March 2007

♠
♥
♦
♣

Editor: Matthew Granovetter

The Magazine for People Who Love to Play Bridge

Yokohama Quiz
See how you would do on these challenging problems from last month’s
NEC tournament in Yokohama. — page 10

Also:

2 The Red Pencil

Sayanora to ...
Equal Level Conversion

5 Kantar’s Korner
by Eddie Kantar

22 Israel Teams Championship

by Pietro Campanile

31 Bridge Yesterday
Roth and Stone

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Bridge Today • March 2007
The Red Pencil
by Matthew Granovetter
Equal Level Conversion
Equal Level Conversion — it sounds so
eloquent, even a bit religious. Some just
call it ELC. It sounds also very democratic.
When it applies to bridge bidding, it is “all
the rage” despite the fact that it may have
been introduced first in bridge literature
by Robert Ewen, of New York, in his 1973
publication, “Doubles for Takeout, Penal-
ties, and Profit” (although he did not give it
the trendy name). The following hand is on
page 25 of the book:*
You
♠KJ97
♥64
♦AQJ982
♣8
Your RHO opens 1♥. What is your call?
“After a 1♥ opening bid by your RHO,
you would like to try for a spade contract
by making a takeout double, but you would
also like to advertise your powerful dia-
mond suit by overcalling. Since you are
fortunate enough to hold your length in the
two higher-ranking unbid suits, you can do
both. First, make a takeout double; if part-
ner responds in spades or (improbably) in
diamonds, all will be well. If he misguidedly
mentions clubs, however, simply direct his
attention to the other two unbid suits by
converting to diamonds.”
*Thanks to bridgeguys website for pointing it out.
page 2
You
♠KJ97
♥64
♦8
♣AQJ982
Switch the minor, and ELC doesn’t apply.
You can’t correct diamonds to clubs at the
same level, unless you’re Houdini.
Notice something that you usually don’t
see when someone is explaining ELC? There
are six diamonds in Ewen’s hand, to the ace,
queen, jack, nine. That is what you might
call a safe harbor. Users of ELC today will
do it with weaker harbors. Such as:
You
♠AK97
♥A4
♦Q5432
♣65
Over 1♥, they are not in the least put
off by that Qxxxx suit. They double 1♥,
planning to convert clubs to diamonds at an
equal level.
Now there are some who use ELC when
a minor is opened and they have 5-4 in the
majors. Not willing to overcall the five-card
major, they double first....
Bridge Today • March 2007 page 3

You West (you) East (partner)

♠KJ97 ♠432 ♠AK97
♥AQJ64 ♥K32 ♥A4
♦8 ♦76 ♦Q5432
♣982 ♣ K Q 10 9 2 ♣65

Over 1♣ by RHO, they double, plan- West North East South

ning, if naughty partner bids diamonds, to — 1♥ double 2♥
correct to hearts and mean it as a minimum 3♣ pass ?
hand. I should note here that there are a
number of ELC players who play it only
from clubs to diamonds — they always Let’s try this one:
promise a good hand when correcting to the
major. If you do decide to play ELC after North (you)
reading this article (you probably won’t), at ♠A873
least don’t play it into a major. Here you ♥632
can simply overcall 1♥ and partner is there ♦—
with a responsive double if he has spades or ♣Q87642
may bid spades himself and you could then
raise without a qualm. West North East South
pass pass 1♠ double
Now, I would now like to introduce read- 2♠ ?
ers to a few bridge problems that ELC play-
ers hope and pray will never come up at the Would you pass? No, I think you would
table, or have never thought about: bid 3♣. And if partner now made an ELC
to 3♦, you wouldn’t mind, would you?
West (you)
♠432 OK, let’s get back down to the two level
♥K32 where it’s safer.
♦76
♣ K Q 10 9 2 West (you)
♠A32
The bidding goes: ♥97532
♦7
West North East South ♣ K 10 9 2
— 1♥ double 2♥
? West North East South
— 1♥ double pass
Do you bid 3♣? Please don’t glance at the ?
sample hands given so far. You know you
bid 3♣ any day of the week, at any vulner- Do you respond 1♠ or 2♣? Probably you
ability at any scoring. Partner surely has respond 2♣. You’re only thinking 1♠ after
nice club support and certainly not: reading the first pages of this article. I’m
sorry I scared you. Of course, when partner
bids 2♦ and the next hand doubles, you
will run to 2♠, right? Or will you?
Bridge Today • March 2007 page 4

What if partner has our famous first il- Good-bye Yellow Brick Road
lustration:
Just say “No!” Or if you have already
West (you) East said, yes, get that red pencil out, folks, and
♠A32 ♠KJ97 put a line through Equal Level Conversion.
♥97532 ♥64 You’ll be so glad you did. Here’s a nice bid-
♦7 ♦AQJ982 ding mishap, using ELC:
♣ K 10 9 2 ♣8
You
West North East South ♠ A K 10 3
— 1♥ double pass ♥432
2♣ pass 2♦ double ♦ A K Q 10 2
? ♣7

Better to stick it out in 2♦ doubled. West North East South

— — pass 1♥
Now let’s go to the four level just for double pass 2♣ pass
fun…. 2♦ (all pass)

The bidding starts: So what went wrong?

West North East South Partner held:

— 1♠ double 3♠ ♠Q4
? ♥ J 10 7 6
♦J3
You hold as West: ♣A6543

♠432 This time you make 3♦ but you missed

♥ Q 10 3
♦4
♣K87654
Is there any vulnerability or scoring in
which you would venture 4♣? Cannot part-
ner have a normal takeout double, such as:
3NT. Why? Because partner didn’t know
how strong you were.
If, however, you were not playing ELC,
your sequence would show extra values,
and your partner would come back with a
2NT call over 2♦. It would be that easy.

♠5 Finally, some of you are asking, what do

♥AJ65 you do when you don’t have extra values,
♦A532 when you want to enter the auction but
♣ A 10 9 2 cannot because you have red-penciled ELC
off your convention card?
In which case, your side is on a finesse
for a slam in clubs. But you didn’t let the
fear of ELC stop you from bidding 4♣, did
you?!
Bridge Today • March 2007 page 5

You West North East South

♠ A K 10 3 — — pass 1♥
♥432 pass 1♠ pass 2♦
♦ A 10 9 7 6
♣7 You are not unhappy. Sometimes North
raises hearts and you get another chance:
West North East South
— pass pass 1♥ West North East South
? — — pass 1♥
pass 2♥ pass pass
One idea is to slip in a four-card overcall ?
in a major, if the major is strong. I do it all
the time. I rarely get burnt. Some hate to Now you have to judge the position, scor-
do this. Some prefer to pass 1♥ and await ing and vulnerability more astutely. It’s not
developments. In the words of some great perfect, and there are no perfect formulas,
bridge sage: The auction is not over. Pass- but once hearts are raised you have a safer
ing can work just fine. Sometimes when you entrée into the auction, knowing partner
pass your opponents bid your two suits: is short there. Good luck, and see you next
month with my red pencil.

South dealer North

Kantar’s Korner All vul ♠KQx
♥Kxxx
by Eddie Kantar ♦Kxx
♣KJx
East (you)
N ♠Jxxx
W E ♥x
S
♦ 10 8 7 2
I get letters and some pose interesting ♣Q9xx
problems. For example: How would you
play 4NT in this sequence? South West North East
3♥ double 4♥ pass
West North East South pass double (all pass)
3♣ pass pass 3♦
pass 3 NT pass 4♠ Right or wrong (it looks right when you
pass 4 NT? see the dummy) you decide to pass 4♥
doubled. Partner leads the ♦A. Which dia-
mond do you play? In other words, do you
And this.... give attitude or count?
Bridge Today • March 2007 page 6

