Playing in the Spingold

I met Les Amoils at the elevator in the Marriot at the beginning of this year’s Summer Nationals in Atlanta.  I have known Les for eons and I knew that he has recently gathered some terrific teams for high level play. So I also knew that he had come to the NABC meaning business – “winning bridge championships” business. I was in Atlanta for the American Bridge Teachers Association (ABTA) convention. Master Point Press has a joint website with them called ABTAhome.com or Teachbridge.com. (Both are the same website). I was giving a talk about the website and I was also presenting the Master Point Press ABTA Bridge teacher of the year award. (More about that in another blog).

Les asked me what events I was playing in. I confessed I wasn’t planning to play at all. He looked at me incredulously. “Not playing?” He was playing in everything! He was excited! I don’t think at that moment either of us understood the other.

But then when I was watching Les’ team make it to the finals of the Spingold and lose in an exciting playoff after playing to a draw in regulation time, I realized that it would be wonderful to be in his shoes. It would be amazing to be playing in the final of the Spingold. Wow!

I remember thinking quite a while ago that it would be great to be part of a terrific team and play in something challenging. Now I prefer teaching, writing, promoting bridge in any way I can and of course learning to play tennis, running, doing very long hard walks and that sort of thing. I remember running into Sheila Forbes, a very fine bridge player, at a bridge club one time. She told me she would rather be golfing. I didn’t understand then. Now I do.

So there I was watching late at night when the word had come through that the Spingold was tied about 64 boards and there would be an eight board playoff and I imagined I was Les sitting at the computer and watching.

One team in this final was Bridge 24, the 39th seed mind you, a group of the wonder kids from Poland: Jacek Kalita 33, Michal Nowosadzki 30,  Rafal Jagniewski, 40 and Wojciech Gawel, 29,  If you want to read more about them check out Bridge 24. They are professional bridge players with a mission: to make bridge more popular and to train the best young players.

Jacek Kalita

Seeded much higher but still not seeded for the final was the number 9 seed Grue. This team will be much more familiar to most North Americans.

Joe Grue, Las Vegas NV; Leslie Amoils, Toronto ON; Brad Moss, Denver CO; Thomas Bessis, Paris France; Peter Bertheau, Taby Sweden; Jacob Morgan, Madison WI

So  now these two unlikely finalists met in a playoff for the title. The playoff was essentially decided on Board 6. Coming into board 6 Bridge24 held an apparent (unofficial) one imp lead. This was the deal

East-West was vulnerable and East was the dealer. In the Open Room West,  In the Open Room the Polish East-West played in 4♦  in a competitive auction where Grue-Moss bid to 3♥ . The defence made no errors and Nowosadzki ended up 2 down -200 which looked like a decent score to Grue. But in the open room this was the auction

Wet’s double of 2♥  showed values. Do you agree with Bessis’ double of 3♥ ? This was not a penalty double but what we used to call a responsible double – I double and partner you are responsible! (Please do the right thing.) Having double it was up to him to find the right lead. Looking just at his hand what would you lead into this auction?

 

You could make an argument for a trump, passive but unlikely to give up much. And then again you could lead any suit with spades being the most passive. The double of 2♥ does suggest some spade length, I think. When you look at all the hands you can see that a spade or a diamond will beat it. Your side must set up a second spade trick before declarer can establish a club winner for a spade pitch. Bessis led a trump. I think it is reasonable.

So how do you assign the blame? Was it a system problem. If Bertheau had opened a natural diamond, as they did at the other table then the end result would have been different.  Bessis could have passed out 3♥ . Yes Bertheau had a good hand but where were they going? Still nobody wants the other side to “steal the hand.” Should Bertheau have pulled? He knows partner doesn’t have hearts nor all that many points.

If they simply sold out to 3♥  doubled then they would have won a couple of imps on Board 6 and then maybe, just maybe they would have pushed the next board because I do believe in momentum and after Board 6 it had shifted to the Eastern Europe.

Either way it was a great match with two teams that have a big future. And special congratulations to Les Amoils who was so right when he knew that playing bridge was going to be great.