Schedule & BBO matches p. 2 Super Saturday Mark Horton. p. 4 Italy vs Israel / Poland vs Norway Jos Jacobs. p. 5 Sweden vs Norway Jos Jacobs

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1 Commercial Editor : Mark Horton Co-Editors: Jos Jacobs, Brian Senior Journalists: David Bird, John Carruthers, Barry Rigal, Ron Tacchi Photographers: Lay-out Editor: Francesca Canali MONDAY, JUNE ISSUE No 6 CONTENTS Schedule & BBO matches p. 2 Super Saturday Mark Horton p. 4 Italy vs Israel / Poland vs Norway Jos Jacobs p. 5 Sweden vs Norway Jos Jacobs p. 8 Hungary vs Bulgaria Daniel Gulyás p. 11 Germany vs Poland Brian Senior p. 13 Belgium vs France Jos Jacobs p. 18 Netherlands vs Bulgaria David Bird p. 21 The Belgian Page Herman De Wael p. 24 Results p. 25 TODAY'S SCHEDULE 10.00: Open (R16) Women/Seniors (R4) 12.40: Open (R17) Women/Seniors (R5) 16.00: Open (R18) Women/Seniors (R6) 18.40: Women (R7) With all three team events now under way, hopes of a trip to China and the opportunity to play for a world title will be in everyone's mind. In the Open series the eight teams currently sitting pretty are Israel, Italy, Iceland, Netherlands, Norway, Hungary, Greece and Russia. The eight Women's teams hoping to retain their positions are Poland, Norway, Scotland, Italy, Sweden, Russia, Portugal and Finland. In the Seniors' the qualifying spots are occupied by Norway, Hungary, Romania, Ireland, Turkey, Scotland, Germany and Israel. It is a feature of all three contests that a number of teams that would have been expected to feature prominently are currently struggling. They still have time in hand, but might this be the year when the old guard is replaced? Oostende & Jabbeke Vehicles garage-phlips.be

2 54 th European Team Championships Ostend, Belgium 6-16 June 2018 DRAW & BBO SCHEDULE TODAY ROUND 16 ROUND 17 ROUND 18 OPEN TEAMS BBO 1 BBO 2 BBO 3 GRE vs SPA ROM vs AUT FIN vs RUS EST vs CRO ISR vs BEL NOR vs LAT BUL vs POR WAL vs ENG UKR vs GER NED vs CZE SWE vs SCO FRA vs ICE DEN vs POL TUR vs ITA LIT vs HUN SWI vs MON IRE Bye BBO 2 BBO 1 BBO 3 UKR vs SCO ICE vs POR LAT vs DEN BEL vs TUR CRO vs LIT FIN vs HUN ITA vs AUT POL vs SPA IRE vs FRA GRE vs MON SWE vs ROM RUS vs NED GER vs EST ENG vs ISR BUL vs NOR WAL vs SWI CZE Bye BBO 2 POL vs MON BBO 1 ITA vs SWE BBO 3 NED vs HUN LIT vs GER TUR vs ENG DEN vs BUL BBO 4 ICE vs NOR EST vs SCO CZE vs RUS UKR vs ROM GRE vs WAL POR vs IRE SPA vs LAT AUT vs BEL FIN vs CRO SWI vs ISR FRA vs Bye WOMEN TEAMS ROUND 4 ROUND 5 ROUND 6 ITA vs DEN BBO 4 NED vs RUS SWE vs TUR SWE vs ISR POL vs SWE RUS vs DEN RUS vs NOR ENG vs ITA FRA vs ISR FRA vs SCO ICE vs TUR NED vs NOR GER vs NED DEN vs POR SCO vs POL POL vs BEL EST vs ISR ENG vs GER SPA vs ENG NOR vs HUN BEL vs ICE ICE vs IRE SER vs SCO POR vs SPA POR vs GRE FIN vs GER EST vs IRE FIN vs EST BEL vs GRE GRE vs HUN SER vs HUN SPA vs IRE FIN vs SER TUR vs Bye FRA vs Bye ITA vs Bye ROUND 7 BBO 1 ENG vs NED BBO 2 ICE vs FRA POR vs RUS EST vs SWE BBO 3 ITA vs HUN SER vs TUR BBO 4 DEN vs FIN GRE vs ISR IRE vs NOR SCO vs SPA GER vs BEL POL vs Bye IBPA OUTING The traditional IBPA Outing will be held on Tuesday 12th June, starting at 10:00 from the Kursaal ground floor (near the hospitality desk). There will be a vist to the Atlantic Wall, in the area of Raversijde, with a walk of 1,5 to 2 hours between the trench lines and bunkers. Details can be found at: This will be followed by a lunch. The return is expected at 14:30. Journalists are invited to register (before Monday at 12:00) with Jan Swaan in the Press Room (Permeke Meeting Room on the third floor). 2 GO TO PAGE:

3 54 th European Team Championships Ostend, Belgium 6-16 June 2018 SENIOR TEAMS BBO 4 ROUND 4 ROUND 5 ROUND 6 ROM vs IRE ROM vs NOR ROM vs ITA BEL vs NOR IRE vs BUL BUL vs ENG BUL vs GER ITA vs BEL HUN vs NOR ITA vs DEN ENG vs GER AUT vs IRE ISR vs ENG DEN vs HUN BEL vs TUR POL vs HUN ISR vs AUT GER vs SCO SWE vs AUT POL vs TUR DEN vs NED FRA vs TUR SWE vs SCO ISR vs FIN SCO vs POR NED vs FRA ICE vs POL SPA vs NED POR vs FIN SWE vs SPA FIN vs ICE ICE vs SPA POR vs FRA BBO commentators: OPEN, ROUND 16 OPEN, ROUND 17 OPEN, ROUND 18 WOMEN, ROUND 7 Bill Jacobs, David Bird (BBO1, voice) Roland Wald, Bill Jacobs (BBO1, voice) David Bird, Marc Smith (BBO1, voice) Roland Wald, Peter Lund (BBO1, voice) Mark Horton, Roland Wald Marc Smith, Peter Lund Roland Wald, Marc Horton VIDEO CORNER EBL ELECTIONS POSTCARD - ITALY OPENING CEREMONY POSTCARD - SERBIA POSTCARD - LATVIA GO TO PAGE: 3

4 54 th European Team Championships Ostend, Belgium 6-16 June 2018 SUPER SATURDAY Mark Horton It was a big day on Saturday, with the EBL Elections and the Opening Ceremony taking place. At the General Assembly held in the morning, the following were elected for a 4-year term, which will start at the end of the Championships: President Elect Jan Kamras Executive Committee Josef Harsanyi, First Vice President Marc De Pauw, Second Vice President Eric Laurant, Treasurer Paul Porteous, Honourary Secretary Sevinç Atay Peter Belčák Igor Chalupec Philippe Cronier Eitan Levy Gilad Ofir Jafet Ólafsson Kari-Anne Opsal Left to right: Levy, Chalupec, Harsanyi, Atay, Laurant, Ofir, Belčák, Kamras, Porteous, Opsal, Cronier, Ólafsson, De Pauw The Opening Ceremony took place in the magnificent auditorium of the Kursaal (which must have the most comfortable seats in the world). It featured some delightful musucal interludes by members of the ensemble Floris and the Flames. ( com/floris-and-the-flames/) The remastered pieces included a variation on the theme music to the Southbank Show, composed in 1977 by Andrew Lloyd Webber for his brother, the cellist Julian Lloyd Webber which is based on the theme from Paganini's "24th Caprice". Here is another version of the piece: Following the Elections the officers mentioned above were appointed. During the Assembly, Sabine Auken and Krzysztof Martens were inducted in the EBL Hall of Fame. Following the introduction of the teams the EBL President officially opened the tournament. 4 GO TO PAGE:

5 54 th European Team Championships Jos Jacobs ITALY vs ISRAEL POLAND vs NORWAY Ostend, Belgium 6-16 June 2018 OPEN TEAMS, ROUND 10 Two matches between teams within the top five: what a treat for us spectators, in Friday s final round. Leaders Italy had to face fifth placed Israel and runnersup Poland would play Norway. The obvious approach then would be for me to have a look at both matches simultaneously. On the opening board of the set, Italy immediately took a 4-0 lead by ending up in the right partscore. On board 18, Norway also took the lead by scoring an overtrick in a routine 3NT. This was board 19: Board 19. Dealer South. E/W Vul. [ -- ] J { Q } A 7 [ K Q J [ 8 3 ] K ] A Q { 8 7 { A K 6 5 } } Q 2 [ A ] 8 { J 2 } K J Padon Duboin Birman Donati Pass 2[ Pass 4[ Pass Pass 4NT Pass 5} Dble Rdbl Pass 5{ Pass Pass Dble Duboin did not time his 4NT well, one might say, as he found a pretty unhelpful dummy. Nevertheless, Donati managed to make seven tricks for down four and -800, so if 4[ in E/W would make, the loss would not be that serious. In the replay, the issue was: How to get to 4[ when an opponent opens 2[ showing at least five cards in the suit? Madala Levin Bianchedi Roll 2[ Pass Pass 3] With his suit stolen by South, Madala as West could not find any sensible action over partner s 3]. Bidding spades as a natural suit apparently was out of the question for him. So Bianchedi had to languish in a far from ideal contract and went down two for another +200 and 14 IMPs to Israel. In the Poland-Norway match, this board also caused problems. Brogeland Narkiewicz Lindqvist Buras 2[ Pass 3} 3] Pass 4[ Brogeland showed no inhibitions when Buras opened the hostilities by trying to steal Boye s suit. He first waited and saw but when partner bid something, he jumped to 4[ and was left in peace. Narkiewicz led the }A, clubs probably being partner s second suit (2[ was Polish, of course) and continued the suit. South could see that declarer had to lose one more club and the [A but South also had to find a way to get at these two further tricks. [A and a spade would not be good enough as declarer s clubs would then go on the ]AQ, so he continued a low trump. Declarer won the nine in hand, unblocked the ]K, ruffed a club with dummy s [8 and then tried to cash the ]A to get rid of his last club. When South did not ruff this last club went away and the contract was home, Norway In the, South did not open the bidding, so E/W had an easy enough free ride to the same 4[ contract. Gawel Livgard Jagniewski Aa Pass 2{ 2] 4[ Dble South increased the stakes adn led a heart. Declarer won dummy's king and led a club. North...diamond to declarer's ace. When declarer tried to cash dummy s ]A next, South ruffed. Dummy ruffed and led another club to the queen and South s king. When South returned a low trump at this stage, GO TO PAGE: 5

6 54 th European Team Championships Ostend, Belgium 6-16 June 2018 declarer could win in dummy and ruff one club with dummy s [8, but he was left with one club loser in the end, as well as with the inevitable ace of trumps. One down, Norway another +200 and 13 IMPs to them. The next board also saw double figure-swings in both our featured matches. Board 20. Dealer West. All Vul. [ -- ] Q 7 { A J } A J [ A Q [ K ] A ] K J 2 { K 6 { } K 2 } 7 [ J 4 2 ] { Q } Q Brogeland Narkiewicz Lindqvist Buras 1[ 2NT 4[ 5} When West led the [A rather than the ]A, declarer made all 13 tricks easily enough. Poland Gawel Livgard Jagniewski Aa 1[ 2NT 4[ 5} Dble The same auction in the other room but here, Gawel ventured a double. When he too did not lead the ]A, Terje Aa made the same 13 tricks, albeit for a score of and a gain of 11 IMPs to Norway. As it happened, the two auctions in the other match exactly duplicated the two auctions in the Poland v. Norway match. So did the results, as neither West found the ]A lead. Padon Duboin Birman Donati 1[ 2NT 4[ 5} Italy Madala Levin Bianchedi Roll 1[ 2NT 4[ 5} Dble Israel and 11 IMPs to them as well. Dror PADON ISRAEL Giorgio DUBOIN ITALY Alon BIRMAN ISRAEL Giovanni DONATI ITALY 6 GO TO PAGE:

7 54 th European Team Championships Ostend, Belgium 6-16 June 2018 Board 24. Dealer West. None vul. [ 3 ] A Q { K 8 } A [ A 5 [ K Q ] 6 3 ] K 4 { A Q 10 9 { J } Q J } 8 [ J ] J 7 2 { } K 6 2 Padon Duboin Birman Donati 1} 1] 2[ Pass 3[ Pass 4[ When South simply led a heart, declarer had no reason whatsoever to finesse in trumps and lost the four obvious tricks. Italy +50. Madala Levin Bianchedi Roll 1} 1] 2] Pass 2[ 3] 3[ 4] 4[ East s Two Hearts had shown spades, so West became the declarer. When North made the unlucky lead of his trump, declarer suddenly had only three losers left. Italy +420 and 10 IMPs back to them. Board 27. Dealer South. None vul. [ 6 ] { A K } A 5 2 [ A K [ Q J 10 8 ] K 4 3 ] 10 8 { Q 4 2 { 6 } 6 } J [ 5 2 ] A Q J 9 2 { J 8 7 } K Q 10 Padon Duboin Birman Donati 1] 1[ 2} 4[ Pass Pass Dble North s 2} showed diamonds. A normal enough auction but no way to defeat 4[. Israel In the other room, E/W suddenly had a problem. Madala Levin Bianchedi Roll 1NT 2{ 3} Pass 3{ When South opened 1NT, West could show his major suit by overcalling 2{ but over North s transfer 3}, East had a problem as partner s suit was unknown. When he carefully passed, 3{ became the final contract, which Roll made with an overtrick for another +130 and 12 IMPs to Israel. The final results: Italy v. Israel or VP Poland v. Norway 6-36 or VP 1 SCHE HEDU DULE RESU LTS GO OT TO OPA PAGE: 7

8 54 th European Team Championships Ostend, Belgium 6-16 June 2018 Jos Jacobs SWEDEN vs NORWAY OPEN TEAMS, ROUND 11 On Friday, we had been watching the Low Countries Derby and on Saturday, another famous derby was scheduled: the big Nordic Derby between Norway and Sweden. The two countries don t have a long tradition of soccer matches but this has been amply compensated, certainly on many Junior matches occasions, by the enthusiasm of either country s bridge supporters. Norway immediately took the lead on the first board by making one overtrick in an easy 3NT but on Board 2, the Swedish N/S pair judged better. Board 2. Dealer East. N/S vul. [ 9 6 ] Q J 4 { Q } Q [ K [ J 4 2 ] 6 ] K 8 3 { A J 7 4 { } A } J [ A Q 10 7 ] A { K 2 } K Tundal O Rimstedt Kvangraven M Rimstedt Pass 1] Dble 2] Pass 4] West, on lead, had no way to avoid allowing access to dummy, so declarer easily made his contract. West led a trump alright but as East never got the lead, a trump remained in dummy to ruff out East s [J and another one to repeat the trump finesse. Sweden Nyström Lindqvist Upmark Brogeland Pass 1] Dble 2] you can see, a heart lead beats the slam and even on a non-heart lead, the slam only makes because the {J comes down early enough. Board 5. Dealer North. N/S vul. [ K J 2 ] { K } A K J [ [ ] K 7 6 ] Q J 8 2 { J 6 2 { A } 8 4 } 10 [ A Q ] A 9 4 { Q } Q Tundal O Rimstedt Kvangraven M Rimstedt 1} 1{ 1[ 2{ 3} Pass 3{ Pass 3NT Pass 4] Pass 4[ Pass 6} On this basically natural auction, 1[ having been a transfer to a GF 1NT response, East had an equally natural heart lead available, which led to declarer s downfall. In fact, the slam was made three times (once with South as declarer) and defeated five times. Norway Nyström Lindqvist Upmark Brogeland 1NT Pass 2} Pass 2{ Pass 3} Pass 3{ Pass 3] Pass 3[ Pass 4} Pass 4{ Pass 4] Pass 4NT Pass 5] Pass 6} Brogeland took a more pessimistic view but he, too, made 10 tricks on a trump lead, of course. Norway +170 but 10 IMPs to Sweden. A few boards later, it seemed to be slam time. As 8 GO TO PAGE: After the Stayman 2}, 3} was a further asking bid and 3{ simply showed a five-card minor. On a further relay, 3[ revealed that clubs was the long suit. The rest was routine; it did not even matter that

