The series of interesting (or insoluble ?) defensive problems continued all through the first session of the Finals. This was board 9:

Board 9, Dealer North, East-West Vul.   ª J 6 © Q J 7 2 ¨ Q 8 § K 8 7 6 5 ª Q 5 2 © A K 10 ¨ J 7 6 4 3 § 10 4 ª 10 4 3 © 9 8 6 ¨ K 10 5 2 § 9 3 2   ª A K 9 8 7 © 5 4 3 ¨ A 9 § A Q J

Kali Karaivanov

First of all, there is a bidding problem: how to place the declaration of 3NT with North? This is easy enough, as quite often South will open 1ª and North will respond 1NT. The well-placed Bulgarians, Karaivanov and Trendafilov, did not even need this as Karaivanov simply opened the North hand with the Bulgarian mini-NT. To defeat this contract, East has to find the heart lead and West the diamond shift. On the more normal diamond lead, there are ten tricks, or even more if West does not cash his ©AK when in with the ªQ. In round 8, we saw the confrontation between two of the then best-placed pairs when Burgay-Mariani had to play Karaivanov-Trendafilov.

Board 15, Dealer South, North-South Vul.   ª Q 6 3 © Q 10 9 5 3 ¨ J 9 2 § J 7 ª A 8 7 2 © J 4 ¨ A Q 7 § A 10 9 2 ª J 4 © 6 2 ¨ K 10 8 3 § K Q 5 4 3   ª K 10 9 5 © A K 8 7 ¨ 6 5 4 § 8 6

West	North	East	South
Mariani	Karaivanov	Burgay	Trendafilov
			Pass
1NT	Pass	Pass	2§
Pass	2©	3§	All Pass

On this board, the Italian 13-15 NT style worked very well, as it allowed Burgay to first pass and await developments. When the Bulgarians found their major suit fit, he came to life with a natural 3§ bid, against which NS could not compete as they will go down at least two tricks, vulnerable. With 10 tricks available in clubs and only 8 in no-trumps, this was an excellent result for the Italians: 36-16.

On the second board, the Bulgarian aggression paid rich dividends:

Board 16, Dealer West, East-West Vul.   ª Q J 5 4 © Q J 2 ¨ A Q 10 6 2 § 5 ª 10 6 3 © A 10 8 ¨ 7 5 4 § A K 9 2 ª A 8 © K 9 7 6 4 ¨ K J 9 § J 10 7   ª K 9 7 2 © 5 3 ¨ 8 3 § Q 8 6 4 3

West	North	East	South
Mariani	Karaivanov	Burgay	Trendafilov
1§	1¨	1©	Pass
2©	Double	Redouble	2ª
Pass	Pass	3©	3ª ( !)
All Pass

The Bulgarians did very well here: North's double made South the declarer and then South, Trendafilov, did not sell out to 3© which would have been an easy make.

For West, defending 3ª was difficult. He led the §A but then had no good continuation. He opted for a diamond to the queen and king, but declarer had already gained a tempo this way. Best defence now is to continue clubs to shorten dummy, but when Burgay played a low heart first, the hand was over and the defence could come to five tricks only. The score this time: 40-12 to NS.

Another Bulgarian pair showed how to tackle the bidding problem presented by board 21:

Board 21, Dealer North, North-South Vul.   ª K Q 7 3 © A K 9 6 ¨ A K 10 7 2 § - ª J 10 2 © Q J 8 5 3 ¨ Q J § Q 10 6 ª A 8 4 © 4 2 ¨ 9 8 6 5 3 § A 8 4   ª 9 6 5 © 10 7 ¨ 4 § K J 9 7 5 3 2

West	North	East	South
Rinaldi	Popova	Pulga	Gunev
	1§	Pass	1¨
Pass	1©	Pass	3§
All Pass

Dessy Popova

Strong club with 1¨ negative and 1© showing at least four cards in the suit. 3§ was 5-7 hcp and natural. North now made a very disciplined pass for an excellent score.

On the last board of the set, Ruggero Pulga made a nice play to ensure the overtrick:

Board 26, Dealer East, All Vul.   ª Q J 4 3 © J 10 9 ¨ 9 4 2 § Q 8 3 ª A 10 9 8 5 © A 3 ¨ K 10 § A 7 5 2 ª K 7 © K 8 6 5 2 ¨ J 7 5 § 10 9 6

West	North	East	South
Rinaldi	Eginton	Pulga	Nelson
		Pass	1NT
Double	Pass	Pass	2¨
2ª	All Pass

A 12-14 NT and a straightforward auction, but a nice play by Rinaldi with little risk, as both defenders were known to hold at least semi-balanced hands. Diamonds were led and continued, declarer winning. Next came a low club, the ¨Q ruffed in hand, the © AK and a heart ruff in hand, followed by the §A and another. South was on lead now with only her two diamonds and two trumps left. As the ª7 stood firm in dummy, the defence could come to not more than one trump trick. Nicely played.