Ron Tacchi reports from the Fall 2023 NABC Atlanta.

178 Pairs contested the Nail Life Master Pairs, and it was Cecilia Dwyer Rimstedt and husband Kevin Dwyer who dominated the qualifying rounds as they posted scores of 62.81% and 66.87% to head the 104 pairs who advanced to the final.

This deal from the final presented a bidding challenge that many pairs did not meet:

Dealer East. N/S Vul.

You would like to reach 7♣ with these cards and a reasonable number of pairs managed it, especially in the situation where they were playing control showing responses. However, in a matchpointed event, several pairs were seduced by the possibility of playing in 7NT.

Compared to 7♣, which is virtually laydown, 7NT is, shall we say, a dubious proposition. Unless the ♠Q happens to fall, declarer will need more than just the diamond finesse. Assuming a Heart lead, after cashing the top Spades declarer must cross to dummy with a club and advance the ♦J for the king and ace. When the ♦9 appears, declarer can return to dummy and run the 8.

If you check the scores, you will discover that several pairs went down.

Oscar Nijssen and Luc Tijssen of the Netherlands were one of the pairs who bid 7♣ and it helped them on their way to an opening session score of 63.80%. They followed that with a solid 57.13% in the second session, enough to secure victory. It was Tijssen’s second NABC title (he won the Lebhar IMP Pairs last year) and a first for Nijssen, who was a member of the winning team in the World Junior Team Championships held in Veldhoven earlier this year.

Read more news from the NABC Atlanta here.