 H 5 4 3 D - - C A K 8 7 In both rooms, West's 1D opening bid was passed round to South. In the Open Room, Smederevac started with 2D and then jumped to 4S over Erhart's 2H. That ended the auction and she made all thirteen tricks for +710 to Austria. In the Closed Room, von Arnim, possibly disillusioned by seeing Weigkricht mistime the play on the previous board and still make 6S, simply jumped to 4S. She also made all thirteen tricks. Austria led by 10 IMPs at this point, but Germany had a chance to get back on terms on board 13 when Austria missed a vulnerable 4S. However, Germany also stayed out of game, which was perhaps just as well considering that they made two tricks less than Austria. One last chance remained: Board 14. None vul. Dealer East. S T 6 H Q J 9 8 5 D A 9 3 2 C J 5 S A J 7 5 4 S 8 3 H 6 4 3 2 H K T D 8 D K Q J 4 C 7 4 2 C A K Q 8 6 S K Q 9 2 H A 7 D T 7 6 5 C T 9 3 Closed Room West North East South Weigkricht Auken Fischer v Arnim - - 1D Pass 1D 1H 2D Pass 2S Pass 3D All Pass After the strong 1D opening and 1D negative, the Austrians came to rest in 3D. Von Arnim led the D9 and Fischer won and played the DK. Auken took her Ace and continued trumps and Fischer won and ruffed her losing diamond in dummy. The SA followed by the SJ would have worked well at this point as it keeps North out of the lead, but declarer not unnaturally played a heart to her King. However, the third round of hearts from North now promoted South's D10 to the setting trick; +50 to Germany. Open Room West North East South Rauscheid Erhart Nehmert Smederevac - - 1D Pass 1S Pass 2D Pass 2S Pass 3NT All Pass Germany were more aggressive in the other room and reached 3NT and Smederevac led the S2. Double dummy, Nehmert can make her contract by inserting the SJ at trick one and not covering North's eventual HQ switch. However, that was an unlikely scenario, and in practice she went one down after rising with the SA at trick one. Time had run out for Germany; although they had won the final session by 38-7 IMPs, Austria had won the match by 177-166 IMPs and would face the Netherlands in the semi final. ===================================================================== Avoiding Promotion by Neil Cohen, USA This hand was mentioned in Friday's Daily News in the report on Denmark v Canada in the Orbis Venice Cup. Board 14. None vul. 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 At one table, Reus, North, played Four Spades doubled after the auction. West North East South - - Pass 1D 2D 4S Dble All Pass East led a club to the jack, and West shifted to a heart to the jack. (That was a mistake. The winning defence is to force the dummy by playing a second club. Editor) Now, declarer played a spade to the ace and ruffed a club, and East eventually came to three trump tricks for down one. Getting to hand with the trump ace in effect wastes the spade nine, a valuable spot. Better is: Cash three hearts, discarding diamonds, and the diamond ace. Now, ruff a red card with the spade 8 (It also works to ruff with the ten or queen! Editor) i. If E doesn't overruff, ruff a club low and pass the spade nine. East must win, or else is limited to two trump tricks. Now, though, declarer can win any lead in hand and shut out East's spade seven. ii. If East overruffs, neither black suit return is helpful. On a club lead, say, declarer ruffs and again passes the spade nine. Again, East must capture, and it is an easy matter for declarer to draw trumps. In line i, if declarer doesn't cash out the red suits, East can stick declarer in dummy after capturing the spade nine. Now, East gets a trump promotion. ===================================================================== Stumble without a fall by David Lusk (Australia) The Vugraph audience was impressed when the Indonesian declarer in the West seat scrambled home in 4H against Poland on this board in Round 14. The hand warrants some examination in areas of technique in both bidding and play. 4H is clearly inferior to 5D, with at least one pair reaching 6D, making. North/South can put the slam under maximum pressure if South refuses the first heart trick, especially if North leads the queen of hearts. The contract is cold on any lead, and West's heart pips are far too strong for South. (Editor. 4H is comfortable enough but gets fairly scary on continued spade leads.) Board 11. None vul. Dealer South. S J T 7 6 4 H Q D 9 6 2 C K T 9 3 S 8 S A 9 5 2 H K J 9 8 4 2 H T D A K Q 7 5 D T 4 3 C 8 C A Q J 5 2 S K Q 3 H A 7 6 5 3 D J 8 C 7 6 4 West took the first spade in dummy, South playing the three, and led the ten of hearts, running it to North's queen. North correctly persisted with spades, forcing declarer for the first time. West got a rude shock on the second round of trumps, won by South for a further force with the top spade. At this point, West must assume that North started with five spades or the contract is doomed. Once South has blocked the suit, West will do best by discarding a diamond, winning the next trick and drawing trumps. In fact, West showed us how to play the hand if South had been alert enough to unblock the spade suit. Under those circumstances, West must trump the third round of spades and may as well play his remaining trumps even though he is one behind. The ending was like this: S J H - - D 9 2 C K T 9 S - - S - - H - - H - - D A K Q 7 5 D T 4 3 C 8 C A Q J S - - H 7 D J 8 C 7 6 4 West can afford a maximum of two rounds of diamonds before risking the club finesse. If not, South will ruff the