POLAND U16s WIN AGAIN!

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1 Editor : Brian Senior Co-Editor : Francesca Canali Journalist : Daniel Gulyás Journalist & Photographer : Micke Melander POLAND U16s WIN AGAIN! THURSDAY, JULY 13, 2017 ISSUE No 5 Draw Today p. 2 From the Closing Ceremony p. 3 France vs Slovakia p. 4 A Fair Game p. 10 Fresh U21 Strategy Pablo Picasso or God? TODAY'S SCHEDULE U26, Women U Round Round Round Round 20 U Round Round Round Round Round 25 p. 11 Bridge with the Au Pair p. 15 p. 16 Coup of the Day p. 17 Results p. 19 Poland under 16 - Gold Medal Marcin Kuflowski Coach, Kacper Kuflowski, Adam Pigulski, Katarzyna Dufrat, Maciej Racewicz, Franciszek Kurlit, Przemyslaw Pasinski, Bartosz Zbik, Roland Lippik Npc As had looked likely overnight, Poland won the 2017 U16 European Team Championship, retaining the title they won in Tromso two years ago, with Israel taking the silver medal and France the bronze. The winning team comprised Kacper Kuflowski, Franciszek Kurlit, Adam Pigulski, Przemyslaw Pasinski, Maciej Racewicz, Bartosz Zbik, Roland Lippik (npc) and Marcin Kuflowski (coach). The medalists were followed home by England, Norway and Sweden, all of whom will join them as European representatives in next year's Youth World Team Championships in China. These championships are not only about the top teams. Let us all congratulate the Scottish U16s, the least experienced of all the teams taking part. After 14 rounds they had scored only a total of 7.66 VPs and had twelve 0-20 losses, including seven in a row going into the last round. In their final match they defeated Netherlands by VPs. The other three series still have three days to go so much can change. However, at the end of day four the U26 Open rankings were headed by Sweden, the U26 Women by Netherlands, and the U21s by England.

2 Israel under 16 - Silver Medal Shahar Dank, Moshiko Meyouhas Npc, Gal Matatyahou, Ofek Sabbah, Daniel Mesika, Gilad Ofir, Noam Berger, Yonatan Slivovich, Eitan Levy France under 16 - Bronze Medal Benoit Deveze Npc, Clement Teil, Arthur Libbrecht, Romain Bloch, Leo Rombaut DRAW TODAY U26 ROUND 17 DNK ROM POR GER FRA POL EST TUR HRV ENG SCO ITA HUN SWE BEL SER ISR CZE NOR AUT LAT SPA SVK GRE NED IRE RUS Bye TIME: U26 ROUND 18 SVK AUT ISR IRE BEL NED HUN GRE ITA LAT ENG NOR CZE TUR SER POL SWE GER DNK SCO RUS HRV EST ROM POR FRA SPA Bye TIME: U26 ROUND 19 SCO SER CZE CRO NOR EST LAT FRA GRE POR NED ROM RUS IRE DEN SVK GER SPA AUT POL ISR TUR ENG BEL HUN ITA SWE Bye TIME: U26 ROUND 20 ISR HUN ITA AUT ENG SPA TUR SVK POL IRE GER NED GRE DNK LAT RUS NOR ROM POR CZE FRA SER SWE EST CRO SCO BEL Bye TIME: U21 ROUND 21 BEL GER CZE ENG FIN FRA HUN POL TUR ISR SVK ITA IRE SWE NOR BUL NED Bye TIME: U21 ROUND 22 TUR GER SVK NED IRE ENG HUN FRA NOR POL CZE ITA FIN SWE BEL BUL ISR Bye TIME: U21 ROUND 23 GER HUN NED BEL FRA CZE POL IRE ISR NOR ITA TUR SWE SVK BUL FIN ENG Bye TIME: U21 ROUND 24 NED CZE ENG FIN FRA NOR POL BEL ISR SVK ITA IRE SWE HUN BUL TUR GER Bye TIME: U21 ROUND 25 FIN GER NOR NED TUR ENG SVK FRA CZE POL HUN ISR BEL ITA IRE BUL SWE Bye TIME: W. U26 ROUND 17 CZE NOR HUN GER FRA LAT ENG NED TUR POL TIME: W. U26 ROUND 18 CZE LAT GER ENG NOR POL TUR HUN FRA NED 4 TIME: GO TO PAGE: W. U26 ROUND 19 HUN POL not yet available 4 TIME: W. U26 ROUND 20 POL ENG not yet available 4 TIME: RES ESUL ULTS

3 FROM THE UNDER 16 PRIZE GIVING Dear Mr Yves Aubry, President of the European Bridge League, dear Mr. Peter Belchak, president of the Slovakian Bridge Federation, dear Colleagues, Guests, and dear Kids, I am delighted to welcome you to the prize giving ceremony of this year s European Under 16 Bridge Teams Championship. I am happy to have observed that this championship attracted teams from 16 countries this year, and we shall be looking forward to increase these figures in the upcoming years. The participating teams played in an atmosphere of friendly competition and true sportsmanship in this magnificent venue of the beautiful Samorin town. I congratulate each and every one of you, and I shall be looking forward to follow your successes for many years to come in your bridge careers. I wish you all the best of luck, and a safe return home. Thank you Sevinç Atay GO TO PAGE: 3

