Vugraph Deals #151

We are once again in Salsomaggiore in northern Italy, the venue for the first post-Pandemic World Championships. There are now just four teams left standing in each of the four events, and matches at this stage are of 96 boards divided into six 16-board stanzas. This week, we check out the action from the Venice Cup semi-final, where the Polish, runaway winners of the round robin qualifying stage a few days ago, are playing against the defending champions from Sweden. 

After the excitement of the dramatic final set in their quarter-final against Denmark, the Poles began this match in a less frenetic fashion. However, that did not last long and, after a quiet opening stanza, all hell broke loose in the second segment, with 127 IMPs changing hands over the 16 deals. Sweden, conquerors of the host nation’s representatives in their quarter-final, came out with their noses ahead by 16 IMPs, 91-75, coming into this third set. A large crowd, many of them staunchly partisan, settled down to watch the excitement as the match unfolded. 

As usual, we start with some problems. Firstly, with just the opponents vulnerable, you are sitting North holding: 

What action do you take? 

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

What action, if any, do you take? 

Pre-empting can be a two-edged sword. Yes, you may steal room from your opponents, stopping them from fully investigating their options. However, if you steal too much room, the result may be that they cannot investigate their options and all they are left with is a winning choice. Let’s see what happened on Board 1: 

Danuta Kazmucha passed as Dealer, but Anna Sarniak got the Poles into the auction with an aggressive two-level overcall. Thereafter, a controlled auction landed the Polish pair in a perfectly good contract that was only defeated by the 4-0 trump split. The defenders duly made two top spades and the ♦Q-J. N/S -50  

In the replay, Jessica Larsson opened the North hand, and thus Sophia Baldysz went into pre-emptive mode with a two-way shot at game in her long major. Perhaps she could make 4♠ and perhaps it would be a good save against game for the Swedes. Not this time, as this was one of those deals on which no one can make anything above the three-level. Declarer had to lose three clubs and two hearts: N/S +300 and 8 IMPs to SWEDEN. 

That two-edged sword returned just a couple of deals later, but this time it was the Swedes wielding it to detrimental effect. Both North players were faced with the first of this week’s problems: 

South’s 1♣ opening was Polish at this table (clubs, weak no-trump or any 17+) and, after West’s 1♠ overcall, Danuta Kazucha had a non-forcing 2♥ club in her bag. Too strong for a competitive 2♠ but not worth a 3♥ cue-bid, Sanna Clementsson compromised with a responsive-type double, showing diamonds and at least spade tolerance. With a heart bid over her, Emma Ovelius understandably decided that she did not particularly like her hand, so she retreated to 2♠. Having limited her hand already, Kazmucha now had the headroom to introduce her second suit, and Clementsson did much the same. When Anna Sarniak then competed to 3♥, though, both Swedes decided that they had nothing more to say. 

The defense started with diamonds, so declarer ruffed the second round and ran the ♥Q. Ovelius won with the ♥K and switched to the ♣K, so the defenders found their ruff to nip the contract by a trick: E/W +50. 

Jessica Larsson did not mess around: knowing that they would have a big club fit if her partner held an unbalanced hand and a guaranteed heart fit if opener was balanced, she jumped all the way to 4♥ at her first turn. Unfortunately for the Swedes, this left East with no room for a subtle investigation of the right contract, and thus Sophia Baldysz was effectively left with no choice but to close her eyes and bid 4♠. No doubt delighted with this turn of events, Kathrine Berteau duly lowered the boom by producing a red card.  

First appearances can be deceptive, though, and it turned out that no one had actually bothered to sharpen the Swedish axe prior to this match. Larsson opened her singleton diamond, declarer winning in dummy to lead the ♠10. Bertheau won with the ♠A, cashed the ♥A, and continued with the ♥J, but declarer ruffed in dummy and played a second round of trumps. Declarer was always going to get this right, so it mattered not whether Bertheau split her honors. She was destined to make just one more trump trick: E/W +790 and 12 IMPs to POLAND. 

Those IMPs went right back on the very next deal, when the Swedes bid to a low-percentage game on a misfitting combined 25-count. As the cards lie, there was no defense to 3NT or 4♥, so stopping in the safe 3♦ cost the Poles a game swing. Sometimes, virtue just has to be its own reward in this game. 

The Poles again judged to stop out of game. This time, that judgement was spot on: the defenders had three side-suit aces to take and, with the trump finesse failing, 4♥ would have been one down: N/S +140. 

Just because a game is going down, though, is no reason not to bid it. Yes, if you wield that familiar double-edged sword often enough, it will also bring substantial rewards. 

As a regular member of the BBO Bidding Challenge expert panel, we have learned that Jessica Larsson can never be accused of shyness in the bidding. On this deal, she was right there putting maximum pressure on her opponents with a third-seat 4♥ opening, and it is hard to criticize Sophia Baldysz for taking action on this East hand. Whilst Kathrine Bertheau had initially come to the fight with a blunt axe, she must have spent time honing it while the flat boards slipped past, as it was now razor sharp. Her double ended the brief auction and she led a heart to the ace.  Although Larsson’s club switch gave declarer a chance of making eight tricks, Baldsyz was unable to take advantage and finished four down: N/S +800 and 12 IMPs to SWEDEN.  

With just a handful of boards left in the set, the Scandinavians’ advantage was up to 35 IMPs, 129-94. As we have seen before, though, this Polish team are masters of the comeback. 

Sanna Clementsson had to deal with the second of this week’s problems and she understandably saw no reason to stir the potential hornets’ nest. I mean, are you certain you can even beat 3NT?  

Perhaps you think West should have bid over 1NT (although she may not have had a natural 2♦ bid available). Had West bid 2♦, though, would East really then have been galvanized into further action? I don’t see why. Of course, West might have made a penalty double and collected +800, but doing so is also not without considerable risk. The Swedes managed to beat 1NT by a trick: E/W +100. 

I have no practical suggestions as to how you get to 4♠ after this start to the auction. Similarly, Anna Sarniak’s 1NT overcall looks absolutely, bog-standard to me, so I am also unable to explain Kathrine Bertheau’s pass at the other table: 

Uncontested, reaching 4♠ is a trivial matter. North might have found a club lead, to hold declarer to ten tricks, but there was no reason to choose one minor rather than the other. On the diamond lead, Cathy Baldsyz had an easy eleven tricks: E/W +650 and 11 IMPs to Poland. 

With the set drawing to a close, our final deal first provided the North/South pairs with an opportunity to display their bidding judgement, and then posed a defensive test for the West players. 

Having passed initially, Bertheau’s jump to 2NT showed her strongest possible four-card heart raise. This was still not enough to encourage Larsson to bid game facing a passed hand and, theoretically at least, she was right. East duly led a club and, to hold the contract to nine tricks, West needs to withhold the ♣A. East can then win the first round of trumps, cross to the ♣A, and get a club ruff. When Cathy Baldsyz took her ace at trick one, though, that was the end of her entry: N/S +170. 

The Poles conducted a Drury auction, Kazmucha denying a sub-minimum opening with 2♦. Anna Sarniak decided that was all the information she needed, and jumped to game. Clementsson also found the club lead and thus, with the stakes much higher at this table, the spotlight turned onto Ovelius. When she fell from grace and took her ace on the first round, that was ten tricks: N/S +620 and another 10 IMPs to POLAND. 

The set finished 45-39 in favor of the Poles, which left Sweden with a 10-IMP lead, 130-120, at the midway point of the match. With 48 boards still remaining, this one was far too close to call. We will be back next week with the best of the action from the second half of what turned out to be one of the classic world championship matches of all time.