Brazil - Norway (BERMUDA BOWL Round 1)

by Philip Adler

The premier match of the Bermuda Bowl's first round was between the host country, Brazil, and the defending champions, Norway.

The Norwegian team is not the same as in Shanghai two years ago. Geir Helgemo and Tor Helness prefer to play in the Transnational Teams, but the other four players are back. Glenn Groetheim and Ulf Tundal are still partners, but Boye Brogeland is now paired with Espen Lindqvist and Erik Saelensminde is playing with Per Erik Austberg.

In the Open Room, Groetheim and Tundal took their homegrown strong-club system to play against Joao Paulo Campos and Miguel Villas Boas, who use a natural base. In the Closed Room, Marcelo Branco and the mercurial Gabriel Chagas were back together, taking on Austberg and Saelensminde.

First, a quiz of some of the interesting problems faced by the players.

1. In fourth chair at unfavorable vulnerability, you hold:

♠ A ♥ K 8 6 2 ♦ K J ♣ A K Q J 8 7

The bidding starts (Pass)-Pass-(4♠) to you. What would you do?

2. In fourth chair with everybody vulnerable, you pick up

♠ A 9 4 ♥ A 3 2 ♦ K 9 6 3 ♣ 9 7 6

The bidding begins (Pass)-1♣-(1♠). What would you respond?

Now back to the first question. Suppose you overcall five clubs. It goes (Pass)-6♣-(6♠). What would you do now?

In the second question, suppose you settled for one notrump. The auction continues (2♠)-3♣-(Pass). What would you do now, if anything?

3.

♠ 5 ♥ 6 2 ♦ A 10 9 7 5 ♣ A K 10 7 5

♠ A Q 10 4 3 ♥ A J 9 4 ♦ Q J 6 ♣ 9

You get to six diamonds by West, South having doubled a four-heart control-bid (cue-bid). North leads the heart three. How would you plan the play?

4. With both sides vulnerable, you deal and pick up:

♠ K J 2 ♥ A Q 10 8 4 ♦ 2 ♣ A K J 2

You open one heart and partner responds one spade. What would you rebid?

5. In fourth position at favorable vulnerability, you have:

♠ 10 8 4 ♥ 10 ♦ A Q 10 6 2 ♣ A J 7 4

It goes (Pass)-1♣-(1♥) to you. What would you do? Now assume that you are employing flip-flop responses, when your two-club response shows diamonds. Your left-hand opponent makes a card-showing double, partner passes, and righty rebids two hearts. What would you do now?

The first two deals were unexciting, yielding 2 IMPs to Brazil. This was the next deal:

Board 3. Dealer South. East-West vul.
	♠ K Q 10 8 7 6 5 4 3 ♥ 10 ♦ 3 2 ♣ 2
♠ J ♥ A J 7 4 ♦ A 9 8 4 ♣ 9 6 5 4		♠ A ♥ K 8 6 2 ♦ K J ♣ A K Q J 8 7
	♠ 9 2 ♥ Q 9 5 3 ♦ Q 10 7 6 5 ♣ 10 3

West	North	East	South
Campos	Tundal	Villas Boas	Groetheim
			Pass
Pass	4♠	5♣	Pass
6♣	6♠	Pass	Pass
Dble	All Pass

West	North	East	South
Austberg	Chagas	Saelensminde	Branco
			Pass
Pass	4♠	5♣	Pass
6♣	6♠	Dble	All Pass

The auctions were almost identical, Villas Boas passing over six spades to invite seven and Saelensminde doubling. A flat board at plus 800 to East-West.

Notice that seven clubs can be made if declarer guesses the play, catching South in a red-suit squeeze. Given the auction, this looks like the indicated line. Then came:

Board 4. Dealer West. Both vul.
	♠ 2 ♥ 9 8 ♦ A 8 5 ♣ A K 8 5 4 3 2
♠ 8 6 5 3 ♥ K J 10 7 6 ♦ 7 4 2 ♣ J		♠ K Q J 10 7 ♥ Q 5 4 ♦ Q J 10 ♣ Q 10
	♠ A 9 4 ♥ A 3 2 ♦ K 9 6 3 ♣ 9 7 6

(a) 11-15 points with 6-plus clubs unless 4=4=0=5

In the Open Room, with a seventh club and a side ace, Tundal rebid three hearts, asking his partner for a heart stopper for notrump.

Three notrump had 11 top tricks. In the Closed Room, Branco had the values to respond two notrump. But given that he had bid only one notrump, surely, with 11 points, two aces and three clubs, he should have moved over three clubs. After the spade-king lead, Chagas had no trouble taking 12 tricks. Note in passing that on a heart lead, 12 tricks can still be made. Don't overlook South's two pointed-suit nines. Plus 660 and minus 170 gave Norway 10 IMPs.

Board 5. Dealer North. North-South vul.
	♠ 10 7 2 ♥ 9 ♦ A J 10 6 2 ♣ A 7 3 2
♠ K 9 3 ♥ A Q 8 ♦ 9 8 7 4 ♣ 9 8 4		♠ Q 5 ♥ K 10 6 3 ♦ K 5 ♣ K Q J 6 5
	♠ A J 8 6 4 ♥ J 7 5 4 2 ♦ Q 3 ♣ 10

(a) 14+-17 points

Real estate agents always say that location is everything. That can apply to bridge too. Three notrump by East was cast iron after a low-spade lead. Declarer won with his queen and played the club king. North won with his ace and shifted to the diamond six, but East put up his king and ran the clubs, South discarding a couple of hearts to let through the overtrick. Three notrump by West, though, was another story. North led a low spade, South taking dummy's queen with his ace and returning the suit. Tundal won the trick with his ten and defended perfectly, shifting to the diamond jack. Declarer won with dummy's king and played on clubs, but when North took his ace, he cashed two diamond tricks for down one. Plus 430 and plus 50 gave Norway another 10 IMPs and the lead by 18. Brazil recouped some points on the next deal:

Board 6. Dealer East. East-West vul.
	♠ K 8 5 ♥ A 9 8 6 3 ♦ 7 6 5 3 ♣ 3
♠ J 9 2 ♥ 7 5 2 ♦ J 10 4 ♣ 9 8 6 4		♠ 7 6 ♥ Q 4 ♦ K Q 8 ♣ A K J 7 5 2
	♠ A Q 10 4 3 ♥ K J 10 ♦ A 9 2 ♣ Q 10

(a) 14+-17 points

(b) Penalty (c) Asking partner to redouble (d) Clubs (e) Takeout Chagas and Branco did well to get to four hearts after East opened with an off-center strong notrump. And North had no trouble taking 11 tricks, ruffing the second club, playing a heart to dummy's ten, drawing trumps and running the spades. In the Open Room, South might have raised three hearts to four. East led the club ace and shifted to the diamond king. Declarer ducked this trick, won the diamond-queen continuation, and ran the heart jack. Now the defense had four tricks: one heart, two diamonds and one club. Minus 140 and plus 450 gave Brazil 7 IMPs. Neither East-West pair shone on the next deal:

Board 7. Dealer South. Both vul.
	♠ 9 6 2 ♥ Q 7 3 ♦ 4 3 2 ♣ Q 4 3 2
♠ 5 ♥ 6 2 ♦ A 10 9 7 5 ♣ A K 10 7 5		♠ A Q 10 4 3 ♥ A J 9 4 ♦ Q J 6 ♣ 9
	♠ K J 8 7 ♥ K 10 8 5 ♦ K 8 ♣ J 8 6

(a) One-plus diamonds, 11-15(16) points

(a) Fourth-suit forcing

(b) Roman Key Card Blackwood (c) Two key cards but no diamond queen In the Open Room, West’s two diamonds should have been a Michaels cuebid, showing at least 5-5 in the majors. And the play was not best either, declarer going down three. Austberg thought long and hard in six diamonds. There were roads home, by assuming that South had king-doubleton of diamonds. But rather than rely on that, declarer won with dummy's heart ace, played a club to his ace, and led a spade to dummy's queen. South won with his king, cashed the heart king, and played another heart. Declarer ruffed and should have immediately trumped a club in the dummy. Instead, he cashed the club king first and now could not avoid losing another trick for down two. Plus 300 and minus 200 gave Norway 3 IMPs.

On Board 8 East-West would always make six clubs if they were in it. Both our pairs stopped in five, but Branco risked a sporting double. However, he could not stop the overtrick, giving Norway 6 IMPs.

Board 9 was flat in a heart game (although Groetheim and Tundal did get to five hearts).

On Board 10, Saelensminde held:

♠ K J 2
♥ A Q 10 8 4
♦ 2
♣ A K J 2

and had to rebid after an uncontested 1♥-1♠. Probably wishing they were using a strong-club system, he settled for two clubs and played there opposite:

♠ Q 8 7 5
♥ K
♦ K 10 9 6 5
♣ 8 7 5

Saelensminde took nine tricks despite a 5-1 trump break, but at the other table, East-West had a conventional sequence to three notrump, which could not be defeated. Plus 600 and minus 110 gave Brazil 10 IMPs.

On the next four boards, three were flat and Branco gained an overtrick imp for Brazil. But then Branco produced another sporting double:

Board 15. Dealer South. North-South vul.
	♠ 6 3 2 ♥ K Q 8 7 5 4 ♦ J 4 ♣ K 9
♠ K J 9 ♥ A 9 6 2 ♦ K 5 ♣ Q 10 6 3		♠ 10 8 4 ♥ 10 ♦ A Q 10 6 2 ♣ A J 7 4
	♠ A Q 7 5 ♥ J 3 ♦ 9 8 7 3 ♣ 8 5 2

(a) Diamonds
(b) Cards

(a) High-card club raise

Villas Boas had something to spare for his three-club rebid. Maybe he should have made a takeout double, but presumably he did not want to hide his club support. Three clubs cruised home with 12 tricks, given the lucky lie.

In the other room, Chagas guessed to lead a spade against three notrump doubled, selecting the two, not the six. So South won with his ace and promptly returned a spade. After a lot of thought, declarer put in his jack and shortly thereafter took 12 tricks: two spades, one heart, five diamonds and four clubs.

Minus 170 and plus 850 gave Norway 12 IMPs. Note that if Campos-Villas Boas had bid and made three notrump with two overtricks after a heart start, Norway would still have gained 9 IMPs.

On the final board, the Norths, in second position at favorable vulnerability, held:

♠ A K Q 10 5
♥ A 5 2
♦ K J 8
♣ 7 6

After a pass by West, Tundal opened a strong club, of course. His partner responded one diamond, showing 0-8 points, and righty overcalled one heart. Now Tundal rebid one non-forcing spade. Then Groetheim, who had:

♠ 6 3
♥ K 10 4
♦ 10 2
♣ J 9 8 5 3 2

continued with one notrump, hoping his club suit might produce the necessary for three notrump. But he was left there and played nicely to win nine tricks.

At the other table, Chagas opened one notrump, 15-17 points, despite 17 and an excellent five-card suit. Branco transferred into three clubs. This contract had to fail by a trick when there were four trump losers.

Plus 150 and plus 50 was worth another 5 IMPs to Norway, who won by 46 IMPs to 20, or 21-9 in victory points.