Here are my answers: with a high diamond, the correct defense

if declarer has one more diamond and one
West North East South less club. However, if West suspects East has
3♣ pass pass 3♦ four diamonds, he will surely shift to a club
pass 3 NT pass 4♠ at trick two.
pass 4 NT?
East thought that it was an attitude situ-
I thought 4NT was to play. It turned out ation and, because he wanted a club shift,
North had a spade fit and was asking for he played a low diamond. West continued
keycards. Assuming 4NT is natural, North with a diamond and the contract was made.
has to cuebid or raise spades to show slam From East’s point of view, declarer has 10
interest. South had: tricks if he has a 2-7-2-2- pattern, so he
must project either a 2-7-3-1 or a 1-7-2-3
♠Kxxxx (3-2) pattern in declarer’s hand. In either
♥A case partner needs count to know what to
♦AKxxxx do next.
♣x
Editor’s Note: For those playing Obvious
The second one is also interesting. The Shift carding, this could be one of the ex-
full hand: ceptions to the rule of attitude at trick one.
In this case, count is important because we
South dealer North have a cash out position. The only danger
All vul ♠KQx is whether both players can read that it’s
♥Kxxx a cash-out position. Since they may not, I
♦Kxx think that East should signal attitude and
♣KJx West must guess the position.
West East (you)
♠ A 10 9 x x ♠Jxxx * * * * *
♥x ♥x
♦AQJx ♦ 10 8 7 2 Here’s an interesting card combination:
♣ A 10 x ♣Q9xx
South North
♠x AJ32
♥AQJxxxx
♦xx West East
♣xxx Q 10 4 K87

South West North East South

3♥ double 4♥ pass 965
pass double (all pass)
Say West decides to attack this suit
West was hoping East would give count knowing the distribution. If West attacks
so he would know whether to continue with the 10, a form of surrounding play, he
triumphs. Lacking Q-10-8, West must find
the K-8-7 in partner’s hand to compensate.
Bridge Today • March 2007 page 7

North North
AJ32 J9x

West East South

Q 10 4 K85 Q x x (x)

South The hand has been stripped and this is

976
This time if West attacks with the ten
and the jack loses to the king, the suit is fro-
zen. East-West must wait patiently for their
second trick in the suit. However, East may
not know this as partner may have led from
the Q-10-7.
North
AJ32
a side suit in which you can only afford
to lose two tricks. Case (a) you started with
four cards in the suit and you know they
each have three cards remaining. Have you
considered leading the jack from dummy,
winning when East has A-10-x, K-10-x
or 10-x-x, losing when West has the same
holdings? The vigorish comes in when East
does not cover with something like A-x-x or
even A-K-x, and if he does cover with
A-K-x, he may err and cash the other hon-
or.

West East Yes, yes. This play works much better

Q 10 4 K75
South
986
In this layout, West cannot afford to
lead the suit and must be sure to cover the
8 with the 10. Assuming the 10 is covered
by the jack and king. the suit is once again
frozen. East cannot lead the suit safely after
winning the king, and West cannot lead the
suit later. And if South leads the 9 later,
West must cover to promote partner’s 7. Of
course, how is each defender supposed to
know what spot cards the other holds? I’m
telling you, this bridge is a tough, tough,
game.*
And here’s another combination worth
mulling over.
*Perhaps West should cover the 8 with the queen,
clearly freezing the suit for partner. — editor
against a non-expert East, but it is food for
thought. But isn’t a big part of this game
inducing defensive errors, particularly from
non-expert players? Why do you think you
see the same names appear in the winners’
circle, particularly in pair games. They know
how to induce errors.
Case (b) You started with Q-x-x in the
suit and you know that the original layout
of the suit was 4-3 and you know which
defender started with the length. If East
started with the length, lead the jack, play-
ing East for the 10. If West started with the
length, lead low to the queen and low to the
nine, playing West for the 10.
* * * * *
Whenever you run into an awkward bid-
ding problem, are you compelled to dream
up a bidding convention to cover it? I have
had that problem over the years....
Bridge Today • March 2007 page 8

Take this sequence: Furthermore, if you have an exceptional

two-suiter (don’t hold your breath) with the
West North East South other minor and hearts something like:
1♦ 2♠ double 2 NT
♠x
What should 2NT mean? ♥ K J 10 x x
♦x
It can’t be natural. No way can the 2NT ♣ A Q 10 9 x x
bidder have enough to invite game in
notrump in this sequence. You might try 2NT and then 3♥ over
3♣. Good luck. Maybe you will find a nice
Nor can it be a game try in spades; a 3♦ fit. However, if partner has six spades and
cuebid is how you would do that. four diamonds, I don’t know you.

Going a little further with this sequence, * * * * *

3♣ or 3♥ (in the modern game) after the
double shows enough of a hand to raise to How should third hand play when part-
3♠ plus a strong desire for a lead in the bid ner leads the king, dummy has A-x-x and:
suit. For example, bid 3♣ with: (a) dummy plays low, (b) dummy plays the
ace.
South Axx
♠Jxx
♥xx K ?
♦xxxx
♣AKJx
There are several considerations. First
The question now arises as what to bid and foremost is the bidding. In an ideal
if you actually have clubs without spades? situation the opening leader is known to
(It is unlikely you will have hearts after the have a five-card suit and third hand known
negative double.) to have three. In this case, third hand can
afford to give suit preference (unless dum-
For example: my has A-9-x or A-10-x and third hand has
♠x 10-x-x or J-x-x.) Keep in mind declarer is
♥ J 10 x x known to have a doubleton.
♦x
♣AQJxxxx This agreement can lead to some elo-
quent defenses....
Surely you would want to bid 3♣, but
how? Simple: 2NT should be played as
a transfer to the three level of the unbid
minor.
Bridge Today • March 2007 page 9

Matchpoints North Dummy

South dealer ♠A73 Qxx
None vul ♥9654
♦ K 10 2 K ?
♣K85
West East Time for another suit-preference play.
♠KQ864 ♠J92
♥8 ♥73 Matchpoints North
♦963 ♦AQJ4 West dealer ♠Q75
♣QJ96 ♣7432 E-W vul ♥J93
South ♦K732
♠ 10 5 ♣982
♥ A K Q J 10 2 West East
♦875 ♠AK92 ♠ 10 8 6 3
♣ A 10 ♥82 ♥K754
♦954 ♦86
South West North East ♣ A Q J 10 ♣K63
1♥ 1♠ 2 ♠ (1) double (2) South
4♥ (all pass) ♠J4
♥ A Q 10 6
(1) limit raise or better ♦ A Q J 10
(2) stolen bid ♣754

Opening lead: ♠K West North East South

1♣ pass 1♥ pass
Assuming dummy plays low, East’s high- 1♠ pass 2♠ 3 ♦*
est spade, the jack, asks for a diamond shift, (all pass)
the middle spade, the 9, asks for a continu-
ation, and the lowest spade, the deuce, asks *Thou shalt not let them play at the two level in a
for a club. Given this layout (of course, I set 4-4 fit.
up this hand to sell my argument), it takes
a diamond switch at trick two to defeat the Opening lead: ♠K
contract. Otherwise declarer can easily strip
the hand and lead a diamond to the 10.* East plays the ♠3 at trick one, and if
South believes and shifts to a club, the de-
The same logic prevails when third hand fenders can take three clubs and two spades.
raises a second suit and partner leads the If West leads a red card, declarer can ar-
king (king from ace-king in supported suits) range to draw trumps and pitch a club from
and dummy tables with the queen. dummy on his fourth heart.*

To be continued in a future issue. Ciao.

*Editor’s Note: OS carding works here if East realizes
the OS is clubs. So East plays the ♠J for the un-obvi-
ous switch suit: diamonds. Not as smooth as Kantar’s
suit-preference but gets the job done.
*Editor’s note: Finally a hand where OS carding
works smoothly too. Thanks, Eddie! The low spade
says switch to the Obvious Shift suit, opener’s bid
suit.
Bridge Today • March 2007
Yokohoma Quiz
by Barry Rigal
In recent years there would be little
argument from the cognoscenti that the
best Daily Bulletin at any tournament, be
it a world championship, international, or
national event, has been produced by Eric
Kokish and Rich Colker at the NEC tour-
nament in Japan.
The reason for this is the combination of
quality and quantity – the bulletins aver-
age 25 pages of two-column analysis from
the 60 or 64 boards of the day, necessitating
enormous amounts of work both from them
and the staff who assemble the raw data.
This year Eric was unable to attend the
championships, so I was deputed to try to
fill those size-12 shoes. It was not my first
visit to Yokohama — I had attended the
world Championships in 1991 – but it was
hard to recognize the neighbourhood, as
what had been an outpost of Yokohama
was now the centre of a thriving metropolis.
That made eating all varieties of Japanese
food considerably less of a trek — which
was an excellent thing since the routine
for the day involved rising at 8:30 to be in
place at 10 a.m. for the start of play, then
working through with short breaks for
lunch and dinner, to a typical end of work-
day at 3 a.m.
The good news was that Rich and I
nearly matched Eric for quantity – I’m not
prepared to commit myself on the issue of
quality – and we were able to report on a
spectacular number of well-played deals as
well as the occasional missed opportunity.
page 10
The event consists of a round-robin —
this year of 47 teams — with eight matches
of 20 deals over the best part of three days,
reducing to eight teams. Then there were
two 32-deal quarter-finals and semi-finals,
followed by a 64-board final. The finals
constituted one of the better-played matches
I’ve watched; Netherlands defeated Poland/
Russia 114-109, the low score giving an
indication of the quality of the match. This
is particularly so, given that both teams are
on the active side in the auction.
The deals that follow will try to give you
a feel for the event; I will set you a series
of problems, duplicating the problems that
the players had at the table. I have rotated
deals to make South declarer.
1. Round II
North
♠AKJ
♥ J 10 8 6
♦Q43
♣875
South (you)
♠8765
♥53
♦K92
♣ A K J 10
For reasons best known to yourself you
find yourself in 3NT (you have shown a
weak notrump and nothing about your
shape at all) on the lead of a low club to
East’s queen. Plan the play.
Bridge Today • March 2007 page 11