4 FRANCE vs SLOVAKIA by Brian Senior Junior Teams, Round 13 After three days play in the U26 Open, France led the way and were looking to build on their advantage in day four's morning match in which they faced our hosts, Slovakia. The match started very nicely for the leaders. Board 1. Dealer North. None Vul. [ A 5 3 ] J { Q } 6 [ Q J 10 [ K ] A 8 6 ] K 5 4 { A K { J 5 4 } J } Q 3 [ 9 2 ] Q 7 2 { } A K Combescure Vodicka Bernard Kvocek Pass Pass 1} 1NT 2{ 3] Pass 4[ All Pass overcalled 1NT. Martin Vodicka competed with 2{ and Julien Bernard jumped to 3], transfer and invitational or better. Combescure jumped to 4[, against which Vodicka led his club. Kvocek won the king and switched to the ten of diamonds, Combescure winning the ace and playing the jack of spades, ducked, then the [Q, which Vodicka won with the ace. He returned the jack of hearts, Combescure winning the king and playing the queen of clubs. Kvocek won that and there was nothing the defence could do; ten tricks for +420 and 7 IMPs to France. Suppose, however, that Kvocek had played his partner to hold a third trump so ducked the club. North would ruff and there would be no way for declarer to avoid a heart loser for the setting trick. So should the contract be defeated? No declarer should have drawn the last trump before playing the }Q. If South wins the ace, there are ten easy tricks. If he ducks, declarer crosses to a top red card and plays the jack of clubs, discarding his loser in the suit which he has just used as an entry to hand. South makes the }A, but the other red loser goes away on the }10. Rumancik Lierhmann Kovac Sanchez Pass Pass 1NT Dble 2{ 2[ All Pass For France, Thomas Sanchez opened 1NT, supposedly 12-14, in third seat and Jakub Rumancik doubled. When Florina Lierhmann ran to 2{, Ondrej Kovac competed with 2[ and was left to play there. Sanchez led the ace of clubs and, knowing that partner held either a singleton or the queen, continued with a low club. Lierhmann ruffed and returned a diamond. The defence had to come to a spade and a heart now so Kovac had nine tricks for For Slovakia, Juraj Kvocek opened with a leaddirecting 1} as South and Baptiste Combescure Baptiste Combescure FRANCE 4 GO TO PAGE:

5 Board 2. Dealer East. N/S Vul. [ 4 ] J { A 5 } A Q [ A [ Q J ] ] A K Q 7 { J { K Q 9 7 } J 6 } K 9 8 [ K ] 10 6 { } 10 4 Combescure Vodicka Bernard Kvocek 2NT Pass 3} Dble 3{ Pass 3NT All Pass Rumancik Lierhmann Kovac Sanchez 2NT Pass 3} Dble 3{ Pass 3] Pass 3NT All Pass Both Norths doubled for a club lead and both Souths duly led the ten of clubs, covered by dummy's jack. Vodicka in turn covered with the queen and Bernard won the king. He played on spades and had nine tricks for Lierhmann won the ace at trick one then continued with a low club. Kovac convinced himself that the lead had been from Q10x and that he should go up with the king to block the suit. That was not a success. Lierhmann won the ace of spades and had four clubs to cash for down two and 100; 11 IMPs to France. Julien Bernard FRANCE Board 3. Dealer South. E/W Vul. [ K Q 8 6 ] Q 9 4 { J 9 5 } [ A J [ 3 ] K ] A J 2 { A Q 8 6 { K 4 2 } } K [ ] { } A Q J 7 Combescure Vodicka Bernard Kvocek Pass 1[ Pass 2} Pass 2] Pass 3} Pass 3NT All Pass Rumancik Lierhmann Kovac Sanchez Pass 1[ Pass 2} Pass 2] Pass 3} Pass 3NT All Pass Identical auctions saw the two West players declare 3NT on the lead of a diamond. However, the two Norths chose different diamonds and that made a difference to how the declarers read the situation, Lierhmann led the nine of diamonds, Rumancik winning the queen and leading a heart to the jack then cashing out the hearts. He led a diamond from hand and Lierhmann followed with the jack, so Rumancik won the {K and led a spade to the nine and queen. Back came the eight of clubs to the ten and jack and Sanchez got out with his last diamond. Rumancik won and cashed the thirteenth diamond and [A so had nine tricks for Vodicka led the five of diamonds to the ten and queen and Combescure led a heart to the jack followed by a spade to the nine and queen. Vodicka returned the nine of clubs for the ten and jack and Kvocek got out with the seven of diamonds to the nine and king. The diamond plays had convinced Combescure that the suit was four-two, meaning that he was a trick short of his target. He cashed out the hearts then played ace and another spade, hoping for an endplay. Alas, Vodicka won the spade and pushed the eight of clubs through and the defence had six tricks; down two for 200 and 13 IMPs to Slovakia. GO TO PAGE: 5

6 Board 5. Dealer North. N/S Vul. [ Q ] Q 5 4 { Q 9 2 } [ 9 [ J ] ] A 9 { A J 10 6 { K } } Q J 2 [ A K 8 4 ] K J 8 6 { 4 3 } A K 4 Combescure Vodicka Bernard Kvocek Pass 1NT Dble Rdbl Pass 2} Dble 2{ Dble All Pass Rumancik Lierhmann Kovac Sanchez Pass Pass 1} Pass 1] Pass 1NT Pass 3NT All Pass Bernard opened 1NT, 10-12, and Kvocek doubled. Combescure redoubled for rescue and the four-four diamond fit was found. Vodicka doubled 2{ for penalty and that was that. Vodicak led the ten of clubs to the queen and king and Kvocek switched to the four of diamonds to the jack, queen and king. Combescure led a low club, losing to the nine, and back came a second diamond to dummy's six. Combescure led a heart to the nine and jack, and Kvocek cashed the [K then continued with the ace, ruffed. A club to the jack and ace saw Kvocek return a heart to dummy's ace. Combescure ruffed a spade with the {A and discarded the last spade on the thirteenth club as Vodicka ruffed with the {9, the setting trick; 100. There was no opening by East in the other room, and the French N/S bid freely to 4[. Something strange happened, as the ten of diamonds was led and held the first trick, but then Rumancik continued with the {6 and dummy's nine was allowed to hold the trick. Would that be sufficient to let the game home? Sanchez cashed the ace of spades then led a second round to the queen and a third to his eight. Next he played the king of hearts, ducked, and a second heart for the queen and ace. He discarded a club on the diamond return so Rumancik won the ace and gave his partner a heart ruff for down one; 100 and 5 IMPs to Slovakia, tieing up the match at after five boards. Board 7. Dealer South. All Vul. [ A Q 7 3 ] K 9 { J 7 4 } A K J 3 [ K J [ ] J ] 10 2 { A 3 2 { K 10 9 } 7 } Q [ 6 ] A Q { Q } Combescure Vodicka Bernard Kvocek Pass Pass 2{ Pass 2[ Dble 2NT Pass 3} Pass 3NT All Pass Rumancik Lierhmann Kovac Sanchez 2] Pass 2NT Pass 3{ Pass 3NT All Pass Sanchez opened 2], weak with at least five-five in hearts and any other suit well, only one card out, I suppose. Two No Trump asked and 3{ showed diamonds and a minimum. Lierhmann ended the auction with 3NT and Kovac led a club round to the jack. Lierhmann tried to split the hearts now but when they proved to be four-two switched his attention to diamonds, leading low to the seven and nine. Kovac led a second club, the queen round to the ace, and Lierhmann played the jack of diamonds. Imagine how he felt when that was allowed to hold the trick! It was obvious that the suit was three-three so he played another diamond and so established dummy's fourth card but, more to the point, putting Rumancik on lead. After cashing the jack of hearts Rumancik had to lead a spade and a successful finesse meant that Rumancik had his ninth trick for Kvocek could not show a weak two-suiter and was unwilling to open a natural weak two bid so passed, and Vodicka opened 2{ in third seat, balanced. Two Spades was a puppet to 2NT, after which 3} asked about majors. However, Combescure took the opportunity to ask for a spade lead by doubling 2[ and now the defence was always in control. The four of spades went to the ten and queen and Vodicka cashed three rounds of hearts then took the club finesse. 6 GO TO PAGE:

7 That lost and the spades were cleared. Declarer had only the seven tricks with which he had started so was down two for 200 and 13 IMPs to France. Board 9. Dealer North. E/W Vul. [ ] K Q { Q 7 } 6 3 [ J 6 [ K Q 10 3 ] A 8 ] 9 4 { { J } A K J } Q 8 [ A ] J 6 5 { A K 3 } Combescure Vodicka Bernard Kvocek 2] Pass Pass 2NT Pass 3{ Pass 3NT Pass Pass Dble All Pass Rumancik Lierhmann Kovac Sanchez 2{ Pass 3] 4} Pass 5} Dble All Pass Lierhmann opened a multi on the North cards and Sanchez responded 3], pre-emptive in opener's major. Rumancik overcalled 4} and was raised to game, promptly doubled by Sanchez to end the auction. It appears that there are five top losers but the defence rather lost its way. Lierhmann led the king of hearts, Rumancik winning the ace and leading a club to the queen followed by a low spade towards his jack. Sanchez went in with the ace and cashed the ace of diamonds but then, not being clear what was happening in diamonds, switched to the jack of hearts. Lierhmann overtook and played a third heart, hoping to see his partner over-ruff the dummy. Instead, Rumancik ruffed, drew trumps and cashed the spades for down only one and 200. That seemed to be an opportunity wasted by the French, but the missing undertricks proved to be almost irrelevant. In the other room, Vodicka opened a weak two bid and, when that came round to Combescure, he overcalled 2NT personally, I prefer 3}, as sit will be the safer partscore, while partner will usually be able to respond when game is good. Anyway, perhaps looking for safety means I am getting old. Bernard made what looks like a transfer cuebid and Combescure, with no interest in spades, had to bid 3NT, which Kvocek doubled on the way out. Does this double ask for a specific lead, or does it just say that the contract should go down if partner makes his normal lead? I can't speak for this partnership, but I think the latter meaning will come up far more often. Had Vodicka led his hearts, declarer would have had seven tricks and no more, so the contract would have been down two. But Vodicka led a spade, and now it didn't matter whether Kvodek won it or ducked, Combescure had three spade tricks and ten in all for a rather useful +950 and 15 IMPs to France. Board 10. Dealer East. All Vul. [ Q J ] J { A } 10 7 [ [ A ] A Q 9 ] 6 { K 8 { Q } A } 8 2 [ K 8 ] K { J 3 } K Q J 5 4 Combescure Vodicka Bernard Kvocek 2[ Pass 4[ All Pass Rumancik Lierhmann Kovac Sanchez Pass 1} Pass 1{ Pass 1] Pass 2} Pass 2] Pass 3] All Pass These two-suited weak two bids can be very effective at times. Here, Bernard could open 2[, spades and a minor, and Combescure raised directly to game. N/S were shut out completely. Kvocek led the king of clubs, Bernard winning dummy's ace and playing ace and another trump. Kvocek won the second spade and cashed the }J then switched to a heart. Bernard won the ace and played the king of diamonds. Vodicka won the ace and returned a low heart but declarer could ruff, cash the queen of diamonds and ruff out the suit for ten tricks and In the other room, there was no 2[ opening, so Sanchez opened as South and Lierhmann responded GO TO PAGE: 7

8 1{ to show four or more hearts. The French pair got up to 3] and stopped there with their opponents not having got involved in the auction at all beyond putting a string of green cards into the bidding tray. A spade lead was won by the ace and a spade returned to declarer's king. Seeing a source of tricks in the club suit, Sanchez simply played the heart king from hand. Rumancik won and played two more rounds of trumps but now Sanchez could knock out the }A and claim nine tricks for +140 and 13 IMPs to France, who were building up a pretty big lead in the match. Of course, the contract could have been one down had Rumancik realised that declarer had to have the club suit to justify his trump play and therefore switched to a diamond upon winning the first heart. Board 11. Dealer South. None Vul. [ A K J 6 ] J 7 4 { 9 } A J [ 10 5 [ Q ] A ] K 8 6 { K Q { 3 2 } K 3 } Q 8 7 [ 8 2 ] Q 5 3 { A J } Combescure Vodicka Bernard Kvocek Pass 1{ Dble 1] Pass 2] Pass 2[ Pass 4] All Pass Rumancik Lierhmann Kovac Sanchez Pass 1{ 2} Pass Pass 2{ Dble All Pass The French pair got into a mess when someone forgot the system. One Heart was intended to show spades but taken to be natural. The convention card mentions Texas here so the forget was probably by Combescure. Four Hearts was as hopeless as it looks and was down three for 150. Where Vodicka had made a take-out double, Lierhmann preferred to overcall. He then doubled for take-out at his second turn and Sanchez left it in. Lierhmann started with a top spade then switched to the seven of hearts to the queen and ace. Rumancik led the three of clubs to the queen followed by a diamond to the queen. When that held the trick, he continued with a heart to the eight, a diamond to the ten, and the ten of spades to Lierhmann's king. Back came the jack of hearts to dummy's king. A spade was ruffed with the eight and over-ruffed with the king, and now the thirteenth heart forced a ruff from South, meaning that Rumancik had another trump trick and eight in all for +180 and 8 IMPs to Slovakia. Board 12. Dealer West. N/S Vul. [ A 7 3 ] A 3 { A K 7 } K [ K [ J 8 ] J ] { { Q } } Q 10 3 [ Q 9 2 ] K Q { J 9 2 } A J Combescure Vodicka Bernard Kvocek Pass 2{ Pass 2[ Dble 2NT Pass 3NT All Pass Rumancik Lierhmann Kovac Sanchez Pass 1} Pass 2} Pass 2NT Pass 3NT Pass 4} Pass 4] Pass 4NT Pass 5} Pass 5{ Pass 5NT Pass 6} All Pass Vodicka opened 2{, balanced and 2[ asked him to bid 2NT. Combescure made a lead-directing double of 2[ and, when his opponents bid to the no trump game, Bernard duly led the jack of spades. However, dummy's spades were good enough to create a second stopper for declarer. The spade was covered all round and Vodicka played clubs in normal fashion and soon had ten tricks for a solid Lierhmann opened with 1} and Sanchez made an inverted raise then raised the 2NT rebid to game. Now Lierhmann showed that he had real clubs and slam ambitions and eventually committed to the club slam. He received a heart lead to dummy's queen and 8 GO TO PAGE:

9 promptly erred by cashing the }A. That created a club loser where there should not have been one, though fortunately slam was always doomed as the cards lay. The contract was down two for 200 and 13 IMPs to Slovakia. And finally, the biggest swing of the match. Board 13. Dealer North. All Vul. [ 8 ] A 5 { K J } A K 6 [ A Q 10 [ J ] Q ] 2 { Q 8 { A 3 2 } J } Q [ K ] K J { 4 } 4 Combescure Vodicka Bernard Kvocek 1{ Pass 1] Pass 3{ Pass 3[ Dble All Pass Rumancik Lierhmann Kovac Sanchez 1{ Pass 1] Pass 3{ Pass 3[ Pass 4} Pass 4] All Pass Did you ever hear that it is better to have two bad boards on the same board rather than on two separate boards? Well, this was a case in point, though the size of the negative swing meant that it could hardly be considered a triumph for Slovakia. Both N/Ss bid the same way as far as 3[ from South, and now Combescure doubled, not expecting that his opponents could ever play in 3[ doubled, while Rumancik went quietly. Without the double, Lierhmann/Sanchez bid to the heart game. Rumancik led the ten of clubs and, not wanting to make the situation too clear to his opponents, Sanchez won the ace but did not continue with the king for a diamond pitch. Instead, he played dummy's spade at trick two and played low from hand, his table feel telling him that the ace rated to be offside. Rumancik won the spade and continued with a second club so now the diamond went away and Sanchez led a low diamond off the table. Time stood still as Kovac decided what to do on this trick but finally he got it wrong by putting up his ace ruffed. Sanchez ruffed a spade, discarded a spade on the king of diamonds, and ruffed a club then another spade, bringing down the ace. He ruffed a diamond with the ten and was over-ruffed but could ruff the club return and had ten tricks for When 3[ got doubled, I suppose that it never occurred to Vodicka that his partner might choose to play there, hence his pass to leave it up to Kvocek what to do next. But Kvocek clearly imagined that his partner had some spades for the pass, presumably three cards, as why else would he not bid something? He passed and 3[ became the final contract. This was not a lot of fun v unless you were sitting E/W, of course. The club lead was won in dummy and Kvocek cashed the second club to pitch his diamond loser then ruffed a club, crossed to the ace of hearts and ruffed a diamond. That was five tricks in the bag and Kvocek perhaps began to hope that he might get out alive, even if only just. He next tried to cash the ]K and that was the end. Bernard ruffed and led the nine of spades, ducked to the ten. Combescure gave his partner a second heart ruff and Bernard played through his last spade. Combescure won that and drew the last round of trumps and the defence had the rest; down four for 1100 and a massive 17 IMPs to France. The final score was IMPs in favour of France, VPs, and they had consolidated their position at the top of the rankings. Juraj Kvocek SLOVAKIA GO TO PAGE: 9

10 A FAIR GAME by Micke Melander Mikael Grönkvist made a fine play in Three Diamonds against Latvia in Round 13 of the U26 teams. Give it a thought yourself before reading on about how he played. East kicks off with the ace of diamonds and a second round of trumps and you see: Board 14. Dealer East. None Vul. [ K 10 8 ] Q 8 3 { K Q 8 7 } K Q 2 [ [ ] ] { 9 2 { A 3 } } [ A ] 6 { J } Closed Room Pelsis M Grönkvist Ilzins I Grönkvist 1] Pass 2] Pass Pass Dble Pass 3{ All Pass It looks at first sight like a perfect contract to play, but the question is how, since you have at least one loser threatening in each suit and maybe even two in clubs (if East has ace-jack). Grönkvist played like this: He won the second trick with the king of diamonds and immediately played the three of hearts, West won with the jack and switched to the three of clubs, which went to the king, ace and dummy s eight. Another heart was returned, not giving anything away. Declarer now ruffed, played a club to the queen (refusing the finesse) ruffed the last heart and simply exited with the last club which eliminated hearts and clubs. Regardless of which of the opponents was thrown in, he would make the contract if the spade honours were split, since the defense had to open the frozen spade suit or give declarer a ruff and discard where spades would again be solved. Very elegant play by Mikael Grönkvist. The complete board looked like this: [ K 10 8 ] Q 8 3 { K Q 8 7 } K Q 2 [ J 7 6 [ Q 4 2 ] K J 5 2 ] A { 9 2 { A 3 } } A J 6 [ A ] 6 { J } It s very fair when you plan your play like that and the ace-jack of clubs are offside as a reward and that the spade honours split Speaking about rewards and fairness, my good friend P.O Sundelin told me about a board yesterday evening and said something like; can you believe declarer had KQ9X opposite AXXXX and started by playing the king! It was then unfair that it wasn t J10XX where it deserved to be remembering that, I saw another hand from the match between Latvia and Sweden. Declarer held K9654 opposite AJ872 in trumps, and believe it or not declarer kicked off with the ace of clubs! It was then very fair when the suit broke 3-0 with the queen in front of the jack! 10 GO TO PAGE:

11 FRESH U21 STRATEGY by Kees Tammens Never too old to learn I listen carefully to what the U-21 players tell me about bridge theory. Leen Stougie, gold at the Schools EC-2015 and silver at the Schools WC-2016 has his own way of explaining bridge strategy: I may deduct a half point for every board I pass. Since I already passed all the way on six boards my hand: [ Q J ]10 { K 4 } K counts as an opening bid with full value. Leen, the professor, often has wants the last word. He was lucky his partner, Xavier Friesen, did not push on very hard with a nice hand: [ A 3 ] A Q J { A 7 3 } J 10 the bidding ending quietly in 3NT, making nine tricks. And Tim van de Paverd knows his partner: Oscar opened a weak 2] and I looked at: [ 6 5 ] A K 6 2 { A J 10 8 } J 8 5 For myself no problem whatsoever; I passed and saw the contract go down one. Xavier Friesen still has to celebrate his sixteenth birthday but already makes quite an impact. He came to me with this tough question: What should I open with: [ K ] Q 5 4 { A } probably going between pass, 1[, 2[, I told him that the hand maybe was not suited for 1[ as it was too weak and also not for 2[, too strong. So I decided that a pass seemed a reasonable option to bring in the spades later on. Xavier produced an action I did not include in my options: U21 Round 5 Board 11. Dealer South. None Vul. [ A Q 8 ] J 7 { K Q } [ J [ ] 9 8 ] A K { J { } A K Q } J [ K ] Q 5 4 { A } Leen Xavier 3[ All Pass After making ten tricks Xavier took the blame for the missed game. However, it turned out to be a huge gain for the Dutch schools team. Tim Oscar 2[ 3} 3[ 4[ Pass 6} All Pass And a nice 920 was added to the 170. So nothing was wrong with 3[ after all. nobody vulnerable in first position? The choice GO TO PAGE: 11

12 Great Belgian Fireworks U26 Open Round 8 Board 28. Dealer West. N/S Vul. [ A Q J 8 3 ] Q 3 2 { J } J [ [ 10 ] A 8 ] K 4 { Q 6 2 { A } K Q 9 } A [ K 4 ] J { K } Sam Jens Pass Pass 1} 1] 1[ 2} Dble 4] Dble Rdbl All Pass As you may know, Belgian and Dutch juniors speak the same language. This story comes from Jens van Overmeire (South) and Sam Bahbout (North). Sam: I passed at my first turn because I know I can always introduce my spades later in the bidding. Jens: After 2}(invitational for hearts) I had an absolutely terrific hand, reason to jump to game. Sam: My redouble was automatic after this sequence!. After the club lead ruffed, declarer played a small diamond for the queen. West switched to the two of spades to the ten and king. A trump from South for ]K and another trump for ]A in West who played back a spade. Declarer finessed the eight and had ten tricks for This result helped Belgium to a maximum 20-0 victory and caused captain Jean Francois to buy a bottle of champagne for the team. In Belgium that is the reward for every blitz! How to Play or Misplay Mark Horton wrote quite an instructive, and funny, book called Misplay these hands with me (over the years I could easily add a couple of dozen of my own misplayed hands). Maybe the next board can serve as an entry for a new book in this series called Misdefend with Me. U21 Round 11 Board 13. Dealer North. All Vul. [ 2 ] J 9 6 { A K J } J 7 4 [ Q [ A K ] 8 3 ] Q 5 4 { 7 2 { 10 } A K } Q 6 2 [ J 4 ] A K { Q } 9 5 Tim Oscar 1{ 1[ 2] 3{ 4] 4[ 5] Dble All Pass The save at the five level is all right because 4[ is an easy make. West led }A and continued }K and a third club, expecting East (who played }2 followed by }6) to ruff this trick. However, that proved to be South. Seeing eleven easy tricks with ]Q onside South, however, got other ideas, probably the swift double of 5] by West induced this. Declarer played a small spade from South for West who played back a diamond. South took {Q and, still convinced that West had ]Q-fourth, played ]A and a small heart from South. It was East who won the trick. The [A forced dummy to ruff and with only diamonds left East made a ruff for down three. A misdefense for +800? At the other table East did pretty well to switch to a club after [A lead against 5{ doubled. 12 GO TO PAGE:

13 U21 Round 11 Board 12. Dealer West. N/S Vul. [ J ] A K 10 6 { A K 4 } 8 5 [ K [ Q 4 ] 4 ] Q J { J 7 3 { Q 10 6 } K } Q 4 [ A 9 7 ] 8 7 { } A J 9 3 Tim Oscar Pass 1NT 2{ Dble Rdbl Pass 2] 3] Pass 3NT All Pass With Tim van de Paverd declaring as North, East led ]Q for North's king. Declarer started with the three of spades to the four, nine and king and West returned the two of clubs to the five, queen and ace. Crossing to the {A followed by the [J, to queen and ace, then the [7, successfully finessing West for the eight. Declarer went on the winning track by playing next the }3 from dummy. West took the ten followed by the king and got off with a spade to the ten. Declarer cashed {K, East unblocked the queen to avoid an endplay, only to see West thrown in with {J and }J as the ninth trick. This is a perfect example of How to play a hand well. It may become a nice series of books. I will inform Mark H. Or a misplay in the end when after {K declarer cashed in a hurry the ]K offering West an opportunity to discard {J? It did not happen so +600 it was. The Netherlands in the Driving Seat The Dutch juniors (my dwelling place from ) seemed to have a rather slow start including a severe battering (2-75) by Sweden; however, apart from the 6.28 against France they scored eight substantial wins that brought them into the top four when the match in round eleven against long-time rivals Israel (I will always remember the final of the Junior WC in Taicang) came up. I will follow this, Tuesday afternoon is the appropriate time for writing my weekly newspaper column (of course about Samorin) board by board at and give a soccer style report U26 Open Round 11 Board 1. Dealer North. None Vul. [ Q J 9 3 ] A Q 6 { 7 6 } [ [ ] ] J { Q { A 5 } 5 2 } A K J 4 [ A K ] K 7 5 { K J } Q 9 6 The first board gives declarer as well as the defenders a tough job in 3NT. South, Tom van Overbeeke, passing the test with a delicate play at trick two. After a spade for the ace he played {J from South and West failed (it is very hard indeed) to take the queen to switch to clubs. At the other table, after a heart for the ace declarer played a diamond to the jack and West ducked. Why, don t you want to score? A dull nine-card diamond suit and a 5{ opening for thirteen tricks([ak missing). Netherlands 1 Israel 1, with both teams missing a difficult chance. On Board 3 Israel walks offside in a too high 3NT. Board 4 is interesting but at both tables 3NTcomes home. Netherlands 6 Israel 1. On Boards 5 and 6, the ball remains in the midfield without goal-scoring opportunities, but this time the Dutch are offside in 3NT, down four: Netherlands 6 Israel 8. Being a long-time (since I saw first Johan Cruijff in 1968) loyal fan of Ajax I sometimes get bored when the play in the Arena is too slow. On Boards 7 and 8 in this match the ball gets no further than a few metres from the half-way line, both teams going in the direction of the goal one time: Netherlands 10 Israel 14. Is it the proverbial silence before the storm? Yes! GO TO PAGE: 13

