43rd GENERALI EUROPEAN BRIDGE CHAMPIONSHIPS DAILY BULLETIN Editor: J.-P. Meyer • Co-Editor: M. Horton • Web Editor: Th. Matziaris No.: 13 • Thursday, 26 June 1997

Results	Contents
OPEN Round 28, Round 29, Round 30 LADIES Round 19, Round 20, Round 21 SENIORS Round 10, Round 11 BUTLER scoring, Open Round 29 BUTLER scoring, Ladies Round 20	Ladies, Gt. Britain v Israel by Brian Senior Take Out double by A. Riccardi & E. Levy Casa Nostra by Jos Jacobs Good title, no article by Herman De Wael

With five matches to go, Italy is still 'numero uno' and barring a total collapse is certain to make the trip to Tunisia. The destination of the medals and the remaining four places will almost certainly rest between Poland, France, Norway, Spain, Netherlands, Denmark & Iceland.

Great Britain & France almost home

Both these giants of the Ladies game have all but booked their seats on the plane. Israel is not completely safe, but they are in much better shape than Germany, Sweden, Italy, Austria, Netherlands, Poland & Spain, all of whom are fighting for the qualifying spots.

FIGB Receives a gold medal for its 60th anniversary from EBL

An excerpt from the address of the President of the EBL, Bill Pencharz The Italian Bridge Federation is a remarkable organization. During its 60 years of existence its players have won 14 European Open Titles, 3 Teams Olympiads and no less than 13 Bermuda Bowls. FIGB is a leader in teaching and promoting Bridge and in Bridge technology, and is the leader in style and design. Later this year, the Federazione Italiani Gioco Bridge will be celebrating its 60th anniversary. So on behalf of the EBL, I have brought the FIGB an early birthday present. I have just mentioned the 30 Gold medals which Italian Open teams have won over the last 60 years, half a gold medal a year and that does not include the ladies. A federation that can nurture such success deserves a medal of its own.

Therefore, Gianirrigo Rona, can I please ask you to receive, on behalf of FIGB, the European Bridge League gold medal.

First versus second so with only four more rounds to play after this one and time running out a crucial match for both teams. Great Britain, with a lead of half a match or so, would settle for a draw while Israel needed a win to close the gap and maintain their challenge for the title.

The first half boards were mostly dull and Great Britain took a narrow lead of 16-7. Both sides coped well with the one big board of the set.

Board 7. Dealer South. Love All Q 10 5 3 2 7 5 4 J 7 9 8 3 A K 9 8 6 7 4 A Q 9 2 K 8 6 A K Q 6 2 6 A J 10 7 5 2 J J 10 3 10 9 8 5 4 3 K Q 4 Closed Room West North East South Poplilov Birman Pass 2 Pass 3 Pass 3NT Pass 4NT All Pass

Open Room West North East South Davies Smith Pass 2 Pass 3 Pass 3 Pass 4 Pass 4 Pass 4 All Pass

More than half the field in both the Ladies and Open competitions got too high on this one, a couple even being in seven, so this was a well-judged flat board.

Great Britain extended their lead early in the second set.

Board 14. Dealer East. Love All K 9 6 Q 8 5 2 Q 5 A 5 3 2 Q 10 7 5 3 A 8 4 2 K 10 7 3 A J 6 6 4 2 A 10 9 8 3 4 Q J 9 4 K J 7 K J 10 9 8 7 6 Open Room West North East South Dhondy Tsur-Albu McGowan Levit-Porat 1 Pass 1 Dble 3 5 Pass Pass Dble All Pass

Migri Tsur-Albu's rather revolting takeout double of 1 made it difficult for Ruth Levit-Porat to bid less than 5. Heather Dhondy led a spade to the ace and Liz McGowan cashed A, getting the jack and six. The six was merely discouraging and McGowan fell for declarer's falsecard, continuing with a second diamond on the assumption that there was no hurry to take the hearts. Declarer could pitch a heart on the K for one down; -100.