2. Round III Should you win or duck the lead of the

♦Q? Say you duck and a diamond is con-
East dealer North tinued, and you win. What should you do
N-S vul ♠865 at the next trick? Say you run the ♣J, and
♥Q5 much to your surprise, it holds. Play on.
♦A82
♣ J 10 7 6 4 3. Round IV
♦Q
South (you) South dealer North
♠AQ2 E-W vul ♠KQ
♥K98643 ♥ 10 3 2
♦93 ♦ J 10 6
♣K2 ♣A8753
♥4
West North East South South (you)
1♦ pass 1♠ 2♥ ♠J984
double (all pass) ♥AK7
♦A4
Playing 2♥ doubled on an auction where ♣QJ92
you might expect the sky to be falling in,
you are charmed at the sight of an excep- As South you reach 3NT on the lead of
tionally good dummy – in context. a fourth-highest ♥4. You put up dummy’s
ten and East covers with the jack. Plan the
play.

4. Round VI

East dealer North As East you respect your partner’s double

Both vul ♠A42 of 4♠ — albeit with some tiny misgivings,
♥A2 and on the lead of ♥10 you and South
♦ A 10 8 6 2 follow low as declarer takes the ace, leads
♣KQ9 a trump to his king, and to your pleasure
East (you) leads a club up. You ruff the king and try
N ♠ 10 9 the ♥Q, on which South pitches a dia-
W E ♥KQJ976543 mond, and West a club. You have already
S
♦J5 taken two tricks yourself – not bad! What
♣— should you do next?

West North East South

— — 4♥ pass
pass double pass 4♠
double (all pass)
Bridge Today • March 2007 page 12

5. Round VII 6. Round VII

South dealer North East dealer North

E-W vul ♠KQ2 N-S vul ♠Q42
♥AJ7 ♥Q73
♦862 ♦ A 10 7 6 4 2
♣6542 ♣3
East (you) West (you)
♠4 ♠85 ♠K986
N N
W E ♥K96 ♥A64 W E
S S
♦ J 10 5 4 3 ♦KJ5
♣QJ7 ♣ 10 9 2

South West North East South opens a 14+-17 1NT and North
1 NT pass 3 NT (all pass) bashes 3NT. Your fourth highest spade lead
goes to the 2, jack and ace. Declarer leads
Defending 3NT as East, you see part- the ♦Q from hand; cover or duck?
ner lead an unreadable spade – let’s say a
fourth highest ♠4. Declarer wins the ♠J in If you cover, declarer wins in dummy
hand and passes the ♥10, on which your and leads a diamond back to his ♦9 as
partner’s ♥5 (if the start of an echo) might partner follows twice. Again, do you win or
suggest a switch (Reverse Smith). Do you duck?
win or duck? And what do you play?
If you duck, declarer leads a heart toward
dummy’s ♥Q; you won’t be surprised to
hear my next question — win or duck? And
if you win, what should you play now?

7. Round VIII

South dealer North As West you elect to lead a diamond

E-W vul ♠A975 since you expect dummy to have four
♥7 spades (what would you lead)?
♦865
♣KQ863 Declarer gives some thought to the play
West (you) to trick one. He takes partner’s ten with the
♠ Q 10 3 2 king, and leads ♣J from hand; the sight of
N
♥862 W E your ♣9 leads to another long pause. Even-
S tually he overtakes, and leads a spade to the
♦A974
♣95 ♠J and your ♠Q. What now?

South West North East

1 NT pass 2♣ pass
2♥ pass 3 NT (all pass)
Bridge Today • March 2007 page 13

8. QF 1 bid 2♦ to show a heart raise. Double on

your left, 2♥ from partner, 2NT on your
South dealer • N-S vul right, raised to 3NT on your left. When
this comes back to you, do you pass, double,
West (you) or sacrifice?
♠ A 10 9 5
♥ 10 7 6 5 West North East South
♦K — — — pass
♣ K 10 9 3 pass 1♦ 1♥ double
2♦ double 2♥ 2 NT
West North East South pass 3 NT pass pass
— — — pass double pass pass redouble
pass 1♦ 1♥ double ?
2♦ double 2♥ 2 NT
pass 3 NT pass pass Assuming you try to exert your machis-
? mo by doubling (LHO is after all a lady) it
goes back to RHO who redoubles – express-
At favorable vulnerability you pass in ing doubt. Do you see any reason to change
second seat, and hear 1♦ on your left, 1♥ your mind?
from partner, double on your right, and you

ANSWERS
1. South dealer North a diamond trick and at least one more spade
Both vul ♠AKJ trick. With four top losers it appears you
♥ J 10 8 6 need the spade finesse and the break; not
♦Q43 so, as Ravenna demonstrated when he led a
♣875 heart to the jack and king at trick two.
West East
♠Q3 ♠ 10 9 4 2 Back came a club and he took a spade
♥AQ72 ♥K94 finesse, which held, then cashed his top
♦ A 10 8 5 ♦J76 spades, finding East with four. Undaunted,
♣932 ♣Q64 he then took the remaining club winners,
South pitching a diamond from dummy. West
♠8765 pitched a club on the third spade, and then
♥53 two diamonds on the third and fourth club,
♦K92 coming down to ♥A-Q-7 and ♦A-10. Had
♣ A K J 10 West kept three diamonds and two hearts,
declarer would have led to the ♦Q and
How would you fancy your chances in then West would have been endplayed with
3NT as South here? That was where Pablo a heart to lead diamonds. But Ravenna
Ravenna, of Argentina, found himself knew that he needed West to have all the
after an auction that should probably be key cards, so he led a heart. When West
kept concealed under the 25-year hazard- followed with the 7, declarer put up the 10
ous waste legislation. On a club lead to the and claimed nine tricks when it held.
queen, he won in hand and had to develop
Bridge Today • March 2007 page 14

Ravenna’s line was dangerous, I suppose, Old fogies like myself mourn the loss of
in that he might have gone down when the a penalty double, in Support Double posi-
cards were lying perfectly. But he reasoned tions. Then again, with a hand like West’s
that the defenders would never be able to I believe you are supposed to pass 2♥ and
work out how to cash their five winners, only sit for the double if partner reopens.
and he might give himself an extra chance
if the cards lay like they did. The fact that Ino bought the sort of dummy on this
this line works does not make it right…but auction that suggested he must have done
you have to give him credit! something good in a past life. He ducked
the diamond lead and won the next, then
2. The match between D-MaTK of Japan ran the ♣J. When it held, he ruffed a dia-
and Netherlands gave us very little taste of mond and exited with the ♣K. Bakkeren
what was to come. Netherlands were com- won and played the ♠J which went round
prehensively outplayed in a low-scoring to Ino’s queen. Ino cashed the ♠A, led a
match, this hand being the major gain for heart to the ♥Q, ruffed a club, and got out
Japan: with a spade, in the process reducing both
himself and Bakkeren (West) down to three
East dealer North trumps, for the endplay, and a mighty +670.
N-S vul ♠865
♥Q5 Bakkeren’s duck of the ♣A was the fatal
♦A82 error. He needs to win and exit with any-
♣ J 10 7 6 4 thing but a trump to prevent declarer from
West East reducing his own trumps sufficiently for the
♠J9 ♠ K 10 7 4 3 coup.
♥ A J 10 7 ♥2
♦ Q J 10 5 ♦K764 Since 3♦ made a peaceful +130 in the
♣A83 ♣Q95 Closed Room when West passed over 2♥
South and East balanced with 3♦, that was 13
♠AQ2 imps to Japan.
♥K98643
♦93 3. Here is my favorite deal from the
♣K2 Round Robin, because it features one of
those rare occasions when virtue is re-
West North East South warded. The declarer who played the wrong
Bakkeren Imakura Bertens Ino line was defeated when the cards lay badly
1♦ pass 1♠ 2♥ and the opponents defended well, while the
double (all pass) declarer who played it right was victorious.

