 DAILY BULLETIN 5 - (3) | |
| saturday, February 12, 2000 | Editors: Eric Kokish, Richard Colker |
| DAILY BULLETIN 5 - (3) | |
| saturday, February 12, 2000 | Editors: Eric Kokish, Richard Colker |
| The Quarter-finals:The Last Gasp |
| Third Segment: |
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Declarer (West) can get away with three losers in a diamond partscore by executing a loser-on- loser play in clubs to pitch the losing heart and later a losing spade, ruffing the other two spades in dummy. USA's Robison-Freed employed this strategy to great effect against OLYMPIAD WOMEN, who reached 5  and
employed the same strategy to lesser effect,
going down one; 5 imps to USA, leading 127-
53.
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INDONESIA's Panelewen-Parasian employed
this strategy to even less effect as they were
doubled in 5 by AUSTRALIA's Newman-Del'Monte.
At the other table Bagchi-Browne
allowed Lasut-Manoppo to buy the hand in 3 ,
a contract which has surprisingly good play
with clubs six-zero and the red-suit honors
placed as they are. Unless West underleads
his A on the opening lead South can draw
trumps and set up hearts for club pitches. In
practice Browne led the A and switched to a
spade. Manoppo won in dummy, passed the
 8 to Brown's ace, and on the spade return
overtook dummy's king to finish trumps, then
drove out the K for an overtrick. Plus 170 and
2 imps to INDONESIA, trailing 71-107.The DEFENDERS' Teramoto-Imakura were also doubled in 5 (by GOING's Geller-Ogihara)
for the same down one, but won 1
imp when their teammates, Ino-Chen, played in
2NT on the N/S cards and took eight tricks.
DEFENDERS leading, 87-65.
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With only three losers N/S can make 4 but are
in danger in 4 due to the heart ruffs available
to the defense. But E/W have a counter to 4
as 5 has only three losers (5 suffers from a
similar defect to the one in 4-a diamond ruff
is available to the defense). In USA-OLYMPIAD
WOMEN, Hayden-Itabashi took their plus 100
against 5 doubled while Setogushi-Ota
pressed on to 5 at the other table. Robison-Freed
doubled but managed to find only one of
their heart ruffs for plus 300. 7 imps to USA,
134-53.
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DEFENDING CHAMPS and GOING settled for
even when both tables found the par spot in 5
doubled. INDONESIA-AUSTRALIA also fought to a push, but not the one either of us would have predicted. Newman-Del'Monte overbid to 5
and failed by the obvious trick when the
defense cashed their two clubs and still had to
come to their ace of trumps. At the other table
Lasut-Manoppo sold out to Bagchi-Browne's 3
on the auction: 1NT(12-14)-Pass-2NT(either
minor)-Pass; 3. While Manoppo might have
bid with 3, the vulnerability was not really all
that conducive to it. We think Henky should
have doubled 2NT with his chunky spades and
ugly strong notrump, after which Eddy would
have surely bid-though whether they would
then have reached game is doubtful.
Ultimately, we chalk up this result to the weak
notrump.
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Looking at the South hand, with nine very likely tricks lying just beyond your nose, it seems inconceivable to us to stop short of game (3NT). Yet two of the six N/S pairs did just that. Only in INDONESIA-AUSTRALIA was this board pushed in 3NT. GOING's Geller-Ogihura stopped in 2NT, handing 6 more imps to the DEFENDERS, now leading 93-65. Likewise, Hayden-Itabashi handed 6 imps to WOMEN, but their gift only closed the score to 59-134. | ||||||||||
| With 13 points opposite 9, and no suitable fit, it hardly seems wise to contract for game. So why did USA's Robison-Freed bid all the way to 3NT? Perhaps the water so generously provided by Japan Beverage has more in it than just minerals. Down two, minus 200. Shimamura-Fukuda of WOMEN stopped a level short of game and made a trick more than their USA counterparts for plus 120, to pull the match 8 imps closer at 134-67. The other two matches conducted partscore battles, DEFENDERS emerging with a 1-imp gain over GOING to increase their lead to 94-65, while AUSTRALIA also won 1 imp to bring their lead over INDONESIA to 108-71. |
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Bridge is an "easy" game. Take the above
hand. N/S bid 4 and E/W get off to their best
lead (a club) and continue the suit, tapping
declarer. South crosses to the K and plays a
diamond to the queen, then crosses to the K
and plays a spade to the...ten! The defense
can tap declarer once more but South now
draws the two remaining trumps and cashes the
rest of his winners for plus 650. Not in this
world. None of our competitors even sniffed at
game. In fact, all of the declarers in hearts
(three of them) played at the one level and
made an embarrassing twelve tricks when the
defense failed to find their club trick; plus 230.
