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Read more »Adam Pawlowski won the 2015 Spingold fantasy bracket contest, earning the right to challenge the BRIDGE WINNERS (Jason Feldman - Greg Humphreys; Eugene Hung - Adam Parrish; and Steve Weinstein - Gavin Wolpert) team for $500. The CHALLENGERS were Adam Pawlowski - Jacek Grzelczak; Konrad Araszkiewicz - Mariusz Puczynski; Przemek Janiszewski - Michal Kwiecien.
BRIDGE WINNERS took a 16-IMP lead in the first half and extended that lead to 21 with four boards to play, helped in part by this deal:
At the other table, the Polish-style 2♣ opening (minimum, 6+ clubs or 5 clubs and a 4-card major) got passed out, for +150 East-West. The stakes were higher when Feldman and Humphreys reached game. A heart lead or a diamond lead and a heart switch would have defeated 3NT, but Janiszewski led a spade: +600 and 10 IMPs to BRIDGE WINNERS.
The CHALLENGERS rallied:
Feldman opened an offbeat 1NT, and Kwiecien overcalled 2♣ for the majors. Humphreys doubled ("undiscussed, but hopefully not Stayman"), then doubled Janiszewski's 2♠ preference, which ended the auction.
Feldman led a spade, and declarer won in hand and returned a spade. Now Feldman switched gears, going for the tap, but declarer could win the ♦A, play a club toward the ace-queen, and then shift his attention to hearts, losing no more than two spades and three hearts. In fact, the defense got desperate and gave declarer a ruff-sluff, which cost an overtrick (but not an IMP): +570, which combined with +130 in 2♦ by East at the other table, sending 12 IMPs to the CHALLENGERS with three boards to play.
Pawlowski and Grzelczak had all plus scores on the final three boards, but it wasn't enough: Feldman and Humphreys matched their results on boards 10 and 11, and despite losing a 6-IMP partscore swing on the last board, BRIDGE WINNERS held on to win by 3 IMPs, maintaining its undefeated record in fantasy bracket challenge matches (no losses; one tie), but congratulations to the CHALLENGERS for an exciting and well-played match.
