mayb19

2019 מאי 189 גיליון 54 not turn out to be a success, and declarer took twelve tricks. This disaster helped Rosenthal get back into the match. Our second exhibit is taken from the final session. With six boards to go, Rosenthal had a slender lead of 90:89. Board 25. Dealer North. Vul E/W JT Q62 KQ632 JT6 Q76 A542 AT 9 T94 J85 K8754 AQ932 K983 KJ75432 A7 - West North East South Berkowitz Hinze Campanile Grainer Pass 1♣ 1 ♥ 3♣ 3 ♥ Pass 4 ♥ Pass Pass Pass A normal auction. South preferred a simple overcall, got supported and bid a game. East- West didn’t do anything stupid at red vs green. North-South plus 450. At the other table, South raised the stakes by overcalling at the four-level over East’s opening bid, and this was the result: West North East South Pratap Ginossar Koneru Willenken Pass 1♣ 4 ♥ Pass Pass Dbl Pass 5♣ 5 ♥ Pass Pass 6♣ Pass Pass Pass Normally, having opened with 11 HCP one is not supposed tomake furthermoves at the four- level, particularly with adverse vulnerability, but Koneru (East) liked his distribution. He did not expect his partner to bid again after five hearts (else he might have doubled for penalty), but Pratap (West) believed that his partner had a much bigger hand, and decided to bid on to the six-level! The rest of the hand was a big anti-climax. East-West should have been caught speeding, but they weren’t. Neither North not South could find the red card and put it on the table. In the play, they were bitterly disappointed. Even after a friendly heart lead, declarer had no way to prevent the loss of four tricks. Minus 300 gave East-West 4 IMPs and decided the match in their favor since the total amount of swings over the last five deals was just one IMP. Had North-South doubled, they would have scored plus 800, and the resulting gain of 8 IMPs would have probably settled the match in their team’s favor. In my opinion, one reason North-South should double six clubs is that Pass over 6♣ cannot be the winning call. When either slam makes, the winning call is 6 ♥ over 6♣. When both slams fail, the winning call is double. Considering that East-West bid their slam under severe pressure, it was time to be more optimistic and not believe the opponents!