third round and enlist North's cooperation in throwing declarer in dummy with the jack or queen of clubs. Once West takes the club finesse (forced if South has defended perfectly), then he can take the third diamond from dummy and South will have to concede the last two clubs to dummy if the third round of diamonds is ruffed. ===================================================================== Can Write and Play When the Press Team met the Rosenblum World Champions in the Orbis Transnational, you can be sure the journalists were looking for good copy. The best deal was a push: N/S vul. Dealer West;. S J 8 2 H J T 7 D - - C K Q J 9 8 3 2 S Q T 4 S 9 7 H A 9 8 5 H K 6 4 D A Q J T 9 D K 8 7 6 5 C 4 C T 6 5 S A K 6 5 3 H Q 3 2 D 4 3 2 C A 7 West North East South Hallen Buratti Dennison Lanzarotti 1D Pass 3D 3S Pass 4S All Pass West North East South Versace Ventura Lauria Jourdain 1D 3D 3D 3S Pass 4S All Pass At the table where Buratti passed the North cards, Lanzarotti bravely came in with Three Spades on the South cards. It was slightly easier for Jourdain at the other table where his partner had made a weak jump overcall which nevertheless had to be sound at the vulnerability. The play did not take long at either table. West led the ace of diamonds. Both Lanzarotti and Jourdain ruffed in dummy and at once played a low trump from both hands. The defenders cashed their two heart tricks but declarer was now able to draw trumps and run the clubs to claim the game. The journalists won by 9-2 IMPs, 17-13VP. ===================================================================== OrbisVenice Cup - SF Session 1 USA I v Denmark USA1 took a 16 IMP carry-forward advantage into the first set of their OrbisVenice Cup semi-final against Denmark. They nearly doubled that advantage on the first board of the match. Board 1. None vul. Dealer North. S J 8 7 3 2 H A K 7 4 D A C 9 8 2 S 5 S A T 9 H 3 H J T 9 8 5 2 D K Q T 6 5 4 D 8 C A Q 7 6 5 C K T 3 S K Q 6 4 H Q 6 D J 9 7 3 2 C J 4 West North East South Quinn Kalkerup Mancuso Steen-M¿ller - 1S Pass 3S 4NT Pass 5D All Pass Four spades should be defeated, so Five Clubs was a phantom save. However, with no double, the normal action by East/West was not going to cost very much. Kirsten Steen-M¿ller led the king of spades and Renee Mancuso won her ace and played a diamond to the king and ace. Bettina Kalkerup cashed a top heart then reverted to spades. Mancuso played on crossruff lines, making all her trumps separately, plus the queen of diamonds when Kalkerup chose not to ruff. That was just one down for -50. West North East South Cilleborg Meyers Bilde Montin - 1S Pass 3S 4NT Pass 5D Pass Pass Dble All Pass The auction was almost identical to that in the other room, the only difference being that Jill Meyers added a double of the final contract. Randi Montin led a trump. Trine Bilde won in hand and led a diamond to the king and ace. Back came a second trump. Bilde won in dummy and tried to cash the diamond queen. When that got ruffed she had only six club tricks and the ace of spades; -800 and 13 IMPs to USA1. Denmark bounced right back on the next deal. Board 2. N/S vul. Dealer East. S K Q 5 H K Q 8 5 3 D A 8 7 3 C Q S J 8 6 S T 4 3 H A J T 6 2 H 9 4 D 6 5 D Q 4 2 C T 7 4 C A J 6 3 2 S A 9 7 2 H 7 D K J T 9 C K 9 8 5 West North East South Quinn Kalkerup Mancuso Steen-M¿ller - - Pass 1D 1H 3NT All Pass West North East South Cilleborg Meyers Bilde Montin - - Pass 1D Pass 1H Pass 1S Pass 2D Pass 2NT Pass 3D Pass 3NT Pass 4H Pass 5D Pass 5D All Pass The One Heart overcall led to a very quick and simple auction on vugraph. Mancuso led a heart and Shawn Quinn won and switched to a spade. Kalkerup proceeded to get the diamonds wrong but then had ten tricks; +630. Dorte Cilleborg did not overcall. Left to themselves, Meyers/Montin went off on a possible slam hunt and ended up in Five Diamonds. When declarer misguessed the trump suit, she was down one; -100 and 12 IMPs back to Denmark. Board 7. Both vul. Dealer South. S A 7 5 H 2 D K J 9 7 4 C J T S K J T S Q 9 6 4 3 2 H T 7 5 3 2 H 6 D 3 D Q 6 2 C Q T 8 5 C 9 7 2 S 8 H A J 9 8 4 D A J T 7 C A J 6 West North East South Quinn Kalkerup Mancuso Steen-M¿ller - - - 1H Pass 2D Pass 3S Pass 4D Pass 4D Pass 4NT Pass 5D Pass 5H Pass 6D All Pass West North East South Cilleborg Meyers Bilde Montin - - - 1H Pass 2D Pass 3S Pass 4NT Pass 5D Pass 5H Pass 6D All Pass Both North/South pairs bid efficiently to the good slam (as indeed did everyone else in both series) via a Three Spade splinter and RKCB. Both declarers made exactly for +1370 and a push. Board 9. E/W vul. Dealer North. S 9 8 6 H 4 2 D Q J T 8 5 C Q J 9 S A K T 3 2 S Q 7 5 H K Q J H A T 9 8 5 3 D 6 4 3 D 7 C 7 5 C A 6 3 S J 4 H 7 6 D A K 9 2 C K T 8 4 2 West North East South Quinn Kalkerup Mancuso Steen-M¿ller - Pass 1H 2D 2S 3D 3S Pass Pass 4H 4S Pass All Pass Tough to reach the good slam and nobody managed it in either series. Quinn followed a fairly obscure looking line, after a diamond lead and club switch, to hold herself to 11 tricks for +650. West North East South Cilleborg Meyers Bilde Montin - Pass 1H Pass 1S Pass 2H Dble 4H 5D Dble All Pass I prefer Montin's pass on the first round to Steen-M¿ller 's overcall on that anaemic club suit. Montin came in next time with a take-out double, which got both minors into the game and enabled her side to reach the Five Diamond save. That cost 500 but was worth 4 IMPs to USA1. Board 10. Both vul. Dealer East. S A Q 9 H K 8 7 D T 8 4 C A Q 9 2 S 7 5 S T 6 4 2 H A T 5 H J 4 D