Vugraph Deals #99

This week we begin our coverage of the fourth heat of the monthly Alt New-Co. In Group A, LEBOWITZ were relegated at the end of heat 3, replaced by the winners of Group B, SALVO (Turkey). CANTOR were relegated from Group B, replaced by Group C winners, FREDIN (Sweden, USA, South Africa, Denmark, Italy). ULI (Austria, Italy) were promoted from Group D to Group C. The top three groups play a double round robin of 16-board matches during the course of five days play.

As usual, we begin with a couple problems for you to mull over. We will find out later how your choices would have fared. Firstly, with both sides vulnerable, you are East holding:

What action, do you take?

Next, a lead problem for you:

What do you lead against 7cx?

Whilst you consider those, we join the action in the opening match, where Board 7 created a significant swing in similar fashion in two Group A matches.

Roger Lee was faced with the first of this week’s problems on this deal. After his 1♠ bid, East/West conducted a fairly normal-looking auction to the doomed 3NT. Joel Wooldridge led a low diamond, won by declarer’s ten. He then won trick two with the ♣A and cashed four diamond tricks to beat the contract by a trick: E/W +100.

Would you overcall 1♦ or make a takeout double of 1♣ on the North hand? Both Norths in the match between SALVO and RED DEVILS preferred 1♦, but that did not stop West reaching 3NT after a similar auction. One declarer lost an extra trick in the endgame, so 3 IMPs to RED DEVILS.

John Hurd also opted for a takeout double. Where Roger Lee had bid a simple 1♠, though, Piotr Zatorski redoubled for the Poles. Is Kevin Bathurst supposed to pass here? As it happens, 1♦ is easily the best spot for the Americans. When South opined 1♥, Michal Klukowski doubled for penalties, ending the brief auction.

Klukowski found the best opening for the defence, a low trump to the king. Zatorski returned the ♥J to queen and ace and now Klukowski knocked out dummy’s ♣A. Declarer guessed correctly to play ace and a low diamond to West’s king, but Klukowski just exited with a trump to dummy’s ten. Declarer could dispose of one black-suit loser on the ♦Q as Klukowski ruffed with the master trump, but the thirteenth heart was declarer’s fourth and last trick. E/W +800 and 14 IMPs to EDMONDS, who begin with a 37-23 victory against the reigning champions, MOSS.

In the other Group A match, Thor Erik Hoftaniska also redoubled in the same auction. That led to the same result in 1♥-X: E/W +800. At the other table, West’s Precision-style 1♦ opening kept North out of trouble. 3NT-1 and 14 IMPs to DE BOTTON, who began with a 59-22 win over DONNER to lead the field after the first match,

For the second match in a row, Board 7 proved problematic for the North/South pairs. We’ve all heard it said that Strong Club systems are much better when it comes to bidding tricky slam hands, particularly in uncontested auctions. Let’s see how that theory works in practise:

The artificial part of the auction seemed to have worked alright: it was when natural bidding began that things went wrong. Should Marion Michielsen perhaps prefer 4♦ rather than preference for spades? After all, partner does already know you have at least two spades. N/S +620 did not look like a great result for the Swedes. However, a funny thing happened on the way to the forum…

The Belgians tried some science of their own, Tine Dobbels showing her strength via a Gazzilli 2♣. The problem was, though, that by the time Gunther Dauwe got to mention his diamonds, the auction was already at the four-level. By then, South was already locked in to playing in one of her majors, and offered a choice at the six-level after Blackwooding. Six Spades was not a happy spot for declarer: N/S-400 meant a rather unexpected 14 IMPs for DONNER. There was some good news for the Belgians, though: they held on to win the match 39-38.

Two pairs showed the way on this deal, one in each of the other Group A matches:

So much for science! N/S +1370 and 13 IMPs to EDMONDS, who defeat the Turks 66-39 to top the table after two matches. In the other Group A match, Polish Bermuda Bowl winners Jacek Kalita and Michal Nowosadzki bid the slam after the same start as the Swedish brothers: 13 IMPs to MOSS, who defeat DE BOTTON 52-33 to leave both teams just above average.