Both tables in Yamada-Poland/Russia

bid to 3NT by South:
Bridge Today • March 2007 page 15

South dealer North For Poland/Russia, Balicki led a heart,

E-W vul ♠KQ keeping the defense in the game. Declarer
♥ 10 3 2 put up the ♥10 and won Zmudzinski’s ♥J
♦ J 10 6 to take the club finesse. Zmudzinski won as
♣A8753 Balicki had followed with the ♣10 — Re-
West East verse Smith, asking for a switch — and
♠A52 ♠ 10 7 6 3 shifted to diamonds! Balicki won the ♦K
♥Q654 ♥J98 and reverted back to hearts, establishing
♦K987 ♦Q532 two tricks there. (As the cards lie, he could
♣ 10 4 ♣K6 also have returned a diamond.) Now when
South (you) declarer knocked out the ♠A West could
♠J984 cash out for down one. Nicely done!
♥AK7
♦A4 But declarer had opened the door to East-
♣QJ92 West by playing clubs before spades. Here it
would seem that you want to keep East off
The Japanese West led a diamond, which lead for precisely the reason that a diamond
allowed declarer to win in hand, when East shift might hurt you, and the losing club
covered, and take a club finesse. South finesse will surely give East the chance to
eventually led spades to set up his ninth switch. The point is that if East has both
trick without risk, once diamonds had been critical black honors, your choice of plays
shown to be splitting 4-4. here does not matter, but if the cards lie as
they do in real life, then no shift can hurt
you when West takes the ♠A.

4. We left East in mid-hand on lead to It went: ♥10 to the ace, spade to the
4♠ after ruffing a club and scoring a heart king, club to the king and ruff. The ♥Q
trick: was cashed, South throwing a diamond. At
the table, West now let the contract through
East dealer North by discarding a diamond. But even if he
Both vul ♠A42 had pitched a club at trick four, you as East
♥A2 would have needed to shift to a diamond
♦ A 10 8 6 2 to break up a trump-squeeze. (Maybe a
♣KQ9 thoughtful partner would ruff your ♥Q,
West East cash his ♣A, and exit with his last trump to
♠J86 ♠ 10 9 break up any pressure!) Here is the whole
♥ 10 ♥KQJ976543 scenario from the table....
♦KQ93 ♦J5
♣AJ862 ♣—
Schollaardt Jacobs
South
West North East South
♠KQ753
— — 4♥ pass
♥8
pass double pass 4♠
♦74
double (all pass)
♣ 10 7 5 4 3
Bridge Today • March 2007 page 16

East dealer North Jacobs overruffed and drew the last trump,
Both vul ♠A42 to reach this position:
♥A2
♦ A 10 8 6 2 ♠—
♣KQ9 ♥—
West East ♦ A 10 8 6 2
♠J86 ♠ 10 9 ♣Q9
♥ 10 ♥KQJ976543 ♠— ♠—
♦KQ93 ♦J5 ♥— N ♥KJ976
W E
♣AJ862 ♣— ♦KQ9 S ♦J5
South ♣AJ86 ♣—
♠KQ753 ♠753
♥8 ♥—
♦74 ♦7
♣ 10 7 5 4 3 ♣ 10 7 5

To review, Leon Jacobs played 4♠ dou- The third round of trumps forced a club
bled on the lead of the ♥10. Imagining from West, and the fourth round of trumps
trumps were not going to break he quite forced West to concede. If he pitched an-
reasonably won the ♥A and played a trump other club, declarer would play on clubs
to hand and a club to the ♣K and a ruff. and the ♣10 would eventually be good. If
When East cashed a top heart he threw he pitched a diamond, declarer would play
a diamond loser away and West erred by a diamond to the ace and ruff a diamond
pitching a diamond — a club is far better. and lead a club up to concede just one trick
in the ending. Contract made.
The position now was:
In Depth
♠A4
♥—
If West had discarded a club at
♦ A 10 8 6 2
trick four, East must return a diamond
♣Q9
to defeat the contract. A third heart
♠J8 ♠—
N would lead to the same ending as
♥— W E ♥KJ97654
S
above.
♦KQ9 ♦J5
♣AJ86 ♣—
Picture West, in the diagram to the
♠Q753
left, with one more diamond and one
♥—
less club. On the diamond return, the
♦7
♦A wins, a diamond is ruffed, and a
♣ 10 7 5 4
club led to the ace. West leads a trump
to the ace. The ♣Q is cashed, a dia-
Now since a diamond play would let
mond ruffed and a club ruffed. But de-
declarer ruff out the diamonds, East played
clarer is stuck in dummy with two dia-
a third heart and Jacobs pitched a club as
monds facing his ♠Q and ♣10 while
West ruffed in, perforce. Had he discarded
West still has the ♠J and a diamond, so
a club, declarer would have had enough
West must score a trump trick.
entries to ruff out the diamonds. As it was,
Bridge Today • March 2007 page 17

5. We left East deciding at trick two you recover from if you select wrongly? Let’s
whether to win or duck a heart play, and assume you can read from the spots that
what to do next. declarer is likely to be 3-4 in the majors,
and thus has only six tricks in those suits.
South dealer North If so, then say you play a diamond and find
E-W vul ♠KQ2 partner with the “wrong” hand: a 5-3-2-3
♥AJ7 pattern with the ♣A-10 and ♦Q. The good
♦862 news is that you may still set the hand any-
♣6542 way, since declarer has only eight winners.
West East
♠ 10 9 7 4 3 ♠85 Conversely, if a diamond is essential you
♥542 ♥K96 may not get another shot. On the actual
♦AK7 ♦ J 10 5 4 3 hand (or if declarer has the ♦K instead
♣98 ♣QJ7 of the ♦Q and not the ♣10) you’d better
South play a diamond now, or it is too late. In
♠AJ6 the match between Japan and China, Sun
♥ Q 10 8 3 shifted to diamonds, while Hirata played
♦Q9 the ♣Q; 10 imps to China.
♣ A K 10 3
Round the room 3NT was declared at
Defending 3NT as East, you see partner every table — and was set on each of the 10
lead a fourth highest ♠4. Declarer wins the occasions North played it — not an espe-
♠J in hand and passes the ♥10, on which cially challenging feat. Of the 37 times the
your partner’s spot card might suggest a contract was played by South it made 22
switch. Clubs or diamonds? Which needs times. Hmm, maybe all this proves is that
less? Or more precisely, which defense can defense is a lot easier with the sight of all
four hands.

6. Here is the full deal. At the table in the match between

Helman and Israel on a spade to the ♠J
East dealer North and ♠A declarer led the ♦Q, ducked all
N-S vul ♠Q42 round, then cleared the diamonds. West
♥Q73 took the third, shifted to the ♣10 to the
♦ A 10 7 6 4 2 ♣Q and ♣A, and now a heart to the queen
♣3 let declarer run the diamonds. With the ♥J
West East and ♣K well placed that was an easy +400
♠K986 ♠J75 to Israel.
♥A64 ♥J985
♦KJ5 ♦83 If West covers the ♦Q, maybe declarer
♣ 10 9 2 ♣KQ87 should duck. But say he wins and leads
South a low diamond back to the ♦9. Now the
♠ A 10 3 defenders can duck and disrupt declarer’s
♥ K 10 2 communications. South can do no better
♦Q9 than lead a heart toward the ♥Q....
♣AJ654
Bridge Today • March 2007 page 18

East dealer North ♠Q4

N-S vul ♠Q4 ♥Q7
♥Q73 ♦ 10 7 6 4
♦ 10 7 6 4 ♣—
♣3 ♠K98 ♠75
N
West East ♥64 W E ♥J98
♠K98 ♠75 S
♦J ♦—
♥A64 ♥J985 ♣92 ♣K87
♦J ♦— ♠ 10 3
♣ 10 9 2 ♣KQ87 ♥ K 10
South ♦—
♠ 10 3 ♣J654
♥ K 10 2
♦— Declarer is in hand, and needs two tem-
♣AJ654 pos; one to knock out the diamond, one to
set up the spade. The lead is in hand and it
The ♥2 is led. The next critical play is is entirely appropriate in the land of Judo
that West must fly up with the ♥A, but — the art of self-defense where one converts
clearing spades at once is not good enough. one’s opponent’s aggression to his detriment
Instead he must shift to a club. Declarer — that declarer now has to self-destruct.
must win and now he appears to have five
diamonds, a club, two hearts and a spade. If declarer leads a heart up to clear dia-
But this is the position: monds, West wins the ♦J to lead a third
heart and establish partner’s heart. If de-
clarer plays a spade, the long spade is the
setting trick.

