Japan - China Long Zhu (Venice Cup Round 4)

by Philip Adler

The Chinese women’s team is experienced and have come very close to winning world titles, no less so than last year in Beijing. Therefore, they started as the favorite against their Oriental neighbors, Japan.

The match began well for China Long Zhu.

Board 17. Dealer North. None vul.
	♠ A J 7 2 ♥ A 10 ♦ K 7 3 2 ♣ A 8 6
♠ 8 4 3 ♥ Q J 6 ♦ 8 4 ♣ K J 10 5 3		♠ K 9 6 ♥ K 8 7 4 3 2 ♦ A 10 9 ♣ Q
	♠ Q 10 5 ♥ 9 5 ♦ Q J 6 5 ♣ 9 7 4 2

West	North	East	South
Wang W.	Shimamura	Liu	Banno
	1NT (a)	2♦ (b)	Pass
2♥ (c)	Pass	Pass	Pass

(a) 15-17 points
(b) Heart or spade one-suiter
(c) Pass or correct

(a) 14-16 points
(b) A variety of possibilities
(c) To play opposite a diamond one-suiter
(d) A heart one-suiter

In the Closed Room, Sun Ming did well to make a takeout double when two hearts came around to her. In reply Wang Hongli decided to bid her three-card spade suit. (Should two notrump ask for a choice of minor suit or be natural, with some heart cards but not enough to pass for penalty?) Then Natsuko Nishida, who knew of at least a nine-card fit, followed the Law of Total Tricks.

However, three hearts was one too high, Ayako Miyakuni losing two spades, one heart, one diamond and one club. (After her diamond-queen lead held trick one, Wang shifted accurately to a spade.)

At the other table, when Liu Yi Qian used a Multi-style overcall, it was harder for the Japanese. And their defense was not so good, either. Kyoko Shimamura (North) led a low diamond, ducked to South’s jack. But Kazuko Banno played another diamond, so declarer Wang Wenfei (West) won with dummy’s ace and led the club queen. North took the ace and tried a third diamond, declarer ruffing and leading the heart queen. North took this and failed to see the need to cash the spade ace. Instead, she returned her last heart. West took this in her hand and discarded all of dummy’s spades on her clubs for two overtricks.

Plus 50 and plus 170 gave China 6 IMPs.

Board 18. Dealer East. North-South vul.
	♠ 10 8 5 ♥ K 7 6 5 ♦ K Q 8 6 ♣ 5 4
♠ 9 2 ♥ A 4 3 2 ♦ 7 4 ♣ J 9 8 7 6		♠ K J 7 3 ♥ J 9 ♦ A 9 3 2 ♣ Q 3 2
	♠ A Q 6 4 ♥ Q 10 8 ♦ J 10 5 ♣ A K 10

(a) 15-17 points

Interestingly, the player using a strong-club system (Liu) did not open the East hand, while the person playing natural (Miyakuni) did.

Miyakuni led the heart jack because her partner had bid the suit. West won with her ace and shifted to the diamond seven because her partner had bid that suit. Neither play upset declarer. Eventually Sun took two spades, three hearts, three diamonds and two clubs for an overtrick.

In the Open Room, Wang Wenfei led her fourth-highest club, the most testing start. South took the first trick with her ace and had to attack hearts to remove West’s entry. But she led the diamond jack. East grabbed the trick with her ace and returned a club, West winning with her jack and clearing the suit. Then, when Wang got in with her heart ace, she cashed two clubs to defeat the contract. Plus 630 and plus 100 gave China 12 IMPs.

The next four boards were flat, but one was a very tough bidding problem for East-West. You pick up

The dealer on your right passes. At favorable vulnerability, would you open with a Multi? Assuming you do, the next player overcalls a natural two spades, your partner cue-bids three spades (a slam-try in hearts) and righty passes. What would you do now? This was the layout:

Board 21. Dealer North. North-South vul.
	♠ Q 8 6 ♥ K 10 ♦ J 10 9 7 5 ♣ 8 7 3
♠ J 9 5 3 ♥ A Q J 2 ♦ K 3 ♣ A Q 6		♠ ♥ 8 7 6 5 4 3 ♦ A Q 8 6 ♣ 9 4 2
	♠ A K 10 7 4 2 ♥ 9 ♦ 4 2 ♣ K J 10 5

In the Closed Room, Miyakuni did open two diamonds, despite a suit that was much better suited for poker than bridge. And when her partner made a slam-try, she worried so much about her bad trumps that she signed off in four hearts, despite having two first-round controls. As you can see, six hearts is a desirable contract, only a tad worse that one out of two finesses.

This was the auction in the other room:

(a) Transfer

Some deals are just too difficult. On Board 23, Banno misplayed three spades to go down one. In the Closed Room, Sun brought home an overtrick. Plus 100 and plus 170 gave China 7 IMPs and the lead by 25-0.

Wang Hongli played well to save points here:

Board 24. Dealer West. None vul.
	♠ A Q 10 3 ♥ K J 9 8 ♦ J 10 9 ♣ A 8
♠ 9 8 5 ♥ 7 2 ♦ A K 8 3 ♣ Q 9 4 2		♠ K J ♥ 6 3 ♦ Q 7 6 2 ♣ K J 10 7 3
	♠ 7 6 4 2 ♥ A Q 10 5 4 ♦ 5 4 ♣ 6 5

(a) 15-17 points

(a) 14-16 points
(b) Transfer
(c) Superaccept: four hearts and a maximum
(d) Retransfer
(e) Reretransfer!

In the Open Room, Liu (East) led a trump against two hearts. Declarer drew two rounds ending in the dummy, then played a spade to her ten. East took her ten and shifted to the club three, declarer winning with her ace and returning a club to East’s ten. Now East led the spade king, so declarer could claim an overtrick, losing one spade, two diamonds and one club.

