Vugraph Deals #152 

We return again to Salsomaggiore in northern Italy, the venue for the first post-Pandemic World Championships. Last week, we saw the highlights of the first half of the Venice Cup semi-final between the number-one-seeded Poles and the defending champions from Sweden. We left things with the match finely balanced, the Scandinavians ahead 130-120 at the midway point. After a flat fourth set, the Swedes gained 15 IMPs in the fifth set and thus led 173-150 going into the final 16-board stanza. This week we will take a look at the best of the action in what turned out to be an explosive final set, with 105 IMPs changing hands over the 16 deals. 

In the other semi-final, the highly-touted England team were also struggling, down by 35 IMPs going into the final stanza against Turkey. The Turks, who had qualified from the round robin in fifth place, had already proved that they were no push-over, having obliterated an American team packed with former world champions in their quarter-final by an amazing 241-116 with a set to spare. 

As usual, we start with some problems. Firstly, with neither side vulnerable, you are sitting East holding: 

What action, if any, do you take? 

Next, with both sides vulnerable, you are East with: 

What, if anything, do you open? 

Finally, first to speak with just your side vulnerable, you pick up this collection in the South seat: 

What do you open? 

While you think about those, we jump right into the action. The Swedes gained three IMPs on the early skirmishes, then came the first substantial swing:

 Although their system card says 15-17, Cathy Baldysz opened 1NT on this indifferent 14-count,  and the Poles then tried to stop at the two-level after a transfer auction. Emma Ovelius backed in with a double on the South hand when 2♠ came around to her and, with four-card trump support, Cathy raised the ante to 3♠. That was one too high, but the Swedes would likely have made +130 in 3♣ had they been allowed to do so. N/S +100 seemed like close to a par result. 

Jessica Larsson opened a standard 2+♣, five-card Majors style 1♣, and Katherine Bertheau’s jump to 2♦ showed a weak jump shift in an unspecified major. Larsson advanced with a ‘pass-or-correct’ 2♠ and Danuta Kazmucha came in with a double on the North cards. On the surface, perhaps Anna Sarniak’s jump to 4♥ looks normal until, that is, you consider the meaning of West’s 2♠ bid. Larsson has shown a willingness to play at the two-level if her partner has spades, but an interest in game facing hearts. The one thing that is surely known about the hand is that West has hearts. 

Even undoubled, 4♥ was not the best of contracts. Larsson found the best opening, a spade, but thereafter both the play and the defence could have been more accurate. Indeed, at one point declarer could have made nine tricks, but she lost her way in the endgame and finished with just six. Those vulnerable undertricks quickly add up:  this was N/S -400 and 11 IMPs to SWEDEN. 

With eleven boards remaining, the Swedish lead had grown to 39 IMPs, 194-155, but then the Poles discarded their peashooters and brought out the heavy artillery. A partscore swing and then a missed game by the Swedes cut the deficit by 17. Then came: 

Cathy Baldysz started with a Multi on the West cards. North overcalled 2♥ and Sophia Baldysz doubled, showing an invitational (or  better) hand if her partner had spades. Ovelius raised to 4♥ but Cathy felt she had shape to spare for her original weak two opening, so she accepted her partner’s game try. Of course North was never going to defend on that hand, and Sanna Clementsson even made a slam try on her way to 5♥.  

Both sides can make ten tricks in their respective major, so the Swedes had done well to press on to the five-level. N/S -50.  

At the other table, the Swedish East had to deal with the first of this week’s problems: 

Regular readers of the BBO Bidding Challenge expert panel comments will not be surprised to see Jessica Larsson bidding one more than her counterpart. Here, she opened 3♠, and Danuta Kazmucha came in with a non-Leaping Michaels overcall, showing clubs and hearts. Katherine Bertheau now had to judge whether to bid on to 4♠, but she liked her hand for defence and did not expect ten tricks to be making in spades, so she chose to defend. That was a costly decision on this layout: N/S +420 and 10 IMPs to POLAND. 

Then both East players had to decide whether to open on the second of this week’s problem hands and, if so, what. 

Sophia Baldysz did not open on the Eau de Cologne East hand. Cathy opened 1♣ and, in response, Sophia then chose to bid her jack-high hearts. Of course, she had no further interest when Cathy raised to game via a 4♦ splinter bid. Making eleven tricks was relatively straightforward proposition in a heart contract: E/W +650. 

It was no great surprise to see the Swedish pair pre-empting on the East hand, but doing so was disastrous, as it was now just about impossible to find the heart fit. Larsson tried Blackwood and settled for game in diamonds when she found only one key-card opposite. When the trumps did not come in for one loser and there was no ‘Get Out of Jail Free’ card in hearts either, 5♦ proved to be one too high: E/W -100 and another 13 IMPs to POLAND. 

