Dubious Logic

Autumn In Paris

Why watch bridge?

Well, if you're seeking to impress your eccentricity on those yet to be afflicted then there can be few neater admissions to summarise your obsession. Furthermore you know you'll be submerged in the companionship and culture of fellow sufferers.

These personal concerns were in stark contrast to the circumstances that provided the opportunity to see the World Championships last autumn. It was the realpolitik of our times that brought the Bermuda Bowl and the women's event, the Venice Cup, to Paris from its original Indonesian venue. Uncomfortably close to the events of September 11 and bathed in the uncertainties shortly thereafter, it was no surprise that teams pulled from the journey to South East Asia. In fact I believe the US State Department advised against travel there. What would, indeed what could, the World Bridge Federation do?

In fact they made a very decent stab at the whole business, moving it lock, stock to Paris. This was not easy. A large amount of the hardware necessary to run the show was already en route to Bali. By boat. It had to be turned around and brought back westwards. At this notice there was no single venue and the event was split between the Stade de France for the first week and hotel that accommodated the players, organisers and press for the second. There was a certain sympathy, and though things were pretty well run that doesn't usually stop bridge folk from complaining; here they were very forgiving.

I could spare four days off work and so left for the knock out stages. I followed the round-robin on the Internet, bought my Eurostar tickets that way and got my stay booked via email. It was too easy not to go. I couldn't persuade anyone to accompany me though. I tried to talk my (life) partner Jean into it; nothing doing. Paris; the sights, the café culture, the galleries, the shops… No. Oddly when I mentioned it had moved from Bali that made it worse, 'I'd have gone there like a shot!' she said. Had she been off to a seminar in those places I would have turned my nose up at Bali and been delighted to go to Paris, isn't life strange?

If you haven't been to a championship level event before then it may be time for a brief description of the set-up. Match play is more suited to this and as normal, there are open and a close rooms with, in the early stages, many teams playing. The closed room is sealed but spectators are free to watch in the open suite. When screens are involved you are only allowed to watch one player, one side of the screen and you must keep to a single table (no 'following' a board). Also, they tend to allow entry and in the first few minutes of each session and no return. If that sounds inhibitory then it's to protect the players and because there's a much better alternative.

Major tournaments have VuGraph or Bridgerama. One (perhaps both) of these is a trade name but the effect is he same. The hands are projected for an audience in an auditorium. Bids and plays relayed from the table by a recorder are displayed alongside. This is from a room separate from the main (open or closed) collections. There is a video link as well; this helps to synchronise the comments and good camerawork enhances the dramatic elements. Typically they play deals 15 and 16 first in the VuGraph then revert to one onwards. By that simple mechanism results from the other room will now be available and the match-score can be kept. Needless to say all provides ample material for a team of learned commentators to narrate and criticise.

So a real test; watching bridge with just myself for company. I had a laptop with which I hoped to get the odd journalistic scoop and an email list to keep friends and cronies up to date with inside stories. With the open final concluding on the Saturday I had five days play from the semis onwards. But the quarters seemed to have produced the story of the championships; Italy overwhelming the USA 1 team by over a hundred IMPs in the last 32 boards from a level start. The bulletin was full of the encounter (the English ladies departed from the Venice Cup at this stage with scarce a mention). This hand has stayed with me:

The auction was the same in both rooms. Lorenzo Lauria for Italy avoided the spade lead – he started a diamond, East could find no more than eight tricks. Soloway for the United States led the spade seven and that was nine tricks for the Europeans.

How do you get these things right? Why did South choose a diamond rather than the heart knave when he decided against a spade? With no raise from North the defender's spades figured to be 6-2 and the double followed by the confident leap to three no-trump made it likely that the remainder were 4-1. On this lie, without an entry, there was no real chance of getting the suit going. Is that enough not to lead your best suit? If the East-West spades were 3-2, say 63 opposite KJ8, then both leads work because North had two diamond entries. Take away that diamond knave and leading that suit is ruinous for the defence.

It's so, so close and typical of that match. The Americans played well but they couldn't win a single IMP in the fifth sixth of the 96 deal match. The Italians looked like the 'team of destiny' and would meet the Norwegians in the semi-final. There things didn't go there way and they trailed but not b so many when they lost their charmed team status

Three hearts was a limit raise but after that the methods seem to have run out; perhaps that's reassuring for the rest of us to see someone at this level get their void raised. The defence cashed their two hearts and waited for a diamond from South's QJ9. So the Italians, now surely the bookies' favourites, were looking down the barrel; 46 IMPs down with eight to play. Action was called for:

South led the three of diamonds to the knave. Aa took his time but eventually analysed that he couldn't make the contract by winning the king so he ducked. Back came a diamond and he showed his resolve by playing low again. Partisan supporters cheered. A third diamond was played but only now (and both the audience and the Vugraph teams had had ample time to see this) did anyone spot that he was in trouble. Dummy was squeezed on the third diamond. Naturally he let go a spade and put his faith in the heart finesse. The next play of ace other spade must have left him in no doubt that wasn't working. A great duel all round.

