Welcome back to Marrakech for the fourth day of the eight-day round robin stage of the 2023 World Championships. Over the last three days, we have seen a number of the Bermuda Bowl front-runners in action. Today, take a look at a couple of the main contenders in the Venice Cup.

The French Women’s team were lying in fourth place after three days of play, but today presented a big challenge, as their first two matches were against the two leading teams. First up were the defending Venice Cup champions, Sweden, and then came Poland, the European champions. In their first match of the day, the French went down 14-51, collecting just 2.28 VPs and slipping down to sixth place. Meanwhile, the Polish women began their day with a 65-37 win over New Zealand.

Only one problem today. With neither side vulnerable, you are East holding:

What action, if any, do you take?

Opening the bidding will usually put your side in a good position to compete effectively. This deal proved to be an exception.

Katarzyna Dufrat’s 2♥ opening showed hearts and a minor and Danielle Avon (left) overcalled with a natural 2NT. There was no reason for Justyna Zmuda to expect that her side had a big fit: surely partner’s second suit will be clubs most of the time.

Zmuda led a heart to the deuce, seven and a deceptive king from declarer. Now came a spade toward dummy. There was nothing to indicate that Zmuda had to rush in with the ♠A and switch to diamonds, so dummy’s ♠K won. Having reached dummy, declarer took the club finesse and was soon claiming her eight winners. E/W +120.

Anne-Laure Tartarin did not open on the North hand, so South was able to get diamonds into the auction. Tartarin advanced with a fit-showing jump to 2♥ and Sophia Baldysz doubled. Carole Puillet (right) retreated to 3♦ and Cathy Baldysz came alive with a skinny competitive 3♠. Was Cathy going to lead a club against 4♦? Would Sophia have raised to game had North passed 3♠? The effect of the French competitive bidding was to push the Poles too high, and Puillet doubled to maximize the gain.

Cathy ran the heart lead to her jack, played a club to the queen, and advanced the ♠Q. South took the ♠A and played two rounds of diamonds, forcing dummy to ruff. A trump to the king revealed the bad break, so declarer played a second club. When the ♣K appeared, Cathy claimed nine tricks, conceding two more trumps. E/W -200 and 8 IMPs to France.

The lead did not last long, when the Poles bid to a 100% game but the French landed in one that turned out to be a 50-50 guess.

Katarzyna Dufrat (left) began with a multi-way Polish Club, and Zmuda’s 1♠ response was a natural positive (4+♠, 7+ HCP). Dufrat’s 2♦ was then an artificial game-force, showing the 18+ variation of the 1♣ opening. Zmuda now bid her clubs, denying a fifth spade, so Dufrat bid what looked like the obvious game.

The defence led a diamond, but declarer had only the ♥A to knockout. She then had four hearts, the ♣A and a pair of Ace-Kings for nine tricks: N/S +600.

The natural French system found the heart fit right away, but that turned out to be something of a poisoned chalice.

Sophia Baldysz’s weak jump overcall did not unduly inconvenience the French pair. South agree hearts and showed at least invitational values with 2NT, and they even exchanged a couple of cue-bids on the way to game.

Defence is the most difficult part of the game, in part because the odds are often stacked against you. Sometimes the best you can do is to give declarer a chance to misguess, which is exactly what the Poles did here. Sophia got off to a good start by leading a spade, Cathy Baldysz (right) ruffing with a low trump. Cathy then continued with the ♥A and a second round of hearts.

Tartarin won in dummy, crossed to her hand with a high diamond, and she was at the crossroads. Declarer must now decide which defender holds the ♣K. She needs to ruff a diamond in dummy, but entries are a problem. If declarer takes her diamond ruff now, how does she get back to hand to draw trumps? If West holds the ♣K, declarer can take her ruff and simply play the ♣A and a second club. If East holds the ♣K, though, she will win the club trick and give her partner a second spade ruff for one down.

If East holds the ♣K, declarer must, therefore, take the club finesse before ruffing her diamond loser. That’s what Tartarin did: she ran the ♣Q. When Cathy won with the ♣K she returned her last trump, cutting declarer’s communications, and thus Tartarin was left with a diamond loser at the end. One down: N/S -100 and a hard-earned 12 IMPs to Poland.

Danielle Avon opened 1♦ in third seat. I don’t know if Veronique Bessis did not have a weak (2♦) raise available after South’s 1♠ overcall but, had she bid now it would surely have changed the latter auction. Katarzyna Dufrat made a pre-emptive raise to 3♠ and now Avon backed in with 4♥, showing her big two-suiter. Justyna Zmuda (left) bid a fourth spade, and now Bessis competed to 5♦ with her double fit. Having pushed Zmuda to the five-level, who is supposed to take the six-level sacrifice for the French?

There were just two aces to be lost in Zmuda’s 5♠. N/S +450.

Sophia Baldysz chose to start with 1♥, which changed the whole tempo of the auction, as Cathy pre-empted to 3♥ on the West cards. The French also got to 5♠, leaving Sophia with the problem posed at the top of this article. Her decision to take the push to 6♦ was set to gain a few IMPs for the Poles, as 6♦ loses just one club and two hearts for -300. When Puillet then pressed on to 6♠ on the South cards, the Polish windfall became a veritable bounty. N/S -100 and 11 MPs to Poland, whose lead was now piling up after the slow start.

There was one more major swing still to come.

Justyna Zmuda really stuck it to Veronique Bessis with her vulnerable 4♣ overcall. Bessis had enough to bid game, but there was no room to investigate possibilities beyond. Zmuda led her singleton diamonds against 4♠, so Avon made twelve tricks: E/W +680.

I have diligently searched the convention card but I still cannot explain Cathy’s jump to 3♦. Maybe 2♦ would be non-forcing after South’s 2♣ overcall, or perhaps 3♦ is a fit-jump, showing a spade fit as well as diamonds.

Spades seemed to be agreed at the three-level, then came a series of control-showing bids. When Cathy apparently tried to end the auction in 4♠, Sophia Baldysz (right) then jumped to slam in diamonds. Well judged.

Although an opening heart lead would have beaten 6♦, why would North lead a heart from 10-x-x-x rather than her partner’s suit? Tartarin duly led a club, Cathy winning with the ♣A and ruffing a club. She then ran the ♦10, which was allowed to win. A spade to the queen was followed by the ace and king of trumps. Now declarer played on spades and North could take her trump winner whenever she liked. Declarer’s heart loser eventually disappeared on dummy’s spade winner.

Of the 24 tables in the Venice Cup, no other pair reached 6♦. Six pairs played in 6♠, five of them going down, as South did have an obvious heart lead against slam. E/W +1370 and another 12 IMPs to Poland.

Poland won the match 54-17, giving the French exactly the same 2.28 VP that they had scored in their opening match today. They dropped to seventh place, but they then regrouped to finish the day with a 20-16 win against USA1. The most difficult day of their eight-day qualifying competition is also now finished, and it would be somewhat surprising if they were not still playing when the knockout matches start in a few day’s time.

As for the Swedes and the Poles. These are two young teams with a serious future. They occupy the top two places here at the midway point of qualification, more than a match clear of the field but separated by just a single VP. They finished first and second at the European Championships in Madeira. It will surprise no one if they do battle it out against each other over a long match at some point in these championships.

Read more about the following day here.