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Twenty Short.

Four matches on Saturday and hope at the start that a good performance could leave The Bridge Blacks challenging for the top 8. How many vps did we need from a day with no easy matches, if such a thing exists in this event? Perhaps a minimum of 50. We finished 20 short of that:

Egypt             27-17             12.80

Bulgaria         46-55               7.45

USA 2            11-53               1.67

Canada          32-39               7.97

That totals a fraction under 30 vps, not enough. Australia did a little better, with big wins over Uruguay and Netherlands but a big loss to Italy and a loss to Bulgaria by the same margin as did New Zealand has left Australia in 11^th place, 19vps behind 8^th placed Norway. Certainly, they will go into the final day of qualifying with more hope than the Kiwis who are 14^th,40 vps behind Norway.

Let’s enjoy the moment, though. Here’s another lead problem for you:

 

 

 

Nothing unusual in the bidding. 5 showed 1 key Card with spades as trumps and 6 showed the Q but no outside kings. Unfortunately for you, you have 2 kings, yourself. It sounds like your partner might not have too much. So, what’s your choice?

Here’s the story of the day from GeO:

“This was a day were NZ needed big wins to narrow the gap to the top-8. Unfortunately, we continued our inconsistent playing.

Against Egypt in the morning match, our team started well as usual, but soon some not successful things happened, also as usual. When NZ had a 23-0 lead, a quite tricky game went down for New Zealand, and Egypt picked up 12.

A tough small slam was bid by Whibley-Brown, and it could easily have made on a lucky day, or more friendly opponent on lead. He held two aces. If he cashes on of them, the slam makes!

 

If West tries the A, the declarer has heaps of tricks after ruffing the lead.

If he instead tries the A, the declarer has K as a trick and can ruff one diamond even if West find a trump switch. Later West will be squeezed in clubs and hearts.

However, the Egyptian West led the J, and our guy had no chance.

At the other table, the declarer cannot have had his best moment as he went down in 4 – pushed board.

The later part of the match was not so eventful, and New Zealand won by 10 imps, 12.8 – 7.2 VPs.

“Blood on the tracks”

I am not referring to Bob Dylan’s album from 1975, but to the second match of the day when New Zealand played Bulgaria, the team that beat us in the bronze medal match in Lyon, 2017.

This was more like a boxing match, with huge swings both ways.

On the second board we ended in a club slam after preemptive bidding from the opponents. With an unfriendly trump break, it needed the Q onside.

No luck, 8 imps to Bulgaria.

17 imps in..and out again!

 

 

At favourable vulnerability, Nick Jacob went for it and opened 3 as South. West doubled and I jumped to 5. Now East bid 5NT, pick a slam and wrote down a message to me on our side of the screen that he would bid 7 no matter what, just to avoid any trouble if his partner hesitated before a bid at the 6 level. Fair enough, and thank you was what I was thinking although I wouldn’t know for sure the A was a trick. Anyway, West bid 6 and East was true to his word and raised.

 

+100 against a crazy grand slam off an ace feels good and it was worth 17 IMPs when the bidding was rather different at the other table:

West              North            East                South
 Bach                                      Cornell

                                                                       Pass
1                   2                   2                   2NT
4                   5                   5                   6
Pass                Pass                  6                   7
x                     All Pass

2NT seemed to be an attempt to muddy the waters. Eventually, South could not resist taking the sacrifice. 6 is makeable, with a brave backward trump finesse, maybe more so when North bid both red suits, though there was no doubt what would happen to 7x, 6 down or 1400 to New Zealand, 17 imps in.

                                                                       

It might be that a ruling on one hand where we believe the opponents’ behavior was not correct, but we will see what final decision on that will be (we lost 8 imps on the board).

Then more frenzy:

 

 

Both tables reached 7NT which is a very good spot, usually only depending on spades to break 3-2 or singleton jack somewhere.

NZ went down in this contract when spades didn’t break. It seems the spade lead put the declarer off the winning line. 

The winning play after any lead, including the weird spade lead found by the Bulgarian West (with no entry in dummy outside spades, the declarer can’t win the trick with 10), is to cash all the diamonds and catch West in a triple squeeze. Seven cards will have been played, and West must keep four spades.

 

The means he can only keep three more cards and can’t keep King doubleton in both hearts and clubs. He must go down to singleton King in one suit. South cashes AQ and West has part with a low heart. Now comes A and South has 13 top tricks.

The Bulgarian player found this excellent play and made 7NT. Draining stuff, 17 imps out, the second board with exchange of 17 IMPs. Phew.

A few more declarers in grand slams made it, but nearly half of the teams went down in 7 or 7NT.

Bulgaria built up a lead, but some of it came back, one swing when we stayed out a 50-50 slam and Bulgaria bid it.

From this crazy match (yet another one) more stories could be told.  The battle ended with a 9-imp loss (unless the mentioned ruling goes our way), 12.45 – 7.55 VPs and average on the day half way this long day of four matches.

It is hard to cover everything when also being a player, but please note that you can find all the results, hand records and all of it here:

http://db.worldbridge.org/Repository/tourn/salsomaggiore.22/microSite/Results.htm

Next opponent was USA 2, one of the top teams. Our chances to catch up with the top 8 for a quarter final spot were beginning to look slim. With only five matches we simply needed nearly only wins and good wins as well.

It was not to happen in round 19 against the USA 2 who played strongly and beat us up completely, a near zero for New Zealand. ¨

It was over but the tournament was not over yet. The last match against Canada didn’t help on the mood as we lost by 7 IMPs.

 
disappointment for GeO and the rest of the New Zealand team

One day, 3 matches left to finish off a disappointing tournament, but of course we will try our best to finish as high as possible.”

Those 3 opponents will be Denmark, Italy and Sweden. Meanwhile, 2 wins and 2 losses left the Canadian Women’s team in 10^th place, 12 vps behind 8^th.

 

Richard Solomon

 

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