J 9 7 D K Q 5 C K J 7 6 5 C T 8 4 3 S K J 8 3 H Q 9 6 3 2 D A 6 3 2 C - - West North East South Quinn Kalkerup Mancuso Steen-M¿ller - - Pass 1H Pass 2D Pass 2D Pass 2S Pass 3S Pass 4D Pass 5D Pass 6NT All Pass You may not like Steen-M¿ller's opening bid, but that is a matter of personal style and was not the cause of this disaster. Remember that the Danes have had health problems in their camp and that Kalkerup and Steen-M¿ller were not supposed to be playing together here in Bermuda. Clearly, Steen-M¿ller intended her Three Spade bid to merely bid out her pattern, while Kalkerup took it as showing a strong hand. Six NoTrump was hopeless, of course, but Kalkerup gave it her best shot. She won the spade lead in hand and led a heart to the queen and ace. Back came a heart. She won and cleared the suit and won the spade return. Mancuso pitched a diamond on the third heart. Kalkerup ran her major-suit winners and exited with ace and another diamond. That got her a club lead into the ace, queen for her tenth trick; -200. West North East South Cilleborg Meyers Bilde Montin - - Pass Pass Pass 1NT Pass 2D Pass 2D Pass 3S Pass 4H All Pass Montin did not open the South hand. When Meyers opened One NoTrump, Montin used a Smolen sequence to show five hearts and four spades, and Meyers opted to play the 5-3 heart fit. Bilde led the king of diamonds and the defense had two hearts and two diamond winners for down one - only 3 IMPs to USA1. Board 11. None vul. Dealer South. S Q 8 7 5 H J 3 D 9 3 C K Q 9 8 5 S 6 S A K J 3 2 H A K Q H T 6 D Q J 8 5 2 D A 7 6 4 C J 7 3 2 C A 4 S T 9 4 H 9 8 7 5 4 2 D K T C T 6 West North East South Quinn Kalkerup Mancuso Steen-M¿ller - - - Pass 1D Pass 1S Pass 1NT Pass 2D Pass 3D Pass 3S Pass 3NT Pass 4D Pass 5D Pass 6D All Pass West North East South Cilleborg Meyers Bilde Montin - - - Pass 1D Pass 1S Pass 2D Pass 2H Pass 2NT Pass 3D Pass 3NT Pass 4D Pass 4H Pass 4NT Pass 5D Pass 6D All Pass Both East/Wests reached the good Six Diamonds. It makes on a non-club lead and has good, but unsuccessful, chances even on that lead. Both Norths led the king of clubs. Declarer tried three rounds of hearts for a club discard but had to go one down when North could ruff in with the nine of diamonds. When the nine of diamonds appeared, declarer took the club pitch anyway, hoping that the trump king would now be singleton. Note that Meyers had to lead into declarer's known sidesuit to defeat the slam. Board 12. N/S vul. Dealer West. S T 8 5 2 H A 7 6 5 D A 5 C Q T 2 S A 6 4 S K J 9 7 3 H J T 4 H 9 D K 9 6 D J T 8 4 2 C 8 7 6 3 C K 9 S Q H K Q 8 3 2 D Q 7 3 C A J 5 4 West North East South Quinn Kalkerup Mancuso Steen-M¿ller Pass Pass Pass 1H Pass 2D 2NT Pass 4D Dble 4D Pass Pass Dble 4S Pass Pass Dble All Pass West North East South Cilleborg Meyers Bilde Montin Pass Pass 2S Dble 3S 4H All Pass The third-seat weak two opening looks pretty normal these days and it led to North/South declaring the normal contract. Four Hearts made an overtrick whenWest was squeezed in the minors in the endgame; +650. On vugraph, Mancuso did not open the East hand. Kalkerup's Two Club response to the opening bid was Drury, showing at least three-card heart support. Now Mancuso overcalled Two No Trump, which she intended to show any two-suiter. Quinn, however, explained that she thought she was being asked to bid a minor suit and duly jumped to Four Clubs. It does seem that Two No Trump should be specific asTwo Hearts is available for a spade/minor hand. Mancuso tried four Diamonds and, when that got doubled, guessed to run to Four Spades. Her series of actions looks odd, but the final contract was a perfectly good one, given that the opposition was cold for game. Steen-M¿ller led her trump against Four Spades Doubled, not the best start for the defense. Mancuso won in hand and passed the jack of diamonds. Kalkerup thought a moment then ducked her ace. Seeing an impending diamond ruff, Mancuso drew two rounds of trumps now, ending in hand. She repeated the diamond finesse and Kalkerup won and led a low heart. Steen-M¿ller won and continued hearts, forcing declarer to ruff. Mancuso led a diamond to the king and Kalkerup did well, discarding. Had she ruffed, Mancuso would have had the only remaining trump and would have been able to cash two diamond tricks. Now, however, she could do no better than lead a club to the king. When that lost, she could only make her winning trump; three down for -500 but 4 IMPs to USA1. Board 14. None vul. Dealer East. S 7 4 3 H 4 D A T 6 2 C K 9 7 6 2 S 9 S A K T 6 5 H A K 8 7 5 3 2 H Q 6 D - - D K J 8 7 5 4 C A J 8 5 3 C - - S Q J 8 2 H J T 9 D Q 9 3 C Q T 4 West North East South Quinn Kalkerup Mancuso Steen-M¿ller - - 1S Pass 2H Pass 3D Pass 3H Pass 4H All Pass West North East South Cilleborg Meyers Bilde Montin - - 1D Pass 1H Pass 1S Pass 2D Pass 2S Pass 3H Pass 4H All Pass Both pairs stopped safely in game for a flat board. Around the room, five pairs played in game and all were held to 450. ThreeWests declared Six Hearts and all made 1010. Three world champions all put their fingers on the ace of diamonds opening lead, and that was that! The first set ended with USA1 having gained 10 IMPs to extend their lead to 26 overall. ===================================================================== Jeff Wolfson has played a lot of high-level bridge, winning three major championships in the U.S., but before Monday he had never played on VuGraph in a world championship. As luck would have it, he was declarer in the first board played. He