Editor: BRIAN SENIOR PETER VENTURA GEORGE HADJIDAKISdb.worldbridge.org/bulletin/03_2...

DAILY BULLETIN9th

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Editor: BRIAN SENIOR • Co-Editor: PETER VENTURA • Layout: GEORGE HADJIDAKIS

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USA 2 Take Bronze

Thursday, 28 August 2003Bulletin 9

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Congratulations to USA2, who won the play-off yesterday to take the bronze medal.USA2 defeated Poland by 27 IMPs. Meanwhile, in the main final, Italy leads Denmark

by 49.67 IMPs with 32 boards to play today.

Congratulations to RashaneChongteerachote and Patnarin

Kitchakarn of Thailand,winners of the Swiss Pairs.

Second were Birdsall/Wilkin-son (ENG/AUS) and third

Mak/Ng (CHK)

2

9th WORLD YOUTH BRIDGE TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS St. Cloud-Paris, France

VUGRAPH MATCHES

Italy - Denmark 13.00

Italy - Denmark 15.40

FINALTEAMS DENMARK ITALYCarry-over - 3.67

Boards 1-16 28 57

Total 28 60.67Boards 17-32 16 30

Total 44 90.67Boards 33-48 33 53

Total 77 143.67Boards 49-64 52 35

Total 129 178.67Boards 65-80

TotalBoards 81-96

Final Result

PLAY - OFFTEAMS POLAND USA 2

Carry-over - 9

Boards 1-16 48 37

Total 48 46

Boards 17-32 50 56

Total 98 102

Boards 33-48 30 63

Total 128 165

Boards 49-64 48 38

Final Result 176 203

1 Rashane - Patnarin THA +92 207 2 Birdsall - Wilkinson ENG +90 206 3 Mak - Ng CHK +82 206 4 Harr - Ellestad NOR +64 200 5 Feiler - Burgess AUS/ENG +57 196 6 Valo - Andrea FRA +29 192 7 Pahk - Ieong USA/CHK +12 186 8 Drijver - Michielsen NED +26 185 9 Sundklakk - Kvangraven NOR +13 183

10 Taweesith - Jatorong THA +10 183 11 Vi Chediak - Jorstad URU/NOR +13 180 12 Dekker - van der Salm NED -12 174 13 Raynaud - Ancelin FRA -18 173 14 van Gelder - de Waele NED -32 170 15 Wong - Wyner CHK/AUS -26 169 16 Courrias - Ancelin FRA -61 156 17 Grias - Chauvelot FRA -140 135 18 Terasak - Amornpong THA -199 119

Swiss PairsFinal Ranking

Schedule for Thursday

Today - the last day of the Championships - will be afree day for almost everybody except the two finalists.Theprogramme of the day has been altered as follows:

11.00 - 12.30 Brunch at the hotel13.00 - 15.20 Final, segment 515.40 - 18.00 Final, segment 618.15 Prize giving ceremony (FFB, ground

floor hall)19.15 Departure of buses to Victory Dinner

which will be served on a boat during acruise on river Seine, seeing Paris bynight.

Would you please notice that team uniform orlounge suit is required for the Prize giving ceremony as anumber of important guests will be attending, together withthe media. Due to the time restraints, players participatingin the final and those attending Vugraph should come to FFBalready dressed up for the ceremony.

Panos GerontopoulosWBF Youth Cmte Chmn

Swiss PairsThere are 18 pairs competing in this tournament, andprizes will be awarded to the top five pairs.The prizegiving will take place together with the Championship'sclosing ceremony on Thursday night at 18.15 hrs.

Championship Books

Bulletin Editor, Brian Senior has a small quantity of recentChampionship books for sale here in Paris at a specialreduced price.Montreal World Championships 2002 - 20 Euros (normalprice about 28)Menton Open European Championships 2003 - 10 Euros(normal price about 14)

See Brian in the Bulletin room.

3

9th WORLD YOUTH BRIDGE TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS18 - 28 August 2003

With 16 boards to play in their semi-final match against Italy,USA2 tralied by 60.5 IMPs. Surely their hopes of successfullydefending the title won two years ago in Brazil were dead andburied. If so, nobody told the Americans that. They came backstrong in those 16 boards and gave the Italians a terrible scare.

Board 49. None Vul. Dealer North.

[ A 10 7] J 6 5 2{ Q 10 9 2} 3 2

[ K Q 8 [ J 6 4 3] Q 3 ] K 9 7{ 7 4 { 8 6 5 3} A K 9 8 7 6 } Q 4

[ 9 5 2] A 10 8 4{ A K J} J 10 5

West North East SouthBathurst Lo Presti Mignocchi Mazzadi

Pass Pass 1{2} Dble Pass 2]3} All Pass

West North East SouthF di Bello Hurd S di Bello Wooldridge

Pass Pass 1{2} 2{ All Pass

Mazzadi's 1{ opening might have been based on a doubletondiamond with long clubs while Wooldridge promised at leastthree cards and usually four. Lo Presti had to start with a nega-tive double where Hurd could simply raise diamonds. The dia-mond raise ended the auction when Furio di Bello judged not tobid a second time with the West cards. At the other tableBathurst repeated the clubs and bought the contract.

Against 2{ the defence began with three rounds of clubs butcrashed the queen in the process.Wooldridge was happy to letEast take a club ruff and pitched a losing spade from the dummy.When he managed to play the hearts for one loser, expectingEast to hold the greater length there, he had eight tricks for +90.Lo Presti led a heart against 3} but there was nothing to theplay. Bathurst took nine tricks for +110 and 5 IMPs to USA2;119.5-175.

Board 50. N/S Vul. Dealer East.

[ A 7 3 2] Q 5 2{ K J 6 3} 6 5

[ 10 [ K 8 4] 8 7 6 ] A K 4 3{ 9 8 { A Q 10 5} A K Q J 8 7 3 } 4 2

[ Q J 9 6 5] J 10 9{ 7 4 2} 10 9


1NT Pass2[ Pass 2NT Pass3[ Pass 4} Pass

4NT Pass 5] Pass6} All Pass


1} Pass2} Pass 2NT Pass4} Pass 4{ Pass4[ Pass 4NT Pass6} All Pass

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USA 2 v ITALY

Segment 4 (boards 49-64)SEMI-FINAL

Kevin Bathurst, USA

4


Mignocchi opened 1NT and Bathurst transferred to clubsthen showed spade shortage.When Mignocchi chose to supportclubs rather than bid no trump, Bathurst asked for key cards thenbid the small slam. Stelio di Bello's 1} promised only two cardsand 2} was forcing for one round. When Stelio showed hisstrong no trump, Furio set clubs as trumps and, after a couple ofcuebids, blasted the slam.

Six Clubs is not a good contract, but at least both pairs man-aged to get it played by East, which offered more prospects ofgetting a favourable lead should one be needed.As it happened,every important card was well-placed so that declarer could notgo wrong; flat at +920 and still Italy 175-119.5.

Board 51. E/W Vul. Dealer South.

