After 41 of the 48 boards in the World Transnational Open Teams final, Michel and Thomas Bessis (father and son) and Franck Multon from France, Fulvio Fantoni and Claudio Nunes from Italy, and Pierre Zimmermann from Switzerland led Victoria Gromova, Tatiana Ponomareva, Alexander Dubinin and Andrei Gromov from Russia, and Cezary Balicki and Adam Zmudzinski from Poland by 19 international match points. This was board 42.
Balicki (South) opened one club, Polish. He would usually have a balanced 12-14 points or a long club suit, but he could also hold — as here — any very strong hand. Zmudzinski (North) responded two clubs, natural and game-forcing. South's three-heart jump-rebid set the trump suit. After North rebid four clubs, South used Roman Key Card Blackwood. Now North should have bid five clubs to show one key card (one ace or the heart king), but North, erroneously assuming clubs was the agreed suit, announced two key cards and the club queen.
Against six hearts, Nunes (West), despite his partner's double of five spades, led a club to try to kill dummy's suit. Declarer won on the board and played a second club for a spade discard, but East's ruff killed that plan. South had to lose two aces for down one.
In the other room, Michel Bessis opened two diamonds, artificial and game-forcing. Thomas Bessis responded four clubs, showing either seven-plus solid clubs or three aces. Unwisely assuming it was the latter, South jumped to seven hearts. Gromov (East) doubled, and plus 500 gave the East Europeans 9 imps.
Balicki (South) opened one club, Polish. He would usually have a balanced 12-14 points or a long club suit, but he could also hold — as here — any very strong hand. Zmudzinski (North) responded two clubs, natural and game-forcing. South's three-heart jump-rebid set the trump suit. After North rebid four clubs, South used Roman Key Card Blackwood. Now North should have bid five clubs to show one key card (one ace or the heart king), but North, erroneously assuming clubs was the agreed suit, announced two key cards and the club queen.
Against six hearts, Nunes (West), despite his partner's double of five spades, led a club to try to kill dummy's suit. Declarer won on the board and played a second club for a spade discard, but East's ruff killed that plan. South had to lose two aces for down one.
In the other room, Michel Bessis opened two diamonds, artificial and game-forcing. Thomas Bessis responded four clubs, showing either seven-plus solid clubs or three aces. Unwisely assuming it was the latter, South jumped to seven hearts. Gromov (East) doubled, and plus 500 gave the East Europeans 9 imps.