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| The remaining three declarers played in diamonds for either plus 150 or 170. Only USA gained imps on the board (2) to increase their lead over WOMEN to 136-67. |
| Some might open the chunky five-card suit a weak two-bid but for us the vulnerability is all wrong: Make us white and you can color us aggressive, even with the sterile side-suit distribution. At least eight tricks are available in either spades or notrump. Some spade players found nine tricks (Abe-Shimizu for GOING, Teramoto-Imakura for DEFENDERS, thus pushing the board); others found only seven tricks (AUSTRALIA's Bagchi-Browne), thus losing 5 imps to INDONESIA (76-108). |
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N/S are cold for game in hearts, and an astute
declarer might even make eleven tricks on a
club lead: ruff the club, spade to the king,
spade to the ace, ruff the club return, draw one
round of trumps, pitch a diamond on the third
spade, then ruff a diamond in dummy as West
follows helplessly to four rounds of the suit-
losing only a spade and a trump. Of course a
diamond lead scuttles the overtrick, threatening
either a diamond ruff by East or West playing a
second trump when he comes in with the A.
Other makeable N/S contracts are 3NT and 5.
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USA's Hayden-Itabashi played 4 doubled and
made ten tricks (plus 790). At the other table,
Setoguchi-Ota for WOMEN took nine tricks in
3NT (plus 600); 5 more imps to USA, leading
146-67. GOING's Geller-Ogihara played 5
doubled for plus 750 while DEFENDERS' Ito-Chen
scored an unruffled plus 620; 4 imps to
GOING, down 69-94. AUSTRALIA's Newman-Del'Monte
scored up nine tricks in 3NT for plus
600 while teammates Bagchi-Browne saved in
4 over Lasut-Manoppo's 4 contract. When
the Aussies went for 800, that was 5 imps to
INDONESIA, trailing now 81-108.
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The apparent choice for N/S is between 3NT
and 4-or so we thought. But two of the pairs
found a third choice. USA picked up 1 imp on
WOMEN when Hayden-Itabashi's 3NT scored
one more trick (eleven) than Setoguchi-Ota's
4; 147-67. AUSTRALIA and DEFENDERS
each picked up 7 imps against INDONESIA's
Lasut-Manoppo and GOING's Geller-Ogihara,
respectively, when the latter pairs played in
spade partials (2 and 1, respectively).
AUSTRALIA now led 115-81; DEFENDERS
101-69. |
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| A universal heart game came next, followed by: |
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4 on the N/S cards is not the best game
(needing no trump loser) but, as they say,
we've all been in worse. The DEFENDERS and
GOING pushed minus 100s while USA and
WOMEN pushed plus 140s. So INDONESIA-AUSTRALIA
would break the tie: bid game or
stop short? The vote was for game, both N/S
pairs bidding it. But a funny thing happened on
the way to offsetting minus 100s. Against 4
Del'Monte got the 6 lead. He won dummy's
ace and played the Q.
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Santje Panelewen won
the ace and three round of diamonds followed,
Ishmael ruffing the third. Ish then ruffed a
spade in dummy and a club in his hand, then
led a heart to dummy's ace and continued with
a low heart. Santje won the king and returned
a third heart to dummy's queen. Now dummy
had only losing minor-suit cards and declarer
ended up down three; minus 300 and 5 imps to
INDONESIA, trailing 86-115. Everyone bid game (4 or 3NT) on Board 43
and made it, often with overtricks. INDONESIA
picked up 2 overtrick imps, to bring
AUSTRALIA's lead down to 17 imps at 88-115.
The DEFENDERS picked up 1 overtrick imp to
lead GOING 102-69. And USA-WOMEN
pushed, still 147-67.
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N/S are cold for 3, while E/W might make 4
if the defense fails to get the diamonds going
early enough. But, as usual, the advantage
goes to the side that opens the bidding, here
N/S. In two of the matches (INDONESIA-AUSTRALIA;
USA-WOMEN) N/S bought the
contract for 3 and made it, pushing the board.
In the third match the DEFENDERS' Ino-Chen
also played in 3 for plus 140 while at the other
table Teramoto-Imakura weren't going quietly.
They bid on to 4 where they were doubled for
their impudence by GOING's Geller-Ogihara.
Unfortunately the sword cuts both ways. On the
spade lead and continuation declarer has the
timing to ruff, draw trumps, and pitch a diamond
on the fourth club. Plus 590 was 12 imps to
DEFENDERS, leading now 114-69.