[ A 5 3 2] K 3{ K 9 2} J 6 4 2

[ Q [ K 10 9 7 6] J 7 2 ] Q 10 6 4{ A J 10 7 { 4 3} A Q 7 5 3 } K 9

[ J 8 4] A 9 8 5{ Q 8 6 5} 10 8


Pass1} Pass 1[ Pass

1NT Pass 2] All Pass


Pass1} Pass 2[ All Pass

The Americans had a standard auction to 2], while the di Bel-los got to the inferior spot of 2[ when Stelio responded withthat bid, showing 8-11 with five spades and four hearts.

Mazzadi led a low trump against 2] but ducked the heartreturn to dummy's jack. The [Q held the next trick andMignocchi crossed to the king of clubs to ruff a spade then playedtwo more rounds of clubs. Mazzadi could ruff and cash the ]Abut the defence could only come to a spade and a diamond fromhere; +110.

Two Spades was not a pleasant spot for Stelio.The lead wasthe }10 and eventually both defenders came to ruffs to beatthe contract by a trick; -100 and 5 IMPs to USA2, closing to124.5-175.

Board 52.All Vul. Dealer West.

[ K Q 6] J 7 4 2{ Q 4} A J 9 5

[ A J 4 2 [ 10 9 7 5] 10 8 ] K 9 5{ 7 2 { A K 10 9 6} K Q 10 8 3 } 4

[ 8 3] A Q 6 3{ J 8 5 3} 7 6 2


1} Dble Rdbl Pass1[ Pass 2[ All Pass


1} Pass 1{ Pass1[ Pass 4[ All Pass

Given a free auction, the di Bello brothers bid up to the spadegame, while Lo Presti's take-out double helped to keep theAmericans low, stopping in just 2[.

Against 2[, Lo Presti led a heart to Mazzadi's queen andback came a trump, ducked to the queen.A second heart to theace permitted Mazzadi to lead a second trump, therebyrestricting declarer to one club ruff in the dummy.That wouldhave been sufficient had Bathurst got the diamond positionright, but he failed to do so, expecting North to hold more thantwo cards in the suit for his double of 1}. Bathurst ended up atrick short for -100.

Four Spades was way too high as the cards lay.The defensebegan in the same fashion but Furio did get the diamonds rightto make one extra trick; down two for -200 and 3 IMPs to USA2.Italy 175 USA2 127.5.

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Furio di Bello, Italy

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Board 53. N/S Vul. Dealer North.

[ K J] K J 10 8 6 3{ A 9 3} 9 4

[ 9 6 3 [ A Q 7 2] 9 5 ] A Q 7{ K J 8 4 { Q 10 7 6} K Q 7 5 } J 10

[ 10 8 5 4] 4 2{ 5 2} A 8 6 3 2


1] 1NT Pass3NT All Pass


1] Dble Pass2} All Pass

Where Mignocchi was happy to overcall 1NT, showing his hand-type and range, Stelio preferred to double in hope of finding aspade fit. Bathurst had an easy raise to 3NT, while Furio had atricky choice and opted for the cautious 2} response becausejumping in a four-card minor was an unattractive option.

Mazzadi led a heart against 3NT but Mignocchi ducked thefirst trick and, with one of the minor-suit aces in the short hearthand, could no longer go down; nine tricks for +400.

Furio had sufficient high cards between the two hands toovercome his lack of trumps and came to eight tricks for +90 butthat was a further 7 IMPs to USA2, who had closed to 134.5-175.

Board 54. E/W Vul. Dealer East.

[ A 7 6 4] 10 7 5{ 7 6 4 3} J 10

[ 9 8 2 [ K Q 10 3] A J 6 2 ] Q 8 3{ K J 9 { A Q 10 5} Q 9 6 } A K

[ J 5] K 9 4{ 8 2} 8 7 5 4 3 2


2NT Pass4NT Pass 5{ Pass6NT All Pass


2NT Pass3} Pass 3{ Pass3[ Pass 3NT Pass

4NT All Pass

Bathurst made an invitational raise to 4NT and Mignocchiaccepted, suggesting diamonds as an alternative contract.Bathurst settled for 6NT and now Mazzadi made a verysurprising choice of opening lead, a low heart. I have alwaysunderstood that one should generally make attacking openingleads against small slams played with a trump suit, but to do soagainst 6NT when the strong hand is on the right and bothopponents are balanced is not a style with which i can agree.Here it gave declarer four heart tricks if he needed them.Mignocchi won the ]Q and crossed to the {J to play a spade tothe king. He later played a second spade to the queen, notbelieving that he would have the entire heart suit; +1440. On anylead, a successful spade play will give twelve tricks, of course.

Furio looked for a heart fit before inviting slam. Looking at aminimum, Stelio declined the invitation and he came to onlyeleven tricks, not that this mattered in the slightest; +660. USA2had picked up another 13 IMPs and at 147.5-175 it was beginningto get interesting.

Board 55.All Vul. Dealer South.

[ J 10 6] K J 10 6 2{ Q 9 8 7 3} –

[ K 8 7 5 3 [ A 4 2] Q 8 5 ] 9 7 3{ A 10 2 { 5} K 4 } Q J 9 8 3 2

[ Q 9] A 4{ K J 6 4} A 10 7 6 5


1NTPass 2{ Pass 2]Pass 2[ Pass 2NTPass 3{ Pass 3]

All Pass


1NTPass 2{ Pass 2]Pass 3{ Pass 4{Pass 5{ All Pass

Lo Presti showed his hearts, relayed, then showed the dia-monds, before settling for partscore when his partner could dono more than bid 3]. Bathurst led a low spade and Mignocchi

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6


won the ace and returned his singleton diamond.A diamond ruffnow followed by a spade to the king for a second diamond ruffwould have led to one down, but Bathurst erred by cashing the[K before giving the ruff and now the defence had only fourtricks; +140.

Hurd showed hearts then diamonds and bid game whenWooldridge could support the second suit.There are three toplosers, of course, but the defence has to take the spades imme-diately. Stelio led the queen of clubs and Hurd could win and play]A then a heart to the jack. When the hearts behaved asrequired, he could throw a spade from dummy and had eleventricks for +600 and 10 IMPs to USA2.The Americans had run off43 unanswered IMPs and at 157.5-175 the match was very muchalive.

Board 56. None Vul. Dealer West.

[ K Q 5 3] 9{ A 8} K J 10 9 6 5

[ A 10 9 [ J 8 7 2] Q J 10 4 ] A K 5 3{ Q J 6 5 2 { 10 3} 4 } A 8 7

[ 6 4] 8 7 6 2{ K 9 7 4} Q 3 2


Pass 2} Dble 3}Dble 4} Pass PassDble All Pass


Pass 1} Dble Pass2} Pass 2] Pass4] All Pass

There was some badly needed relief for Italy when Lo Prestiwas allowed to make 4} doubled on this deal.The contract canonly be defeated by a trump lead and two more rounds oftrumps when they get in with the ace of spades, preventing a ruffof the fourth spade in dummy. On the actual lead of a diamond,Lo Presti could win in dummy and play a spade to his king thenconcede a heart. Nothing could prevent his winning the }Q andleading again towards the [Q, later ruffing a spade, as East wouldnot be able to get in to lead the third round of clubs now thatdeclarer had cut the defensive communications with that earlyheart play; +510.

