We are in the city of Sopot, on the Baltic coast of northern Poland, for the 2023 World Bridge Tour Masters event. The 12-team field includes many of the best players in Europe. The format is a complete round-robin of 20-board matches split into two 10-board segments. At the end of the 11 rounds, the top four teams will play semi-finals and final for the title. The other two groups of four will play off for minor places.

After the first four of eleven matches in the round robin stage, the Norwegians have won all four matches and built a not-insignificant lead. These are the standing:

As usual, we start with some problems. Firstly, with both sides vulnerable, you are sitting in the North seat with:

What is your plan?

Next, with neither side vulnerable, you hold as North:

What action, if any, do you take?

Next, with neither side vulnerable, you are South with the following collection:

What action, if any, do you take?

Finally, with both sides vulnerable, you are South with these cards:

What action, if any, do you take?

While you consider those, we begin this visit to Sopot with a Round 5 match between two teams packed with international experience, GILLIS (England/Norway/Sweden) and MORAN (Ireland/France).  The final deal of the first half was one of those that looks easy when you can see all four hands, but how did you fare with the first of the problems above?

Put before a bidding panel, I suspect that Tommy Garvey’s raise to 3NT would attract considerable support. Perhaps someone would quote Hamman’s Second Law of Bidding – “If you need me to have the perfect hand, assume I haven’t got it”. Perhaps the Irish forgot to pack their famed luck for this trip, as the South hand was exactly what was needed and there were 12 top tricks. N/S +690.

Of course, venturing beyond 3NT does not commit you to bidding a slam (as perhaps it might at matchpoints). It is possible to investigate and still stop in 5♣. Mikael Rimstedt (left) started with a ‘two-up transfer’, 4♥, showing clubs and at least some slam interest. Ola Rimstedt showed interest with 4♠ and Mikael showed the limited nature of his interest. Exactly what the rest of the auction meant, it seems clear that Ola appreciated how suitable his hand was and effectively committed to slam as soon as his brother bid 4♥. N/S +1370 and 12 IMPs to GILLIS.

GILLIS led by 11 IMPs at the midway point, but the Irish came back in the second half to split the VPs with a 37-37 tie.

In Round 6, the BBO VuGraph featured match was HARRIS against the best-placed of the four Polish teams, NAWROT, who have moved up into second place after a big win against one of their compatriots in the previous match. At the halftime break, the Poles led narrowly, 23-20. The second half was an entirely different kettle of fish.

Both North players had to answer the second of this week’s problems on the first deal of the second half, and this board set the tone:

Jennifer Harris opened a 15-17 1NT on the West hand and was quickly installed in 4♠ after an uncontested Stayman auction. North led a club, declarer’s nine winning, and cashing the ♠Q-J then revealed the 4-1 split. Declarer can never make this contract, but drawing the remaining trumps and then knocking our the ♥A gets you to nine tricks. When Harris tried to cash the ♣K at trick four, South ruffed. The defenders scored their three top red-suit tricks and an overruff on the fourth round of clubs for two down. No big deal: E/W -100.

However, North was not prepared to go quietly in the replay…

Danuta Kazmucha (right) opened her international career with a gold medal, winning the Under-26 Women’s Teams at the 2010 World Youth Championships. She added a European title in 2011 and a second World Championship win in the same category in 2012. For good measure, she also picked up a silver medal in the Under-26 Women’s Pairs at the 2012 European Youth Championships. Kazmucha made her debut in the Poland Women’s team while still a junior, at the 2011 Venice Cup. She was a member of the winning Polish Women’s team at the European Team Championships in both 2018 and 2022.

I don’t have the NS convention card, so I cannot tell you whether Steve Root had a way of showing a one-suited hand with a minor at the two-level. Perhaps seeing that his opponents were a couple of ‘girls’ influenced his decision to push the boat out with a pre-emptive jump to the three-level. He soon discovered that these two Polish ladies knew what a red card was for. Anna Sarniak made a takeout double of 3♣, and Kazmucha had no trouble converting for penalties, the 4-4 spade fit notwithstanding.

Collecting a +500 penalty when your side is non-vulnerable, is always a good thing. With game in spades no play, E/W +500 meant 12 IMPs to NAWROT to open the second half. It was one-way traffic thereafter, and the match finished with a 67-32 win for the Poles, closing the gap behind the leaders to just 5 VPs.

In Round 7, those watching on BBO VuGraph got their first look at the leaders, as they took on another of the all-Polish teams, THE WINNER. The Norwegians led 21-17 at the halftime break, but they then reminded everyone that they had not yet lost a match.

Lasse Aaseng (left) made his international debut in a Norwegian Junior team that included Geir Helgemo. They collected bronze medals from the 1992 European Youth Championships and silver medals at the World Championships the following year.

On this deal, Aaseng opened 1NT in third seat on his prime 16-count. Arve Farstad’s competitive 2♠ bid did not invite further action from his partner, but Aaseng liked his hand enough to make a forward move. Farstad was close to a maximum for his original bid, so he raised to game.

Piotr Zatorski led a heart to the jack and king. Declarer led a club towards dummy, and Zatorski could have defeated the contract by two had he ducked, but it was possible that declarer needed only one club (if diamonds were coming in for five tricks), so he took no chances and rose with the ♣K to clear the hearts. Declarer won the third round with the ♥A and played a second club, and Zatorski cashed out for one down. E/W +50 and a small loss for Aaseng’s enterprising view of his hand.

