These teams
played the 5th International Team Trials in June 11-18,1999 in Memphis,
Tennessee. The winner would represent the US in the world championship in
bermuda januari 2000. This aricle describes the most interesting deals of the
tournament. Barry Rigal is the author of most of the stuff.
These were the teams:
1. GOLDMAN
TEAM 2.
ROBINSON, Steve
George Jacobs
Peter Boyd
Ralph
Katz Fred
Stewart
Alan
Sontag Kit
Woolsey
Roger
Bates Mike Becker
Peter Weichsel Michael Kamil
(Claude Vogel)
3. WOLFSON, Jeff 4. CAYNE,
Jimmy
Neil
Silverman Chuck
Burger
Michael
Rosenberg Mike
Passell
Zia
Mahmood
Michael Seamon
Chip
Martel David
Berkowitz
Lew
Stansby Larry
Cohen
5. BRAMLEY,
Bart 6.
SCHWARTZ, Richard
Sidney
Lazard Drew
Casen
Howard Weinstein Marc Jacobus
Steve Garner Steve Weinstein
Bobby
Wolff Bobby Levin
Dan Morse Brad Moss
7. DEUTSCH,
Seymon 8. ONSTOTT, John
Billy
Cohen Steve
Beatty
Sam
Lev Ron
Smith
Barnet
Shenkin Mark Lair
Paul
Lewis Billy
Eisenberg
John
Mohan Garey
Hayden
9. RAPEE
TEAM 10. BRACHMAN, Malcomb
John
Solodar Eddie
Wold
Russ
Arnold Curtis
Cheek
Grant
Baze Billy
Miller
Bruce
Ferguson Eric
Greco
Dennis Clerkin Geoff Hampson
Jerry
Clerkin
11. EKEBLAD,
Russ 12. SMITH, Ron
John
Sutherlin Linda
Smith
Gaylor Kasle Bernie Yomtov
George
Steiner Jim
Foster
Fred
Hamilton Allen
Hawkins
Kyle Larsen
13. FINBERG, Richard 14.
MARTEL, Jan
Brian
Ellis Sally Woolsey
Gail
Carns Becky
Rogers
Robert
Zwack Michael
White
15. KRANYAK, Ken
John Kranyak
Gene
Benedict
Bob
Brandow
After the round-robin these were the results in the quarter-Finals
Captain 1-15 16-30 31-45 46-60 61-75 76-90 91-105
106-120 TOTAL
1. Goldman 15 19
43 19 96
8. Ekeblad 31 38
12 24 105
Captain 1-15 16-30 31-45 46-60 61-75 76-90 91-105
106-120 TOTAL
4. Cayne 41 51 6 34 132
5. Bramley 7 15 45
11 78
Captain 1-15 16-30 31-45 46-60 61-75 76-90 91-105
106-120 TOTAL
6. Schwartz 31 17
25 14 87
3. Wolfson 8 7 47 33 95
Captain 1-15 16-30 31-45 46-60 61-75 76-90 91-105
106-120 TOTAL
7. Onstott 44 22
12 10 88
2.
Robinson
9 32 11 30 82
It's Goldman-Cayne, Wolfson-Robinson in the Semifinals
1-15
16-30 31-45 46-60
61-75 76-90 91-105 106-120 Total
Goldman
33 52 17
15 16 22
47 48 250
Cayne
48 23 48
18 27 16
14 27 221
Wolfson
24 40 44
47 19 31
56 31 292
Robinson 58
64 23 42
26 2 4
22 241
So it’s Goldman-Wolfson in the final,
and in one of the most closely contested final matches in recent memory, the
team captained by Jeff Wolfson (Neil Silverman, Michael Rosenberg, Zia Mahmood,
Chip Martel, Lew Stansby) outlasted The
Goldman Team (George Jacobs, Ralph Katz, Peter
Weichsel, Alan Sontag, Roger Bates, Claude Vogel) in the 1999 International
Team Trials to join the Nick Nickell team to represent the U.S. in the 1999
Bermuda Bowl, to be held in Bermuda in January, 2000.
The lead exchanged hands no fewer than four times over
the course of the match, and the two teams were never separated by more than 18
imps until the final score was registered. The Wolfson squad outscored their
opponents 47-25 in the final 15-board segment to add to an 11-imp lead going
into the segment. The two teams were actually within 1 imp, with The Goldman
Team leading, at the end of the sixth segment.
It is a tribute to both teams that before play began
in the match their captains agreed to let the bridge at the table decide the
victor rather than technicalities or appeals. True to their words, not a single
incident marred the match. When the final score was tallied, the teams shook
hands and the losers warmly congratulated the winners, true to
the spirit of friendship and good sportsmanship.
1-15 16-30 31-45
46-60 61-75 76-90
91-105 106-120 Total
Goldman
23 39 33
6 33 35
33 25 227
Wolfson
19 46 12
17 28 46
45 47 260
But enough
small talk, let’s look at some interesting deals. I read them in the daily
bulletins and most of them are written by Barry Rigal, an expert writer.
From the "Greed is a Terrible Thing"
Department Barry Rigal
Are you a disciple of Gordon Gecko ("Greed is
Good") or do you believe in going for the best result possible rather than
the best possible result?
Dan Morse and Bobby Wolff extracted a pound of flesh,
in the form of a non-vulnerable lost undertrick, Friday. But was it worth the strain?
S K 9 2
Dlr: West
H Q 7 3
Vul: E-W
D 5
C K J 10 9 7 2
S 8 3
S 7 4
H A K 10 5 2
H J 8 6 4
D J 10 7 6 3 D A Q 9 2
C 8 C A 6 3
S A Q J 10 6 5
H 9
D K 8 4
C Q 5 4
West
North East South
Morse Wolff
Pass
Pass 1D 1S
2H
3C Pass 3S
4D
4S Pass Pass
Pass
With Wolff East and Morse West the auction went as
shown. Morse led a top heart and shifted to a club. Wolff correctly read this
as a singleton and dutifully played back the C3 -- suit preference for
diamonds. Morse ruffed the club, then paused: Could Wolff have SQx HJxx DKQxxxx
CA3 or the like? If so, unless he cashed the heart now it would go away.
