Bulletin 26.06.00 - Nordic Bridge Union

NM 1988 was the
first win for Iceland
The Nordic championships 1988
where historical for Icelanders
because Iceland won the title in
Open-series for the first time. Players
in the team where Jón Baldursson,
Valur Sigurðsson, Karl
Sigurhjartarson, Sigurður Sverrisson,
Sævar Þorbjörnsson and Þorlákur
Jónsson. None of them is in the Open
team for the Nordic Championships
2000. The Nordic Championships
was unusually equal. Iceland
finished with 178 points, Sweden
just behind with 177, and Denmark
173. Finland and Norway where not
far away, finished with 149 and 148
points.
The last game between Iceland and
Denmark in the last round was very
difficult for Icelanders to watch.
After the first 10 boards the Danes
led by 43 imps to nil. But then the
Icelanders began to fight back, and
the game finished 15-15, Iceland
scoring 76 imps, and Denmark 73.
Meanwhile Norway had to get at
least 12 points in their match against
Sweden. 12 points was exactly what
they got! If Sweden had got 2 more
imps, they would have been
champions.
This hand was wery decisive in the
Iceland-Denmark match.
Hand 26. E/All
North
AK6
KJ98
AKQJ85
-
West East
Q10874
93
A65 1074
72 9
A97 KQJ8543
South
J52
Q32
10643
J62
Closed room
East South West North
Jón B. Mohr Valur Dam
3 pass 3 NT 4
Pass 4 Pass 5
Pass 5 Pass 6 ///
West´s lead was the ace of clubs and
after South had ruffed and drawn
trumps, revealing that he had 4
diamonds. EW saw that the slam
depended on the hearts as south´s
distribution had to be 3-3-4-3. When
South played hearts, both EW
showed an odd number by their
counting methods. Declarer decided
they where both lying, and played
for west hawing four hearts to the
ace and ten, thus getting only 11
tricks. When this board came on
rama, Iceland had the score of 100,
and prospects were good. Sævar and
Karl were playing against Stig
Werdelin and Lars Blakset, and
finished in 5 diamonds. Iceland won
12 imps which secured the title for
the Icelanders.
Narrow win in 1999
Last year Nordic Junior
Championships was played in
Iceland. Most of the time, Denmark
looked wery much like winners, both
in the older group and the school
group. But in the last two games,
Sweden got 43 points in the older
group out of possible 50, but
Denmark only 29 points. Sweden
finished as Champions with 169
points, and Denmark finished as
runners up with 167 points. In the
school group the Danish team
finished more than 20 VP ahead of
Sweden. Fredrik Nyström og Peter
Strömberg where players in the older
team, and did wery well. They are
now playing in the open team in the
upcoming Championships, and must
be anxious to do as well in this
tournament.
Aggressive bidding
and exact play
In match four Sweden lost their
game against Finland 9-21. But the
Swedes had their moments in this
game. In the second half, Tobias
Törnqvist and Henrik Noberius bid
wery agressively to 4 on this hand:
Board 27, S/0
North
AK863
KJ86
8
A72
West East
54
J972
Q953 107
KQ62 A9753
K108 Q4
South
Q10
A42
J104
J9653
South West North East
Tobias Henrik
Pass Pass 1 Pass
1 NT D RD 3
Pass Pass 3 Pass
4 Pass Pass D ///
East led the ace of diamonds and
another to partners queen. Tobias
did´nt want to shorten his trumps, so
he discarded a club, and another one
on the diamond king which followed.
West then switched to a club to
declarers ace. Now Tobias finessed
the spade ten, played the queen and
ruffed a club. Then he played the AK
of trumps. The second trump did two
things at the same time; pulled East´s
last trump and squeezed West in
hearts and clubs. West discarded a
heart, and then it only remained to
finesse the heart jack and win the
tenth trick with a small heart; 590 to
Sweden and a good swing.