| 21st European Youth Team Championships | Page 6 | Bulletin 3 - Saturday 14 July 2007 |
Breathtaking Encounters of the Dutch Junior Team by Kees Tammens I firmly believe that all captains and coaches hope that their pairs will start the championship in a quiet and solid way. But I also know that juniors will take every opportunity to shock the people that accompany and support them. As coach as well as journalist I hoped to find some time in the beginning of the tournament to notice fine hands. This plan seemes to fail because my team needs all my attention. So I call upon the assistance of the participants. Juniors and girls who notice a nicely bid hand, skilful declarer play or killing defence from themselves, their partner, teammate or opponent, are invited to report that hand to the editor of the bulletin. I am sure we (BS&KT)will create some nice awards as brilliancy prizes. In the match from the second round Denmark gave the Netherlands a hard time, leading with four boards to go. Then the Dutch fought back to lead with one board to play.
South, Dutch junior Jacco Hop had to lead against this rather optimistic grand slam. The line of play after a trump lead is not obvious but it seems likely declarer will win in dummy, ruff a spade, club, spade, club and spade to make thirteen tricks. Clubs don’t break but spades are 4-4. Jacco avoided this by putting a diamond on the table, removing the necessary entry to cash the thirteenth spade. That was 17 IMPs for the Netherlands who bid and made 6♥. This difference of 30 IMPs helped the Dutch to a 23-7 victory. England gave the Netherlands another big fight and succeded in a slam where the Dutch declarer went for a different line of play. After a nice bidding sequence, Hop/de Pagter reached the Moysian fit on this next deal from Round 3.
fter 2NT, West showed the singleton in hearts and East, Vincent de Pagter, knew 3NT was no longer an option. So the choice of 4♠ was logical. With the bad break in clubs, however, making ten tricks was for from easy. Vincent took ♣J at the first trick with ♣A and played immediatly a second club. South ruffed and played ♥K for the ace folowed by a third club, again ruffed by South. Now probably the mistake, South cashed ♦A which was the end for the defence (♥Q would lock declarer in dummy. The Netherlands really needed the 12 IMPs from this board (3NT went one down at the other table), as even with this swing they still lost the match 10-20 VPs. In Round 4 was the ‘Derby of the lage landen’ between Belgium and the Netherlands. The pairs from the south started horribly in the first three rounds but against their neighbours from the north they really put up a fierce struggle. The first half was all Belgium who took the lead by 41-1! Again a slam hand turned the match around:
After North’s cuebid of 5♣ South, Jacco Hop asked with 5NT for two top diamond honours. That was easy for North who bid the ice-cold grand. The second ten boards in this battle had an orange colour so the people from the north pulled the match their way, winning by 59-47 IMPs, 17-13 VPs. |
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