Eventually he
got it right and collected +100. But was that extra
+50 worth the grey hairs for Bobby? At least one table did let through 4S from
precisely this position, so the point is not just an abstract one.
Three from the First QF Segment by Barry Rigal
S K 8 4
Dlr: North
H 10 8 7
Vul: N-S
D A 5
C K J 10 6 5
S A Q 5 S 10 7
H K Q 6 4 H A 5
D Q 8 4 D J 7 6 3 2
C 8 7 2 C A Q 4 3
S J 9 6 3 2
H J 9 3 2
D K 10 9
C 9
The play here was of considerable interest: for
example, when Stansby declared 2NT after a weak NT auction Casen led the C10 and his feeble club spots were good
enough to set up the suit. Stansby put in the queen and played a diamond up.
Casen won and cleared the clubs, eventually scoring up +150.
By contrast, Weinstein-Levin stopped in 1NT after the
unopposed auction Pass-1C-1D-1NT. They scored up +150 on a spade lead to the
queen when the defense failed to set up the spades.
In Cayne-Bramley, Larry Cohen defended 3NT as North
and led a low club. David Berkowitz took the queen and now the clubs were dead;
but David played a spade and Larry won the king, returned a spade, then hopped
up with the DA to clear the spades and set the hand.
In the other room Passell-Seamon as E-W had to deal
with North opening 1C. They reached 3D by East on a competitive auction, and on
the C9 lead Seamon won the CQ and crossed to dummy with a heart to lead a trump
to the jack and king. Although the defense could get a club ruff, that was only
their fourth trick.
On Board 14 Mark Lair as South found a spectacular
swindle to score up 2H. After a mini notrump by Fred Stewart, East, Ron Smith
as North reopened with 2D, a transfer,
and Mark got to 2H. The defense found the trump lead and Lair was in
hand.
S A 10
Dlr: East
H K Q 8 7 6
Vul: None
D Q 3
C J 6 5 2
S K 7 3 S J 9 8 6
H 10 5 2
H
J 4
D K J 10 D A 9 2
C K 7 4 3 C A Q 10 9
S Q 5 4 2
H A 9 3
D 8 7 6 5 4
C 8
What to do next? Well, if you try to take your club
ruff, you will surely never get an eighth trick, although you do get a
seventh winner. But Lair advanced the spade queen at
trick 2! When Woolsey quite reasonably ducked (Stewart followed with the SJ --
just to rub it in!), Lair had his trick and tempo. He switched to clubs and
wrapped up +110.
S J 6 5 2
Dlr: East H 3
Vul: E-W D Q J 5 3
C
K 9 8 6
S 9 8 S A Q 7
H J 9 5
4
H K 10 8 6 2
D 9 6 4
2
D K 8 7
C J 10 3 C A Q
S K 10 4 3
H
A Q 7
D
A 10
C
7 5 4 2
West
North East South
1H Dbl
Pass
1S 1NT Pass
2H
2NT Pass 3C
All Pass
The N-S cards on Board 6 are difficult to judge
precisely. There was a wide disparity in the levels competed to. For instance,
Schwartz-Casen had the auction shown in the diagram above.
On a heart lead round to the king and ace Schwartz
should probably have ducked a trump at once. Instead, he ruffed a heart,
finessed in diamonds, cashed the DA and HQ, then ducked a club. Martel cashed
the CQ, CA, and then gave declarer a ruff and discard setting the hand by
force, whichever hand Schwartz ruffed in.
By contrast, in the match between Cayne and Bramley,
Larry Cohen overshot the mark in the auction but recovered in the play. As
North, Larry jumped to 2S over the double of 1H and David Berkowitz jumped to
game. On a low trump lead Larry guessed to run this to hand and returned a
trump. The defense played a third trump and Larry now ducked two clubs to drop
the ace. One diamond finesse and a ruffing finesse later he had racked up +420.
More from Sunday's Quarterfinals by Barry Rigal
S K 5 4 2
Dlr: East H A 5
Vul: Both D A Q J
10 6
C 7 5
S J 10 S Q 9 8 7
H J 10 7 4 2 H 3
D 7 3 D K 9 8 5 4
C J 9 8 4 C 10 6 2
S A 6 3
H
K Q 9 8 6
D
2
C
A K Q 3
The third set between Robinson and Onstott was a very
quiet affair, but this deal had the potential for a large turnover. Both tables
reached the excellent 6NT – as indeed did most of the rest of the field.
Weinstein-Garner stayed out of the slam to pick up a fortuitous 13 imps. When
Smith as North declared 6NT Becker led a spade and continued the suit when in
with the DK. Now all squeezes were completely dead and Smith went one down.
Boyd had a chance as North after a heart lead. He took the HQ and finessed in
diamonds, and when the defense won to shift to a club, he might well have
reasoned that both the hearts and clubs were offside. That being so, the
winning line is to cash the clubs and hearts at once, then run the diamonds.
That catches East in a simple spade-diamond squeeze. Of course, if either
hearts or clubs are guarded on
his left, he can perhaps play for a double squeeze,
and that is what he did, going one down for a flat board.
S
J 8 5
Dlr: East
H 9 8 7 6 5 4
Vul: None
D K 5 4
C 10
S 10 6 4
2 S A 9 3
H 3 H K J 10 2
D A Q 9 8
2 D J 3
C Q 8 3 C K 9 7 6
S K Q 7
H A Q
D 10 7 6
C A J 5 4 2
Levin as North reached 3H after Rosenberg as East
opened a weak NT and Zia bid spades as West. Rosenberg led the SA and continued
the suit. Levin was in dummy and played the CA and ruffed a club, finessed in
hearts, ruffed a club, cashed the HA, and ruffed another club. Now he went over
to dummy's spade winner and had reached the crossroads:
S ---
H
9
D K 5 4
C ---
S 10 S ---
H --- H K J
D A Q 9 D J 3
C --- C
---
S ---
H ---
D 10 7 6
C J
If Rosenberg had the DA he could be endplayed with a
club to lead away from it. If Zia had the DA, playing a club would not work --
Rosenberg would ruff, draw the trump, and leave Zia with two winners. Levin got
it right; Rosenberg had already shown his weak NT values by then. When he led a
diamond from dummy it would do Zia no good to rise with the ace and play a
spade; Levin could ruff in and still collect his DK at the end.
