Bridge Today • November 2004 page 1

November 2004

ß
˙
∂
ç

Editor: Matthew Granovetter

The Magazine for People Who Love to Play Bridge

In This Issue:
Turkey Round-Robin*
Nine tips from 9 great hands in last week’s round-robin qualifying matches
at the World Teams Olympiad in Istanbul — Page 18

Also:

2 Around the World 14 The Third Champions Cup

by Migry Zur-Campanile by Pietro Campanile

5 Morphic Resonance 28 Building a Better Mousetrap

by Barry Rigal Multi 2∂

*News Flash from Istanbul: As we went to press, Italy had defeated the USA in
the round of 16, in a thrilling match down to the last board. Read more in the
December issue or in Bridge Today Digest Daily reports via email.

ALERT: Please do not e-mail this e-magazine to anyone. Much time, energy and money was spent to pro-
duce this product, and most people can afford to pay for it. If you would like someone to see an issue, please
contact us with his email address (write to matt@bridgetoday.com) and we’ll gladly pass on a sample issue.
Subscriptions are $33 per year for 12 monthly issues or packaged with a Bridgetoday.com $59 membership.
Thank you!
Bridge Today • November 2004 page 2

Around the world with 52 cards

Travels and adventures of a bridge pro

Migry Zur Campanile

Rhodes

The 2004 Bridge Olympiad, held in ries. Here the ancient world wins hands
Istanbul, is in full swing by the time you down, also thanks to strict local laws that
read this article, but what you might not keep the motor traffic to a minimum and
remember is that eight years ago the 1996 help to preserve, especially in the evening,
edition of the event took place only a few the magic aura of the picturesque medieval
miles away from the southern coast of town.
Turkey in the beautiful island of Rhodes.
A few miles south of Rhodes town one
Rhodes is the third largest Greek island can discover an entirely different world. It
and rightly or wrongly it bears the proud looks more like the type of Greek landscape
title of the sunniest place in Europe. The you’d come to expect: tiny hamlets dotted
city itself is situated at the island’s most along a coast covered with olive trees, while
northerly point and is separated into new inland the rugged hills are wearing a green
Rhodes, which covers most of the penin- mantle of refreshing pine forests.
sula, and Old Rhodes, a walled fortress close
to the docks, originally erected by the Cru- On the rest day we head out to the
sader Knights of St. John of Jerusalem after ancient town of Lindos, a port where 3,000
they took over the island in 1309 AD. This years ago Menelaus and Helen stopped on
combination their voyage
of the ancient home from the
and the mod- Trojan War.
ern, so com- The town is
mon in Eu- small, and on
rope, takes a the other side
new dimen- of it there is a
sion here: the steady climb to
14-meter thick the fortress,
walls look which was also
much more built by the
imposing than Knights of St.
any structure John, a tougher
built over the walk than it
last few centu- looks. Inside is
Bridge Today • November 2004 page 3

the acropolis, containing the ruins of the to Helen and Menelaus returning from
temple of Athena Lindia, one of the most Troy, and I feel like I could stay here for-
famous of the antique world. ever to treasure this magic moment.

As I round the top of the massive open-
air staircase, the world unveils before me.
I’m facing east, the sun just overhead at its
zenith. The Aegean spreads out in the
distance to the pale coast of Turkey, the
water glittering with the sun’s rays on its
rippling surface. I walk to the end of the
ruins, past the temple of Athena Lindia,
and look down the cliff to the Aegean far
below, where waves rhythmically break on
rocks leaving swirls of foam. The world
seems ancient this morning, like it aged
3,000 years during the night. That boat I
see slowly drifting ashore could well belong
Alas, duty calls and we must make our
way back to resume our daily struggle with
the 52 cards!
Both of our teams, the Open and the
Ladies, seemed to thrive in the ancient
island and surged forward in the early
stages to lead both competitions only to fade
a little towards the end. We eventually lost
in the knock-out stages to a fast rising
Chinese team.
In the round robin match, the following
board came up:

West dealer North West led the ç5 (third and fifth) which I
None vul ßJ2 let ride to my jack. The contract seems safe
˙KQ9852 as long as spades are no worse than 5-1 and
∂— diamonds no worse than 4-3, with a few
çAQ932 cases where, with certain cards conveniently
West East placed, it is possible for declarer to succeed
ß 10 7 ß9653 even with a bad split in one of those suits.
˙AJ764 ˙ 10 3
∂92 ∂Q8764 There was no point in delaying drawing
çK754 ç86 trumps and I did so in four rounds, West
South discarding two hearts, and afterwards I
ßAKQ84 cashed the two top diamonds and contin-
˙— ued with the ∂J, getting ready to claim if
∂ A K J 10 5 3 both opponents followed. Unfortunately
ç J 10 West showed out, discarding a third heart
and uncovering the dreadful 5-2 split. East
Ruti Levit Migry won her ∂Q and played the ˙10 back.
West North East South
Pass 1˙ pass 2∂ It was clear that West held the ˙A
Pass 2˙ pass 2ß (otherwise East, who knows my shape — or
Pass 3ç pass 3ß should! — would have exited with the ∂8).
Pass 4ç pass 4∂ Therefore, I could ruff the heart return and
Pass 4ß pass 4 NT play the ∂10, squeezing West in clubs and
Pass 5∂ pass 6ß hearts. This was the position after I ruffed
(all pass) the heart:
Bridge Today • November 2004 page 4

North It is interesting to note that holding up

ß— the ∂Q would not have helped, since I
˙K would have then finessed in clubs, overtak-
∂— ing the ç10 with the queen and then
çAQ9 played the ˙K, discarding a diamond. West
West East would win and would have to lead either a
ß— ß— club or a heart to dummy.
˙A ˙3
∂— ∂87 ßJ2
çK75 ç6 ˙KQ9852
South ∂—
ß— çAQ932
˙— ß 10 7 ß9653
∂ 10 5 3 ˙AJ764 N ˙ 10 3
W E
ç 10 ∂92 S ∂Q8764
çK754 ç86
On the ∂10, West let go of a club and I ßAKQ84
threw the ˙K from dummy, making my ˙—
slam after finessing in clubs. ∂ A K J 10 5 3
ç J 10

Do you see the winning defense for East?

The only winning defense would have North

been for East to return a club after winning ß—
the ∂Q, a difficult play but certainly pos- ˙KQ
sible if she envisions the squeeze on her ∂—
partner. The club return breaks the squeeze çAQ9
by removing early the needed entry to West East
dummy. ß— ß—
˙AJ ˙ 10 3
One way for East to envision this is to ∂— ∂87
count my tricks. She could count five çK75 ç6
trump trumps, three diamonds, and three South
clubs. She knew my distribution: I had ß8
shown five spades, six diamonds and the ˙—
çJ. If I held a heart, I certainly would have ∂ 10 5 3
discarded it on the çA! ç 10
Bridge Today • November 2004
Morphic Resonance
by Barry Rigal
As we have seen over the
past few months, the editors
of Bridge Today are not
simply interested in the size of
the spot-cards, but take a
wider view. To paraphrase, it
is not simply a question of
win or lose, but how you play
the game. There is a philo-
sophical side to the game that
needs to be touched on from
time to time; only a fool
would believe that the best
players always win, though
what it is that leads to success
or failure might be more open
to question. This article is my
contribution to the genre.
I do not think of myself as a spiritual
person, but one issue that has piqued my
curiosity over the last decade is the subject
of Morphic Resonance – and what is that,
you may well ask. Well, the idea of MR
could best be described as a theory of collec-
tive memory throughout nature. The ex-
ample quoted to describe this theory is
often called the hundredth monkey prin-
ciple: A certain species of monkey lives on
two different islands out of sight of one
another. Each group has the same basic
environments and lifestyle, but there is
never any contact between the two groups.
One day, one of the monkeys somehow
makes a discovery that by taking a piece of
fruit down to the water and soaking it, it
becomes much easier to peel. Soon the
page 5
other monkeys on the island
begin to catch on. By the time
the hundredth monkey on the
first island has learned it,
there will be monkeys doing it
on the second island as well.
Specifically, the idea is that
information is transmitted not
simply by the physical act of
seeing or hearing something,
but that one can become
aware of ideas or technique by
the fact that someone else has
mastered the concept.
This doctrine is not incon-
sistent with a theistic belief in
the development of species – more Stephen
Gould than Richard Dawkins, for sure.
How does this relate to bridge hands? The
idea would be that if one player takes a
backward finesse successfully on one deal,
the odds increase that someone else will be
struck by the same brilliant idea – and not
just from indiscreet conversation overheard
in the bathroom!
In my work on appeals committees and
the appeals books from the U.S. Nationals,
I came across a mention of a deal by Ron
Gerard in 1997 of a deceptive maneuver I
had never encountered before, discovered
by B. J. Becker. In an apparently entryless
dummy, declarer has a potential source of
discards (the precise details of the hand are
lost in antiquity, but the full hand may
have looked something like this):
Bridge Today • November 2004 page 6

North Now the ˙K went to the ace and East

ßQ53 had a real problem. A diamond return
˙72 could build an extra entry to dummy (and
∂ 10 9 2 cost a trick) if partner had led from 6-5
çQJ754 doubleton, while a spade lead seemed
West East wrong, since South was likely to hold the
ßK982 ß A J 10 4 king. Playing partner for his “known” çA
˙953 ˙A4 seemed a far better idea, but declarer now
∂K76 ∂QJ843 had 11 tricks instead of nine.
ç 10 8 2 ç96
South I was so taken with this hand that I
ß76 thought I would try to invent a similar
˙ K Q J 10 8 6 puzzle; accordingly I worked one out and
∂A5 one morning at a USA Nationals offered it
çAK3 to P-O Sundelin over breakfast, but he
showed me where my example was flawed.
Playing four hearts after East has opened Oh well. Strangely, however, the tourna-
one diamond and Becker had overcalled ment computer must have been listening,
four hearts, Becker won the lead of the ∂6, because it created a cause celebre to illus-
covered with the 9, jack and ace, and led trate the very point better than I had been
the çK, ducked all round, of course. able to do.