Round VIII
When the last round of the Swiss started there were five teams relatively sure
to make it through: Poland/Russia, D-MaTK and Tiny Ant of Japan, Hackett
(England and Helgemo), and OzOne of Australia. They all avoided disaster in the
last round and duly qualified.

There were two matches that featured teams on the bubble of qualifying;
Poland played The Latin (a mixed South American team) while Israel played
Ireland. A big win for any of those four teams would probably suffice, a winning
draw might be enough for Poland.

Israel got their big win and duly qualified, but because Netherlands had
vaulted over them with a maximum win, Poland needed 20 from a maximum of
25 VPs to be sure to advance, and got only 17, to miss out by 2 VPs.

This deal was the most challenging technically of the Round Robin, I think:
Bridge Today • March 2007 page 19

7. Round VIII the ♥A and returning the ♥J. Kwiecien

was not born yesterday; he rose with the
South dealer North ♥Q and had nine tricks. No swing.
E-W vul ♠A975
♥7 Even after a club play at trick four the
♦865 defenders have to be very careful. Declarer
♣KQ863 wins the second round of clubs in hand and
West East cashes the ♠K, then runs the clubs. This is
♠ Q 10 3 2 ♠864 the five-card ending:
♥862 ♥ A K J 10 5
♦A974 ♦ J 10 ♠A9
♣95 ♣ 10 7 4 ♥7
South ♦86
♠KJ ♣—
♥Q943 ♠ 10 3 ♠8
♦KQ32 ♥8 N ♥AKJ
W E
♣AJ2 ♦A9 S ♦J
♣— ♣—
South West North East ♠—
1 NT pass 2♣ pass ♥Q94
2♥ pass 3 NT (all pass) ♦Q3
♣—
In a match between The Latin and Po-
land the spade opening lead found by the Declarer has the lead in North and
Polish West had made declarer’s task an seven tricks in the bank. Suppose he leads
easy one. In the other room a low diamond a heart (cashing the ♠A would squeeze his
to the ♦10 and ♦K saw Kwiecien overtake own hand). East must win. If East leads the
the ♣J and finesse in spades. When Raven- ♦J, South covers and West is endplayed in
na (West) won his ♠Q he needed to exit spades. But if East takes both hearts, West
with a club to start cutting declarer’s com- throws a spade; now South ducks the ♦J
munications (as we’ll look at shortly). The but East puts South in his hand with the
♥8 was not good enough. Brenner (East) ♥Q to lose the setting trick to the ♦A in
short-circuited this discussion by winning the end.

At another table, Yaniv Zack for Israel against Ireland played 3NT on a
diamond lead. He led a low club to dummy, and finessed in spades. West won
and led ♥8 to the ♥K for ♦J back. Zack ducked, won the club return, un-
blocked spades, and ran the clubs. Note the difference from the previous posi-
tion — the round of hearts did not do any harm per se, but the combination
of the heart shift plus forced diamond play had cut the defensive communica-
tions and tightened up the position for the squeeze — not rectifying the count,
but reducing it to a legitimate squeeze without the count. (Turn the page:)
Bridge Today • March 2007 page 20

♠A9 On the last club West was caught in a

♥— strip-squeeze. The best he could do was to
♦8 pitch his ♦9, but declarer could exit with
♣3 a diamond and finesse on the spade return.
♠ 10 3 ♠8 Zack duly did this to gain 10 imps.
N
♥— W E ♥ A J 10
S
♦A9 ♦— West might do better to pitch an uncon-
♣— ♣— cerned spade early on the run of the clubs,
♠— and then to let go the ♦9 while retaining
♥Q9 a low heart. That at least gives declarer a
♦Q3 valid losing option.
♣—

8. QF I any inaccuracy in the bidding, right? Wrong

— or at least not quite right the way you’d
South dealer North expect. Barel-Campanile for Israel held the
N-S vul ♠Q7 N/S cards and Barel passed in first chair,
♥K8 Migry Campanile opened 1♦, and East
♦ A 10 9 8 7 4 2 overcalled 1♥, an action that would not
♣A4 meet with the approval of many — let’s be
West East charitable.
♠ A 10 9 5 ♠843
♥ 10 7 6 5 ♥QJ943 After West’s cuebid of 2♦, North dou-
♦K ♦J6 bled and East felt he had done enough and
♣ K 10 9 3 ♣Q82 bid only 2♥. When South bid 2NT North
South raised to 3NT and West smartly doubled
♠KJ62 in the pass-out seat. That floated back to
♥A2 South who redoubled (showing doubt) and
♦Q53 North without much doubt let it slide.
♣J765
On a heart lead declarer won in hand
Campanile Barel and led a low diamond up, and on the sight
West North East South of the ♦K graciously conceded the ♠A.
— — — pass Twelve tricks made. Quick, everybody,
pass 1♦ 1♥ double what does that score? Yes, 2,200 for 17 imps;
2♦ double 2♥ 2 NT and you thought that a result of 2200 nor-
pass 3 NT pass pass mally would lead to declarer losing imps!
double pass pass redouble
(all pass) The last deal for this issue has no prob-
lem associated with it — it is more humor-
You’d like to play this in 3NT, not 5♦, ous than anything else. The quarter-finals
though a club lead might embarrass either had started very well for China-Beijing
contract. Still, the fall of the ♦K forgives (China had entered two teams in the event
Bridge Today • March 2007 page 21

— the national team China-SMEG nar-
rowly failed to qualify for the knock-outs)
against Marston-Prescott on VuGraph.
Then along came this deal, which should
gladden the hearts of anyone who believes
in the ultimate inferiority of strong club sys-
tems over natural.*
You might be surprised to discover that
4♥ is quite playable — and on the actual
defense at the table of a spade lead and
heart switch to the ♥J and ♥Q and a
heart back, all Marston had to do was draw
trumps and find the ♣Q. What about best
defense?

North dealer North Game is still cold, at least at double-

None vul ♠AK53 dummy, and as Monsieur Fermat would say,
♥9654 I have an interesting proof of this but not
♦J73 enough room to write it in my margin.
♣Q9
West East (Well all right, on best defense of two
♠ 10 ♠62 rounds of spades you ruff in dummy and
♥87 ♥ A K J 10 play three rounds of clubs, unblocking from
♦ K 10 9 5 2 ♦A64 hand. If South ruffs, the ♥Q comes down,
♣K8642 ♣ A J 10 3 so North ruffs. Now if a third spade is led,
South declarer ruffs in dummy, crosses to the ♦A
♠QJ9874 and plays out three rounds of hearts.)
♥Q32
♦Q8 No matter how much you hate the bid-
♣75 ding in the Open Room, you’d probably
prefer it to what happened in the Closed
Open Room Room:
West North East South
Prescott Ju Marston Shi Closed Room
— pass 1♣ 2♠ West North East South
double 3♠ 4♥ (all pass) Cheng Richman Wang Nagy
— pass 1♣ 2♠
Marston assumed the double of 2♠ pass 3♠ pass pass
would deliver hearts — apparently it nor- 3 NT pass pass pass
mally does; still doubling 3♠ and bidding
4♥ over a 4♦ response might have been Wang’s pass of 3NT suggests it had not
less committal? occurred to him that this call might be the
minors. Oh well. Sadder but wiser, or at
least better informed, he moved on to the
*Perhaps, but after a standard 15-17 1NT by East, he next deal. See you in April for the conclu-
will probably play there for +90. — editor sion.
Bridge Today • March 2007 page 22

son], Levin, Altshuler, Fohrer) defeated the

Herbst Team (Ilan and Ophir Herbst; Barel,
Israel Teams Championship
Zack, Barr) by 140-100 after having trailed
by 50-84 at the half.
by Pietro Campanile
Here are a few interesting hands from
both semifinals. The last hand before the
interval proved to be quite swingy in both
matches:

East dealer North

None vul ♠J932
♥—
♦AKQ932
The most prestigious event on the Is- ♣A43
raeli bridge calendar is the National Teams West East
Championship. The play-offs of its top divi- ♠64 ♠Q8
sion, the “Liga Leumit,” took place earlier ♥ Q 10 6 3 2 ♥J974
this year to assign the title that gives the ♦87654 ♦ J 10
holders the chance to represent Israel in ♣8 ♣K9652
certain international competitions, like the South
European Champions Cup. ♠ A K 10 7 5
♥AK85
The championship is structured over ♦—
several levels with divisions ranging from ♣ Q J 10 7
the national down to club level, and at the
end of the regular playing season there are West North East South
promotions to a higher division and relega- Bareket Matilda Roll Lilo
tions to a lower one according to the results. — — pass 1♠
In the “Liga Leumit” however the top four pass 2 NT (1) pass 3 ♠ (2)
teams are admitted to a play-off stage where pass 5 ♥ (3) pass 6 ♣ (4)
they play a semifinals and final of 56 boards pass 7♠ (all pass)
to decide the title.
1) Game forcing raise in spades
In the first semifinal the Segev Team 2) 17+ pts with shortness somewhere, usually 6
(Segev-Tal, Gelbard-Engel, Lilo and Matil- spades or 5-4-3-1
da Poplilov) defeated the Bareket Team 3) Exclusion Blackwood
(Bareket-Roll; Lengy-Leibovits; Reshef-Gi- 4) Two keycards excluding ♥A and no ♠Q
nossar) by a clear 139-92.
Matilda and Lilo Poplilov bid aggressively
The second semifinal saw the clash of to 7♠. With such a good source of tricks in
the two pre-tournament favorites, including the diamond suit, Matilda (North) pressed
players with a lot of international experi- on to the grand slam, encouraged by her
ence. In the end the Birman Team (David partner’s 3♠ bid, which showed 17+ points
Birman, Zwillinger, Alon Birman [David’s and usually six spades.
Bridge Today • March 2007 page 23

East dealer ♠J932 East dealer ♠9

None vul ♥— N-S vul ♥AK83
♦AKQ932 ♦AKQ52
♣A43 ♣J87
♠64 ♠Q8 ♠843 ♠ 10 5 2
♥ Q 10 6 3 2 N ♥J974 ♥952 N ♥ Q 10 4
W E W E
♦87654 S ♦ J 10 ♦ 10 9 7 S ♦J8643
♣8 ♣K9652 ♣KQ32 ♣65
♠ A K 10 7 5 ♠AKQJ76
♥AK85 ♥J76
♦— ♦—
♣ Q J 10 7 ♣ A 10 9 4

The lead of the ♦8 did not create too
many problems for declarer: ♦A, ♠A-K,
finding out the good news, ♥A-K and a
heart ruff, diamond ruff uncovering the ♦J-
10 doubleton and a claim, since dummy’s
diamonds are now set up. At the other table
Ginossar-Reshef played in 6♠ and, quite
naturally, Barel (West) led his singleton
♣8. Reshef inexplicably played low from
dummy, letting East in with the ♣K. East
was only too happy to return a club back
for Barel to ruff: 6♠-1 with 7♠ making at
the other table meant 17 imps to the Segev
team, who closed the half leading 64-47.
In the second semifinal Amir Levin and
Alon Birman got to 6♠ after this bidding:
West North East South
Barel A. Birman Zack Levin
— — pass 1♠
pass 5 ♥ (1) pass 6 ♣ (2)
pass 6♠ (all pass)
1) Exclusion Blackwood
2) Two keycards excluding the ♥A and no ♠Q
The Herbst brothers at the other table
earned their team 11 imps when they
reached 7♠, leading 84-50 at the half.
The second board of the third quarter
was another very swingy affair:
In the Barel-Herbst match it very much
looked like the Herbst team was heading
for a significant loss on the board as Herbst-
Barr only managed to reach 3NT after this
bidding:
West North East South
Levin I. Herbst Altshuler Barr
— — pass 1♠
pass 2♦ pass 2♠
pass 3 NT (all pass)
At the other table Birman-Fohrer
explored the hand much more thoroughly
and got to the grand slam in spades. The
trailing team could now significantly narrow
the gap with a successful declarer view in
7♠ on the lead of the ♣K.
The contract is obviously laydown if
diamonds are 4-4, as declarer can now
pitch all his round suit losers on dummy’s
diamonds after ruffing one round of the
suit. However, that is only a measly 33%
chance, which is only slightly improved by
the added odds of finding a doubleton ♥Q
somewhere. The most natural line looks to
be a squeeze in clubs-hearts on West and
that is what Fohrer tried to execute, going
one off when the diamond split proved un-
favorable and the guard in the red suits was
held by East.
Bridge Today • March 2007 page 24

East dealer ♠9 ♠—
N-S vul ♥AK83 ♥AK8
♦AKQ52 ♦AKQ52
♣J87 ♣—
♠843 ♠ 10 5 2 ♠— ♠—
♥952 N ♥ Q 10 4 ♥952 N ♥ Q 10 4
W E W E
♦ 10 9 7 S ♦J8643 ♦ 10 9 7 S ♦J8643
♣KQ32 ♣65 ♣Q3 ♣—
♠AKQJ76 ♠76
♥J76 ♥J76
♦— ♦—
♣ A 10 9 4 ♣ 10 9 4

A perhaps less intuitive alternative can
be arrived at if one considers that East is a
very likely candidate to hold length in the
red suits, once West shows up with three
trumps and some club length. The winning
line combines diamonds 4-4 and the ♥Q
doubleton with an elegant trump squeeze
on East.
After taking the club lead with the ♣A,
start cashing four rounds of spades, discard-
ing a heart and two clubs from dummy.
The opponents will need to pitch accord-
ingly and you shall probably get to a layout
like this:
Now cash the ♠7 and West will jettison a
club while you discard another heart from
dummy. What can East do? If he pitches
a diamond, he will give a strong signal
that diamonds can now be cashed as there
are only seven left, which will split 4-3 an
overwhelming amount of time. So you’ll
get to dummy with the ♥A, ruff a diamond
with the last spade, go back to dummy with
the ♥K and make the rest of the tricks.
While a heart pitch will let you enjoy your
♥J in hand, for the thirteenth trick, if you
guess the position.
As it goes, Fohrer’s 7♠-1 meant a some-
what undeserved 13 imps for the Herbst
team, which were to be their last big gain of
the match: From now on it would be one-
way traffic and a steady series of gains for
the Birman team.

In the other match, again one pair

reached a notrump contract while the other
was in spades, the difference being that the
notrump contract reached by Leibovits-
Lengy was an unmakeable 7NT, while Lilo
and Matilda stopped in 6♠, which made
comfortably. That meant a second swing
of 17 imps to the Segev team, all the more
staggering if we think that with a differ-
ent view those two heavy losses could have
David Birman declares as the Herbst brothers
been turned into an overall gain of 7 imps
defend.
for the Bareket team.
Bridge Today • March 2007 page 25

