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Until recently the scheme of global championships was: - Once every two years the World Team Championships (contesting the Bermuda Bowl and Venice Cup) - In the intervening years there was an alternation of the World Pairs Championships (extended with the World Knock-out Team Championships) and the World Bridge Teams Olympiad (meaning each took place once every four years). For the last few years the Olympiad has been extended; the tournament has been renamed The World Mind Sports Games. Bridge, chess, checkers, go and Chinese chess all have their own place in this brand-new event. During this tournament Tadashi Teramoto, one of Japan's finest bridge players (he is a professional and trainer of the Japanese juniors), shows beautiful dummy play on this deal:
| S/— | ♠ | A Q 10 8 | | | | ♥ | K 6 | | ♦ | J 10 2 | | ♣ | A K 10 5 | | ♠ | 9 5 |  | ♠ | K J 7 6 4 3 2 | | ♥ | J 7 5 2 | ♥ | Q 10 | | ♦ | A K 6 | ♦ | 9 4 | | ♣ | Q J 7 4 | ♣ | 9 6 | | | ♠ | — | | | ♥ | A 9 8 4 3 | | ♦ | Q 8 7 5 3 | | ♣ | 8 3 2 |
| West | North | East | South |
|---|
| | | | Teramoto | | — | — | — | 2♥1 | | pass | 2NT2 | 3♠ | 4♦ | | pass | 5♦ | pass | pass | | double | pass | pass | pass |
1 Weak two-suiter: five-card hearts and a minor 2 Forcing relay
West kicks-off well by playing the ♦A, ♦K and his third diamond. Teramoto is thus prevented from ruffing a single heart in dummy. He can take the double finesse in clubs and pitch a heart on the ♠A, but the latter is not of any help, since his fifth heart is not a loser. It doesn't help him either to play his last two trumps next: West can afford to throw one heart and his last spade, so he still controls both the heart and the club suit. Meaning there is no squeeze. So Teramoto looks to have an inescapable heart loser (he is even lucky that East has two honours; if West had two in his four card suit, declarer would have lost two...). Things look pretty grim but Teramoto doesn't give up. He starts off to set up an extra spade trick. If he can set it up, he can, by cashing that spade, put pressure on West after all: West will have no idle card left then. Teramoto wins the first diamond in hand and plays a small club. When West contributes a small one, Teramoto takes his best chance: he inserts the ♣10. If it wins, things look a bit brighter. He cashes the ♠A (pitching a heart in South) and advances the ♠Q. He hopes to drop West's ♠J or ♠9. East covers with the ♠K and declarer ruffs, happily noting West's ♠9. Next he plays a small club to the ♣K and advances the ♠10 from dummy. East covers with the ♠J and declarer ruffs with his last trump, West discarding a heart. Declarer now plays a third club, to dummy's ♣A, and cashes dummy's master spade, the ♠8, in this situation. | S/— | ♠ | 8 | | | | ♥ | K 6 | | ♦ | —
| | ♣ | 5 | | ♠ | — |  | ♠ | 7 6 | | ♥ | J 7 5 | ♥ | Q 10 | | ♦ | — | ♦ | — | | ♣ | Q | ♣ | — | | | ♠ | — | | | ♥ | A 9 8 4 | | ♦ | — | | ♣ | — | He discards a heart from hand and West is squeezed. Either South's third heart or dummy's ♣5 becomes a winner. 5♦ doubled made!
Just as well that South made it, by the way, since his 4♦ bid was questionable. Most often it is not helpful for partner if you bid your second suit, if forced by the intervention, at the four level (if you can bid it at the three level, you should usually do it), especially if you have a minimum. For two reasons: you go past 3NT (in this deal North will usually make that — sky-high — contract) and you deny partner (who has the stronger hand) the chance to double for penalties. If South had passed 3♠, North would have doubled for an easy +300. But admittedly: +550 was better! |