In the other room Daniella Birman also opened 1 and Sandra Landy made a weak jump overcall of 3, converted to 3NT by Michele Handley. Birman led 10 and Handley won the queen and returned a diamond. Birman won the ace, cashed A and switched to a low heart. Matilda Poplilov won the K but switched back to spades and Handley had ten tricks; +430 and 11 IMPs to Great Britain.

Board 15. Dealer South. N/S Game A 6 4 2 Q J 10 7 6 7 5 7 6 8 3 K Q J 9 5 9 5 2 A K 9 8 6 Q J 3 A J 10 3 K Q 8 2 10 7 A K 8 4 3 10 4 2 9 5 4

The Israeli East-West pair had a free run to the solid 5; +400. McGowan found herself in the slightly less secure 4. Levit-Porat led ace and king of hearts and McGowan accurately discarded a club. South played a third heart but McGowan ruffed in dummy and played a spade to the jack then spades from the top; +420 and 1 IMP to Great Britain.

Board 17. Dealer North. Love All 7 5 2 A 10 9 5 4 K Q 9 8 3 J 9 8 6 A Q 10 3 J 8 2 7 4 3 A Q 9 2 K J 10 8 7 A 10 2 K 4 K Q 6 6 5 3 J 7 6 5 4

Both sides played 4 but different ways round. Birman (East) received a club lead and, when the trump finesse lost, a club continuation. She could ruff, draw trumps and had ten tricks; +420.

Dhondy (West) got the singleton diamond lead from Tsur-Albu. She took the spade finesse and suffered a diamond ruff. Tsur-Albu followed her partner's suit preference signal by confidently underleading the A and was given a second ruff. That was three down for -150 and 11 IMPs to Israel.

Board 18. Dealer East. N/S Game A Q 9 5 K Q 8 Q 7 Q 10 8 6 6 K J 8 4 2 10 2 7 5 4 3 J 10 8 6 3 5 A K 7 4 3 J 9 5 10 7 3 A J 9 6 A K 9 4 2 2 West North East South Poplilov Handley Birman Landy Pass 1 2 Dble 3 3 Pass 3NT All Pass

3NT is where you would want to be on those North-South cards and it duly rolled in when the defence led a club to the king, a club to the nine and a third club to the ace. That established declarer's ninth trick; +600.

Open Room West North East South Dhondy Tsur-Albu McGowan Levit-Porat Pass 1 Pass 1 Pass 2 Pass 2NT Pass 3 Dble 3NT Pass 4 All Pass

2NT was a forcing enquiry and, while I am not sure of the meaning of 3, it does seem that 3NT is a very positive statement as to where North wants to play, given her options. Anyway, Levit-Porat didn't see things the same way and removed to 4. McGowan led a club and Dhondy won and switched to her trump. McGowan won the J and switched to her diamond and declarer won on table and led a spade, rising with the ace when West showed out. She ruffed a club then tried to cash Q but that was ruffed and McGowan cashed K and led a club to West and received a second diamond ruff for three down; -300 and 14 IMPs to Great Britain. But Israel bounced straight back on the next board.

Board 19. Dealer South. E/W Game K Q 9 A Q J 5 7 5 3 2 10 6 4 2 J 10 8 6 5 6 K 9 4 K Q J 10 9 6 A K Q 3 2 A 7 5 4 A 7 3 10 8 7 3 2 8 4 J 9 8 Open Room West North East South Dhondy Tsur-Albu McGowan Levit-Porat Pass 1 1 1 4 Pass Pass Dble Pass 5 Dble All Pass

In the Closed Room Poplilov/Birman had an uncontested auction to 3NT. The lead was a club and Birman took the first ten tricks; -630. In the Open Room the 1 overcall had won the board for Israel whatever Dhondy decided to do over the card-showing double of 4. When she chose to bid 5, Tsur-Albu wasted no time in leading the A and switching to king and another spade; -200 and 13 IMPs to Israel.

