Bridge - Trial for U.S. Team for World Mind Sports Games - NYTimes.com The trial to select the United States open team for the World Mind Sports Games in August has reached the knockout stage in Schaumburg, Ill. Fifteen teams have competed in a two-day round robin of seven-board matches. Now there will be four rounds of two-day, 120-board knockout matches to decide the winning team. Eleven round-robin qualifiers were joined by the Martin Fleisher team, which was seeded to this stage. Those six matches began Sunday and continued on Monday. The winners move into the quarterfinals, joined by the Nick Nickell and John Diamond teams, which were given a bye to that stage. The diagramed deal occurred during the round robin and featured careful play by Chris Willenken of New York City. At the other table Willenken's teammates bid five spades over five hearts, going down one undoubled when the defenders immediately cashed two hearts and one diamond. Willenken (South) chose to open one diamond, preferring to bid his best suit first and being willing to bid hearts twice to show his 5-6. He was pleasantly surprised when his partner, Michael Rosenberg of Cupertino, Calif., responded one heart. After East made an unusual weak jump overcall of two spades (he would normally have held a weaker hand with only six spades), South cue-bid three spades. West raised to four spades, North rebid five diamonds, and all passed. West led the spade seven, third-highest from an even number or lowest from an odd number. East won with his ace, shifted to the club king and continued with a low club. How did Willenken proceed? Having to play the heart suit without loss, he set out to get a count of the deal. To maximize his dummy entries, declarer ruffed the second club with his diamond ten. When the diamond ace collected East's jack, South overtook his diamond eight with dummy's nine and ruffed a club high. Dummy was re-entered by leading the diamond four to the five, and the last club was trumped. What had declarer learned? Assuming the opening lead was honest, the spades were 4-7. If they had been 5-6, West would have led a lower spade. East had also shown up with one diamond and three clubs. Therefore the hearts had to be 2-2. Willenken cashed his heart king, played a heart to dummy's ace and claimed when the queen dropped. Minus 100 and plus 450 gave Willenken's team eight international match points en route to third place in the round robin. Note that Willenken did well to pass out five diamonds. Several pairs played in five hearts and understandably went down one, playing East, the pre-emptor, for a singleton heart. Details are at usbf.org, and play can be watched at bridgebase.com.