Meanwhile, the di Bellos reached 4] in the other room on aclub lead.The combination of four-one trumps and four-two dia-monds was just too much to overcome even though South couldonly get in once to lead spades through the ace.The contract wasdown one for -100 but 9 IMPs to Italy; a little breathing space at184-157.5.

Board 57. E/W Vul. Dealer North.

[ K 7 5] A Q 4{ K 7 6 4} Q 10 6

[ J 8 2 [ –] – ] K J 9 7 6 2{ J 10 8 3 2 { A 9 5} K 9 8 7 2 } J 5 4 3

[ A Q 10 9 6 4 3] 10 8 5 3{ Q} A


1{ 1] 2]Pass 4[ Pass 5}Pass 5{ Pass 5[

All Pass


1{ 1] 1[Pass 1NT Pass 3NT

All Pass

Over the 1] overcall, Mazzadi's 2] was a transfer, showingspades, and Lo Presti jumped straight to the spade game. Mazza-di had quite a bit to spare and made a cuebid but then signed-offto leave the rest up to his partner. Lo Presti did not like his bal-anced near-minimum so passed 5[ but that was already a leveltoo high. A club was led to the ace and Lo Presti drew trumpsthen gave up a diamond. But there was no escape from two heartlosers and the contract had to fail by a trick; -50.

Wooldridge did very well when he settled for a raise to 3NTrather than attempting to play in spades - though 4[ is OK.Thiswas an intelligent attempt to create a swing, based on the dangerrepresented by South's heart length once North had bid notrump. Four Spades might have been in serious jeopardy on a sin-gleton heart lead if North held say, ]KJx.Three No Trump was asure thing, of course, and Hurd made an overtrick after a clublead; +430 and 10 IMPs to USA2. Italian relief had been short-lived as again the match closed up at 167.5-184.

Board 58.All Vul. Dealer East.

[ K Q J 10 6 5] 7{ Q 10 4 2} Q 2

[ – [ 9 7 4 3] J 2 ] A K 6 4{ A K J 9 6 3 { 8} A K J 10 7 } 9 8 5 3

[ A 8 2] Q 10 9 8 5 3{ 7 5} 6 4

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Pass Pass1{ 2[ Pass Pass4} Pass 4] Pass4[ Pass 5} Pass6} All Pass


Pass 2{4NT Pass 5} All Pass

Wooldridge's multi left Furio awkwardly placed and he choseto show his minors with a leap to 4NT then judged to pass theresponse. Stelio had too much for him, of course, but had theace-king been in spades rather than hearts Furio's decisionwould have been the winning one; +640.

Mazzadi did not have an opening bid in his style so Bathurstgot to open the West hand at the one level. Whne he laterjumped in clubs, Mignocchi had a clear heart cuebid, given thathe had shown nothing to that point. Four Hearts was greatnews for Bathurst and he drove to slam. He chalked up +1370and that was worth 13 IMPs. The margin was down to singlefigures and the momentum was all with the Americans at180.5-184.

Board 59. None Vul. Dealer South.

[ 8] K J 10 9 8{ A J 5} K J 6 2

[ 9 7 [ A K J 10 5] A Q 5 3 2 ] 7 6 4{ 10 8 7 6 4 { Q} 5 } A 8 4 3

[ Q 6 4 3 2] –{ K 9 3 2} Q 10 9 7


PassPass 1] 1[ PassPass Dble Pass 1NT

All Pass


PassPass 1] 1[ DblePass 2} All Pass

Wooldridge made a negative double then passed the 2}response quite happily - double could have worked out muchworse for him had Hurd been single-suited. Stelio started withace and another trump but the major suits were so well-placed

for declarer that the defence could not actually get at six tricks,even if declarer had difficulty in finding eight by himself. Hurdmade exactly for +90.

Mazzadi did not make a negative double. He passed and nowLo Presti reopened with double. Mazzadi responded 1NT andplayed there on a spade lead, ducked to his queen. He knockedout the ace of clubs and Mignocchi ran the spades.When he didnot next find the heart switch, Mazzadi had an overtrick for +120and 1 IMP to Italy; 185-180.5.

Board 60. N/S Vul. Dealer West.

[ A J 8 5 3] A K 8 5{ A Q} J 9

[ 9 4 [ 6 2] Q 6 3 2 ] 9{ J 7 6 5 4 2 { K 10 9} 8 } A K Q 10 6 4 2

[ K Q 10 7] J 10 7 4{ 8 3} 7 5 3


Pass 1} Dble Pass1{ 1[ 3} 4[

Pass Pass 5} PassPass Dble All Pass


Pass 1[ 2} 3[Pass 4[ 5} PassPass Dble All Pass

With 4[ a comfortable make, both East players judged wellto take the save in 5} doubled. Both had to go three down asthere was no dummy entry to lead up to the {K; It was flat at-500; still Italy 185-180.5.

Board 61.All Vul. Dealer North.

[ A 3] 10 6{ A K J 9 3 2} K 10 7

[ Q 8 6 2 [ K J 4] J 8 ] K 7{ Q 10 7 5 { 8 6 4} 9 5 3 } A Q J 8 2

[ 10 9 7 5] A Q 9 5 4 3 2{ –} 6 4

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8



1NT Pass 4}Pass 4] All Pass


1{ Pass 1]Pass 3{ Pass 3]Pass 3NT Pass 4]

All Pass

Lo Presti opened 1NT and Mazzadi transferred to 4].Withthe club position protected, 4] by North was never underthreat.The actual diamond lead gave declarer three tricks in thatsuit and Lo Presti threw two clubs and a spade from dummy thenplayed ace and anothers pade to set up his ruff.When he tookthe ruff he continued with the heart finesse and had twelve tricksfor +680.

Hurd's 1{ opening meant that Wooldridge became declarerin 4] at the other table. Declarer ducked the spade lead andplayed safely for his contract, spurning the trump finesse whenthe inevitable switch came, to guarantee a spade ruff in dummy.He came to just ten tricks; +620 but 2 IMPs to Italy.Who couldhave imagined that the overtrick in this game would prove to beso crucial at the end of the day? Italy led by 187-180.5 with justthree deals to go.

Board 62. None Vul. Dealer East.

[ K 5] K 9 4{ K 10 8 7} A 9 4 3

[ J 10 8 3 [ Q 7 6 4 2] A Q J 10 7 6 5 ] 8 2{ A { J 3} 8 } K Q 10 5

[ A 9] 3{ Q 9 6 5 4 2} J 7 6 2


Pass Pass4] All Pass


Pass 3{4] All Pass

Wooldridge's off-centre but entirely reasonable in the cir-cumstances pre-empt did not affect the final contract, but it mayhave helped to convince his partner to make a fatal misjudge-ment in defence.