Only the DJ lead beats 3H I think: When Wolff found
this lead against Seamon-Passell it was one of the few pickups of the set for
Bramley.
S Q 8 6
Dlr: South
H Q 8 4 3
Vul: E-W
D 9 8 7 6 5
C 7
S J 7 5 S A 10 4
H A J 10 6 5
2 H K
D --- D
Q J 4 2
C A K 10
3 C Q J 9 5 4
S K 9 3 2
H 9 7
D A K 10 3
C 8 6 2
Six clubs looks an excellent contract here – though
the bad heart and club splits mean that it is by no means cold. Zia and Michael
reached the best spot after a slight misunderstanding: is 1H-2C-4D Keycard,
Exclusion Blackwood, or a void? Well, at least now they know! (Mind you, one
other eminent pair reached the giddy heights of 7C after a very similar
accident.) Steve Weinstein on lead knew about dummy's diamond void so he
carefully resisted leading the suit, but his choice of a spade turned out to
set up declarer's twelfth trick. On a top diamond lead declarer can (which is
not to say that he will) succeed by ruffing out the diamond suit and giving up
a spade.
S
J 10 8 4 2
Dlr: West
H A Q 7 3
Vul: E-W
D J 5
C A 6
S 7 5 S K 6 3
H J 9 8 5 H
K 6 2
D 8 6 3 D Q 10 9 7
C K Q 7 5 C J 9 3
S A Q 9
H 10 4
D A K 4 2
C 10 8 4 2
Martel declared 4S on the D10 lead, and could have
made his life a lot easier by running the lead to his hand. But he hopped up
with the ace to take the hearts finesse, and eventually maneuvered to score his
small trumps in hand while ruffing the hearts in dummy.
Levin received a club lead. He took the ace, crossed
to a diamond, and finessed in hearts. Rosenberg accurately shifted to a trump:
Levin won the ace, cashed the HA and ruffed a heart, then played the DK on
which Rosenberg contributed the queen. Now Levin ruffed the third diamond high,
ruffed the fourth heart, and in the ending:
S J 10 4
H ---
D ---
C 6
S 7 S
K 6
H --- H ---
D --- D 10
C K 7 5 C J
S ---
H ---
D 4
C
10 8 4
led dummy's diamond. Zia ruffed in with the S7 and
when Levin overruffed, he had to lose the last three tricks. (If declarer
discards his club here he can still survive.)
Meanwhile, Passell, on the Cayne team, received an
initial trump lead. He put up the queen and led a diamond to the jack and
queen. Back came a second trump and he overtook in order to be in hand to lead
a heart to the ten and jack. He won the club return, cashed the DAK to pitch
the club loser, drew the last trump, and then guessed well to duck a heart and
then play off the HA to drop the king. Passell's line was perhaps based on the
idea that East's opening trump lead was unlikely to be based on two or three
small hearts and the king of trumps.
Mark Lair displayed his excellent card-reading skill
yet again to bring home a highly delicate slam after some exuberant bidding had
got him to the stratosphere.
S 4 3
Dlr: West H A 6 4 3
Vul: Both D K 8 5
C
9 7 4 3
S 10 9 6 S K 7
H 9 H Q J 7 5 2
D 9 4 D J 6 3 2
C Q J 10 8 6 5
2 C A K
S A Q J 8 5 2
H
K 10 8
D
A Q 10 7
C
---
West
North East South
Smith
Lair
Pass
Pass 1H Dbl
3C
Pass Pass 3S
Pass
4H Pass 6S
All Pass
On the heart lead Lair won in dummy to finesse in
trumps, then returned to the dummy with the DK to repeat the finesse. Now he
ran all the trumps and cashed the DA to produce a classic strip-squeeze:
S ---
H 6
D 8 5
C 9
S --- S ---
H --- H Q J
D --- D J 6
C Q J 10 8
6 C K
S 2
H K 8
D Q 10
C ---
On the last trump Becker was forced to relinquish his
CK and now two rounds of hearts forced him to lead a diamond into the tenace,
for the contract and a 13-imp pickup.
S A J 10 9 6 2
Dlr: South
H 6
Vul: None
D 10 6 4
C 8 7 2
S K Q 8 S 7 5 4
H 10 7 3 H K Q 8 5
D A Q 9 3 D J 8 2
C A J 6 C K 10 3
S 3
H A J 9 4 2
D K 7 5
C Q 9 5 4
Bart Bramley found an imaginative line to come home
with his thin game here. He reached 3NT in two bids after opening a strong NT and
was favored with a spade lead round to his hand. He played a heart to the
queen, ran the DJ (covered all around), then played a second heart to discover
the bad news. He ducked this round to South, who had to decide which suit to
play. Since it was unclear to him which black ace his partner had, he opted to
shift to a club. Now Bramley cashed out three rounds of clubs ending in dummy
and had to guess who had the D10. While South's failure to play diamonds
indirectly suggested possession of that card, straight mathematics made North a
slight favorite to hold it. Bramley played the odds by cashing the DQ and
exiting with a diamond, endplaying North to give him a spade trick and an entry
to the thirteenth diamond for nine
tricks. Well done!
