This is our final visit to the 2023 HCL International Bridge Championships in Delhi, India. We have reached the final of the Teams of Four Gold event for the Naresh Tandan Trophy, contested by the hometown favourites, FORMIDABLES (Kiran Nadar, Bachiraju Satyanarayana, Rajeshwar Tewari, Sumit Mukherjee, Kaustabh Nandi and Sagnik Roy) and Polish visitors AZS BUBOSLAVIA (Kamil Nowak, Piotr Marcinowski, Jakub Patreuha and Patryk Patreuha). On our last visit, we left things early in the third stanza. The Poles had led by 25 IMPs (48-23) at the midway point of the match, and they gained a further 7 IMPs on the first deal of this stanza.

As usual, we start with a couple of problems. Firstly, with only your side vulnerable, you are East holding:

What action, if any, do you take?

Next, with only your opponents vulnerable, you hold as South:

What action, if any, do you take?

If you pass and West raises to 3NT, what do you lead?

If you overcall 2♥ (either hearts or hearts and a minor in your methods), West still jumps to 3NT. What do you lead?

While you consider those, we start our coverage early in the third set. Both East players had to answer the first of the problems posed above on this deal. Despite the limited material at his disposal, one of them generated considerable entertainment for those watching live on BBO VuGraph…

Not unreasonably, experienced international campaigner Kiran Nadar (left) did not see any reason to bid on this East hand. If you had a Meckwell-style 2♦ (diamonds and a major) available, you should probably back in non-vulnerable but, at adverse vulnerability, I certainly cannot argue with passing. The downside is that partner is likely to do the wrong thing and, no surprise, Bachiraju Satyanarayana did indeed open the ♣4 against 1NT. Predictably, that gave declarer a trick and a tempo, and Jakub Patreuha ended with ten tricks in his partial. N/S +180.

Kamil Nowak (right) was a member of the Polish team that won the European Junior Teams in 2015 and the World Junior Teams a year later.  Young players enjoy playing with fireworks, even though it is sometimes their side that gets burned. On this deal, Nowak did indeed land his partner in the smelly stuff temporarily but, as so often happens, he emerged with the fragrance of roses.

Nowak’s double was not alerted as anything specific so, presumably, it just showed a maximum pass. Piotr Marcinowski did not fancy his chances defending facing a passed partner, so he retreated to his five-card suit. Had the Indians managed to get hold of that, the penalty would have been substantial, but Rajeshwar Tewari instead chose to bid his own suit. Now it was the Indians who were in it, and it was about to get deeper too.

One might have thought that would be it, but the young Poles were apparently not satisfied with just jostling their opponents out of 1NT. When 2♦ came around to Marcinowski, he backed in with a double. Perhaps suspecting that he was being pushed around, Tewari now got into the spirit of things and redoubled. That proved too much for Sumit Mukherjee, who removed to 2♥. Whilst 2♦ was likely to go one down, the Indians had now been pushed into far more dangerous territory. The only surprising thing was that neither of the Poles could find just one more red card in their bidding box. Thus, Mukherjee was allowed to play in his inelegant six-card fit at a price of only 50 a trick. Declarer managed to scramble five tricks: N/S -150 and 8 IMPs out of nowhere to AZS BUBOSLAVIA.

By the time our next deal arrived at the table, AZS had outscored their opponents 38-4 on the set. Now trailing by 59 IMPs with 20 boards left to play, if the Indians were going to mount a comeback, they would need to pick up IMPs soon. We’ve seen the young Poles playing with fire already, but this time they went to the well once too often. (Is that a mixed metaphor, or just elementary?)

Although one esteemed member of the BBO bidding panel would claim that it is not possible, the Poles had perhaps read too many Marty Bergen books. (“Colours are for Children,” apparently.)

Marcinowski’s 2♠ bid was typically aggressive and Nowak’s raise to 3♠, although risky on such balanced soft values, served to push his opponents overboard. When Mukherjee showed his good hand with a takeout double, he carried his side into dangerous territory. What can they make? What is Rajeshwar Tewari (left) going to do in response to his partner’s double? The only plus score available at this point is to defend 3♠-doubled. Is it clear that is what Tewari will choose to do on the North hand?

Marcinowski’s undisciplined 4♠ bid undid all the good work that his partnership had done on the deal, and made Tewari’s decision very easy. Even David Bird’s new cat knew to double now, and she has been listening to him whittering away for only a short period as yet. The experienced Indian international had an easy double. The defenders had a trick in each side suit and two trump tricks against 4♠-doubled. N/S +500.

It was no surprise to see Bachiraju Satyanarayana (right) overcalling only 1♠ in the replay, and Nadar braved the two-level but no higher. Jakub Patreuha showed his extra strength and his good suit with a 3♣ rebid, which encouraged Patryk to take a shot at game. Nadar may look like candy wouldn’t melt in her mouth, but she’s clearly not one to be messed with, as her double here was certainly sharp.

