August 2006 - 16

Verona

unnecessarily high? Impossible!
- North held both outstanding
trumps. If Versace drew trumps end‑
ing in hand, he could pitch dummy's
last two clubs on his two remaining
high diamonds, then knock out the
A.
But then the defense could win
the first heart, tap dummy with a
club, and with the heart suit blocked
he would have to win the next heart
in hand and lose a club in the end.
Versace thought he found a solu‑
tion: he would first cash his high
diamonds, pitching dummy's losing
clubs as North followed helplessly
and South pitched (having no more
trumps!?). Then he could knock out
the A, win any return, unblock
the hearts, and draw trumps ending
in dummy to enjoy his J.
So, having carefully formulated
his plan, Versace cashed a high dia‑
mond, pitching a club from dummy
as North followed and Linda ...
ruffed with the 8! She then led
a club to her husband's king to
beat declarer two tricks in a cold
contract.

less than half of the bracket winners
were captained by Americans: Nick
Nickell, Russ Ekeblad, Roy Welland,
Rose Meltzer, George Jacobs, Fred
Chang, George Tornay and Christal
Henner‑Welland.
Compared to the Bermuda Bowl,
the Rosenblum is a relatively short
affair, and the matches in the knock‑
out phase lasted only one day each.
The upsets started early: Jacobs,
whose squad included Zia Mah‑
mood and Michael Rosenberg, was
ousted by a French team in a close
match. A team captained by Richard
Schwartz knocked off a star‑studded
Italian team with four members of
the 2005 Bermuda Bowl winners.
This deal, the last of the match
against a French team, cost Jacobs
a place in the round of 32. At one
table, Zia and Rosenberg faced
Edouard Beauvillain and Yves
Jenneteau. At the other, Cezary
Balicki and Adam Zmudzinski faced
Bogdan Marina and Gilles Queran.
Jacobs led in the match 113-111 as
the players pulled out their cards for
the final deal.

West North
East
South
Zia
B'villain R'berg Jean'eau
Pass 1
1
2
2
Pass
Pass
Dbl
Redbl 2
Pass
3
Pass 3
All Pass
It was a routine contract, and
Jeanneteau had no difficulty taking
nine tricks for plus 110.
West
North East
South
Queran Balicki Marina Zmud'ski
Pass
1
1
1
2
Pass
Pass
Dbl
Pass
2
Pass
3
Pass
4
All Pass
Balicki explained Zmudzinski's
1 as a transfer to 1NT, usually
without a stopper in hearts, or show‑
ing long clubs. Balicki had nothing
to say over 2, but he showed
his four spades when Zmudzinski
doubled. Asked the meaning of 3,
Balicki explained that his partner
was showing four diamonds and five
or more clubs.
When dummy came down, Balicki
could see he was in a bad contract.
With three top losers in the majors
and the certainty that he was going
Dlr: West  K Q J 7
to be tapped in hearts (he was),
Rosenblum
Vul: N-S  J 2
there was no lie of the cards that
QJ3
The Rosenblum Cup, the tourna‑
would permit him to take 10 tricks
QJ93
ment's open knockout, started with
legitimately.
A 9 8 6 3
 10 2
173 teams divided into 16 brackets.
Marina started with the top two
N
Q54

A
K
10
7
3
Each bracket would play a round‑
hearts
and continued with a third
W E
872
 10 9
S
robin, and the top four finishers in
round. Balicki ruffed and played
K7
 10 8 5 2
each bracket would advance to the
the J to Queran's king. Queran

5
4
round of 64.
cashed the A and continued the
986
The depth of the American contin‑
suit. Balicki played another two
A K 6 5 4
gent in the Rosenblum was evident
rounds of trumps, but he took only
A 6 4
at the end of round‑robin play. No
two more tricks from that point. He
got back to hand with
the Q, but when he
tried to cash a high
spade, Marina ruffed
and cashed two more
heart tricks, conceding
a diamond at the end.
That was four down
and plus 400 to the
French, winners by the
score of 122-113.
As the event wore
on, all‑America
matches were in‑
evitable, as the Jim
World champions: Geir Helgemo, Tor Helness, Alan Sontag, Rose Meltzer, Kyle Larsen,
Mahaffey squad
Roger Bates.

16

Bridge Bulletin
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of August 2006