The drama came earlier in Round 3, on Board 6. Even though the same contract was reached at all six tables in Group A, there was a major swing in all three matches.

Norway’s Thomas Charlsen was the only one of the six South players not to open, but he made up lost ground later in the auction. When Thor Erik Hoftaniska doubled West’s 1♠ opening, Charlsen jumped to 4NT, showing minors, and then raised his partner’s club preference to slam. One can hardly blame Philippe Caputo for making a Lightner Double for a diamond lead, or Hotfaniska, with three aces, for redoubling.

Mike Vandervorst duly led a diamond, ruffed by Caputo. However, that was the end of the good news for the Belgians. Caputo switched to a heart at trick two, simplifying the subsequent play. Hoftaniska ran it to dummy’s ♥J, drew two rounds of trumps, unblocked the ♦A, returned to dummy with a spade ruff, and took the proven heart finesse to dispose of dummy’s last diamond loser. A magnificent N/S +1380 for the Norwegians.

At the other table, South bid the clubs first:

Although he was on lead against the club slam, Artur Malinowski also doubled with the West hand. On the lead of the ♠A, the contract can still be made, but declarer would perhaps be deserving of a nomination for the year’s best played hand (see below).

A former Belgian junior international, Sam Bahbout finished in the top ten of the Junior Pairs at the 2014 European Youth Championships and of the Open Pairs at the 2017 European Transnational Championships. He was also a member of the Belgian team that reached the quarter-finals of the Open Teams at the same event in 2019.

He ruffed the opening spade lead, cashed one high trump from his hand and then led a low diamond towards dummy. West ruffed and declarer made what looks like the routine play of following with the low diamond from dummy. The winning play, though, is to dispose of dummy’s ♦A on this trick! 

West continued spades and declarer ruffed. He then led the ♥J, covered by king and ace, drew West’s last trump with the ♣A, and unblocked the ♦A. Declarer could make the ♥Q and ruff one of his low diamonds with dummy’s last trump, but he was still left with the ♦K-J in his hand. East eventually scored her ♦Q to put the contract one down. N/S -100 and 16 IMPs to DE BOTTON. It was the Belgians who won the match, though, 55-43, to climb into first place with a handy lead after three matches.

The winning line of play is to unblock the ♦A when West ruffs. You then ruff the spade continuation, draw a second round of trumps with the ♣A, take the marked diamond finesse, cash the ♦K, and ruff a diamond in dummy. When you then ruff a spade back to hand and run your trumps, the defenders are caught in a standard double squeeze, with West having to keep a high spade in front of dummy’s ♠J and East forced to hang onto the ♦Q. In the endgame, therefore, neither defender can keep three hearts, so the ♥8 scores declarer’s twelfth trick.

In both of the other Group A matches, one declarer made 6♣ whilst the other went down. Both of the successful declarers had assistance from the defenders, though. That meant 13 IMPs to DONNER, who beat EDMONDS 63-17 to move up into third place right behind the former leaders. It was also 13 IMPs to SALVO, who beat MOSS 34-5 to relegate the defending champions into sixth and last place after three matches.

Round 4 sees the two leading teams, RED DEVILS and EDMONDS, facing off against each other.  Unfortunately, it was a fairly dull match, with RED DEVILS winning 18-17 to retain their lead over the field. Some adventurous Norwegian bidding in the match between SALVO and DE BOTTON led to the lead problem presented earlier. Most tables had played the deal quietly in 6NT, but:

After the strong 2NT opening, Hoftaniska looked for a major-suit fit and, finding none, then introduced his clubs. Charlsen was happy to co-operate in the slam hunt and then took over. Before long, Enver Koksoy found himself on lead against a grand slam. Three suits would have defeated the contract but, when Koksoy chose the ♥10, declarer had two discards, one in each major, on which he could dispose of dummy’s diamonds. No need to take that losing finesse now!  N/S +1440 and 10 IMPs to DE BOTTON, who won 47-31 to move up into second place.

These are the standings in Group A after four of the ten matches:        

We will return next week as the teams complete the first round robin and start the second.