At both tables the lead was a diamond to declarer's ace, and

a club was led towards dummy.Where Lo Presti went in with theace and defeated the contract by a trick, Hurd ducked and thatwas the setting trick dead and buried. Italy scored +420 and +50for 10 IMPs.With only two deals to play the lead was up to 16.5IMPs at 197-180.5.

If anyone thought that the brave American challenge was overthey were to be proved very much mistaken.

Board 63. N/S Vul. Dealer South.

[ 9 5 3] 4{ Q 8 6 4} 9 7 6 4 3

[ A Q 4 [ 8] Q J 7 ] A K 10 8 3 2{ K J 10 2 { A 7 5 3} Q J 10 } A K

[ K J 10 7 6 2] 9 6 5{ 9} 8 5 2


2[2NT Pass 4{ Pass4] Pass 4NT Pass5} Pass 5{ Pass6{ Pass 7] All Pass

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Joel Wooldridge, USA

9



2{2NT Pass 3{ All Pass

Disaster for Italy! Bathurst/Mignocchi did very well to bid tothe grand slam in the face of an opposing weak two opening.Mignocchi transferred to hearts then checked on key cards,found one and asked for the queen of trumps. Six Diamondsshowed both the ]Q and {K and Mignocchi took a shot atseven. A spade lead into the ace-queen meant that there werethirteen tricks without having to find the queen of diamonds,though the diamond play would have become clear anyway asSouth turns up with three cards in both hearts and clubs to gowith his long spades; +1510.

Wooldridge opened a multi and Furio overcalled 2NT. He hada mental lapse when Stelio transferred with 3{ and passed.Therewas no problem in making 3{ and Stelio actually came to twelvetricks, but +170 was totally inadequate and USA2 had picked up16 IMPs from nowhere.With one board to play the margin wasjust half-an-IMP at 196.5-197.

Board 64. E/W Vul. Dealer West.

[ 5] 7 3 2{ A J 9 6 2} K 9 6 5

[ Q 10 8 7 4 2 [ A K 9 6 3] A Q 9 8 6 ] K 10 4{ – { 5 4} A 4 } J 10 2

[ J] J 5{ K Q 10 8 7 3} Q 8 7 3


1[ Pass 2NT 3{5{ 6{ 6] Pass7[ All Pass


1[ Pass 2} 4{Pass 5{ 5[ Pass5NT Pass 7[ All Pass

It says a lot for the charachter of the di Bello brothers thatthey could come back from the disaster of the previous deal andbid competently to a grand slam on the very next deal - and onceagain in the face of an opposing pre-empt. Both East/West pairsdid very well to overcome the opposing intervention.There waslittle to the play and the board was a push at +1510.

After all the drama and excitement, Italy had survived by thenarrowest of margins, 197-196.5.The defending champion USA2team had bowed out of the tournament but had given us a ter-rific match and could be proud of their performance, even ifevery member of the team would have some board to rue whereone extra trick would have made all the difference.

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Catching the QueenThe theme of this deal is not a new one but the old plays

still have to be found and on this particular occasion onlyone defender did so.The deal comes from Round 2 of theSwiss Pairs.

Board 10.All Vul. Dealer East.[ 10 7 6 2] 9 5 3{ 8 7 3} K 9 7

[ A 9 8 5 [ K] Q ] A 7 6{ K Q 6 4 2 { J 10 9} Q 6 2 } A J 10 8 5 3

[ Q J 4 3] K J 10 8 4 2{ A 5} 4

West North East SouthDe Waele Mak van Gelder Ng

1} 1]Dble Pass 2} 2]3] Pass 3NT All Pass

When partner, Kwok-Fai Mak could neither supporthearts nor double the 3] asking bid,Alick Ng could reason-ably assume that he would not turn up with a heart honour.That being the case, it was unlikely to matter which hearthonour Ng led to trick one - unless there was a singletonhonour in an opponent's hand. If that honour was the acedeclarer would normally have a second stopper, so the onlychance was that it might be the queen that was unguarded.

Ng led the king of hearts and must have been charmed bythe sight of dummy. On any other lead 3NT is an easy make- there are even twelve tricks on a heart lead other than theking - but though the successful club finesse means that thereare nine winners even on the lead of the ]K, declarer cannotget at them and has to go down. Nicely done.

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AIRPORT TRANSFERSFriday 29th

There will be two buses going from theNovotel to Charles de Gaulle Airport(CDG1, CDG2, Terminal 3) on FridayAugust 29th.These are at:

07.00 am and 16.30 pmAnyone requiring more details please

see France Fiastre at the Hospitality Desk, between 10.00and 11.00 or 17.00 and 18.00.It would be helpful if there are any changes to previouslynotified personnel wanting to use these buses if you couldlet the Hospitality Desk know.Also, anyone who has notyet notified us of their wish to use a transfer bus to theairport must do so as soon as possible.

10


Denmark was ahead by only 7 IMPs when this very excitingset of boards started.

Board 35. E/W Vul. Dealer South.

[ 9 3 2] J 10 7 6{ J 6} Q 6 5 2

[ 10 6 [ J 8 7 5 4] K 9 2 ] Q 5{ 10 9 3 2 { A Q} A 10 9 4 } K 8 7 3

[ A K Q] A 8 4 3{ K 8 7 5 4} J

West North East SouthGjaldbaek J. Kotorowicz Schaltz K. Kotorowicz

1{Pass Pass 1[ 1NT

All Pass

West North East SouthLutostanski Henriksen Buras Marquardsen

1{Pass 1] Pass 3}Pass 3] Pass 4]

All Pass

Marquardsen bid game anyway, even though Henriksen sug-gested an end to the auction.Why didn't he simply bid 4] at hissecond turn? Marquardsen should have listened to his partnerbecause 3] was the spot to be as 4] went one off; -100 toEast/West.

In the Open Room the Kotorowicz brothers stopped at amore moderate level. Gjaldbaek led [10 which declarer won tocontinue with a diamond to the jack and East's queen. Schaltzknew that the declarer had 9 HCP in spades and probably {K.There was space for a high card in either hearts or clubs andSchaltz now attacked the club suit. West won the ace and thedefence took another three club tricks, which did nasty things todeclarer's hand. Schaltz cashed {A and put declarer in with aspade.The hearts now had to be played from the declarer's hand;very nicely defended by East/West who equalized the result fromthe Closed Room.

In the other semi-final USA2 managed to play in 1NT bothdirections, making +120 East/West and +90 North/South.

North/South vulnerable what's your bid sitting East?

[ J 10 5] Q J 9 4 2{ Q J 9 6 2} –

West North East SouthPass Pass 3[

Pass 4[ ?

Martin Schaltz doubled for take-out.

Board 37. N/S Vul. Dealer North.

