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Mixed Teams Final Russia - Dhondy
by P.O. Sundelin and Patrick Jourdain
Featuring the Gromovs, Victoria and Andrei as NS for Russia against Heather and Jeremy Dhondy in the Open room, and Tatiana Ponomareva with Alexander Dubinin as EW for Russia against Matilda and Lilo Poplilov in the Closed.
| Board 1. Dealer North. None Vul. |
| |
♠ J 7 5 3
♥ 9 5 3
♦ A 9 4 3
♣ 10 6 |
♠ K Q 2
♥ K 8 4
♦ K Q 10 7
♣ K 8 5 |
 |
♠ 10 8 6 4
♥ A Q 10 7 2
♦ J 5
♣ A 3 |
| |
♠ A 9
♥ J 6
♦ 8 6 2
♣ Q J 9 7 4 2 |
| West |
North |
East |
South |
| Jeremy D. |
Andrei G. |
Heather D. |
Victoria G. |
| |
Pass |
1♥ |
3♣ |
| Dble |
Pass |
3♠ |
Pass |
| 4♣ |
Pass |
4♠ |
All Pass |
A shaky auction to start with from the Dhondys. Heather thought Four Clubs agreed spades; Perhaps Jeremy should have bid a simple Four Hearts. However, the cards lay favourably enough for Four Spades to come home. As Russia had played in a dull Four Hearts making 11 they were off to a 1 IMP start.
| Board 2. Dealer East. N/S Vul. |
| |
♠ 10 6 4
♥ A Q 10 2
♦ 10 7 3
♣ 7 5 3 |
♠ A J 9 7
♥ 9 7 5 3
♦ 9 8
♣ K 10 4 |
|
♠ 5 3
♥ J 8
♦ K J 5 4 2
♣ Q J 9 2 |
| |
♠ K Q 8 2
♥ K 6 4
♦ A Q 6
♣ A 8 6 |
| West |
North |
East |
South |
| Jeremy D. |
Andrei G. |
Heather D. |
Victoria G. |
| |
|
Pass |
1♣ |
| Pass |
1♦ |
Pass |
1NT |
| Pass |
3NT |
All Pass |
The Gromovs play a version of Polish Club, leading to a thin Three No-trumps. West led a passive heart. Declarer rose with dummy’s ace and led a spade to the king and ace. A second heart revealed the jack, and declarer continued spades, playing queen and another. Jeremy won and cashed the last spade before exiting with a heart. Two more hearts forced East to choose whether to keep ♣QJ9 or ♦KJx. When she chose to part with a diamond declarer was in with a chance. The diamond finesse won and declarer ducked a club. West exited with a club. In the three-card ending Gromova had to decide whether the king of diamonds was falling or West could be endplayed. She decided to go for the endplay, exiting with a club. A relieved defence cashed two tricks in the suit to sink the game.
With the auction ending in One Spade at the other table the swing was 6 IMPs to Dhondy instead of 10 IMPs the other way.
On Board 3 both Heather and Victoria invited game with five hcp opposite an 18-19 balanced hand, ending up in, and making, Four Hearts.
On Board 5 Victoria bid 2♣ on -,Jxxx,Axx,Q10xxxx after partner opened 1♠ and RHO overcalled 1NT. She got doubled and made 180, which was worth 7 IMPs as 1NT was made in the other room. It was 8 – 6 for Russia.
Ponomareva took another slightly optimistic view on board 6 to get them to Four Hearts down two when the Dhondys managed to stop in One Notrump for a 7 IMP swing to take over the lead by 5.
