              Marlboro Bermuda and Venice Cup
                       Beijing, China
                  October 8th - 21st, 1995
          Issue 11, Wednesday, October 18th, 1995
           Editor: Henry Francis and Brian Senior
***********************************************************
           Bermuda Bowl Final after 48 boards

               Canada   77   USA 2   100
 
              Venice Cup after 64 board

               Germany 101   USA 1   100
***********************************************************
                      Today's schedule

                        Bermuda Bowl
                  Canada vs. United States
            Sweden vs. France (for third place)

                         Venice Cup
                 United States vs. Germany
             China vs. France (for third place)
**********************************************************
              Bermuda final: U.S. vs. Canada
               Venice final: U.S. vs. Germany

The Vugraph show will feature both final matches starting
at 10:30. The plan is to have the closer match on the
screen whenever feasible.

There were no surprises in the final two segments of the
semifinals of the Marlboro Bermuda Bowl and the Marlboro
Venice Cup. The open championship final will be a battle
between two North American giants, United States and
Canada. In the women's final, it will be a replay of the
1993 final in Chile --defending champion United States
taking on silver medalist Germany.

Canada defeated Sweden, 218-157, and the United States
toppled France, 221-153. In the Marlboro Venice Cup, the
United States stopped China, 259-185, and Germany bested
France, 257-164.

The Marlboro Bermuda Bowl final will consist of 160 boards
-- 64 today, 64 tomorrow and 32 early Friday. The Marlboro
Venice Cup final will be only 128 boards -- 64 today and 64
tomorrow. In the contests for third place, France will
plays Sweden in the Bermuda and China will play France in
the Venice -- both matches will be 32 boards starting at
10:30 today.

This is a first ever for Canada -- never before has Canada
been in a Bermuda Bowl final. The only world title ever won
by Canada came in Biarritz, France, in 1982 when Dianna
Gordon and George Mittelman won the Mixed Pairs. Mittelman
is a member of Canada's team here, and he is partnered by
Fred Gitelman.  Gitelman finished second in the World
Junior Championships in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1991.

Eric Kokish, editor of the World Bridge News and the
principal contributor to the World Championship books
printed each year, is partnered by Joey Silver of Fast Lane
notoriety. Kokish and Silver combined magnificently in 1974
to win the Vanderbilt Knockout Teams at the American
Contract Bridge League Spring Championships, but the
partnership was generated only recently. The third pair,
Boris Baran and Mark Molson, has performed very well
throughout these championships.

Most of the members of the other three teams have been to
the final before, and many of them have been winners. Bob
Hamman, Bobby Wolff, Eric Rodwell and Jeff Meckstroth are
four of the eight players in the world who have won all
three major world titles -- Bermuda Bowl, Olympiad and
World Open Pairs. However, it's the first time for Nick
Nickell and Dick Freeman.

All but one of the Germans are veterans. The newcomer is
Andrea Rauscheid. Sabine Auken, Daniela von Arnim, Pony
Nehment, Marianne Moegel and Karin Caesar all were members
of the team that placed second in Santiago in 1993.

New on the scene for the American women are Carol Simon and
Rozanne Pollack. Karen McCallum, Sue Picus and Kerri
Sanborn all were winners in 1993, and Kitty Munson was a
Venice Cup champion in Perth, Australia, in 1989.
********************************************************
                  Meet the American women

Kerri Sanborn is the daughter of two San Diego bridge
players, Richard and Muriel Mitchell. Currently ranked
third in the world women's rankings, she is the owner of an
endless list of North American and regional titles as well
as several world championships. A longtime bridge
professional, Kerri moved from California to New York City
in 1988 to begin career trading stock options. Here she met
her husband, Steve Sanborn, who was working for the same
company. Together they live in a small town north
of Manhattan called Stony Point.

Carol Simon is a systems developer for the New York
Mercantile Exchange. She and her husband Al have a college-
age daughter Lori. Currently they call Summit, New Jersey,
home. A longtime personality on the American bridge scene,
this is her first Venice Cup competition. After one
exciting cab ride in China, Carol shared a secret desire --
she wanted to grow up to be a race car driver.

Karen McCallum lives in a crowded household in Exeter, New
Hampshire, along with her husband Alex, daughter Justine,
family friend Cenk Lomco and the family cats Muddles and
Shili. When she can pull herself away from the bridge
table, she is both editor and publisher of mystery novels
for readers and collectors. Entering this tournament she
had won three world championships and 10th in the world
women's rankings.

Catherine Anne "Kitty" Munson lives in New York City and
works as an assistant vice president in the technology
sector of the Bank of New York. She has high finishes in
both the Rosenblum Cup and the World Mixed Pairs to go with
her Venice Cup victory in Perth, Australia in 1989. While
living in England she played for the British, winning the
Common Market Teams and finishing third in the women's
pairs in the European Championships before returning to her
native United States.  Other interests include spending
time with her son Paul Bethe, gardening and art.

Sue Picus is a director of software development for Novell
Corporation. She currently is the holder of both the
Venice Cup and the McConnell Cup titles. A resident of
New York City, she enjoys the theater and restaurant life
of Manhattan and other major cities such as London. As
are other players on this team, she is addicted to
"Minesweeper" < a game found on most Windows releases.>

Rozanne Pollack lives in Warren,  New Jersey, along with
her husband Bill and daughters Andrea, 12, and Rebecca, 8.
She is a doctor of sociological research and is employed as
such. She also is a current holder of the McConnell Cup
title. She enjoys reading and doing puzzles.

Steve Sanborn, npc, lives in Stony Point, New York, with
his wife Kerri. Originally a consultant for corporate
databases, Steve tried his hand at options trading in
1987 and found a new profession. His true passion is
participation in team sports, particularly softball. This
prohibits almost all trips to the Spring or Summer North
American Championships. When Steve and Kerri were first
married, the standing joke among his friends was that he
was going to have to change his last name from Sanborn to
Shuman.
********************************************************
                 Meet the French open team

Paul Chemla earned a high degree in literature. He would
have been a wonderful teacher of French, Latin and Greek if
only the school days did not begin at the same time as his
days usually end. He loves opera, gastronomy, cigars and
one-liners.  Distinguishing feature: he is in discord with
any type of team trials that force him to win a place on
the national team -- he feels he is entitled to a place.
For the rest, a perfect democrat.

Michel Perron, 44 and married, is the former cherubim of
bridge in France, shining in the heaven of permanent glory
for more that 20 years. Distinguishing feature: his
opponents think he has eaten a metronome.

Robert Reiplinger, 52 and unmarried with one child, is a
financial expert and former professor at the Commercial
University. This is his debut on the national team.
Distinguishing feature: this man of bank balances, a lover
of the grand crus, considers the 1995 vintage his most
profitable balance.

Philippe Soulet, 41 and married with two children, directs
a big bridge club in Paris. Since his childhood, he has
kept his southern accent and his love of life. He has
infallible insight and is a daring player with very good
instincts. He probably is a descendant of Mozart and
Escartefigue.  Distinguishing feature: he plays as he
breathes.