9 54 th European Team Championships South withheld the possession of the }Q, hoping to suggest a spade lead by bidding 5]. In view of North s opening bid of 1NT, a heart lead from East looks far less attractive so East chose a spade as his opening lead. This enabled declarer to bring home his contract when the {J came down early enough Norway and 16 IMPs to them. Two boards later, for once there was no reason at all to rush into game, as Mikael Rimstedt showed: Board 7. Dealer South. All vul. [ K 10 ] A J { K J 10 } A Q 9 [ A 6 [ ] Q 8 ] { A Q 6 3 { } K } J 8 2 [ Q J ] K 3 { } 10 5 Tundal O Rimstedt Kvangraven M Rimstedt Pass 1NT Dble Pass Pass Rdbl Pass 2] Pass Pass Dble Pass Pass 3} Dble When South did not open a weak two variation, it was up to West to open the bidding. How could West know that he would find this wonderful dummy? When the smoke finally cleared, declarer had made the five tricks he was entitled to. Sweden Nyström Lindqvist Upmark Brogeland 2{ Dble 2NT Pass 3{ Pass 4[ At the other table, N/S produced a standard Multi auction to their proper contract. Norway thus scored +620, only to find out that their early aggression had cost them 10 IMPs. Ostend, Belgium 6-16 June 2018 A remarkable board was no. 12: Board 12. Dealer West. N/S vul. [ J 8 7 ] Q J 5 4 { 10 6 } K [ [ 10 9 ] -- ] K { 4 3 { A K } A Q } -- [ A K Q ] A { Q J 8 } J 5 4 Tundal O Rimstedt Kvangraven M Rimstedt Pass Pass 1] 1NT Pass 2} 3{ To a certain extent, the Swedes did very well on this board by recording a score of +100 when 3{ duly went two off. However, their fine result was spoiled as at eight tables, 3NT by N/S was let through. To beat 3NT, a diamond lead, ducked all round, is needed but not all Wests were in a position to easily find this lead. The auction in the other room was revealing enough: Nyström Lindqvist Upmark Brogeland Pass Pass 1] 1NT Pass Pass 2{ Pass Pass Dble Pass 2[ Pass 2NT West led the {4, East contributed the {2 and declarer could no longer make the contract. One down, Sweden another +100 and 5 IMPs. At this point the scores were nearly level: to Norway. The last board of the set once again showed a variety of results. At five tables, N/S were not in game and thus recorded a modest plus score. From the remaining 27 tables, exactly one third (9) made their game of 3NT, all with North as declarer, or (just once) 4] played by South who received a friendly spade lead. Had the eight Easts involved found the spade lead (far from obvious against 3NT), West should have risen to the occasion by not winning dummy s queen with his king; if West defends like this, the situation will be the same as at the tables where it had been West himself to lead a spade. GO TO PAGE: 9

10 54 th European Team Championships Ostend, Belgium 6-16 June 2018 Board 16. Dealer West. E/W vul. [ J 10 9 ] J 10 5 { K Q 10 9 } K 4 3 [ K [ ] ] A K { 8 5 { A } J 5 2 } [ A Q ] Q { J 6 3 } A Q 6 Tundal O Rimstedt Kvangraven M Rimstedt Pass Pass Pass 1NT Pass 3NT West led a spade and that was the end of declarer. Norway +50. Nyström Lindqvist Upmark Brogeland Pass Pass Pass 1] Pass 2} Pass 2{ Pass 2NT Pass 3NT Two Clubs was Drury and 2{ showed a sound opening. When North next showed a balanced hand, South was happy to settle for the alternative game contract. When East led the 'normal' }10, declarer soon had his game and even made an overtrick in the end. Norway +430 and 10 IMPs to win the match or VP. 10 GO TO PAGE:

11 54 th European Team Championships Ostend, Belgium 6-16 June 2018 Daniel Gulyás HUNGARY vs BULGARIA OPEN TEAMS, ROUND 12 Two Eastern European countries, both trying to make it to the Bermuda Bowl. For Bulgaria, that would be no surprise, they are frequent qualifiers. Hungary have never played there before, but have been close a few times recently especially two years ago on home turf, when, with two matches to go, we were in a qualifying spot, only to lose the last two and miss out, yet again. This year the line-ups are a bit new for both teams, but not many new faces. Hungary is trying to play five-handed at all three events. In the Open, it is more like a 4+1, 2 pairs and a sub, so to say. Hegedüs- Szegedi are a young and very prepared partnership, while Dumbovich and Winkler need no introduction, probably the best two players in Hungary. Quite a few matches have been played since we saw Hungary top the standings after round 8: actually, three losses have pushed the team to eighth. Bulgaria, somewhat surprisingly, has not been near the top yet, sitting 14th before this round. Wild bidding was expected, and we got some bidding issues already on Board 17: Board 17. Dealer North. None Vul. [ K 10 ] A { K } K J [ [ A Q J 8 2 ] K 10 ] J 6 2 { Q { 7 } 7 } [ 5 ] Q { A J } A Q Karaivanov Hegedüs Gunev Szegedi 1} 1[ 2{ 4[ Dble It is usual to show strength over an overcall instead of a negative double, since you can always find your heart fit later well, if there is a later After 4[x, Szegedi did not have much of a choice, and they were off defending it. Cashing their three winners was not the best start, the trump lead came too late, so all declarer needed to do was ruff his third heart early, then crossruff his way to 10 tricks, but he fell short, as Hegedüs could discard his hearts over dummy s diamond plays, and overruff in the end; Dumbovich Marashev Winkler Tsonchev 2} Pass 2{ Pass 2] Pass 2NT Pass 3} Pass 3] Pass 3[ Pass 4] On the one level, it is easy to overcall with anything, but over the Precision 2}, you cannot joke around. So the Hungarians never found their spade fit, and sold out to 4]. The defence slipped, so declarer could make an overtrick, but it did not matter, first blood, 8 IMPs to Bulgaria. After a couple of quiet boards, a systemic difference meant a different partial. Bulgaria played 2[ in the 4-4, and were gifted a couple of overtricks, +170, but the excitement was in 2] in the 5-2. Declarer, Szegedi failed to play trumps often enough, and eventually the defence was able to crossruff high, for down 3, -300, and 10 surprise IMPs to Bulgaria, now leading Some quiet boards followed, and the score was19-2, when Board 26 came. Board 26. Dealer West. None Vul. [ ] K Q 7 5 { 8 7 } J 6 5 [ 7 [ 2 ] J 6 4 ] { A K J 9 3 { } A K 7 3 } Q [ A K Q J ] A { Q 5 2 } 10 8 Both tables played the usual 4[, but the defence was different. While Dumbovich simply cashed his 4 winners, Karaivanov thought declarer could be short in diamonds (actually, his partner played the six spot could that be from QT654? I doubt it), but his partner encouraged in clubs, so he played a third round of that, and that was 12 big IMPs to Hungary, closing the gap, Board 29 was the wild hand of the match. GO TO PAGE: 11