14 U26 Open Round 11 Board 9. Dealer North. E/W Vul. [ Q ] A 3 { K Q J 7 6 } 10 2 [ K [ A ] 8 6 ] K Q J 10 9 { 10 { A 8 3 } K J 5 3 } A [ J 10 ] { } Q 6 4 U 26 Open Round 11 Board 12. Dealer West. N/S Vul. [ 8 6 ] 8 2 { A Q J 4 3 } A [ K 4 3 [ A ] Q J ] K 5 { { } K Q } J 9 7 [ Q J 5 ] A { K } 10 [ 10 [ 5 1NT Dble Pass 3[ Pass 3NT All Pass I would vote myself for 4] by East, or even 4[. 3NT got what it deserved. A diamond lead, found by Tom, and down one. Veri Kiljan and Luc Tijssen will do that better as East/West. But after a diamond for the jack and king again ducked, the ball already rolling in the empty goal, North, Tobias Polak, switched to a spade?!? and for some to me unknown reason, the ball ended on the wrong side of the post. As expected, a wash with 4[, +620 at the other table. On Board 11 Tom swindles home the seventh trick in a 1NT contract, nicely done for the anschlusstreffer (I know my languages), Only three to go, where is the action? On 12 Tom gets and takes a chance to double a scientific bid which allows T&T to reach an otherwise impossible 3{, maybe East/West can make 3[. Veri even tries 4[. 1] Pass 1[ Pass 2} Pass 2] Pass 2[ Pass 4[ All Pass The singleton club lead for the king and acea and the club ruff did not paralyse declarer and +420 went with +130 for a big gain of 11 much needed IMPs. Number 13 is no one s favourite; the Dutch declarer took a rather peculiar line in 4[ and went down with Israel making +620 for and a partscore swing on the last board gave Israel the small win by 31-26, with for the Netherlands a rather bitter taste because of three missed chances. I apologize for this including my form of humour report: writing a column and a chapter of the Dutch Diary, watching the Tour de France, listening to music and following and the results in the three other championships is nice but maybe too much at the same time. SIMPLY WORLD CLASS... The Best Bridgefestival in the World ÖREBRO SWEDEN JULY 28 - AUGUST 6, N T MISS IT! DON T MISS IT! DON T MISS IT! DON T 14 GO TO PAGE:

15 , ISSUE No 4 p. 8 p. 18 and Denmark. 26 th European Youth Team Championships Samorin, Slovakia TODAY'S SCHEDULE U26, Women U26, U Round Round Round 15 Last round for U Round 16 U26 open and women only U Round Round Round Round Round 20 WEDNESDAY, JULY 12, 2017 Draw Today p. 2 Belgium vs Portugal p. 3 Meet the Belgians p. 6 Denmark vs England p. 7 Sweden vs Denmark Israel vs Norway p. 15 Double Unblock Coup of the Day p. 19 Results p. 20 Editor : Brian Senior Co-Editor : Francesca Canali Journalist : Daniel Gulyás Journalist & Photographer : Micke Melander CRUNCH TIME FOR THE UNDER 16s The Turkish National Bridge players happily mix with Galatasaray football players who are training here. It is the final day in the 2017 U16s European Team Championship crunch time. Going into the final day Poland is well-placed to take the championship though of course there are no guarantees while Israel and France are quite a way clear of Sweden, Italy and Norway in the hunt for the medals and are the only teams close enough to challenge Poland for the title. The heavyweights are clustering at the top of the U26 Open rankings, with only Italy of the regular challengers some way adrift and even they still have plenty of time to recover. France are the current leaders from Sweden, England In the U21s, Germany, Netherlands, England and France are covered by less than 3 VPs at the top, with three more teams within half a match of fourth place. Netherlands, Poland, Hungary and France are the top four in the U26 Women's BRIDGE WITH THE AU PAIR by Mark Horton Championship. In this, as in all but the U16s, there is over half the tournament to go, so there could still be major changes if a team hits or loses form in the coming days. UNDER 16 PRIZE GIVING The Under 16 Prize Giving will be held at 18:30 today in the Cinema. LOST WALLET If you find a black wallet containing a German passport, please return it to the Bulletin Office. My au pair likes to read the Daily Bulletins over breakfast. (Her state of the art phone suggests I am paying her too much.) Yesterday morning she spotted this deal from the match between Denmark & England in the Junior Teams: Board 21. Dealer North. N/S Vul. [ ] 8 { A K } Q 6 4 [ K J [ Q 10 ] Q 10 ] { 7 3 { Q J 8 4 } A J 9 5 } [ A 9 3 ] A K J { 9 } K 7 2 Both teams reached 4], the Danish declarer being favoured by the lead of the ace of clubs. After the seven of diamonds lead chosen by the Danish West, the English declarer could not find a way home, but the au pair (who is almost unbeatable when she can see all four hands) thought there might be a way. Given that West had overcalled in spades she thought it was quite likely that the hearts might be 4-2, in which case playing East for the queen will still leave declarer with a trump loser. So she suggested the following: Win the diamond lead, ruff a diamond, cash the ]AK and play a club. It won't help West to go up with the ace, so you win with dummy's queen, cash a diamond discarding a spade, ruff a diamond, cash the ace of spades and exit with a spade. You already have eight tricks in the bag and the ]J 7 are waiting patiently to collect East's ]9 6. Apart from Shivam Shah the only declarer to record +620 was Tom Van Overbeeke of the Netherlands, who had to deal with the opening lead of the eight of spades. He won the spade and played three rounds of diamonds, discarding both spade losers. For reasons of his own, West ruffed his partner's winning diamond to play a spade, which Van Overbeeke ruffed. He continued by cashing the ace and king of hearts, leading a club to the queen and taking another ruff. That brought him down to ]J 7, with East holding ]9 6. A club exit allowed West to take two club winners but then at trick 12 whatever he led would pick up East's trump holding. GO TO PAGE: 15

