After the second semifinal session, Kalin
Karaivanov and Roumen Trendafilov were leading the field. In this
report, we show you a selection from their successes, as well as
a few mediocrities, during that session. In between, we are having
glances at other tables as well.
On the first board of the session, Trendafilov
as East made 11 tricks in spades when South refused to ruff any
of the three winning hearts led through him.
Board 1, Dealer North, None Vul.
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ª 9
© 9 8 5 2
¨ A Q J 6
§ A 10 8 5 |
ª K Q 10 6 5 4
© J 10
¨ 10 3
§ 7 4 3 |
![Bridge deal](../../../graphics/Hand/board3.gif) |
ª A 8
© A K Q 7 4
¨ K 9 4
§ J 6 2 |
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ª J 7 3 2
© 6 3
¨ 8 7 5 2
§ K Q 9 |
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North had elected to open 1©
for systemic reasons and East had overcalled 1NT. After a transfer
he became declarer and South led a heart. Dummy's jack won, and
two rounds of trumps were followed by a string of winning hearts,
declarer throwing dummy's clubs.
At another table, the auction had been more
revealing. North opened 1¨,
Mari overcalled 1©,
South doubled (implying a four-card in spades) and Faigenbaum bid
and rebid spades to become declarer in 2ª.
Against a heart lead, he was in a position to take the immediate
spade finesse and thus ended up with 12 tricks!
Then, there was a board where NS seemed not
to believe how well they had been doing:
Board 4, Dealer West, All Vul.
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ª J 3 2
© K J 5 4 2
¨ K 6
§ J 7 2 |
ª A K 10 8 5
© Q
¨ 8 5 4
§ Q 8 6 5 |
![Bridge deal](../../../graphics/Hand/board3.gif) |
ª Q 9 6 4
© A
¨ Q 10 3 2
§ K 10 4 3 |
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ª 7
© 10 9 8 7 6 3
¨ A J 9 7
§ A 9 |
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West |
North |
East |
South |
Karaivanov |
|
Trendafilov |
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Pass |
Pass |
1¨ |
2© |
2ª |
2NT |
3ª |
4¨ |
4ª |
Pass |
Pass |
Double (!) |
Pass |
5© |
Pass |
Pass |
Double |
All Pass |
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North first made a classic psychic of 2NT
but then looked like getting nervous about his own bidding when
partner doubled 4ª.
As a result, a near top changed into a near bottom, as both 4ª
and 5© have to go
one down. As it was, only few pairs had doubled 4ª...
Board 6, Dealer East, East-West Vul.
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ª A 9 3 2
© Q 7 6 4 2
¨ 9 2
§ 6 5 |
ª J 6 4
© 5 3
¨ Q 10 8
§ A K 10 8 7 |
![Bridge deal](../../../graphics/Hand/board3.gif) |
ª K Q 7
© 10 8
¨ 6 5 4 3
§ J 4 3 2 |
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ª 10 8 5
© A K J 9
¨ A K J 7
§ Q 9 |
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West |
North |
East |
South |
Karaivanov |
Burgay |
Trendafilov |
Mariani |
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Pass |
1¨ |
Pass |
1© |
Pass |
1NT |
All Pass |
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Well, at the table the Italians did not seem
to be too happy with the final contract, but with many pairs going
down in 4© the mp
score was quite satisfactory for them. If the defenders do not lead
clubs against 4©,
which is likely to be the case if East is on lead, the question
arises what would be the best way to try and make the hand. You
can take the diamond finesse hoping to get a club discard, or you
can try to bring down the ¨Q
in three rounds. The latter option works but is clearly the inferior
line, so even without a club lead you are likely to go down in 4©.
Jacek Romanski made an imaginative bid on
this board:
Board 11, Dealer South, None Vul.