[ Q] 10 8 7 5 3{ A K 8} J 9 8 3

[ K 4 [ J 10 5] K ] Q J 9 4 2{ 10 7 5 4 { Q J 9 6 2} A Q 7 6 5 2 } –

[ A 9 8 7 6 3 2] A 6{ 3} K 10 4

N

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DENMARK v POLAND

Segment 3 (boards 33-48)SEMI-FINAL

Jakub Kotorowicz, Poland

11



Pass Pass 3[Pass 4[ Dble Pass5} Dble 5{ Dble

All PassWest North East South

Lutostanski Henriksen Buras MarquardsenPass 2] 2[

4} Dble 4{ 4[Dble All Pass

Two spades can go from hand if dummy plays the queen thenthe ace on Krzysztof Kotorowicz's club lead. Since South hadopened pre-emptively it is more sensible for North to have theking so declarer ruffed in hand; down three for -500 and a goodresult for Poland - we thought. From the Closed Room Henrik-sen/Marquardsen showed up with an even better result; +790 in4[ doubled.West led }A and gave East a ruff. Next came a heart,won by declarer who cashed ace and king in diamonds for a heartdiscard.The defence had to win a trump trick but that was all.

Board 38. E/W Vul. Dealer East.[ J 4 2] A Q 8 6 5 4{ Q 6 4} 7

[ K 5 [ A] J 7 2 ] K{ 10 5 3 2 { K 9 7} Q 10 4 3 } A K J 9 8 6 5 2

[ Q 10 9 8 7 6 3] 10 9 3{ A J 8} –


1} 3[Pass 4[ 5} All Pass


1} 4[Pass Pass 5} PassPass 5[ Pass PassDble All Pass

Krzysztof led a spade but even though declarer pitched ]Kon [K he couldn't avoid losing three diamond tricks as the cardslay. There are not enough entries to dummy after eliminatinghearts to play a diamond up. Schaltz ruffed all three hearts butwas in hand to play diamonds. A bit surprisingly, declarer didn'ttry the only chance to make the contract: to play South to haveonly two hearts. If so, South would come in and have to givedeclarer a diamond trick (or play a spade).

Marquardsen had a lot to do in his 5[ doubled. A diamondlead from Lutostanski was a good start for declarer who tookthe trick in hand with {J. East won the trump continuation andtried }A which was ruffed by declarer. Marquardsen now played]10 and put up the ace - and the bare king dropped! 5[ dou-bled just made and 11 IMPs to Denmark.

In the other semi-final the Americans amazed and amused usall (well, not everybody…) when they tried to play 3] on theEast/West's cards on the following deal:

Board 39.All Vul. Dealer South.[ A Q J 6] Q 10 7 6 3{ A J} 10 9

[ 10 9 5 4 [ –] J 9 4 ] K 5 2{ 5 2 { K Q 10 4 3} 8 7 6 4 } A Q J 5 2

[ K 8 7 3 2] A 8{ 9 8 7 6} K 3


PassPass 1] 2{ DblePass 2[ 3} 3{Pass 4[ All Pass


PassPass 1] 2{ 2[Pass 4[ Dble All Pass

We spare you the American's bidding, but can tell that 3]went six down for -1700.

3{ by Krzystzof was a high-card raise in spades. Schaltz led{K and Jakub won the ace then had an unpleasant surprise whenthe trump suit proved to be four-nil. He switched to a club,

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Krzysztof Buras, Poland

12


Schaltz rose with the ace and played a club to dummy's king. Adiamond to jack and queen endplayed East. Schaltz tried a lowdiamond but there was no defence. Jakub had to win a diamondtrick and get a diamond ruff in hand; +620 for North/South. Atthe other table Marquardsen won the diamond lead with the aceand led a club up at trick two. Buras won the ace, cashed a dia-mond trick and exited with a club. Declarer took one round oftrumps then led the ]Q to king and ace.A heart up establishedthe hearts; +790 and 5 IMPs to Denmark.

Denmark had a good period in the middle of this segmentand won another 11 IMPs on the following board.

Board 40.All Vul. Dealer South.[ A Q 9 8 7 6] J 10 6 3{ 8 2} 7

[ 5 4 3 [ K J] 4 ] A K Q 7 5{ 6 5 3 { J 10 7} K 10 8 5 4 2 } A 9 6

[ 10 2] 9 8 2{ A K Q 9 4} Q J 3


3} Pass 3NT PassPass 4[ Dble All Pass


Pass Pass 1] 2{Pass 2[ Dble Pass3} All Pass

After three spade contracts doubled and made, Lutostanskicertainly didn't want to see a fourth succeed and flew to 3}; oneoff and -50. In the Open Room Jakub didn't want to bid over 3}but all of a sudden he made an attempt for game! Schaltz defeat-ed this very nicely starting with three top hearts and switchingto a diamond. Gjaldbaek discarded two diamonds on the tophearts and declarer couldn't prevent a diamond ruff; -500 andanother 11 IMP swing to Denmark.

Board 43. None Vul. Dealer South.[ K J 10 9 5] 9{ 8 7 6 3} 10 9 7

[ 4 [ A Q 8 7 2] A Q ] K 8 7 { A K Q 9 4 { J 5} Q J 8 6 5 } K 4 3

[ 6 3] J 10 6 5 4 3 2{ 10 2} A 2


3]4NT Pass 5} All Pass


3]3NT Pass 4NT Pass5] Pass 6NT All Pass

Very nicely bid by Lutostanski/Buras in the Closed Room toreach 6NT. North led a heart but the play was straightforward,of course. Schaltz wasn't sure what his major-suit tops would beworth and stopped safely in 5}; Poland gained 11 IMPs .

Board 46. None Vul. Dealer East.

[ A 4 3] J{ J 9 7 5 4} 10 5 3 2

[ J 9 6 2 [ 10 7] 9 8 5 4 ] K 3 2 { A K 8 3 { Q 10 6 2} 7 } K J 9 6

[ K Q 8 5] A Q 10 7 6{ –} A Q 8 4


1NT 2}Pass 2[ Pass 3}Pass 3[ Pass PassDble All Pass


Pass 1]Pass 1NT Pass 2}

All Pass

When Schaltz opened 1NT (9-12 HCP), Gjaldbaek doubled3[ to acknowledge that the opponents only had seven spades.A diamond lead would have worked better but Schaltz led [10to reduce declarer's possibilities to ruff. Declarer won the acethen let ]J run.A club to the queen was followed by ]A and aheart ruff. Now Jakub simply ruffed a diamond and cashed twotop spades and ]Q to make his contract; +530 and that was9 IMPs to Poland when North/South scored +130 in the ClosedRoom.

With only 16 boards to play Denmark was in a confident leadby 146 IMPs to 119.

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13


Time for the final! This is what we have been awaiting for thelast nine days.The winner in last year's European Championship,Italy, was again confronting Denmark, the silver medallists then.Would Denmark get their revenge or would Italy again be thestrongest team?

