Here at the 2023 U.S. Summer Nationals in Chicago, Illinois, we have reached the quarter-final stage of the Spingold Knockout Teams. Only four of the original Top 8 seeds are still standing, and they must play each other today, so we are guaranteed two teams from outside the original Top 8 in the semi-finals. All four quarter-finals promise to be intriguing contests and we’ll check out the action in each match.

All matches are 60 boards divided into four 15-board stanzas. As usual, we start with some problems. Firstly, with neither side vulnerable, you are North holding:

Do you open and, if so, what?

Next, with only your side vulnerable, you are sitting in the West seat with:

What action, if any, do you take?

If you pass, it continues 1♠-Pass-1NT back to you. Do you think the hand merits action now?

Finally, with only your opponents vulnerable, you hold in the West seat:

What do you bid?

While you consider those, we start in the opening stanza of the match between the two teams with the lowest remaining original seedings. It is #2 ROMBAUT (France), the original #34 seeds, who saw off #2 NICKELL in the Round of 32, against #7 HANS (Australia/New Zealand), the original #23 seeds. They have beaten #10 BAILEY and #7 SPECTOR in the last two rounds. These two teams battled out the highest scoring opening stanza, with almost 100 IMPs changing hands over the 15 boards. The action began on the opening deal, with both North players having to decide whether to open (and if so, what) on the first of the problem hands above.

In first seat, non-vulnerable, I don’t mind either 1♥ or 2♥ on the North hand, and I’d rate both as preferable to passing. However, whenever you bid (and even sometimes when you pass), you give information to the opponents.

Looking at just the E/W hands, where would you want to play this combination? The answer is surely 6♠ , which seems to be in the region of a 65-70% contract, needing either to find the ♥A onside or for the clubs to produce four tricks. Now consider where you would want to play if North has opened either 1♥ or 2♥. What chance the previously 50% heart finesse? Fairly low if North opened 2♥ and virtually 0% after a 1♥ opening. An opening heart bid by North also reduces the chances of clubs behaving, so the odds on the slam making have suddenly plummeted to somewhere below 30%.

At the table, both E/W pairs accurately bid to the contract you would want to play, based on the opponents bidding. Of course, that was bad news for one side.

As one would expect, Michael Whibley opened 1♥ for the team from Oceania. Jen-Luc Aroix started with a takeout double, bid his spades after his partner’s jump to 2NT, and gave up when Jeremie Tignel retreated to 3NT. Whibley led a diamond, so declarer scored the 11 top tricks with which he began: E/W +460.

French style does not quite adhere to the mantra of Al Roth, but it is certainly still much less aggressive than most of the rest of the world has become in recent years. So, of course, Jerome Rombaut passed on the North hand. That left the Australians to open a Strong Club and conduct an impressive relay auction to what appeared to be the optimum spot.

By the time Andy Hung (left) jumped to 6♠ , he could almost have written down his partner’s hand. The only thing he could not discover was if West held the ♣J, which would have made the slam 100% rather than only 65-70%. With no opposition bidding to warn you off, this is where you would want to be. However, with both the ♥A offside and the clubs not coming in, that was one down. An unfortunate E/W -50 for the Australians and an 11-IMP start for ROMBAUT.

ROMBAUT led by 32 IMPs, 64-32, after the first set, but HANS had reduced the deficit to only 3 IMPs by the midway point of the match, HANS won the third set 42-24, so led by 15 IMPs with a set to play. A close final set was won 38-35 by HANS, who advanced to the semi-finals with victory by 171-153.

They have been winning so comfortably up until now, that we have not yet seen anything of the pre-tournament favorites, #1 ZIMMERMANN. Just one change from their Bermuda Bowl winning side from last year, and that is the addition of Poland’s double Bermuda Bowl winner Michal Nowosadzki, replacing Fernando Piedra.

Their opponents in this round were #8 LEBOWITZ (USA/Italy/Denmark). ZIMMERMANN led 34-9 after the first set and one had the feeling that LEBOWITZ would need to stem the tide early to remain in the contest. Things certainly did not adhere to that plan early in the second stanza.

It is a matter of style, but I confess I am not a fan of overcalling 2♣ on this type of hand. However, whether you are considering opening a shapely nine or ten-count, opening an aggressive pre-empt, or entering with a marginal overcall or a light jump overcall, getting into the auction early is the safest way to go. You all know the phrase, “Speak now, or forever hold your peace”, well it’s that way in bridge too. For example, opening a marginal weak 2♥, is so much less dangerous than passing initially and then bidding 2♥ after the auction has gone 1♠ -Pass-1NT back to you, after the opponents have had the chance to exchange information. If you need an illustration to reinforce this concept, this deal provides it.

Klukowski’s overcall did not overly inconvenience the American pair, and they duly bid to the same 4♠ contract they would probably have reached had he passed. The contract had little chance with the spades breaking as they were, but the World champions didn’t need that sort of help. Klukowski opened the ♣K. Declarer won with the ♣A and played a trump the queen. Klukowski won with the ♠A, cashed the ♣Q, and gave Piotr Gawrys a ruff. The ♦A was the fourth defensive trick. N/S -50.

Michael Rosenberg did not overcall 2♣. Pierre Zimmermann (right) responded with 1♠ and Michal Nowosadzki rebid 1NT. When you saw the problem earlier, if you thought, “Excellent, now I can show my opening bid by making a takeout double showing the two unbid suits,” take a look at how that worked out.