Board 7
At game all you are in fourth seat holding:
| |
♠ K10 9
♥ A K 10 4 2
♦ J 7 5
♣ 8 7 |
After two Passes RHO opens One Spade. Would you bid? The textbook action must surely be to pass and that would also be the winning choice. When both Easts overcalled Two Hearts the penalty of 800 may have taught them a lesson but caused no swing. Sadder, if not necessarily wiser, they moved on…
| Board 8. Dealer West. None Vul. |
| |
♠ A J 3
♥ 7 4 2
♦ A 4 3 2
♣ A 10 3 |
♠ Q 10 7 2
♥ 9 8 6 5
♦ 10
♣ K Q 5 2 |
|
♠ –
♥ A Q 10 3
♦ Q J 8 7
♣ J 9 7 6 4 |
| |
♠ K 9 8 6 5 4
♥ K J
♦ K 9 6 5
♣ 8 |
This produced another swing for the cowards. After a One Diamond opening by partner Matilda Poplilov responded 1♠ and settled for 2♠ after the 1NT rebid.
Victoria instead checked back and simply bid game when she got support.
| Board 8. Dealer West. None Vul. |
| |
♠ A J 3
♥ 7 4 2
♦ A 4 3 2
♣ A 10 3 |
♠ Q 10 7 2
♥ 9 8 6 5
♦ 10
♣ K Q 5 2 |
|
♠ –
♥ A Q 10 3
♦ Q J 8 7
♣ J 9 7 6 4 |
| |
♠ K 9 8 6 5 4
♥ K J
♦ K 9 6 5
♣ 8 |
The unfortunate lie of the cards meant that the conservatives gained another 5 to lead by 10. (On repeated club leads declarer needs to handle her entries very carefully since she needs to lead a diamond to the ace then two more rounds of diamonds towards her hand.
After winning the club ace and leading a trump to the king, then a trump to the jack, it appears declarer can’t play on diamonds so must tackle hearts at once or else the entries are insufficient to play the red suits to best advantage).
On the next deal Gromova made a very pushy takeout double over Two Spades with 8 5, A Q 8 7, 8 5, K Q 10 9 5, and was lucky to find partner with clubs, but the club game needed two finesses to work. They didn’t, and as their team-mates went down in Three Spades it was another 5 IMPs for Dhondy.
A dramatically different approach by the defending Norths produced a swing here:
| Board 11. Dealer South. None Vul. |
| |
♠ J
♥ A 5
♦ A 10 7 5 3
♣ K 10 9 7 3 |
♠ A Q 10 5 3 2
♥ 10 6
♦ Q J 6
♣ Q 6 |
|
♠ K 7 4
♥ K Q J 8 7 4 3
♦ 8
♣ 5 4 |
| |
♠ 9 8 6
♥ 9 2
♦ K 9 6 2
♣ A J 8 2 |
Open Room
| West |
North |
East |
South |
|
Gromov |
|
Gromova |
| |
|
|
Pass |
| 1♠ |
2♦ |
4♥ |
All Pass |
Closed Room
| West |
North |
East |
South |
| Poplilov |
| 1♠ |
Pass |
2♥ |
Pass |
| 2♠ |
Pass |
4♥ |
All Pass |
South led the diamond two at both tables. Both Norths won the diamond ace and returned the spade jack to dummy’s queen. Gromov then jumped up with the heart ace to return a club, and cashed the club king for down two. Poplilov for some reason ducked the first trump, won the second, and played back a diamond. Eleven tricks to Russia, and the same number of IMPs, but it was still Dhondy by 4.
| Board 12. Dealer West. NS Vul. |
| |
♠ 6 4
♥ J 9 6 3
♦ A K J
♣ K 7 3 2 |
♠ A K Q 9 8 7
♥ A Q
♦ Q 9 4
♣ J 5 |
|
♠ J 10 3 2
♥ 10 8 7 2
♦ 3
♣ 9 8 6 4 |
| |
♠ 5
♥ K 5 4
♦ 10 8 7 6 5 2
♣ A Q 10 |
Open Room
| West |
North |
East |
|
South |
|
Gromov |
|
|
Gromova |
| 1♠ |
Pass |
2♠ |
|
Dbl. |
| Pass |
2NT |
3♠ |
|
Pass |
| Pass |
4♥ |
All Pass |
|
Closed Room
| West |
North |
East |
|
South |
| Dubinin |
|
Ponomareva |
|
| 1♣ |
Pass |
1♦ |
|
Pass |
| 1♠ |
All Pass |
An uncharacteristic pass by Ponomareva left them in One Spade with three overtricks when the heart finesse worked.