Despite Aa's credit on the last board be seems to take it badly. 34 IMPs up he came in at game all opposite a passed partner over an all-strong 2♦ opening (usually balanced) with ♠KQ96 ♥K10874 ♦83 ♣J9. Red cards started fluttering and his partner had to declare 2♠ with ♠742 ♥J9 ♦J1092 ♣K854. He was lucky to get four tricks (Lauria went wrong in the end game) for –1100 to go with 3NT-1 for 15 IMPs away.

And then a soft result from Norway's Helgemo / Helness partnership; they missed a slam and 38 IMPs had appeared in three deals. Some respite was afforded Norway when Italy played a 3NT all out and were –400 to –100 from the alternative game of 4♥. A tough defence eluded Aa and Norway were 5 up with two to play. The penultimate deal was flat 3N= v 5♣= and we were set. Helgemo / Helness had gone off in a very tricky 4♠. Needless to say the same contract was reached by the Italians.

This was the first time I had seen a real sporting encounter. Most of the audience were sitting out members of the teams and there were noticeable camps of support in different areas of the crowd. As the Italian declarer played each card its was greeted by cheers from those parts of the hall as it took him nearer or further away from making his contract. Eventually he strayed from the successful line and gave the defence a chance, would they take it? It fell to Terje Aa who had been involved in all the critical decisions in the closing stages. He sorted the winning card from his hand to the top and rechecked his calculations. Eventually he faced it to cheers from the Norwegian supporters. They would meet USA 2 who had beaten Poland in the other semi-final.

There would be more to come. In the Venice Cup, France had proceeded to the final almost without incident. This was quite a coup as they hadn't qualified. As new host nation they had naturally been invited as had the their open team. They would meet Germany there who had beaten neighbours Austria. The women were scheduled only six sets for their final, in the open they had eight (including one woman of course, USA's Rose Meltzer), both matches were shortened though I don't know if this was a change in format or somehow dictated my the move in venue.

France and Norway opened up leads but Germany managed to get back in to it and with two sets of sixteen to play they trailed by just 2 IMPs. Then it all went the host's way, they comfortably outplayed their opponents to take a lead of 46 into the last set. That would obviously be the featured match on VuGraph and though the hall was enlarged yet there was standing room only. Bit by bit with small swings as well as larger ones the Germans fought back. The large partisan crowd – who had been vociferous during the previous set – were subdued (though far from unsporting). Germany had last held the lead in the 96 board match on deal 2. This was deal 95:

The auction was the same in the closed room up to 3♦ which didn't show values and got passed. France held the lead by eight at this point but they had scored but a single IMP in the set.

West led a small spade and South cashed all her diamond winners and got to the crunch. East's discards were first a small heart (ouch) then a club. In dummy von Arnim considered her next play. Eventually she called for the five of hearts and inserted the nine. The players said they heard a murmur from the depths of the building as the crowd cheered in the Vugraph.

Take a look at this hand a compare it to the first I showed you; are any of us closer now?

The next deal was flat, Germany had won the Venice Cup. Daniela von Arnim had played an absolute blinder – this would be the hand everyone remembered but her card play in the crucial last sixteen was inspired. Curiously, as she was pregnant at the time she was not going to Bali and her participation was a result of the nearer venue (and some quick thinking from the German federation).

Back at the Bermuda Bowl the Norwegians were thrashing the Americans. As attention focussed on the Venice Cup no-one really noticed the margin in the other final creep up and up until Norway were 91 ahead as France had their fifth set surge. Then as the wind changed and the Americans began pegging back. All through that last set in the Venice Cup they hauled themselves back until the scores were level. There would be a 32 deal final for the World Championship. The next set had fireworks but when the smoke cleared there were just 4 IMPs to the Norwegians. Then the directors took two away for slow play (no question there) and halved the deficit. We were in for another tight finish.

The Americans played without fear – especially the partnership of Alan Sontag and Peter Weichsel on Vugraph. Their aggression paid dividends and they enjoyed some of the luck that had been absent earlier. But in the end it came down to one hand:

• KQ86
• 972
• J1092
• K9

You listen to:

One club was strong, the rest were relays. Peter Weichsel called the tournament director and went to the restroom (as they say over there).

It was a great sporting occasion. There was real tension in almost all the matches. I'm not a natural spectator and I can't imagine spending Saturday afternoons on the terraces for example, but following something I play myself seems altogether different. There was much to be learnt from a technical point of view but perhaps much more from a psychological one. And there was Paris too of course. Err, actually I hardly set foot outside the hotel, just twice in fact to join an Indian bridge writer for a curry (not a down-market experience in the French capital).

So what did Peter Weichsel lead when he got back from the bathroom? A trump of course. How he worked it out I don't know, but this was the layout.

Declarer couldn't play a high cross-ruff and couldn't establish the clubs. He was still in the hunt with trumps 2-2 as the fifth club would endplay South. Nothing doing. The good slam was missed in the other room and that was that. Rose Meltzer, Kyle Larson, Chip Martel, Lew Stansby, Alan Sontag and Peter Weichsel were World Champions and I was there to see it.

I'm not entirely sure what I think about this 'bridge as a sport' thing but the event I watched was indistinguishable in its emotional responses from all I see on TV that is classed as sport. If we can get into curling then we bridge players at least can regard the struggles we play out with pride.