Rosenberg doubled 1NT for takeout, showing both minors. Zimmermann redoubled on the North hand, Zach Grossack gave preference to his longer minor, and Zimmermann doubled on the way out. Declarer managed to make four tricks, so that was N/S +1100, at the two-level! 15 IMPs to ZIMMERMANN.

After 1♥-1♠ -1NT, the opponents have not found a fit. Is partner not likely to have length in spades (often five) and, perhaps some hearts too? Doubling 1NT does not take any bidding space away from the opponents, so it’s not like you are getting in the way. You have reasonable defensive values, so perhaps the opponents cannot make much. If they can, you are not going to stop them bidding their game. If they cannot, getting your side into the auction offers them fielder’s choice, as it turned out here.

Curiously, on the very next deal, Rosenberg/Grossack went one down in 3♠ for E/W -50. The result at the other table? E/W +1100 in 3♣-X, and an identical 15 IMPs to ZIMMERMANN. Not exactly stemming the tide!

ZIMMERMANN won the second stanza 53-22 to lead by 56 IMPs at halftime. LEBOWITZ rallied in the remaining two sets, but it was too little too late, and ZIMMERMANN marched into the semi-finals with a comfortable 31-IMP victory.

Next up are two teams who sere originally seeded in the Top 16 but outside the Top 8, #14 BREMARK (Sweden/Portugal) and the only remaining all-American team, #11 KOLESNIK. The Europeans led by 38 IMPs (57-19) after two relatively quiet sets. It was looking like now-or-never for the American team. The set started well for the trailing team…

The auction began fairly normally, Frederic Wrang forcing to game with 2♣. Perhaps 2♥ would not have been everyone’s choice at his second turn, but Antonio Palma’s 2NT then left Wrang with the last of this week’s problems. Does 3♣ not look like the obvious continuation? I can only explain Wrang’s 3NT as a tired bid.

The result was not only that a good slam was missed, but Palma also found himself in a game that could easily fail. Roger Lee led the ♦J, and it was only because diamonds split 4-4 that declarer was even able to record a plus score. A less than impressive E/W +400.

It cannot be easy to follow in the footsteps of a legend of the game, but Michael Rosenberg’s son, Kevin (left) is doing an admirable job of it. This American partnership may be from two very different eras: Brian Platnick won the World Junior Teams way back in 1991, before his partner was born, and an Open Teams world title in 2010, whilst Rosenberg won the first of his four World Junior Teams titles in 2017, but they were clearly on the same wavelength here.

Rosenberg rebid his clubs immediately, emphasizing the main feature of his hand. He then showed a good raise to 4♥ with an artificial 4♦ at his third turn. Platnick did the rest, first cue-bidding to show his spade control, and then advancing to the club slam when Rosenberg showed no further interest. Well bid! E/W +920 and 11 IMPs to KOLESNIK.

Alas, it was not enough and BREMARK won both remaining sets enroute to the only blowout of the round, winning 145-65.

We conclude this visit to Chicago with a look at the action from the final stanza of the most nail-biting of the quarter-final matches. #4 FLEISHER (USA/Italy/France) led #5 WOLFSON (USA/England) by 12 IMPs after the first set, but WOLFSON had edged ahead 56-55 at halftime. WOLFSON added 3 more IMPs in the third set to lead 96-92 going into the last stanza. Back and forth went the lead and, with four boards to play, David Gold managed to make seven tricks in a 1NT-X contract that had gone one down at the other table. That 7-IMP swing to WOLFSON tied the match at 118-118 with three board remaining. This was the next board:

The Italians conducted a controlled auction, but when West showed that his black suits were 3-1 that way around, it did not look like good news to Antonio Sementa (right). It appeared that his ♣K was wasted, and four low was certainly not an attractive spade holding.

As it happens, Versace’s ♠Q-J make this a very good slam and, looking at the E/W cards, you would certainly want to get there. Slam needs either the spade finesse or for declarer to pick up the trumps for no loser, so heavily odds on. Indeed, with a blind lead from an awkward hand, David Berkowitz opened the ♠10, so Versace was now cold for 12 tricks on anything but a 4-0 trump break the wrong side. E/W +480.

David Gold (left) started with a Jacoby 2NT response, showing a game-forcing heart raise. He subsequently found out that his partner had extra values with at least 5-4 in the red suits and at most one club. Having coaxed a spade cue-bid out of his partner, Gold advanced with Blackwood. Indeed, he even flirted with a grand slam, looking for the ♥Q and ♠K opposite, before settling in 6♥.

Faced with the same tricky lead problem, but with the stakes much higher, Thomas Bessis opened declarer’s known shortage, the ♣5. Zia won in dummy, played a trump to his king and a second round of trumps back to the ace. When South discarded, even the mercurial Pakistani could not find a way to 12 tricks with the ♠K offside. An unlucky E/W -50 but 11 vital IMPs to FLEISHER.

WOLFSON recovered 5 IMPs over the final two deals, which meant that it was FLEISHER who advanced with a 6-IMP (129-123) win.

The semi-final match-ups are ZIMMERMANN v FLEISHER and HANS v BREMARK, so the final is certain to be contested between one of the original Top 8 seeds, and a team from outside that club. Meanwhile, I am delighted that three of the four remaining teams include one or more members of the BBO expert bidding panel, giving us an excellent chance that a panel member will be in the winning team at another major event. We will be back soon with the highlights of those semi-final matches.