In the Open Room it was North-South who took the command and bid game to effectively silence their opponents; they were lucky to escape undoubled, however, three undertricks meant a cost of 4 IMPs."
| Board 13. Dealer North. All Vul. |
| |
♠ 6 5 2
♥ K 9 6 4
♦ 5
♣ Q J 7 3 2 |
♠ A Q 9 4
♥ Q
♦ A J 7 2
♣ A 10 9 8 |
|
♠ J 10 8 7
♥ 8 3
♦ K Q 10 9 6 3
♣ 4 |
| |
♠ K 3
♥ A J 10 7 5 2
♦ 8 4
♣ K 6 5 |
Ponomareva as East heard the bidding go One Heart, Double, Three Hearts over which she decided to pass. After two passes her partner doubled again. She inexplicably bid only Four Diamonds to miss game (and slam actually). The loss was only 1 IMP as their team-mates had sacrificed in Five Hearts doubled which could have been beaten 1100 but escaped for down one after an unfortunate lead and continuation. (Note that if you play “obvious shift”, on the ♦A the ♦Q asks for a club shift)
| Board 14. Dealer East. None Vul. |
| |
♠ A 9 3
♥ K J 9 6
♦ A Q 3
♣ A 9 4 |
♠ 7 6 5 2
♥ 10 5 2
♦ 9 6
♣ K 8 5 3 |
|
♠ K J 8 4
♥ 7 4
♦ K J 7 4
♣ J 10 2 |
| |
♠ Q 10
♥ A Q 8 3
♦ 10 8 5 2
♣ Q 7 6 |
The Gromovs declared Four Hearts from the “wrong” hand (South) so the Dhondys had no difficulty beating it after a diamond lead. At the other table Ponomareva was in trouble from the start and led the club jack, ducked. Another club might be necessary as declarer may otherwise be able to discard a club on spades so she played a second club, and now the defence’s second club trick have vanished. Later she discarded a diamond on the third trump, won a diamond finesse to exit with a club, but ace and another diamond left her without any other exit card than a spade from the king.10 IMPs for Dhondy to lead by 19.
Holding ♠K 7 5 ♥ ♦K Q J 8 7 5 4 3 2 ♣8, what would you bid over one Heart from your RHO?
Gromov chose Four Diamonds, and over Four Hearts on his left, passed back to him, he decided to pass. Right he was; his opponents were cold for slam.
| Board 15. Dealer South. N/S Vul. |
| |
♠ K 7 5
♥ –
♦ K Q J 8 7 5 4 3 2
♣ 8 |
♠ J 9 8 6 3
♥ K Q 10 7 3 2
♦ –
♣ A 9 |
|
♠ A 10 4
♥ A J 6 4
♦ A 9
♣ J 7 5 4 |
| |
♠ Q 2
♥ 9 8 5
♦ 10 6
♣ K Q 10 6 3 2 |
So far so good, but at the other table the opening was One Spade (a bid few would have chosen). Lilo Poplilov also bid Four Diamonds but over Four Spades on his left he bid one more. He was doubled and as it was only down he gained 7 IMPs. It was now a lead of 26 for Dhondy going into the final board of the segment.
| Board 16. Dealer West. E/W Vul. |
| |
♠ 9 3
♥ J 8 6 4 3
♦ A Q J 2
♣ A 10 |
♠ A 7 6 2
♥ K Q 9 7
♦ 7 6
♣ 7 5 2 |
|
♠ Q
♥ A 2
♦ 10 9 5 4 3
♣ Q J 6 4 3 |
| |
♠ K J 10 8 5 4
♥ 10 5
♦ K 8
♣ K 9 8 |
And we saw yet another close game. As usual the Poplilovs stopped in part-score, whereas the Gromovs bid game. With a well-placed trump queen it made, and the resulting 6 IMPs reduced Dhondy’s lead to 20. |
