Vugraph Deals #167

Welcome back to Madeira and the 55^th European Teams Championships. The format in the Open Teams is a 29-match full round robin of 16-board matches played over 11 days. With more than half of the tournament gone, we focus this week on one of the favourites to win a medal, Norway, who go into Day 7 in third place, albeit a full match behind the Swiss and twice that behind the runaway Dutch leaders. 

Up first for the Scandinavians is Italy, who have climbed from eleventh place a couple of days ago up into fourth. Then we see them take on the Swiss Bermuda Bowl winners. 

As usual, though, we begin with a couple of bidding problems. Firstly, with only your side vulnerable, you are South holding: 

What action, if any, do you take?  

If you pass, West bids 2♥ , which is passed back to you. Do you bid now? 

Next, with neither side vulnerable, you hold as East: 

Do you save in 6♠ or take your chances on defence? 

Both South players had to deal with the first of those problems in the match against Italy. 3NT is a good contract on the N/S cards, essentially just needing the hand with long spades not to hold both minor-suit aces. However, getting there, or even into the auction at all, proved to be not so easy. 

You have 16 HCP, but what can you bid after East’s 1NT response? A takeout double of spades with two low hearts is hardly an attractive proposition. Anyone for 2♦? Helgemo passed, and then passed again when West’s 2♥ came back to him. It is usually best to lead a trump when dummy passes opener’s second suit, and Grude duly opened the ♥3, enabling the defenders to collect the maximum: N/S +150, but small compensation for a vulnerable game. 

After the same start, Alfredo Versace backed in with a double of 2♥ at his second turn. In commentary on BBO VuGraph there was much discussion as to whether North should compete to 3♦ over 2♠, on the basis that partner is very likely to be at least 4-4 in the minors for his double. Clearly, though, South can be 5/3 in the minors, and thus why should he not be 3-2-3-5, when bidding 3♦ is likely to turn a plus score into a minus, and potentially quite a big one. No, to get the co-operation he needs to get to game, South probably has to bid on the first round. Quite what, though, is beyond me. 

Giorgio Duboin did as well as he could by leading the ♣9 against 2♠. The result of Versace’s second-round double, though, was to push the opponents into the better contract. No one doubled, so that just a couple of 50s: N/S +100 and 2 IMP to NORWAY. 

Having pre-empted to the four-level, leaving the opponents relatively little space in which to judge the hand, Giacomo Percario elected to take his chances on defence. Whilst he hoped for two tricks, as the cards lie there was only no hope and Bob Hope. N/S +920. 

Boye Brogeland made the decision much easier for his partner, by preferring a weak jump overcall to the 1♠ chosen by the Italian at the other table. With a likely eleven card fit and no great expectation of defensive values opposite, Christian Bakke chose to save. There were only four winners for the defenders to take: N/S +500 and 9 IMPs to NORWAY. 

Norway won a low-scoring, and generally very well-played, match 26-14. A big win against Spain enabled Ireland to overtake the Norwegians, who dropped to fourth. The Italians were also leapfrogged, by Poland, and they drop to sixth, just 8 VPs ahead of ninth-place Sweden.  

The following day, Norway faced the Bermuda Bowl winners. A win against Romania in the early morning match had restored the Scandinavians to third place, but still trailing their opponents here by a full match. The action began with a stellar piece of declarer play swinging 22 IMPs on the opening deal. 

Bas Drijver did not open with a weak two in diamonds, but doubled Brogeland’s 1♦ heart-showing transfer response at his second turn. Christian Bakke jumped to 3♥ and Brogeland ended the auction with a raise to game. 

South led a diamond to queen and ace and a spade came back. Declarer can see that slam has some play, but that it is not a good contract, essentially needing trumps 3-2 with the queen onside, so around 35%. Bakke won the spade switch, cashed the ♥A, and played a heart to the jack. When North showed out, he effectively claimed his 11 tricks. E/W +450 and what looked for all the world like a flat board. 

The auction effectively started the same way here, with North bidding diamonds having passed initially and Piotr Gawrys showing a raise to 3♥. Rather than just bidding game, though, Michael Klukowski made a slam try with 3♠ (maybe a cue-bid, but perhaps asking for shortage). Gawrys showed his diamond shortage and before you could say “Na Zdrowie”, the Swiss team’s Polish contingent had installed themselves in slam.    

