A 2012 Sunchime Fund Cup Grand Slam

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“Sunchime Fund Cup” International Bridge Elite Tournament 2012.  Watch it in BBO: Click Here

 All Results: Click Here    Official Site: Click Here

An invitational tournament where 12 teams participate in a Round Robin format…all against all. Among the invited teams we can mention the Monaco team:  Geir HELGEMO & Tor HELNESS y Fulvio FANTONI & Claudio NUNES, for USA: Brad MOSS & Joe GRUE y Curtis CHEEK & Ishmael DELMONTE,  and the last world champions from Netherlands: Bas DRIJVER & Louk VERHEES JR y Ricco van PROOIJEN & Sjoert BRINK..etc…

 On the first day of play the Monaco team faced one of the China teams: Zhejiang Jingfan, match that ended with the victory of Monaco by 62-16. In Board 11 of the 16 boards of the match, Monaco declared a NT Grand Slam escaping from a Lightner Double to a 7 contract and found the 13th trick thanks to squezze. Let’s see how the facts were on the table:

Board 11 Dealer South None Vulnerable

West	North	East	South
Lian Ruoya	Fantoni	Gao Fei	Nunes
			21
Pass	22	3	Double3
4	5	Pass	5NT
Pass	7	Double4	Pass
Pass	7NT	The End

1 10-13, 5+ clubs, unbalanced

2 Relay

3 extra distribution

4 Lightner. “”Partner, I have a void, for you to figure out where””

Lead: K

Declarer won the lead with the A and find out East´s void playing the A. He continued with the A and K watching East pitching a heart in his second club. He played the A checking that West could continue the suit. Nunes continued playing the J to the Q and run all the clubs. East find himself  in the impossible duty of taking care of the two red suits . The position remaining only 4 cards was:

Now declarer played the 7, West pitched a spade, Nunes won the trick with the K and East played his 8, but Nunes continued with the K…and East was squezzed, if he pitched a heart, the J was the 13th trick and if he pitched a diamond…declarer two last diamonds completed the 13th tricks

In the other table the China players only played 6NT and while they made 13 tricks the board cost them 11 IMPs.