Board 1. None Vul. Dealer North.[ 5] 7 5{ J 7 6 4} A K J 10 8 5

[ K J 10 9 8 6 3 2 [ Q 7 4] A J 8 ] K 10 9 4 2{ 8 { 10 5 2} 9 } 6 2

[ A] Q 6 3{ A K Q 9 3} Q 7 4 3

West North East SouthMazzadi Schaltz Lo Presti Gjaldbaek

3NT Pass 4{4[ Dble All Pass

West North East SouthB. Houmoller S. di Bello J. Houmoller F. di Bello

1} Pass 1{4[ 4NT 5] 6}6[ Dble All Pass

3NT showed a constructive minor and Gjaldbaek's 4{ askedfor a singleton. Schaltz wanted to bid 4[ but Mazzadi was therefirst. The double showed a singleton spade but South passed.Mazzadi finessed in hearts through South; -590 to East/West. 6}or 6{ can be made if the defence promises to not lead a heart,though it is sensible to believe a spade would be led. TheHoumollers were facing that fact and wrongly sacrificed in 6[;down two for +300 and 13 IMPs for Italy.

Italy gained 1 IMP on the next board but here came anotherbig swing for Italy.

Board 3. E/W Vul. Dealer South.[ J 9 5 3] A 10 9 7{ Q 9 8 6 2} –

[ A K Q 8 4 [ 6] 3 2 ] 4{ A J 10 { K 5 4 3} K 10 4 } A J 9 8 7 5 3

[ 10 7 2] K Q J 8 6 5 { 7} Q 6 2


2]Dble 5] 6} All Pass


2]2[ 4] 5} Pass5{ Pass 5] Pass6[ All Pass

Schaltz put maximum pressure on Lo Presti by bidding 5] overhis partner's 2], described as natural and 'wild'. Lo Presti read thesituation nicely though, to bid 6}. Mazzadi, for a second imaginedhis partner to be void in hearts, but finally passed.After South's pre-emptive opening 6} is likely not to be made when it seems to besensible to play North for three clubs, not South. I was thereforevery impressed to see Lo Presti play superbly to cash }A when hegained the lead.What a hero! Just made and -1370 for East/West.

Bjorg misunderstood Jonas' 5} to be a cuebid with spadesupport. 6[ was the wrong slam; North/South +200 and 17 IMPsto Lo Presti and Italy.

The Italians had started very focused and were leading by 30IMPs to 1 after only three boards.Would the Italians just fly awayand the final be more or less over after the first segment? TheDanes stopped the bleeding temporarily as they now managed toprovide six pushes in a row.

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ITALY v DENMARK

Segment 1 (boards 1-16)FINAL

Martin Schaltz, Denmark

14



[ Q 10 6] A 8 4{ 9} K J 10 6 5 2

[ J 7 4 2 [ A 9 5] Q 9 3 ] 10 7 2{ A 6 3 2 { Q J 8 5 4} A 9 } Q 4

[ K 8 3] K J 6 5 { K 10 7} 8 7 3


Pass Pass1{ 2} 2{ 2NT

Pass 3NT All Pass


Pass PassPass 1} Pass 1]Pass 2} Pass 2NTPass 3} All Pass

Stelio di Bello judged this hand well, I think, to go for apartscore. But how can any North player want to play gamewhen partner doesn't have an opening bid? You can ask MartinSchaltz and the Kotorowicz brothers for instance if you want toknow the answer. 3NT by North over South's 2NT is a specula-tive bid - of course there's a slight chance that South will showup with }A, but it is far too aggressive in the long term.As Northdeserved, 3NT went three down, and the contract was even dou-bled by the American pair Hurd/Wooldridge in the play-offmatch, and it was worth 10 IMPs for Italy in the final.

Board 12. N/W Vul. Dealer West.

[ 7 6 4] Q 8 5{ 10 8} A J 10 8 3

[ Q 9 8 5 3 [ A K 10 2] 9 3 ] 7 6{ A K Q 2 { J 9 3} K 7 } 6 5 4 2

[ J] A K J 10 4 2{ 7 6 5 4} Q 9


1[ Pass 2NT Pass4[ All Pass


1[ Pass 3} 3]Pass 4] 4[ All Pass

In the Open Room 2NT showed a limit raise in spades.Schaltz led a spade and even though a spade is not the mostattacking lead the world has ever seen he simply had to guesswhich lead was the winner. Declarer ran three rounds of trumpsand discarded a heart on a high diamond in dummy; just made. Inthe Closed Room Furio di Bello bid 3] over 3} (Bergen raise)to ensure his partner to find the right lead. Stelio followed hispartner's arrows, led a spade and got the club switch; N/S +50and 10 IMPs to Italy. Bridge is an easy game.

What's your lead from this hand sitting East?[ 10 ] K 9 8 7 5 2{ 9 6 3 2} 10 8

West North East South2] Pass

4] 5[ Pass 6[All Pass

Board 14. None Vul. Dealer East.[ A K J 9 8 7 5 4] A 6{ A} Q 2

[ 6 [ 10] J 10 3 ] K 9 8 7 5 2{ K 10 8 5 4 { 9 6 3 2} A J 7 5 } 10 8

[ Q 3 2] Q 4{ Q J 7} K 9 6 4 3


2] Pass4] 5[ Pass 6[

All PassWest North East South

B. Houmoller S. di Bello J. Houmoller F. di Bello2{ Pass

2] Dble Pass 3}Pass 3] Pass 3[Pass 4] Pass 4[

All PassLo Presti didn't see a reason not to lead a heart and Schaltz

scored +980 when ]Q became a trick; 11 IMPs for Denmark.What would Lo Presti have led if Mazzadi had doubled 6[? Any-way, the point on this deal is to stop declarer getting into dummytwice.Therefore, on another lead than a heart West must not onthe first round take the ace of clubs, unless the declarer plays aclub to the king.

Lo Presti/Mazzadi bid a couple of sporting game contracts atthe end of this set which gave Denmark useful IMPs.The first seg-ment of the final turned out to be a good start for Italy, though,who chased the gold, leading as they did by 60-28 IMPs.

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15


Italy won the first session of the final by 58-29 IMPs, givingthem an overall lead of 32.67 IMPs.There was a long way to go,but Denmark would like to make some inroads into the deficitduring Set 2.

The set began very quietly with a string of flat or near-flatboards,After seven deals the set score was 5-1 to Denmark.

Board 24. None Vul. Dealer West.

[ 7 4] 5{ K 6 3 2} 9 8 7 6 4 3

[ A Q 9 6 [ K J 10 8 3] 9 8 4 2 ] Q J 7 6{ Q J 8 { 7 5 4} K 10 } J

[ 5 2] A K 10 3{ A 10 9} A Q 5 2

West North East SouthLo Presti Henriksen Mazzadi Marquardsen

1NT Pass 2] Pass3} Pass 3] Pass3[ Pass Pass Dble

Pass 4} All Pass

West North East SouthB.Houmoller S di Bello J.Houmoller F di Bello

1NT Pass 2} Dble2] 5} All Pass

Mazzadi transferred to spades and Lo Presti broke the trans-fer, showing his doubleton club along with four spades. Mazzadi's3] was a retransfer and Marquardsen balanced with a double,getting his side to 4}. Mazzadi led the ]Q and declarer cashedthe ace of clubs then took a spade pitch on the other top heart.He lost a club, a diamond and one spade for +130.