When Wang Hongli (South) was declarer in three hearts, West started the defense with three rounds of diamonds, South discarding her club loser. East shifted to a low club, declarer winning dummy’s ace, drawing trumps, and ruffing the last club in her hand, which marked declarer with 4=5=2=2 distribution. Then a spade went to dummy’s ten and East’s jack. East smartly exited with a club. Now Wang played another spade and after a short pause called for dummy’s ace, dropping East’s king to make her contract.

How did Wang Hongli find this play? She knew that West had started with the ace-king of diamonds and a club honor. Declarer felt that if West had also held the spade king, she would have acted on the first round. After another three flat boards, you pick up:

You are in fourth position at unfavorable vulnerability. It goes two passes and one notrump (14-16 or 15-17) to you. Would you enter the auction? Banno did bid and was doubled in two spades, going down two (and double-dummy it could have been three). Wang Hongli passed and defended against three notrump, which made with an overtrick. Plus 500 and minus 460 gave China 2 IMPs.

Finally Japan got onto the scoreboard:

Board 29. Dealer North. Both vul.
	♠ A 9 7 6 ♥ 6 ♦ A 7 6 3 ♣ A Q 4 3
♠ K Q ♥ 10 9 5 4 ♦ J 10 4 ♣ 10 9 8 5		♠ J 10 8 5 2 ♥ Q 8 7 ♦ K 8 ♣ K 7 2
	♠ 4 3 ♥ A K J 3 2 ♦ Q 9 5 2 ♣ J 6

(a) 11-15 points and zero-plus diamonds!

Wang Hongli knew that the values would be thin for game, but maybe she should have risked a more aggressive rebid.

To stop four hearts the way the cards lie, West must lead the spade king to get the defensive spade trick in before declarer can discard it on a club. But Nishida selected the club ten: minus 170.

Banno, who was sure of diamond length opposite, invited game with her three-diamond rebid, and Shimamura took a shot at three notrump, as surely would we all.

This can be defeated by a low-spade lead and careful defense thereafter, but Liu started with the club two. Declarer (North) won with dummy’s jack, played a diamond to her ace, and led another diamond, East taking her king and shifting to a spade but it was too late. North won with her ace, took the heart finesse, and ended with an overtrick after a misdefense in the end-position. Minus 170 and plus 630 gave Japan 10 IMPs.

On the next board, West picked up in third position with neither side vulnerable:

In the Closed Room, the auction started like this:

West	North	East	South
Nishida	Sun	Miyakuni	Wang H.
		1♣	1♦
1♥	1♠	2♣ (a)	Pass
3♣	3♦	Pass	Pass
??

(a) Fewer than three hearts

What would you do now? In the other room, East opened two clubs, Precision: 11-15 points with six-plus clubs, or five-plus clubs and a four-card major. You respond two diamonds, asking, and partner rebids three clubs: six-plus and a minimum. What would you do now? This was the full deal:

Board 30. Dealer East. None vul.
	♠ K 10 6 5 4 ♥ 10 5 4 2 ♦ Q J 4 3 ♣
♠ 8 7 3 ♥ A J 9 8 6 ♦ K 9 ♣ Q 9 5		♠ J 9 2 ♥ Q 3 ♦ 10 2 ♣ A K 10 8 7 2
	♠ A Q ♥ K 7 ♦ A 8 7 6 5 ♣ J 6 4 3

What is the par contract? It is mildly surprising, but par is five diamonds bid and made by South. (Note that five diamonds by North is defeated by three rounds of hearts, East ruffing the last with her diamond ten to gain a trump trick for her partner.)

In our match, Wang Wenfei passed over three clubs and bought it. The opponents did not bid when laydown for game. On this deal Banno should have risked a two-diamond overcall despite the poor suit quality.

In the Closed Room, Nishida competed to four clubs, when I felt she should have bid three notrump. There was a definite possibility of nine tricks if the opponents could not take the first five, and since she had not bid notrump on the last round, she had to have some doubt about the contract.

Note that if either East had had the club jack or clubs had not been 0-4, three notrump would have been unbeatable. Nine tricks were the limit in clubs, so China gained 4 IMPs.

Another 11-point opening worked well on the penultimate deal:

Board 31. Dealer South. North-South vul.
	♠ A 10 8 3 ♥ Q 10 9 8 3 ♦ 7 ♣ K J 6
♠ K Q ♥ K J 6 4 2 ♦ K 8 6 5 ♣ 5 4		♠ 9 7 5 4 ♥ A ♦ J 9 4 3 2 ♣ Q 7 2
	♠ J 6 2 ♥ 7 5 ♦ A Q 10 ♣ A 10 9 8 3

(a) 11-13 points
(b) Puppet to two diamonds: to play in two diamonds or to invite game somewhere

(a) 11-15 points, zero-plus diamonds
(b) Four-plus spades
(c) 11-13 points

One notrump in the Closed Room played like a dream. West led the spade king. Declarer won with dummy’s ace and played a spade to her jack. West took her queen and shifted to a low diamond, won by South’s queen. Declarer then got the clubs right and ran the suit, East incorrectly throwing a spade. At the end West erred by discarding down to a singleton diamond king. So South took three spades, three diamonds and five clubs.

Defending against two diamonds, Shimamura did very well, leading her trump. If South had put in her ten, they could have defeated the contract. But South won with her ace and shifted to a spade, two rounds being played. Now West played a heart to dummy’s ace, led a diamond to her king, cashed the heart king, throwing a club from the dummy, and crossruffed home, losing only one spade, two diamonds and two clubs. Plus 210 and plus 90 gave China 7 IMPs.

The last board was a flat game, so China had deservedly taken the match by 38 IMPs to 10, or 22-8 in victory points.