CONTRACT BRIDGE A FREE CAR FOR PLAYING BRIDGE

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 33878, 25 June 1975, Page 17

CONTRACT BRIDGE A FREE CAR FOR PLAYING BRIDGE

(Contributed by J.R.W.)

How would you like to win yourself a free Italian i car? Had you lived in one ; of four American cities last month you would have had the opportunity. i In conjunction with Alitalia 1 Airlines who looked after the! 1 travel arrangements, Lanciai : Automobiles sent its bridge team to play four exhibition matches in America. It is no ordinary bridge team including at it does the world champions Walter , Avarelli. Giorgio Belladonna, Pietro Forquet and Benito , Garozzo, plus Omar Sharif. ' 8s accomplished a performer at the bridge table as he is on screen, and Antonia! Vivaldi, a several times j European champion. Showing as much confidence in their players as they! do in their product Lancia i offered up to five of their! cars, worth something over S7OOO each, to any team that beat them. Naturally there was keen; competition to meet the Blue! Team stars and Omar Shariff. Elimination matches had to be arranged for which the entry money was 5125 per team and eventually four very strong teams won the right to represent their areas. Possibly the strength of| American bridge was under- 1 estimated when the challenge was thrown down, possibly the temporary' absence of i Avarelli weakened the team more than expected, but after two matches Lancia had paid out eight cars, a matter, of some 560.000. The second match against! Los Angeles; fielding a side that included a pair who had run the Italians very close in the last w’orld championship, was expected to be a tough encounter, but it was slightly, surprising that a loss was incured in the first game against New York represented bv four very fine players not well known out-! side their own country. The last two matches played in Chicago and Miami Beach were victories for the tourists "ho thus managed to finish with an all square

record. Interest in all the games was high with audiences of 500 or more being quite common. The combination of top class players, high stake money and the publicity flair of Omar Sharif again proved to be a crowd winner. CRUCIAL HAND At the half-way point in their match against New York after 30 boards, the tourists had built up a lead of 28 international match points, normally a comfortable margain for such distinguished performers. The young New Yorkers, however, cut the margin to 11 points in the afternoon ■ session of the second day so : that the stage was set for an exciting finale over the last 20 hands. i Fortunes fluctuated, but ; when with seven deals remaining the Lancia team led by 2 2 it seemed ail jover. Refusing to concede defeat the Americans fought back strongly. Nothing helped them more than this hand dealt by North with both sides vulnerable: N. A J 8 V A 642 ♦ KJ9 A AQJ 10 W. E. A 876 A 876 V KJS3 V KJS3 ♦ Q 10432 ♦ Q 10432 A 7 A 7 S. A K 32 V Q 7 ♦ A 8 A K 86532 The Italians reached a safe game contract in no-trumps; on the North-South hands; making 10 tricks and a score; ; of 630 without difficulty. When the board was replayed with the Americans North-South, a combination of aggressive bidding and a ! slight partnership misunderstanding led them to the precarious contract of six clubs, played by South. The opening lead of a heart from West would have given

the declarer no chance at all, I but at one stage in the! auction East had doubled a! diamond call from North so! naturally West chose that’ suit as his opening attack. Dummy’s nine was covered i by the 10 and ace, Southdrew two rounds of trumps with the queen and ace and led the jack of spades. It is not easy to see but when East rose with the ace he I threw the contract away. He returned a spade taken by the declarer’s king, a spade was trumped in ■ dummy, the ace of hearts was cashed (to the cognoscenti this is known as a Vienna Coup) and the declarer overtook dummy’s remaining trump with his own king. Two more rounds of ! trumps produced this ’ position:— N. A — V 6 ♦ KJ * - W. E. A— A — V 10 V K ♦ 75 ♦ Q 4 A— A — S. - A — V Q ♦ 8 A 8 When on the last trump dummy’s heart was discarded, East’s cup of misery 1 was full to the brim. Whatever he did would give away i the contract. He dared not! ! discard his heart king for I ‘ then South’s queen would be /high. So he threw away the four! >! of diamonds and South, reading the position correctly, ■ led a diamond to the king ; under which the queen i dropped leaving the jack : good. This elegant display of : squeeze technique earned the /declarer 1370 points, or 12 international match points, just enough to give his team II victory.