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When a pair opens the bidding, they feel
entitled to punish an opponent who they
believe has bid "too much" in their (the
openers auction. Case in point: Board 45. In
all three matches E/W were doubled in some
number of hearts (four or five) after N/S
opened the bidding. Consider this auction:
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South must have had more descriptive bids at
his disposal other than 3NT at his first turn. A
simple 2 comes to mind, as does an inverted
2. His double of 4 should show defense
against the majors (the hand East showed with
4)-not diamonds-given his initial 3NT bid.
But when North could not double 4, what
made South so willing to defend? We'll tell you
what: the impudence of the side that opened
the auction. Pairs who open light must adjust
their thinking accordingly. Look what happened
at the other table in this same match.
South's initial double, like the double of 4 in
the Open Room, should suggest defense
against the majors-which South doesn't have.
Then N/S engaged in an ask-me-tell-you
misunderstanding when South pretty clearly
bid 3 to suggest a stopper while North took it
to be asking for one-hence the 3NT bid. Not
surprisingly the defense took the first six tricks;
plus 200 for INDONESIA. Combined with their
minus 790 in the Open Room INDONESIA
yielded a tidy 11 imps to AUSTRALIA, who led
now 126-88.USA's Hayden-Itabashi doubled WOMEN's Shimura-Fukuda in 4 and conceded minus
790 while at the other table Setoguchi-Ota
doubled Robison-Freed in 5 and picked up
another plus 200; 14 imps to WOMEN, trailing
now 81-147.GOING's Abe-Shimizu also got overboard in 5
doubled while the DEFENDERS' Teramoto-Imakura
stopped in 3 at the other table; 9 imps
to the DEFENDERS, leading 123-69.
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Another big double-fit hand. This time N/S are
cold for 4 while E/W have a good save in five
of either red suit. If East passes, South has a
choice of openings. Those who play a
"Gambling" 3NT style will find this hand more-or-
less suitable. Others might open 1
(natural), 2 (Precision) or some other number
of clubs (perverted). In INDONESIA-AUSTRALIA both N/S pairs played 4 . Lasut-Manoppo managed an
overtrick to cut their deficit by 1 imp to 89-126.
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GOING's Abe-Shimizu allowed DEFENDERS'
Ino-Chen to play in 4 (plus 420). At the other
table Geller-Ogihara took the push to 5 and
suffered a one-trick set; 10 more imps to the
CHAMPS, 133-69. In USA-WOMEN Hayden-Itabashi played in 4
and made five, while WOMEN's Setoguchi-Ota
"Gambled" out 3NT and ended up minus 300;
13 imps to USA, leading 160-81.
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| Both E/W pairs in INDONESIA-AUSTRALIA thought the hand belonged in 3NT. Both were wrong and suffered three- and two-trick sets, respectively; 2 imps to AUSTRALIA, 128-89. Shimamura-Fukuda for WOMEN thought the E/W cards were worth 1NT. They were closer to being right than the pairs in the previous match as they scored up an overtrick. USA's Robison-Freed's result paralleled that of the Indonesians both as to level and tricks. 7 imps to WOMEN, trailing 88-160. |
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The DEFENDERS's Teramoto-Imakura also tried 3NT, albeit by
East (the others had all played from the West side).
That meant down only one-certainly an improvement.
GOING's Abe-Shimizu stopped wisely in 2 and made an
overtrick; 4 imps to GOING, trailing now 73-133.
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The possibilities on this are endless. The top
spot belongs to 3NT (E/W), which is impervious
to any lead from either side. But how to get
there? Our vote for the most "normal" (and
therefore least likely) auction to 3NT would be:
Pass-2-Dbl-2; 3-Pass-3-Pass; 3-Pass-3NT
(with West's 3 simply saying "I'm not
prepared to go beyond 3NT yet," thus likely
suggesting a partial heart stopper). Of course
N/S might easily save in 4, where "the play's
the thing." Depending on the lead North might
make eight, nine or even ten tricks.
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5 appears to have no play, although somehow
WOMEN's Shimamura-Fukuda managed to
make it. When the same contract was replayed
by USA's Robison-Freed, it failed by two (count
'em) tricks. That was 13 imps to WOMEN, who
won the battle (final segment) 48-38 but lost the
war (match) 101-160. At one table INDONESIA beat AUSTRALIA's in 5 doubled one trick for plus 200 while at the
other table they defended 4 for minus 420.
That was 6 imps to the Aussies, who won the
match 134-89.In DEFENDERS-GOING the contract was 4 at
both tables-doubled by the CHAMPS. When
GOING failed by one trick (minus 100) while
DEFENDERS scored up plus 420, that was 11
more imps to the CHAMPIONS to give them the
victory, 144-73.
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| So USA would take on the DEFENDING CHAMPIONS in one semi-final and AUSTRALIA would meet GREAT BRITAIN in the other. Look for the happenings in those matches below. |
 "And if he psychs again I'll report him to Nakatani-san." |