With just six deals left, the Poles had run off 40 unanswered IMPs to edge into a 1-IMP lead, 195-194. The Swedes retook the lead, scoring 8 IMPs when they took a cheap save missed in the other room. Then, though, came a deal for which the Swedish system definitely was not designed: 

Sanna Clementsson opened a Multi, but their version is one of those rarities, a Multi with a strong option too. Even rarer, of course, if for the strong option to actually come up. Emma Ovelius responded with a pass-or-correct 2♠, showing a willingness to stop at the two-level opposite a weak two in spades, but game interest facing hearts. When Clementsson then continued with 3♠, showing a very strong hand with 4♠/5+♦, Ovelius had little choice but to try 3NT. Exactly how strong a hand Clementsson has shown I cannot be sure, but she judged it not to be worth another try with 4♦. 

With the diamonds coming in, declarer had 12 top tricks and she actually ended with all 13. N/S +720. Surely the Poles could get to either 6♦ or 6NT and turn the match completely on its head... 

Danuta Kazmucha started with a multi-meaning Polish Club and Anna Sarniak showed a positive with hearts. I know that 2♦ would now have been an artificial game-force, but perhaps it would have denied a four-card major, so Kazmucha had to show her spades first. Her jump to 3♦ then showed longer diamonds and 4♦ probably set the suit. I cannot tell you exactly what Kazmucha had found out about her partner’s hand by the time the auction had wended its way to the six-level, but she decided that she knew enough to push all of her chips into the centre of the table. 

Making 13 tricks is easy on, say, a heart lead, as declarer can discard one spade loser on dummy’s second high heart and ruff the other one with the ♦Q. However, Kathrine Bertheau found the only lead to give declarer a problem, a trump. Now Kazmucha had only 12 tricks.  

Declarer drew East’s trumps in five rounds, and already West was starting to feel the pinch. She pitched her clubs and then had to start releasing major-suit cards. When declarer then cashed her last trump and followed with the top clubs from her hand, the pressure was too much for the West hand. Larsson had eventually either to unguard the ♥Q or to bare the ♠Q-J. Whichever she did, Kazmucha had to score her thirteenth trick with either the ♥J or the ♠10. N/S +2140 and 16 IMPs to POLAND. 

With just two deals remaining, Poland led by 11 IMPs, 213-202. Had we just witnessed a second consecutive, spectacular, come-from-behind victory for this young Polish team? Or, was there yet one more twist in the tail? On the penultimate deal, the two South players had to decide what to open on the last of this week’s problem deals: 

For the Swedes, Emma Ovelius chose to open 1♦. West came in with a skinny 1♠ overcall and North’s negative double strongly suggested four hears. Despite her relative paucity of high cards, even East’s pre-emptive jump to 3♠ was not enough to shut Ovelius out now. No one had any more to say over 4♥ and there was little to the play, declarer losing just the ♥K and a diamond: N/S +650 and what looks like a flat board – exactly what the Poles needed.  

Anna Sarniak’s decision to open 1♥ on the South hand generated an auction with a completely different tempo. Here, too, West overcalled 1♠ (I don’t think Jessica Larsson has pass cards in her bidding box), and Kazmucha showed a heart raise via a 2♠ cue-bid. When the Swedish East then upped the ante one-level higher than the Polish East had done at the other table, Sarniak alerted her pass as forcing, Thus encouraged and knowing that her partner almost certainly had no spades, Kazmucha not only pressed on to five-level, but showed her club control. When Sarniak co-operated with a diamond cue-bid, Kazmuch decided that she had heard enough and jumped to the slam. 

Larsson struck out with the ♦K. There was an automatic diamond loser, so all depended on the location of the ♥K. When Larsson showed up with that card, she cashed the ♦Q to put the slam one down. What a shame Larsson couldn’t find a double of 6♥ – no, nothing to do with the match, but I could then have used my joke about declarer being Pole-axed. (Okay, yeah, I know, never mind!) N/S +100 and 13 IMPs to SWEDEN, who now led by 2 IMPs. 

The final deal of the 96-board match was one of those rarities, a flat board (there were only three in this set of 16 deals), and in a pair of one-level contracts to boot. It was, therefore, the Swedes who moved on to meet Turkey in the final, with a chance to retain the trophy that four members of this team won three years ago in Wuhan.  

One final thing before we leave - did you notice how young both of these teams are? How bright is the future for Women’s bridge in both of these countries? Most of the other serious contenders in this event included players with World Championship titles going back to the 1980s. Both of these teams, though, included three players who were playing Junior international events this century. Indeed, two of them, are still in their 20s, Sophia Baldysz played on the Polish Girls Team as recently as 2019 and Sanna Clementsson was a member of the Swedish Youngsters Team in 2018.  

Next week, we will be back in Italy to see the early action in the final of the Bermuda Bowl.