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.
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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 |
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ª 10 4 3
© 9 8 6
¨ K 10 5 2
§ 9 3 2 |
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ª A K 9 8 7
© 5 4 3
¨ A 9
§ A Q J |
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Kali Karaivanov |
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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.
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This was the first board:
Board 15, Dealer South,
North-South Vul.
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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 |
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ª J 4
© 6 2
¨ K 10 8 3
§ K Q 5 4 3 |
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ª K 10 9 5
© A K 8 7
¨ 6 5 4
§ 8 6 |
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West |
North |
East |
South |
Mariani |
Karaivanov |
Burgay |
Trendafilov |
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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.
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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 |
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ª A 8
© K 9 7 6 4
¨ K J 9
§ J 10 7 |
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ª K 9 7 2
© 5 3
¨ 8 3
§ Q 8 6 4 3 |
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West |
North |
East |
South |
Mariani |
Karaivanov |
Burgay |
Trendafilov |
1§ |
1¨ |
1© |
Pass |
2© |
Double |
Redouble |
2ª |
Pass |
Pass |
3© |
3ª
( !) |
All Pass |
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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.
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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 |
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ª A 8 4
© 4 2
¨ 9 8 6 5 3
§ A 8 4 |
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ª 9 6 5
© 10 7
¨ 4
§ K J 9 7 5 3 2 |
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West |
North |
East |
South |
Rinaldi |
Popova |
Pulga |
Gunev |
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1§ |
Pass |
1¨ |
Pass |
1© |
Pass |
3§ |
All Pass |
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Dessy
Popova |
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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.
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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 |
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ª
K 7
© K 8 6
5 2
¨ J 7 5
§ 10 9 6 |
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West |
North |
East |
South |
Rinaldi |
Eginton |
Pulga |
Nelson |
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Pass |
1NT |
Double |
Pass |
Pass |
2¨ |
2ª |
All Pass |
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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.
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