Italians… is there anything they can’t do
Waiting for the 4th round of the Round Robin in the Italian Open Championships to start I commented about how much I like Italy. Italians just seem to be good at everything, wine, food, fashion, classic art and architecture, soccer (Inter Milan had just advanced to the final of the the Champions League in a strange game that even I had enjoye – New York Times article about Inter Milan win.) and of course bridge, winners of the European Open Championships 6 years out of 7.
So here we all were watching players like Versace, yum.
On Board 2 North Pinguello held vulnerable against not:
QJ98
5
AJ754
A108
Being last to speak the auction started 2 pass 4 to him. The former bid being weak. So the question on the table was should he bid or not. Partner probably doesn’t have all that many hearts either and he didn’t take action but that also means we are quite likely to have a fit somewhere. West’s bid of 4 could be weak or strong.
Worst Case:
If you don’t bid you could miss a vulnerable game
If you do bid, you could go for a vulnerable number.
There are a lot of other alternatives. Partner may pass and take his chances which could cost a modest 5 imps but you do have aces so you might win an imp or two if you defeat their contract doubled. The commentators (except me) thought double was clearcut. I didn’t. See above worst case about the “number”. I don’t have a problem with doubling but I think it is a difficult decision.
Here is one for challenge the champs, a great slam missed at both tables (one with no opposition bidding)
West (Giubilo)
54
732
AKQ4
KJ65
East (Versace)
AKQJ10986
A
97
94
Yes, Versace had 8 spades.
The auction started
| Giubilo | Versace |
| 1 |
1 |
| 1NT | 2 (asking) |
| 2 (denying 3 spades) |
3 slam try |
| 4 |
Can you get to slam? The best one is 6NT (or 6) from West. But the strangest deal was this one. It involves a system break and an opening lead problem. The board had been accidentally rotated so that East was West and North was South etc. Was that an omen? I will let you hear the auction and try the lead. Versace was on lead holding against 6
East-West Vulnerable
| West | North | East | South |
| 2 |
2NT | ||
| pass | 3* |
pass | 4 |
| pass | 4 |
pass | 4NT |
| pass | 5 |
pass | 6 |
| all pass |
3 was meant as a transfer.
West (Versace)
KJ9532
J9
K742
5
What do you lead? It seems like can account for all the spades, you have 6, north has five and declarer presumably 2. However, partner didn’t double for an unusual lead. And what does the auction mean. First it looks like South super-accepted spades and then when North signed off South asked for aces? And then bid a slam in clubs? Something is off the rails here.
I think in balance it is right to trust partner and just lead a heart and it would definitely have been right on this deal.
Here is the whole hand and no there was no adverse ruling as far as we have heard. The table result stood. There was a bit of a discussion amongst the commentators about this but in balance we agreed that after making a mistake South managed to wend his way to a lucky contract.
| AQ1064
|
||
| KJ9532
|
87
|
|
| void
|
I think a heart lead would have been automatic without the bizarre auction. My guess is that South worked out that he had messed up over the 4 bid and then hoped that North would figure out what was going on when he bid 4NT and finally just bailed in 6, lucking out.
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Bridge-related
Linda:
Re your first hand — my tendency was toward doubling 4H in the fourth seat — but of course, it is very dangerous as it certainly could be wrong. So, I asked Bobby and he was in complete concurrence with your co-panelists — feeling it was automatic to double — regardless of the results. He felt it was far too dangerous to pass than to double and over his years of experience, it proved correct much more often than not. He felt vehement about it, so I thought it would be of interest to you.
Thanks for the insight. I think I would double too but I didn’t think it was quite so “auto”!
But do you agree with me about all things Italian! (men included).
Sorry, Linda
… but the subject of “all things Italian” still makes me shudder because that includes the infamous Blue Team. Regardless of what the modern players have heard or read about, (as in Whisper Down the Lane) I was there to witness the carnage and suffered along with their opponents back in the sixties and seventies. No charge, trial or conviction? That has nothing to do with actually what occurred. Everyone lived in mortal fear of a lawsuit or bridge scandal — and so endured the acknowledged goings on of the day. As far as the modern Italian pairs, for the most part (with two publicized exceptions), they get a clean bill of health from those in the know.
It is impossible for me to view the Italian scene in generalities, as I and both my husbands were privy to (and victims of) the cold, hard truth of the day borne out by the evidence. I pray that deathbed confessions will put the matter to rest once and for all and the records will be set straight for posterity.
Judy
I can certainly understand your feelings about Italian bridge. But I still love the wine, pasta, pizza, veal, ah Italian cooking and Ray would add the opera and football! I love Pompeii, the Amalfi Coast, Rome, Florence and all the wonderful art.
I admit that the Vactican is rather strange to me, a Jew, but I was still quite impressed when last there to watch the then pope talk to all of us in many many languages. And I got a stamp from the Vactican post ofice.
Oh I can’t forget the fashion, the leather market yum.
So I will take bridge off the list for now in respect for the people who were so badly hurt all those years ago. (But it is a pleasure to watch Versace play dummy).
Agreed!