45th GENERALI European Bridge Championships, Arona, Tenerife, Canary Islands Friday, 29 June 2001

England vs Israel

Ladies Series - Round 16

Six rounds to go and the English women were still in the lead, though with Austria breathing down their necks. In Round 16 they faced Israel, who were still very much in the hunt for a medal and a trip to Bali. An important match then for both teams. The match began very well for the English.

Board 2. Dealer East. N/S Vul.
  ª A K 6 3
© J 9 8 7 4 3
¨ Q 8
§ 2
ª 9 8 5
© K
¨ A 5 3 2
§ A Q J 4 3
Bridge deal ª Q
© A Q 10 6
¨ K 10 7 4
§ K 8 7 5
  ª J 10 7 4 2
© 5 2
¨ J 9 6
§ 10 9 6

West North East South
Dhondy Zur-C Smith Levit-P
    1§ Pass
2§ 2© Dble All Pass

West North East South
Liberman Brunner Birman Goldenfield
    1¨ Pass
2§ 2© 3© Pass
4¨ Pass 5§ All Pass


Migri Zur-Campanile, Israel
  Daniela Birman opened 1¨ and heard her partner respond in her other four-card minor. When Michelle Brunner overcalled 2©. Birman showed a good club raise by cuebidding 3©. Ruth Liberman showed her diamonds and the partnership came to rest in 5§. Six Clubs is makeable on a spade lead if you are in it but, of course, Liberman played safe for five; +400.
Nicola Smith had opened 1§ and heard an inverted raise from Heather Dhondy. When Migri Zur-Campanila also overcalled 2© and Smith doubled for penalties. Dhondy passed that and Smith led off with a low club. Dhondy won the ace and continued clubs, declarer pitching a diamond, as she did again on the third club. Now Smith switched to a diamond to the nine, ace and ruffed with the four. Zur-Campanila led the seven of hearts and Smith played low after some thought. Dhondy won her king and played a diamond.

Declarer does not know that the ªQ is coming down and, with the bidding and play to date suggesting that the suit was more likely to be 3-1 than 2-2, the odds were that it would not do so. If she ruffs the diamond and plays off the top spades and the queen does not fall, East will ruff, cash her remaining hearts and play a minor-suit winner. Declarer has only one trump left so cannot come to a second spade trick and is four down. So Zur-Campanila pitched a spade on the diamond. Smith won the king and cashed a top heart before playing a club. Declarer ruffed the club and played off the top spades, smiling ruefully when the queen appeared. She was three down now for -800 and 9 IMPs to England.
Had West held ªQxx, East could have ruffed the second one and cashed her last heart but would then have had to give a trick to dummy's ¨J, for three down, saving a trick. Or if she discarded on the spade declarer could exit with a trump and again come to a diamond trick.

Board 3. Dealer South. E/W Vul.
  ª K 10 8 3 2
© 10 4
¨ 8 2
§ 8 6 3 2
ª 9 7
© A Q 9 6 5 3
¨ A Q
§ Q 9 7
Bridge deal ª J 5 4
© J 8 7
¨ K J 9 5
§ A 5 4
  ª A Q 6
© K 2
¨ 10 7 6 4 3
§ K J 10

West North East South
Dhondy Zur-C Smith Levit-P
      1¨
2© Pass 3¨ Dble
3NT Pass 4© All Pass

West North East South
Liberman Brunner Birman Goldenfield
      1NT
2© All Pass    

Dhondy made an intermediate jump overcall and Smith showed a good raise by cuebidding 3¨. Ruth Levit-Porat's double told her partner not to lead diamonds, and now Dhondy bid 3NT - as who would not? Smith did well now, working out that there might be a serious weakness in a black suit if the partnership had so much in diamonds. She went back to 4© and that made a comfortable +620.
The defence led a low spade and South won with the queen. Now, had she returned her low spade and North played a club through, declarer would have had to play hearts for no loss to make her contract; maybe she would play South for K10x. In practice Levit-Porat played ace and another spade and Dhondy was in no danger.
In the other room, Liberman overcalled 2© over Rhona Goldenfield's weak no trump and Birman could not scrape up a raise; +140 and 10 IMPs to England.
The score remained at 19-0 to England through a series of flat boards. Then things got even better for the leaders:

Board 11. Dealer South. None Vul.
  ª J 6 5 4
© A J 2
¨ 10 2
§ K 9 6 2
ª A Q 10 9
© Q 9 8
¨ A 8 6
§ 10 5 4
Bridge deal ª K 8 7 3
© 10 7 6 5 4
¨ K Q 7 3
§ -
  ª 2
© K 3
¨ J 9 5 4
§ A Q J 8 7 3

West North East South
Dhondy Zur-C Smith Levit-P
      1§
1ª 1NT 4ª All Pass

West North East South
Liberman Brunner Birman Goldenfield
      1§
1ª 2ª 4ª 5§
Pass Pass 5¨ Pass
5ª Dble All Pass  