made his contract with an overtrick, gaining 5 IMPs in the process and helping his squad -- USA 2 -- to a 27-IMP lead after two sets. This was Wolfson's debut board. Board 15. N/S vul. Dealer South. S J T 9 3 H A 8 D K J 5 C 8 7 6 2 S A S K Q 6 4 2 H K Q 7 5 H T 6 4 D A T 9 7 6 D Q 4 C J T 4 C Q 9 3 S 8 7 5 H J 9 3 2 D 8 3 2 C A K 5 West North East South Wolfson Hamman Silverman Soloway - - - Pass 1D Pass 1S Pass 1NT All Pass The final two boards of the set are played first so that there will be comparisons for the VuGraph audience. Bob Hamman got off to the lead of the D8, taken by Paul Soloway with the king asWolfson played the 10, assuring an entry to dummy in clubs in case it was needed. Had Soloway played two more rounds of clubs, Wolfson might have found himself scrambling to sort out his tricks. Soloway, however, switched to the HJ in case Hamman had a more substantial holding in that suit than he actually held. Wolfson put up the HK and Hamman won the ace, returning the H8 to dummy's 10. Wolfson then played a spade to his ace and a low diamond from hand. Hamman went up with the DK and played the SJ. At that point, Wolfson was in position to take the rest of the tricks. He could discard both his clubs on the high spades, unblock the DQ and play a heart to his 7, claiming 10 tricks when Hamman's DJ fell. Instead, Wolfson played a heart to the 7, cashed the HQ and played a diamond to the queen in dummy. He then played a low club from dummy. Soloway hopped up with the ace and returned the suit, assuring that Hamman would get a spade trick in the end. Plus 120 turned out to be a 5-IMP gain because at the other table: West North East South Rodwell Stansby Meckstroth Martel - - - Pass 1D Pass 1S Pass 2D All Pass The auction seems odd, but in Precision, a 1D opener often has longer clubs. Lew Stansby led a trump, and Eric Rodwell could do no better than down one. This result, of course, was not known until later in the session. It turned out to be icing on the cake in a very good set for USA 2. One of the early gains for USA 2 occurred on this deal. Board 3. E/W vul. Dealer South. S 7 5 H K Q 6 D Q T 9 5 C J 9 5 4 S A 8 2 S Q H 5 3 H A J 8 7 D A J 6 4 2 D K 8 3 C A 7 3 C K Q T 8 2 S K J T 9 6 4 3 H T 9 4 2 D 7 C 6 West North East South Wolfson Hamman Silverman Soloway - - - 3S Pass Pass Dble Pass 3NT All Pass Soloway's decision to open 3S gave Wolfson a shot at a nine-trick game, which he duly bid after Neil Silverman's double. Hamman led a spade, ducked twice by Wolfson. Soloway had no possible entry even if he established his spade suit, so he switched to the H9, Hamman played the king, Wolfson ducked and won the heart continuation with the jack. There were no problems in the play and Wolfson ended with 10 tricks. West North East South Rodwell Stansby Meckstroth Martel - - - 4S Pass Pass Dble All Pass Chip Martel's opening of 4S made it more difficult for East-West, who settled for the penalty. Rodwell led the H5 and eventually got a heart ruff to go with two heart tricks, the trump ace and two minor-suit winners for plus 500. It was still a 4-IMP loss. The next deal was good for a swing to USA 1. Board 4. Both vul. Dealer West. S T H A K 9 8 7 6 5 4 2 D K C T 3 S A K 3 S J 8 5 4 2 H T 3 H - - D 9 6 2 D A Q J T 8 C K 9 7 4 2 C Q J 6 S Q 9 7 6 H Q J D 7 5 4 3 C A 8 5 West North East South Rodwell Stansby Meckstroth Martel Pass 4D (1) Dble 4H 4S Pass Pass 5H Dble All Pass (1) Usually 8+ tricks in hearts. East-West had three tricks coming, and they scored up plus 200. At the other table, Hamman opened a natural 4H, doubled by Silverman. Wolfson may have been reluctant to bid a three-card spade suit or to go to the five level. His decision to pass cost his team 14 IMPs. Hamman had 10 top tricks and easily scored up plus 790. A gentle nudge by Silverman pushed Hamman and Soloway one level too high on this deal, resulting in another gain for USA 2. Board 5. N/S vul. Dealer North. S K 6 3 2 H K 7 5 D K Q T 9 C 9 6 S J 9 8 4 S T H 8 6 2 H A Q T 4 D J 8 4 3 D 5 2 C Q 8 C A J T 7 3 2 S A Q 7 5 H J 9 3 D A 7 6 C K 5 4 West North East South Rodwell Stansby Meckstroth Martel Pass 2D (1) Pass Pass Dble Pass 2S All Pass (1) Precision: limited, with 6+ clubs. Game in spades seems a very good prospect, but the bad trump split limits North-South to nine tricks. Martel and Stansby did very well not to get too high. West North East South Wolfson Hamman Silverman Soloway Pass 1D Dble Pass 2D 3D 3S Pass 4S All Pass With a chance for an invitational sequence, Soloway might have judged that his square shape was a minus, but Soloway and Hamman simply don't miss games -- and Silverman's 3D bid gave his opponents less room to maneuver. When the dust settled, it was another gain for USA 2. More IMPs went the way of USA 2 on this deal. Board 9. E/W vul. Dealer North. S Q 9 8 6 H J 6 D Q J 7 4 C T 9 7 S K 7 4 S T 5 3 H A K T 7 3 H Q 9 8 5 4 D A 3 D K T 6 C Q 6 3 C 5 2 S A J 2 H 2 D 9 8 5 2 C A K J 8 4 West North East South Rodwell Stansby Meckstroth Martel - Pass Pass 1D 1H Dble 3H All Pass With the D10 lead and looking at dummy, it wasn't tough for Martel to switch to spades after winning the opening club lead. That was enough to hold Rodwell to nine tricks. Soloway had to deal with a much more difficult situation. West North East South Wolfson Hamman Silverman Soloway - Pass Pass 1D Dble 2D 2H 3D 4H All Pass Soloway led the DK, and Hamman followed with the 7. There was still time to defeat 4H, but a spade switch was necessary at trick two. It didn't