Jonas Houmoller responded with Stayman, hoping for a heartfit before committing himself to spades.When Furio doubled 2},Stelio just bid the club game. Five Clubs looks to be too high, andis off immediately on a spade lead, of course. However, the leadwas once again the ]Q. Stelio won the heart and cashed the sec-ond winner to throw a spade, then ruffed a heart and gave up aspade. A spade was returned and he ruffed that, crossed to theace of clubs and ruffed the last heart then exited with a trumpto the king. Bjorg Houmoller had to either give a ruff and discardor open up the diamonds. Nicely played for a fine +400 and7 IMPs to Italy.

The elimination could not have been completed had East wonthe defensive spade trick and switched to the }J or a diamond.

Declarer has to ruff two major-suit cards and has only the }A asan entry without breaking up the diamond position.

Board 25. E/W Vul. Dealer North.

[ 9 8 7 4] 6{ 7 6} K Q J 5 4 3

[ A 10 2 [ K Q J 5] A J 2 ] 10 5 4 3{ Q J 9 4 { K 8 3} A 9 7 } 8 2

[ 6 3] K Q 9 8 7{ A 10 5 2} 10 6


2[ Pass PassDble 3} Dble Pass3NT All Pass

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ITALY v DENMARK

Segment 2 (boards 33-48)FINAL

Stelio di Bello, Italy

16



3} Pass 3[Pass 4[ All Pass

Henriksen could open 2[ to show a pre-empt with four plusspades and a five-card or longer minor. Marquardsen passed thatand Lo Presti balanced with a double. Now Henriksen thoughtbetter of treating that North hand as a two-suiter and retreatedto the relative safety of his club suit.When Mazzadi doubled toshow general values, Lo Presti bid the no trump game.Lo Prestiducked the opening club lead and continuation but won the thirdround. He played a diamond to the ace and king and won thediamond return with the queen. Declarer cashed the ]A, ran thespades, and played a diamond to the nine for nine tricks and+600.

Stelio opened with a club pre-empt and Furio psyched a 3[response.When Stelio raised that to game, Furio had to live withplaying 4[. This was not a great pleasure for declarer, but thedefence did not take all the tricks that they might have done asit took them a while to realise what was going on. Furio got outfor down five; a bargain at -250 and 8 IMPs to Italy.


[ Q J 6 5 3] 9 8 7{ 9 7 3} 7 4

[ A K 9 7 4 2 [ –] A 10 3 ] Q 6 5 4{ J 8 4 { A K Q 6 5} 8 } K 6 3 2

[ 10 8] K J 2{ 10 2} A Q J 10 9 5


1{ 2}2[ Pass 3{ Pass4{ Pass 5{ All Pass


1{ 2}2[ Pass 3] Pass4{ Pass 5{ All Pass

Both Easts declared 5{ after South had overcalled 2}. Furioled the ace of clubs followed by the }Q, ruffed in dummy, anddeclarer cashed two top spades to throw hearts from hand thenruffed a spade and was over-ruffed.A diamond was returned andnow declarer won in hand and ruffed his last low club with the{J.A high spade ruff put declarer in hand to cash two top trumpsbut North's {9 was promoted in the process and there was alsoa heart to be lost; down two for -200.

Marquardsen also led the ace of clubs but he then found thedisastrous switch of the king of hearts, hoping to both establishtricks in the suit and cut declarer off from the long spades. Maz-

zadi won the ]A and played {J and a second diamond to handthen ruffed a club. He played three rounds of spades, ruffing thethird one, then drew trumps and claimed eleven tricks; +600 and13 IMPs to Italy.

Board 27. None Vul. Dealer South.

[ K J 7] 9 8{ Q 8 6 2} A 7 3 2

[ A [ Q 9 8 6 3] Q 7 5 ] K 4 2{ A J 10 7 5 3 { 9 4} K J 5 } Q 10 6

[ 10 5 4 2] A J 10 6 3{ K} 9 8 4


2]3{ All Pass


2}2{ 2[ Pass Pass3{ All Pass

South's opening bid at both tables showed a weak hand withat least four-four in the majors and both Wests became declarerin 3{ on a heart lead. Both ran this to the queen, crossed todummy with a club and led a trump. Houmoller went down very

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Boje Henriksen, Denmark

quickly by leading the {9, and now had two diamond losers byforce to go with a club and two hearts; -50.

Lo Presti did better when he led the {4 off the dummy.He wonthe king with the ace and played a second club to North's ace.Henriksen played a low diamond to dummy's nine and declarercrossed to hand with a club to play the {J. Henriksen won andplayed a heart through and the fourth round of hearts promotedthe {8 into the setting trick; down one for -50 and no swing.

Declarer can make the contract in two ways once he hasavoided the sloppy play of the {9 on the first round. Firstly, hecould have put up dummy's ]K at trick one, forcing South to winand thereby cutting the later communications for the trump pro-motion.The second chance came when the first diamond wentto the king and ace.While the {9 is still in dummy to over-ruffNorth if need be, declarer should play the second heart himself.Again, defensive communications are cut before the right timehas been reached to play for the trump promotion.

Board 32. E/W Vul. Dealer West.

[ Q 5 3] K J 10 5{ K 9 6} K 9 7

[ A J 8 2 [ K 9 7 6] A 3 ] 9 4{ Q 8 4 3 { 7 5} 4 3 2 } A Q J 10 6

[ 10 4] Q 8 7 6 2{ A J 10 2} 8 5


1{ 1] Dble 4]All Pass


Pass 1} Pass 1]Dble 2] 4[ All Pass

Lo Presti opened the West hand but was then prepared todefend against 4] although he knew there was a four-four spadefit. It was just too much to bid again with his flat 11-count.At theother table Bjorg passed as dealer but then showed spades anddiamonds by doubling at her next turn and now Jonas bid 4[.

Against 4], Mazzadi led the {7 to South's jack. Henriksenplayed a heart and Lo Presti won the ace to switch to ace thenjack of spades. Mazzadi won the [Q with his king and cashed theace of clubs for one off; -50.

A heart lead would have challenged Jonas to get the spadesright in 4[ as there would be three side-suit winners establishedfor the defence. But Furio chose to lead the }8 - Stelio hadopened 1}, of course, but that did not promise clubs.The clublead went to the king and ace and jonas cashed the top spadesthen started to run the clubs. There was time to get the heartloser away from the dummy whatever the club break so he cameto ten tricks for +420 and 10 IMPs to Denmark.

That was a nice for to finish the set for the Danes, but after32 boards they trailed by 44-90.67 IMPs.

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17


Société Générale'sFrench team

Thomas Bessis, 19 years old, studying math.Olivier Bessis, 21 years old, studying math.The Bessis family realised last year, a great thing: everymember of the family was in a French team: dad in theOpen team, mum in the Women, and both boys in the So-ciété Générale Youth French Team.They play a lot of sport,especially Tennis and Football (soccer).