Philippe Cronier,42, had no idea even as recently as three
months ago that he would be playing on the French team in
the Marlboro Bermuda Bowl. He had previous commitments, and
anyway he was not a member of the team that finished second
in the European Championships. Christian Mari declared in
mid-July that he does not like Chinese food . . . and some
other things.  Philippe was European champion in 1983. He
and his wife must have set some kind of record -- both are
semifinalists in the world championships here. Philippe
seems, in France, to be an orchestra man in bridge -- he
plays, he writes magazine articles, he authors bridge books
-- and he is considered to be one of the best bridge
teachers in the country. Not only that, he plays the piano
nearly every day and he studies statistics at the
university.

Jean Paul Meyer, the npc for the first time, has set up a
battle of the editors. Meyer is editor of 'Le Bridgeur' and
Edgar Kaplan of the U.S. team of course is the long time
editor of The Bridge World. Meyer was European Pairs
champion in 1987 and played twice for France in the past.
At present, he is vice president of the French Bridge
Federation.
********************************************************
                     The German Ladies
                       by Klaus Reps

In Beijing we have six of the seven members of the German
Ladies Team that won the silver medal two years ago in
Santiago.  However you might have noticed that we have two
new names in our team.

One of them is Sabine Auken. But in this case it is
only the name that is new. Due to her marriage to a very
tall Danish guy, you probably all know, the former Sabine
Zenkel lost her name, but not her playing skills. She lives
now in Copenhagen/Denmark and gave birth to her son, Jens
Christian, only some weeks before the European
Championships - good timing !  Due to that fact her
performance at the table became even better --  who would
dare double a breast-feeding mother ?

Her partner is Daniela von Arnim. She lives in Heidelberg
together with a tall German guy, whom I probably know best.
She works as a software designer in Karlsruhe together with
George Nippgen (one of the Rosenblum Knockout Teams World
Champions 1990).

When she comes home she always talks about conventions she
wants to add to her system, many I have not even heard of.
I wonder what they are doing the whole day?! She and Sabine
have built one of the strongest partnerships in Germany and
they are surely among the top three women pairs in the
world.

A rather new face and name on the international bridge
scene is Andrea Rauscheid.  She lives in Heidelberg and
works in a medical lab at Heidelberg University.  She likes
food very much as long as it is a lot. For Beijing she was
specially trained.  We practiced eating french fries at
McDonald's with chopsticks. Unfortunately the restaurant
closed before she could pick up the last cold french fry,
so if you want to meet her, watch for the blonde girl
sitting in the Western restaurant who enjoys her meal with
knife and fork.

Her partner is the well-known Pony Nehmert. She lives in
Wiesbaden and works there as a bridge professional.
According to a British journalist who knows her very well,
she is Mrs.Grumpy in the morning, but as the day proceeds
her mood gets better and better. Sometimes she is even
witty, but only when she pursues her two hobbies, shopping
and shopping. Andrea and Pony form one of the very
promising partnerships on the German women's team and they
have done very well so far in these Championships.

Very well-known too are The Sisters. Marianne Moegel and
Karin Caesar both live in Hannover and work in their spare
time as directors of a travel agency, presidents of a
hotel group in Spain, organizers of bridge cruises......
In addition to these jobs, they are both voluntary models
for the German designer Jil Sander. Or does Jil Sander
voluntarily design dresses for the sisters ?  I just can't
remember. Together the sisters have formed a partnership
that has played at  international level for some time now .
They are an important part of the German team and took part
(as well as Daniela and Sabine) in the last four Venice
Cups.

Last but not least there is me, the German captain,
Klaus Reps. I live in Heidelberg and work as a bridge
professional because I don't like getting up early, and
of which Daniela is extremely jealous. I am the captain
of the German women's team for the second time and we
reached the Venice Cup Finals for the second time now.
I must be really clever !!

The German women have enjoyed their stay in Beijing very
much and we are looking forward to the next Championships.
********************************************************
                   More from Edgar Kaplan

We find Edgar Kaplan's droll wit as a commentator
quite refreshing. One the off chance you've missed a
few sessions, here are his latest offerings.

Since I like to like the bids I make, I wouldn't have
made that bid.

I am willing to open 1NT with a five-card major with
the right hand. It just happens that I've never picked
up the right hand.

Anyone who jumps in partner's suit with a singleton
deserves what he gets.

Nobody doubles anything for penalties now a days.

One should never discard 200 points.

When my partner under leads ace-queen-jack, partner must
want me to do something. Maybe he wants me to waste my
brain power trying to figure out what he wants me to do.

Declarer has the opportunity to win 13 of the last nine
tricks. Unfortunately he's already lost three.

I've never felt the need to raise my partner's suit with
the singleton six.

It's really unsatisfactory to guess wrong, so might as
well guess right.

Where there's eight there's nine.
********************************************************
                       MISSED CHANCES
                     By Barnet Shenkin

Board 22 of the semi-finals was one of the most interesting
in the whole championships as, in each room, each team had
a chance to defeat a different game contract.

              Board 22. E/W Vul. Dealer East.

                          S KT864
                          H K942
                          D A5
                          C Q9
                  S 732            S AQ9
                  H J5             H QT3
                  D T96            D J432
                  C T6543          C AJ8
                           S J5
                           H A876
                           D KQ87
                           C K72

               West    North   East    South
              Perron   Wolff   Chemla  Hamman
                                1C       1D
               Pass      1S    Pass     1NT
               Pass     3NT   All Pass

Hamman - Wolff  carefully avoided the risky 4H contract to
play an equally difficult 3NT. Perron led the C3 and Hamman
tried  the 9, hoping that Perron may have had Jack, ten
fifth. When Chemla played the jack, Hamman ducked. Chemla
now played very quickly the  ace and another club.

Hamman was now able to set up three spade tricks along with
his three diamonds and two hearts. "Only nine," Hamman said
as he claimed his contract.

It appears that Chemla could defeat the contract by
shifting to diamonds before cashing the CA to set up
his fourth diamond as the setting trick. However, when
Hamman cashes his fourth and fifth spades, Chemla cannot
find two spare cards to throw.

He can part with a club, but the second discard in any of
three suits will give declarer his ninth. In fact, to
defeat the contract, at either trick two or trick three,
Chemla must return a heart, playing his partner for the
jack. He now has the tempo to make one heart along with his
two spades and two clubs.

              West     North      East   South
            Nickell  Replinger  Freeman  Soulet
                                   1D     Pass
              Pass      Dbl       Pass      2D
              Pass       2S       Pass     2NT
              Pass       3H       Pass      4H
           All Pass

Dick Freeman led the D2 and Robert Reiplinger won in hand
to lead the C 9. Freeman rose with the ace to play a second
diamond.  Declarer won this and cashed his CQ before taking
his HK and crossing to dummy with the HA to cash CK.  He
now took dummy's DQ before ruffing the last diamond and
exiting with his last trump to endplay East who had to give
declarer a spade trick.

Very well played, but if East does not rise with the CA
declarer would have to play another club. A second diamond
would then break the communications as, after taking the
club ruff and diamond ruff in his hand, declarer could not
get back to dummy to play a heart to throw East in.

It might seem that declarer could succeed a different
way if the CA is ducked, and this is what Reiplinger had
in mind. Declarer wins the CK and cashes two diamonds,
pitching the CQ, and now has only two spades and a trump
to lose. Not so.

If declarer draws two rounds of trumps before setting up
the spades, East can win the first spade, cash HQ and force
declarer to ruff a minor suit card, taking out the only
entry to the spades prematurely. If he does not draw the
trumps, East wins the first spade and plays DJ, allowing
West to pitch a spade. When declarer plays a second spade,
East wins and plays the third round, allowing West to ruff.

The end result was 1 IMP to France, but both sides missed
a chance to gain a major swing.

We were all ready to roll with the above story when P.O.
Sundelin came in and showed us that, of course, had
declarer not been so tempted by the Morton's Fork play
of the C9 at trick two in 4H, the contract was cold.
Simply play the CQ instead.

Whatever East does you will now be in a position to
eliminate both minors without using up all your entries to
dummy so will be able to get over there at the crucial
moment to endplay East with the third heart.  The point is
that East can no longer afford to duck the first club so
the king becomes the extra entry. And if he does duck the
club, you just lead a second round and the king becomes a
winner so there is no need to ruff a club.
********************************************************
                      Press Conference

World Bridge Federation President Jose' Damiani will
conduct a press conference.  Immediately following the
conference there will be a cocktail party in celebration of
Panos Gerontopoulos of Greece being name d IBPA Bridge
Personality of the Year.
********************************************************
                         Bien Joue'
                       By Mark Horton

The French women had a tough time in their semifinal
encounter with Germany, but on this board Catherine Saul
found a play that escaped the notice of the Vugraph
commentators.
              Board 21. N/S Vul. Dealer North.

                            S 52
                            H T84
                            D KJ954
                            C AT3
                  S K986              S AQJ3
                  H 972               H AQ53
                  D Q                 D A72
                  C QJ765             C 92
                            S T74
                            H KJ6
                            D T863
                            C K84

Catherine was declarer in the popular contract of 4S. She
got the opening lead of the D3, which went to the queen,
king and ace. She played a club which South instinctively
ducked (declarer has no hope if South goes up with the CK
and forces dummy with a diamond.) North won with the CQ
with the CA and switched to a heart (a diamond is still a
winning defense.)

Thus far play has followed the line taken by the USA I
declarer in their match against China and at this point
declarer played low. South won with the HJ and forced dummy
with a diamond which meant the contract had to go one down.

Catherine demonstrated a superior line. She went up with
the HA and cashed the SA and SQ. Now she led her last club
and South was helpless. She could win and force the dummy
but declarer could ruff, draw the last trump and enjoy the
clubs.

Needless to say, the way the match was going it proved to
be a flat board -- there was a misdefense in the other
room.
********************************************************
                     Semi-final Set 4.

There were several interesting deals in Monday evening's
fourth set of the semi-finals.
              Board 51. E/W Vul. Dealer South.

                           S Q743
                           H Q
                           D J9432
                           C 953
                 S K2               S AT98
                 H 8753             H KT2
                 D 7                D AK86
                 C QJT876           C 42
                           S J65
                           H AJ964
                           D QT5
                           C AK

Meckstroth/Rodwell reached 3C from the West seat on the
lead of the HQ from Perron.Jeff  Meckstroth ducked and
Perron switched to a low spade, dummy's eight winning the
trick. Meckstroth played a spade to the king, a diamond to
dummy and cashed the SA and DK, pitching hearts. Now he
played a club. Chemla won and played two rounds of hearts
and Meckstroth ruffed high and made the key play, returning
a low club to avoid the trump promotion. An excellently
played +110.  Perron gained his revenge on the next deal.
------------------------------------------------------
              Board 52. Game All. Dealer West.

                           S T96
                           H AKJT32
                           D K6
                           C T6
                  S KQJ5            S A87
                  H 8               H 964
                  D J987            D QT
                  C J873            C AK954
                           S 432
                           H Q75
                           D A5432
                           C Q2

In France v USA 11, both Norths played 3H on the lead of
two top clubs. The French East fell from grace when he
continued with a third club, making things rather easy for
Bobby Wolff.

Eric Rodwell switched to a low trump.  Perron won in hand
and played three rounds of diamonds, ruffing high. Then he
led a low trump and finessed dummy's seven to give himself
the extra entry required. Finally, he ruffed another
diamond high and drew the last trump with the queen and
cashed the last diamond; +140.
---------------------------------------------------------
              Board 58. Game All. Dealer East.

                           S 764
                           H 764
                           D K842
                           C Q62
                 S JT2              S AKQ9
                 H Q92              H AJ53
                 D QJ9765           D A
                 C 7                C K853
                           S 853
                           H KT8
                           D T3
                           C AJT94

Several East/Wests played 3NT which, on the face of it,
should fail.  Rodwell played from the East hand and Chemla
led the CJ to the two and queen. But when Rodwell played on
hearts, Chemla could not be sure who held the CQ and exited
with a diamond on winning his HK. That was +600 for
Rodwell.

In the other room, Lebel declared from the West seat. The
auction had made the best lead unclear and Wolff began with
H7 to the ten and queen. Lebel cashed the DA and made the
fine play of the HJ from dummy.

This is a legitimate line, succeeding if South has both red
kings as declarer can establish and cash a second diamond
without North getting in to lead a club through. But Bob
Hamman saw a way to beat the hand if West had a different
holding, with only two spades missing the jack and strong
diamonds.

He allowed the HJ to hold the trick! Had declarer held the
hoped for hand, he would have been cut off from the
diamonds and eventually have to play four rounds of spades
to give North the lead.  But in real life, all Hamman's
imaginative defense achieved was to give Lebel nine tricks
- just another dull push!

In Canada v Sweden, Kokish/Silver stopped safely in 3D,
making an overtrick. Fallenius played 3NT at the other
table after Boris Baran, sitting South, had taken the
opportunity to double a 2C enquiry bid from East. Marc
Molson led CQ and Fallenius ducked. But Baran was taking no
chances that the CQ was bare.

He overtook with the ace and continued the CJ. When
Fallenius had to play on hearts, Baran was there with
enough club winners to defeat the contract. 6 well deserved
IMPs for Canada.
----------------------------------------------------------
Slams played a big part in the set. Take these two back-to-
back efforts from the France v USA 11 Open Room.
             Board 55. Game All. Dealer South.

                           S K
                           H QT974
                           D AKT64
                           C AQ
                 S 42                S Q8653
                 H KJ5               H A62
                 D J9                D 83
                 C 976542            C JT8
                           S AJT97
                           H 83
                           D Q752
                           C K3

               West    North    East     South
               Lebel   Wolff   Cronier  Hamman
                                         Pass
               Pass      1C     Pass      1S
               Pass      2H     Pass      2S
               Pass      3D     Pass      4D
               Pass      5C     Pass      5S
               Pass      6D    All Pass

You might have thought that the control showing response to
the strong club would simplify matters but it didn't work
out that way. Clearly Hamman just assumed that Wolff would
have a control in his first suit, hence the grand slam try
of 5S. There are a couple of lies which allow the slam to
come home but justice was done this time; -100 and a badly
needed swing to France who were struggling to catch up in
the match.
              Board 56. Love All. Dealer West.
                           S 82
                           H K653
                           D 7643
                           C 542
                  S AQT5           S K9643
                  H T7             H QJ982
                  D AKQ85          D --
                  C AQ             C JT3
                           S J7
                           H A4
                           D JT92
                           C K9876

By an eery coincidence, Hamman/Wolff had a chance for
revenge on the very next board. This was the auction:

               West    North   East    South
               Lebel   Wolff   Cronier Hamman
                2C     Pass     2D      Pass
               2NT     Pass     3H      Pass
                4S     Pass     5D      Pass
                6S    All Pass

When Lebel broke the transfer, Cronier felt he was worth a
slam try, which seems reasonable enough to me. But he was
cuebidding a shortage and had bypassed clubs; surely,
thought Lebel, he must have at least the HK. Whatever the
rights and wrongs of this logic, Lebel bid the slam. Wolff
knew Lebel must have a heart control. He led a club to the
jack, king and ace, so Lebel did not even need the 4-4
diamond break; +980.  How do you thing Hamman/Wolff felt at
this moment? They would have felt a little better had they
known this board was flat! Meckstroth/Rodwell also played
6S on the same defense.
----------------------------------------------------------
              Board 63. N/S Vul. Dealer South.

                            S 64
                            H 8
                            D AQT983
                            C AJ62
                    S 97                S J
                    H AJ97              H QT543
                    D 542               D KJ7
                    C QT54              C K873
                            S AKQT8532
                            H K62
                            D 6
                            C 9

This board was quite remarkable in that only in Canada v
Sweden did both tables manage to stop in game. In all the
other three matches one table played game, the other slam.
Good news for the teams in game? Not a bit of it! Despite
the fact that even 5S is too high on a trump lead, all
three times that slam was played it came home. Now how do
you like that?
********************************************************
                France v USA 11 (Set 5 Open)

Going into the penultimate set of the semi-final matches,
Canada and USA 11 held useful if not decisive leads over
Sweden and France respectively. We will concentrate on
France v USA 11, but with occasional glances at the other
match.
              Board 66. N/S Vul. Dealer East.

                           S KQT643
                           H 3
                           D K
                           C AK654
                   S J95             S 7
                   H K82             H AJ97654
                   D 432             D 95
                   C Q973            C T82
                           S A82
                           H QT
                           D AQJT876
                           C J
Open Room

               West    North    East    South
           Meckstroth  Perron  Rodwell  Chemla
                                 3D      Dbl
                4H       4S     All Pass

Closed Room
               West    North   East    South
               Lebel   Wolff   Cronier Hamman
                                3H      4D
                4H       5S    Pass     6S
                7H      Dbl   All Pass

Over Rodwell's transfer pre-empt, Chemla's double merely
showed diamonds, hence Perron's quiet 4S bid. There was no
question of Chemla bidding on and the pre-empt had done its
job very well; +680.  Over the natural pre-empt, Bob Hamman
bid his suit, leaving Bobby Wolff with an awkward call over
Lebel's 4H. He solved his problem very effectively with a
jump to 5S and Hamman gave him six. That contract would
have made, of course, so Lebel's save actually saved an IMP
for France. 7H-6; -1400. 12 IMPs to USA 11.
---------------------------------------------------------
              Board 68. Game All. Dealer West.

                           S 943
                           H A74
                           D 52
                           C KJT75
                 S 62                S AJT7
                 H T8                H J52
                 D KJT83             D AQ9
                 C 9862              C Q43
                           S KQ85
                           H KQ963
                           D 764
                           C A

Open Room
               West     North   East    South
           Meckstroth  Perron  Rodwell  Chemla
               Pass     Pass     1D      1H
               Pass      2H     Pass     3D
               Dbl       4H    All Pass

Closed Room
               West    North   East    South
               Lebel   Wolff   Cronier Hamman
               Pass    Pass     1C      Dbl
               Pass     1NT    Pass      2H
               Pass      3H   All Pass

The Americans stopped safely in 3H in the Closed Room,
making exactly; +140. I doubt that they saw this board as
a potential loss, but Chemla/Perron bid to game in the
Open Room. Jeff Meckstroth led S6 against 4H. Best is for
East to duck as declarer has problems with entries, but
the lead is easier to read from declarer's seat than from
East's - particularly after East has thought for a long
time before playing to trick one. Rodwell finally rose with
the ace and returned the S7 and Chemla put in the eight!
After that it was a simple matter to pitch a diamond on the
CK and claim ten tricks; +620 and 10 IMPs to France.
----------------------------------------------------------
              Board 69. N/S Vul. Dealer North.

                           S J
                           H J6432
                           D 965
                           C Q643
                  S 972             S AK843
                  H KT75            H A98
                  D QT83            D AKJ2
                  C A8              C K
                           S QT65
                           H Q
                           D 74
                           C JT9752

In France v USA 11, this one was flat in 4S+1, while a
number of pairs around the room were going down in slam,
including Wirgren/Bennet for Sweden. Only one pair reached
the top spot.

               West    North     East    South
              Kokish  Nilsland  Silver  Fallenius
                       Pass       1S      Pass
               2S      Pass       3C (1)  Pass
               3H (2)  Pass       4D (3)  Pass
               5D (3)  Pass       6D     All Pass

               (1) Short suit game try
               (2) Heart values
               (3) Natural

Nicely done  and worth 14 IMPs to Canada.
--------------------------------------------------------
              Board 70. E/W Vul. Dealer East.

                           S AQT4
                           H 95
                           D A762
                           C A74
                  S 8632           S 75
                  H Q84            H AKT73
                  D JT9            D Q84
                  C 952            C QT8
                           S KJ9
                           H J62
                           D K53
                           C KJ63

Open Room
               West     North   East    South
           Meckstroth  Perron  Rodwell  Chemla
                                 1H     Pass
                1S      Pass    1NT     Pass
                2H      Dbl    Pass      3C
              All Pass

Closed Room
               West    North   East    South
               Lebel   Wolff   Cronier Hamman
                                1H     Pass
               Pass    Dbl     Pass     2H
               Dbl     Pass    Pass    Rdbl
               Pass     3S     Pass     4S
             All Pass

The Americans did very well in the Closed Room. By the time
the critical decision arrived, Hamman knew he was facing
extra values and a strong four card spade suit, enabling
him to make the winning choice. 4S has no problems as the
cards lie and Wolff soon chalked up +420.

Jeff Meckstroth showed one of the benefits of a strong club
system when he responded super light in the Open Room - not
that every strong club player would show such enterprise at
this vulnerability. After this start 4S was out of the
picture. Though Perron balanced, 3C+2 was the best the
French could manage; +150 but 7 IMPs to USA 11.
----------------------------------------------------------
             Board 71. Game All. Dealer South.

                           S QJ3
                           H 832
                           D 654
                           C K864
                   S A82            S 96
                   H KJ4            H AT965
                   D A973           D T8
                   C T75            C AQ92
                           S KT754
                           H Q7
                           D KQJ2
                           C J3
Open Room
               West    North    East    South
           Meckstroth  Perron  Rodwell  Chemla
                                         1S
               Pass     1NT      2H     Pass
                2S      Dbl     Pass    Pass
               Rdbl     Pass     3H     Pass
                3S      Pass     3NT   All Pass

Closed Room
               West    North    East    South
               Lebel   Wolff   Cronier  Hamman
                                         1S
               Pass     1NT     Pass     2D
               Pass      2S     Dbl     Pass
                2NT   All Pass

The Americans did very well at both tables. In the Closed
Room, Wolff led spades against 2NT. Lebel got the hearts
wrong and Hamman cashed his spades then switched to the D2.
Thinking that North had a diamond honor, declarer played
South for CK and was one down; -100.

In the Open Room, the Americans reached game and Rodwell's
hopes were raised when Chemla led DK instead of a spade.
Rodwell won the ace and passed the C10 to Chemla's jack. He
cashed DJ and Perron signalled with his higher remaining
diamond so Chemla switched to spades, Rodwell winning the
second round.  Rodwell thought for a long while now; did
Chemla have HQ or doubleton C K J for his opening bid?
Eventually Rodwell took the club finesse then ran the H10
and had an overtrick. 12 IMPs to USA 11.
---------------------------------------------------------
              Board 72. Love All. Dealer West.

                           S QT8754
                           H T5
                           D K642
                           C 4
                  S 92              S A3
                  H 42              H QJ98
                  D QJT83           D A9
                  C Q963            C AJT82
                           S KJ6
                           H AK763
                           D 75
                           C K75

Open Room
               West    North    East    South
           Meckstroth  Perron  Rodwell  Chemla
               Pass    Pass      1C      1H
               Pass     1S       2C      2S
                3C      3S     All Pass

Closed Room
               West    North   East    South
               Lebel   Wolff  Cronier  Hamman
               Pass     2S      Dbl     4S
             All Pass

The strong club opening in the Open Room put a dampener on
North/South's ambitions and they stopped safely in 3S,
making an overtrick when the CA was ducked; +170.  In the
Closed Room, Wolff's weak two opening was raised to game
over the takeout double. After a heart lead, the defense
made no mistake; -50 and 6 IMPs to France.  In Canada vs
Sweden, Canada made 4S on the lead of the DA.
--------------------------------------------------------
             Board 75. Love All. Dealer South.

                            S KQ97
                            H J6
                            D Q2
                            C AQJT3
                   S AJ62             S T3
                   H 932              H AQT854
                   D AK               D 875
                   C K985             C 62
                            S 854
                            H K7
                            D JT9643
                            C 74
Open Room
               West     North   East    South
            Meckstroth  Perron  Rodwell Chemla
                                         Pass
                1NT      Pass    2D      Pass
                 2H      Dbl    Pass      3D
              All Pass

Closed Room
               West   North   East    South
               Lebel  Wolff  Cronier Hamman
                                      Pass
                1NT    Pass    2D     Pass
                 2H     3C     4H    All Pass

We have seen so often at these championships how small
differences in no trump range can create swings. Here, Eric
Rodwell was facing a 14-16 no trump and was prepared to go
quietly over Chemla's 3D, while Philippe Cronier was facing
15-18 and leaped to 4H on the second round.

Meckstroth led a heart against 3D and Rodwell won and
switched to S10. The defense duly collected its spade ruff
for one down; -50.  Bobby Wolff led SK against 4H. Lebel
won and returned the suit, establishing a discard for one
of dummy's clubs before South could gain the lead. He had
only three losers now; +420 and 9 IMPs to France.

There was also a swing in Canada v Sweden. Wirgren/Bennet
stopped in 3H, high enough from the East seat, and made it
exactly; +140.

Eric Kokish found himself in 3NT as West after North, Mats
Nilsland had overcalled 1S. Nilsland led C10, zero or two
higher.

Theoretically, Kokish needs to duck this, but there was a
possibility of a blockage if the lead was to be believed.
If he does duck, Nilsland must switch to a top spade to
establish the fifth defensive trick for when South gets in
to lead a second club. But Kokish won the club and finessed
the HQ.  Bjorn Fallenius won his king and led a spade; nine
tricks and +400 to Canada; 6 IMPs.
-----------------------------------------------------------
             Board 77. Game All. Dealer North.

                            S A9
                            H K3
                            D AQJ2
                            C T8762
                  S T7               S KQJ853
                  H AQ4              H 76
                  D KT9874           D 63
                  C A9               C QJ3
                            S 642
                            H JT9852
                            D 5
                            C K54

This was a disaster for France. In the Closed Room,
Lebel/Cronier were going down in 3NT as East/West.
Meanwhile, in the Open Room:

               West    North    East    South
           Meckstroth  Perron  Rodwell  Chemla
                        1C       1S     Pass
                2C     Pass      2S      3H
               3NT      4H      Pass    Pass
               Dbl   All Pass

Chemla's 3H bid looks wild at the prevailing vulnerability
- it would not have that much to commend it at favorable.
What Perron expected for the bid is unclear but his 4H was
not a success; four down for -1100 and 14 IMPs to USA 11.

Was the 4H bid clear? Facing queen, jack seventh or similar
4H might be no worse than the diamond finesse while 3NT
could still be on for East/West so my sympathies are with
Perron.
---------------------------------------------------------
              Board 78. Love All. Dealer East.

                           S AKT3
                           H K3
                           D K863
                           C KJT
                  S QJ74            S 852
                  H T874            H 9
                  D A95             D JT7
                  C 65              C AQ9843
                           S 96
                           H AQJ652
                           D Q42
                           C 72

Most tables saw North/South going down in 4H - you have to
lose two diamonds and two clubs or one diamond, two clubs
plus a trump promotion. 3NT is untouchable, however, and
here are two successful auctions to that spot.

               West    North    East    South
           Meckstroth  Perron  Rodwell  Chemla
                                Pass      2H
               Pass     2NT     Pass     3NT (i)
             All Pass

             (i) Maximum with good hearts

               West    North     East    South
              Kokish  Nilsland  Silver  Fallenius
                                 Pass     Pass
               Pass     1C (1)    2C       2H
               Pass    2NT       Pass      3C
               Pass     3S       Pass     3NT
              All Pass

               (1) Mini no trump or strong and artificial

The Swedes do not play a weak two opening in hearts, hence
Fallenius's initial pass. He bid his hearts next time, of
course, then took a slow route to 3NT to express doubt
about the correct contract. Nilsland's club holding looked
more suitable for notrump than for hearts so he passed.
Well judged.
---------------------------------------------------------
              Board 79. N/S Vul. Dealer South.

                            S 5
                            H 7652
                            D T7432
                            C KT6
                   S AJ7              S 82
                   H Q43              H T8
                   D KJ9              D AQ85
                   C Q973             C J8542
                            S KQT9643
                            H AKJ9
                            D 6
                            C A

In our two matches, each featured one strong club pair
sitting North/South and one natural pair. The strong
club'ers both reached 4S and when West did not make the
mistake of leading a heart at any point, had to go one
down.

Chemla and Mittelman each opened 1S and played there
for +170 and 7 IMPs to France and Canada. This was a
particularly good view on the part of Chemla who could
have opened 2C to show a strong, but not game forcing
hand, based on a major suit - which looks a fair
description of that South hand.
------------------------------------------------------
              Board 80. E/W Vul. Dealer West.

                          S K8765
                          H Q4
                          D K972
                          C T9
                 S QT42            S 93
                 H 763             H AKT852
                 D Q863            D 4
                 C 87              C K642
                          S AJ
                          H J9
                          D AJT5
                          C AQJ53

In France v USA 11, both Norths declared 4S after East had
bid his hearts. There is a winning line after two top
hearts and a diamond switch, or indeed a club switch, but
neither declarer found the play of ace then jack of spades,
preferring to rely on the finesse of the jack.

In Canada v Sweden, the same contract was again played at
both tables, but this time that contract was 3NT.  Open
Room
               West    North     East    South
              Kokish  Nilsland  Silver  Fallenius
               Pass    Pass       1H       2C
                2H     Pass      Pass     Dbl
               Pass     2S       Pass      3C
               Pass    3NT     All Pass

Closed Room
               West    North    East      South
              Bennet  Gitelman  Wirgren  Mittelman
               Pass    Pass      2H (1)     3C
               Pass     3NT    All Pass

               (1) 7-11, 5-5 or 6-4, hearts and a minor

I think Nilsland took a very big position when he bid 3NT
in the Open Room and it did not pay off. Joey Silver led
his hearts from the top with a broad grin on his face and
that was two down; -100.

Gitelman also bid 3NT but here there had been no heart
raise from West. It was still a serious gamble as there was
no guarantee that there would be nine tricks even if
Gitelman survived the opening lead.  At this table, fortune
favored the brave.

Wirgren led a low heart and a couple of finesses later
Gitelman had ten tricks stacked in front of him; +430 and
11 IMPs to Canada.  You may have spotted that most of the
swings we have mentioned were to Canada.  At the end of the
set the Canadians led 190-109 and were just 16 boards away
from their first ever appearance in a Bermuda Bowl final.
Meanwhile, USA 11 had crept a little further away from
France and led 183-141; still not quite decisive but a
healthy position to be in.
********************************************************
                Canada v Sweden (Set 3 Open)

After 32 boards, Canada led Sweden by 69-55 in their
Marlboro Bermuda Bowl semi-final. Set three started with
both East/West pairs finding the good 4S save over 4H on
Board 1, each conceding -300; no swing.
              Board 34. N/S Vul. Dealer East.

                            S J4
                            H AQ
                            D KJT953
                            C 962
                  S KQ8652           S A93
                  H K63              H J9542
                  D --               D AQ82
                  C KQT8             C 4
                            S T7
                            H T87
                            D 764
                            C AJ753

Open Room

               West      North   East   South
            Bjerregard  Molson  Morath  Baran
                                  1H     Pass
                1S        2D      2S     Pass
                4D       Pass     4S    All Pass

Closed Room

               West    North    East    South
               Kokish  Wirgren  Silver  Bennet
                                 1H      Pass
                1S      2D       2S      Pass
                4D     Pass      4S      Pass
                5D     Pass      5S     All Pass

The two auctions were identical all the way up to West's
decision over 4S. Bjerregard decided to respect Morath's
sign-off while Kokish felt he had to make one more try.
Though Bjerregard made eleven tricks after a diamond lead,
allowing him to get two diamond discards for hearts, 5S
proved to be one too high in the other room, where Wirgren
led a safe club. There was nowhere for the two hearts
losers to go now and Kokish was one down; 11 IMPs to
Sweden, 66-69.
--------------------------------------------------------
Canada got the points back in smaller doses.
              Board 35. E/W Vul. Dealer South.

                           S T842
                           H J2
                           D 86
                           C AJ842
                 S AKQ              S 73
                 H 73               H QT98654
                 D 42               D AT7
                 C QT7653           C 9
                           S J965
                           H AK
                           D KQJ953
                           C K
Open Room
               West    North    East   South
           Bjerregard  Molson  Morath  Baran
                                        1D
                2C      Pass     2H     3D
             All Pass

Closed Room
               West    North     East   South
               Kokish  Wirgren  Silver  Bennet
                                         1D
               Pass      1S      Pass    2NT
               Pass      3C      Pass    3S
               Pass      4S     All Pass

Where Bjerregard overcalled, North/South never got their
spades into the game, playing in 3D. Bjerregard led two top
spades, discovered that his partner had an even number, and
switched to a diamond. That was the end of the defense;
+110. Had he realized that the even number was two,
Bjerregard could have cashed his third spade, enabling
Morath to pitch his singleton club. Now a club ruff leads
to one down.

In the Closed Room, Kokish did not overcall and now the
Swedes found the spade fit, but the lure of game proved too
strong and they were one too high; -50 and 4 IMPs to
Canada, 73-66.
---------------------------------------------------------
              Board 36. Game All. Dealer West.

                           S T98
                           H K32
                           D AQ
                           C A9852
                  S 54             S AKQ7
                  H 985            H QJT74
                  D 876            D JT32
                  C KT764          C --
                           S J632
                           H A6
                           D K954
                           C QJ3
Open Room
               West    North   East    South
           Bjerregard  Molson  Morath  Baran
               Pass      1C     1H      Dbl
               Pass     1NT    Pass     2NT
             All Pass

Closed Room
               West    North    East    South
               Kokish  Wirgren  Silver  Bennet
               Pass     1C       1H     Dbl
               Pass     1S      Pass    Pass
                2H     All Pass

Around the room, several North/South pairs were going down
in what is a pretty good 3NT game because of the 5-0 club
break. The Canadians did well to stop in 2NT in the Open
Room and Molson played carefully to make it, winning the
heart lead in hand to lead a low club to the queen; +120.

In the Closed Room, Wirgren's 1C was either strong or a
mini no trump and the 1S rebid consistent with the latter.
Still, Bennet's decision to defend 2H seems a trifle
conservative. The defense led three rounds of hearts. It
seems that there are six losers, but in fact the contract
is cold. Try finding discards from the South hand and work
through the play. For example, if South pitches two clubs
on the third and fourth hearts, declarer cashes three
spades and exits with a diamond, trapping North.  Whatever
the defense tries, the diamond blockage sees declarer home.
+110; 6 IMPs to Canada.
---------------------------------------------------------
The next two boards were flat and Sweden picked up 3 IMPs
for an extra undertrick on Board 7. Then came a triumph for
the good old weak no trump.
              Board 40. Love All. Dealer West.

                           S QT7
                           H K9873
                           D A9
                           C K52
                  S 542            S K963
                  H AQ             H 5
                  D KQ3            D JT8542
                  C JT974          C 63
                           S AJ8
                           H JT642
                           D 76
                           C AQ8
Open Room
               West    North    East   South
           Bjerregard  Molson  Morath  Baran
                1C       1H     Pass    4H
             All Pass

Closed Room
               West    North     East   South
               Kokish  Wirgren  Silver  Bennet
               1NT     Pass       2C     Pass
                2D     Pass      Pass    Dbl
               Pass     2H     All Pass

After the two-way Swedish club opening, it was routine for
North/South to reach their game; +450.

In the Closed Room, however, the combination of weak no
trump and Stayman response left the Swedes in a balancing
auction. Wirgren might have viewed to bid more than 2H but
it was all rather murky. Sweden scored +200 but that meant
6 IMPs to Canada; 85-69.

In the Venice Cup, the Chinese ladies gained 11 IMPs when
again the weak no trump struck. This time East passed and
1NT became the final contract. Even better, it was allowed
to make after a heart lead into the ace, queen and heart
continuation when in with the DA. This was, however, nearly
all the good news the Chinese had in the set as USA 1
forged ahead.
---------------------------------------------------------
              Board 41. E/W Vul. Dealer North.

                            S 92
                            H AQ76
                            D KJ
                            C AQ754
                 S KQJ8543           S --
                 H KJ9               H 842
                 D 74                D QT953
                 C T                 C KJ986
                           S AT76
                           H T53
                           D A862
                           C 32
Open Room
               West    North    East   South
           Bjerregard  Molson  Morath  Baran
                        1NT     Pass    Pass
                2S       3C     Dbl     Pass
                4S      Pass    Pass    Dbl
             All Pass

Closed Room
               West    North     East   South
               Kokish  Wirgren  Silver  Bennet
                        1NT      Pass    Pass
                2C      Pass     Pass    Dbl
                2S      Dbl    All Pass

In the Closed Room, Kokish showed an unspecified single
suiter and Silver, suspecting which the suit was, decided
to pass. When Bennet doubled for takeout, Kokish thought it
best to run to the safety of his seven card suit. But it
wasn't so safe after all.

Wirgren doubled for takeout, ending the auction, and led
the S9. Bennet ducked, of course, and Kokish lost the
obvious seven tricks; -500.  But that was as nothing
compared to the carnage in the Open Room.

Bjerregard made a natural overcall and Molson decided to
take a second bid on the North hand. His side was in
trouble when Morath made a penalty double, but were saved
when Bjerregard to OK a flyer at 4S. Baran doubled that
with relish. Molson did very well, finding the best lead
of DK.

He led a second diamond to the ace and now Baran also did
well, switching to the H10 to the jack and queen.  Molson
took both his aces then played a third heart.  Bjerregard
won and tried the SJ but Baran won and played a diamond,
ruffed and over ruffed. There was still S10 to come; five
down, -1400 and 14 IMPs to Canada. They now led by 99-69.
--------------------------------------------------------
Sweden gained an overtrick IMP on Board 10, then:
             Board 43. Love All. Dealer South.

                          S QJT96
                          H --
                          D QT98
                          C 8753
                  S 52             S 74
                  H Q2             H AK98764
                  D A6532          D 4
                  C KQJ9           C A64
                           S AK83
                           H JT53
                           D KJ7
                           C T2
Open Room
               West    North    East   South
           Bjerregard  Molson  Morath  Baran
                                        1H
               Pass     1S      Pass    2S
             All Pass
Closed Room
               West    North     East   South
               Kokish  Wirgren  Silver  Bennet
                                         1C
                1D      1H (1)    2H     2S
                3H      Dbl       4C     Pass
                4H     All Pass

                (1) Spades

As you can see, East/West are cold for 4H and Kokish/Silver
duly reached it in the Closed Room. But the Baran/Molson
methods shut East/West out completely in the Open Room.
Baran opened his four card heart suit and his side bid
peacefully to 2S. The defense did its best, taking two
diamond ruffs, but that was still +110 and 11 IMPs for
Canada; 110-69.
------------------------------------------------------
              Board 44. N/S Vul. Dealer West.

                           S K854
                           H QJT3
                           D 97
                           C AJ9
                 S J96              S A32
                 H 4                H 85
                 D AKT632           D QJ84
                 C T82              C Q753
                           S QT7
                           H AK9762
                           D 5
                           C K64

The swing here was only a minor one but there was plenty of
action. Sitting West, Kokish opened with a natural weak two
in diamonds. Wirgren found a desperately thin takeout
double and Silver jumped to 5D. The winning action is to
double, but Bennet can hardly be blamed for bidding 5H.
The spade position meant that 5H had to go one down; -50.
A good board for the weak 2D opening? Not a bit of it.

In the Open Room, Bjerregard, who did not have that option,
opened 3D instead. Molson passed but again Morath leaped to
5D. Here, 5H is less understandable, though still tempting.
Baran bid it and Molson, expecting a better hand, raised to
six, also a little pushy. 6H lost the same three tricks as
5H so that was -100 and 2 IMPs to Sweden; 71-110.
---------------------------------------------------------
The next two boards were flat then Sweden moved a little
closer.
              Board 47. N/S Vul. Dealer South.

                           S K432
                           H Q9
                           D KT763
                           C J3
                  S QT85            S 97
                  H T85             H AKJ64
                  D 54              D J982
                  C A654            C T7
                           S AJ6
                           H 732
                           D AQ
                           C KQ982
Open Room
               West    North    East   South
           Bjerregard  Molson  Morath  Baran
                                        1NT
               Pass      2C      2H     Pass
               Pass      2S     All Pass

Closed Room
               West    North     East   South
               Kokish  Wirgren  Silver  Bennet
                                         1NT
               Pass     Pass      2H     Pass
               Pass     Dbl      Pass    3C
             All Pass

Notrump range made a difference again. Baran's 1NT was
strong and Molson was worth a try for game so used Stayman.
Morath came in with a dangerous looking overcall and now
Molson could see that game was quite unlikely. His 2S
showed only four cards and was non-forcing. With no heart
stopper, Baran judged that 2S was high enough. In fact, it
was to prove one too high.

Morath cashed two top hearts then switched to a diamond.
Molson won the queen and led a club to the jack and a
second club to the ace. Bjerregard led a third club and
Molson discarded a diamond as Morath ruffed. Now came a
third heart. Molson ruffed but had two trump losers to
come; -100.

Bennet's notrump was 14-16 so Wirgren decided he was not
worth a move.  Silver balanced with 2H and Wirgren doubled
for takeout.  Bennet bid 3C and, with the fall of the C10,
that proved to be a very comfortable contract; +110 and 5
IMPs to Sweden, 78-110.
--------------------------------------------------------
The set ended with a 6 IMP pick-up for Canada when
Molson/Baran bid and made a normal looking game which was
missed in the other room. That made the half-time score
116-78 to Canada who had played pretty well at both tables.
********************************************************
                  United States vs. France

France of course was hoping for a series of boards that
would lend themselves to swings during the final 16 deals,
but their hopes were smashed -- too many of the hands were
ordinary. As a result the Americans advanced to the final
where they will face Canada, their northern neighbors. This
will be only the second time in history that two North
American teams will battle in the Bermuda Bowl final.

The first time this occurred was in 1977 in Manila, the
Philippines, when two United States teams faced off in the
final. In those days, the defending champion automatically
won an invitation to the next championship, and the United
States won in 1976, so that was one team. And the other was
the winner of the American trials. As a result of this
situation, the WBF rules were changed and the defending
champion no longer received an automatic invitation.

Even though France never closed in on the American over the
last 32 boards, there still was plenty of interesting
bridge. As usual on Vugraph, they started the session with
the last four boards. The first good action came on Board
95, the third board in play.

              Board 95. N/S Vul. Dealer South.

                            S J42
                            H 93
                            D T962
                            C K832
                   S 3               S 876
                   H AJ2             H KT87654
                   D KJ753           D Q
                   C J765            C Q9
                            S AKQT95
                            H Q
                            D A84
                            C AT4

Open Room
               West    North    East    South
           Meckstroth  Perron  Rodwell  Chemla
                                         2D (1)
               Pass     2H      Pass     2S
               Pass     4S     All Pass

              (1) Multi

This was the kind of board the French wanted to see. Perron
came home with 10 tricks, but the bidding went differently
at the other table.

Closed Room
               West    North     East     South
              Soulet   Wolff   Reiplinger Hamman
                                           1C
                2H      Pass      3H       4S
                5H !    Pass     Pass      Dbl
             All Pass

That's right -- Soulet decided to give the auction a bit of
a push. Wolff and Hamman judged well to double rather than
push on, but the 300-point set translated into 7 IMPs for
France.
---------------------------------------------------------
The next board could well have been a major swing to
France, but it didn't work out that way.

              Board 96. E/W Vul. Dealer West.

                           S QT6
                           H AKQ82
                           D 76
                           C K85
                  S J7               S 85
                  H J7654            H --
                  D Q982             D KT53
                  C Q2               C AJT9764
                           S AK9432
                           H T93
                           D AJ4
                           C 3

Closed Room
               West    North     East     South
              Soulet   Wolff   Reiplinger Hamman
               Pass     1H        4C       4S
             All Pass

Reiplinger's preempt made it difficult for Hamman and Wolff
to judge the strength of their fit, and they decided to
rest in game. But in the other room:

Open Room
               West     North    East   South
            Meckstroth Perron  Rodwell  Chemla
               Pass      1H       2C      2S
               Pass      3S      Pass     4C
               Pass      4H      Pass    4NT
               Pass      5D      Pass     6S
               Pass    Pass      Dbl    All Pass

France's chances for a big gain were crushed because
Rodwell had a void in hearts. The defense was quick,
Meckstroth led a heart for Rodwell to ruff and Rodwell
cashed the CA. That was 11 IMPs to the United States
instead of what might have been 11 to France.
-----------------------------------------------------
France got to a pedestrian 2C on Board 81, the next deal
played after Board 96. Soulet made plus 130, but the action
was in the Open Room.

             Board 81. Love All. Dealer North.

                        S T9 
                        H AK52 
                        D AT432 
                        C 53 
             S A                 S KJ764 
             H T63               H Q9874 
             D 98                D KJ 
             C AKQT942           C 8 
                        S Q8532 
                        H J 
                        D Q765 
                        C J76 
               
               West    North    East    South
            Meckstroth Perron  Rodwell  Chemla
                        1D       2D      Pass
               4H !   All Pass

The defense started with the DA and a diamond was continued
to the king. Meckstroth led a spade to the ace and led a
trump. Yes, he went up with the queen! When Chemla dropped
the jack, Meckstroth was reasonably sure it was an honest
card. So he began running the clubs. When the third club
hit the table, Perron faced a dilemma -- no matter what he
did he wasn't stop the game. If he ruffed low, Meckstroth
would over ruff, ruff a spade back to dummy and continue
running clubs.  Perron actually ruffed high, cashed his
other high trump and led another. But the 10 was in dummy -
- and so were all the good clubs. Another 7 to the U.S.
----------------------------------------------------------
Meckwell bidding played a part in keeping the French out of
game on Board 85.

              Board 85. N/S Vul. Dealer North.

                           S J984
                           H 84
                           D --
                           C KT98752
                 S 7653               S AKT2
                 H K6                 H QJ
                 D A98653             D 742
                 C Q                  C J643
                           S Q
                           H AT97532
                           D KQJT
                           C A

In the Closed Room Hamman opened with 4H and lost the
obvious three tricks. But this was how it went in the Open
Room:

               West    North    East    South
           Meckstroth  Perron  Rodwell  Chemla
                                1NT (1)  2D (2)
               2NT     Pass     Pass     3H
            All Pass

                   (1) Weak -- 10-12 HCP
                   (2) Transfer to hearts

The notrump barrage was enough to convince Perron to pass
3H, so 10 more IMPs went to America.

France picked up 11 IMPs on Board 89 when they got to 4S,
making, while Meckstroth and Rodwell stopped in 2NT.
-----------------------------------------------------------
There wasn't much more action in this match, so the Vugraph
switched over to the Marlboro Venice Cup match between
China and the United States. The very first board on
Vugraph produced a 15 IMP swing.

              Board 90. Game All. Dealer East.

                           S KQ8
                           H Q986
                           D QJ632
                           C Q
                  S A954           S JT
                  H J73            H 2
                  D AT954          D K8
                  C 3              C AKT96542
                           S 7632
                           H AKT54
                           D 7
                           C J87

Open Room
               West    North      East     South
             Sanborn    Sun     McCallum  Wang Hong
                                   1C       1H
               Dbl      4C         5C      Pass
               Pass     Dbl     All Pass

The opening diamond lead went to the jack and ace, and
McCallum cashed the top clubs. Then she led the D8 to the
ace and the D10 back, covered by the queen. At this point
she claimed, making 5C.

Closed Room
               West  North     East        South
               Liu   Munson  Wang Li Ping  Simon
               3NT   All Pass

This contract was not a success -- on the lead of the HA
the defense took the first five tricks, and then more came
when they set up spades and the clubs didn't run. Down four
-- 1150 points and 15 IMPs.
----------------------------------------------------------
Surprisingly the Vugraph theater was well over half full --
there were close to 400 people watching even though none of
the matches were close. Quite often the 600-seat auditorium
has been completely filled, with another 100 or so bridge
fans sitting on the stairs. The spectators saw a fair
number of interesting hands -- but very little match
competition.

And so it's on to the finals today!
********************************************************
        1995 Marlboro Bermuda Bowl Semi Final End

Boards   16   32   48   64   80   96   Result
Sweden   20   35   23   10   21   48     157
Canada   28   41   47   17   57   28     218

Boards   16   32   48   64   80   96   Result
France   17   22   17   41   44   12     153
USA II   31   28   46   27   51   38     221
***************************************************
        1995 Marlboro Venice Cup Semi Final

Boards   16   32   48   64   80   96   Result 
France   30    5   13   26   45   45     164
Germany  36   64   65   50   26   16     257

Boards   16   32   48   64   80   96   Result 
China    11   27   28   51   31   37     185
USA I    24   55   53   43    4   40     259
****************************************************              
