Bridge, Italian style

Press, 2 April 1985, Page 12

Bridge, Italian style

CONTRACT BRIDGE

J.R. Wignail

Anyone who thinks bridge cannot be a spectator sport should watch a world championship final, preferably one with Italy taking part. Their fans have inherited many of the characteristics of a Roman Colosseum crowd. They go to watch excitement, to argue, to discuss volubly and loudly, and they do not care whose blood is spilled. If their opponents are losing, so much the better, but if Italy is losing they will split up into cliques to decide which of their side is playing the worst. They were almost hysterical during the closing stages of the 1983 championship in Stockholm. Let me try to set the scene.

Italy had struggled through the qualifying rounds, eventually reaching the semi-finals after a very lucky result on the last deal, then played a gruelling match against France. Again they snatched victon' from the jaws of defeat in the closing stages to reach the final.

By contrast, the professional American team had a comparatively easy passage.

After 173 boards of the 176-deal final the teams were locked at 400 international match points to the United States, 398 to Italy. The lead had changed hands no less than nineteen times. It had been a nervewracking three days for the contestants, and all were tiring, but probably the Italians were feeling the strain a little bit more. Then suddenly they drew on hidden reserves to produce a marvellous result on this hand, dealt by East, with neither side vulnerable:-

After a pass from East, the Italian South opened the bidding, and his side belted

away to six diamonds. Though no thing of beauty, this contract proved to be unbeatable. The ace and king of diamonds dropped the outstanding trumps, the spades behaved favourably, enabling three of South’s hearts to be discarded so that the twelfth trick was a heart ruffed by the 10 of diamonds. The auditorium erupted as the Italian supporters cheered their heroes. When the deal was replayed a few minutes later, with the Americans holding the North-South cards, they stopped in the much more realistic contract of four spades. When they had duly collected 11 tricks, the roar from the pro-Italian audience one hotel floor below told them they had missed the slam. Italy was now eight I.M.P.’s ahead in the match, and its supporters were bubbling with Latin enthusiasm. Then came the penultimate deal, and with it a Roman tragedy. West was the dealer, with North-South vulnerable:—

When the United States held the East-West cards,

West decided to open one. spade, East responded four no-trumps asking for aces and, over the one ace reply, settled for five spades. The declarer made 11 tricks in jig-time after the lead of a low heart At the other table, where Italy was East-West, . the legendary Garozzo and Belladonna had a serious bidding disaster. This was their

Two no-trumps showed spade support, with a singleton somewhere. Three spades apparently was something Garozzo dreamed up at the table, so the four no-trump bid became shrouded in mystery. Garozzo described it as Blackwood, but Belladonna announced his partner’s five diamonds was a cue-bid. This inspired him to shoot six spades, a hopeless contract with two aces missing. The slam was duly defeated by one trick, giving the Americans 11 I.M.P.’s and the lead by 3. The Italian supporters, in a state of shock, lapsed into almost complete, but certainly brief, silence after this national catastrophe. There was still one deal to go, but when both sides bid excellently to a close contract of three no-trumps, the issue was settled. The American declarer, in fact, made two tricks more than his counterpart, so the United States won the world championship by 5 I.M.P.’s. By this time the spectators had recovered. The Italian contingent burst out of the auditorium to commence endless and enthusiastic arguments over who was at fault in the penultimate deal. Now, 18 months later, the two principals have reached agreement. Garozzo admits he was right, and Belladonna knows he himself

On Easter Saturday, April 6, an event of major interest to collectors of all kinds will be held in the Methodist Church Hall, on the corner of Rugby Street and Papanui Road, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. It is to be our first “Antique Dealers’ and Collectors’ Buy, Sell, and Swap Day.” So many establishments in Christchurch serve us well with everything from bric-a-brac to fine antiques. I have sometimes sighed, however, for the chance to wander around the many open markets and little, specialised fairs one comes across in Britain, and other more densely populated countries. We do have the Arts’ Centre stalls during the summer, but in the cooler weather an occasional function such as the one proposed for Easter Saturday would provide a welcome alternative to a Saturday morning round of the garage sales. In addition to the wide variety of collectables offered on the 50 metres of sales tables, there will be some interesting displays, including one of early New Zealand pottery. The ingenuity and productivity of our early potters played an important part in the development of industry in our city and province. Any student of local history will profit from an inspection of this exhibition. The Easter Fair organised by the Christchurch Old Bottle Club, will have a much broader base than their usual annual show. It will cater for collectors of almost anything. Those seeking stone jars, jam jars, bottles, and similar objects will be well catered for, but others with a taste for porcelain, old prints, brassware, kitchen by-gones, medals, postcards, pot-lids, jardinieres, or .corkscrews will all be well advised to attend.

N. ♦ 74 ▼ 6 ♦ AJ108 4 QJ7643 W. E. ♦ Q10853 ♦ AKJ962 V AJ54 V K73 ♦ 5 ♦ KQ3 ♦ K102 ♦ 8 S. ♦ - V Q10982 ♦ 97642 ♦ A95

auction:— W. N. E. S. 1* No 2NT No 3* No 4NT No 54 No 64 AU Pass