Later That
Evening North playing back a low spade not a suit-prefer-
ßK ence spot-card), all of which left West the
˙Q72 problem of how to put East back in. Yes,
∂KJ972 there are some suit-preference overtones in
çJ754 the spade suit, but partner’s tempo in duck-
West East ing the ˙A is also critical. That was what
ßJ82 ß A 10 7 6 4 generated a large amount of sound and
˙ 10 8 6 5 3 ˙A94 fury: Is West allowed to play a heart to his
∂86 ∂ Q 10 4 partner – playing South not to be a genius –
çQ82 ç 10 6 if East’s tempo on the ˙K trick suggested
South the possession of the ace?
ßQ953
˙KJ Whatever the rights and wrongs of this
∂A53 deal, it persuaded me to refer to the concept
çAK93 of Morphic Resonance in my write-up of
the appeal. But I promptly forgot about it
After East had opened a spade in third until a series of events came along that
seat, South played 3NT on a spade lead to made me think I had significantly underes-
the king and ace and a spade back to the timated the power of coincidence and MR
queen – no unblock – and led the ˙K next. in bridge.
When it held, he finessed diamonds. East
won, and unblocked spades (carelessly The first relevant deal is a problem
Bridge Today • November 2004 page 7

constructed by Eddie Kantar. Reading my A spade lead goes to the ten, king and
old bridge magazines I encountered this ace. Declarer leads a diamond to the 10 and
hand as a problem for East: jack, and you win the trick with the ∂Q.
You return a spade and declarer wins in
North dummy, then leads a club. You duck, and
ß Q 10 when declarer takes the king, Kantar asks if
˙AJ987 you agree with your play of the ç2.
∂J93
çQ53 Well, we are all familiar with the dictum
 West East (you) of second-hand low, and rising with the ace
ß J 9 7 3 2  ßK4 is a play that we have all seen succeed.
 ˙ 10 5 4 3 ˙  K Q 6 2 However, here a little reflection might
 ∂ 10 ∂Q865 result in the possibility of inserting the ten,
çJ84 ç A 10 2 hoping for partner to have jack-eight-third
South of clubs. This lets partner obtain the lead in
ßA865 the club suit and he has spades to cash.
˙—
∂AK742 This play was a new thought for me, and
çK976 I filed it away under the heading of “Suit
plays unlikely to be encountered again.” Of
West North East South course, immediately after this happened, a
— — 1∂ pass very similar club suit cropped up in a book
pass 1˙ pass 2 NT I wanted to review.
pass 3 NT (all pass)

East dealer ßQ6 The deal comes from Jay Jayaram’s “Mo-
None vul ˙75 ments of Truth at the Bridge Table,” featur-
∂ K 10 5 4 2 ing deals from Indian stars. Put yourself in
çK954 the position of Arun Bapat, West. You cash
West (you) East the two top spade honors, and partner
ßAK3 ßJ98742 shows six spades — thus presumably little
˙KJ94 ˙ 10 8 3 else.
∂Q98 ∂7
ç A 10 3 çJ86 It is pointless to regret not competing to
South three spades. Instead, searching for a passive
ß 10 5 exit, you select a diamond, since declarer is
˙AQ62 likely to finesse in trumps through you,
∂AJ63 whatever you do. Declarer wins cheaply in
çQ72 hand, partner following, and draws two
more rounds of trumps, ending in hand,
West North East South partner discarding two small spades.
— — pass 1∂
1 NT pass 2ß pass Declarer now plays the ç2. What are
pass 3∂ (all pass) you going to play and why?
Bridge Today • November 2004 page 8

ßQ6 and you will be endplayed.

˙75
∂ K 10 5 4 2 However, if partner’s three clubs include
çK954 the jack and 8, you must play the 10 now.
ßAK3 ßJ98742 This costs a trick if partner started with the
˙KJ94 N ˙ 10 8 3 doubleton jack, but then you were about to
W E
∂Q98 S ∂7 be endplayed on the third round of clubs
ç A 10 3 çJ86 even if you ducked. Bapat duly found the
ß 10 5 play of the ç10 on the first round of the
˙AQ62 suit, allowing his partner to obtain the lead
∂AJ63 in clubs, to play hearts through declarer
çQ72 and set the hand.

To have a chance to set the hand, you
need partner to have another honor some-
where. Life is easy if partner has a queen,
but what if partner holds only the çJ? If
you casually play the ç3 now, declarer will
win with the king on the table, then play a
second club and play low when partner
plays the 8, or cover the jack with the king,
I added this pair of deals to my pile of
coincidences. But suddenly I came across
this deal in a book I myself had authored!
The book is “Fit for a King.” And this time
Eddie was back in the East seat…the year
was 1978, and he was partnering Billy
Eisenberg (West) in the world champion-
ships:

South dealer North On the lead of the ç10 McLean put up

Both vul ßA9 dummy’s king as Kantar did his best to
˙Q9842 encourage with the 5. McLean played a
∂ J 10 6 3 diamond to the queen and a low heart
çK8 towards dummy. Eddie explained what
West (Eisenberg) East (Kantar) followed in terms of that well-known saying:
ßKJ65 ß 10 7 4 “Sometimes it is right to play second-hand
˙AJ5 ˙ 10 7 6 low, occasionally second-hand high. But
∂952 ∂K74 how often is it correct to play second-hand
ç 10 9 6 çQJ54 middle?’
South (McLean)
ßQ832 Yes, Eisenberg made a remarkable deci-
˙K3 sion to put in the ˙J, allowing declarer to
∂AQ8 capture the trick with dummy’s queen and
çA732 repeat the diamond finesse. Now he cashed
the third diamond and exited with the ˙K.
McLean Eisenberg Andersen Kantar Eisenberg took his ace and played the ç9,
South West North EastSouth and when it held, he led a third club.
1 NT pass 2 ∂* pass McLean took the trick, and crossed to the
2ß pass 3˙ pass ßA to lead the 13th diamond. Now he
3 NT (all pass) exited with the ˙9, but Kantar could take
this trick and cash the last club, then lead
*forcing Stayman to his partner’s ßK for the setting trick.
Bridge Today • November 2004 page 9

South dealer North ßA9

Both vul ßA9 ˙9842
˙Q9842 ∂ 10
∂ J 10 6 3 ç8
çK8 ßKJ65 ß 10 7 4
West (Eisenberg) East (Kantar) ˙AJ N ˙ 10 7
W E
ßKJ65 ß 10 7 4 ∂— S ∂—
˙AJ5 ˙ 10 7 6 ç96 çQJ4
∂952 ∂K74 ßQ832
ç 10 9 6 çQJ54 ˙K
South (McLean) ∂—
ßQ832 çA73
˙K3
∂AQ8 West wins the ˙A and leads the ç9 and
çA732 a club. South leads to the ßA, cashes the
∂10 and leads a heart to West, endplaying
Note that if Eisenberg follows with the him. The ßQ is South’s ninth trick.
˙A at trick three he concedes the run of
the heart suit at once, and if he plays low, If Eisenberg fails to play the ˙J at the
as most of us would in our sleep, declarer third trick, one other desperate defensive
can keep East off lead in the heart suit, maneuver would be for him to pitch his
because Eisenberg is left with the two mas- master heart on the fourth diamond, leav-
ter hearts. The defenders are never able to ing East with the ˙10 to guard the suit.
reach their second club trick, since there is Now declarer changes tack. In the three-
no entry to the East hand. This is the posi- card ending (where West has the ßK-J-6)
tion after South wins the ˙Q and two more declarer simply leads the ß9, intending to
diamonds: run this card to West, and declarer now
collects a spade trick whether East covers
this with the ß10 or not.

