WBTC – Lyon 2017: Lyon – The Traboules – Secret Passageways

43rd World Bridge Teams Championships

Lyon, France • 12 – 26 August 2017

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August 12

The 43rd World Bridge Championships – Lyon 2017 – are under way following the opening ceremony at the Hotel duVille, one of the largest historic buildings in the City, classified as an historic monument since 1886.

Lyon – The Traboules – Secret Passageways

Source: travelfrance.tips

During the Middle Ages, Lyon had a flourishing silk trade. In order to allow the silk merchants to transfer their goods from barges in the river, or to and from their storage areas or shops, they had to walk through the narrow streets of the old Lyon (Vieux Lyon). On its own not a problem except when it rained. Silk does not like rain, so the merchants needed to keep their goods dry (plastic wasn’t invented on those days yet). So they thought up a smart system. Throughout the buildings in the older part of Lyon, they transposed passageways.

These passageways, called “Traboules“, became an integral part of the building structure of the houses in the old city. Instead of walking the long streets, and getting wet, you would duck into a traboule and exit several streets further, and then ducking into the next one.

Today there are some 215 Traboules spread around the “Vieux Lyon” (Old Lyon) and a total of 500 of them all over Lyon. But the vast majority are private and can not be visited. In the old town, some 40 of them are open to visits, but 1) you need to know where they are, since often they are hidden and 2) they are privately owned, forming part of a building so you need to keep quite.

The traboules are often dark, narrow and low. But at least they are dry.  The passageways normally transverse small open air, or totally closed, courtyards: Already in the first hands of this bridge teams world championships many players would have liked to find some of those passages to defend themselves against the attacks of their opponents, let’s see some examples.

Match: Argentina- Brazil

BB (Bermuda Bowl) Round 1 Board 10  The bidding (close room):

Thoma	Pellegrini	Ravenna	Lucena
		1	2
2	Double	Pass	4
All Pass

Ravenna opened with 1 and Lucena started to describe his hand showing his clubs. Thoma supported his partner’s suit, and Pellegrini doubled to show the other two suits. After East’s pass, Lucena chose to play the heart game. After a spade lead, declarer only lost the spade and the diamond aces. At the other room: The bidding (Open room):

Muzzio	Carvalho	Camberos	Dias
		1	2
3	All Pass

Camberos opened with 1 and Dias also showed his clubs, but here Muzzio decided to show his weak 4 cards support jumping to 3…this closed all the players mouths. Declarer was two down, and 10 IMPs for Argentina. BB (Bermuda Bowl) Round 1 Board 12  Board 12 Overall results:  As you can see several tables chose to play the diamond slam or the heart slam generating a lot of double digit swings. Match: Argentina- Brazil The bidding:

Muzzio	Carvalho	Camberos	Dias
Pass	1	Double	11
22	3	Pass	3
Pass	43	Pass	4
Pass	4NT	Pass	55
Pass	6	All Pass

1.  Showed a balanced hand (8+ PH).
2. Pass or correct
3. 3 suit
4. 3 suit
5. Two keycards plus the queen

After West pass, North Opened 1 (15 if balanced or 16+) and Camberos decided to interrupt with a Double. South’s 1 showed a balanced hand (8+ PH). West continued bothering N/S bidding with 2 and Carvalho mentioned his heart suit, not really sure about what his partner would understand. Dias showed his spade suit, Carvalho continued with his first cue-bid, and Dias showed his diamonds. Now Carvalho asked keycards, and when he heard his partner had two with the queen of diamonds chose to play the diamond slam. The lead was a trump, and after two diamond rounds, declarer let run the 10 and after winning the trick claimed 13 tricks.

At the other table Argentina played 4 =680. And 12 IMPs for Brazil. The match finished Argentina 39 – Brazil 31. P.S: TY Leao Carvalho for the bidding explanation.