16 PABLO PICASSO OR GOD? by Micke Melander Being a junior means very often that bridge players in general are more tolerant and understanding when it comes to comparisons when teammates go for 1100, 1400 or even something more Here comes some proof of a French optimistic approach to bridge life when they played Russia in Round 12 (U26). Either you are Pablo Picasso picturing what hand partner needs to hold or you believe you are playing with God himself who can make anything that he is about to declare. Board 23. Dealer South. All Vul. [ J ] { A Q } [ [ K Q ] K Q 2 ] { K { J } K 3 } [ A 9 5 ] A J 6 { 4 2 } A Q J 9 6 Open Room Postovalov Bernard Zvezdin Combescure 1NT Pass 3}* Pass 3{ Pass 3]* Pass 3[* Pass 3NT Pass 4}* Pass 5{ All Pass 3} Transfer 3{ Forced could be to play 3] Singleton spade 3[/4} Cuebid It s certainly a lot of specific cards that are needed in the South hand if Five Diamonds ever would have a reasonable chance to make, and since it's limited to 17 HCPs we even might have to place some cards with the right defender to be able to make it. The optimistic approach by North to bid on over Three Diamonds and show his singleton spade just because he could do so must be considered as a real junior bid. In the old days, you could simply bid Three Diamonds, invitational to 3NT with something like two top honors and a six-card suit, and if partner had something to help he would go for game 3NT, otherwise pass. Combescure got the king of hearts lead against Five Diamonds and that went to the three, seven and declarer's six! Postovalov didn t take the bait and shifted to the six of spades which went to declarer's ace. Declarer could have played trumps for one loser provided he finessed the queen, but when Combescure decided to play a diamond to dummy s nine it was game over. East won with the jack and shifted to a low heart. Declarer went up with the ace and finessed in trumps with the queen this time, which happily worked but, when East discarded there was still another trump loser to come. Declarer cashed the ace of diamonds and tried the club finesse, and when that didn t work it was claim three down! West is probably still wondering why he didn t double the contract Closed Room Du Corail Nevmerzhitskiy Lafont Vakhraneva 1NT Pass 2NT* Pass 3{ All Pass The Russians in the Closed Room come to stop at the very reasonable contract of Three Diamonds. Also at this table West led the king of hearts, declarer won with the ace and finessed the nine of diamonds, losing to East jack. A club came back. Declarer tried the queen but the finesse didn t work and West won with his king. Du Carail cashed the queen of hearts and tried a third round of the suit, but declarer won with the jack. A diamond finesse followed to the queen and when East discarded declarer had to concede another trump to the defense, but still had nine tricks for With the +300 from the Open Room it was 9 IMPs to Russia. 16 GO TO PAGE:

17 COUP OF THE DAY: MERIMMAC COUP by Brian Senior The Merrimac Coup is, I believe, named after one of the early ironclad military ships from the American Civil War. Dealer South. None Vul. [ 4 3 ] { A 3 } K Q J [ J [ A 5 2 ] K ] Q 9 8 { { K } 6 } A 5 4 [ K Q 6 ] A J 3 { Q J 6 5 } NT Pass 3NT All Pass West leads the jack of spades to East s ace. An automatic spade return, the choice of many players, will allow the contract home. Declarer wins the spade and knocks out the ace of clubs while the ace of diamonds sits in dummy as an entry to the established club winners. The killing defence is for East to switch to the king of diamonds at trick two to knock out the dummy entry. East can then duck two rounds of clubs to restrict declarer to just two tricks from that suit. Though declarer gets three diamond winners, if the full deal is as shown, she is held to only eight tricks in all. When South opens a weak no trump (12-14 High Card Points), an immediate raise to 3NT is a reasonable gamble with the North cards. True, North has only 10 HCP, but the club suit will usually provide several winners, and the fast auction gives West a blind opening lead, which may prove to be to declarer s advantage. This spectacular play is a Merrimac Coup the deliberate sacrifice of a high honour card with the object of knocking out a vital entry to either declarer s or, more commonly, dummy s hand. If you find this play at the table you will be entitled to congratulation. Just yawn and say, Oh, it was just a Merrimac Coup, as though they are an every day occurrence for you. GO TO PAGE: 17

18 23 rd RED SEA INTERNATIONAL F E S T I V A L EILAT - ISRAEL NOVEMBER 9-19, 2 17 Tournament Program Mixed Pairs November 9,10 M.P. Pairs November 11 National Simultaneous November 12 IMP Pairs November 13,14 Open Pairs November 15,16,17 Teams November 18 Participants from All Over the World Including European and World Champions. Entrance Fee 18 per session. Total Prize Money in Excess of 25,000 Special Accommodation Packages Daily Social Events Perfect Weather 25 C BASMAN/ TENENBAUM Further information and registration: Organizing Committee: David & Alon Birman, 50 Pinkas St., Tel Aviv, Israel Tel.: , , birmand@inter.net.il, Special conditions for Youth players 50 % entry fee. 25 % less accommodation price. RIVIERA HOTEL 160 EURO P.P (BB+ALL SOCIAL EVENTS) FOR 7 NIGHTS IN AN APARTMENT FOR FOUR. 18 GO TO PAGE:

19 UNDER 26 RESULTS 26 th European Youth Team Championships Samorin, Slovakia ROUND 13 1 POLAND ITALY LATVIA SWEDEN SLOVAKIA FRANCE BELGIUM DENMARK IRELAND ESTONIA GREECE SCOTLAND PORTUGAL SPAIN ROMANIA AUSTRIA RUSSIA ISRAEL NETHERLANDS CROATIA HUNGARY GERMANY SERBIA NORWAY ENGLAND TURKEY CZECH REPUBLIC Bye ROUND 14 1 DENMARK RUSSIA ESTONIA ENGLAND TURKEY FRANCE AUSTRIA CZECH REPUBLIC ISRAEL SERBIA BELGIUM SWEDEN SCOTLAND HUNGARY CROATIA ITALY SLOVAKIA LATVIA SPAIN NORWAY POLAND PORTUGAL ROMANIA GERMANY GREECE IRELAND NETHERLANDS Bye ROUND 15 1 POLAND NETHERLANDS SWEDEN FRANCE SLOVAKIA ENGLAND ISRAEL BELGIUM NORWAY RUSSIA LATVIA DENMARK GERMANY GREECE ESTONIA SCOTLAND TURKEY IRELAND SERBIA PORTUGAL SPAIN ITALY HUNGARY AUSTRIA CZECH REPUBLIC ROMANIA CROATIA Bye ROUND 16 1 NORWAY SWEDEN SERBIA CZECH REPUBLIC NETHERLANDS ESTONIA DENMARK ISRAEL RUSSIA AUSTRIA ROMANIA SPAIN SLOVAKIA PORTUGAL IRELAND FRANCE GERMANY BELGIUM CROATIA GREECE SCOTLAND LATVIA ITALY TURKEY POLAND HUNGARY ENGLAND Bye RANKING AFTER ROUND 16 1 SWEDEN FRANCE ENGLAND POLAND NETHERLANDS NORWAY DENMARK CZECH REPUBLIC ITALY BELGIUM ISRAEL SLOVAKIA TURKEY GREECE CROATIA SERBIA AUSTRIA RUSSIA SCOTLAND HUNGARY ESTONIA LATVIA GERMANY IRELAND PORTUGAL ROMANIA SPAIN GO TO PAGE: 19

20 UNDER 21 RESULTS 26 th European Youth Team Championships Samorin, Slovakia ROUND CZECH REPUBLIC POLAND TURKEY ITALY ISRAEL ENGLAND BELGIUM FINLAND BULGARIA GERMANY SLOVAKIA NORWAY NETHERLANDS IRELAND SWEDEN HUNGARY FRANCE Bye ROUND GERMANY NETHERLANDS HUNGARY FINLAND SWEDEN ISRAEL TURKEY IRELAND POLAND SLOVAKIA FRANCE BULGARIA BELGIUM CZECH REPUBLIC ITALY ENGLAND NORWAY Bye ROUND IRELAND GERMANY HUNGARY NETHERLANDS BELGIUM ENGLAND SLOVAKIA POLAND FINLAND ISRAEL NORWAY ITALY TURKEY SWEDEN CZECH REPUBLIC BULGARIA FRANCE Bye ROUND GERMANY SLOVAKIA NETHERLANDS IRELAND ENGLAND HUNGARY FRANCE BELGIUM POLAND TURKEY ISRAEL CZECH REPUBLIC ITALY FINLAND SWEDEN NORWAY BULGARIA Bye ROUND GERMANY NORWAY NETHERLANDS TURKEY ENGLAND SLOVAKIA FRANCE IRELAND POLAND FINLAND ISRAEL BELGIUM SWEDEN CZECH REPUBLIC BULGARIA HUNGARY ITALY Bye RANKING AFTER ROUND 20 1 ENGLAND FRANCE NETHERLANDS GERMANY ITALY ISRAEL BULGARIA SWEDEN POLAND FINLAND CZECH REPUBLIC NORWAY TURKEY SLOVAKIA IRELAND BELGIUM HUNGARY GO TO PAGE:

21 WOMEN UNDER 26 RESULTS 26 th European Youth Team Championships Samorin, Slovakia ROUND CZECH REPUBLIC HUNGARY FRANCE NORWAY NETHERLANDS GERMANY LATVIA TURKEY POLAND ENGLAND ROUND CZECH REPUBLIC TURKEY POLAND NETHERLANDS ENGLAND FRANCE HUNGARY LATVIA GERMANY NORWAY ROUND CZECH REPUBLIC NETHERLANDS TURKEY FRANCE POLAND HUNGARY NORWAY ENGLAND LATVIA GERMANY ROUND CZECH REPUBLIC ENGLAND LATVIA POLAND GERMANY TURKEY NETHERLANDS NORWAY HUNGARY FRANCE RANKING AFTER ROUND 16 1 NETHERLANDS POLAND HUNGARY ENGLAND TURKEY FRANCE CZECH REPUBLIC NORWAY GERMANY LATVIA GO TO PAGE: 21

22 UNDER 16 RESULTS 26 th European Youth Team Championships Samorin, Slovakia ROUND FRANCE NORWAY GERMANY NETHERLANDS CZECH REPUBLIC ITALY SCOTLAND BULGARIA ENGLAND DENMARK SWEDEN POLAND GREECE IRELAND ISRAEL TURKEY ROUND FRANCE TURKEY ISRAEL IRELAND GREECE SWEDEN POLAND DENMARK SCOTLAND ENGLAND BULGARIA CZECH REPUBLIC GERMANY ITALY NORWAY NETHERLANDS ROUND FRANCE GERMANY CZECH REPUBLIC NORWAY SCOTLAND NETHERLANDS DENMARK ITALY BULGARIA SWEDEN IRELAND ENGLAND POLAND TURKEY GREECE ISRAEL RANKING AFTER ROUND 15 1 POLAND ISRAEL FRANCE ENGLAND NORWAY SWEDEN DENMARK GERMANY GREECE ITALY NETHERLANDS TURKEY CZECH REPUBLIC BULGARIA IRELAND SCOTLAND /Eur urop opea eanb nbri ridg EBL_pics Search "EBL" A GREAT JOURNEY 22 GO TO PAGE: