This week, we pay our final visit to Phoenix, Arizona and the 2022 U.S. Fall Nationals, for the final of the prestigious Reisinger Board-a-Match Teams. Of the 32 teams that lined up for the qualifying rounds, 10 have survived to the final. 

The semi-final finished with the Bermuda Bowl champions, ZIMMERMANN (Pierre Zimmermann, Fernando Piedra, Sjoert Brink, Bas Drijver, Piotr Gawrys and Michal Klukowski), a country mile ahead of the field. They go into the final with a carry-forward advantage of over two boards more than the second-placed team.

These are the qualifying teams and the score they carry forward into the final:

As usual, we start with some problems for you to consider. Firstly, with only your side vulnerable, you are East holding:

What action, if any, do you take?

Next, with both sides vulnerable, you are sitting in the North seat with:

What action, if any, do you take?

At Board-a-Match (similar to matchpointed pairs), scoring +420 whilst teammates are conceding -400 is worth exactly the same as a swing that would gain you 20 IMPs in a normal team game. Even so, it is worth looking at some of the more spectacular boards. 

This early deal between the leaders and one of the highly-fancied chasing teams raises the question of what opening bid causes the most problems for opponents.

Sjoert Brink started with a mini (10-12 HCP) 1NT on the South cards and Cedric Lorenzini came in with a transfer 2♥ overcall, showing spades. Bas Drijver showed interest in competing with a double, but Thomas Bessis was not to be deterred, and his jump to 4♠ closed the straightforward auction. The contract essentially depended on the trump finesse through the opening bidder and, when that succeeded, the French had a vulnerable game bonus on the board. E/W +620.

It is perhaps hard to see how N/S can keep their opponents out of this game, but the Americans managed to do so at the other table.

Who would have imagined that the pre-emptive power of a 1♣ opening would be the silver bullet? Marty Fleisher (left) started with a feather-weight 1♣ opening and that seemed to mesmerize the Bermuda Bowl winners’ Polish contingent. Michal Klukowski came in with a weak (but vul against not) jump overcall and Chip Martel made a negative double. That left Piotr Gawry with the first of this week’s bidding problems.

Gawrys felt that his hand was only worth a competitive 3♠. When that went back around to Martel, he could have passed and conceded -170 to win the board, but he was not to know that. He backed in with a second double and Fleisher admitted to holding four hearts. Neither opponent could find a double although, even had they done so, it would not have been enough to win the board. Declarer drifted three down for -150 and the point on the deal went to FLEISHER.

Sometimes, there is nothing you can do but, if given you a chance, it is vital that you take it. When his opponents slightly over-reached on our next deal, the French star and member of the BBO expert bidding panel, Cedric Lorenzini, found an excellent defensive play to punish them.

I am sure that purists would not approve of Fleisher’s opening bid, but it is a sign of the times that both South players in this match considered it routine. Martel forced to game with 2♣ and Soloway KO Teams winner Simon Cope gamely entered with a 2♥ overcall. Fleisher doubled and Martel rebid his solid eight-bagger. When Fleisher could bid nothing more encouraging, than 3NT, Martel gave up. Well judged, that man.

Of course, there is no defence to this contract. Kevin Rosenberg led a low spade to his partner’s king, and Cope returned the suit to queen and ace. Rosenberg now switched to a heart, but Fleisher overtook dummy’ king with his ace, cashed the ♠J for a diamond pitch, and claimed eight club tricks. N/S +430. 

Roger Lee also opened 1♠, but Bessis did not come in on the East hand at this table, so it was South who bid hearts here. Simon Ekenberg also rebid his clubs and heard 3NT from his partner. Perhaps having not been warned by his opponents that his partner was on the sub-minimum side of minimum, Ekenberg felt he was worth one more try, and raised to 4NT.

Cedric Lorenzini (right) got the defence off to an excellent start by leading the ♠A, removing dummy’s exit card in that suit. When, at trick two, he switched to a heart, despite declarer having bid the suit, Lee’s goose was well and truly cooked. He could win in dummy with the ♥K and cash his eight club winners, but both defenders kept two diamonds and a spade in the endgame, ensuring that declarer could not come to a tenth trick. N/S -50 and the point on the board to FLEISHER.

The matchpoint-style form of scoring at Board-a Match means that players are sometimes willing to take risks that they might not at IMPs. On this deal, the respective North players in our match tried two different ways to help partner find what they thought would be the best opening lead. One, like an early space capsule, crashed and burned on entry. The other conducted a successful operation, but the patient was still pronounced dead on the table. 

The auction began normally with a strong 1NT opening from Piotr Gawrys (left) and a Stayman inquiry from Michal Klukowski. Despite the adverse vulnerability, John Kranyak decided that the odds were against his partner leading a spade, whether the final contract was 3NT or 4♥ by East. With overtricks potentially of vital importance at this form of scoring, Kranyak therefore stuck his neck out by overcalling 2♠. 

Perhaps Kranyak would have gotten away with his overcall against some pairs, for whom a double by opener would show four spades. (On this layout, if East passes 2♠, West may re-open with a double anyway, to same effect.) A wily old campaigner, Gawrys fully appreciated the defensive potential of his hand, so he doubled despite holding only three trumps. Klukowski had no reason to do anything other than pass, and thus Kranyak was caught with his hand in the cookie-jar. 

Taking five side-suit winners and two trump tricks was not a particularly taxing test for the defence: E/W +500 and what looked like a winning board against a normal -430/460 at the other table, but you never can tell

After the same start to the auction, Bas Drijver (right) did not overcall on the North hand. However, when his opponents stumbled into game via an invitational raise, Drijver decided that a spade lead may be essential, so he doubled on the way out. 