Another critical swingy board which West North East South

sealed the fate of both matches came close Engel Ginossar Gelbard Reshef
to the end: — 3♠ 4♥ double
5♣ double 5♦ 6♠
North dealer North double (all pass)
Both vul ♠ K Q 10 8 7 5
♥— The contract went two down for another
♦QJ6 -500 and a third 17-imp swing to Segev,
♣ 10 8 3 2 who went on to win 139-92. In the Herbst-
West East Birman match the board turned out to be
♠J4 ♠32 no less exciting: Birman-Fohrer bought the
♥— ♥AKQ832 hand for 5♦ undoubled (!) which drifted
♦9875 ♦ K 10 4 3 2 two off, while this is what happened at the
♣AKJ9754 ♣— other table:
South
♠A96 West North East South
♥ J 10 9 7 6 5 4 I. Herbst Altshuler O. Herbst Levin
♦A — 2♦ 3♥ double
♣Q6 4♣ pass pass 4♠
5♣ pass pass double
West North East South (all pass)
Roll Matilda Bareket Lilo
— 2 ♦* 2♥ pass The defense took no prisoners: Altshuler
3♣ pass 3♦ 3♠ led the ♠K, overtaken by Levin with ace in
5♦ pass pass double order to cash his ♦A and play back a spade
redbl (all pass) to his partner’s ♠Q. Altshuler understood
what was required of him and played back
*Multi, either strong balanced or a good weak two in the ♦Q, covered with the ♦K and ruffed
a major by Levin, who returned a sneaky ♥5. De-
clarer pitched a diamond and Altshuler
The North-South defenders cashed their ruffed. Back came the ♦J, ruffed by Levin
two spades. Declarer took the club switch in order to return another heart and ensure
and guessed diamonds, playing small to the another trick for the defense by promoting
♦10 and ace. Another inevitable trump Altshuler’s ♣10. All in all the defense had
loser meant two down and -1000 because collected two spades, a diamond and four
of the misguided redouble. The loss on club ruffs for a well deserved +1400 and a
the board for the Bareket team could have final match score of 140-100.
been much less if at the other table Reshef-
Ginossar would be left to play in 4♠, which The Final
is only defeated by an unlikely trump lead So it came to be that the final would be
and might generate +620. This is what hap- an unexpected encounter between Birman
pened instead: and Segev, with Birman odds on favorite
to take the trophy, mostly thanks to the
superior experience of his players who had
reached this stage of the competition many
times before, often winning it.
Bridge Today • March 2007 page 26

Nevertheless, the final was an incredibly
close and exciting affair, with both
teams going neck and neck until the last
hand. This made for a great show for
the thousands of kibitzers who watched
it online through the BBO VuGraph,
organized thanks to the industrious efforts
of Ilan Shezifi, a leading bridge director
in Israel. The initial score was set at 7-0
for the Segev team thanks to the positive
carryover originating from the 18-12 victory
in the direct clash from the round-robin
stage.
We pick up the commentary of the last
set of 14 boards when the score was a close
88-89 in favor of the Segev team. The first
two boards of the set were flat leaving the
score unchanged. The first significant swing
occurred on board 45:

South dealer North on the ♥K and then setting up dummy’s

E-W vul ♠K97 spades with ♠K, ♠A and spade ruff for
♥3 +940, 10 imps to Segev and a score of 99-88
♦J864 in their favor.
♣AQ642
West East Next comes a hand that presents a
♠Q83 ♠J6 bidding problem in which the approach is
♥ 10 9 7 5 ♥QJ64 heavily affected by the type of scoring.
♦AK73 ♦ Q 10 9 5 2
♣J7 ♣ 10 3 What would you reply to partner’s 1♦
South opening with:
♠ A 10 5 4 2
♥AK82 ♠ J 10 3
♦— ♥753
♣K985 ♦KJ86
♣Q52
Birman-Fohrer stopped in 4♠ after a
very quick 1♠-2♣; 4♣-4♠. Declarer made Segev opted for 1NT because of his flat
12 tricks for +480. shape while Birman chose 2♦, probably
because of his poor major holdings. In both
At the other table Israel’s new young cases partner invites game with 2NT, show-
bridge star Dana Tal found a much more ing a likely 18 or bad 19 count. Do you
descriptive bid to send across her shape: accept the invitation or not?

South West North East Here is the complete hand:

Tal Levin Segev Altshuler
1♠ pass 2♣ pass
4 ♦ (splinter) pass 4 ♥ (cue) pass
4 ♠ (cue) pass 4 NT pass
6♣ (all pass)
Ron Segev
and Dana Tal
With clubs 2-2 and spades 3-2, declarer
had no trouble bringing home 13 tricks
after drawing trumps, pitching a spade
Bridge Today • March 2007 page 27

Board 46 ♠ J 10 3 Board 52 ♠52

West dealer ♥753 East dealer ♥AKJ8
Both vul ♦KJ86 Both vul ♦KQJ953
♣Q52 ♣ 10
♠K865 ♠AQ ♠ J 10 8 6 4 3 ♠Q97
♥K9842 N ♥ 10 6 ♥74 N ♥ Q 10 9 5
W E W E
♦4 S ♦9732 ♦864 S ♦2
♣764 ♣ K 10 9 8 3 ♣KJ ♣97642
♠9742 ♠AK
♥AQJ ♥632
♦ A Q 10 5 ♦ A 10 7
♣AJ ♣AQ853

Segev passed 2NT while Birman bid on West North East South
to 3NT. The decision is a really close one: Matilda D. Birman Lilo Fohrer
It is true that North has a flat shape and — — pass 1♣
the points are not good; on the other hand pass 1♦ pass 2 NT
we do know that we have 25-26 points and pass 4 ♣ (Gerber) pass 4 ♦ (0 or 3)
the vulnerable game bonus is a powerful pass 7♦ (all pass)
incentive to bid on. In my view passing
2NT with the North hand is a long-term Once Fohrer upgraded his 17 count and
losing decision, because even if we assume opened 1♣, it did not need a lot of bids for
we're facing an 18 count (with 19 many Birman to get to 7♦.
players would bid 3NT in this specific
sequence), at teams it is good policy to press West North East South
the opponents into defending a possibly Levin Segev Altshuler Tal
tight game rather than risking a sizeable — — pass 1 NT
negative swing by stopping in 2NT. pass 2♣ pass 2♦
pass 3♦ pass 3 ♠ (cue)
As you can see, unless you can set up a pass 4 ♣ (cue) pass 4♦
spade in time, 3NT needs both the ♥K and pass 4 ♥ (cue) pass 4 NT (RKCB)
the ♣K onside or some unlikely defensive pass 5 ♠ (2+∂Q) pass 5 NT (kings?)
error. After a heart lead by West at one pass 6 ♥ (˙K) pass 7♦
table and a club lead by East at the other, (all pass)
both declarers took eight tricks, and Segev
stretched their lead by another 6 imps to At the other table Dana opted to open
105-88. 1NT with the South hand and that meant
that the World Schools champions would
After five rather uninteresting boards have a much tougher task in getting to a
where each team scored one imp, this grand slam with a possible combined count
exciting hand came up: of 29-31 points on the line.

As the great Edgar Kaplan used to say:

“Both pairs have bid to the top spot; all
that they have to do now is to find a way to
make the contract!”
Bridge Today • March 2007 page 28

Board 52 ♠52 At the other table Dana Tal was playing

East dealer ♥AKJ8 the contract from the South seat on the
Both vul ♦KQJ953 lead of the ♠J. After a similar sequence of
♣ 10 plays, with declarer also trying ♣A and club
♠ J 10 8 6 4 3 ♠Q97 ruff, Dana got to the exact same final posi-
♥74 N ♥ Q 10 9 5 tion of two cards with Levin-Altshuler also
W E
♦864 S ♦2 succeeding in concealing the actual position
♣KJ ♣97642 thanks to an early heart discard by East.
♠AK
♥632 David Birman and Dana Tal were
♦ A 10 7 unknowingly facing similar problems: They
♣AQ853 knew that East had started either with a
3-4-1-5 or a 4-3-1-5 shape. East was now
Birman was playing the contract from down to a heart and a club (in which case
the North seat and received the ♣7 lead. the remaining hearts are 1-1) or a spade and
He naturally rose with the ♣A, noticing the a club (in which case the hearts would be 2-
fall of the jack from West. Declarer contin- 0). It was a question of where the ♥Q was.
ued with a small club from dummy, ♣K
from West ruffed in hand, three rounds of So they needed to figure out whether to
trumps finishing in dummy, ♣Q and an- go for a heart finesse or to play for the drop,
other club ruffed, ♥K, ♦J and ♠A-K lead- since if East held the ♥Q, the club-hearts
ing to this position: squeeze he was under had by now forced
him to bare the ♥Q. Birman was playing
♠— the hand a little earlier, since his table had
♥AJ been playing more quickly, and, after some
♦— thought, he played a heart to the …. ace,
♣— dropping the ♥Q offside and making the
♠8 ♠— slam.
♥7 N ♥Q
W E
♦— S ♦— So all the kibitzers following the event
♣— ♣9 knew that 7♦ had been made at the other
♠— table, by the time that Dana had reached
♥6 the position. One particular kibitzer had
♦— more at stake in the outcome than anyone
♣8 else: Moti Gelbard, one of the leading bridge
teachers in Israel, had decided to let the
So far East-West have really done two juniors play in the last set and was now
their best to conceal the heart position frozen in front of the computer screen at
from declarer: especially Lilo by counting home watching the nail-biting finish and
declarer’s hand* and therefore choosing to waiting for Dana to decide what to play.
anticipate the heart discard at an earlier Dana eventually played a heart to the …
point of the hand when it would not arouse ace, and at the same time a loud primeval
declarer’s suspicion. yell was recorded by the inhabitants of the
usually quiet Philadelphia Street. After
*East knows that declarer has only two spades; other- such a long tension watching the hand
wise he would ruff one in dummy.
Bridge Today • March 2007 page 29