happen. Soloway, unable to read the D7, continued with the DA. Silverman racked up plus 620 and a 10-IMP gain. Board 11. None vul. Dealer South. S T 8 6 2 H K 4 2 D K 9 3 C T 9 3 S A 4 3 S K Q J H T H Q J 8 7 D A J T 4 2 D 8 7 C K 7 5 4 C A J 8 2 S 9 7 5 H A 9 6 5 3 D Q 6 5 C Q 6 West North East South Rodwell Stansby Meckstroth Martel - - - Pass 1D Pass 1H Pass 2D Pass 3NT All Pass Martel led the H3 (attitude), won by Stansby with the king. Back came the H4, and Meckstroth erred by putting up the queen. Martel ducked this, and when Stansby got in with the DK, he pushed another heart through for plus 50 to USA 2. Meckstroth makes the contract if he plays low on the second round of hearts. Martel can win cheaply with the 9 and establish the suit, but he has no entry. West North East South Wolfson Hamman Silverman Soloway - - - Pass 1D Pass 1H Pass 2D Pass 2S (1) Pass 2NT Pass 3NT All Pass (1) Fourth suit forcing. Steering the contract to the West hand turned out to be a pivotal move for Silverman. Hamman started with the S2 and it was easy for Wolfson to haul in 10 tricks via two finesses in diamonds. That was 10 more IMPs to USA 2. Silverman made another good move on the next deal that helped his team to more IMPs. Board 12. N/S vul. Dealer West. S K 8 H J T 9 D A 7 5 2 C T 8 7 4 S 5 S A 2 H A K 4 3 2 H Q 7 5 D K T 6 4 D Q J 9 8 3 C 9 5 3 C K 6 2 S Q J T 9 7 6 4 3 H 8 6 D - - C A Q J West North East South Rodwell Stansby Meckstroth Martel 1H Pass 2NT (1) 4S All Pass (1) Game-forcing heart raise. Who can blame Meckstroth and Rodwell -- one an opener, the other making a strong bid -- for not saving against Martel's 4S? It certainly isn't obvious, and they didn't know about their double fit. Martel lost two hearts and a spade for plus 620. West North East South Wolfson Hamman Silverman Soloway Pass Pass 2D 4S 5D 5S All Pass Silverman had more than one usually does for a weak 2D bid -- and he was a trump short as well -- but he was in third seat, taking advantage of the vulnerability. Silverman's bid made it easy for Wolfson to take the save. The defenders would have had to be careful to defeat the contract even one trick. North gets in only with the trump ace and a club switch is a must. South, in turn, must cash out or declarer can get two club losers away on hearts. In any case, Hamman took the push, bidding one more. Wolfson quickly cashed his top hearts, exiting with a trump. Plus 100 was good for a 12-IMP gain for USA 2, who finished with a 55-31 advantage in the set and a 27-IMP lead in the match. ===================================================================== When will a Bridge program win the Bermuda Bowl By David Levy David Levy is President of the International Computer Chess Association and CEO of Mind Sports Organisation Worldwide (www.msoworld.com) It is fascinating to watch the play of the programs competing in the Orbis World Computer Bridge Championship and to attempt to compare their standard of play with those of the strongest chess playing programs. Being involved in the organisation of most of the computer chess tournaments of the past 30 years, I was able to monitor the progress of chess programming from the days when the top program was playing at very weak club player level up to the 1997 triumph of IBM's "Deep Blue" program over Garry Kasparov. My feeling from watching today's play in Bermuda and from talking to some of the bridge cognoscenti in the tournament room is that, in pure strength terms, the best bridge programs today are 15 years or more behind the best chess programs. By this I mean that it is at least 15 years since the strongest chess programs played at an equivalent level. But this bare comparison requires a considerable measure of qualification. Firstly, it must be said, the achievements of the bridge programmers here in Bermuda are, in many ways, much more impressive than those of their chess counterparts of the early-to-mid 1980s. By 1980, considerably more programmer time and other computing resources had already been invested in computer chess than the world of bridge programming has seen to date. There was already a wealth of published material on chess programming available in learned journals - similar publications on bridge programming are, today, notable by their absence. In addition, the current state of bridge programming should be viewed in the context of today's hardware, which is far, far more powerful in terms of speed and memory capacity than were the chess playing computers of the mid-80s. This allows today's bridge programmers to employ database techniques in a way that was not possible for chess programmers 15 years ago. Computerized bidding methods based on storing huge databases of bidding sequences seem to be producing high-quality bidding much of the time. But once a database sequence comes to an end, the unfortunate program is forced to "think" for itself and, at the moment, they are not yet capable of doing so at Bermuda Bowl level. This appears to be the single most important weakness in today's leading bridge programs. The holding of regular computer bridge tournaments is itself a major contributing factor in the rate of improvement of bridge programs. Each year, the programmers arrive proudly (or apprehensively) with their latest version, only to discover some hitherto unknown bugs and weaknesses that appear for the very first time during the tournament. These bugs and weaknesses, together with various new ideas that are revealed in discussion between the programmers, provide