Take this as a problem.
Both sides are vul and RHO opens 1S.
You hold
---
9 8 5 4 3
9 8 6
A K Q 8 6
Do you overcall -and if yes, will it be a Michaels 2H or 2C?
French have a reputation of being solid bidders and Allegrini is a French, so he passed. (Although him and partner have the nickname of 'the Chechens', earned because of their bold bidding, I guess; but perhaps he is playing no Michaels).
K J 9 7 5 4 ---- A K Q 5 4 3 9 6 --- A K J 7 2 9 8 5 4 3 J 7 5 9 8 6 J 10 5 4 A K Q 8 6 A Q 10 8 3 2 Q 10 6 2 7 3 2In any case, Allegrini wasn't offered a chance to speak again because Pszczola-Kwiecien for Poland bid a slam using a sequence that appears a bit rustic although it may be bristling with hidden science -and in any case was ultra-efficient.
1S - 4S
5S - 6S
pass
In the other room Lesniewski, the Polish East did bid a Michaels 2H, so now over 6S Martens (West) went to 7H. This goes only for 800, so it is a bargain, but Quantin, the French South, added a bit of icing in the cake (or "cerise sue le gateau" as the French would put it) by going to 7S, down one doubled after the ace of clubs lead. It is easy to sneer on Quantin, but note that he only contributed 5 IMPs to the total loss; by doubling 7H for 800 France would have lost 12, now they lost 17.
The deal was interesting all around the room. There were a couple of stripe-tailed apes in EW, i.e. they doubled 5S so they only paid 1050 instead of 1430, although another ape was caught by a redouble, didn't ran fast and paid 1600.
In addition, this deal produced the new record for a big swing, 21 IMPs namely, won by Slovenia against Sweden. Both sides were at 7S doubled by *South* and while the Slovene West led a club, his Swede counterpart led... the 5 of diamonds and soon later paid 2470. Perhaps he thought the double was a Lightner affair?
Back to the Tenerife hands page
Back to Nikos Sarantakos' bridge page
© 2001 Nikos Sarantakos
sarant@pt.lu
This page has been visited times.