unfold Moti could finally scream out his joy 1♣ and raised his partner 1♠ reply. Both
when Dana succeeded in bringing home the Souths led the ♦A and switched to a heart
slam. All this excitement and a flat board! at trick two. Both declarers played small
from dummy, but while Birman (North)
The fact that the two juniors were inserted the ♥10 and was thus unable to
playing very solid bridge was shown on stop Lilo from making his contract, Segev
board 54, with only three boards left to (North) rose with ♥K and returned a club
play. (though a heart back would have been bet-
♠AQ5 ter as then the defense would always defeat
♥ K 10 8 3 the contract). Altshuler took in hand and
♦J873 finessed in spades, losing to the ♠Q. This
♣73 allowed the defense to score a club ruff.
♠KJ84 ♠ 10 9 6 2 (Declarer did not find the scissors coup play
♥AQ65 N ♥J72 of the ♦Q to take away South’s entry.)
W E
♦ 10 2 S ♦Q9 North returned a club, taken in dummy,
♣KJ8 ♣AQ96 and declarer played spades again hoping
♠73 to find an original holding of ♠A-x-x with
♥94 South. Segev won his ♠A and played a dia-
♦AK654 mond to his partner in order to receive the
♣ 10 5 4 2 club ruff, which scuttled the contract. That
meant a further 5 imps for the Segev team,
At both tables East-West got to the who were now leading by 111-90 with only
contract of 2♠ after West had opened two boards left.

All was not lost though. Amir Levin got the ♥7 lead to the ♥K
and a diamond back. He successfully fi-
Board 55 ♠Q98 nessed the ♦Q and played ♣A and club
North dealer ♥72 ruff. The fall of the ♣J and the opponents’
Both vul ♦73 carding seemed to pinpoint a 6-2 break
♣K98543 in the suit, so declarer now cashed a high
♠J7653 ♠ A K 10 spade and finessed again in diamonds with
♥ 10 9 6 5 N ♥Q small to the ♦8.
W E
♦AQ8 S ♦ J 10 9 6 2
♣7 ♣ A Q 10 2 Confident that spades had to be 3-2
♠42 (since North could be placed with two
♥AKJ843 hearts, two diamonds and six clubs), Levin
♦K54 simply cashed the ♠A and played a dia-
♣J6 mond to the ace. When North discarded,
declarer ruffed a heart in dummy with the
West North East South ♠10 and played another winning diamond,
Levin Segev Altshuler Tal pitching another heart from hand. The
— pass 1♦ 1♥ defense could only take two hearts and a
1♠ pass 3♥ pass spade.
4♠ (all pass)
Bridge Today • March 2007 page 30

Board 55 ♠Q98 North dealer ♠Q98

North dealer ♥72 Both vul ♥72
Both vul ♦73 ♦K743
♣K98543 ♣KJ85
♠J7653 ♠ A K 10 ♠J7653 ♠ A K 10
N ♥ 10 9 6 5 N ♥Q
♥ 10 9 6 5 W E
♥Q W E
♦AQ8 S ♦ J 10 9 6 2 ♦AQ8 S ♦ J 10 9 6 2
♣7 ♣ A Q 10 2 ♣7 ♣ A Q 10 2
♠42 ♠42
♥AKJ843 ♥AKJ843
♦K54 ♦5
♣J6 ♣9643

West North East South His plan was to ruff a heart in hand and
Matilda D. Birman Lilo Fohrer then cash ♠A-K. If the ♠Q did not drop,
— pass 1♦ 2 ♥ (weak) declarer could now simply give the lead to
double pass 3♣ pass North with a diamond, who had no hearts
3♦ pass 3♠ pass left to play. Naturally things did not quite
4♠ (all pass) turn out that way, and when the diamond
was played, Fohrer was only too happy to
At the other table the contract was jump in and cash two more hearts, sending
played from the East seat and the lead was the contract two down for a last gasp 13
the ♥K followed by a switch to the ♦5. imps to Birman, who was now trailing by
Understandably deceived by Fohrer’s top- 103-111 with one board left.
heavy “weak 2,” Lilo assumed that the ♦K
was offside and South’s ♦5 might even be a Unfortunately the last board did not
singleton. So he rose with the ♦A, making present enough spice to be able to gain the
sure of the contract if the layout had been required imps and despite gaining 4 imps
something like this: on it, the final result of 110-106 rewarded a
first time winner of the Liga Leumit: Team
Segev (Moti Gelbard-Zvi Engel; Matilda
and Lilo Poplilov; Ron Segev-Dana Tal)
who pulled together a remarkable season
by playing good all round consistent bridge
even faced with teams who on paper were
supposed to be their better. For the Birman
team the consolation was that they actually
ended up scoring more imps than their
opponents and could attribute the loss to
the 7-imp carryover.

The winners: (L to R): Zvi Engel, Ron Segev, Dana Once again, hearty congratulations to
Tal, Moti Gelbard, Matilda and Lilo Poplilov both winners and runners-up for providing
us with such an exciting and well played
final!
Bridge Today • March 2007 page 31

Bridge Yesterday

by Matthew Granovetter

The Flip Side

Let’s go back in time today to a lovely Every opening bid in the Roth-Stone
summer setting in Rapallo, Italy, 1957. At system was at least two highcard points
the swim club, Al Roth and Tobias Stone heavier than today’s openings. But the flip
are enjoying a relaxing afternoon in a side of the system was that responder could
friendly rubber bridge match against two of be more aggressive than today’s responders.
their hosts. Players today would open the North hand
2NT. Stone, however, opened 1♣ and it
was Roth, sitting South, who became the
North dealer North (Stone) aggressor.
N-S vul ♠8764
♥AKQ After Stone’s 2NT rebid, Roth showed
♦AK2 his club support (before the days of arti-
♣ A 10 3 ficial check backs!) and Stone showed his
West East diamond support (those anemic spades were
♠J32 ♠ Q 10 5 never mentioned). It was Roth who bid
♥ J 10 9 5 3 ♥87642 the spades with his A-K-9. Stone had great
♦5 ♦Q87 cards for slam and when he cuebid 4♥
♣KJ76 ♣Q4 Roth bid the slam. Roth said afterwards,
South (Roth) “The final bid was somewhat of a gamble.
♠AK9 Hands of this nature are very difficult to
♥— bid, and you will sometimes find yourself
♦ J 10 9 6 4 3 in a bad slam.” Perhaps this sounds like
♣9852 he was “covering his tracks” but he said it
honestly after the hand.
West North East South
— 1♣ pass 1♦ To make 12 tricks, Roth had to time the
pass 2 NT pass 3♣ hand carefully. He won the heart lead,
pass 3♦ pass 3♠ discarding a spade, cashed a high trump,
pass 4♥ pass 6♦ led two rounds of spades and then another
(all pass) trump to dummy. When the ♦Q did not
fall, Roth ruffed a spade, establishing the
Opening lead: ♥J thirteenth spade in dummy. He now had
three discards for three club losers. If he
had drawn two rounds of trumps before
cashing his ♠A-K, he would have been set.
Bridge Today • March 2007 page 32

North dealer North After the hand, Roth played some tennis
N-S vul ♠8764 and took a swim in the pool, thinking about
♥AKQ whether there was any lead that could
♦AK2 defeat 6♦. But the answer was no. The best
♣ A 10 3 lead for the defense is a club. Declarer wins
West East in dummy, cashes two spades and goes to
♠J32 ♠ Q 10 5 dummy in trumps. A spade is discarded on
♥ J 10 9 5 3 ♥87642 a high heart and now a decision has to be
♦5 ♦Q87 made: Ruff a spade or cash a high trump?
♣KJ76 ♣Q4 On the actual layout you must ruff a spade,
South but what if the ♦Q was dropping double-
♠AK9 ton and someone held the ♦Q-x and a dou-
♥— bleton spade? If you play a spade, they ruff
♦ J 10 9 6 4 3 in with the ♦Q and cash a club trick. So
♣9852 a club lead might have defeated the slam,
depending on Roth’s table presence….

Roth and Stone

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