the impetus for the next round of program improvements. The programmers return to their laboratories, continue their programs' development, and appear again the following year. This was how chess programs improved throughout the period from the first computer chess championship (1970) up to 1997 when Kasparov was forced to admit defeat. Until quite recently, bridge champions used to laugh at the mistakes of the strongest programs. Now they come to watch. Soon they will come to learn. The leading programmers, quite naturally, expect it to be only a matter of 3 years or so before their programs are able to play at World Championship level. While I do not believe that it will be quite as easy as the programmers think, I do expect to see a computer program winning a match against the World Champions within the next decade. Bridge is surely no more difficult to program than chess -- given adequate resources the task is well within the bounds of those programmers competing here in Bermuda. ===================================================================== Two flat boards Despite the Austria-Germany match finishing close, the penultimate sixteen boards happened to decide the match. The Austrians managed to increase their lead to 42 IMPs, but there were many lost opportunities for both sides. Board 5. N/S vul. Dealer North. S Q 7 5 3 H A T 9 D 8 C A Q 7 6 2 S A S K 6 H Q 8 4 H K 6 5 2 D A K 7 6 4 3 D Q J T 9 2 C K J 3 C T 4 S J T 9 8 4 2 H J 7 3 D 5 C 9 8 5 In the closed room the bidding went: West North East South Weigkricht Auken Fisher Von Arnim - 1S Pass 3S Dble Pass 4H All Pass As the cards were lying, the only thing Weigkricht had to do, was to play the trumps avoiding South by playing low to the King, and a low back, covering South's card to bring her contract home. It was different in the open room: West North East South Rauscheid Smederevac Nehmert Erhart - 1S Pass 3S 4D Pass 5D All Pass Smederevac started with a low spade to the six, eight and Ace. A low dimond to dummy's Queen extracted the opposition trumps and Rauscheid discarded a heart on the King of spades, Erhart playing the ten. A diamond to the Ace followed, both defenders throwing spades and when a small heart was played Smederevac went up with the Ace, and declarer had three heart tricks, which allowed her to make her contract. Looking at all hands, it seems silly to win with the Ace of hearts at this stage, but I think Smederevac was put on a guess and she was unlucky. The point is, that she should have ducked, had declarer had the actual hand, but she should have taken with the Ace if East's distribution had been 1-2-6-4. The way to find the correct defense would have been for South to throw a club on the second diamond, showing her length in the suit, but unfortunately these were not the signals North/South were playing. Then Smederevac would have known that declarer had three hearts originally and would have found the right play. Board 16. E/W vul. Dealer West. S K Q 9 H A Q J D 9 6 4 3 2 C 8 6 S T 6 S 8 7 3 2 H T 9 2 H 7 5 3 D T D A K Q J 8 5 C A J T 9 5 3 2 C - - S A J 5 4 H K 8 6 4 D 7 C K Q 7 4 In the open room, the Austrian North South reached 4S, played from the length. West led the 10 of diamonds and switched to Ace and another club, East pitching a heart and ruffing. When a top diamond was played next, declarer ruffed high, but somehow lost the count of the hand and tried to cash three hearts after only two rounds of trumps, which resulted in one off. At the other table, South for Germany played in 4S as well, after Weigkricht as West had opened a preempt with theWest hand and Fisher had managed to double a 4D bid by North. Terry Weigkricht led the ten of diamonds and when she scored her trick, played a club back, underleading the Ace. Her partner ruffed, but now South was deprived of two club tricks and had to concede one down. Nicely defended for a flat board. ===================================================================== Great Sportsmanship by Michal Kwiecien This is what happened in Round 13 from the match between France and Poland. Board 11. None vul. Dealer South. S 5 4 3 H K 5 3 D K T 7 6 5 2 C 3 S J 9 S A K Q 8 7 H A 8 6 2 H T 4 D A J 9 3 D 8 C 9 7 4 C K Q T 8 5 S T 6 2 H Q J 9 7 D Q 4 C A J 6 2 The contract was Three No Trump by East. On the lead of the HJ, the ace took the first trick and a club return went to the queen and ace. The defense took their three heart tricks and exited with a spade to the jack. Declarer went for his ninth trick in clubs but had to give up this line when North discarded. So declarer took the king of clubs and started to cash his spades. On the third spade, Christian Mari, South, played the D2 instead of the S2. The defender corrected his mistake but now the D2 was a penalty card to be played at the first legal opportunity, so now the contract was at declarer's mercy by immediately playing the D10. However, Michal did not like to win this way and so he played a fourth round of spades, allowing South to discard his D2. That was a genuine gesture of sportsmanship. Some could think it was too much but we appreciate it, especially in such an important match. ===================================================================== Rosenberg defeats Vugraph By Barnet Shenkin Board 6. E/W vul. Dealer East. S A 3 H K T 7 5 4 D A J 7 C Q 4 3 S T 4 2 S K J 9 8 6 H J 9 6 3 2 H Q D T 8 6 2 D K 9 3 C J C A K 5 2 S Q 7 5 H A 8 D Q 5 4 C T 9 8 7 6 Michael Rosenberg declared Two Hearts on the lead of the club ace. Now a low club was