That made three hands with this play!
But in just the same way that Londoners
believe that if you wait at the top of the
escalators at Piccadilly Circus the whole
world will eventually pass you by, so in
Bridge one comes to accept that the same
themes will eventually recur. What tends to
happen is that human natures makes you
remember the similarities and attach undue
importance to them, while forgetting the
myriad examples that do not recur. As if to
question my rationalism, the next week I
picked up another book for review by me.
Again I was confronted with an unusual
theme:
“Focus on Hocus-Pocus” is the third book
produced by Erwin Brecher, this time in
tandem with Danny Roth....
Bridge Today • November 2004 page 10

South dealer North must duck the first two spades and win the
All vul ßQ6 third (yes, a club shift now might be better
˙KJ942 from East but that is far from obvious).
∂64 After declarer wins the ßA, the normal
çA432 play in hearts is to lead to the jack. If East
West East wins and returns a diamond, South next
ßJ9874 ß K 10 2 leads his second heart, intending to duck
˙Q65 ˙ A 10 3 the trick to East, covering West’s queen if
∂ J 10 8 7 ∂952 necessary. That works perfectly, but what if
çJ ç Q 10 9 8 East is not so cooperative and ducks the ˙J
South at trick four? Now the heart suit is com-
ßA53 pletely dead. Declarer needs two entries to
˙87 dummy to set up and establish hearts, and
∂AKQ3 only has one.
çK765
The secret is that with only one side-
South West North East entry to dummy, it is necessary to take a
1NT pass 2∂ pass different finesse on the first round of hearts,
2˙ pass 3 NT (all pass) by running the 7 at once, intending
subsequently to take the finesse against
South is in three notrump and West West’s presumed queen on the second
leads the ß7. How should declarer proceed? round. East wins with the 10 and switches
Is there a defense to beat him? to a club, but South wins in hand and plays
a second heart to the jack to ensure the
Declarer puts up the ßQ from dummy, contract.
and when East covers with the king, South

ßQ6 round duck in hearts by putting up the

˙KJ942 queen! If declarer ducks, West is on lead, so
∂64 the spades can be cashed. If declarer covers
çA432 the ˙Q with the king, East ducks and, as
ßJ9874 ß K 10 2 we saw previously, the heart suit can no
˙Q65 N ˙ A 10 3 longer be established because of the
W E
∂ J 10 8 7 S ∂952 shortage of entries to dummy. Even if the
çJ ç Q 10 9 8 clubs break 3-2, declarer cannot achieve
ßA53 nine tricks.
˙87
∂AKQ3 The ˙Q is a play I would not have
çK765 found – would you? Just after I’d written up
this hand I encountered our next deal, from
Is that all there is? No, now we come to a set on which I was due to write the com-
the tricky part! When South leads the ˙7 mentary, with a beautiful pair of defensive
from hand, West can prevent that first- plays:
Bridge Today • November 2004 page 11

East dealer North Three notrump on a club lead is more

N-S vul ß 10 6 5 challenging. Declarer has to duck the first
˙ K Q 10 4 2 club, then play on hearts to make his game
∂Q65 (he must duck the first round completely [!]
ç93 to protect his entries to dummy). If instead
West East he leads a low spade from hand at trick
ßQ94 ßKJ three, East can unblock his ßK, then return
˙J5 ˙A973 a third club, leaving West with the spade
∂J94 ∂ 10 8 7 3 entry.
ç 10 8 7 6 5 çKJ4
South So far so good, but now for the really
ßA8732 elegant point. Imagine that declarer does
˙86 play a spade at trick three and East finds
∂AK2 the sacrifice of his king and clears clubs. If
çAQ2 declarer now switches his attention to
hearts at trick five after gauging the spade
Not all Easts will deem their hand wor- position, West must put up the heart jack
thy of an opening bid. But after a 1∂ on the first round of the suit. Declarer has
opening bid by East, some Souths will to cover since the clubs are established, and
double and head for spades or notrump, now when East ducks, that kills the hearts.
and some Souths will overcall 1ß and hope
to catch up later. The 5-3 spade fit handles If West fails to play the ˙J on the first
like a dream; declarer can ruff his club loser round, declarer can duck, and now he can
in dummy and take 10 tricks easily enough. set up the hearts for three tricks without
letting West in. Any player finding that
defense would earn his brilliancy prize.

Morphic Resonance Revisited It turns out that Larry is revisiting the B.

I was now giving the doctrine of MR a
little more attention. I remembered I’d
referred to it in some past write-up, but I
could not even remember the name
Morphic Resonance, let alone where I’d
used it. Imagine my surprise when the next
morning after I’d been cudgeling my brains
for the reference, I got a note from Larry
Cohen referring to the appeal case in ques-
tion, and asking when it had happened!
Was Morphic Resonance really trying to
make the point to me in such an unsubtle
fashion?
J. Becker theme and wanted to look at the
commentary of the Appeals case. But I can’t
help wondering whether it was my
thoughts on the subject that got him inter-
ested – or was it the other way round?
When I started writing this article, I
remembered that a few years previously I
had encountered a deal that at the time
strained my powers of credulity. In fact, I
was so suspicious of the authenticity of the
whole hand that it was only because it had
come up with computer-dealt hands that I
was sure no one had been setting up deals.
Bridge Today • November 2004 page 12

Let’s look at the original creation – a sure-tricks solution is to win the diamond
famous one indeed, since it comes from the in hand and cash the ˙A, just in case.
pen of a master craftsman, Robert Darvas. Then lead the ßQ. If either defender takes
this, you have 12 winners and a home on
It is a sure tricks problem. Play six the spades for the blocked diamonds. When
notrump on the lead of the ∂J, to which the ßQ is ducked you advance the ˙J with
East follows suit with the 3: precisely the same plan in mind. When that
is ducked too you can set up a club trick for
ß J 10 7 2 your twelfth trick, not needing the fifth
˙ 10 6 5 2 diamond any more.
∂Q6542
ç— Most of us would admire the artistry of
∂J the deal and add the technique to our
ßAQ repertoire, while not really expecting to see
˙AKJ it crop up anywhere except in the world of
∂AK87 problem-solving. However Morphic Reso-
ç A K J 10 nance has a surprise for us: In the semi-
finals of the Dallas Vanderbilt in 1997 both
You have only nine top tricks and a matches were faced with this deal, and at all
blockage in diamonds to contend with. The four tables South declared three notrump:

ßA5 indicated hearts were 4-4, the right play

˙6 looks to be to take one top club, then to
∂ J 10 9 8 4 lead the ∂Q. If West wins this and does not
ç 10 9 8 3 2 play the ßK, you have nine tricks. If he
ßK762 ß843 does play the ßK, you have the club finesse
˙AK42 N ˙ J 10 8 7 for your contract. So West ducks the ∂Q,
W E
∂K753 S ∂62 and now you advance the çJ. Again, the
ç6 çQ754 defense can win and not dislodge the ßA,
ß Q J 10 9 whereupon you have plenty of tricks, or
˙Q953 they can knock out the ßA and allow you
∂AQ to cash five major-suit winners and four
çAKJ minor-suit tricks. If they duck the çJ, you
go after spades yourself, prepared to concede
In one room Peter Boyd (West) led a top a spade once you have your five minor
heart and shifted to spades. That beat the tricks in with no tricks lost.
contract. If South plays diamonds, West
ducks. If South plays clubs, East leads the The fact that Paul did not follow that
˙J and then shifts back to spades. line (but was kind enough to alert me to the
play afterwards!) and given that in the
At the other table, Soloway (South) got a other room neither South spotted it either,
low heart lead and won it in hand. Since suggests maybe the play is not as obvious as
the auction (1ç-double-3ç-pass; 3NT) had all that.
Bridge Today • November 2004 page 13

North that West should be allowed to play East for

ßK the ˙A, and to assume South was not a
˙Q72 genius.
∂KJ972
çJ754 If you recall, West led a spade against
West East 3NT, East won and returned a spade. South
ßJ82 ß A 10 7 6 4 won the queen, led the ˙K (on which East
˙ 10 8 6 5 3 ˙A94 paused before ducking), then led a diamond
∂86 ∂ Q 10 4 to the jack and queen. East led to West’s ßJ
çQ82 ç 10 6 and West had to decide which red ace
South partner held.
ßQ953
˙KJ Bramley argued that no one would ever
∂A53 find the Becker play (of the ˙K from
çAK93 ˙A-K-x) and if he did, he deserved to
succeed. It, therefore, gave me special plea-
As a final footnote to the power of coinci- sure to encounter this deal a couple of years
dence, Bart Bramley was one of the firmer later against Bart!
supporters of the idea (in our appeals case)

Board-a-match On a low club lead Bramley won the jack

East dealer North and thoughtfully shifted to the ßK. I won
All vul ß 10 4 2 and could think of nothing better to do
˙QJ5 than try the ˙K, then the ∂K. West won
∂9753 and, unsure if his partner had the ßQ or
çQ65 ˙A, played a second heart. That let me win
West East (Bramley) in dummy and ruff a club, cross to the ∂9
ßJ7653 ßKQ to ruff another club, then exit from hand
˙964 ˙8732 with a spade to endplay East, so the second
∂A6 ∂4 spade loser went away. Perhaps MR was
ç 10 8 4 çAKJ973 trying to teach us both a thing or two!
South (Rigal)
ßA98
˙ A K 10
∂ K Q J 10 8 2
ç2 Morphic Resonance

West North East South Is this monkey

— — 1ç double thinking the same
1ß pass 2ç 2∂ thing as a monkey
pass pass 3ç pass from another bridge
pass 3∂ (all pass) tournament?
Bridge Today • November 2004 page 14

The Third Champions Cup

by Pietro Campanile

The Champions Cup has recently taken
place in Barcelona from October 8-to-10.
The prestigious competition, now in its
third edition, is meant to be the bridge
equivalent of the famous “Football Champi-
ons League” and gathers the winning teams
of the national leagues of the top ten Euro-
pean countries (according to the ranking
from the last European Championship) as
well the holders of the previous edition (the
Italian “Tennis Parioli” team) and a local
team from the Spanish hosts (Bridge House
Barcelona).
The 12 participants were split in two
groups of six, playing each other over
matches of 20 boards each, with the top two
teams of each group qualifying to the semi-
finals. The pre-tournament favorites in-
cluded the two Italian teams taking part:
the “Parioli” (Lauria-Versace, Fantoni-
Nunes and Sementa-Angelini) and the
“Allegra” (Bocchi-Duboin, Buratti-
Lanzarotti, D’Avossa-Ferraro). Other likely
contenders were “Computerland Wroclaw”
from Poland (Balicki-Zmudzinski, Olanski-
Starkowski, Kwiecinski-Golebiowski) and
the Swedish “Herkules” (Sylvan-Sundelin,
Bertheau-Nystrom).
The two Italian teams won easily in both
groups but were forced to meet in the semi-
finals to comply with the regulations aiming
to prevent a final with two teams from the
same country. The other semifinal saw a
Polish-Dutch clash between Computerland
Wroclaw and Bridge Club Modalfa.

The unusual clash between the two N-S vul South (you)
Italian juggernauts produced a surprising ßQ9832
start when Parioli got everything right in ˙ Q 10 3 2
the first four boards gaining a useful 26 imp ∂2
lead. çKJ4

Both teams knew each other’s aggressive West North East South
style very well and were quick to capitalize pass pass 1∂ ?
whenever the occasion came.
E-W vul South (you)
Here’s a quick one-level bidding quiz for
ß Q 10
you. In each case, do you overcall or do you
˙ 10 9 7 5 4
pass?
∂KJ
çA763

West North East South

— — 1∂ ?
Bridge Today • November 2004 page 15

Board 12 Nunes’ 1ß is not what one would call an

West dealer North (Fantoni) automatic action at red versus white, and
N-S vul ß 10 4 when Buratti made a normal reopening
˙K97 double, Lanzarotti cannot have thought too
∂KQ93 long before passing it out.
ç8752
West (Lanzarotti) East (Buratti) The defense was ruthless. The ∂J lead
ßKJ765 ßA went to the king and ace and a low heart
˙A4 ˙J865 was played back. West won the ˙A and
∂ J 10 5 ∂A8764 returned the suit to the jack and declarer’s
ç 10 9 6 çAQ3 queen. Lacking alternative options, declarer
South (Nunes) played a heart himself, which was ruffed by
ßQ9832 West who exited with a spade to his
˙ Q 10 3 2 partner’s ace. A fourth heart was ruffed by
∂2 West with the jack, and West thoughtfully
çKJ4 exited with the ßK and another spade, thus
forcing declarer to lead clubs away from his
Closed Room: K-J-x to East.
West North East South
Lanzarotti Fantoni Buratti Nunes This meant down two and +500 to
pass pass 1∂ 1ß Allegra Torino.
pass pass double (all pass)

West dealer North (Bocchi) At the other table we saw an interesting

N-S vul ß 10 4 tactical development in the same auction:
˙K97 After an identical start Bocchi interposed a
∂KQ93 1NT reply to Duboin’s 1ß overcall, a clear
ç8752 sign of how much more seriously he took
West (Versace) East (Lauria) his partner’s action. On the other side of
ßKJ765 ßA the fence, when the 1NT bid came around
˙A4 ˙J865 to Versace, the Italian was hard pressed to
∂ J 10 5 ∂A8764 keep the auction open given the “free-
ç 10 9 6 çAQ3 wheeling” style of Lauria’s third-seat open-
South (Duboin) ers (only a few boards before, the Italian
ßQ9832 had showed up with a mere 6 count for his
˙ Q 10 3 2 third-seat 1∂ opening white versus red).*
∂2 So Bocchi ended up in the “no double, no
çKJ4 trouble” spot of 1NT, which went two
Open Room:
down after a diamond lead. Seven imps had
West North East South
gone Allegra’s way.
Versace Bocchi Lauria Duboin
*In that case, East, with a full opener, should double
pass pass 1∂ 1ß
1NT for takeout of spades. Then West can convert
pass 1NT (all pass)
the double by passing. — editors
Bridge Today • November 2004 page 16

Board 16 West reached the unmakeable 5∂, going

East dealer North (Duboin) two off. In the Open Room, following
E-W vul ßAK9873 Bocchi’s 1˙ overcall, Duboin was never
˙Q632 going to let 5∂ play with his great offensive
∂— assets (diamond void, good heart support
ç985 and a strong side suit as potential source of
West (Lauria) East (Versace) tricks) and went on to 5˙.*
ßJ5 ß642
˙AKJ8 ˙— Bocchi took the ç2 lead (low from
∂ Q 10 7 6 3 ∂A98542 doubleton) with his çA and played a heart
ç42 ç K Q J 10 up to Lauria’s ˙K. Lauria returned another
South (Bocchi) club. Versace continued the suit, allowing
ß Q 10 his partner to discard both of his spades
˙ 10 9 7 5 4 while dummy ruffed the fourth club.
∂KJ
çA763 Bocchi attempted to come back to hand
with a spade to the queen, but Lauria
Open Room ruffed and played a diamond. Dummy was
down to the ˙Q-6, so Bocchi pitched a
West North East South spade, and Versace won the ∂A and sent
Lauria Doubin Versace Bocchi another spade back for his partner to ruff.
— — 1∂ 1˙ There still was the ˙A to come for a hefty
3 ç* 4∂ 5ç pass 1100, which together with the 200 earned
5∂ 5˙ pass pass in the Closed Room meant a huge 16 imps
double (all pass) to Parioli. This helped them on to a final
score of 106-84.
*limit raise or better in diamonds
*Perhaps Duboin would pass if Bocchi doubled 5ç
On board 16 (rotated here), in the Closed (if it was understood to mean: “Partner, don’t bid, I
Room, South passed throughout and East- want to defend”). — editor

The final was a close affair until the last
segment started. Parioli led their Polish
opponents by 8 imps after 12 boards, by 18
imps at the half and by 19 imps with 12
boards to play. However, what might have
been a thrilling final session became sort of
a formality after the Poles had three big
losses at the start of it, the final margin
rising to a deceptively large 55 imps! The
play-off for the bronze was convincingly
won by Allegra, defeating the Dutch
Modalfa team by 35 imps.
Help from Your Opponent
To conclude, here is an interesting board
from the final where help was solicited
from other side! Sometimes when champi-
ons meet each other again and again there
is a pleasant, relaxed atmosphere at the
table, which can lead to some extraordinary
exchanges....
Bridge Today • November 2004 page 17

Board 23 When his partner bid 5∂, Zmudzinski

North dealer North (Zmudzinski) went into the tank, unsure whether to go
All vul ßQ on. After a couple of minutes, he decided to
˙AQ952 ask for an expert opinion…from Versace!
∂Q872 He showed the Italian his cards and solic-
çA73 ited his advice. Versace, after agreeing with
West (Lauria) East (Versace) his Polish friend/opponent on the difficulty
ßKJ963 ß 10 7 5 4 of the decision, wrote on a piece of paper
˙J6 ˙8743 that 6∂ was likely down on a club lead and
∂A43 ∂9 would probably make on a spade lead.
ç Q 10 8 çK962 “But,” he continued, “be careful, because
South (Balicki) Lorenzo [is] professor in opening leads.”
ßA82
˙ K 10 Zmudzinski did the opposite of what his
∂ K J 10 6 5 Italian screenmate suggested and called the
çJ54 slam. After 20 seconds the ç8 appeared on
the table and for Balicki it was curtains: 6∂,
West North East South down two, when the Pole desperately at-
Lauria Zmudzinski Versace Balicki tempted to throw his clubs on dummy’s
— 1˙ pass 2∂ hearts.
pass 2˙ pass 2 NT
pass 3∂ pass 3˙
pass 4∂ pass 5∂ Adam Zmudzinski:
pass 6∂ (all pass) “Alfredo, what would you
do with my hand?”

When the players related the funny

Lorenzo Lauria: “It was obvious...”
exchange to Lauria, the Italian champion
was almost offended by Zmudzinski’s lack of
trust in his opening lead skills and ex-
plained curtly that it was an automatic lead
because, “It was obvious from the bidding
that North controlled both black suits, and
from my own distribution it seemed more
likely for Zmudzinski to be short in spades
than clubs.” Simple, isn’t it? I bet we could
all have worked that out!
Bridge Today • November 2004 page 18

Nine Tips from the Turkey Round Robin

Olympiad World Team Olympiad Diary — first week

by Pamela & Matthew Granovetter

The 12th World Team Olympiad is currently taking place in

Istanbul, Turkey. (BTW, only in an electronic magazine could we
possibly report on last week’s tournament!) Here are some of the more
instructional and entertaining hands from the first week of play.
Day 1 - Qualifying Round Robin: Brazil blitzes France

It was Brazil all the way in their first-day bid what he thought he could make, three
match against France. Two 10-imp swings hearts. He was right in a way, because nine
were won by impressive Brazilian bidding, tricks are the limit for East-West, but
cha cha cha. North-South have 10 tricks in spades. After
the 3˙ bid, North made a remarkable
East dealer North responsive double (he might have preferred
E-W vul ß 10 6 3 2 to raise to 5ç with five-card support rather
˙J5 than show his four small suit!) and South
∂A4 was charmed to bid 4ß, for +420.
çK8642
West (Chagas) East (Villa Boa) Over Chagas’s pressure bid of four hearts,
ßK87 ßJ5 North had less room to maneuver. Double
˙A42 ˙ K Q 10 9 8 6 here is generally played as card-showing
∂K98652 ∂ Q J 10 7 rather than strictly takeout, and he could
ç3 çJ hardly risk “double, all pass” with his five-
South card club support. So he made the normal
ßAQ94 bid of 5ç, which failed by a trick when
˙73 East-West scored two hearts and a spade.
∂3
ç A Q 10 9 7 5 What does a four-club bid mean over
their opening weak-two bid? Many pairs
West North East South play it to show “five here and five in the
— — 2˙ 3ç other major” but with five of the other
? major (especially spades), you can just bid
your suit and easily locate your major-suit
The East players at both tables opened fit below the four-level. Perhaps a more
with a vul-vs-not “weak” two-bid, which useful method is to use the jump shift into
rates to show a good playing hand at this a minor as “six here and four in the other
vulnerability even if your name is Meck- major.” In this way, you can’t miss your
well. Both Souths overcalled three clubs, major-suit game and you might also play a
and now the auctions diverged. Gabriel good 6-3 or even 6-2 minor-suit game. The
Chagas, sitting West, made the practical downside to both treatments is bidding
“bulldog” bid of 4˙, while the French West yourself past 3NT.
Bridge Today • November 2004 page 19

Tip: If there might be a play for a vulner- The French bid:

able game, bid it!
West North East South
Two boards later, the Brazilians bid to a — 1ç pass 1˙
great but difficult-to-reach vulnerable slam: pass 1 NT pass 3 NT
(all pass)
North dealer North (Chagas)
N-S vul ßAK4 The French made 11 tricks. Notice that
(hand rotated) ˙ K 10 3 North didn’t raise hearts despite his
∂ 10 8 doubleton diamond (the French like to have
çA9853 four-card support for a raise).
West East
ß8765 ßQJ92 Chagas (rotated to the North seat) started
˙Q72 ˙865 the ball rolling with a 15-17 1NT opening
∂Q93 ∂K6542 bid, re-evaluating his 3-1/2 quick tricks,
çJ74 ç2 two tens, and five-card suit with the nice
South (Villa Boa) spot-cards up to 15. Boy, was he right. His
ß 10 3 two tens came in handy! South bid
˙AJ94 Stayman and after the 2∂ response was able
∂AJ7 to relay with 3ç, a minor-suit ask, to find
ç K Q 10 6 out about Chagas’s five-card club suit:

The Brazilians bid: 1 NT 2ç

2∂ 3ç
West North East South ?
— 1NT* pass 2ç
pass 2∂ pass 3 ç (asking) 3∂ = a five-card minor
pass 3 ∂ (5ç or 5∂) pass 3 ˙ (asking) 3˙ = 2344 shape
pass 3 ß (5ç) pass 4 ç (set trumps) 3ß = 3244 shape
pass 4 ˙ (cue) pass 5 ∂ (cue) 3NT = 3334 or 3343
pass 6ç (all pass)

*15-17 in theory

Over 3∂, 3˙ asked which minor and 3ß
(first step) showed clubs. Now South raised
clubs and Chagas cuebid 4˙. Again, fine
bidding by Chagas, who is not a “point-
count bidder” and appreciated his great
controls (all aces and kings) for slam.
Tip: Don’t be a “point-counter” bidder.
The good slam was reached from the
right side of the table. From the North side
declarer needs to play well after a diamond
lead to the queen. He should make it by
cashing the ˙A-K and, when the ˙Q
doesn’t fall, take the diamond finesse. From
the South side, however, the hand was cold
on any lead. In fact, after the spade lead,
declarer misguessed hearts but scored 1370.
Do you see how useful those red tens were?
Bridge Today • November 2004 page 20

Day 2 — Qualifying Round Robin

Yesterday we saw some good relay bidding by the

Brazilians to reach a great vulnerable slam. Today
there were two more instances of artificial bidding,
one that brought in 14 imps in a rather unexpected
way, and another that fell flat (to put it mildly).

“Down Two — Good Bridge” the 3∂ bid, South jumped to 4ß! The
defense went: heart ruff, club, heart ruff,
North dealer North club, heart ruff, and East still had the A-Q
All vul ß K J 10 8 6 3 over dummy. That was down four, 1100.
˙K74
∂ Q 10 What does all this have to do with relay
ç J 10 systems? When Iceland held the North-
West East South cards, the bidding went:
ß5 ßAQ974
˙ Q J 10 9 3 ˙— Armansson Jorgensen
∂984 ∂752 West North East South
çAQ42 ç98653 — 1 ß (1) pass 2 ç (2)
South pass 2∂ pass 2˙
ß2 double 2ß pass 2 NT
˙A8652 pass 3ç pass 3 NT
∂AKJ63 (all pass)
çK7
(1) No comment, you know what we think.
West North East South (2) Relay, describe your hand; I’ll place the contract.
— 2 ∂ (1) pass 2 NT
pass 3 ∂ (2) pass 4ß When West doubled the artificial 2˙
pass pass double (all pass) relay bid (should he? after all, he’d prefer a
club lead against a spade contract), South
(1) Multi (weak two-bid in either major) was warned away from hearts. Jorgensen
(2) good hand with spades learned via North’s replies that his partner
held 6-3-2-2 shape. Normally, he would
When the Russian team held the North- place the contract in 4˙, but not after the
South cards, North opened with a Multi 2∂ double! Four hearts (doubled) goes down
(see page 28 for an article about this con- 800; imagine having that result and gaining
vention) showing a weak two-bid in hearts 7 imps! But minus 200 in 3NT was much
or spades. South inquired with a 2NT bid, better and worth a whopping 14 imps when
and North showed a maximum hand with compared to the +1100 picked up by team-
spades. True, this is a maximum in high- mates Jonsson-Erlingsson in the other room!
card points but does it qualify as a “strong
playing hand” (which is how we personally Tip: Don’t be too quick to double artifi-
would define a maximum)? Anyway, after cial bids.
Bridge Today • November 2004 page 21

World Class Disaster

It’s always fun for the VuGraph audience when a famous

partnership has a big bidding accident. What can we learn from
this one? Tip: Don’t cuebid the same suit twice!

The hand occurred in the New Zealand vs. Italy match. The
sublteties of the auction were such that a friend of ours was led
to remark: “You have to be a world-class expert to have this
disaster.”

West dealer North Here’s what happened:

None vul ß2
˙AK963 Versace Lauria
∂ 10 8 5 West North East South
çQJ65 1 ∂ (1) 1˙ 2 ˙ (2) pass
West East 2 ß (3) pass 3 ˙ (4) pass
ßK43 ß A Q J 10 8 7 4 ç (5) pass 4 ∂ (6) pass
˙875 ˙QJ 5 ç (7) pass pass (8) pass
∂AQ976 ∂K
çA3 çK987 (1) Natural, 4+ diamonds
South (2) Spades; not necessarily a game force
ß965 (3) This doesn’t promise spade support; he may have
˙ 10 4 2 no other call because a 3-level bid shows extras and
∂J432 2NT shows a heart stopper. Perhaps he should have
ç 10 4 2 bid 3ß instead.
(4) Game force
Lesser mortals would reach 4ß with the (5) Cue bid in support of spades, but East thought it
East-West cards, as did the pair from New could be clubs with a minimum hand, since 3ç on
Zealand. The world-famous Varsace and the previous round would have shown extra values.
Lauria, however, reached a less successful (6) Wondering if 4ç was natural or in support of
contract. Can you guess where they played spades, East cuebids 4∂ waiting to hear partner
(it wasn’t 3NT)? clarify his previous bid.
(7) Cue bid. “That 4∂ bid makes my hand really
strong; I’ll cuebid 5ç and see if partner can cuebid
5˙.”
(8) Obviously, he has clubs.

Read more great hands

This inelegant contract failed by a few
from the Olympiad in the
tricks, but, hey, no system is perfect!
Bridge Today Digest Daily
email columns.
Bridge Today • November 2004 page 22

Day 3

Today we went to see how the American Ladies’ Team is doing, and watched them
lose to Poland. The first hand has overtones of (of all things) morphic resonance!* If
you recall, on Day 1 we saw Gabriel Chagas make a pressure bid of four hearts, while
his French counterpart bid a polite three. The pressure bid pushed his opponents
into a minus position, and here it is again!

*See Barry Rigal’s article on page 5, where he discusses this concept. The idea when applied to
bridge is that themes repeat themselves. When someone makes a particular type of bid or play at
one table, someone else (who has no idea what happened previously) will do it, too, at his table.

South dealer North ing her partner bid again or because they
East-West vul ßJ6542 play that when bidding a game vul vs not,
˙J2 you assume it’s your hand.
∂Q97
ç A 10 7 Meyers ruffed the opening lead and took
West East a reasonable line of play: She pulled trump,
ß7 ß8 ruffed out the heart, and played a diamond
˙AQ653 ˙ K 10 9 8 7 4 toward dummy. West won the king and
∂K854 ∂ J 10 3 returned the king of clubs. Declarer won
çKQ3 çJ96 the ace, cashed her diamonds, and got out
South with a club, hoping to endplay West (with
ß A K Q 10 9 3 the çK-Q or çK-J doubleton) into giving
˙— her a ruff-and-sluff. No luck, down one.
∂A62
ç8742 When the American women held the
East-West cards, the auction took a differ-
When Poland held the East-West cards, ent turn:
the auction went:
South West North East
South West North East 1ß double 2 NT 3˙
1ß 2˙ 3 ß* 4˙ 4ß (all pass)
4ß pass pass 5˙
5ß double (all pass) Look at East’s gentle 3˙ bid with six
hearts facing a takeout double of spades!
* “mixed raise” (preemptive and constructive) Morphic Resonance (just like the French
player who raised gently to 3˙ in the open-
The Polish West’s 2˙ bid worked well ing hand of this article) — she was right on
when she caught six-card support! A take- time, nine tricks is the limit of the hand.
out double is somewhat safer though. East But being right isn’t as desirable as being
not surprisingly went on to 5˙, which goes plus. Maybe if she had bid 4˙, her partner
minus 500, but who can fault Jill Meyers would have bid 5˙ over 4ß and pushed
(South) for pushing on to five spades? Per- them up to 5ß too. Chalk up 11 imps for
haps West doubled 5ß out of fear of hear- the Poles.
Bridge Today • November 2004 page 23

ßJ6542 Declarer is only in four spades, so there’s

˙J2 no hurry to put up the ∂Q; suppose she
∂Q97 plays low to the ten (or jack) and ace. Now
ç A 10 7 another club. What happens if West wins
ß7 ß8 and cooly returns another low diamond?!
˙AQ653 N ˙ K 10 9 8 7 4 West has shown up with the çK-Q, and
W E
∂K854 S ∂ J 10 3 presumably the ˙A-K or ˙A-Q, so it’s not
çKQ3 çJ96 so clear that she also owns the ∂K. And,
ß A K Q 10 9 3 anyway, how many declarers would play
˙— West to underlead the king of diamonds
∂A62 twice?
ç8742
At the table, however, when West won
The play in 4ß was different from 5ß. her çQ, she cashed the çK and then led a
West led the ˙A, and declarer ruffed, diamond. Now declarer put up the queen,
pulled trump, and played a club to the ace. barely caring if it won or lost, because her
There’s no reason to play diamonds early, fourth club was set up for a diamond pitch
and by playing clubs, she might establish a (and she was only in four).
discard for a diamond (but she should have
put in the 10). Now she ruffed dummy’s Tip: If you are unlikely to defeat a con-
second heart and exited with a club. West tract on strength, try playing on a suit
won and can give declarer a good run for declarer would not expect you to play with
her money if she exits with a low diamond. your actual holding.

On the next hand (rotated to make South At both tables, South opened a strong
declarer) Tobi Sokolow and Janice Seamon- notrump in first seat, and it went pass-pass
Molson bid aggressively to recover a swing: to East. The Polish East passed out the
hand, but Janice doubled.
South dealer ß Q 10 3 2
All vul ˙ 10 6 4 3 Tobi (West) left the double in and de-
∂ J 10 2 clarer could do no better than take five
ç 10 7 tricks, so that was -500. The ç8 was led to
ß76 ßAK54 the 7, 3, and ace. The ßJ was taken by the
˙92 N ˙AQJ75 king and Janice smartly returned a low
W E
∂AQ63 S ∂97 heart. Declarer put up the king and led
ç98654 çJ3 another spade, so the defenders had two
ßJ98 spades, four hearts and two diamonds. At
˙K8 the other table, the defense lost their way
∂K854 and declarer escaped for down one, so that
çAKQ2 was 9 imps to the USA.

South West North East Tip: If you need some points, consider
1NT pass pass double doubling to get a number rather than com-
(all pass) peting for a partscore.
Bridge Today • November 2004 page 24

Day 4

In the last few issues of this publication, we’ve been discussing table
feel vs. percentage plays, and wondering if “intuition” is really intuition,
or does the mind pick up information that isn’t filtered down to con-
scious thought, and therefore it only seems to be intuition?

A perfect example of this occurred during the round-robin match

between the USA and Norway (won by Norway) in the open champi-
onships. We were trying our hand at VuGraph commentary for Bridge
Base Online. Commentating was fun with the group we joined, includ-
ing our friend Curtis Cheek from Alabama.

West dealer North bid (mixed raise for clubs). It was easy for
All vul ß 10 7 6 4 South to play the ˙A and a heart, and the
˙K632 contract was down two, -500. If Brogeland
∂QJ74 had led the ∂Q, the contract is down only
ç4 one. Still, it looked like a reasonable result
West East against North-South’s cold 4˙ game.
ßQJ532 ßK9
˙ Q 10 ˙954 In the Closed Room, West passed in first
∂— ∂A93 seat:
ç K Q 10 9 6 3 çJ8752
South West North East South
ßA8 Helness Fallenius Furunes Welland
˙AJ87 pass pass pass 1∂
∂ K 10 8 6 5 2 2ç double 3ç 4˙
çA 4ß 5∂ (all pass)

In the Open Room, Zia, West, chose to The opening lead was the çK and, with
open his hand with 1ç sure trump and spade losers, the contract
depended on declarer’s view in the heart
West North East South suit. Declarer (Roy Welland) won the çA
Zia Brogeland Rosenberg Saelensmi and played a trump. Tor Helness (West)
1ç pass 2 ß (1) double signaled for a spade, so East won the ∂A
5ç pass pass double and returned the ßK. Declarer won and
(all pass) immediately led a heart to the king, an
intelligent play, because the earlier you lead
(1) two-way: strong jump shift in spades or a “mixed a suit the more likely you will get true cards
raise” in clubs from the opponents (rather than falsecards).
The ˙10 appeared from West and the 4
Boye Brogeland (North) got off to the from East. Welland then pulled two rounds
best lead of a low spade, misreading his of trump, ending in hand, as Helness threw
partner’s double of Michael Rosenberg’s 2ß the çQ and a low club, and played a spade
Bridge Today • November 2004
toward dummy. Helness won the queen
with his Q-J-5 and it was his play:
North
ß 10 7
˙632
∂7
ç—
West (Helness) East (Furunes)
ßJ5 ß—
˙Q ˙95
∂— ∂—
ç 10 9 6 çJ875
South (Welland)
ß—
˙AJ8
∂ 10 8 6
ç—
Had Welland set up a “pseudo endplay,”
enticing West to play hearts? “Not in Ala-
bama!” chirped Curtis. Sure enough, Nor-
wegians don’t fall for this either. Helness, a
very experienced player, got out with a
club, giving declarer a useless ruff-and-sluff.
Declarer ruffed in dummy and called for
the ˙2, East put up the 9 and declarer went
into the tank.
If East follows to the second heart with
the 5, declarer needn’t credit West for
making an alert ten from the 10-5, because
he would appear to have 10-9. In addition,
every expert knows to play the 9 on the
second round with the East hand, but it
could backfire. If East plays the five the
second time, declarer might reason, “If he
had nine-five-four, he would always play
the nine the second time, so he doesn’t have
that and ergo he has the queen.”
Matthew suspects that Welland would
have dropped the queen offside if he had
not been on VuGraph. VuGraph adds
another dimension to bridge, because few
page 25
Curtis said that his wife, Disa, bets on
Welland to drop the queen. Pamela, who
didn’t like East’s nine-of-hearts play, also bet
on Welland. All the men bet on the finesse.
After a long huddle, Welland played the
jack; down one.
What was declarer thinking about during
his huddle? He might have thought that
with a strong playing hand and the çK-Q,
ßQ-J and ˙Q, West would have opened
the bidding (as Zia did). Therefore, the ˙Q
was likely to be onside. On the other hand,
the ˙10 was a suspicious looking card. Did
West hold the 10-5 doubleton or the Q-10?
Pamela felt strongly that the ˙9 by East,
a “standard” falsecard, was the wrong card
to play this time. If West had the ˙10-9, he
would often play the ten, trying to look like
a man with queen-ten doubleton. If, how-
ever, West had the ˙10-5, would it be so
automatic to play the ten? It should be, but
it’s psychologically easier to play the ten
when the play of the suit begins with the
king from dummy than it is to put up the
ten second hand at trick four.
players are willing to look foolish (e.g., going
down in a game when the crucial finesse
was on). Perhaps this is why all the male
commentators bet on the finesse. It was the
pure odds-on play. After all East was dealt
three hearts and West two.
Tip: Vary your falsecards. If you always
play the same type of falsecards, declarers
familiar with your game will be able to read
you like a book.
***
Our second entry for today is less dra-
matic, but shows a fine example of accurate
defending:
Bridge Today • November 2004 page 26

East dealer North a 2˙ rebid. This propelled North-South to

All vul ßKJ932 3NT, which might make on a very lucky
˙J93 day or on a misdefense.
∂ K J 10
ç 10 9 In the other room, the auction went:
West East
ß A 10 4 ßQ865 West North East South
˙K82 ˙ 10 6 5 Zia Brogeland Rosenberg Saelensmi
∂8632 ∂5 — — pass 1∂
çJ54 çAQ862 pass 1ß pass 2∂
South pass 3∂ pass 3 NT
ß7 (all pass)
˙AQ74
∂AQ974 In both rooms the opening lead and
çK73 defense were identical. West led the ßA, a
thoughtful lead (especially in the room
West North East South where declarer bid diamonds, hearts and
Helness Fallenius Furunes Welland notrump, suggesting short spades). Give
— — pass 1∂ dummy a holding like Q-x-x-x and declarer
pass 1ß pass 2˙ a singleton, and the ßA could be a killer. A
pass 3∂ pass 3NT spade continuation was out of the question
(all pass) after dummy came down, so both Wests
switched to a club. Now both Easts made
What would you rebid at your second the good play of the çQ, keeping communi-
turn with the South hand? Some VuGraph cation open. Declarer didn’t have the en-
commentators suggested a two-club rebid tries to cash all his tricks before taking the
and some a two-diamond rebid. We sug- heart finesse for his ninth trick, so he won
gested a 1NT rebid (whereupon Curtis the çK, crossed to dummy, held his breath,
Cheek said, “There’s Door Number and played a heart to the queen. Down two,
Three!”). We like 1NT because it’s then for a push.
easy for North to bid a heart suit on the
next round and locate a heart fit (over 2ç, Tip: When partner leads a low card to
2˙ is fourth-suit forcing). But, no, South your ace-queen-fifth suit, consider playing
(Welland) opted for Door Number Four — the queen to keep communications open.

Day Five

Morphic Resonance Strikes Again! three or four trump before launching into a
Blackwood or Keycard Blackwood.
Opener Responder
1∂ 1ß
2ß ? Tuning in to the penultimate board of
the USA vs. China match, the USA is
Tip: After this type of sequence, responder getting clobbered 46-4 and this hand ap-
should find out if opener has raised with pears on the VuGraph:
Bridge Today • November 2004 page 27

North dealer North (Zuang) cause he’s still got that small heart to ruff in
East-West vul ßA86 dummy, so he cannot pick up queen-third
˙4 in the East hand. He calls for a trump.
∂KJ853 Deuce from East. Tank from declarer. Did
ç K 10 4 3 West begin with 10-7 or Q-10 of trump?
West (Fallenius) East (Welland)
ß Q 10 ß72 Notice that this time the play of the 10
˙J872 ˙ 10 6 5 3 was a forced card. West must ruff in with
∂A9742 ∂ Q 10 6 Q-10 or 10-x. The only choice was
çJ9 çQ865 Welland’s (whether to follow with the 2 or
South (Shi) 7). Before dummy played a trump, it was
ßKJ9543 clearly two-to-one odds to finesse East for
˙AKQ9 the ßQ since there are two 10-x’s and only
∂— one Q-10 combination for West. But after
çA72 East follows with the deuce of spades, are
the odds the same? They are in theory, but
West North East South in practice East usually follows low.
Fallenius Zuang Welland Shi
— 1∂ pass 1ß What about West’s opening lead? Per-
pass 2ß pass 5 ∂ (exclusion KCB) haps if declarer had ruffed a heart before a
pass 5ß pass 6 ç (çK partner?) club, he might have had more information
pass 7ß (all pass) to work with. Then he would know West
led a heart from the jack-fourth — a dan-
Question: Notice anything familiar here? gerous lead! Why would he lead that card
Answer: Another queen-ten doubleton! instead of 10-7 of trump (trumps being the
normal lead against a grand slam)? Declarer
In the other room, Levin and Weinstein might have taken this inference and later
bid to six spades, making seven. If declarer dropped the queen. But as it is, the opening
makes this one, the USA will be blitzed! lead might have been the 8 from 8-7-2, not
as risky. Still, why didn’t West lead trump?
West, Fellenius, leads the ˙8 (rather than
the 2) and declarer goes into the tank. As After yesterday, we “know” Shi is going
kibitzers we realize that declarer will prob- to finesse the spade, because he’s on
ably score the grand if Welland, East, fails VuGraph. No matter what he thinks about
to put up the ten of hearts. After some the lead or play thus far, he won’t be able to
thought, declarer plays to trick one, and live with himself if he bucks the odds and
Welland sure enough plays third hand plays to drop the queen of spades, but if he
high. One hurdle overcome by the Ameri- hooks and he’s wrong, at least he’s made the
cans. Now declarer cashes two high clubs, percentage play.
ending in hand, and two high hearts, pitch-
ing clubs from dummy, coming down to six Think, think… finally, he does finesse,
trumps, the ˙9 and ç7. The ç7 hits the so 14 imps for the USA. The USA wins a
table and Fellenius ruffs in with the ß10. partscore swing of 5 imps on the last board,
Declarer overruffs and is now at the cross- so loses 46-23, which is not so good but not
roads. He needs trumps to break 2-2 be- as bad as a blitz. See you next month!
Bridge Today • November 2004 page 28

Building a Better Mousetrap

by Matthew Granovetter

Multi 2∂ = a weak two-bid in either major

Multi 2∂ is one of the very popular conventions on the International

bridge scene that has yet to become popular with American players. At the
Olympiad in Turkey this month, Multi is played by many partnerships, espe-
cially the version where the bid promises only a weak two-bid and does not
include strong hand types.

Recently some American expert partnerships have adopted the bid so that
they can use two types of weak two-bids: 2˙ and 2ß openings as good weak
two-bids (Trent style), and 2∂ for the bad ones. Some Internationalists use 2˙
and 2ß for two-suited hands (five in the major and a side 4- or 5-card minor,
depending on vulnerability) and 2∂ for the one-suited hands in a major.

Let’s assume that you adopt Multi along with Trent weak two-bids, where
Multi shows the weaker version of a weak two-bid. Here then is a good struc-
ture to use after opening 2∂. See page 30 for a one-page system outline.

In this version, the 2∂ bid has a range of
3 to 8 points or so, and the vulnerability
also affects the quality of the suit. After
RHO passes, your job is to assess the two
hands. Don’t think in terms of pointcount,
instead picture Q-10-9-x-x-x and an outside
king in partner’s hand and figure out what
you can make and what they might make.
West North East South
2∂ pass ? spades or bid 2NT or 3ç with hearts. Two
I. Weak hands
two doubletons also bid 2˙. If partner has
spades, he will correct to 2ß. If he does, you
can raise to 3ß preemptive if you like.
ß32 ˙A876 ∂Q876 çK92
Bid 2ß. You like hearts more and are
happy to preempt to 3˙ if partner has
hearts, but you want to stop in 2ß if that’s
his suit. Over 2ß, partner will pass with
notrump shows a good hand with hearts
and 3ç a bad one. You’ll then bid 3˙.

ßJ54 ˙3 ∂A876 çKQ432 ßQJ2 ˙KJ7 ∂54 ç98762

Bid 2˙. With shortness in one major and Bid 3˙. With support for both suits,
length in the other, bid the shorter. With jump to 3˙, asking him to pass or correct.
Bridge Today • November 2004
ßQJ72 ˙KJ76 ∂5 ç9876
Bid 4∂, asking partner to bid his major,
when you simply want to play 4˙ or 4ß
from his side. Notice that if your partner
had opened 2˙ or 2ß you would jump to
4˙ or 4ß as well. You can play it from
your side if you like:
ßK762 ˙KJ76 ∂5 çK876
Bid 4ç, asking partner to transfer to his
major. Now you get to be declarer!
ßK7652 ˙— ∂QJ8762 çQ5
Pass. Here you suspect strongly that
partner has hearts. Pass 2∂ and hope you
survive. (If partner miraculously has spades,
fourth seat is likely to balance with 2˙. He
might balance with 2˙ even when partner
has hearts! What fun.)
ß9 ˙98 ∂QJ7 çAQJ8765
Bid 2˙. You want to play this hand in
3ç. To do that, you must bid 2˙ and then
follow up with 3ç if partner bids 2ß. A
direct 3ç bid is strong. With two spades
and one heart, you respond 2ß to reach
2ß or 3ç.
ß— ˙KQJ987 ∂854 çKQJ5
Bid 2˙. Whoops, you don’t want to play
this in 2ß, so to play in your own long
major, bid it (expecting partner to remove)
and then bid it again. Over 2ß by opener,
you’ll rebid 3˙. You can’t bid 3˙ directly,
because that shows a preemptive raise in
either major.
Opener should pass your 2˙-3˙ se-
quence unless he has some support, in
which case he can raise to 4˙.
page 29
ß Q J 10 7 6 5 4 ˙ 2 ∂ A 6 ç 6 5 4
Bid 2ß. Same problem. Here your choice
is to play 2˙ (by bidding it, expecting part-
ner to pass) or play 3ß, by bidding 2ß and
then 3ß. A jump immediately to 3ß shows
an invitation to game in spades and you’re
not good enough here.
II. Game Invitations
ß A Q J 10 7 6 5 ˙2 ∂A6 ç654
Bid 3ß. This is the same hand as before
but better and you can invite game by
jumping immediately to 3ß. The system
doesn’t include invitational hands with
hearts, diamonds or clubs, so you must
make a weak bid with these hands, and
opener must raise with a fit.
ßK87 ˙2 ∂AK65 çA8765
Bid 2˙. Remember to picture Q-10-9-x-
x-x and a king in partner’s hand. If his suit
is hearts, you would like to stop in 2˙. If
his suit is spades, you may have game!
ß3 ˙A8 ∂AQ874 çAQ765
Bid 2ß. This is an interesting hand.
Opposite spades, you would like to stop
safely at the two level. Opposite hearts, you
are close to game. Over 2ß, partner will
pass with spades or bid 2NT (good) or 3ç
(bad) with hearts. Over 2NT, you’ll jump to
game in hearts, but over 3ç, you’ll bid only
3˙ and hope to make it. At least the open-
ing lead will be coming into your hand.
Alert! In American tourna-
ments, you must pre-alert Multi and
provide your opponents with a written
defense at the table.
Bridge Today • November 2004
ßK87 ˙AJ5 ∂KQJ97 çA8
Bid 2NT. If partner has Q-10-sixth and a
king, you can make game, but if he has a
very weak one, you want to stop. The bid of
2NT asks partner to identify his suit.
Opener bids 3ç with hearts, 3∂ with
spades. After this, you can bid three of his
suit to declare the hand and invite him to
game. Remember, if you only want to invite
game opposite one major and not the other,
you bid two of your short major.
III. Game Force Hands
ß A Q 10 9 ˙ J ∂ K J 10 9 ç K Q J 10
Bid 2NT. With a hand that produces 4˙
or 4ß opposite only the right major, but
makes 3NT opposite the “wrong” major, bid
2NT to find out which major he has. Over
3ç (hearts), you rebid 3NT, but over 3∂
(spades), you bid 4ß.
ßKJ5 ˙ Q J 10 ∂ A Q 10 ç A J 9 8
Bid 3NT. This is a special response,
asking partner to choose between 3NT and
four of his major, based on his distribution.
With two of the top three honors in his
suit, he’ll almost always pass 3NT. With a
weaker suit and a balanced hand, he’ll also
pass. But with a medium suit and a side
singleton, he’ll transfer back to his suit by
bidding 4ç with hearts, 4∂ with spades.
(You can actually make him declare the
hand over this, by bidding the next suit,
transferring the hand back.)
ßKQJ ˙ Q J 10 9 ∂ Q J 9 3 ç A K Q
Bid 2NT. Here you want to play 3NT no
matter what partner has and the way to do
that is to bid 2NT and then 3NT. This
ends the auction.
page 30
ß A K 9 7 6 4 ˙ 6 ∂ K Q J ç A Q 10
Bid 2NT. With a major suit of your own,
start with 2NT and then bid your suit.
Here partner will bid 3ç to show hearts
and you’ll bid 3ß, forcing. Partner can next
bid 3NT without support, raise to 4ß with
two-card support and a weak hand, or
cuebid with support and an outside control.
If partner bids 3∂ over 2NT, showing
spades, check the backs of the cards! Then
bid Blackwood.
ß — ˙ A J 10 9 7 6 ∂AK4 çKQ96
Bid 2NT. Then over 3∂ (spades), bid 3˙,
natural and forcing.
ßA3 ˙A ∂KQJ976 çAK87
Bid 3∂. With a diamond suit, game
force, bid the suit. It’s forcing and the
auction continues naturally.
ß3 ˙A74 ∂AQ5 çAK8432
Bid 3ç. With clubs and a game force,
start with 3ç. This doesn’t necessarily show
clubs yet (see next hand), but asks partner to
transfer to his suit. Then you will bid
accordingly. For example, if partner bids
3˙, showing spades, you bid 3NT, showing
a strong hand with a club suit and short
spades. But if partner bids 3∂, showing
hearts, you can bid 3˙, which shows heart
support and a slam try.
ßAQ ˙AK2 ∂AKQJ3 ç765
Bid 3ç. Nice hand! The 3ç bid is a
game force (either in clubs or, more likely,
in partner’s suit). When opener transfers to
his suit, you accept the transfer, requesting
a cuebid. When partner bids 4ç next,
you’re off to the races! Enjoy.
Bridge Today • November 2004 page 31

IV. Interference ß A K J 10 ˙ 6 ∂ A Q J 2 ç A K 10 8

How dare they interfere with your lovely West North East South
sequences! If they do, here is some advice.... 2∂ pass 2 NT 3∂

ßAKJ2 ˙6 ∂KQJ çA9653 You bid 2NT to reach 3NT (since part-
ner probably has hearts). Suddenly LHO
RHO overcalls 2˙. Don’t get jumpy and overcalls. To show his major, partner uses
leap to 4ß. What if by some chance partner this rule after an overcall by fourth hand:
has hearts? The answer is to double for pass=hearts, double =spades. Over a pass,
takeout. Partner leaves it in only when he you’ll double for penalty. Over a double,
holds six cards in the overcaller’s suit! Use you’ll electrify the table with a bid of 6ß!
the same method after a 3˙ or 3ß overcall.
ß3 ˙AJ42 ∂A8764 çKQJ
ßAQJ ˙K6 ∂KQJ çA9653
West North East South
RHO overcall 3ß. You bid 4˙ because 2∂ 4˙ double
you know partner has hearts. This is differ-
ent, as you’ll see, after a minor-suit overcall Double. After a 4˙ overcall or higher,
or a notrump overcall. double is penalty.

ßA874 ˙KJ3 ∂K32 ç653 ß Q J 10 8 7 6 ˙ 6 ∂ K 5 3 ç 4 3 2

RHO overcalls 3ç or 3∂. Some multi West North East South

pairs use double as penalty. I suggest you
use double as “transfer to your suit (over
3ç), or bid it (over 3∂).” Use the same
method after a 4ç or 4∂ overcall.
ß7 ˙AQJ764 ∂A32 ç653
RHO overcalls 3ç or 3∂. You bid 3˙
here as natural and not forcing. The 3˙ bid
may be important to get the heart lead if
fourth hand bids 3NT.
2∂ 2 NT 3˙ pass
?
This time you’re the opener. Is partner
showing hearts of his own or expecting you
to correct with spades? My suggestion is to
play that after a notrump overcall or minor-
suit overcall, responder always bids his suit.
If he wants you to show your suit, he bids
3ç or 4ç (please transfer), or 3∂ or 4∂
(please bid it). Use the same method over a
3NT overcall.

Four Rules for competition: Rule 2. After a minor-suit overcall or

Rule 1. Responder’s double is takeout
through 4∂.
Rule 1. Opener never bids his suit
unless he is unable to transfer.
notrump overcall, responder’s bid of a
major is his own suit, not forcing.
Rule 3. After a 2NT or 3ç response,
and a minor-suit overcall, opener shows
his suit with Pass=hearts, Dbl=spades.
Bridge Today • November 2004 page 32

MULTI Outline Page Interference

Responses to 2∂
West North East South
2˙ = pass or correct to 2ß 2∂ double ?
2ß = pass or correct (2NT=˙ good, 3ç=˙ bad)
2NT = game try in opener’s major or game force in pass = 5+ diamonds, short in at least one major
responder’s major, or simply wants to play 3NT redouble = I have my own suit, bid 2˙ please.
3ç = natural or game force in opener’s major anything else = system on
3∂ = natural and forcing
3˙ = pass or correct West North East South
3ß = I have six+ spades, inv to game 2∂ 2˙/2ß ?
3NT = choice of contracts, 3NT or 4M (via 4ç/4∂)
4ç = please transfer to your suit double = pass or correct (via 2NT or 3ç)
4∂ = bid your suit 2ß/3˙ = responder is bidding opener’s suit
4˙/4ß = I have my own long suit here anything else = system on

Opener Responder West North East South

2∂ 2˙ 2∂ 2NT or 3NT ?
2ß ?
2 NT = game try in spades 3ç or 4ç = transfer to your suit
3 ç = to play 3ç 3∂ or 4∂ = bid your suit
3 ˙ = to play in my heart suit 3˙/3ß or 4˙/4ß = to play in responder’s suit
3 ß = preemptive
West North East South
2∂ 2ß 2∂ 3 any double
2 NT/3ç ?
3 ç = to play 3ç Penalty. If North bid a major, East
3 ˙ = to play in opener’s suit assumes that West has the other major.
3 ß = to play in my suit This is true for a 4-level overcall as well.
(Or, you might want to play negative
2∂ 2 NT doubles over 3˙ and 3ß — your choice.)
?
3 ç = hearts (now 3˙=game try, 3ß=natural forcing) West North East South
3 ∂ = spades (now 3˙=natural forcing, 3ß=game 2∂ 4ç/4∂ double
try)
Forces opener to transfer or bid his suit.
Opener Responder
2∂ 3ç West North East South
? 2∂ pass 2 NT 3ç/3∂
3∂ = hearts ?
3˙ = spades pass = hearts
double = spades
Responder takes the transfer to show a
slam try, asking opener to cuebid. If re- (This formula applies whenever responder shows
sponder bids something else, he has clubs. strength and there’s a minor-suit overcall.)