THE 1999 NEC CUP FINAL: GREAT BRITAIN vs JAPAN Bd: 19 North Dlr: South KQ9 Vul: E/W 75 KQ963 AK5   West   East    83 A10754    QJ1093 4    J82 74    J32 Q10987 South J62 AK862 A105 64 Open Room West North East South Chen Justin Ino Jason 1 Pass 2 Pass 2 Pass 3NT All Pass   Closed Room West North East South Armst Hisatomi Paul Teramoto 1 Pass 2 Pass 2 Pass 2NT Pass 3 Pass 4 Pass 4 Pass 4 Pass 5 All Pass   6 is a good contract, essentially requiring trumps to come in and nothing bad to happen in the black suits. Itr would have made here and Hisatomi-Teramoto nearly reached it. Plus 420 for them; plus 460 for the twins. 1 imp to GREAT BRITAIN, 52-41. Bd: 20 North Dlr: West 962 Vul: Both K852 K5 A984   West   East    AQ8 1073    A7 QJ9    J1084 A762    KQ76 J32 South KJ54 10643 Q93 105 Open Room West North East South Chen Justin Ino Jason 1NT Pass 2NT Pass 3NT All Pass   Closed Room West North East South Armst Hisatomi Paul Teramoto 1NT All Pass   East can't afford to sniff at game opposite a 14-16 HCP notrump, so it was routine for Paul-Armstrong to miss this thin game. It's hardly clear to raise a 15-17 point notrump too, but Ino did and Chen accepted. Chen received the lead of the 2 and tried the queen, which held. A club went to the queen and ace, and Justin continued hearts since Jason had shown an even number of hearts at trick one. Chen won the A and led the J, covered by the king and ace, a second diamond went to the queen, and with hearts four-four, declarer had only to guess whether to play for three-three clubs or take the spade finesse. Chen threw a club and a spade on the hearts, going with the odds. With the K right, he had nine tricks and plus 600. Armstrong received the friendly lead of the 9, which gave him three spade tricks, and he too made nine tricks; plus 150. 10 imps to JAPAN, 51-52. Bd: 21 North Dlr: North 52 Vul: N/S A103 KQ1094 A82   West   East    J9876 A    J976 KQ2    53 876    Q9 KJ10763 South KQ1043 854 AJ2 54 Open Room West North East South Chen Justin Ino Jason 1NT Dble * 2 * Pass 2 3 3 Pass 4 (1) Pass 4 Pass 4NT * Pass 5 All Pass   (1) Closed Room West North East South Armst Hisatomi Paul Teramoto 1 2 2 (1) Pass 2NT Pass 3NT All Pass   (1) It is not immediately obvious why you have to bid the North/South cards tyo game but it was not unreasonable for Jason to upgrade his hand facing a 14-16-point notrump. One of the problems when both partners upgrade their hands is that the whole may not be as great as the sum of its parts. 5 went one down on a club lead; Jason had time park one heart on a high spade. Minus 100. I think the auction ran away from Hisatomi-Teramoto, but there is no automatic reward for accuracy or penalty for overbidding. Paul decided to lead the K, hoping to hit a five-card suit opposite. That might have been brilliant had one of his opponents held the Q, but here a club lead would have produced an easy set. Hisatomi had to win the first heart because he couldn't stand a club switch. The defenders could get only three hearts and the A now, so Hisatomi was plus 600, and JAPAN gained 12 imps, 63-52. Bd: 23 North Dlr: South KJ73 Vul: Both 42 AK107 A106   West   East    AQ109 84    A98 K1073    QJ 852    J982 KQ43 South 652 QJ65 9643 75 Open Room West North East South Chen Justin Ino Jason Pass 1 1NT All Pass   Closed Room West North East South Armst Hisatomi Paul Teramoto Pass 1NT All Pass   When both pairs on a side play in 1NT, it's not always true that they are wrong. Hisatomi led a spade against Armstrong, giving him a seventh trick immediately; plus 90. Justin's 1NT was more interesting. I don't see why it should be better to lead a moderate new suit when you have king-queen fourth in partner's suit, but a 1NT overcall tends to convince defenders that he has thousands of stoppers in opener's suit (Colker-san made the same low heart lead as Ino in the playoff for third place). The defenders started with two rounds of hearts, Ino electing to take his king to switch to a low club. Justin took the jack with the ace, made the diuamond honors fall under his, and took two more diamonds, ending in dummy. He cashed the J and led a spade, but Chen won the ace and played a club so the defenders took a spade, three hearts, and three clubs for one down; minus 100. No swing. Bd: 24 North