China Long Zhu - USA1 (Venice Cup Final 4)

The Margin Gets Wider - by Phillip Alder

After half of the 96-board match, China led by 43 IMPs. It was time for USA 2 to regain some ground, but could they do it?

To begin, though, here is a bidding and opening-lead problem. With neither side vulnerable, you pick up:

Partner deals and opens four hearts. If the next player overcalls four spades, what would you do?

Eventually you are on lead against five spades. What would you choose?

At one table, your right-hand opponent passed over four hearts, you passed, lefty made a takeout double, and righty invited slam in spades. At the other table, righty bid four spades, you competed to five hearts, and lefty went five spades, which you doubled. (Would you?)

The match started badly for the U.S.

Board 49. Dealer North. None vul.
	♠ J 8 7 2 ♥ 9 8 6 3 ♦ 10 8 5 ♣ A 3
♠ K 5 4 ♥ 10 7 4 ♦ A ♣ Q 10 8 5 4 2		♠ A Q 10 6 ♥ Q 2 ♦ K Q 6 4 3 ♣ J 7
	♠ 9 3 ♥ A K J 5 ♦ J 9 7 2 ♣ K 9 6

(a) 14-16

(a) 14-16
(b) Range inquiry or clubs
(c) Minimum

In the Closed Room, three clubs was comfortable. And when the lead was a diamond, Deas shook a couple of heart losers to collect an overtrick.

In the Open Room, three notrump looked hopeless. Kerri Sanborn led the heart king, asking for attitude, and Irina Levitina played the six (normal signals). South, unsure of the layout, shifted to the diamond seven: ace, five, six. Wang Hongli played a spade to her queen, both defenders starting to play high-low. Declarer, trusting her opponents, continued with a spade to the king, a spade to her ten, and the spade ace, South discarding the club nine and, unable to read partner's diamond five when declarer hid the three and four, the diamond two. Now East took nine tricks in the pointed suits.

Minus 130 and plus 400 gave China a 7-IMP start.

The next two boards were flat games; then...

Board 52. Dealer West. Both vul.
	♠ 6 2 ♥ 7 6 2 ♦ K J 9 ♣ A 10 9 8 4
♠ A 9 3 ♥ K Q J 8 ♦ 6 5 2 ♣ J 6 3		♠ K Q J 8 4 ♥ A 9 ♦ A 8 4 3 ♣ 7 2
	♠ 10 7 5 ♥ 10 5 4 3 ♦ Q 10 7 ♣ K Q 5

(a) 0-plus diamonds
(b) Game-forcing checkback

(a) 0-plus diamonds
(b) Puppets to two diamonds
(c) Choice of games between spades and notrump

Wang Hongli went with the known 5-3 fit. The defense began with three rounds of clubs. Declarer ruffed, drew trumps, and claimed ten tricks: five spades, four hearts and on diamond.

Lynn Deas decided that both notrump and spades could have only nine tricks. But, as you can see, she was not right this time. North led the club nine (zero or two higher) and the defenders took the first five tricks.

Plus 620 and plus 100 gave China 12 IMPs.

On Board 5 East-West could make three hearts, both getting there. Wang Wenfei and Liu Yi Qian competed to three spades, which went down one. But Levitina and Sanborn tried four spades to give China another 3 IMPs.

Then:

Board 54. Dealer East. East-West vul.
	♠ 4 3 ♥ 9 2 ♦ K J 8 6 5 ♣ A 4 3 2
♠ J 10 5 ♥ Q 10 4 3 ♦ 10 2 ♣ K J 10 8		♠ K 2 ♥ A K J 8 7 5 ♦ A 9 4 ♣ 7 6
	♠ A Q 9 8 7 6 ♥ 6 ♦ Q 7 3 ♣ Q 9 5

(a) Help-suit game-try

In the Open Room, Sun Ming, with four hearts and only two diamonds, might have bid four hearts. But she knew her partner had at most 15 high-card points. In contrast, opposite a preemptive raise, Beth Palmer shut her eyes and hoped for the best.

A diamond lead would have defeated four hearts, but Liu selected a trump. Declarer drew two rounds, then played a club to the nine and ten. North did her best by ducking, but East crossed back to her hand with a trump and played a club to dummy's eight. Now she had ten tricks: six hearts, one diamond and three clubs.

