This is our second visit to the semi-final stage of the British Bridge League’s Gold Cup. The BBO VuGraph match features DE BOTTON (Janet De Botton, Artur Malinowski, David Bakhshi, Tom Townsend, Thomas Charlsen and Thor Erik Hoftaniska) against PENFOLD (Sandra Penfold, Brian Senior, Alan Mould, John Holland, Rumen Trendafilov and Vladislav Isporski). The format is a 64-board match divided into eight 8-board stanzas.

As usual, we start with some problems. Firstly, with both sides vulnerable, you are South holding:

You are playing a weak no-trump, hence your 1♦ opening. What action, if any, do you take now?

Next, with only your opponents vulnerable, you are sitting in the East seat with:

What action, if any, do you take?

Next, with both sides vulnerable, you hold as West:

What action, if any, do you take?

Finally, with both sides vulnerable, you hold as West:

What action, if any, do you take?

PENFOLD led by 24 IMPs (41-17) after the first two sets. We concluded our first visit with PENFOLD gaining another 15 IMPs when Malinowski/De Botton managed to bid to 7♠-X missing the A-K of trumps without anyone doing anything patently stupid. We jump right back into the third set a couple of deals later as those IMPs went rolling right back. Perhaps the actions of the pair achieving the silly result were more questionable this time.

Let’s start with the more normal auction at the other table…

Alan Mould arrived in 4♥ from the short side after South had opened a 15-17 1NT. Thomas Charlsen opened a low trump, which ran to declarer’s king. With a distinct lack of entries to his hand even if he could establish some spade winners there, Mould’s prospects were fairly hopeless. Playing a club to the king would do declarer no good even if it won, so Mould played a low club to the ten and queen. The defenders effectively cashed their three aces, leaving declarer one down: N/S +100.

Playing a weak no-trump system, Sandra Penfold had to start with 1♦ on the South cards. Artur Malinowski entered with a jump to 2♥, and Penfold re-opened with a double when that was passed around to her. Brian Senior retreated to 2♠, which was greeted by a double from Janet de Botton (left).

Senior might have accepted his fate and passed when the double came back to him. However, I suspect that table presence told him that de Botton’s double was based on a trump stack. Hoping to find an eight-card fit at the three-level, Senior redoubled for rescue, rightly or wrongly.

Penfold was now left with the first of the problems posed above. When David Bird gave me the South hand as a problem, I suspected partner had only three spades, so it seemed right to scramble with 2NT and hope to find a playable spot at the minimum-available level. Surely 3♣-Doubled is unlikely to be worse that 2♠-Redoubled. In truth, Penfold’s decision to stick it out probably cost little in IMPs as a doubled contract in either seven-card minor-suit fit at the three-level will cost at least 500 and probably more.

The defence dropped one trick against 2♠-XX, but that was still two down, so the tariff was an even N/S -1000 and 15 IMPs back to DE BOTTON.

DE BOTTON won an exciting third stanza 31-28. I suspect everybody was happy to escape with a close set. De BOTTON now trailed by 21 IMPs (69-48) approaching the midway point of the contest.

The entertainment continued into the fourth set. Midway through the stanza, both East players heard identical auctions when they held the second of this week’s problem hands…

If your immediate reaction is that the West hand is too strong for a jump to 4♥, that raises an interesting question. Yes, West might start with 2NT, if that shows a maximum pass with a heart fit (as I think it should), but can this jump really be pre-emptive in this position, when North couldn’t open the bidding and South has not bid over 1♥? No, surely not – it should show something like this West hand.

Alan Mould (right) chose to advance with RKCB. He found the ♣A and Holland then showed the virtual ♥Q when asked about that card. Mould had no way to find out about the crucial ♦Q, so bidding the grand was never really in the picture. Nevertheless, there were 13 easy tricks: E/W +1010. Which side do you think was happier with that result?