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ª J 9 8 6
© 3 2
¨ 10 7
§ K J 6 5 3 |
ª 7 4 3
© A J 4
¨ 9 8 4 2
§ A 9 2 |
![Bridge deal](../../../graphics/Hand/board3.gif) |
ª K 5 2
© K Q 10 9 8 5
¨ Q J 5
§ 4 |
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ª A Q 10
© 7 6
¨ A K 6 3
§ Q T 8 7 |
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West |
North |
East |
South |
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1NT |
Pass |
Pass |
2© |
Pass |
Pass |
Double |
Pass |
2ª
(!) |
All Pass |
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With North's double clearly showing four spades,
the 3-4 fit looks attractive enough as hearts can be ruffed with
the short trumps. On a spade lead to the king and ace, Romanski
settled for a safe nine tricks by drawing just two rounds of trumps
and then playing on clubs, conceding a ruff. Still, +140 was an
excellent score for NS, of course.
Board 13, Dealer North, All Vul.
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ª 8 5 2
© A J
¨ A Q 10 5 2
§ A 6 3 |
ª K Q
© 10
¨ K 9 8
§ Q J 10 8 7 4 2 |
![Bridge deal](../../../graphics/Hand/board3.gif) |
ª A J 10 9 6
© 9 8 7 5 4
¨ J 7
§ 5 |
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ª 7 4 3
© K Q 6 3 2
¨ 6 4 3
§ K 9 |
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Here, the courageous pairs might score 200
in defending 3§
doubled, but would you dare? When two of the leading pairs met,
this is what happened:
West |
North |
East |
South |
Karaivanov |
Birman |
Trendafilov |
Zeligman |
|
1NT |
Pass |
2¨ |
3§ |
Pass |
Pass |
Double |
Pass |
3¨ |
All Pass |
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![](../Photos/Birman.jpg)
David Birman |
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By bidding 3¨
David Birman offered a choice of final contracts, and Shalom
Zeligman was happy to pass it. The §Q
was led and how should South play? Zeligman wanted to save
the §K as
an entry to his hand, so he put up dummy's ace. His next move
was the ¨A.
After a long huddle, he continued with the ¨Q,
thus scooping the jack and drawing level again with those
who would win the §K
and take the straightforward diamond finesse. +130 was good
for NS, certainly with the hearts 5-1, but it might have been
200.
On the next board we saw four completely
different auctions, each time with a different player opening
the bidding.
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Board 14, Dealer East, None Vul.
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ª A 5 2
© 4 3
¨ J 9 6
§ K J 9 7 4 |
ª 9 6 3
© K Q 10 5 2
¨ 8 4
§ A 10 6 |
![Bridge deal](../../../graphics/Hand/board3.gif) |
ª K Q J 7
© J 7 6
¨ A 7 5 3
§ 5 3 |
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ª 10 8 4
© A 9 8
¨ K Q 10 2
§ Q 8 2 |
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West |
North |
East |
South |
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Drijver |
|
De Wijs |
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1NT |
Pass |
2¨ |
Pass |
2© |
Pass |
Pass |
Double |
Pass |
2NT |
Double |
3§ |
Pass |
Pass |
Double |
All Pass |
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2 NT was scrambling, of course. The contract
went one down, NS -100.
At our second table East passed, so it was
South who, according to his pet system, could open 1NT. This was
passed all round and West led the obvious ©K.
Declarer, fearing a spade switch of course, immediately took the
ace and led a club to the jack. When this held, he led a diamond
from dummy. Now East has to rise with the ace to defeat the contract
by one trick. If East ducks, declarer reverts to clubs and makes
his contract, losing four hearts and two aces. That's what happened
at the table; NS +90 was an excellent score for them.
The Bulgarian leaders had different ideas
about this hand again. After two passes, Karaivanov as West opened
1© and East raised
to 2NT, showing limited heart support. West was quick to sign off,
but with hearts as trumps there are always nine tricks, even on
a trump lead. You win the lead, play a spade up and duck a club.
