Vanderbilt Day 2

I was assigned to do commentary on the fourth quarter match between Team Poland and Diamond.  I was delighted to see the quality of the players I would be watching but since the match actually started at a quarter to one my time I was also delighted to see a number of great commentators arrive, allowing me to leave early.  I had the pleasure of watching some great bridge and then coming back to the match more rested to see the rest.

Playing for Diamond was Greco-Hampson North South in the Open Room and Gitleman-Moss East-West in the Closed Room

Team Poland fielded Kwiecien-Jagniewski East West in the OR and Kotorowicz-Kalita North South in the CR.  Please forgive me if I make the odd spelling mistake of the Polish names.  I do have some Polish ancestory (great grandparents) but I have only ever seen their pictures.  Nice looking couple wearing very odd clothes in a sepia colored photo.

There were only 6 imps between the two teams after three quarters in a fairly low scoring match (1 imps for Team Poland and 65 for Diamond).  The last 16 boards provided some very good bridge, a lot of flat boards and 4 big swings.  Fortunately for the Diamond team 3 of them were their way.  The match ended 106-86 for Diamond.

Board 53

North dealer North-South vulnerable

	North KJ1043 A Q952 Q75
	South 8 K5432 AK103 A83

 

At one table, Hampson and Greco got to 3NT by and at the other Kotorowicz and Kalita arrived in 5 both from the North hand. Where would you like to be?

Lets start with 5, Kotorowicz received the lead of the J and he won he Q, a good start and cashed the A.  You could lead a club to dummy planning to throw a club on the top hearts and then play a spade.  Let’s say that you are able to create a spade winner this way.  You have four outside winners and need seven trump winners which seems plausible or you might be able to set up spades (you could afford to lose two).  North decided to lead the 10  from hand which is another way to set up spades. 

Gitelman East won the queen and returned a heart ruffed.  Kotorowicz then led a club to dummy’s ace planning to cash winners and crossruff no doubt when Fred ruffed in and returned another heart. 

	Greco KJ43 – Q95 7
	Hampson – K54 AK103 3

 

Now the defenders have two tricks and North can set up hearts by ruffing but he will still end with a club loser in the dummy if he draws trump.  It seems to me he is committed to a crossruff.  I think he has to throw a club from hand and win the heart in dummy and then crossruff.  He can ruff the club with his small trump but he is going to have to ruff a heart with the 9 so he will need some luck there and he will have to make two spade ruffs with the 10 and 3.  It doesn’t look too bad (and it works on the lie of the cards).  But instead declarer ruffed the heart and there was no longer a play for the hand.

In the other room East bid 3 over 1 and Greco ended in 3NT.  The preempt was to help him along in a tough contract but on the other hand he did not get a club lead.  Here is the whole hand

	North KJ1043 A Q952 Q75
AQ752 QJ109 J74 6		96 876 86 KJ10943
	South 8 K5432 AK103 A83

Greco’s approach was to set up hearts.  He started by playing a spade winning the jack in hand and cashing the A.  He played a diamond to the table and ducked a heart.  East won and returned a club which Greco won in dummy.  Another small heart from dummy sealed the deal and he could still get back for hearts on the 10.  Easy peesy. 12 imps.

These guys are much better declarers then me but I wasn’t crazy about how Kwiecien played this hand in 4 and neither did the commentators.  What do you think?  (this time I rotated the hand for you).

Board 63

	Jagniewski 103 KQ754 AQJ75 8
AQJ6 932 862 K2		K72  A10 93 976543
	Kwiecien 9854 J86 K10 AQJ10

After Kwiecien opened 1 Polish, he got to be declarer in 4 because this pair played transfer responses to the opening one club bid.   The opening lead was a diamond.  How would you play the hand?  I like a ruffing finesse in clubs myself.  Its not a matter of whether it works or no, its just that you will be better placed if it losses.   Kwiecien took a club finesse and they cashed out for one down when it lost.  I know I am right on the lie of the cards but maybe his play has more merit than it intially appears?  (Yes see comments later I know drawing trump and claiming works well too!)

So these two swings were oddly on declarer play.

On the very last board of the match Greco and Hampson bid a grand where you needed to pick up the queen in a side suit missing four.  When Jagniewski showed up with four trump to Kwiecien’s two Greco decided to finesse the clubs playing Kwiecien for queen third.  It doesn’t seem unreasonable since their are more vacant spaces in the West hand.  Perhaps Bob will chime in here with the odds.  But it was wrong.  Fortunately for Diamond by this time they had imps to spare.