Kevin Bathurst redoubled, although that is just about irrelevant at this form of scoring -- if the contract makes, whether doubled or redoubled, you are likely to win the point, and if it goes down you will probably lose the board. However, old rubber bridge habits die hard and, of course, it also both impresses and entertains the hundreds watching live on BBO Vugraph.

Drijver got his wish, as Brink did indeed lead a spade against 3NT-XX. Not that it helped much on this layout, as declarer had eleven easy tricks. And, as if to demonstrate how difficult this game can be, you actually didn’t want a spade lead after all: only a club opening holds declarer to ten tricks. 3NT-XX +2 meant E/W +1200 and the point on the board to SPECTOR.

Experts widely consider Board-a-Match the most difficult form of scoring. Unlike its close cousin, matchpoints, where you are trying to outscore the majority in a large field, at B-a-M you are just trying to do better than the one pair at the other table. This often means that penalty doubles are much more speculative: the difference between +50 and +100 at matchpoints or IMPs may be small, but at B-a-M it wins (or loses) the board. This deal both illustrates the point and provided plenty of excitement for those watching live on BBO VuGraph.

In a competitive auction, West competes to the three-level in hearts. Bobby Levin (left), who had shown no interest in game on the previous round of the auction, now raises to game. 

Sitting South, you have a 10-count facing partner’s opening bid: do you think declarer is favorite to make this contract? Brink decided that the answer was ‘No’, so he doubled, hoping to turn +100 into +200, and thus win the board whether teammates went one down in something or even defended a making spade partscore for -110/140.

All that seems quite reasonable, but the E/W hands fit well and, with the spade finesse unexpectedly onside for declarer, the defence can come to no more than their three aces. N/S -790 and what looks like a likely loss for Switzerland’s Dutch contingent.

After a similar auction, Gawrys does not raise to game on the East hand. You’re playing Board-a-Match, so take over from Eric Greco in the South seat. Does it not sound as if you are probably making 2♠ and West has been pushed to the three-level? If that is the case, collecting +100 from 3♥ will be a losing board if your teammates are conceding eight tricks in spades. Partner has shown no interest in bidding a third spade, so that doesn’t seem like an option on such a ropy suit. How can you win this board?

The answer, as you will have deduced, is to double 3♥ and collect +200. That will win the board if teammates go one down in 3♥ undoubled or if they lose -110 defending 2♠. Of course, Greco could have just won the board easily by conceding -170 against teammates +790. Was that so obvious, though? So, he duly doubled and, as at the other table, the defence could score no more than their three aces. That was N/S -930 and the point on the board to ZIMMERMANN after all.

And that, dear readers, is why Board-a-Match scoring is such a difficult game.

No matter what the form of scoring, big misfit hands are frequently difficult to both bid and play. A pair of Bermuda Bowl winners demonstrated what is often the right strategy on misfits, no matter how good your hand is.

The best strategy on misfits is to keep low. Sjoert Brink (right) opened 1♦ on this excellent South collection, but his hand was not improved when partner bid his void, so he settled for a quiet 1♠, rather than making a jump to 2♠ or 3♦. Bas Drijver then continued with 2NT, showing clubs in their methods (a jump in the fourth suit by responder, 3♣ here, would normally show a game-forcing 5-5 or 6-5 in standard methods). Although he has a huge hand, Brink settled for a simple 3NT, which ended the auction. Declarer made 10 tricks: N/S +630.

At the other table, North heard the auction shown in the last of this week’s bidding problems:

Simon Ekenberg (left) opted for optimism, and jumped to 6♣. Theoretically, he was right too, as 6♣  could be made. However, a handful of top-class declarers tried to make it on this deal, none of them successfully. Even looking at all four hands, it is not obvious how declarer can come to twelve tricks on the lead of the ♦Q. See if you can spot how it can be done.

At the table, the young Swedish star won with the ♦K and continued with the ♦A, throwing the spade from his hand. Gawrys ruffed and returned a trump, so declarer won in dummy with the ♣k and advanced the  ♠K, discarding a heart when West did not cover. Klukowski played his ace when a second high spade was led, and declarer ruffed. He then ruffed a heart in dummy and pitched his remaining heart losers on dummy’s pointed-suit winners, but Klukowski still had to make a trick with the ♣Q at the end. N/S -100 and the point on the board goes to ZIMMERMANN.

Did you spot how declarer could have made 6♣? I searched through the play records for all tables, hoping to locate a declarer who found the winning line, as it would have been worthy of a nomination of the year’s best-played hand. Alas no one did. Declarer has to win the diamond lead and immediately play dummy’s low trump to his jack. He then plays his spade to the king and West’s ace. If West returns a diamond, declarer ruffs with the ♣10. If he gets a heart switch, he wins with the ace. Having regained the lead, declarer then re-enters dummy with the ♣K. With East now out of trumps, he can discard his four heart losers, two on winning spades and two on high diamonds, He then ruffs back to hand, cashed the ♣A to draw East’s queen, and claims. A fine play indeed!

These were the final standings:

Congratulations to the ZIMMERMANN team: pictured here receiving the trophy from ACBL President Joann Glasson, they are left to right: Sjoert Brink, Michal Klukowski, Fernando Piedra, Pierre Zimmermann, Bas Drijver and Piotr Gawrys. A special congratulatory note, too, to Simon Cope and Kevin Rosenberg, who finished second in the Reisinger having won the Soloway KO Teams with different teammates earlier in the week. An impressive performance indeed.

Next week, as we once again go ‘Down Under’ We will bring you the best of the action from the final trial to select Australia’s representatives for the Mixed Teams at the World Championships in Morocco next summer.