All News

NEW ZEALAND INTO THE QUARTER FINALS

Yes, it’s true. Our Open team have beaten France, with just enough to spare while our Women put up a mighty fight against Sweden though the deficit of 90 with 32 boards left proved to be too much. Before Sunday’s play started, I told the Women’s captain that the Kiwis just had to get 45 each set or well, actually one extra imp in one of the sets would be handy. Our Women did just as I requested on the first set winning 71-26, a difference of 45 imps but repeating that, never mind the extra imp two sets running was a very big ask.

It would be fair to say that our Open team would hope that the two sets would be very flat boring boards whereas our Women looked for lots of swings. In an odd way, despite playing the same boards, both teams got their wish!

97 imps in 16 boards suggests a lot of wild cards though the Open match saw only 66 imps change hands, France reducing the 51 imp deficit to 39 by winning the major swings 3-2 and the set 39-27.

Not one pair in the Open field managed to bring in a game on the following deal where the only E/W plus scores were a couple of pairs stopped in 2.

 

This board produced 3 useful imps for New Zealand when Whibley-Brown had a go at 3NT which failed by just one trick as compared with 4 down 2 in the other room. However, three Women’s pairs bid and made 3NT, including Shirley Newton – Jenny Wilkinson…or should we say that the defence was not spot on.

Shirley played from the East seat and maybe out of annoyance, the Swedish South did not record the opening lead. Getting to that West hand is the problem with the heart suit only producing 4 tricks. Two in spades and one in each minor equates to one down but Shirley did not argue when she got to record +600 and 13 oh so valuable imps.

If on another day, Board 13 was great for New Zealand, then today it was Board 12 which appropriately produced 12 imps for both Open and Women’s teams. Chasing imps may have caused the French Open pair to overbid though that excuse could hardly be used by the Swedish ladies.

 

While the West hand qualifies admirably as a weak 2, the favourable vulnerability and good shape makes it an appetising 3 level opener. Perhaps that is what caused France and Sweden to overbid. Against 6,  our West players had an easy lead and count signal from partner and both contracts were soon down. Ware – Tislevoll and Jacob – Humphries were more restrained and played in 5, avoiding that other trap of 3NT.

On then to the last 16 boards and it just did not happen for our Women. They scored 5 out of the 9 swings of 3 imps or more but the only two double digit swings went to Sweden…. and that was game, set and match… 35-28 to the Swedes in the set and 268-216 for the match. Disappointment for our team in the end but they can hold their heads up very high for what they had achieved in the past week. Their imp total in their Round of 16 match was also higher than the winners of 2 other Women’s matches while they outscored all the other losers.

Back then to the Open team who had a lead of 39 imps to defend over 16 boards. They did that pretty well too. For the first 9 boards, the imp score was just 5-3 to New Zealand, meaning it was a lead of 41 imps with just 7 boards remaining. Then, a French psyche, or so it seemed, kept Brown – Whibley out of a 4 game which should not make but did at the other table:

 

The only successful defence is A lead and a nervous under-lead of the A for West to play K and then give partner a ruff. In the other room, East opened 1 and West called what appears to have been a natural 2NT bid. That silenced Michael Whibley as North while East raised to 3NT. He led a high heart and the defence soon prevailed but what could have been a useful NZ pick-up, turned into an 11 imp loss.

 Suddenly, in the space of 3 boards, France had clawed back 27 imps as all Kiwis watching on Vu-Graph waited in agony to see if Matt Brown would play for clubs 3-3 in 3NT (no swing) or finesse playing for a 4-2 break and lose 13 imps. The wait was endless and the result was  unfortunately13 imps to France. The lead was down to 12 and 4 boards remained. The French pair will regret not trying for slam on Board 30 as 6 can make on a squeeze but that and its predecessor were flat. Board 31 had an air of French desperation:

 

Their East-West pair bid unconvincingly, hopefully to 6 and were lucky only to concede 2 imps when the diamond finesse failed. Bach-Cornell bid normally to 5 where the trump finesse failed too!

Then, New Zealand got just what it wanted, an uneventful 1NT contract at both tables and that ended a great performance from all three New Zealand pairs. Spain, conquerors of the USA, awaits in the 6 round 2 day quarter-final. Here’s hoping for some more great news tomorrow. How good have the last two days been? Terrific!

Richard Solomon

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Go Back View All News Items