After an identical start, Janet de Botton moved forward with 5♦. Was this a cue-bid or a second suit? It is obvious how de Botton intended it, and equally clear that Malinowski signed off at the five-level as he was concerned about the lack of a spade cue-bid from his partner, so even the small slam was missed here. E/W +510 and 11 IMPs to PENFOLD.

On the very next deal, both West players had to answer the third of this week’s problems.

Who is supposed to do more? Mould has a maximum pass and four-card spade support but Townsend’s pre-emptive jump to the three-level has robbed him of the ability to differentiate between a competitive raise to 3♠ and an invitational one. Is East supposed to just up and bid game facing his partner’s overcall, with the ♥K likely to be waste-paper? Surely not, so is it up to West to take another bid? Holland did not think his hand merited bidding game.

There were three obvious losers, and Holland played spades from the top so he made only nine tricks. E/W +140.

In an identical position, Artur Malinowski (left) put his faith in his declarer play and bid game.

The defence began with two rounds of hearts, declarer ruffing.  A spade to the king lost and a third round of hearts came back. Now Malinowski ran the ♦10 to South’s king and Penfold returned a club. Malinowski won and cashed a second high club. So convinced was he that he knew the whole hand now that Malinowski spurned the second diamond finesse, playing to the ♦A and taking the successful finesse against South’s ♠J. After drawing the last trump, he then split the clubs to pitch dummy’s diamond loser. An impressive E/W +620 and 10 IMPs to DE BOTTON.

DE BOTTON won the fourth set 24-12, so the deficit was only 9 IMPs (81-72) at the halftime break. That lead lasted until the second deal of the fifth set…

Thomas Charlsen (left) came in with a 2♣ overcall on the West hand after Sandra Penfold’s second-seat 1♠ opening. Brian Senior chose to get his five-card heart suit into the auction rather than raising spades, and Thor Erik Hoftaniska raised to the five-level having initially passed as Dealer. With a partial heart fit, Penfold was not willing to give up on game and she carried on to the five-level.

There is no lead to legitimately beat the contract, but two rounds of clubs gave nothing away. Declarer ruffed and, with no convenient entry to dummy, she led a low trump to the queen. East won with the ♠K and exited with a trump, declarer winning in hand with the ♠8. Could declarer get the hearts right and bring home her game?

There had been no helpful 2NT bid from East at this table. Indeed, West’s overcall perhaps suggested that he was more likely to hold the club length if either defender did. Penfold played a low heart to the king, dropping East’s jack. When Hoftaniska discarded on the second heart, declarer was one down. N/S -100 and 12 IMPs to DE BOTTON, who now led by 3 IMPs.

By the time the penultimate deal of this segment arrived, PENFOLD had moved back ahead. Both West players had to decide what, if anything, to open on the last of this week’s problem hands…

For me, the choice is whether to open 1♥ or 2♥, with the Pass chosen by Charlsen a distant third. Brian Senior opened 1♠ in third chair and that was followed by two passes. Charlsen now backed in with 2♥, but Hoftaniska had no reason to advanced opposite a partner who could not open the bidding.

Although both club honours were offside, the favourable position in both majors meant that declarer had an easy ten tricks. E/W +170.

By contrast, Vladislav Isporski (right) opened 1♥ on the West hand. Townsend overcalled in spades and Rumen Trendafilov advanced with 2♣ (a transfer to diamonds, perhaps?) When Isporski rebid his hearts, Trendafilov looked no further than game in the major.

Townsend attacked with the ♣K, which was not exactly a dagger to declarer’s heart. Isporski emerged with eleven tricks, losing just one in each of the black suits. E/W +650 and 10 IMPs to PENFOLD.

PENFOLD won the fifth stanza 29-14. We are back to where we began at the top of this article, with PENFOLD ahead by 24 IMPs (110-86). There are now only 24 boards remaining in the contest.

We will be back soon with the best of the action from the concluding three sets of this semi-final.