led by East and ruffed by West, who played a spade. At this point declarer studied the position for some time. The commentators suggested he should win the spade ace and return a spade to East's king. Now if East won, cashed a club and played another spade, declarer would be able to win in dummy and play black winners through West, eliminating one of his losers. However, when East wins the spade king he would cash the king and now exit with the heart queen. S - - H K T 7 5 D A J 7 C - - S - - S J 9 8 H J 9 6 H - - D T 8 6 2 D K 9 3 C - - C 5 S Q H 8 D Q 5 4 C T 9 When declarer leads a black winner, West can ruff in and the defense will still come to a diamond and a heart. In fact, this was exactly the way the defense went when Martel and Stansby were defending the same contract for down one. However, Rosenberg, at trick four led a heart to dummy and passed the heart eight. Now he was able to put East in with a club to leave this position: S 3 H K T 7 D A J 7 C - - S T S K J 9 H J 9 H - - D T 8 6 2 D K 9 3 C - - C 5 S Q 7 H - - D Q 5 4 C T 9 East cashed the spade king and played a club and west was given Hobson's choice of either giving up his trump trick or discarding and losing the defensive diamond trick. So declarer could not be prevented from making his contract. So the single dummy player defeated the commentators playing with open cards in the vugraph room and the resultant swing of 4 IMPs was exactly the margin of victory. ===================================================================== Appeal Case 4 Committee: Robert Wolff (Chair), Grattan Endicott (scribe), Joan Gerard, Anton Maas, Jean-Paul Meyer. Venice Cup, Round Robin (round 18), Board 11. Players: North: Way South: Johnson (Bermuda) East: Cimon West: Saltsman (Canada) Both vul. S V o i d H A 9 6 3 D A K J T 7 3 C 9 6 2 S A T 9 5 4 S K J 3 2 H 5 4 H Q 7 D Q 5 4 2 D 9 8 C 5 4 C A K Q J T S Q 8 7 6 H K J T 8 2 D 6 C 8 7 3 West North East South - - - 2D (a) Pass 3H (b) 3NT (c) 4H 5D Dble All Pass (a) Weak, 5/4 or 5/5 in the majors. (b) 'I do not expect my partner to bid again' (c) Over a weak sequence by opponents this is natural, if opponents are bidding constructively, this is for minor suits. Director: called at the end of the play, by West who considered she had been misinformed by South, so that she had taken her partner's bid to be for minor suits. The Director concluded that West had misinformation and was entitled to redress. With Laws 40C and 75A in mind the Director adjusted the score to 4H by North, N/S +420. The players: In committee there was difficulty establishing exactly what had been said by South. This player told the committee that she had described her own bid as in (a) above; further she had passed her convention card to West and had said 'it is on the card'. West had said to South 'is it like Flannery?' and South had assented to this, but West, by her own understanding of Flannery, had then assumed the hand to be stronger than was the N/S agreement. West did not find the bid mentioned on the front of the card and did not pursue further the invitation to study the card. East had been told by North that South was not expected to bid again, so that she treated the bidding as pre-emptive. West was told by South that 3H was 'better than 2H with 3 or 4 cards in the suit'. West also contended that South had added 'and a good hand', tending to confirm her belief that the opposition bidding was constructive. South did not agree that she had used these words, and upon enquiry affirmed that had East passed 3H, she also would have passed. The Committee: Was somewhat surprised by North's willingness to stop short of game, but allowed that her bridge judgement was not a matter for the committee. The same applied in the case of South's 4H bid. However, there appeared to be no doubt that the partnership agreement was to play no higher than the three level on this sequence if opponents did not intervene. East had correct information; that she judged to bid 3NT naturally was her judgement of her best action on the basis of this correct information. Neither was there any clear evidence that West had been misinformed, having introduced the name 'Flannery' into the discussion herself, and having been referred to the convention card where it was stated that the opening bid was 5 to 9 HCP. (Additionally, the Director thought he recalled having seen a written explanation which included the word 'weak' but the pad had disappeared.) The exact words used by South in relation to the 3H bid were not established, but it was the committee's unanimous view that West had not protected herself prior to her final bid by further enquiry of opponent, and by not asking opponent to indicate where on the convention card she could find information about the calls. She could also have established quite easily that South would have passed out in 3H, given the opportunity. West's call was therefore a matter of her own judgement, and having taken her life into her own hands she was entitled to no other outcome. The deposit was returned; the table score of N/S +1700 was restored. Footnote: a discerning member of the committee remarked that had the hand been passed out in 3H, one would be left wondering whether the Director would have been called. ===================================================================== When things go Right by Larry Cohen No, this is not an article about the thrilling quarterfinal comebacks of the USA teams. It's all about this very special Orbis Bermuda Bowl and