By Phillip Alder
Newspaper Enterprise Assn.
This is the last deal of the World Transnational Open Teams final between M. Bessis, T. Bessis and Multon from France, Fantoni and Nunes from Italy, and Zimmermann from Switzerland; and Gromova, Ponomareva, Dubinin and Gromov from Russia, and Balicki and Zmudzinski from Poland. In the other room, Cezary Balicki and Adam Zmudzinski had gone down one in four spades after Claudio Nunes (West) led a heart. To win the gold medal, Bessis father and son had to be at least plus 90. (Plus 50 would result in overtime.)
Thomas Bessis’ two-club response showed a maximum pass with at least three spades. Michel’s two-diamond rebid promised a full opening bid, but denied the values to jump to game. North, with only three trumps and 4-3-3-3 distribution, settled for two spades. Then, after Alexander Dubinin (West) balanced with a takeout double, North redoubled to show a maximum. Andrei Gromov (East) did well to bid three clubs, a contract that would surely have made. If East had passed, West might have bid three hearts, which could have been defeated and led to extra boards.
When three clubs got back to North, everyone watching at the playing site and on the Internet expected him to pass, losing the gold medal. He had shown his hand; surely it was up to his father to bid three spades. But no — North judged perfectly, bidding three spades.
West led his trump, but nothing would have defeated the contract. South lost one spade, two hearts and one club for plus 140 and the title.