S K Q J 10 6 3
Dlr: North
H K 9 5
Vul: None
D 8 6
C 3 2
S A 4 S 8 5
H A 7 6 3 H J 10 8 2
D 9 4 2 D A Q 10 7 5 3
C K J 8 6 C A
S 9 7 2
H Q 4
D K J
C Q 10 9 7 5 4
Four hearts is the ideal spot here, although 5D has
some sort of play. The eight-card fit looks the soundest game. Steve Beatty
found a way to 4H from the East hand, and on the predictable spade lead he took
the SA, unblocked clubs, crossed to the HA, and cashed the CK to pitch his
spade. Now he took the losing diamond finesse and Steve Robinson found the
excellent shift to the C10. (If he plays a spade, declarer ruffs and exits with
a heart and is in control.) Beatty had to guess whether to play North for Cxx
or CQxx -- both were possible on the play thus far. He guessed wrong by ducking
in dummy
and ruffing in hand. Now he exited with a trump and
another spade tapped him out. The best he could do was to lead winning
diamonds; Boyd ruffed the third round and exited with a spade, leaving dummy
with a losing club at the end for down one.
In the Wolfson-Schwartz match, Rosenberg played 4H on
a spade lead and set out to get a count on the hand before committing himself.
He guessed to win the spade ace, crossed to the CA, and advanced the HJ, run to
the king. The defense cashed their spade winner and shifted to a diamond.
Rosenberg went up with the ace and exited with a diamond, and South won and got
off
play with a club. Rosenberg took the king and ruffed a
club, thus getting a complete count on the North hand as 6-3-2-2. So he knew it
was correct to play South for a now-bare heart. Had North been 6-2-2-3
Rosenbergwould have tried to pin the H9. Nicely done.
Fool Me Once Shame on You Fool Me Twice ...by Barry Rigal
Bart Bramley and Bruce Ferguson fought out a duel on
Saturday; it finished with honors even when Bruce tried to go to the well once
too often. This was the first part of the story (hands rotated for convenience
to make South declarer).
None vul. Dealer North.
S
A K Q 3
H - -
-
D 7 5
C A K T 8 5 4 3
S
J 4
S T 9
H
K J 7 5 3
H Q T 8 4
D A J T 3 D
K Q 9 8 2
C J 2 C
Q 7
S 8 7 6 5 2
H A 9 6 2
D
6 4
C
9 6
When Howard Weinstein and Steve Garner were N-S
against Ferguson's teammates (the Clerkins) their auction started 1C-(1D)-1S.
Now, when West introduced his hearts, Weinstein made two slam tries but stopped
in 5S when Garner denied a diamond control. No such subtlety for
West North East South
- Ferguson -
Baze
- 1C 1D 1S
2S 3D Pass 3S
Pass 4D Pass 4S
Pass 6S All Pass
Having accomplished his mission of sounding like a man
with a diamond control, Bruce happily leapt to slam. One can hardly blame Bart Bramley
too much for leading a heart. That meant 13 tricks for The Rapee Team and of
course bragging rights for Bruce. However, the time for retribution was not far
away.
Towards the end of the evening session along came the
following deal:
None vul. Dealer West.
S
A Q 9 3
H K Q J 3
D 3
C K 9 7 4
S 7 4 S
T 2
H T 9 8 6 4 2 H - -
-
D 8 7 D
A K J T 6 5 4 2
C A Q J C
T 6 2
S K J 8 6 5
H A 7 5
D Q 9
C
8 5 3
The field was sharply divided in their results here. A
fair number of players with the East cards simply sacrificed in 5D at their
first turn. This was a very sensible idea since this contract was not much worse
than the club finesse -- although admittedly one might not expect to find dummy
with so much in declarer's first-bid suit. But at the two tables in the grudge
match different routes were followed. When Ferguson and Baze held the E-W cards
Lazard opened 1D, Baze jumped to 4D, and Lazard reopened with a take-out
double. Bramley converted to 4S to end the auction and Ferguson led the CQ.
Bramley
looked askance at this, said "You are not
going to fool me twice!" and then put up the king!
The result at the other table was equally bizarre.
Jerry Clerkin opened the North hand 2D to show a three-suiter with short
diamonds and Garner overcalled 3D only. Now Denny Clerkin jumped to 4S (less strong
than 3S) giving Weinstein a choice of leads, and he too solved his problem by
starting with the CQ. Here Denny could hardly be blamed for ducking, and now
Weinstein took the two heart ruffs for two down and an 11-imp pickup.
Of course at other tables (for instance where
Berkowitz was sitting West facing Larry Cohen) the more mundane defense of a
heart lead allowed the defense to collect the two aces and the two ruffs, but where
would the story be in that?
The Round of Eight: The (Almost) Final Countdown by
Barry Rigal
Going into the final 30 deals, two of the matches were
still in the balance. I watched Onstott take on Robinson, and saw Beatty and Onstott
recover somewhat from a terrible first four deals to hold the loss on their set
to 10 imps. But those first four deals had been very painful.
The first hand saw John Onstott take a couple of
rational but expensive decisions. First of all he picked up SAJ32 H95 DA5432
CK5, and heard Woolsey on his right open 4H (he had a Namyats 4C opening available
for a stronger hand). Pass or bid? Onstott, swayed by his excellent hand for
Poker, doubled, and that ended the auction. The question now on the lead is
which ace to lead -- or is a trump best?
The answer is, "None of the above."
The winning shot is the CK. Had Onstott found that he would have beaten the
game and collected the 1999 ESP award, but in reality he was never going to do
that. This was the full deal:
None vul. Dealer South.
S K Q T 8
H
3 2
D
K Q J 8
C
A 7 6
S A J 3 2 S
9 7 5 4
H 9 5 H
K 8 6
D A 5 4 3 2 D T
7 6
C K 5 C
Q 9 3
S 6
H A Q J T 7
D 4
C J T 8 4 2
Then Woolsey-Stewart had a bidding accident of sorts
to reach 4H after a strong 1C from Stewart, and Onstott was on lead. Holding
SJ9642 H6 DJ1098 CAKJ and having bid and supported spades to the three-level,
he decided to lead a spade immediately rather than a club (I am not sure that
this decision is entirely defensible) and found that the club lead was
essential to set the hand. This was the full deal:
N/S vul. Dealer West.