Dlr: West K76 Vul: None A83 KQ8 KJ94   West   East    AQ432 1085    J5 106    J1096 A5432    72 A85 South J9 KQ9742 7 Q1063 Open Room West North East South Chen Justin Ino Jason 1NT * Dble Rdbl * Pass 2 * Pass 2 3 Pass 3NT All Pass   Closed Room West North East South Armst Hisatomi Paul Teramoto 2 2NT Pass 4 * Pass 4 All Pass   It's never easy these days. Both North/South pairs had to deal with obstructive openings by West. Hisatomi-Teramoto got the job done by reaching the cold 4, but Chen's mini-notrump jockeyed the twins into 3NT, which was not cold. Ino led a diamond to the nine and king, and Justin played on clubs. Ino ducked once but won the second club as Chen followed upwards. Ino judged correctly to switch, but wrongly to choose hearts (unless declarer had very good spades, the A would be a timely entry, but if declarer had the A, a spade switch was essential). Unfortunately, with nothing else to go on, Ino surely counted on Chen's club cards to help him with his switch. Justin had ten tricks now and GREAT BRITAIN had dodged a bullet. Bd: 25 North Dlr: North J107642 Vul: E/W K 74 K863   West   East    A93 -    AJ93 Q1087642    KJ105 Q63    A9 Q72 South KQ85 5 A982 J1054 Open Room West North East South Chen Justin Ino Jason 3 Pass 4 Dble Pass 5 All Pass   Closed Room West North East South Armst Hisatomi Paul Teramoto 2 * Pass 2 * 2NT Pass 4 All Pass   The twins' obstruction was more effective here, at least in terms of inconveniencing the opponents, but neither South led a club in any case. Ino dropped the K and made six. Paul did not, but Hisatomi could not lead a club profitably when he won the K, so Paul made five. 1 imp to JAPAN, 65-52. Bd: 27 North Dlr: South J10984 Vul: None 854 AQ6 62   West   East    62 K75    AQ9 102    KJ97 105432    AK85 974 South AQ3 KJ763 8 QJ103 At both tables, South declared 2H after 1-(1NT)-2-All Pass. Chen led ace of clubs and switched to the tempting 9. Jason won the ace and led a trump to the jack and queen. If the play record is correct, Chen exited with the 9 to the king and Jason followed immediately with the Q, losing to the onside king; plus 110. Armstrong led the 6, looking for a ruff and reserving the possibility of an underlead in clubs. The J won and a club went to the jack and king. Teramoto put in the Q on the switch to the J, threw the Q on the A, and led a club to the queen and ace. A second spade went to the ace and Teramoto ruffed a club to lead a trump. Armstrong got three trumps and Paul got the setting trick with a fourth-round over-ruff in clubs. Minus 50. 4 imps to GREAT BRITAIN; 56-65. The best defense, on the face of it, is three rounds of clubs, threatening the fourth-round overruff, but declarer finesses the Q to discard his club WINNER, then takes two spade finesses, and plays on trumps, making his contract. In truth, the best defense is the one that works, which puts Armstrong in the running for best defender on this deal. GREAT BRITAIN gained 2 imps for a second non-vulnerable undertrick against a normal, doomed 3NT on 28, 58-65. Bd: 30 North Dlr: East J7543 Vul: None Q8 AJ97 Q2   West   East    AK6 Q1082    AK107654 93    Q8 K4    5 AJ1084 South 9 J2 106532 K9763 Open Room West North East South Chen Justin Ino Jason 1NT * Pass 2 * Pass 2 * Pass 3 * Pass 3NT Pass 4 All Pass   Closed Room West North East South Armst Hisatomi Paul Teramoto Pass Pass 4 All Pass   To each his own. Chen's 3, after Ino's 8-11 notrump, was a slam try, Armstrong's 4 opening was not. Slam needs two-two trumps or a winning guess with honor-third onside. Flat at plus 480. Bd: 31 North Dlr: South 2 Vul: N/S KQ AK9632 A953   West   East    J10763 854    AJ54 862    - J105    K1042 QJ86 South AKQ9 10973 Q874 7 Open Room West North East South Chen Justin Ino Jason Pass Pass 1 Pass 1 Dble 3 Pass 4 * Dble Rdbl * Pass 4 Pass 5 All Pass   Closed Room West North East South Armst Hisatomi Paul Teramoto 1 Dble Rdbl 2 Pass 3 4 Pass 4 Pass 5 Pass 5 Pass 6 All Pass   It looks as if a wheel came off in the twins' auction. Perhaps the entire axle. Plus 620. The auction came up well indeed for Hisatomi, whose opponents told him that Teramoto would be short in clubs. If 4 denied the A, he wasted a round of bidding, but slam was never in doubt; plus 1390 on a club lead. 13 imps to JAPAN, 78-58.