Nicolai Heiberg-Evenstad (right) may be the next one to roll off the Norwegian conveyor belt that has produced superstars such as Geir Helgemo, Boye Brogeland and Christian Bakke. He made his international debut in the Norwegian Under-16 team at the 2019 European Youth Teams. At the 2022 World Youth Championships in Salsomaggiore, he finished sixth in the Under-21 Pairs and won the Under-21 Teams. Yes, he is already a World champion. Now he comes to an event such as the WBT Masters as part of a team who have won their first seven matches. Amazing!

On this deal, Andrzej Jarzabowski’s 2♠ opening on the North hand created a completely different scenario. A member of the Polish Women’s team who collected silver medals at the 2019 European Transnational Championships, Marta Sikora advanced with a 2NT inquiry.

I’ll put Heiberg’s double of 2NT down to the exuberance of youth. Yes, you expect LHO’s minor to be diamonds rather than clubs. Yes, they might be stealing from you and you might be cold for 4♥. However, it’s much more likely that partner has some scattered defensive values and that neither side can make more than the square root of zero. I have long been an advocate of an aggressive pre-empting style. However, most of the benefits from such a style do not come from stealing the contract when the deal belongs to the opponents. Most of the profit results from opponents getting into auctions in which they do not belong, as West did on this deal.

The Norwegians were in a world of trouble here. They were doubled in 3♦ and ran to 3♥. If South simply doubles 3♥ and North can find a trump lead, declarer is at least two down (and perhaps three) after three rounds of trumps. Zia has spoken about playing in what he called ‘Heat 1’, a state in which whatever you do, whether technically/theoretically correct or not, you inevitably land on your feet. With seven straight wins to their name, this Norwegian team seem to be playing in that dream state.

On this deal, South’s decision to bid on over 2♠ at the other table converted a small plus into a small minus. Here, E/W should have lost 300 or more. That should have combined to lose something like 8-11 IMPs. Not only were they let off the hook with a flat board, but South seems to have been mesmerized by the young Norwegian. Quite why, looking at that South hand, you would think that you might be able to make 4♠, with no points in either of partner’s suits, no real fit, and opponents in the auction at the three-level, is beyond me. Not only did the Norwegians escape without losing on the deal, despite questionable actions in both rooms, they ended up with a significant gain. 4♠-X would have been no picnic for North, but nor was 5♣-X. Declarer managed eight tricks: E/W +500 and 10 IMPs to SKEIDAR to open the second half.

SKEIDAR won the second half 63-8 and the match 84-25 for close to a whitewash. Although second-placed NAWROT also won again, the gap was now more than 13 VPs. Coming up on the inside track are another Polish team, AZS WRATISLAVIA, who have scored three big wins after a poor start to climb up into third place. We finish this visit to Sopot with their Round 8 meeting with APRES-BRIDGE CHAMPS.

Kibitzers and readers always like to see that experts are also capable of finishing in bad contracts. The last deal of the first half of this match illustrates why it is usually not a good thing when teammates play in the same suit at both tables. Even top pairs sometimes fail to catch speeding opponents…

This is one of those deals on which whoever ends up playing the hand is likely to go minus. Once Jakub Patreuha had overcalled 1NT, the Germans seemed to have their opponents on toast. Sabine Auken doubled 1NT and Roy Welland contentedly passed, despite his minimum opening. When Patryk Patreuha then ran to a suit that East had already shown, it seemed to be only a matter of exactly which doubled contract the Poles would end up playing. Then a strange thing happened – neither of the Germans could find a double of 2♥. It seems hard to believe that a double from East would not be for penalties when she could have just about any huge heart holding but, apparently, Auken plays double here as co-operative rather than penalties. I can understand Welland’s failure to double if his partner had already expressed doubt about defending but, if partner did not have a penalty double available, then double seems almost forced. Yes, she might have bid 1♦ on a heart holding such as Q8xx, for example, but would she not then have made a co-operative double of 2♥ with that sort of holding? It seems very strange for such an accomplished partnership to have an accident on this sort of deal.

Once Welland retreated to 2♠, the Germans were very likely to end up with a minus score. They would surely bid game, and there was no game that would make. I suppose 4♠ was as good a spot as any. Most roads lead to nine tricks: E/W -100.

On learning that a spade contract had also been played at the other table, you might think that the board would probably be flat. However…

Dariusz Kowalski (left) made his first international appearances as a member of the Poland Junior team at European Championships in 1984 and 1986. He made his debut in the Poland Open team at the 2002 European Championships and, that same year, reached the Last 16 of the Rosenblum Cup and finished seventh in the World Open Pairs final.

On this deal, Kowalski opened with a natural and limited 2♣. Stanislaw Golebiowski responded with a natural, non-forcing 2♥, leaving South with the last of this week’s problems. What did you do? Krzysztof Kotorowicz thought he should come in with a double on the South hand. That is fine, but what is North supposed to do with his 2-5-2-4 1-count? Is it any great surprise to South to find his partner with such a hand?

Conrad Araszkiewicz retreated to 2♠. (Is he really expected to pass a takeout double of 2♥ with that North hand?) The only good news was that neither opponent could find a double. N/S took the same number of tricks in 2♠ at this table as they had defending 4♠ at the other. That number was four: E/W +400 and 12 IMPs to AZS WRATISLAVIA.

APRES-BRIDGE CHAMPS recovered from this setback to win the match 66-42 and keep themselves in contention for a place in the top four after tomorrow’s matches.

With eight matches played, there were now only three remaining in the round robin. The Norwegians are still unbeaten and their lead over the rest of the field is now more than a match. These were the standings:

We will be back in Sopot to bring you the best of the action from the final matches in the round robin.