S
A 8
H
A 2
D A K 4 2
C Q T
9 5 4
S J 9 6 4 2 S Q
T 5
H 6 H
K Q 8 5
D J T 9 8 D
7 6 5
C A K J C
8 7 3
S
K 7 3
H J T
9 7 4 3
D Q 3
C 6 2
Note that on a top club lead the ensuing defense is
not trivial: If East has a trump trick and the SK, a spade shift may be
essential at trick two. Perhaps East should echo in clubs to ensure a
continuation? On the spade lead Woolsey arranged to ruff a spade in dummy and discard
a club on the top diamonds to register +620 for a 12-imp gain.
When, on the very next deal, Beatty took a flier with
an advance sacrifice against a strong club and went for 500, his side was 28
imps in the hole on the set after three deals. A misdefense to 1NT then cost
another 5 imps. However, they settled down thereafter and recovered some at
their table to enter the final set down only 13 imps.
Meanwhile, Team Goldman had lost its comfortable lead
against Ekeblad and their margin was down to "only" 22 imps
as the final set began. It would be a traumatic set for most of the N/S pairs,
who were destined to go plus on only a couple of the 15 boards -- if their opponents
made the right decisions. And that was generally the case where the featured
players were involved. The boards were also very stimulating.
Both vul. Dealer East.
S
J T 8 7 4
H
Q 8 4
D
K 9 8 3
C
7
S Q 9 5 S - - -
H A T 9 2 H
K J 7 5 3
D A D
Q J 7 6 5 4
C Q J T 9 5 C 8
6
S A K 6 3 2
H 6
D T 2
C A K 4 3 2
Eisenberg and Hayden started well when they got away
with an uncontested auction here; they played 4S and when the bad trump split came
to light, Eisenberg played a diamond to the king and collected +620. Since
Lair-Smith had competed to the five-level and doubled 5S for +200 after
overcalling with the West cards and competing with 4NT over 4S, they collected
13 imps for Onstott. By contrast for the Ekeblad team, Hamilton- Larsen had also
bid on to 5H but had been doubled there for -200; a good position except that
in the other room 4S had inexplicably gone one down. That meant 7 imps for The
Goldman
Team rather than 10 imps the other way. Everybody
missed a grand slam that turned out to be a five-or-seven hand (and might have
been construed as such at at least one of the four tables) on a finesse for the
HK. Then came a pivotal board for the Ekeblad team.
N/S vul. Dealer West.
S Q 4
3
H 6 4 2
D T 8 7 2
C Q 7 3
S 9 6 S
A J T 5
H A 9 8 7 3 H K
Q 5
D K 9 3 D A J 6 5 4
C A J T C
2
S K 8 7 2
H J T
D Q
C K 9 8 6 5 4
While 6H is excellent, one can imagine missing it very
easily. Katz and Bates played 4H making +480. If that was undercooking it, contrast the result by
Hamilton-Larsen, who played 7H from the West seat. Of course on a club lead
declarer has it easy. He takes the ruffing finesse in clubs, unblocks hearts,
crosses to the DK and draws trumps, then ruffs out the diamonds. No problem.
But try it on a diamond lead, as Larsen got! Now the communications are shot
and the best he could do was to rise with the DA to ruff a club and then hope
for miracles. None were forthcoming: the DQ came down, trumps were three-two,
but that was still only 12 tricks.
A couple of boards later Becker and Kamil played 2H
down on a six-zero fit after a weak-two opening whereas Smith-Lair found their
six-three club fit for +130. At this point Onstott had recaptured the lead
while Goldman looked comfortable. The next deal reduced that comfort zone a little.
N/S vul. Dealer South.
S
A T 9 8 2
H
2
D K 9
7 6 4
C T 6
S K S
6 4
H K Q T 8 H
J 6 5
D A T 5 3 D
Q J 8
C Q 9 7 5 C
A J 8 3 2
S
Q J 7 5 3
H
A 9 7 4 3
D 2
C K 4
Both tables in Goldman-Ekeblad played 5C doubled as a
sacrifice over 4S. When Hamilton got the D2 lead he smelled a rat, and put up
the ace to draw trumps and escape for -300. Bates received the same lead and also
sniffed the air for a while, but finally decided to take the finesse. Disaster!
The roof fell in on him and a quick cross-ruff later the defense had collected
all four of their trumps separately and recorded +1100 for a 13-imp pick-up.
E/W vul. Dealer
South.
S
Q T 9 4
H
A K Q 5
D K 5
C T 8 5
S
K J 8 5 3 2
S 7 6
H
3
H J 8 7 4
D
7 6 4
D 3 2
C
9 6 4 C
K Q J 7 2
S A
H
T 9 6 2
D A Q
J T 9 8
C A 3
Both pairs in Onstott-Robinson missed the grand slam
here. Remarkably on the top club lead there was no way to make more than 11
tricks! This was therefore a push board. (Most tables saw South use RKCB and count
the tricks when North produced the HAKQ. After 1D-1H-4D-5D-6H Hayden did not
raise Eisenberg to seven. Personally, I think if partner can bid a slam off the
three top heart honors you owe him a courtesy raise.) A large payment has been
dutifully pocketed by the Bulletin staff who have mercifully decided not to
publish the names of the N-S pair in another match who stopped in 4H here and
picked up a slightly less-than-merited 11 imps for their pains.
Both vul. Dealer West.
S
K Q 6 4 2
H
T 5
D
A 4 2
C
T 7 3
S A J T S
9 8 7 3
H 4 2 H
A K Q 9 3
D Q T 9 D
K 8 7
C
J 8 6 5 2
C K
S 5
H J 8
7 6
D J 6 5 3
C A Q 9 4
What is there about that North hand that would
persuade you to enter a live auction? Ekeblad backed in after 1H-1NT-2D-2H and
Bates sawed him off with the East cards. Best defense nets +800 I think (the
ace and king of hearts, followed by a low one ruffed by West, start scoring all
the E-W trumps separately). In fact, the defense only collected +500, but that
was good enough for 9 imps. Hayden also backed in to the Becker-Kamil auction
but he was not doubled and escaped for -100.
Coming to the final deal, Goldman had sewn up his
match while Onstott led by 9 imps. There was still plenty of drama out there,
though!
None vul. Dealer West.
S T 9
7 5 3 2
H Q 5
D 4 3
C Q J 4
S Q 8 S
K
H 9 8 3 H A J T 7 6
D Q T 9 6 2 D A
K 8
C 7 5 3 C
K T 9 8
S A J 6 4
H K 4 2
D J 7 5
C
A 6 2
Lair and Smith collected +50 with the E-W cards
against 4S, but Becker-Kamil bid to 4H (1H-Dbl-2H- 2S-4H). Consider the effect
of a diamond lead. Declarer wins in dummy and finesses in hearts. To beat the
hand, South must duck! Now declarer can be denied an entry to dummy to cash the
diamonds. Of course a club lead or shift after cashing the SA beats the hand by
force. But Eisenberg led a heart and now there is no defense to the game.
Declarer has the entry to dummy he needs and enough discards on the diamonds so
as to have no problems. So Becker racked up +420 for a 9-imp pick- up -- tieing
the
match. It would be extra boards, the final score being
179 all after 128 boards -- the lowest score that I can recall ever having seen
in a match of this length.
Three from the Semifinals by Barry Rigal
N/S vul. Dealer West.
S
9 7 6 2
H A Q 6 2
D A 8
5 4
C T
S K Q T 8 S
A J 5 4 3
H 5 H
K J T 8 4
D J T 9 6 2 D Q
C J 5 2 C K 4
S - - -
H
9 7 3
D
K 7 3
C
A Q 9 8 7 6 3
West North East South
Passell
Katz Seamon Jacobs
Pass Pass 1S 3C
4S Dbl All Pass
In The Goldman Team versus Cayne, Michael Seamon made
a far-sighted deceptive play which he was later up to capitalizing on -- big
time. Against 4S doubled George Jacobs started with the CA, on which Seamon dropped
his...king! George eyed this with suspicion but decided to believe declarer and
shifted to a low diamond. Had he found the heart shift Ralph Katz would still have
had a chance of finding the underlead of the DA to George's king to obtain a
club ruff. But the diamond shift put the fate of the contract squarely on
Seamon's shoulders. Katz won his DA, cashed the HA, and continued with a second
diamond. Seamon ruffed and later guessed to ruff out
South's DK to obtain a pitch for his club loser for a nifty +570.
Not satisfied with this Seamon started the second
segment with another savvy bit of declarer play.
West North East South
- Seamon - Passell
Pass 1H Pass 2D
Pass 2H Pass 2NT
Pass 3D Pass 3H
Pass 3NT All Pass
E/W vul. Dealer West.
S
J
H
A J 9 7 6
D
A 9 8 5
C
J 7 6
S T 9 8 5 3 S A
K 7 6
H Q 8
H T 5 4 3 2
D Q 7 4 D
2
C 9 8 5 C
A 4 2
S
Q 4 2
H
K
D K J
T 6 3
C K Q T 3
West led the S9 to the jack and king and East returned
a low spade. Michael overcame his first hurdle when he rose with the queen and
it held. On the HK he noted the fall of the eight from West and, needing this
to be shortness (specifically queen doubleton), inferred that West would have
longer diamonds. He backed his judgment by cashing the DK and finessing West
for the queen on the next round. When the HA brought down the queen of that
suit he had nine tricks without touching clubs and another nifty Bulletin hand
for us to admire.
N/S vul. Dealer North.
S J 5
H J 8 7 4 3
D J T
C A K Q 9
S
K T 6 4 3 2
S Q
H 9 H
A K 6 2
D 6 2 D
A 9 5 4 3
C T 8 5 2 C
7 6 4
S A 9 8 7
H Q T 5
D
K Q 8 7
C
J 3
West North East South
- Katz - Jacobs
- 1H Pass 1S
Pass 2C Pass 2D
Pass 2S Pass 3H
Pass 3NT All Pass
On the lead of a low diamond Ralph Katz had no trouble
collecting nine tricks and his contract. At the other table Peter Weichsel was defending
4H and led the DA, then switched to the SQ. Declarer won the ace, played a
diamond to the jack, cashed the CK, and led his C9 to dummy's jack. The DK was
ruffed and overruffed and declarer then erred by ruffing his third club in
dummy (he does better to cash his third club and then ruff the fourth) and
cashing the DQ to pitch his losing
spade. When he then tried to ruff a spade back to his
hand he ended up two down for -200 and a 13-imp gain for The Goldman Team.
The Semifinals: Day 2 by Barry Rigal
The semifinals of the ITT featured stunning reversals of
fortune on the last day of the matches. The Robinson team entered
with a reasonable lead over Wolfson and increased it
in the first stanza, but Wolfson held their opponents to just 6 imps in the
next two stanzas while scoring 87 imps themselves; then they increased their
lead in the last session to win by what looked to be a deceptively comfortable
margin. In the sixth set, Zia and Michael Rosenberg had a huge card. The
following deal emphasizes that occasionally Zia's magic can achieve a result
which, to the naked eye, would seem impossible.
N/S vul. Dealer South.
S 5
H
T 4 3
D
K 9 8 5 2
C
K 9 5 2
S A 9 8 S
K Q J 6
H 9 8 2 H
A K J 7
D J T D
Q 6 4
C Q T 8 7 6 C J
4
S T 7 4 3 2
H
Q 6 5
D
A 7 3
C
A 3
Zia played 3NT after the auction 1D-1NT-2NT-3NT and
that put North off the diamond lead. The H3 went to the jack and queen; things
were not looking good. Back came a spade (South reasonably did not want to open
up the minors) and Zia won in dummy and passed the D10 -- well why not? North
took his king and shifted to clubs, again not absurd. South won the ace and
returned the suit. Has anyone done anything wrong yet? Zia followed with the
C10 on the second round of the suit, sacrificing
a club trick to make it look as if his hand was Sxxx H98 DAJ10xx CQ10x. Can you
blame North for winning the king and returning the suit. Bingo! Nine tricks! Meanwhile
in the other match, Cayne was retaining his lead in the sixth set but Ralph
Katz was working hard for Team Goldman...
E/W vul. Dealer
North.
S
K
H K J 8 4
D K 6 3
C
A J 9 6 2
S A T 8 5 4 S Q
J 7 3 2
H 5 2 H
A Q 7
D A T 5 D
Q J 8
C K Q T C
7 4
S 9 6
H
T 9 6 3
D
9 7 4 2
C 8 5 3
The field found this one relatively easy. After North
opened 1C all the Easts overcalled in spades and then drove quickly or slowly
to game; the only issue was overtricks. But Katz opened the awkward North hand
1NT and froze both East and West out of the auction. All he collected was three
tricks but look at the vulnerability. Minus 200 was not a great return with
+620 available. In the seventh set I watched Martel-Stansby play virtually
flawlessly against Boyd-Robinson. One hand where they gave their opponents some
slight leeway was the following:
N/S vul. Dealer North.
S
6
H
A Q 6
D
A J 7 6 5 2
C Q T 7
S A Q T 9 2 S 7
5 4 3
H J 9 2 H
T 7 5 3
D T 8 3 D
K Q 9
C
K 3
C 5 2
S
K J 8
H K 8 4
D
4
C
A J 9 8 6 4
These days bidding minor-suit games can be seen almost
as a confession of lack of machismo. Here, while 5C is excellent, real men get to
play 3NT -- also by no means a poor contract. On the auction 1D-(P)-2C-(2S)-3C-P-3NT,
Stansby was going to be well placed on a spade lead, as actually happened. Note
that West's likely alternative lead is a heart. But it would be taking things
to extremes, would it not, to double 3NT with the East cards for a diamond
lead. I suppose it just happens to work -- although South could always wake up
and run to 5C anyway. Robinson led a spade and continued the suit, hoping his
partner had the SJ; that was 660.
At the other table, Stewart-Woolsey bid (unimpeded)
against Zia-Rosenberg: 1D-3NT-4D-4NT-P. A spade was led and South made ten tricks.
Then, on the final deal of the set, Robinson had a
very tough auction when his opponents timed their sequence just right.
E/W vul. Dealer
North.
S
4
H K Q
J T 9 2
D Q 5
C J T 7 6
S A K 8 7 3 S Q
J T 6
H 8 7 H
6 4
D K 6 4 2 D
A T 9
C A 2 C
K 9 5 3
S
9 5 2
H
A 5 3
D J 8 7 3
C Q 8 4
Martel opened the North hand 3H and Stansby raised to
4H. With those West cards would you double (intending to do what when partner
bids 5C) or would you bid 4S and damn the torpedoes? Robinson passed and collected
+150 in painful undertricks against the +620 that was rightfully his.
West North East South
Zia - Rosenberg -
- 3H Pass 4H
Dbl Pass 4S All Pass
The 4S game made five, +650 for Zia-Rosenberg.
Team Goldman had moved into an 8-imp lead against
Cayne, and I watched Katz-Bates take on the two Mikers, Seamon and Passell. Both
pairs played well, but in the final analysis the set hinged around two slams.
N/S vul. Dealer East.
S
Q 3
H J 8 7 4 2
D 9 7
C A 9 6 5
S J 9 S
A K T 8 4
H A Q T 9 5 3 H K 6
D 4 D
A K 5 3 2
C
J 8 7 4
C 2
S 7 6 5 2
H - - -
D Q J T 8 6
C K Q T 3
West North East South
Passell Katz Seamon Bates
- - 1S Pass
1NT Pass 3D Pass
3H Pass 4H Pass
5H Pass 6H All Pass
When Seamon forced to game and raised hearts (note no
4C cue-bid)Passell played him for a mountain. His try for slam was a little optimistic;
Seamon knew that the rest of his hand was a little bare but he had no real
choice but to obey orders. The defense led a top club and shifted to diamonds. Then
the question was whether there was a way to avoid going three down. In the end
the defense prevailed and collected +150. Not important you say, but at the
other table where 4H was the contract after a strong club auction, the trick
was far more important. Here the defense began with two rounds of clubs; not
such an accurate start. Declarer ruffed, cashed the HK to find the bad news,
then took all the ace-kings in dummy, observing the fall of the SQ. Now he
could lead a top spade and discard his club loser. North could ruff but
declarer was down to all trumps and had just one trick to lose. Plus 420 meant
11 imps to Team Goldman.
Both vul. Dealer South.
S K
H Q J T 9 2
D K Q 8
C T 8 4 3
S Q 6 5 S
A T 9 3 2
H 8 5 H
K 7 4
D 7 6 5 4 3 D J
T 9 2
C
7 5 2
C J
S J 8 7 4
H A 6 3
D
A
C
A K Q 9 6
Cayne held the South cards and heard his partner
respond 1H to 1C. After a support double of the 1S overcall he heard Burger
jump to 4H -- not an especially strong bid, more preemptive I assume. Cayne weighed
his hand for a long time before deciding to pass. By contrast, Bates took a far
more aggressive position with the South cards. He also doubled 1S and over
Katz's jump to 3H he tried 4D, then bid 5H over the signoff. Katz unwillingly
had to bid on but carefully offered 6C as an alternative trump suit and Bates
was only too happy to accept. On the spade lead and devious heart shift by
Seamon, Bates
finessed and made his contract.
Those two boards essentially constituted the margin of
victory -- Cayne needing to get both right to win the match.
The Finals: Day 1 reported by Barry Rigal
Segment one was relatively unremarkable, but one deal
did catch my attention:
N/S vul. Dealer West.
S
T 7 3 2
H
Q 9 2
D 6 4 3
C
A K 6
S K Q 6 S
J 8 4
H 8 4 H
K J 7 6 5
D A Q J 8 7 D T
9 5
C J 3 2 C Q 4
S A 9 5
H
A T 3
D K 2
C T 9 8 7 5
West North East South
Wolfson Jacobs
Silverman Vogel
Sontag Martel
Weichsel Stansby
1D Pass 1H Pass
1NT Pass 2H All Pass
The auctions were identical at both tables and both
Souths led a club. Silverman won the third club and played a heart to the jack
and ace. Vogel cashed the SA and played a fourth round of clubs, Jacobs ruffing
with the queen and overruffed with the king. That established two additional
trump tricks for the defense for -50. At the other table, after two rounds of
clubs, Martel switched to a spade. Stansby won the ace and reverted to clubs,
Peter Weichsel pitching a diamond. At Trick
5 Weichsel played the H4 from dummy and passed it to
Stansby's ten! Now there was no trump promotion and the defense was finished. Plus
110 was worth 4 imps for The Goldman Team -- their exact margin of victory
(23-19) in the segment.
None vul. Dealer West.
S
T 9 7 6 3
H
9
D T 9 7 3
C Q 7 5
S A Q 2 S
K J 8 4
H A Q 4 H
K T 5
D Q 8 D
A 4 2
C K J 8 4 2 C A T 3
S 5
H J 8 7 6 3 2
D K J 6 5
C 9 6
West North East South
Silverman Katz Wolfson Bates
Vogel Rosenberg
Jacobs Zia
1C Pass 1S Pass
2NT Pass 6NT All Pass
Midway through the second segment both E-W pairs
reached 6NT with the D10 lead. Silverman ducked to Bates' king, won the diamond
return, cashed three rounds of hearts (Katz pitching a diamond then a spade) followed
by four rounds of spades (Bates pitching hearts) and the DA, and now had to
read the three-card ending. Perhaps Katz's early diamond discard convinced him
that North had started with five of that suit, and thus only two clubs. He
finessed Bates for the CQ and lost
14 imps when Vogel got it right in the other room.
E/W vul. Dealer
North.
S
Q T
H T
D A J 6 2
C A K 8 6 5 4
S A J 9 3 S
7 6 5
H A Q 8 6 3 2 H K J
7 4
D T 4 D K Q 8
C T C
J 7 3
S K 8 4 2
H
9 5
D
9 7 5 3
C
Q 9 2
West North East South
Silverman Katz Wolfson Bates
- 1C Pass 1S
2H 3C 3H Pass
4H All Pass
Katz led the CA against Silverman's 4H contract
followed by a low club, jack, queen, ruff. Trump were drawn in two rounds
followed by a diamond to the queen and a second club ruff. North won the next diamond
and exited a diamond and Silverman had two possible lines: (1) play South for
the S10 or (2) cash the SA and play North for honor doubleton in case his low
spade is the ten. Neil wisely chose the latter and scored up +620. In the other
room, Zia took a rather peculiar view and saved in 5C, which turned out to be
the winning action (assuming West would have found the winning play in spades).
West North East South
Vogel Rosenberg
Jacobs Zia
- 1C Pass 1S
2H 3C 4H 5C
Dbl All Pass
5C went down two for -300 and an 8-imp pickup for
Wolfson.
None vul. Dealer South.
S
J T 6 4
H
A K 2
D
8 6 4
C
A 9 2
S 8 7 3 S
K Q
H Q T 8 H
J 9 6 5
D K D
T 9 7 2
C K Q J 7 5 4 C 8 6
3
S
A 9 5 2
H 7 4 3
D
A Q J 5 3
C
T
West North East South
Silverman Katz Wolfson Bates
- - - 1D
2C Dbl 3C 3S
Pass 4S All Pass
Bates received the CK lead against his 4S. He won the
ace and tried the losing diamonds finesse, and back came a second club, tapping
him. Now he played the S9 from hand, East winning and returning a diamond for
West to ruff. West got off lead with a third club and South was automatically
down one. In the other room a heart was led against the same contract (from the
North side) and Michael Rosenberg won and played the SJ. When the queen
appeared he won the ace and played a second trump to the ten and king, won the
heart return, drew the last trump, and cashed the DA. When the king came down
he was able to ruff the fourth diamond, pitch a club, and lost only a spade and
a heart for +450.
None vul. Dealer North.
S
J 9 7
H T
D A Q J T 9 4
C A 6 4
S A K Q 2
S T 6 5 4 3
H A K 7 3 H
9 4
D
- - -
D K 7 6 3 2
C T 9 7 3 2 C 8
S 8
H Q J 8 6 5 2
D
8 5
C
K Q J 5
West North East South
Silverman Katz Wolfson Bates
Vogel Rosenberg
Jacobs Zia
- 1D Pass 1H
Dbl 2D 2S 3D
4S All Pass
With both tables in 4S, the opening lead was key. Bates
led a diamond and Wolfson carefully discarded a heart from dummy. Katz won the
ace and shifted to a heart. Wolfson won in dummy and ducked a club to Bates,
who gave Katz a heart ruff. But now Jeff had the time and trump entries to set
up the clubs. By contrast, at the other table Zia led a trump. Jacobs won in
dummy and ducked a club to Zia, who shifted to the HQ. Jacobs ruffed a club and
then led a second heart which Rosenberg ruffed. Now Jacobs had no diamond
winner for his game-going trick. On the next deal Roger bates handled his
delicate 4S contract very carefully, finding a fine line of play.
N/S vul. Dealer North.
S 9 4
H J 4 2
D T 3
C K J T 7 5 3
S Q S
7 6 3 2
H
Q T 9 8 6
H K 7 3
D 8 6 4 D
A Q J 7
C A 9 8 6 C
Q 2
S
A K J T 8 5
H
A 5
D K 9 5 2
C
4
West North East South
Silverman Katz Wolfson Bates
- - 1D Dbl
1H 2C Dbl 3S
Pass 4S All
Pass
Is 3S forcing? Ralph Katz thought so. A heart lead
might have made things impossible but on a diamond lead and heart shift Bates
went up with the HA and played a club. Silverman took his ace and played two more
rounds of hearts. Bates ruffed, led the DK and ruffed a diamond, then cashed
the CK and observed the fall of the CQ. Since Wolfson had three hearts,. four
diamonds, and apparently only two clubs, he must have four spades. Thus, the
only chance was the singleton SQ. Bates
played a trump to the ace and was pleased to see the
queen fall; his contract was home.
"I guess 3S was forcing."