This is the final weekend of the English Premier League season. A complete round robin of seven 16-board matches was played on each of the first and second weekends. The same thing will happen over this final weekend so that teams will have played 48 boards against each other team in their division.

These were the overnight standings in Division 1, with just three matches remaining:

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

What do you bid?

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

What do you open?

The VuGraph match for the opening round on Sunday features the leaders, BLACK, against KNOTTENBELT. The Great Dealer produced an exciting set of boards to wake up those who had braved the early morning start to watch live on BBO VuGraph. On this early deal, East/West had to decide which game to play…

Michael Byrne’s 3♥ jump overcall cramped the auction. David Gold (left) had to start with a negative double on his good hand, and Andrew Black’s 4♦ rebid then left him with the first of the problems above. Gold’s decision to bid 4♠ proved to be, well, golden.

The defence started with three top hearts. Black ruffed with dummy’s low trump and Maggie Knottenbelt overruffed. But that was it for the defence. Black won the trump return with the king, crossed to the ♦K and drew trumps. His two diamond losers subsequently went on dummy’s high clubs. E/W +620.

Simon Cope overcalled only at the two-level, but the extra space did not seem to help East/West. Ben Handley-Pritchard was able to bid his clubs naturally. When Ed Jones then showed his diamonds, H-P raised. Is Jones supposed to bid 4♠ now to offer an alternative game? Indeed, if he did, might that sound like a spade control with slam interest in diamonds?

Whilst declarer in 4♠ was able to cope with three rounds of hearts, Jones could not do so in 5♦. Whatever declarer did at trick three, the defenders were guaranteed a trump trick. E/W -100 and 12 IMPs to BLACK.

Those IMPs went right back on the very next deal. The opening lead was critical, but the bidding made it easy in one room and more difficult in the other…

Ben Handley-Pritchard (left) opened 3♣ in third seat, and Cope’s raise of Peter Crouch’s 3♠ overcall ended the brief auction.

Ed Jones led the ♣Q, H-P overtaking and cashing a second high club. Tempting though it may be to try for a trump promotion by playing a third club, that is not a winning defence on this layout. H-P correctly determined that a heart switch was needed at trick three. Crouch had no option but to finesse, so Jones won with the ♥K. Declarer still had to lose as trick to the ♠K, so he was one down. N/S -100.

Andrew Black opened the West hand with a weak 2♥ and David Gold’s raise to game put the pressure on Maggie Knottenbelt (left). She had to decide whether it was better to stay pre-empted or to suffer the slings and arrows of outraged teammates when you come back with -1100 on your card.

Knottenbelt risked the wrath, and must have had misgivings when her 4♠ overcall was greeted by a sharp double on her left. But, now the spotlight fell on Black to find the winning opening lead.

When Black struck out with the ♥4, it was not the dagger to declarer’s heart. She won with the ♥Q and played a spade to dummy’s jack, which won. When declarer put in the queen on the second round of spades, Black won with the ♠K and switched belatedly to his club. Gold played three rounds of the suit, but declarer’s trump spots were good enough, so she ruffed high and claimed the rest. N/S +790 and 13 IMPs to KNOTTENBELT.

On our next deal, both South players had to answer the second of this week’s problems, North/South perhaps dodged a bullet at this first table…

With 1-4-4-4 shape and a minimum opening bid, if you are willing to rebid 1NT after a 1♠ response, you can afford to open 1♣, giving yourself the maximum chance of finding a fit in any of your three suits. This hand is too strong for that route, so Crouch sensibly opened 1♦ to give him a rebid after the expected 1♠ response.

Ed Jones 1♥ overcall gave Simon Cope an easy descriptive bid: He jumped to 3♥, a splinter showing heart shortage and agreeing diamonds. With only four diamonds and so much wasted in hearts, Crouch suggested game in no-trumps. That was bad news for Cope’s hand too, so he gave up. Knowing that declarer would hold good hearts on this auction, Jones tried his luck with a spade lead against 3NT. It was not the killing attack for which he had hoped and, when East contributed the ♠Q at trick one, declarer had 12 tricks. N/S +490.

Slam in diamonds is not a bad contract, but would presumably go down here with West very likely to lead his singleton club and get a ruff. Of course, slam in clubs does make. With potential for a slam swing in either direction, which side was happiest with their result?

Knottenbelt chose the alternative approach by opening 1NT on the South hand. That worked very well when Michael Byrne (left) started with Stayman and then rebid a natural and game-forcing 3♣ over the 2♥ response. Knottenbelt quickly agreed clubs and soon thereafter she installed her partner in slam.

There was no singleton diamond to be led, and thus no winning defence. Byrne had just the ace of trumps to lose: N/S +920 and 10 IMPs to KNOTTENBELT.

We finish this visit where we began, with another choice of games.

Knottenbelt opened a natural weak 2♦ on the South hand, and Michael Byrne’s first decision was whether to move or not. Deciding to do so, it seems clear to bid his spades. With a ruffing value and an ace, Knottenbelt was reluctant to rebid her diamonds. (Would doing have ended the auction?) When she raised spades, Byrne went on to game.

There was never much hope of making 4♠, and Byrne eventually ended with eight tricks. N/S -200.

Peter Crouch (right), once the king of the pre-empters, heeded the vulnerability perhaps and held council on this South hand. When Cope showed both majors, Crouch gave reluctant preference to hearts but, when Cope then made a game try, he decided he had enough to dredge up an acceptance.

Jones led a trump and Handley-Pritchard put in the nine. Winning with the ♥10, Crouch cashed two high spades and then ruffed a spade in his hand. A diamond ruff returned the lead to dummy, and another spade was ruffed with the ♥Q. Crouch cashed the ♦A, pitching a club from dummy, and then led his club. Jones played low, but Crouch had not come this far to fall at the final hurdle, and he rose with the king. He then exited with a trump. The defence could make two trumps and the ♣A, but declarer had the last two tricks with the long trump and the thirteenth spade. A spectacular N/S +620 and 13 IMPs to BLACK.

KNOTTENBELT won the match of the weekend 56-55.

With only two matches remaining in top division of the 2023 English Premier League, these were the standings:

BLACK has extended their advantage at the top to nearly 12 VPs. KNOTTENBELT and MOSSOP have moved into almost a tie for third place, but the field is still more than a match behind the two front-runners.

We will be back soon with the highlights from the final two matches in this year’s competition.