Nadar led a spade to jack, and declarer put in the ♠8 at trick two. Nadar won with the ♠K and found the excellent switch to the ♦Q. Declarer won with the ♦A and played a club, putting in the eight from dummy. Winning with his singleton ♣9, Satyanarayana played a low diamond to his partner’s jack. Nadar’s heart switch almost completed a superb defence. Declarer finessed to West’s ♥K and Satyanarayana cashed the ♦K before returning a heart. Stuck in dummy now, declarer still had to concede a club trick to East. Three down: N/S -500 and a massive 14 IMPs to FORMIDABLES.

The very next deal was equally spectacular, and illustrates one of the hidden benefits that pre-emptive bidding can deliver.

Sumit Mukherjee (left) opened 1NT and Marcinowski came in with a conventional double, showing either both majors or a single-suit hand with one of the minors. Tewari had adequate stoppers, whichever hand type West held, so he simply jumped to game.

Marcinowski led the ♦4 (3^rd/5^th) around to declarer’s ten. With long diamonds on his left, Mukherjee started with a spade to the king. The appearance of the ♠Q simplified declarer’s task, and Mukherjee led to the ♥K. Marcinowski took the ♥A and continued with another low diamond to the queen. When declarer ran his spades, East discarded one heart and three clubs, so Mukherjee cashed his heart winners ending in dummy and led a club. East had one heart winner to cash, but had then to give declarer the ♣K at the end. N/S +630.

That all seemed fairly straightforward, didn’t it? At the other table, a lady who is definitely no junior threw a spanner in the Polish works…

If you had been forced to guess which of the East players would open vulnerable at the two-level on that hand, would you have picked Kiran Nadar? Her 2♥ opening showed hearts and a minor.

Jakub Patreuha overcalled 2♠ and Patryk raised. Having found their eight-card major-suit fit, the young Polish brothers then did very well to avoid bidding game in spades, which goes down losing three aces and a club ruff. Instead, they reached the 3NT that, as we have already seen, looks like an easy make. Not only that, but Bachiraju Satyanarayana doubled, so this is now looking like a few bonus IMPs to the Poles, is it not?

Here too, West led a low diamond around to declarer’s ten. Mindful of both East’s opening bid and of West’s double of the final contract, Jakub was aware of the potential for bad breaks. His first move, therefore, was to run the ♠J at trick two. When Nadar won with the ♠Q and returned a diamond, things quickly turned horribly wrong for the young declarer. He could make four spades and two diamonds, but that was all. The defenders had seven tricks via four diamonds, the ♠Q and two aces. N/S -800 and 16 IMPs to FORMIDABLES.

What had been a formidable-looking lead of 59 IMPs just a few minutes earlier, had shrunk by more than half in the space of just two boards. Despite the good start to the set made by the Poles, FORMIDABLES ended up winning the stanza 45-43. With one 14-board segment left to play, the margin was now 23 IMPs (91-68).

As always, bidding is a double-edged sword but, on this deal from the final set, an aggressive overcall should perhaps have solved a problem for the Polish player…

Jakub Patreuha came in with a 2♥ overcall of East’s 1NT opening. That prompted Kaustabh Nandi (right) to jump to 3NT. One of the things about overcalling on two-suited hands, is that the auction will often tell you which suit to lead. If what you have gleaned from this auction is not to lead a heart, you will defeat the contract, as leading either black suit is a winner for the defenders.

However, Jakub opted for the ♥6, despite having been warned. Sagnik Roy rose with the ♥Q and, when that won, he led the ♦J off the dummy. North won and switched to a club, ducked to South’s king. With just one more diamond to lose, it looks like declarer now has four diamonds and two tricks in each of the other suits, but he apparently claimed only nine. E/W +600.

At this table, Sumit Mukherjee did not overcall on the South hand. Had Piotr Marcinowski just raised to 3NT, South would surely have led a heart and the game would have made. Understandably, Marcinowski started with Stayman, and that let North into the auction with his spade suit. Mukherjee raised to 3♠ and Marcinowski doubled. The Poles are already onto a hiding to nothing now, with game let through at the other table, and the best they can do from here is to defend 3♠-doubled. Best defence might get +300, but certainly no more than that. Nowak chose to chase the vulnerable game bonus, but South knew enough to lead a spade by now. With two diamond entries in the North hand, declarer could never make more than seven tricks. E/W -200 and 13 IMPs to FORMIDABLES.

The Indian team manage to get the deficit down to 11 IMPs towards the end of the set, but that was as close as they got. FORMIDABLES won the final stanza 28-21, but AZS BUBOSLAVIA won the match by 16 IMPs (112-96) and with it the Naresh Tandan Trophy.

Congratulations to AZS BUBOSLAVIA: Kamil Nowak, Piotr Marcinowski, Jakub Patreuha and Patryk Patreuha.

We are headed back to Europe now and, specifically, to the holiday resort of Dubrovnik on Croatia’s Adriatic coast. What a shame it’s November! From there, we will bring you the highlights of the annual European Champions Cup, an invitational event contested by the national team champions from a dozen European countries.