If the defenders do not lead the ©A
and another, you can ruff a club now; if they do, you have gained
a vital tempo to set up the spades and dispose of the diamond loser.
A fourth variation of how to deal with this
hand was shown by Kowalski. At his table, he was in fourth seat
when it went; Pass - Pass - Pass. Understandably, he also passed...for
a very good score indeed!
Board 15, ealer South, North-South Vul.
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ª J 9 6 5
© Q J
¨ 9 8 5 4
§ A 4 2 |
ª 10 8 7 2
© -
¨ 10 6 3
§ Q J 9 8 7 5 |
![Bridge deal](../../../graphics/Hand/board3.gif) |
ª -
© K 10 8 7 5 3
¨ K Q 7 2
§ K 10 6 |
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ª A K Q 4 3
© A 9 6 4 2
¨ A J
§ 3 |
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On this one, a declarer who prefers to remain
anonymous bid and made a slam against defenders who, most likely,
will feel happy when their names are withheld too. South opened
1ª, North raised
to 3ª, East bid
4© and South went
to 6ª without any
further ado.
Now this contracts seems to have no chance
at all, but wait and see! West led the §Q
won by the ace and declarer led a diamond from dummy. East played
low and South inserted the jack, which held the trick. Of course,
declarer knew that the hearts had to be 6-0, but he also knew one
more thing: the defenders might well not think that South might
have hearts as his second suit. Trumps had to be drawn anyway, so
East had to find discards. When he had discarded a third heart on
the third round of trumps, the contract was home, as one heart,
one way or the other, was the only possible loser left. A candidate
for the fluke prize?
Board 21 produced a wild variety of scores.
In the A semifinal, scores went from +50 to -1400 but in the B semifinal
the range was even wider. Scores ran from +300 to -2000...
A remarkable 700 occurred when this was the
auction:
Board 21, Dealer North, North-South Vul.
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ª Q 10 8 7
© 7 6
¨ 7 6 4
§ 9 8 6 3 |
ª K
© K Q J 9
¨ Q 8
§ A K Q 10 7 5 |
![Bridge deal](../../../graphics/Hand/board3.gif) |
ª A 9 5 4 3 2
© 3
¨ K 10 3 2
§ J 4 |
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ª J 6
© A 10 8 5 4 2
¨ A J 9 5
§ 2 |
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West |
North |
East |
South |
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Pass |
2© |
Double |
Pass (?!) |
3§ |
All Pass |
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Well, 2©
showed a weak two in spades or a variety of strong hands, and the
double showed hearts. When West had the courage to pass, North had
a problem. When 3§
came round to West, he realised that this might well go down a lot
more than the 400 or so available to EW in 3NT, so he passed again.
Right he was; on good defence (not so difficult) declarer went seven
light for a score rarely seen since 1987.
On the last board of this report, the Bulgarians
missed a golden opportunity:
Board 23, Dealer South, All Vul.
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ª A Q J 10 5 2
© J 9
¨ K 9 2
§ A 4 |
ª 6
© A
¨ 10 6 5 4 3
§ Q 10 8 6 5 3 |
![Bridge deal](../../../graphics/Hand/board3.gif) |
ª 8 4 3
© 8 5 4 3
¨ A Q J 8
§ K 2 |
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ª K 9 7
© K Q 10 7 6 2
¨ 7
§ J 9 7 |
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West |
North |
East |
South |
Karaivanov |
|
Trendafilov |
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2¨ |
Pass |
2© |
Pass |
Pass |
2NT |
Double |
Redouble |
Pass |
3§ |
3© |
4¨ |
Pass |
Pass |
4© |
All Pass |
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It looks as if Karaivanov did not get the
messages Trendafilov was trying to convey by first redoubling and
then showing good diamond support freely at the four-level. One
would think East was showing serious support here as well as a willingness
to compete further. As you see, 5¨
can be made on the hand. So for once, the leaders did not get a
good result, but they still managed to end the session with a score
of well over 60%.
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