12 54 th European Team Championships Ostend, Belgium 6-16 June 2018 Board 29. Dealer North. All Vul. [ ] A Q { K 2 } J 8 7 [ K 2 [ A ] K J ] { { A Q J } 4 } 3 2 [ Q J 7 ] 5 { 7 5 } A K Q Karaivanov Hegedüs Gunev Szegedi Pass 1{ 3{ 3] 5} 5[ Pass 6] Szegedi thought that despite a passed partner, 3NT could have some play, so bid a gambling-style 3{. Over 3] Hegedüs saw that the opponents would have a better fit, so instead of doubling, he put more pressure on the Bulgarians with 5}. Gunev was not to be bothered, and bid out his 6-5 pattern at the 5 level! Karaivanov considered his bid over this (us Hungarian watchers were scared, we saw that only a trump lead would beat 6{), and because he could not imagine a hand that would not be showing a heart fit at this level, he bid 6 of his suit. Hegedüs was so happy he did not even double this; down 4, Dumbovich Marashev Winkler Tsonchev Pass 1{ 2} 3] Pass 3[ Pass 4} Pass 4{ Pass 5{ Dble Winkler hates opening 1 of a minor with 6m/5M hands, but Dumbovich likes it that way, so he had to, and it turned out well this time. Over 2}, 3] was a good hand, natural pre-empt, and 4} showed he liked whatever 3[ meant: spades (meaning 6-5), or heart support. 4{ was natural, so Dumbovich happily raised to game. Marashev liked his hearts plus trump king and his bidding partner so much that he doubled this. I always wonder about these doubles, what tricks did he expect to take? No trump lead meant an easy 12 tricks, and +950, for 16 points; Hungary in the lead, 32-22! On Board 30, Szegedi-Hegedüs missed a so-so game (a finesse and AQx-Jxxx needing 3 tricks) which most of the field bid and made, so that was 6 to Bulgaria, still Hungary, Board 32. Dealer West. E/W Vul. [ 6 5 ] K { 2 } Q J [ Q J 10 [ ] A ] Q J 5 3 { { Q J 9 } K } A [ A K 7 ] { A K } 6 3 This was the last board, so everyone decided to put a twist into the bidding. Karaivanov Hegedüs Gunev Szegedi 1{ 2NT Pass 4] Pass Pass Dble Karaivanov opened a pretty ugly 10 count, and Hegedüs thought a 7-loser hand is OK green vs red (usually, 2-suiters need 6 or less losers in Hungary). The rest of the bidding was the natural consequence. Dumbovich Marashev Winkler Tsonchev Pass 2{ Pass 2NT Pass 3{ Pass 3] 2{ was some form of multi, and could have been a good hand, which Tsonchev inqured about with 2NT. So he had to play 3], which was apparently one too high. The defence slipped at both tables, however. Tsonchev played on clubs first, then led a trump up (after repeated spade plays). When he played a club again, Dumbovich could see that winning the king would set up 2 tricks, while ducking would let his partner ruff, and that would not be a problem unless he ruffs from his 2 natural trump tricks. Winkler was not happy, but he should have returned a trump and the contract would have been down. But it made now on a cross-ruff with the {10 providing the last winner The open room defence was similar, but declarer did not play a trump early, so had the chance to play similarly, and take the same 9 tricks, for down 1, -100, and 6 more IMPs to Bulgaria, turning the match around again at the very last moment, 34-32, or VP. 12 GO TO PAGE:

13 54 th European Team Championships Ostend, Belgium 6-16 June 2018 GERMANY vs POLAND Brian Senior OPEN TEAMS, ROUND 12 A third of the way through the tournament, Poland lay fifth in the rankings, while Germany were just outside the top eight (who qualify for next year's Bermuda Bowl) in tenth place. The match began with a minor swing to Poland, but there was scope for a major swing in either direction. Board 17. Dealer North. None Vul. [ K 10 ] A { K } K J [ [ A Q J 8 2 ] K 10 ] J 6 2 { Q { 7 } 7 } [ 5 ] Q { A J } A Q Welland Jagniewski Auken Gawel 1} 1[ Dble 4[ Pass Pass Dble Pass 5} Narkiewicz Gromöller Buras Häusler 1} 1[ Dble 4[ 5} For Germany, Michael Gromöller's 1} opening promised three cards, while Poland's Rafal Jagniewski promised only two if in a balanced hand outside the no trump range. Both Easts overcalled 1[ and both Souths doubled to get hearts into the game rather than bid their long diamonds. Looking at weak shapely hands with five-card spade support, both Wests now jumped to 4[. Gromöller now bid 5} with the North cards and Helmut Häusler had to think a little before passing as he held substantial extras. In the same position, Jagniewski passed and Wojciech Gawel showed those extras with a second double. Now Jagniewski bid 5} and Gawel had an easier pass than had Häusler. Both Sabine Auken, for Germany, and Krzysztof Buras, for Poland, led their singleton diamond round to declarer's bare king. Declarer played the king of spades to set up a spade ruff while minimising the chance of West gaining the lead. Sure enough, East won the [A and returned a club. However, both declarers were able to take their spade ruff then draw trumps and come down to the heart position for their contract. Now, when West follows to the first heart with the ten, should declarer follow restricted choice and play him for K-10 doubleton, or should declarer play East for the king because East overcalled so was more likely to hold any of the limited number of missing high cards? Well, I did say that there was only a minor swing on the board. Both our declarers led to the queen of hearts, losing to the king, and the jack of hearts was the setting trick. Gromöller went an extra one down because he had ruffed a diamond along the way and ran out of trumps, so never got a second heart trick. He was down two for 100, Jagniewski down one for 50, so 2 IMPs to Poland. Only one declarer, Yankos Papakyriakopoulos of Greece, made the club game, to gain 13 IMPs when his team-mates bid and made 4[ at the other table. Roy WELLAND GERMANY Rafal JAGNIEWSKI POLAND Wojciech GAWEL POLAND Sabine AUKEN GO TO PAGE: GERMANY 13

14 54 th European Team Championships Ostend, Belgium 6-16 June 2018 Board 19. Dealer South. E/W Vul. [ A Q ] J { A } A J 10 [ J 8 7 [ K 10 2 ] K ] Q { 3 { Q 5 } K } Q 5 4 [ 6 3 ] A 9 7 { K J } 8 6 Welland Jagniewski Auken Gawel Pass Pass 1[ Pass 1NT Pass 2{ Pass 3{ Pass 3NT Narkiewicz Gromöller Buras Häusler Pass Pass 1[ Pass 2{ Pass 3] Pass 3[ Pass 3NT This was another opportunity for a big swing which was missed by both teams. Both Norths opened 1[ in third seat but then the auctions diverged. Gawel chose to respond with a wide-ranging 1NT and Jagniewski introduced his second suit. Gawel made a heavy raise to 3{ but, other than making a committal jump to 4{, what else could he do? Jagniewski had sufficient extra values to try game and guessed to bid 3NT. Happily, there were nine top tricks and that is what Gawel took after a club lead to the ten and queen and switch to the queen of hearts; Häusler responded 2{ and Gromöller jumped to 3], showing diamond support and heart shortage. I would have thought that the South hand had improved dramatically now and that there should be every chance of reaching slam, but Häusler didn't see it the same way and bid 3[, presumably having denied three-card support by his initial response, and Gromöller ended the auction with a bid of 3NT. Here the opening lead was a heart and Gromöller too settled for nine safe tricks for +400 and a push. Six Diamonds is excellent. Assuming no trump loser, on a club lead through the ace declarer finesses then has a choice of black-suit finesses for his contract the club being the obvious, and successful, choice. On any other lead declarer can play on spades and, though the queen loses to the king, can establish a discard for the club loser. Five pairs out of 32 bid and made 6{. Board 20. Dealer West. All Vul. [ K ] 5 3 { A 7 2 } A K 7 5 [ J 5 2 [ A 9 ] A J 6 ] Q 9 4 { Q { K 9 3 } 10 2 } Q [ Q ] K { J 10 } J 4 Welland Jagniewski Auken Gawel Narkiewicz Gromöller Buras Häusler Pass 1NT Pass 2} Pass 2[ When North opened 1NT, both Souths started on a scrambling Stayman auction and found the four-four spade fit. Auken led ace and another spade, solving that problem for Jagniewski, who won the second spade in hand to lead a heart to the king and ace. Back came a third spade, won in dummy. Jagniewski played the ten of diamonds and ran it to Auken's king. Back came a diamond to the jack, queen and ace. Jagniewski gave up a heart to Roy Welland, West, and Welland returned a club. Jagniewski ducked that to Auken's queen but now had three club tricks and eight in all for Buras led a club away from the queen, which appeared to be a good start for declarer, as Gromöller put up dummy's jack. That won, so he came to hand with a second club to lead a heart to the king and ace, won the diamond return with the ace and took a diamond pitch on the king of clubs. Grzegorz Narkiewicz ruffed that and played a diamond, forcing dummy to ruff. Gromöller gave up a heart to Buras's nine and now a fourth club was ruffed and overruffed. A spade to the ace and a spade continuation left Gromöller to lose a diamond at the end; down one for 100 and 5 IMPs to Poland. 14 GO TO PAGE:

15 54 th European Team Championships Board 22. Dealer East. E/W Vul. [ ] A 5 { } A J 4 [ A K 4 [ 8 3 ] Q ] J 6 { Q 4 3 { K J } K Q } [ Q J 10 5 ] K { A } Welland Jagniewski Auken Gawel 1] Pass Pass Narkiewicz Gromöller Buras Häusler Pass Pass 1] Pass 1NT Pass 2} Pass 2{ Pass 2NT Pass 3{ I have never understood why anyone would want to open 1] rather than 1NT with a hand of this type, so to find both Wests doing so just feels strange to me. Still, they are playing and I am a mere journalist, so who am I to say they are wrong? Auken passed out 1] and Welland was left to play there. Jagniewski led the eight of diamonds to Gawel's ace and Gawel switched to the nine of clubs to the king and ace and Jagniewski gave him a diamond ruff. Gawel led a club to dummy's queen and Welland played three rounds of spades, ruffing low, followed by the jack of hearts. He had to lose three trump tricks but that was all; seven tricks for +80. Buras scraped up a 1NT response and Narkiewicz had to find a rebid in case he was facing a better hand, when game might be possible. He followed that up with 2NT and Buras signed off in 3{. Häusler led the queen of spades to dummy's ace. Buras led a low heart off the dummy and Gromöller went in with the ace to return a trump to his partner's ace. Häusler returned the ten of spades to dummy's king, won the next heart play with the king and played the [J, ruffed by declarer. Buras led a club to the queen and ace and Gromöller returned a trump. Buras won cheaply in hand, led a club to the king, followed by the heart queen, ruffed and over-ruffed. That left him with two club losers and one trump with which to Ostend, Belgium 6-16 June 2018 ruff them. Of course, we know that two into one won't go, so there was a club to be lost at the end. The contract was one down for 100 and 5 IMPs to Germany. Board 26. Dealer East. All Vul. [ ] K Q 7 5 { 8 7 } J 6 5 [ 7 [ 2 ] J 6 4 ] { A K J 9 3 { } A K 7 3 } Q [ A K Q J ] A { Q 5 2 } 10 8 Welland Jagniewski Auken Gawel Pass 1[ Dble 3] Pass 4[ Narkiewicz Gromöller Buras Häusler Pass 4{ Dble 4[ Pass Pass Dble Gawel opened at the one level, Jagniewski showed a spade raise and Gawel jumped to 4[, ending the auction. Welland cashed the top diamonds followed by the top clubs and that was a swift down one for 100. Häusler opened 4{, South African Texas and showing solid spades. Narkiewicz doubled and, when Gromöller converted to 4[ and that came back to him, doubled for a second time. That ended the auction and Buras led the two of clubs. Narkiewicz won the king, cashed the ace of clubs, then cashed the top diamonds; down one for 200 and 3 IMPs to Poland. Would you believe that 11 pairs allowed 4[ to be made, 10 by South and one by North? I could imagine one or two getting it wrong, with West cashing one diamond then playing partner for a doubleton club if playing count signals, or perhaps if East signals encouragement on the trick two club switch, but it's surprising to find so many being unable to unravel the situation. GO TO PAGE: 15

16 54 th European Team Championships Ostend, Belgium 6-16 June 2018 Board 28. Dealer West. N/S Vul. [ 10 ] K Q { K 6 } K [ J [ K Q 7 6 ] 4 ] 9 5 { 9 4 { A Q 8 2 } A } Q 5 3 [ A 3 ] A J { J } J Welland Jagniewski Auken Gawel 3[ Dble 4[ 5] Narkiewicz Gromöller Buras Häusler 2{ 2] Dble 4{ Pass 4] 4[ Pass Pass 5] Not for the first time in this match an opportunity for a major swing went a-begging. Welland made a typically aggressive 3[ opening on that beautiful suit and Auken raised to 4[ over the take-out double. Häusler had both shape and values and bid 5], where he played. As we can see, there are two diamonds and a club to be lost, but unlike the previous deal, where I find it hard to credit that so many pairs had problems on defence, this one is far from straightforward. Welland led a spade to the queen and ace and Häusler ruffed his spade loser, drew trumps then led the jack of clubs. Is it obvious for West to grab his ace? That only works because East has ace and queen of diamonds, and is only necessary because declarer is Welland played low, hoping that declarer had a club guess and would run the jack, and of course Häusler called for the king. When it held, he switched his attention to diamonds, leading the king from dummy and soon having 11 tricks for Narkiewicz opened a level lower with a multi 2{, so Gromöller had room to bid his hearts. Buras made a pass or correct double and Häusler made a fit jump to show hearts and diamonds. Gromeller eventually bid 5] over 4[, as much because he was unsure about beating 4[ as because he was confident of making 11 tricks himself. Perhaps that was wise, even if theoretically 4[ can be defeated, because as many declarers in spade contracts came to 10 tricks as to nine around the room. However, with North as declarer it seemed that the defence would not go wrong and Narkiewicz, seeing dummy's singleton, would win the first club to defeat the contract. But that is failing to take into account the opening lead. Buras led ace and another diamond and now there was only one diamond loser plus one club and we had a flat board at This was the only match in which 5] was allowed to make; the other 11 declarers were all defeated. Board 29. Dealer North. All Vul. [ ] A Q { K 2 } J 8 7 [ K 2 [ A ] K J ] { { A Q J } 4 } 3 2 [ Q J 7 ] 5 { 7 5 } A K Q Welland Jagniewski Auken Gawel Pass 1{ 2} 2{ Pass Pass 3} 3{ 3NT 4{ Pass Pass 4NT Narkiewicz Gromöller Buras Häusler Pass 1[ 3} 3] Pass 4{ Pass 4] Dble 5{ Pass Pass Dble Auken opened 1{, her longer suit, and Gawel made a simple overcall. Welland could transfer to hearts without overstating his values but Auken judged it wise to pass on the apparent misfit rather than complete the transfer. When Gawel repeated his clubs, Welland competed in diamonds and now Jagniewski, expecting a powerful club suit in partner's hand, tried 3NT. Auken was unwilling to defend against that so competed with 4{, and when that came back to him Jagniewski took the push to 4NT. That was nicely done by Jagniewski, though on a nondiamond lead there are only nine tricks, and on a spade lead 4NT can be down five. Auken led ace then queen of diamonds so Jagniewski grabbed his king, rattled off seven club winners, then took the heart finesse and had 10 tricks for an excellent Buras preferred to open 1[ rather than run the risk of losing the fifth card in the suit. Häusler overcalled 3}, showing sound opening values. Narkiewicz didn't have Welland's transfer available to him but felt that he had to introduce the heart suit so bid 3] and, when 16 GO TO PAGE:

17 54 th European Team Championships Buras now bid diamonds, repeated the suit. Now the doubling began. When Gromöller doubled 4], which would have gone a couple down, Buras repeated his long and strong diamond suit and Gromöller doubled 5{ as well. Unfortunately, he found that none of his high-card values were of much use in this contract. Häusler cashed the king of clubs then switched to a heart for the jack, queen and ruff. Buras ruffed his remaining club then played three rounds of spades, ruffing. That worked out nicely and he next played dummy's remaining trump, overtaking with the queen then cashing the ace. The friendly breaks in both spades and diamonds meant that Buras had 12 tricks for +950 and a massive 17 IMPs to Poland. Board 30. Dealer East. None Vul. [ A 5 ] A K J 6 5 { J } 10 5 [ Q [ K J 7 3 ] ] 8 2 { K 7 2 { } Q J 4 } A [ ] Q 7 3 { A Q 6 } K Welland Jagniewski Auken Gawel Pass 1} Pass 1{ Pass 1] Pass 2{ Pass 2] Pass 3NT Narkiewicz Gromöller Buras Häusler Pass Pass Pass 1] Pass 2} Pass 2{ Pass 3] Häusler passed the empty 11-count in second seat then used Drury to show an invitational raise to 3], but Gromöller had too little to spare for his opening bid so declined the invitation. Buras led the nine of diamonds, which Gromöller ducked to the king. He won the spade switch with the ace, drew trumps and played for the } A to be onside so had 10 painless tricks for Gawel opened the South hand, after which it was inevitable that game would be reached. Jagniewski went through checkback to offer a choice of 3NT or the five-three heart-fit game, and Gawel chose 3NT. This looked to be a bad idea when Auken led a spade to the queen and Jagniewski won his ace and led a club Ostend, Belgium 6-16 June 2018 to the king. That scored and now declarer cashed all the hearts, pitching spades from dummy. With seven tricks in the bag, Jagniewski took the diamond finesse, losing to the king. Auken had pitched a club and two diamonds, Welland a spade and a diamond. That left them with three spades and two clubs to cash, but something went horribly wrong. Welland returned the eight of spades and, when that held the trick, switched to his remaining diamond. Suddenly, Jagniewski had 10 tricks for +430 and 6 IMPs to Poland when it had seemed that it would be 7 IMPs the other way. Board 32. Dealer West. E/W Vul. [ 6 5 ] K { 2 } Q J [ Q J 10 [ ] A ] Q J 5 3 { { Q J 9 } K } A [ A K 7 ] { A K } 6 3 Welland Jagniewski Auken Gawel Pass 2] Pass 4] Narkiewicz Gromöller Buras Häusler Pass Pass Pass 1{ Pass 1] Pass 1NT Pass 2] Jagniewski opened 2], weak with five hearts and a five-card or longer minor, and Gawel just raised him to game. The contract looks hopeless even before we look at the E/W cards and the actual trump position meant that there were three of those to be lost plus two clubs; down two for 100. Gromöller did not have the two-suited opening in his armoury and treating the hand as a single-suited weak two did not appeal with such poor hearts, so he passed. He responded 1] to Häusler's 1{ opening then rebid his suit over the weak no trump rebid. Again there were three hearts and two clubs to be lost, but here that meant +110 and 5 IMPs to Germany. Poland had won the match by IMPs, the bulk of the margin coming from that one huge swing. That converted to VPs but the Poles actually slipped a place in the rankings, to sixth, while Germany dropped three places to 13th, but were still well in touch with the top eight. GO TO PAGE: 17

18 54 th European Team Championships Ostend, Belgium 6-16 June 2018 Jos Jacobs BELGIUM vs FRANCE WOMEN'S TEAMS, ROUND 1 Just like they had done in the opening round of the Open Teams, the organisers put the host country on BBO in the opening match of the Women s Championship as well. For the Bulletin, it certainly is a good tradition too to publish a report on the host country s first match. As France were scheduled to be Belgium s first opponents, we expected to have an interesting match as the French certainly are among the pre-tournament favourites, having won the Championships on several occasions in the past. On the first board, France took a 3-0 lead by just doing nothing: they passed out the board whereas their opponents did in fact open the bidding and thus ended up too high. On the next board, we had action at both tables. 18 Board 2. Dealer East. N/S Vul. [ Q J 9 ] 9 4 { K } [ K [ 10 7 ] K Q 3 ] 6 5 { A 5 4 { Q J } } Q 8 7 [ A ] A J { -- } A K J V Bessis Angelini Puillet Couteaux Pass 1] Pass 1NT Pass 2[ Pass 3] Pass 4} Pass 4] North s 3] showed simple preference and when North was not interested after South s cuebid either, the Belgians stopped in game. Declarer ruffed the {A lead and continued a spade. West rose with her king immediately but with the }J going on dummy s {K, ten tricks were there once declarer played ]A and another. Belgium GO TO PAGE: Driessens Huberschwiller Dobbels Mourgues - Pass 1] Pass 1NT Pass 3] When the French South preferred an invitational jump to a reverse into 2[, she played there as North understandably thought she had little to offer. Not taking any risks in the play, Mourgues just made her contract for +140 to France but 10 IMPs to Belgium. Two boards later, the Belgians again bid more enterprisingly: Board 4. Dealer West. All Vul. [ K 2 ] K J { J } K Q [ Q 9 7 [ A J 6 3 ] ] A Q { Q { 10 7 } J 2 } A 10 [ ] { A K } V Bessis Angelini Puillet Couteaux Pass 1} 1] 1[ Pass 1NT When Bessis judged her hand not worth a raise, not even a polite one, North s 1NT became the final contract. East led a heart to declarer s jack, a diamond went to dummy s king and a club was played. East took the king with her ace and, not sure about the meaning of partner s ]2 at trick 1, exited in diamonds. This enabled declarer to cash all the clubs and exit with her ]K, forcing East to concede an overtrick in spades. Belgium Driessens Huberschwiller Dobbels Mourgues Pass 1} 1] Dble 2]