Orbis Venice Cup. In past World Championship `tournament reports,' I have always been quick to criticize the organizers when they mess up. Journalists are still complaining about all the things that went wrong in Lille. Bermuda is a different story. Here are just some of the wonderful things that are right: 1) The Site. Bermuda is beautiful. Everywhere you look are stunning views of the ocean -- blue and green in every direction. Other than a day or two, the weather has been spectacular -- 70's (21¡C) and sunny day after day. 2) The Hotel. First class. Large comfortable guest rooms with all the amenities. Many restaurants all under one roof and prompt room service. Most importantly, the playing site is under the same roof -- quite the opposite of Lille and other past championships. Yes, it's a bit pricey, but you get what you pay for. 3) The Playing area. As good as it gets. Large comfortable (well, a few problems with the climate control/temperature) and well lit rooms. Lots of space between the tables. Good functioning screens. Comfortable chairs. Side tables to put things on. Quiet. Easy to get water, coffee, tea (remember what you'd have to do for water in Lille?). Restrooms nearby and plentiful. 4) VuGraph. A joy. Large comfortable arena with wonderful audio and visual set-up. Five large screens displaying all the action and information. Great job keeping the audience up-to-date on all the matches. There must be so many people behind-the-scenes coordinating the show (all the results from every match are updated constantly -- and I must say, quite accurately). The coordination between commentator and camera operators is also excellent with appropriate zoom-ins to see what the players are writing to explain their bids. The reward for all of this hard work? Let's just say that it made me proud to be a bridge player when I saw the packed (spectators standing in the back) VuGraph theatre during the weekend of the quarterfinal matches. 5) Overall organization. Wonderful job. There are volunteers, WBF staff, and directors everywhere. All the little details seem to have been carefully arranged. The scheduling, scoring, supplies, systemdesks, staff all are functioning smoothly. Sometimes when things go right we take it for granted. On top of all this, we were lucky to have a competitive Round Robin which went down to the wire, and some quarterfinal matches that were as dramatic as any matches in recent World Championship history. My thanks and admiration to all of the many many people that I know are behind the scenes making this tournament so successful. ===================================================================== Open Room Nerve by Alisdair Forbes On competitive partscores the opening lead can be critical. You hold these cards as dealer: S K 6 H A 10 6 4 2 D K 8 C K 10 4 3 The bidding unfolds: West North East South 1H Dble 2H 2S Pass Pass 3H Pass Pass 3S All Pass What do you lead? During Austria v Great Britain (Orbis Venice Cup, Round 7) I was sitting behind Terri Weigkricht, and she took some time to consider her lead. Perhaps the ace of hearts to have a look at dummy? No, she finally tabled the king of diamonds to find her partner, Doris Fischer, making an encouraging signal. At trick two she cashed the ace of hearts and then played her second diamond. Fischer took the ace with a flourish and the six of diamonds was on the table in less than a split second. Weigkricht ruffed, and in due course the jack of spades provided the setting trick. In the replay Erhart/Terraneo climbed to 4S, but played by North. This was the full deal: S A Q 9 3 H K Q D T 7 4 3 2 C A 8 S K 6 S J 8 7 H A T 6 4 2 H 9 8 5 3 D K 8 D A 6 5 C K T 4 3 C 9 5 2 S T 5 4 2 H J 7 D Q J 9 C Q J 7 6 Heather Dhondy (East) for Great Britain led a high heart to Liz McGowan's ace. With control in every suit McGowan put North in with a heart. Erhardt tried a low diamond to the jack, McGowan won her king, played back a diamond to the ace and ruffed the third diamond with the king of spades. She had to play a black suit now, so Erhardt made the same eight tricks for +100 to Great Britain and 2 IMPs. It is worth noting that Fischer/Weigkricht played all 380 boards in the Round-Robin, the only pair to do so. Will they have the stamina to win the Venice Cup? ===================================================================== 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. The costs of investing Just like any other service, there are costs associated with mutual funds. Understanding a fund's fees and expenses is an important goal for any investor. Commissions and Selling Costs A front end load is another name for a sales commission. Load funds charge this commission -- either when the initial investment is made or when they are redeemed -- in order to cover the cost of compensation to brokers or other sales people. 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The fees for the Orbis equity funds are performance based and are designed to align th fund's returns before fees have either exceeded or fallen behind those of that fund's specific benchmark index. Thus the fee is directly related to the return achieved on the Fund compared with that of its benchmark. The Fund's published performance includes the effect of this fee. Administration Costs The fund pays brokerage fees and commissions on portfolio transactions, as well as taxes directly attributable to the fund. The fund may also pay daily operating expenses, i.e., legal, auditing and administrative expenses.