Welcome back to Phoenix, Arizona and the 2022 U.S. Fall Nationals. Last week, a quartet of thrilling quarter-finals left us with just four teams standing in the Soloway KO Teams. This week, we’ll concentrate on the best of the action from the semi-finals, including yet another amazing finish.

The final four teams include top players from numerous countries. Regulations in force in Phoenix are likely to seem draconian to players traveling from anywhere in Europe, where COVID restrictions are nothing but a distant memory. Players here are required to wear masks if any player at the table request that they do so. Coming from Europe, it would seem that the ‘Land of the Free’ is not only literally ‘halfway to China’.

As usual, we start by posing some problems. Firstly, with neither side vulnerable, you are sitting North holding:

What do you bid?

Next, a lead problem. With neither side vulnerable, you are North and you hear the following auction:

What do you lead?

Finally, with both sides vulnerable, you are West holding:

What action, if any, do you take?

While you consider those, we start with the match between the highest remaining seed, #5 STREET, and #17 FELDMAN, who had beaten #1 NICKELL in the Round of 16. FELDMAN got off to a good start and led 39-15 after the first set. STREET then turned the match around with a big second stanza. Bridge can be a cruel game, and sometimes The Great Dealer punishes you for doing the right thing and rewards a less-optimum action. Both North players had to respond to their partner’s 1♥ opening on the first of this week’s problem hands:

Simon Ekenberg (left) is the rising star of Swedish bridge. He made his international debut collecting a bronze medal from the Youngsters Teams at the 2011 European Youth Championships. A year later, he won another bronze, playing with Simon Hult in the European Youngsters Pairs. He became a World champion by winning the World Junior Teams in 2015 and added a second gold two years later at the World Junior Pairs, in partnership with Linus Dahltroem. Ekenberg made his debut in the Swedish Open team at the 2018 European Championships, where they finished fourth. A year later, he was a member of the Swedish team that won the European Mixed Teams.   

On this deal, Ekenberg started with a 2♣ response, which looks to be the correct bid, almost no matter what system you are playing. We teach beginners to respond 1♠ with this shape if they are not strong enough to force to game, but to bid their shape out if they have the strength to do so. (When 6♣ in a 5-3 fit is the best contract, how likely are you to get there if you start with 1♠ ?) 

Ron Pachtman got into the auction with a 3♦ overcall on the East hand, and Piotr Zatorski raised to 4♦, so Ekenberg now got his spades into the game via a takeout double. When Jason Feldman admitted to holding four spades, Ekenberg raised and thus the excellent slam was reached. Unfortunately, Pachtman was able to make a Lightner double and thus Zatorski led a club, defeating the contract on a ruff. A very unlucky N/S -100.

Nicolas L’Ecuyer responded 1♠ , and I’m sure my students can all hear me saying “No no, no, no” as I click the ‘Undo’ button and explain (again) why that is the wrong bid on this hand. Of course, it worked like a dream on this layout, as it meant that North now declared the spade slam.

Zagorin led a heart, declarer winning with the ace (pitching a diamond) and starting on trumps. East won with the ♠A and returned a second trump, so declarer drew a third round and cashed the ♣A to discover the lay of that suit. It was now a simple matter to ruff a diamond, discard the remaining diamond loser on the ♥K, and claim on the marked finesse against the ♣J. N/S +980 and a very fortunate 14 IMPs to STREET.

STREET won the second stanza 57-16 to lead by 17 IMPs (72-55) at the midway point. They then added a further 20 IMPs in the third set, so led 118-81 with 15 boards to play. This deal proved to be the final nail in the FELDMAN coffin.

The auction at this table looks reasonable enough. Declarer lost just three aces: N/S +130. After East’s opening bid, you would surely fancy your chances of making 4♥ on the N/S cards. How you bid to that contract, is another matter entirely.  

At the other table, N/S were clearly aware of the ‘state of the match’, and the need to pick up IMPs quickly. In such circumstances, doing something a little off-centre can produce the goods, and Peter Bertheau’s initial effort in that direction gave his side a chance to earn a swing. However, there is a limit to how far you can successfully warp the bidding…

East opened at the one-level here, and Bertheau opted for the off-centre overcall in his four-card major. Andrea Manno advanced with a 2♥ transfer on the West hand and Daniel Zagorin competed to 3♥. This was passed around to Manno, who backed in with a double. When Massimiliano di Franco (right) removed to 3♠, Bertheau decided that his hand now justified further action. He was right, in that bidding 4♥ would have worked like a dream. However, making a double that is surely for penalties was not the winning choice!

A heart lead or a heart switch after cashing one or two diamonds would have held declarer to nine tricks. Bertheau started with one high diamond and then switched to a trump, so declarer was now up to ten tricks. Di Franco drew trumps and took the losing club finesse. When Bertheau won with the ♣K and switched to hearts without first cashing his other diamond winner, declarer had the rest. Vulnerable, doubled overtricks add up quickly, so that was N/S -1130 and 15 IMPs to STREET.

Not that it mattered greatly, as the ship had already long since sailed. STREET won the final stanza 44-12, and the match by an impressive 69-IMP margin, 162-93, to claim their place in the final. 

Whilst the ride to the final for STREET was a relatively comfortable one, the journey for the team they would play in that deciding match was the exact opposite.

Leslie Amoils (left) made his international debut as a member of the South African team at the 2000 Bermuda Bowl. Having relocated to North America, he represented Canada in the Open Teams at the 2012 World Bridge Games in Lille. More recently, he collected a silver medal from the Open Teams at the 2018 European Winter Games and a bronze medal from the World Mixed Teams in Wroclaw earlier this year.

On this deal, Ishmael Del’Monte opened a nebulous 1♣ on the South hand, and Amoils overcalled 1NT. A transfer auction to 4♥ then left Finn Kolesnik with the lead problem posed at the top of this article. Looking at all four hands, you can see that leading either black suit would probably have defeated the game. Kolesnik’s rather unfortunate choice of the ♦10 did not unduly test the Canadian declarer. E/W +450.

A completely different scenario resulted from Cedric Lorenzini’s 1NT opening on the South cards. Kevin Rosenberg made a penalty double and Thomas Bessis (right) redoubled, clearly some sort of rescue manoeuvre although there is no explanation as to exactly what it shows. Lorenzini bid his spades, Rosenberg doubled again (presumably for takeout), and Bessis produced an ultra-aggressive but very well-timed jump to game on his fine collection. 

As it makes nine tricks on any lead, 4♠ would have been a fine save against a making 4♥. That it was theoretically a phantom save is irrelevant, as it really put Simon Cope under pressure. Yes, he could have doubled and limited the loss on the deal, but it is hard to criticize his decision to bid on with six-card support for the major suggested by his partner. 

It was not a difficult decision for Lorenzini to double, giving Cope an early warning that he had overstepped the mark. Nor was he hard-pressed to find the winning lead from his side of the table, and the French star duly collected his two ace-kings to beat the contract by two: E/W -500 and 13 IMPs to FLEISHER, who led 49-11 after the first set of 15 boards. 

COPE reduced the deficit by winning the second set 34-21, and thus trailed by 25 IMPs (70-45) at the midway point. FLEISHER then won the third set 36-15 to lead 106-60 going into the final stanza. COPE started the final set strongly and had halved the deficit after just five boards. With four board remaining, the score stood at 118-105. On Board 27, both N/S pairs stopped out of a marginal grand slam that was significantly improved by an opponent’s pre-emptive bid. N/S +1010 in both rooms, but was that the chance to square the match missed?

Board 28, looked like a dull, flat game hand…

Bessis opened a strong/artificial 2♣, and his 2♥ rebid was then Kokish, showing either hearts or 24+ balanced. Lorenzini’s 2♠ was a forced response allowing Bessis to rebid 2NT to show the balanced variation. Now it was a normal 2NT-type auction except that opener had extra values, so Lorenzini investigated major-suit fits via Stayman and, failing to find one, then settled for 3NT. Declarer made a fairly painless eleven tricks: E/W +460.

The auction here started in identical fashion and it looked like we were headed for a flat board. However, Martin Fleisher thought he saw an opportunity to get his partner off to what he thought would be the best lead, so he doubled West’s artificial 2♠ bid. Players tend to make this type of double because they rarely get punished for doing so, but world class players are apt to pounce on such indiscretions. 

Ishmael Del’Monte (left) passed the double around to his partner, Finn Kolenik suggested that 2♠ -Redoubled might he a reasonable place to play, and Del’Monte had no reason to disagree.

The defence can hold declarer to nine tricks, but Fleisher opened with the ♠A, which cost his side a second redoubled overtrick (worth 2 extra IMPs). Declarer lost just the ♥K and two trump tricks: E/W +1040 and a vital 11 IMPs to COPE, now trailing by only 2 IMPs with two deals to play.

Both West players faced the last of this week’s bidding problems on Board 29.

When Simon Cope’s 1NT opening was passed around to him, Cedric Lorenzini was quite content to defend. The opening club lead was ducked to West’s singleton king, and declarer rose with the ♥K on Lorenzini’s switch to the ♥J. Cope kept his chances of making the contract alive by playing a low diamond next, East winning perforce with the singleton ace. However, when the defenders now cashed their hearts, Cope threw diamonds rather than the ♠Q-J, and he therefore finished two down. E/W +200 looked like a reasonable result for the French pair, but appearances can be deceptive.

Comfortably the youngest player in the field, Finn Kolesnik (right) played his first international event, the European Transnational Championships, in 2019. That same year, he won a bronze medal in the Under-21 Teams with a Canadian team at the World Youth Championships. Earlier this year, representing the USA, he became a double World champion at the World Youth Championships in Salsomaggiore, winning both the Under-21 Pairs and the Under-26 Teams.  

When North’s 1NT opening came around to him on this deal, Kolesnik backed in with a 2♥ overcall. Taking him perhaps more seriously than he should, Del’Monte raised his partner to game, which left Martin Fleisher with an awkward lead problem.

Leading a low card in either minor or any spade would have beaten the contract and gained his side a 7-IMP swing that would almost surely have been enough to take them through into the final. However, I’m sure that Fleisher would not have been alone in selecting what looked like the safest option, a low trump. It was, though, all the help declarer needed. 

Kolesnik won cheaply, crossed to the ♦A, and played a club. Chip Martel played low and declarer won with his singleton ♣K. (Rising with the ♣A would not have helped as he has no trump to play, and North’s ♣Q then ruffs down to give declarer a spade discard.) Kolesnik now crossruffed in the minors. He had to make the ♠K at the end, and that was his tenth trick. E/W +620 and a massive 9 IMPs to COPE, putting them ahead by 7 IMPs with one board left.

With two balanced hands and a combined 26 HCP, both E/W pairs bid to a doomed 3NT on the final deal. FLEISHER gained 2 IMPs for an extra undertrick, but that was not enough. COPE won the final set 65-14 and a riveting match by 5 IMPs, 125-120.  

The final will be #5 STREET (America’s Paul Street, Canada’s Nicolas L’Ecuyer, Italians Andrea Manno and Massimiliano di Franco, Poland’s Piotr Zatorski and Israel’s Ron Pachtman) against #17 COPE (England’s Simon Cope and three young Americans, Finn Kolesnik, Kevin Rosenberg and Ishmael Del’Monte). Sounds like a David Bowie tribute band 😊

We will be back next week with the best of the action from what promises to be an exciting conclusion to what has so far been a fascinating event.