19 54 th European Team Championships Over the double, West did produce a courtesy raise and thus it rested in 2]. South led her two top diamonds and shifted to a club, declarer winning the ace and continuing ]A and another. When she played low from dummy and brought down the ]K, dummy s ]10 became an entry for a spade play and an overtrick. Belgium another +140 and 6 very useful IMPs. Board 8 was a real challenge, both in bidding and in defence. Board 8. Dealer West. None vul. [ A 9 ] A J 8 2 { } Q 5 2 [ K J [ 10 2 ] K ] -- { K 6 { A Q } -- } K J [ Q ] Q 6 3 { J } A V Bessis Angelini Puillet Couteaux 1[ Pass 2{ Pass 2] Pass 2NT Pass 4] Pass 4[ The French did not really overcome the bidding hurdles once West elected to open the bidding. They thus ended up in a pretty hopeless contract. North led a helpful club to dummy s jack, South s ace and declarer s ruff but with only two trumps in dummy, declarer would never be able to ruff a sufficient amount of hearts, draw trumps and enjoy the diamonds as well. As a consequence of all this, she had to go three down, Belgium Once again, the Belgian auction was far more enterprising. Driessens Huberschwiller Dobbels Mourgues 1] Pass 2{ Pass 2] Pass 3} Pass 3NT Pass 4} Pass 4{ Pass 5{ At this table, too, West opened the bidding but when East took partner s bids more seriously, the Belgians Ostend, Belgium 6-16 June 2018 ended up as high as 5{. A trump lead would have left declarer without resources straight away but South elected to lead the unbid suit: the [4. Dummy played low and North won her ace to continue a trump to the jack and dummy s king. Declarer went on to ruff a heart in hand, ruff a club with dummy s last trump and ruff another heart before rattling off all her trumps. As East discarded a spade instead of her last heart or another club, declarer then was able to overtake her [10 with dummy s jack and cash all the remaining spades to get rid of all but one of her club losers. Belgium thus scored another +400 which was worth 11 more IMPs to them to give them a 30-4 lead at the halfway point of the match. Two boards later, there was another interesting partscore battle. Board 10. Dealer East. All [ 2 ] K { Q 5 } A K J 10 8 [ [ A ] 9 3 ] A Q J 10 { K J 10 2 { } Q } 7 [ K Q J 9 7 ] 7 6 { A 9 6 } V Bessis Angelini Puillet Couteaux 1{ 1[ 2{ Dble 3{ Pass Pass Dble Pass 3[ It was virtually impossible for South to pass the double so it looked as if she would have to languish in her spade contract. West s opening lead of the {J gave her a chance, however, which she did not take. To my surprise, she played low from dummy. After this, down two was inevitable but had she put up dummy s queen, she probably would have made her contract. France Driessens Huberschwiller Dobbels Mourgues 1{ 1[ Pass 2] Pass 2[ 3{ GO TO PAGE: 19

20 54 th European Team Championships Ostend, Belgium 6-16 June 2018 At the other table, West did not compete over 1[ but when she did so one round of bidding later, she was sort of lucky that nobody doubled. A trick was lost in the play so the contract went down three at this table for another +300 and 11 IMPs to France. On the next board, N/S had a fine sacrifice available if E/W were to reach game. Board 11. Dealer South. None [ K ] A 4 { K } 5 4 [ 4 3 [ A J ] Q ] { A 10 7 { } A K } 3 2 [ Q ] K J 10 3 { Q J 6 } Q J V Bessis Angelini Puillet Couteaux 1{ 2} 2[ Pass 4[ In the, the Belgians did well to find the sacrifice but as the French had not reached game, the Belgians even escaped undoubled. Down two, France Please note that South opened her hand. Driessens Huberschwiller Dobbels Mourgues Pass 1} 1[ Pass 3} 3[ Pass 3NT When South passed as dealer on her 10-loser hand, E/W reached their touch-and-go game in some comfort. Note that E/W have the minority of HCP! As South still did not trust her 10-loser hand opposite partner s overcall, she did not bother to bid once again and thus conceded Belgium had won another 7 IMPs. On the next board, the French had a tragic misunderstanding. Board 12. Dealer West. NS [ K J 3 ] 6 { K } J [ [ ] Q ] J 2 { J 3 { } Q 2 } K [ A Q 6 5 ] A K 9 7 { A Q 2 } A 3 V Bessis Angelini Puillet Couteaux Pass Pass Pass 2{ Pass 2] Pass 2NT Pass 3[ Pass 3NT Pass 4} Pass 4NT North showed her minors over South s balanced hand but when clubs turned out to be North s longer suit, South showed her lack of interest. Though even 13 tricks are available in spades, the suit was never mentioned in a natural sense. Belgium +460 as 12 tricks at NT were impossible. Driessens Huberschwiller Dobbels Mourgues Pass Pass Pass 2{ Pass 2] Pass 2NT Pass 4[ Pass 5[ Pass 6} Pass 6{ Pass 6[ Pass 6NT When North was able to show her distribution, the 3-4 spade fit was within reach for the French. It was just a pity South did not pass 6[ as in that case, they would have been the only pair in the Women s Teams to not only reach but also play the proper contract. As you can see, 6NT had no play as there was no effective squeeze, so Belgium scored another +100 and 13 IMPs to lead with four to go. In those last four boards, there was not very much to catch the spectators interest. The final score became or VP to Belgium. 20 GO TO PAGE:

21 54 th European Team Championships Ostend, Belgium 6-16 June 2018 David Bird NETHERLANDS ERLANDS vs BULGARIA OPEN TEAMS, ROUND 11 The Netherlands had slipped down the table yesterday and were no doubt hoping to rectify the situation as they took their seats against Bulgaria. There were five double-digit swings in the match and we will look at all of them. Board 2. Dealer East. N/S Vul. [ 9 6 ] Q J 4 { Q } Q [ K [ J 4 2 ] 6 ] K 8 3 { A J 7 4 { } A } J [ A Q 10 7 ] A { K 2 } K Dragan De Wijs Donev Muller Pass 1} Pass 1{ Pass 2] Dble 3] Muller opened with a Tarzan 1}, showing 15+ points. A rebid of 1] would be artificial, showing 18+ points, so he was obliged to rebid 2] (even, I am told, on some moderate 5-card suit). West entered with a take-out double and De Wijs held enough only for a single raise. Muller had quite a tasty hand but thought he should devaluate it somewhat when West announced good values sitting over him. Somewhat cautiously, he passed. Dragan led a spade, won with the queen, and Muller returned the }K. When West won and returned a low diamond, declarer rose with the {Q and discarded his last diamond on the }Q. He soon had 11 tricks for a score of Nab Marashev Drijver Tsonchev Pass 1} 1NT Dble Pass 2] Pass 3] Pass 4] Again a spade was led and the resultant +650 gave Bulgaria 10 IMPs. The whole field played in hearts, with 14 of the 32 North-South pairs stopping short of game. Bob DRIJVER NETHERLANDS Ivan TSONCHEV BULGARIA Bart NAB NETHERLANDS Vladimir MARASHEV BULGARIA GO TO PAGE: 21

22 54 th European Team Championships Ostend, Belgium 6-16 June 2018 Board 5. Dealer North. N/S Vul. [ K J 2 ] { K } A K J [ [ ] K 7 6 ] Q J 8 2 { J 6 2 { A } 8 4 } 10 [ A Q ] A 9 4 { Q } Q Dragan De Wijs Donev Muller 2} Pass 2{ Pass 2NT Pass 3NT East led a diamond and 11 tricks were made. Would the board be flat? No, because bulletin readers with their grey cells largely intact will recall my earlier mention of double-digit swings. Nab Marashev Drijver Tsonchev 2} Pass 2{ Pass 2NT Pass 3} Pass 3{ Pass 3] Pass 3[ Pass 4} Pass 4[ Pass 4NT Pass 5{ Pass 6} Nine of the twelve bids were marked as conventional on the BBO screen. I did submit a full explanation of the auction to Mark Horton. Don t blame me if he was short of space and had to delete them from this report. A heart lead is needed to beat the slam. Otherwise declarer can set up two discards on dummy s diamonds. Drijver led the ]2, well done, and declarer ducked to West s king. A diamond return put the slam a speedy one down and it was 13 IMPs to the Netherlands. Board 7. Dealer South. All Vul. [ K 10 ] A J { K J 10 } A Q 9 [ A 6 [ ] Q 8 ] { A Q 6 3 { } K } J 8 2 [ Q J ] K 3 { } 10 5 Dragan De Wijs Donev Muller Pass 1NT Dble Pass 3[ Pass 4[ North/South reached the spade game, despite Muller s initial pass, and the play presented no problem. Declarer won the club lead with dum xmy s queen and was soon writing +650 in his card. Simon DE WIJS NETHERLANDS Grozio DONEV BULGARIA Bauke MULLER NETHERLANDS Zhivko DRAGANOV BULGARIA 22 GO TO PAGE:

23 54 th European Team Championships Nab Marashev Drijver Tsonchev 2{ 2NT Dble Pass Pass Rdbl Pass 3} Pass Pass Dble Rdbl Pass 3{ Dble South did open at this table, with a multi 2{. West stepped in fearlessly with 2NT and, after a flurry of doubles and SOS redoubles, ended in 3{ doubled. The ace and king of hearts were followed by the }10 to the queen, the }A and a club ruff. Declarer won the trump switch with the ace and returned a trump to North s jack The defenders still had a trump and a spade to come and that was IMPs to Bulgaria. Board 12. Dealer West. N/S Vul. [ J 8 7 ] Q J 5 4 { 10 6 } K [ [ 10 9 ] ] K { 4 3 { A K } A Q } [ A K Q ] A { Q J 8 } J 5 4 Dragan De Wijs Donev Muller Pass Pass 1] 1NT 2[ Everything depended on the opening lead. Three rounds of trumps would take 2[ two down. De Wijs led the {10, as I would have done, and declarer could then cross-ruff merrily for Nab Marashev Drijver Tsonchev 2[ Pass 3{ 3NT Once again, the Bulgarians opened on a hand that had been passed by their opponents. A diamond lead, ducked by East, would have dispatched 3NT. Not surprisingly, Nab had high expectations for a club Ostend, Belgium 6-16 June 2018 lead. He must have been disappointed when South won the first trick with the }4. West won the }J with the ace on the next trick and switched belatedly to a diamond. East won and returned a spade, declarer winning and setting up three heart tricks for the contract. That was +600 and 12 IMPs to Bulgaria. Doesn t time fly? We have reached the last big swing already. Board 16. Dealer West. E/W Vul. [ J 10 9 ] J 10 5 { K Q 10 9 } K 4 3 [ K [ ] ] A K { 8 5 { A } J 5 2 } [ A Q ] Q { J 6 3 } A Q 6 Dragan De Wijs Donev Muller Pass 1NT Pass 2{ Pass 2NT Pass 3] Pass 4] The heart game was reached after a mini 1NT opening. To beat this contract the defenders need to add a spade trick to East s three top cards. I winced as West led a spade from the king. Has he not read a certain learned work on opening leads, backed by two arduous years of computer simulation? Declarer won with the queen and played a trump to the king. East had a second chance now, to set up a diamond ruff for his partner. No, the [3 lead might have been from four cards to the king. He returned another spade and the game was made. Nab Marashev Drijver Tsonchev Pass Pass Pass 1NT Pass 3NT Against 3NT a spade lead was perfectly fine. 3NT duly went two down and the Netherlands retrieved 11 IMPs. Bulgaria won the match by 43-37, which was in VP. GO TO PAGE: 23

24 54 th European Team Championships Ostend, Belgium 6-16 June 2018 Herman De Wael THE BELGIAN PAGE The Red Aces The whole world knows the Red Devils is the nickname of the Belgian Football team (Surely some mistake? - Ed.). That nickname exists since 1906, but in recent years other national teams in Belgium have adopted nicknames. The Red Lions won silver at the 2016 Olympics in hockey, and other colours are used as well. This year, the suggestion has been made to call our national bridge team the Red Aces. We are still waiting to see if the name catches on. In any case, we can now present... The Red Queens Belgium has a love-hate relationship with a national Women's team. Although we have very good women players (some of them occasionally making it to the Open teams), our results in women's bridge are not up to the same level, possibly because women in Belgium are used to playing in Open competition and forming women pairs is not that natural for them. But of course, at home, we have to put our best team available. Gunther Dauwe, Antonella Couteaux, Letizia Angelini, Tine Dobbels, Veronique Driessens, Leentje Verleyen, Sylvie Cauwels Three pairs: Véronique Driessens is the wife of former international Frans Jeunen. Both stopped playing (serious) bridge in order to raise a family of four, but now that the youngest are in their teens, Véronique has started again (Frans can still resist temptation). With the European championships in mind, she formed a partnership two years ago with Tine, which was immediately picked up by a team of the top Belgian division. Tine Dobbels is the wife of Open team member Steven De Donder, and they are expecting (quite visibly) their second child. Tine has played in the top division in several teams for about a decade now. Letizia Angelini (no relation) and Antonella Couteaux are one of the few other women pairs that compete together in the Belgian higher divisions. Leentje Verleyen and Sylvie Cauwels both play in the second division, and despite being members of the same club had never played together before this year. Under the captain Gunther Dauwe's tutelage, they have quickly assimilated a common system. Their first match, today, is being presented in this bulletin. Véronique's actions on board 11 deserve a closer look... Board 11. Dealer South. None vul. [ K ] A 4 { K } 5 4 [ 4 3 [ A J ] Q ] { A 10 7 { } A K } 3 2 [ Q ] K J 10 3 { Q J 6 } Q J Driessens Huberschwiller Dobbels Mourgues Pass 1} 1[ Pass 3} 3[ Pass 3NT At her second round to bid, Véronique realised that partner would not hold many values. But if it included a spade stopper, her own hand would be worth 8 tricks a lot of the time. I have looked it up in Emile Borel and André Chéron's masterpiece "Mathematical Theory of Bridge" (recently re-published by Master Point Press) and it turns out that a seven-card suit headed by aceking will bring in seven tricks astonishingly 40,47% of the time. Véronique had another piece of reasoning: if clubs are 3-1 with opponents, then she has only two defensive tricks, so even a spade stopper in East is not enough to defeat 4[. Well done, Véronique. 24 GO TO PAGE:

25 54 th European Team Championships Ostend, Belgium 6-16 June 2018 RESULTS OPEN TEAMS ROUND 13 1 SCOTLAND ICELAND CZECH REPUBLIC DENMARK TURKEY UKRAINE WALES LITHUANIA PORTUGAL HUNGARY LATVIA ITALY BELGIUM POLAND FRANCE CROATIA MONACO FINLAND AUSTRIA SWEDEN SPAIN NETHERLANDS GERMANY IRELAND GREECE ENGLAND BULGARIA ROMANIA NORWAY RUSSIA ISRAEL ESTONIA SWITZERLAND Bye ROUND 14 1 IRELAND AUSTRIA GREECE FINLAND CROATIA ROMANIA RUSSIA BELGIUM ESTONIA LATVIA ISRAEL PORTUGAL NORWAY WALES UKRAINE BULGARIA CZECH REPUBLIC ENGLAND GERMANY SCOTLAND ICELAND SWEDEN MONACO DENMARK TURKEY FRANCE LITHUANIA POLAND HUNGARY ITALY SWITZERLAND NETHERLANDS SPAIN Bye ROUND 15 IMPs IMPs IMPs 1 NETHERLANDS ENGLAND SWEDEN BULGARIA NORWAY MONACO FRANCE ISRAEL POLAND ESTONIA ITALY RUSSIA HUNGARY ROMANIA GREECE LITHUANIA IRELAND TURKEY DENMARK SPAIN ICELAND AUSTRIA SCOTLAND CROATIA BELGIUM CZECH REPUBLIC LATVIA UKRAINE PORTUGAL WALES FINLAND SWITZERLAND GERMANY Bye VPs VPs VPs DUPLIMATE AND CARDS RANKING AFTER ROUND 15 1 ISRAEL ITALY ICELAND NETHERLANDS NORWAY HUNGARY GREECE RUSSIA POLAND SWEDEN ENGLAND DENMARK GERMANY BELGIUM MONACO BULGARIA FRANCE TURKEY LITHUANIA SPAIN AUSTRIA LATVIA FINLAND CROATIA PORTUGAL IRELAND WALES SWITZERLAND ESTONIA SCOTLAND CZECH REPUBLIC UKRAINE ROMANIA The Duplimates used for the Duplication during the championships are being sold for Contact Jannerstens at the bridge stall in the Bridge Plaza or drop a line to: per@jannersten.com The *new* Ostend cards that you will find in the boards will be sold after usage for 180 per 240 decks. GO TO PAGE: 25