Swiss Teams Round 13

by Marjo Chorus and Jos Jacobs

For the report on the final qualification round, again we won’t have a look at France. They scored 75 V.P. from their last three matches, after starting the day with a severe 6-24 loss, to rise to 4th so their qualification seems a matter of time now not losing heavily in their last match. It’s too early days for them to call it “un jour de gloire” (that’s only for winning the final) but a most remarkable recovery it has been!

In the meantime, USA Blue had been soldiering on very well all day to lead the field by 31 V.P. with one match to play. That’s why the directors kindly invited them to meet the last-placed team in their last match, according to the WBF policy based on an old Italian and also Hungarian and Indonesian tradition but possibly unknown in some other parts of the world.

For this report, we will have a look at two matches very much around the no. 8 spot: Netherlands red (pretty safe 3rd on 216.5) v. Ckis Skawina (10th on 195) and also the Netherlands Girls (6th on 202) v. Noname (joint 7th on 200).

This was board 1:

Board: 1. Dlr: North/None
	♠ K J 5 3 ♥ J 10 9 8 6 5 3 ♦ Q ♣ K
♠ 9 7 4 ♥ A 4 ♦ 10 9 6 3 ♣ 9 8 4 3		♠ A 2 ♥ 7 2 ♦ A K J 7 2 ♣ A Q 10 6
	♠ Q 10 8 6 ♥ K Q ♦ 8 5 4 ♣ J 7 5 2

Open Room

The strong variety of the Polish Club got a little unsettled when Tim Verbeek overcalled 3♥. After that, the Poles landed in 5♦ in which a trick in each side suit had to be lost. NL Red +50.

Closed Room

In the Closed Room, North opened 2♣ showing majors. It quickly turned out that this was not the sort of hand on which NS should be too active. Marion Michielsen had little trouble in expressing this as her final opinion about this board.

Down four, NL Red +800 for a flying start: 13 IMPs.

Board: 3. Dlr: South/EW
	♠ 10 5 ♥ 10 8 3 ♦ 9 8 5 2 ♣ A K 10 6
♠ K Q 3 2 ♥ J 7 6 5 ♦ J 3 ♣ 8 5 4		♠ A J 9 7 6 4 ♥ A K Q ♦ - ♣ J 7 3 2
	♠ 8 ♥ 9 4 2 ♦ A K Q 10 7 6 4 ♣ Q 9

Open Room

The auction here was really poker-style. Verbeek raised to 5♦ and then doubled the 5♠ save, clearly the right thing to do as even 5♦ should go down. Molenaar did not trust his defensive values and went to slam a dubious action according to East. Verbeek did the best he could in trying to convince West to save again by redoubling but to no avail, when West eventually decided to pass. Down three, +1000 to Ckis Skawina.

Closed Room

Zmuda for Ckis Skawina opened a gambling 3NT, much more the nature of his hand. North’s 5♦ concluded the NS auction and Drijver could only double. Down two, +300 and the par result but still 12 IMPs back to Ckis Skawina. In the other match, the NL Girls led 6-0 when this same board came up:

Closed Room

When Judith Nab courageously bid 5♠ over 5♣ (convertible), Dekkers raised to slam. This was not a good idea and cost 500 when North doubled for down two.

Open Room

:

In the Open Room, the auction was much slower. Jamilla signs off in 4♣ and Serdar simply bids 4♠. Now, North has an easy save but West bids 5♠ in front of his partner’s double. One down, +100 for NL Girls but still 9 IMPs to Noname. Low numbers of IMPs were scored in both matches on most of the following boards but this clearly was not so on the penultimate one:

Board: 9. Dlr: North/EW
	♠ A K 8 6 4 ♥ - ♦ 9 6 2 ♣ A 10 8 5 4
♠ 10 3 ♥ 9 8 5 4 3 ♦ A K J ♣ K 6 3		♠ Q J 9 2 ♥ J 10 7 2 ♦ Q 8 7 3 ♣ J
	♠ 7 5 ♥ A K Q 6 ♦ 10 5 4 ♣ Q 9 7 2

West, on lead against the rather normal contract of 5♣, found both a double and an easy lead. After the defenders cashed their three diamonds, declarer did well to run the ♣Q, thus making the rest of the tricks. Still, she was one down, +100 to Noname.

Closed Room

In the Closed Room, North was declarer and now, for East is was mandatory to find the diamond lead. When she led a heart instead, declarer could dispose of three diamond losers and went on to make his contract in comfort. Noname +400 and 11 IMPs. The final score in the match thus became 26-16 or 18-12 V.P. They were through and NL Girls, much to their disappointment, finished on the dreaded 9th place. What we got to see in the other match, was real drama:

Open Room

The 2♣ rebid showed either clubs or any 16+ hand and 2♦ was a further relay. The meaning of some of the subsequent bids will remain unclear forever. The unintentional final contract went down two, +100 to Ckis Skawina.

The Polish Club seemed not to cope with these NS hands very well either. Bob Drijver found a nice double of what very much looked like the final contract of 4♠. Zmuda, however, had another string on his bow; he quickly converted to 5♣, doubled by Michielsen. All would have been well now, had Drijver simply (?) led a diamond. When he led the ♣J instead, trying to stop the spade ruffs, declarer soon had 12 tricks and a score of +650, good for 13 IMPs. There was nothing in the last board, a routine 3NT. The final score in this match thus became 27-22 or 16-14 V.P. to Ckis Skawina, not enough for them to qualify but more than enough for NL Red to maintain their 3rd rank.