Thu Mar 22 Kansas - City. Having been eliminated at an early stage I was relegated to kibitzing some bridge. There were some excellent matches throughout this tournament and at the quarterfinal stage Rosenkranz – Lev Mohan Gawrys and Pszczola were playing Jacobs – Katz Lauria – Versace Bocchi Duboin.
At the half Jacobs was leading by some 30 imps and the big guns were in for both sides. After the third quarter I met Versace in the corridor and he had a good set and thought he would gain – some 30 imps. Then Sam Lev playing the other Italian pair in his usual ebullient style thought he had the better by 35 imps. I stood by to watch the comparisons and it was strange indeed – neither was right: they could not find even one board to make a comparison on. The unfortunate directors had given the even more unfortunate players the wrong boards to play! The boards from the Nickel – Melzer match had been played in one room and Nickel had played the Italian-Polish boards. It would have been interesting to find out who had come out in front in 4 team comparisons but understandably the players were not too concerned as they now had to play an extra 16 boards in a match that would go on until 3.30 in the morning.
Both matches were played in the same room and finished at the same time. I was watching Lauria – Versace against Gawrys and Pszczola. Alan Sontag from the other match looked over at me and said “Barnet only a Scot would stay up till 3.30 to get his moneys worth.
When the players took their cards out for the last board it was unknown to them that the result on this board would decide the match.
Lauria led the spade queen and Pepsi covered with the king. Now Versace had a difficult problem. In the event had he ducked there was no way for declarer to get home. He did not want to think long about the play as when he won the ace and played another he gave the declarer a guess he otherwise would not have had. Declarer would then have put up the Jack. When Versace played a second spade Pepsi played the eight and lost to the nine. This in fact gave up declarer’s ninth winner and he was down to eight. Clearly a diamond shift would give declarer his ninth trick losing just a diamond and heart in addition to the two spades. A club shift would give him nothing and West could get out a heart after he won his heart king to ensure a trick set. However west tried a heart and now declarer was in with a chance. He won the queen and cashed 5 clubs pitching a spade from his hand. West had to hold 5 red cards and could not stop declarer when he led a diamond off dummy to throw in west in the end game. 3nt made. In the other room North-South stopped in 3 just making so this was 7 imps to Rosenkranz.
The poor exhausted players came out to score and first Rosenkranz thought they had lost by three, then Jacobs thought they had lost by three. Finally Rosenkranz had in fact misscored a board and prevailed by 3 imps.
I witnessed the opportunity for perhaps the brilliancy of the tournament when Czary Balicki one of the victorious eastern European team declared 4 spades against Berkowitz-Cohen in an earlier match.
* D+M
Balicki played in 4 after Cohen opened 1NT. He ducked the opening lead of the Q East playing the 8 which was suit preference for hearts. A heart went to the ace and a second heart was won in dummy A winning diamond finesse and a losing spade finesse followed. Now declarer had two losing diamonds and with the trumps not breaking had to lose one at the end for down 1.
The problem for declarer is to make the hand when Diamonds are 5-2 and trumps are 3-1. Let’s say he unblocks the king of hearts what can east do to hurt declarer. If he plays a second heart he wins in dummy plays the club king to the ace and ruffs. Now the spade queen is passed to the king . The heart Jack is won in dummy and the diamond finesse taken. Now when declarer leads the jack of spades west pitches a diamond and a spade to dummy squeezes west in the minors. Here is the position:
Declarer is in dummy and West has been caught and cannot release a minor card without giving up declarer his tenth trick. But now for the piece de resistance. What if east tries to mess up the communications by playing diamonds instead of hearts. Now declarer wins the Q crosses to the heart queen and plays the k for the ace and ruffs .The spade queen is run to the king and if a second diamond comes back he wins cashes the remaining heart honour in dummy and plays a second spade to his jack .If they break 2-2 he is home and if not here we are:
When south plays the spade 10 if west throws a diamond he wins in hand ruffs his diamond good and if west throws a club he overtakes in dummy and ruffs his club setting up the 10. An overtaking squeeze- unusual enough for Balicki one of the best card players around to get it right in a par contest but perhaps he did not have enough time here – too bad!