Two Deals That Helped Our Open Team Defeat Indonesia
Sydney Morning Herald
Wednesday December 5, 2001
Recovering from a very costly error is a test of temperament that many fail, even at the highest level of competition. The two deals that follow are from the Bermuda Bowl match in Paris between Australia and Indonesia.
West North East South
2H* Pass 3H 4S
5D 5H Pass 5S
Pass 6D 7D 7S!
Pass Pass Pass --
* 5 hearts & 4+in a minor, below opening strength
Opening lead: H6
This was an entertaining auction. East deduced correctly that six spades would make and took an advance save in seven diamonds (-800 at most), little dreaming that South would surge into seven spades. Little dreaming either that partner would lead the only suit to concede the contract. All declarer had to do, as the cards lay, was to take the heart finesse and discard two clubs. But he chose to play East for king-third in hearts and when unable to ruff out the king, had to fall back on the losing club finesse, for -50. Concerned that he may have converted a gain of 11 imps into a loss of 14 (correctly as it happened, since Australia scored +980 at the other table), the still shaken declarer was at the wheel two boards later.
Final contract: 5D by South
Opening lead: CK
There is no defence to beat five diamonds as the cards lie (or three no-trumps either). Declarer won the club lead, finessed in trumps,
played a heart to dummy and led another diamond to repeat the finesse. But this time East put up his king, declarer winning and West discarding the heart 9 (red on red: colour coup country)! Unsettled by his earlier mishap, declarer was persuaded by this pincer movement from the defence that he had drawn trumps. The ten of clubs was next to West's queen, followed by a low club exit to the jack, which to declarer's astonishment was ruffed by East's ten. With no way now to avoid two spade losers, that was one down and a swing to Australia of 12 imps, when five diamonds made at the other table. Australia won the match easily, 25 VPs to 5, a big win indeed against the powerful Indonesian team, who were later to lose to Norway in the quarter-finals.
© 2001 Sydney Morning Herald