Five Spades is, of course, a phantom sacrifice, on the assumption that the defence to 5§ takes its spade trick before declarer can get her singleton away courtesy of the heart finesse. But Birman liked her shape and, expecting her partner to have a fifth spade, went on to the five level as a two-way shot. Five Spades was doubled and drifted two down for -300.
North/ South did not compete so vigorously in the other room, where Zur-Campanila's 1NT bid dampened her partner's enthusiasm. The lead was a trump, and North must have been pleasantly surprised to find her partner following to the trick. Dhondy won in hand and crossed to a diamond to play a heart up, hoping to find South with AJ or KJ doubleton. Levit-Porat went in with the king and switched to the queen of clubs. That was ruffed in dummy and Dhondy played a second heart to the jack. Back came a diamond, attacking declarer's communications. Dhondy won in hand and played the ©Q and now Zur-Campanila did something very strange when she won and returned a trump. What she though was going on is unclear - presumably she had seen a count card from partner that made this defence appear to be safe. Dhondy could simply draw trumps, throwing the fourth diamond on the last trump, and cross to the diamond to cash the hearts; +420 and 12 IMPs to England, who led by 31-0.
Israel got on the board with a 6 IMP partscore swing on the next deal but the next big swing again went the way of England.

Board 13. Dealer North. All Vul.
  ª A K 2
© J 8 4
¨ A 10
§ 10 9 7 6 5
ª Q 10 8
© K Q 5 3
¨ K 7
§ Q J 4 2
Bridge deal ª 9 7 6 4
© 9 7 6
¨ 8 6 4 3 2
§ K
  ª J 5 3
© A 10 2
¨ Q J 9 5
§ A 8 3

West North East South
Dhondy Zur-C Smith Levit-P
  1§ Pass 1¨
Pass 1NT Pass 2NT
All Pass      

West North East South
Liberman Brunner Birman Goldenfield
  1NT Pass 3NT
All Pass      

Three No Trump is not the greatest contract in the world, but as the cards lie it will normally make. Where Goldenfield simply raised the weak no trump to game, Levit-Porat, who was also facing a weak no trump type, merely invited.
Brunner won the spade lead and played ace and another club. Not wishing to lead any other suit, Liberman simply played two more rounds of clubs to get off play. Brunner made an overtrick now for +630. That was worth 10 IMPs when Zur-Campanila scored +150 in the other room.
England led by 41-6 and looked to be on the way to a big win, however, Israel hit back with two big swings in the last quarter.

Board 16. Dealer West. E/W Vul.
  ª A J 10 3 2
© A Q 6
¨ A 7 6
§ 10 6
ª Q 7 5 4
© K 4 2
¨ 4
§ Q 9 8 7 4
Bridge deal ª -
© 8 7 5
¨ K Q 10 9 8
§ A K J 5 2
  ª K 9 8 6
© J 10 9 3
¨ J 5 3 2
§ 3

West North East South
Dhondy Zur-C Smith Levit-P
Pass 1NT Pass 2§
Pass 2ª All Pass  

West North East South
Liberman Brunner Birman Goldenfield
Pass 1ª 2NT 3ª
4§ 4ª 5§ Pass
Pass Dble All Pass  

When Smith was unwilling to come in with her minor two-suiter, Zur-Campanila was left to play in 2ª. Smith cashed a top club and switched to the queen of diamonds, which declarer ducked. Having had no clue from the auction, declarer was a little surprised when the diamond continuation got ruffed. Dhondy switched to a heart and declarer went up with the ace. She continued by cashing the ace of spades, leaving herself with a loser in each major. However, the contract was still safe for +110.
Birman came in immediately in the other room and went on to game when Liberman bid only a slightly cautious 4§. To defeat 5§ doubled, North has to find a heart lead. Not altogether surprisingly, Brunner was not up to that one, preferring a trump. Declarer won and played a diamond up, ducked, then cross-ruffed diamonds and spades to establish the diamonds. She came to eleven tricks easily enough for +750 and 13 badly needed IMPs to Israel.

Board 19. Dealer South. E/W Vul.
  ª A J
© A Q J 5 3
¨ A 8 7
§ A Q 8
ª Q 8 6 5 3 2
© K 4
¨ 9 4
§ 9 7 3
Bridge deal ª K 7
© 8 7 6 2
¨ 10 2
§ K J 10 5 2
  ª 10 9 4
© 10 9
¨ K Q J 6 5 3
§ 6 4

West North East South
Dhondy Zur-C Smith Levit-P
      3¨
Pass 4NT Pass 5¨
Pass 5NT Pass 6§
Pass 6¨ All Pass  

West North East South
Liberman Brunner Birman Goldenfield
      2¨
Pass 3NT All Pass  

Brunner did not consider a slam when Goldenfield opened with a weak 2¨ bid. After a club lead into her tenace, she made all 13 tricks for +520.
Levit-Portat opened with a weak 3¨, which looks pretty middle-of-the-road to me. Zur-Campanila asked for key cards then just in case, for kings, settling in the small slam when the response denied a king. Levit-Porat ducked the spade lead, trying to minimise the undertricks should the heart finesse fail. She won the spade return, crossed to hand with a diamond and ruffed the remaining spade high. Now she drew trumps and took the heart finesse; +920 and 9 IMPs to Israel.
England won by 44-29 IMPs, or 18-12 VPs - not as good as it had looked earlier, but they still extended their lead by 2 VPs thanks to Austria's only just pipping Spain by 16-14. Israel also were still very much alive.


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