Board 21. Dealer North. N/S Game 8 6 2 K J 9 7 4 J 9 A 8 2 K J 9 4 A Q 7 Q 10 2 10 6 5 K Q 8 7 3 2 Q J 9 3 10 7 4 10 5 3 A 8 6 5 3 A 4 K 6 5 Open Room West North East South Dhondy Tsur-Albu McGowan Levit-Porat Pass 1 1 Dble 2 3 Pass Pass 3 Pass Pass 4 All Pass

Again the Israeli East-West pair in the Closed Room had a free run, this time to 2, making nine; +140.

In the Open Room, it was Levit-Porat's turn to make an overcall which was not found at the other table and it allowed Tsur-Albu to compete to the three-level, though the two-step approach to doing so is unusual, most would have bid to 3 in one go. 3 was going one down but it wasn't easy for Dhondy to judge and she took the push to 4; one down for -50 and 5 IMPs to Israel.

Board 24. Dealer West. Love All K 6 5 3 A 7 6 5 6 9 8 6 3 Q 8 7 2 J 10 9 K 8 4 3 J A Q 9 7 4 3 2 K Q 10 7 5 4 2 A 4 Q 10 9 2 K J 10 8 5 A J Open Room West North East South Dhondy Tsur-Albu McGowan Levit-Porat 2 Pass 2 2NT Pass 3 Pass 3 Pass 4 All Pass

Poplilov opened 1 as dealer and played there, doing as well as could be expected to scramble six tricks; -50. There was more action in the other room. 2 was either strong and artificial, a weak two in diamonds, or 11-14, 4-4-4-1 with both majors, and 2 a relay, to play opposite diamonds. Levit-Porat overcalled a natural 2NT and was soon in 4 on a low spade lead.

Declarer started well enough by winning in dummy and leading a diamond to the jack and queen. She won the spade continuation and should have taken the ruffing diamond finesse. It looks as though the contract should make from here, declarer at some point running the Q, but declarer went astray. She ruffed a low diamond, cashed the A and played a club to the ace. She ruffed another low diamond, ruffed a spade, ruffed a third diamond and a second spade, but that was that. The defence had the rest for one down and 3 IMPs to Great Britain.

A chance missed for Israel who might have been gaining 9 IMPs instead of losing three. The second half was an exact tie, leaving Great Britain the victors by 46-37; 16-14 VPs. The British were still in pole position but a 20-10 win for France over Finland meant they had closed the gap and moved into second ahead of Israel.

What will surely be remembered as the most dramatic deal of the Championships took place in the Open series encounter between Germany and Sweden.

Board 17. Dealer North. Love All — A K Q 10 3 A 10 9 7 K Q 7 6 A K 10 6 3 2 Q 9 8 6 2 J 7 5 Q J 6 4 3 K 8 5 2 — J 10 8 J 7 5 4 9 8 4 — A 9 5 4 3 2 Closed Room West North East South Holowski Nilsland Gotard Fallenius 1 Pass 2 4 Pass Pass Dble All Pass

In theory North-South can take the first six tricks against Four Spades doubled, but only if the opening lead is a double dummy diamond. In practice it was even worse, as the defenders failed to find even one diamond ruff, so declarer was able to claim 10 tricks. +590 to Germany In the replay Four Spades also became a possible contract, but this time South would have been declarer! This was the remarkable sequence produced at the table:

Open Room West North East South Eriksson Rath Fredin Tomski 1 Pass 1 2 4! Pass Pass!! Dble!!! 4NT Pass 5 Pass 6 Pass 7 All Pass

West's Two Spades was natural, so North thought it would be clear that he was making a cue bid when he leapt to Four Spades. South didn't see it in that light, but West came to the rescue with a double that will surely cause him to have many sleepless nights.

His double was for penalties but North promptly took it out! West could scarcely believe it when his opponents bid on to the cold Seven Clubs for +1440 and 19 IMPs. In desperation he called for the Tournament Director. Alas, all we could offer him was sympathy and a wry smile!

