USA wins bridge

By Djanwar Madjolelo

JAKARTA (JP): The USA won the Women's 1996 World Bridge Olympiad on Rhodes, Greece, thanks to its team of Gail Greenberg, Jill Blanchard, Irina Levitina, Juanita Chambers, Lynn Deas and Shawn Quinn.

Non-playing captain Eddie Wood and team coach Bob Morris lent them support.

Irina Levitina became the first person to be a world champion in both bridge and chess. She won three gold medals for Russia in the Women's Chess Olympiad from 1972 to 1984.

In 1984 she also took the silver medal in the women's individual event.

In 1990 she moved to New York. She represented the USA for the first time in the bridge Olympiad on Rhodes.

Women's final

Set three: China versus USA.

Board 33

Love : All

Dealer: North

NORTH

(S) 4 2

(H) 3

(D) A Q 10 7 5 3

(C) K J 7 5

WEST EAST

(S) A J 9 7 (S) K Q 10 8 5

(H) A (H) 10 9 7 6

(D) K J 9 6 2 (D) 8 4

(C) A 9 2 (C) 8 4

SOUTH

(S) 6 3

(H) K Q J 8 5 4 2

(D) void

(C) Q 10 6 3

Irina Levitina and Zhang Yalan both opened the North hand with 1 Diamond and both Sun Ming and Juanita Chambers overcalled 1 Spade.

Jullian Blanchard and Gu Ling both jumped to 4 Hearts and both Wang Hong Li and Lynn Deas bid 4 Spades.

In one room Levitina passed that and Blanchard doubled while in the other Zhang doubled with the North hand.

Blanchard found the good lead of a low trump and Sun won in hand and led 8 Diamond. Blanchard ruffed, protecting her partner's Diamond holding, then switched to a Club and when Levitina gained the lead she played a second trump, leaving declarer a trick short -100.

Gu led the King Heart and Chambers led dummy's Jack Diamond at trick two. Zhang won the Queen and led a trump win in dummy and a low Diamond lead.

Zhang went in with the ten and played a second trump but the King 9 were worth a trick via ruffing finesse which was a rather important trick for Chambers - the tenth one.

The score closed +590 and 12 IMPs to USA.