A crowd in excess of 3000 had logged into BBO VuGraph to watch this match and, looking at all four hands, most of them were convinced that this was an excellent start for the Norwegians. Michael Klukowski, though, took about three second to disillusion them.  

Grude led the ♦A and continued with a low diamond at trick two. Klukowski ruffed in dummy, cashed the ♥A, and promptly ran the ♥9. When North discarded, declarer took a second trump finesse and claimed his 12 tricks. “Did he really just do that?” asked one stunned commentator. 

Yes, there was an inference from North’s bidding, but it was tenuous at best: he hadn’t opened a weak 2♦, but he decided he then had a good enough hand to come in at the two-level on the next round. North must hold five or six diamonds, so why had he not opened? Because he also held four spades perhaps? With something like ♠Q10xx and ♦A10xxxx, might North not have led a singleton club rather than an unsupported ace? Thus, North’s most likely shape is 4-1-6-2. Yes, tenuous at best, but the only explanations are either that Michal Klukowski is completely mad or he is completely brilliant. The number of world championship titles he has won, and still barely out of short pants, strongly suggests that it is the latter. Amazing! E/W +980 and 11 IMPs to SWITZERLAND, when almost any other declarer in the world would have been inscribing those IMPs in the Norwegian column. 

Playing a natural system, how often do you bid to a slam without mentioning the trump suit below the six-level? 

A remarkable auction saw the Norwegians find their only eight-card fit at the six-level following Grude’s 5NT pick-a-slam. 

West led the ♦4 and Geir Helgemo made short work of the play. He started by winning with the ♦A, ruffing a diamond, and running the ♣J successfully. Then came a winning heart finesse. A club to the king dropped West’s queen and, when the ♥Q appeared on the second round of that suit, the Norwegian maestro claimed. N/S +1390. 

Bas Drijver started with a 2♦ transfer response, which may have been relatively weak, so Brink’s 2♥ was neutral, prepared to play there facing an 8-10 count with 5/6 hearts. When Drijver forced to game with a natural 3♦, Brink’s jump to 4♥ showed an unsuitable hand. Undeterred, Drijver forged ahead and only settled for the small slam after discovering that the ♥Q was missing. 

Brogeland led the ♦J and Brink combined the chances of the ♥Q dropping or East holding the ♣Q. He won the ♦A and cashed the top hearts. When the queen came down, he drew the remaining trumps and played a club to the jack. West won with the ♣Q, but declarer had the rest: N/S +1430 and 1 IMP to SWITZERLAND. 

Board 12 featured an excellent defensive play found by both Michal Klukowski and Boye Brogeland. The contract could still have been made, but the winning line proved to be too difficult for either declarer to find. 

Brink’s 2♦ was a transfer cue-bid, showing at least a constructive three-card spade raise or better. Drijver’s double was a game try, duly accepted. 

Bakke led his heart and Brogeland cashed the ace and king before switching to a club. Declarer’s problem is the losing heart in his hand. He needs to ruff it, but needs to do so in such a way that East’s ♠10 does not get promoted.  

Drijver won the club switch in his hand and played a spade to the king, but Brogeland correctly followed with the ♠2. Declarer can mess around, cashing minor-suit winners or not, but the winning play at this point is to play the low trump from dummy. West can win with the ♠A, but declarer still has a high trump in dummy with which to ruff his heart loser.  

After the ♠K won, Drijver instead crossed back to his hand with the ♦A and a diamond ruff and ruffed his low heart with the ♠8. When he then played the ♠J, though, Brogeland won and played a fourth round of hearts for his partner to ruff declarer’s queen. This would have been the winning line if West had begun with three trumps, but not today: N/S -100. 

At the other table, Klukowski bid up to 3♥, but the Norwegians turned down the +500 penalty on offer to play in 4♠. The early play was essentially the same. Here, though, declarer led the ♥Q after ruffing a diamond back to his hand. East discarded and declarer then ruffed his heart loser. Now, when Klukowski won the second round of trumps with the ace, a fifth round of hearts promoted the ♠10. N/S -100 and a flat board.  

The Swiss won a hard-fought match 34-25, which was not a particularly good result for either side. Despite the Swiss collecting 12.55 VPs for their win, the Netherlands scored a near-maximum against Greece to extend their lead at the top to more than 30 VPs. The loss dropped Norway down to fifth place, behind both Italy and Ireland. With nine rounds remaining, there was still all to play for. 

We will be back in Madeira next week with the best of the action as the tournament approaches the pointy end. 

Click here to see the Vugraph Deals archive