In the Open Room, Sanborn led a club against three hearts. North won and shifted to a spade, South playing three rounds of the suit, North ruffing the last and East overruffing. Declarer now claimed nine tricks when she could have taken ten. It made no difference to the score, though, USA 2 gaining 10 IMPs.

After an IMP to China came a dynamite deal.

Board 56. Dealer West. None vul.
	♠ A Q 10 7 5 2 ♥ 7 ♦ Q 10 9 2 ♣ K 6
♠ 3 ♥ K Q J 8 6 5 4 3 ♦ 6 5 3 ♣ 7		♠ K 9 ♥ 9 2 ♦ K 7 ♣ A 10 9 8 5 4 3
	♠ J 8 6 4 ♥ A 10 ♦ A J 8 4 ♣ Q J 2

Wang Hongli led the club ace and continued with another club to defeat five spades. But Palmer led the heart nine. Wang Wenfei won with dummy's ace, played a spade to her ace, and led another spade, claiming a moment later when the diamond finesse worked.

Plus 50 and plus 650 gave China 12 IMPs and a 68-point lead in the match.

Two flat games (one a possible slam on a finesse that was losing) were followed by:

Board 59. Dealer South. None vul.
	♠ 10 9 ♥ K J 10 7 ♦ K J 8 7 2 ♣ 7 6
♠ A K 8 5 3 2 ♥ 9 6 ♦ 9 5 3 ♣ J 3		♠ Q J 6 ♥ Q 5 4 3 2 ♦ 4 ♣ A 10 5 4
	♠ 7 4 ♥ A 8 ♦ A Q 10 6 ♣ K Q 9 8 2

(a) 15-17 points
(b) 6-plus hearts or spades
(c) Pass or correct

(a) 14-16 points
(b) Try for game

Against three spades, North led the club seven. Declarer ducked to South's queen, and Liu shifted accurately to a trump. Deas would have done best to draw trumps and run the club jack, losing two hearts, one diamond and two clubs. But she won trick two in the dummy and called for a heart. North won and led her second club, ducked to South's king. Liu cashed the heart ace, then played a club, West discarding and North ruffing. Now the contract went down two.

Against five diamonds, East led the spade queen: four, two (encouraging), ten. Next East cashed the club ace, her partner playing the three. Then East led another club, hoping her partner was ruffing. But this let the contract through. Declarer won in the dummy, drew trumps and claimed to gain 7 IMPs for USA 2.

Wang Hongli was wrong. If her partner had seven spades to the ace-king and a singleton club, she would have overtaken at the first trick and shifted to her club.

After an overtrick IMP to China, on Board 61, Deas and Palmer bid three notrump, which could not be defeated by the lie of the cards. Sun and Wang were in four spades on their 4-4 fit, which would have gone down if Sanborn had attacked hearts from ♠ A 6 ♥ A 8 5 4 ♦ 8 3 2 ♣ J 9 5 4. Levitina had a doubleton heart and would have got a ruff. But Sanborn was never going to do that. However, she might have led a club, when Levitina could have won with her ace and shifted to hearts. But Sanborn reasonable chose a diamond and China gained an IMP.

The last sizable swing came on the next deal:

Board 62. Dealer East. None vul.
	♠ A J 10 8 2 ♥ K 10 6 3 ♦ 9 ♣ K 7 5
♠ 7 3 ♥ Q 5 ♦ K Q J 8 5 ♣ 9 8 6 3		♠ K Q 6 5 4 ♥ A 4 ♦ 6 3 2 ♣ Q J 4
	♠ 9 ♥ J 9 8 7 2 ♦ A 10 7 4 ♣ A 10 2

It is hard to understand Levitina's passing out three hearts when her partner made a try. Even two hearts is an underbid.

Against three hearts, East led the club queen. Declarer ruffed diamonds in her hand and eventually lost two trump tricks, being overruffed once by East in diamonds and once by West in spades.

Against four hearts, Palmer led the spade king. Declarer won, crossed to the diamond ace, and ran the heart seven. East took her ace and returned a diamond, but North ruffed, cashed the heart king, and took a ruffing spade finesse. She collected 12 tricks to win 7 IMPs.

The teams exchanged one-point swings on the last two boards. China had gained 27 IMPs to lead by 70 with only 32 boards to play. Could USA 2 overcome that mountain?