Julien Gaviard, 22 years old, studying Chemistry.He is the son of Danièle Allouche-Gaviard, three times Eu-ropean champion.There isn't only bridge in his life: Table Tennis, Football andBowling are his others activities. This Parisian guy is sup-porting the Olympic of Marseille

Jérôme Grenthe, 22 years old, studying trade.Guillaume Grenthe, 23 years old, has just finished attrading school.They live in the north of the France, in Lille.They are well-suited to each other, it is in the family : their father Patrickhas been in the 100 best French players for 30 years nowand their mother Dominique plays at the top of the Frenchbridge world.

Godefroy de Tessières, 22 years old, has just finished anengineering school.In the de Tessières family, everybody plays bridge, both ofthe parents and the four children. Godefroy started at theage of eight. At ten, he was seen, with his family, in theWorld Bridge Championships in Geneva. He grew up inFort de France (Martinique) where lives the family. He en-joys nautical sports.

NPC: Jean-Christophe Quantin, 37, European champion.

Coach: François Colin.

On the French website you can find video reports, interviews, photos

www.ffbridge.asso.fr

18


Sports NewsSoccerEnglish PremiershipLeeds 0-0 Southampton, Portsmouth 4-0Bolton, Leicester 0-0 Middlesborough. HernanCrespo has completed his £16.8m transfer from

Inter Milan to Chelsea.The capture of the Argentine was offi-cially announced at half-time during Chelsea's ChampionsLeague game against MSK Zilina on Tuesday. Crespo becomesChelsea's 11th signing of the summer and brings the total spenton transfer fees since the takeover by Russian billionnaireRoman Abramovich to nearly £95m.

Tennis - US Open(8) Rainer Schuettler (Ger) bt Wayne Arthurs(Aus) 4-6 6-3 6-2 6-4, (11) Paradorn Srichaphan(Tha) bt Cyril Saulnier (Fra) 2-6 6-2 6-3 7-6(7-4), 1) Andre Agassi (USA) bt Alex Corretja

(Spa) 6-1 6-2 6-2, (4) Andy Roddick (USA) bt Tim Henman(Gbr) 6-3 7-6 (7-2) 6-3, Dmitry Tursunov (Rus) bt (14) Gusta-vo Kuerten (Bra) 5-7 6-2 6-2 4-6 7-6 (7-1).(2) Justine Henin-Hardenne (Bel) bt Aniko Kapros (Hun) 7-56-3, (7) Anastasia Myskina (Rus) bt Henrieta Nagyova (Svk)6-2 3-6 6-1, (11) Elena Dementieva (Rus) bt Alena Vaskova(Cze) 6-2 6-3, (6) Jennifer Capriati (USA) bt Cristina Torrens-Valero (Spa) 6-0 6-1, (15) Ai Sugiyama (Jpn) bt ConchitaMartinez-Granados (Spa) 6-1 6-0.

World AthleticsAmerica's Jerome Young clinched the men's400m title at the World Championships in Paris.Young stormed to victory in 44.5 seconds, withcountryman Tyree Washington in second in

44.77 and Marc Raquil of France in third in a national record of44.79. Saif Saaeed Shaheen won the 3,000m steeplechase final togive Qatar their first ever World Championships medal on Tues-day. Shaheen was engaged in a thrilling battle for the line withformer Kenya team-mate Ezekiel Kemboi . Spain's Eliseo Martinalso put in a determined performance to pick up the bronzemedal. Olympic champion Virgilijus Alekna took discus gold inParis to end Lars Riedel's hopes of a sixth world title. Lithuan-ian Alekna made an explosive start to the competition, throw-ing 69.69 metres with his first attempt - a mark that could notbe bettered. Hungary's Robert Fazekas, who is the only man tosurpass the 70m mark this season, took silver with a second-round throw of 69.01m.The final podium position was claimedby Belarussian Vasiliy Kaptyukh with another impressive firstthrow of 66.51m. Russia's Tatyana Lebedeva successfully de-fended her triple jump title at the World Championships inParis.The 27-year-old jumped a massive six metres in the finaljump section to soar to a season's best of 15.18m at her fourthattempt. Cameroon's Francoise Mbango Etone, had to settle foranother silver with a leap of 15.05m, setting a new Africanrecord in the process. Italy's Magdelin Martinez smashed her na-tional record as she posted 14.90m to take bronze. Americansprinter Jon Drummond has pulled out of the World Champi-onships.The 34-year-old caused controversy by refusing to leavethe track after being disqualified from the 100m quarter-final onSaturday for a false start. His withdrawal came hours before theInternational Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) threwhim out "for behaviour bringing the sport into disrepute". MariaMutola confirmed her status as the greatest female middle dis-tance runner of all time by winning the women's 800m at theWorld Championships on Tuesday. The Mozambique athletekicked late to finish in one minute 59.89 seconds, ahead ofBritain's Kelly Holmes and Russia's Natalya Kruschchelyova.

World News

N Korea crisis talks beginAfter months of threats and recriminations, talks betweenthe six key nations involved in the crisis over North Korea'snuclear ambitions have begun in Beijing. But hopes are nothigh for immediate results from the summit. North Korea'sofficial media repeated on Wednesday that the talks wouldfail unless Washington was ready to offer a non-aggressionpact. The Bush administration is meanwhile continuing toinsist that North Korea must scrap its weapons programmein a verifiable and irreversible manner. Before the meetinggot under way, China - the host - called for restraint, andwarned that hardline positions would only deepen the dis-pute and threaten peace in the region.

Iraq 'needs billions to recover'America's administrator in Iraq has warned that the countrywill need tens of billions of dollars to rebuild its shatteredinfrastructure. Paul Bremer said it was "almost impossible toexaggerate" the country's economic needs. The economicbill comes on top of the estimated one billion dollars perweek the US already spends to maintain its occupationforces. Mr Bremer's comments - made in the WashingtonPost - came as President Bush's political opponentscondemned a speech in which the president defended hisadministration's policy on Iraq.

Skywatchers await Mars encounterMars and Earth are about to pass closer together than at anytime in almost 60,000 years. On Wednesday at 1051 BST(0951 GMT) the two planets will be 56 million kilometres(35 million miles) apart - about the closest they can get.Mars has been visible as a bright orange object in the nightsky for many weeks. It currently outshines any othercelestial body except the Moon and Venus.

Canada signs Indian land dealThe Canadian Government has signed an agreement withan indigenous group of Indians granting them territorynearly the size of Switzerland. The deal, which was signedby Prime Minister Jean Chretien and leaders of the TlichoNation group, creates the largest single block of landowned by the Tlichos. It will give them the chance toexploit the natural resources of the territory, includingCanada's two diamond mines.They will also create a terri-torial government which will be responsible for health andeducation issues.

Russia wants oligarch from GreeceProsecutors in Russia say they have begun preparing a re-quest to extradite the media tycoon Vladimir Gusinsky fromGreece. Mr Gusinsky, aged 50, was detained on Thursday atAthens airport. He is currently being held in the hospitalwing of the city's Korydallos prison - however his Spanishlawyer, Domingo Plazas, says his condition is not serious.TheRussian authorities accuse Mr Gusinsky of fraudulentprivatisation, and money laundering and obtaining a $250mloan by fraud. Mr Gusinsky says all the charges against himare politically motivated.

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