BBO Vugraph #173

Welcome back to Wroclaw in southwestern Poland. We take a break from the Rosenblum today to concentrate on the McConnell Cup, the Women’s Teams event. Quite a number of the top women players chose to play in the Open Teams at this championship, with the result that there was an entry of only 10 teams in the McConnell. The format was a complete round robin of nine matches played over three days, with the top four teams qualifying for the knockout stage.

The BBO expert bidding panel was represented in two of the four teams that made it to the semi-finals. Sally Brock and Jill Meyers were both members of the BAKER team that lost their semi-final to BRODY (USA, Sweden, Hungary), who had led the field at the end of the qualifying round. So, both Sally and Jill had to settle for bronze medals. In the other semi-final, we had Jessica Larsson and Janice Molson on TRI POLAR (England, Sweden, USA), and they advanced to the final with a 131-117 win over EDMONDS.

The format for the final is 84 boards split into six 14-board stanzas, played over two days.

As usual, we start with a couple of problems.  Firstly, with only the opponents vulnerable, you are North holding:

What approach do you plan to take with this hand?

Finally, with only your side vulnerable, you are sitting North with:

What do you bid?

While you mull those over, we join the action in the opening segment of the final, and the excitement began early:

Sandra Rimstedt decided that the North hand was worth no more than a simple raise to game. West led a club and declarer made the obvious 11 tricks: N/S +660.

Regular readers of comments made by members of the BBO bidding panel will know that Jessica Larsson can rarely be accused of taking the conservative action, and today was no exception. She started with a two-up transfer jump to 4♠, showing a slam try with long diamonds. Kathie Bertheau bid 5♣ to show interest in co-operating, and Larsson needed no more invitation.

Yes, by playing from the North hand, they had potentially exposed the ♠K to the opening lead but, as the cards lie, declarer would probably have guessed right on a spade lead. When Marion Michielsen opened the ♥3, declarer had a twelfth trick as long as trumps behaved. With the ♦Q appearing, there was no guess, and declarer was soon claiming 12 tricks. N/S +920 and 12 IMPs to TRI POLAR.

BRODY got the better of the rest of the opening set and led by 9 IMPS, 32-23, after 14 boards. The second and third sets of the match were both fairly quiet, BRODY winning both, by 3 IMPs and 2 IMPs to lead by 14 IMPs (80-66) overnight. All still to play for on the second day.

The overnight lead did not survive long. TRI POLAR gained a couple of early partscore swings, and then came:

Jessica Larsson showed an invitational or better heart raise after Cecilia Rimstedt’s 1♠ overcall. Marion Michielsen joined in with a responsive double, suggesting both minors, which encouraged Rimstedt to double Kathie Bertheau’s jump to game.

Rimstedt led a club and, mindful of the possibility of a club ruff if she took a losing trump finesse, Bertheau played the ♥Q at trick two but then rose with the ace when it was not covered. The safety play cost the overtrick, but that was still N/S +790.

In the replay, North/South did not even get into the auction. Janice Molson opened a natural weak 2♦ in second seat and Hjordis Eythorsdottir showed a good hand with a natural 2♠ advance. With three-card spade support, Molson even splintered on her way to 4♠, but the former Icelandic international had nothing to spare for her initial response, so she signed off in game. No one was close to a double after such a strong auction so, although the contract drifted a couple down, it was only 50s. N/S +100 and 12 IMPs to TRI POLAR, ahead for the first time since Board 3 of the match. TRI POLAR won the fourth stanza 30-16, tying the match at 96-96 with two sets to play. It did not take long to split the tie:

I apologize for posing what you may have considered a ridiculous problem at the top of this article. Nevena Senior made what I think is the obvious 1♠ response and moments later she was installed in slam. Marion Michielsen did not divine the heart lead, and so Senior was soon claiming her twelve tricks, N/S +1430.

Unless you play some complex relay system, whereby you can discover partner’s exact hand, I simply do not understand this new-fangled idea of responding 2♣ on this type of hand just to create a game force. Look through any book for beginners on basic bidding, and it will tell you to bid four-card suits ‘up the line’. Quite why people feel they need to reinvent the wheel when a round one works perfectly adequately, is beyond me. (Rant over!)

Whatever the systemic benefits it may be perceived to have, Briggita Fischer’s 2♣ response clearly did not solve the problem on this hand. Was her later jump to 4NT quantitative (as Rimstedt clearly thought) or was it intended as RKCB agreeing spades? The upshot was that a good slam (you need trumps to behave if they find the right lead) was missed. N/S +660 and 13 IMPs to TRI POLAR on the opening deal of the penultimate set.

This was something of a trap hand from N/S, and the Swedes did nothing to rescue the English pair from reaching the doomed 3NT. Cecilia Rimstedt duly found the spade lead that ensured a plus score for E/W. Unable to discern the heart position by seeing through the backs of the cards, declarer duly ended with only the seven tricks with which she began. N/S -200.

It is a well-known principle that it is much safer to bid early in the auction than to try to get back in later. I saw this hand played at one table in the Rosenblum, where West opened 2♥. After two passes, South doubled, and North bid the obvious 2♠. North’s raise to 3♠ then ended the auction in an inelegant 3-3 fit. I suppose it is a matter of style whether you open 2♥ on this West hand vulnerable (why not?), but if you do not do so then you should probably follow the approach taken by Cecilia Rimstedt at the first table, and pass throughout. At this table, Hjordis Eythorsdottir did not open but she then introduced her hearts in a much more exposed position, and paid the price.

Brigitta Fischer first played in the Hungarian Women’s Under-26 team at the age of just 17. In her final year of eligibility as a junior, she won a silver medal at the 2019 European Youth Teams. She made her debut in the Hungarian Women’s team at the Venice Cup in Salsomaggiore earlier this year.

When West’s 2♥ came back to her, Sandra Rimstedt doubled for a second time with her extra strength. Fischer understandably saw no reason to do anything other than defend. The defence always had the ♠A and two tricks in each of the other suits: N/S +500 and 12 IMPs to BRODY.

BRODY won the fifth stanza 25-19 to take a 6-IMP lead into the last 14 boards of this final. BRODY had added three overtrick IMPs to their tally over the first half of the final set, and then came:

When Marion Michielsen bid 2NT at her second turn, she showed a penalty double of spades. Rimstedt had a clear raise to game, but declarer had only two tricks in each suit and no real prospect of a ninth. N/S +50.

When you live by the sword, you will inevitably sometimes die by it. Fischer chose the more aggressive jump overcall that has become almost standard practise of late. With no 2♥ rebid available, Bertheau backed in with a double and Larsson had a clear penalty pass.

The favourable diamond position allowed declarer to make two tricks in that suit, but Fischer still lost two clubs, two diamonds, one heart and three trumps. That all adds up to N/S +500 and 11 IMPs to TRI POLAR, who took a 2-IMP lead with just six boards left.

There would be no more major swings, but the remaining IMPs that were exchanged all flowed in one direction. Over the last six deals, BRODY gained swings of 3 IMPs, 1 IMP and 5 IMPs on the final board to win the set 12-11, and the match by 7 IMPs, 133-126.

Congratulations to the BRODY team, Marion Michielsen, Sandra Rimstedt, Joan Brody, Brigitta Fischer, and Cecilia Rimstedt.