Rumours are that the Italian page is not paying enough attention to the ladies. As this is quite uncommon for most Italian men, we are happy to present two hands on which the ladies really did shine. They both occurred during yesterday afternoon's round 20 (29, as the men would say).

Though most of the honours of their encounter went to the hosts, they were most certainly outbid on Board 19 when Pony Nehmert and Andrea Rauscheid bid an excellent slam for Germany around a theme you would not see very often.

Dealer South. E/W Game A Q 9 4 2 A 4 J A K 10 8 6 J 10 8 5 K 10 Q 8 7 6 2 A 10 9 6 5 2 8 7 4 3 J 7 3 4 2 K 7 6 3 J 9 5 3 K Q Q 9 5 West North East South Nehmert Rauscheid 1NT Pass 2 Pass 2 Pass 3 Pass 3 Pass 4NT Pass 5 Pass 6 All Pass

Once again, a success for the mini-notrump. As soon as North knew that South held any values, she had every reason to go past game. 11 good IMPs to Germany.

At first sight, it looks as if a heart lead beats the slam, as there will be a heart trick cashable for the defence when they get in with the A. This once again is an optical illusion. Win the heart ace, draw trumps and cash the clubs. If they are 3-2, the two diamonds will go on the master clubs; the J ruffed in dummy will be the 12th trick.

Of course, when the defence gets underway with the A lead, the slam is made the pedestrian way by discarding the heart loser on the K. Mind you: as this king is accompanied by his wife, the A need not be under the king to turn this alternative line into a success.

So here we have a perfect example of a useful king and a valuable queen. What do we want, more? Yes, we want more. Isn't it wonderful to see a woman of lesser rank being called into the families of the royal people? Usually, this happens along morganatic lines - no good for us. We are only content if a lady manages to promote herself to the rank of a king. Let's look at Board 11 from this same match:

Dealer South. Love All A 3 Q 7 8 7 6 5 4 2 A 7 5 10 6 Q 9 7 4 A K 10 9 8 5 6 4 2 K Q A 9 10 9 3 K Q J 8 K J 8 5 2 J 3 J 10 3 6 4 2

This time, we should not bother about the royal family of diamonds. They are not making good use of their power, as KQ opposite A9 will only produce two tricks. No, we should look at the trump suit. If West plays 4 and north leads the A and another, then South can win and continue spades. No matter what West does, the trump queen will enter the ranks of the trump kings. One down.

There is one more problem, however: this defence has to be found. Full marks and all credit to the two women who made this lead: Izvorka Petrovic of Croatia (against Israel) and Nicola Smith of Great Britain (against the Netherlands).

Bulletin co-editor Mark Horton is a wiz on titles. If you give him an article, he can usually fit it with a catchy title. He's done it to me several times and is to be credited with both 'No way to squeeze a Lady' and 'Another way to squeeze a Lady'.

However, sometimes it is the reverse.

During these championships, I have come up with good titles on three occasions, only to find out that there was no good story to follow. Here is the collection of articles that never were.

Maserati vs Lamborghini

The second half of the match between Belgium and Great Britain featured two pairs that might well play for the abovementioned teams. When the pretty Italian lady first came round for score slips, I already had three of them. When I handed her the eight scoresheet, she again showed her surprise and we came up with these new team names. When the match finished with 45 minutes still on the clock, I fully expected to see other teams in the fast lane, but no, Calderwood - Shek and Jeunen - Backes beat the field with minutes to spare.

Sadly a fast set like that does not usually produce publishable material.

Lamborghini vs Ferrari

A few days later, Frans Jeunen was playing Geir Helgemo on the same side of the screen. I could not resist joining them. Helgemo certainly deserves an even better car model, but it proved different:

Not Ferrari, Bugatti!!

When Geir Helgemo takes 10 minutes to come up with a defense, I knew I should have an article. And of course, the defense was fully up to expected levels. But when it turned out that Belgium were about two levels higher than they should have, down the drain went another article. I will burden no-one with the nicknames Fiat or Lancia. If someone wants to adopt Alfa Romeo, they are free to do so.

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