We are in Tignes, southeastern France, for the last time this year, for the final of Les Etincelles Cup at the 2023 European Winter Games. The title will be decided over 56 boards, divided into four 14-board segments. With players from 27 countries competing in the original 46 teams, the transnational nature of the event is emphasized by the two teams that have reached the final, each comprising four different nationalities. They are ORCA (England/Wales/Sweden/Norway) and MULTON (Monaco/USA/Greece/Italy).

Only one problem this week: with only the opponents vulnerable, you are North holding:

What action, if any, do you take?

If you pass, what do you lead?

While you consider that, we start midway through the opening stanza. The score was 13-12 to ORCA when the Great Dealer suddenly produced a couple of huge fireworks…

The auction began with a first-seat pre-empt by Richard Plackett (left) but, thereafter, MULTON’s Greek contingent had the auction to themselves (until the very end, at least). I am rarely speechless, but your guess at unravelling this auction is as good as mine, and I will leave you to decide where the majority of blame lies for this debacle.

Plackett led a club, but Espen Erichsen was not willing to risk putting in the jack, so he won with the ♣A and cashed the ♥A for two down. E/W -500.

If you think this is probably the worst auction at the whole week-long tournament, the one at the other table at least rivalled it…

Giovanni Donati did not open the North hand in first seat at favourable vulnerability. Ola Rimstedt’s 2♠ bid was alerted but there are no explanations in the VuGraph records, but it seems reasonable to assume it was natural and strong. Donati now backed in showing both minors after the opponents had bid both majors and established a game-forcing auction. It was not long before he was faced with this week’s bidding problem.

Had Donati passed, his side might even have gained IMPs on the deal (they can take three tricks for +1000 on a club lead for an 11-IMP gain). Even if he thinks the double is Lightner, asking for a non-club lead, 6♠-XX would still be one down for +400 on a red-suit lead. I’m sure the Italians’ teammates would have been ecstatic to find that bidding a grand slam off two cashing aces cost only 3 IMPs.

The 7♣ bid, of course, ensured that the swing was much more significant. Declarer managed to make eight tricks. Five down: E/W +1100 and 17 IMPs to ORCA. The very next deal was almost as wild…

There were no alerts, but it seems unlikely that 3♣ and 3♦ were both natural bids. Presumably, 3♣ was a puppet to 3♦ and, having made the strong hand declarer, Nikos Delimpaltadakis (right) took a punt at what he hoped was the most likely game.

It is possible for declarer to make 11 tricks in diamonds, but it is not easy. At least, it wouldn’t have been had North not led the ♥A. After that start, my dog would make 11 tricks easily enough. (He should be a decent player – he’s sat through enough lessons over the years.) E/W +750.

West’s 2♦ opening showed some sort of strong hand (probably 18-19 balanced) but I can only speculate at what the rest of the auction means. For the second deal in a row, the Swedes reached a poor slam, but at least this one has a modicum of play (looking at just the EW cards).

North was on fairly safe ground with his double at this level, and he found a more testing opening lead too, a low spade. Declarer won in dummy, played a trump to his hand, and successfully ran the ♥K, pitching a club from dummy. Now came a club to the king and a second club back to the ace. North ruffed and exited with a second round of spades, and now declarer could not avoid losing another trump and a spade at the end for two down: E/W -500 and 15 IMPs to MULTON. Amazingly, there was very little in it after this ‘flat’ first stanza: MULTON led 38-36. This deal from late in the second stanza was well-judged in one room, but a complete debacle in the other

Richard Plackett opened 1♣, reversed into diamonds, rebid his clubs, and then continued on with 4♣ after his partner had retreated to NT. That seems to have painted a fairly accurate picture of the North hand for Espen Erichsen (left), who duly raised to game in his partner’s long suit.

Nikos Delimpaltadakis led a helpful ♦J, so declarer won with the ♦Q and drew trumps. He then crossed to dummy by overtaking the ♥K, took the finesse against West’s ♦K, and eventually discarded his spade loser on dummy’s long diamond. N/S +440.

With declarer having made all 13 tricks, you may be surprised to hear me say that the defence might have offered declarer a chance to go down in this contract. Supposed East opens the ♠A. If he then switches to, say, the ♣J, declarer wins, draws trumps, and lays down the ♦A. If neither the jack nor the king appears, declarer can then cross to dummy in hearts to lead towards his remaining ♦Q-10. With the ♦J falling, declarer can claim eleven tricks. What, though, if East switches to a heart after cashing the ♠A (or leads a heart at trick one)?

Declarer can win with the ♥A, but that is his one and only entry to dummy and he then has to guess the diamonds. Yes, playing a diamond to the queen is the percentage play but, if he instead plays a diamond to the ten, he will end up losing two diamonds and a spade. Perhaps 3NT by South was the best contract after all.

Let’s see how the Italians cope at the other table…

The Swedes got into the auction at this table, and although their intervention was at a relatively low level, it seems to have caused complete chaos. The Italians reached both of the good contracts, 3NT and 5♣, at some point in the auction. The problem was that they did not manage to stop in either of them. I will leave you to decide for yourself who was to blame for playing in a 4-1 fit at the five-level. My conclusion is that South perhaps thought 3♠ agreed hearts (how else do you explain his subsequent bidding?) although I do not really see why it should.

Perhaps the most surprising thing is that declarer managed to make as many as seven tricks: N/S -400 and a 12-IMP gift for ORCA.

ORCA won the stanza 28-10, so they led by 16 IMPs, 64-48 at the midway point. The key deal in the third stanza offers a strange sense of déjà vu…

Erik Berg (right) opened 1♠ in fourth seat. After Peter Crouch’s 1NT response, 2♣ was then Gazzilli, showing either clubs or any 16+. Crouch’s 2♦ was artificial, showing 8+ HCP and game-forcing opposite the strong hand. Berg showed either four hearts or six spades, but Crouch was not interested in either of those. Having bid around the houses, the partnership duly reached the usual landing place when you have enough points for game but no fit.

Franck Multon led the ♦4, declarer winning with the ace and playing a heart to the jack and North’s queen. Multon continued with the ♦Q and Crouch ducked, giving the defenders their only chance. If Multon switches to a spade, the defenders will have five winners. A heart switch will also beat the contract as South can win and continue the suit to remove declarer’s entry to his hand and all those club winners.

When North continued with a third round of diamonds, declarer was home. Crouch won with the ♦K, cashed the ♣Q, and played a second round of hearts towards his hand. South could not stop declarer reaching his five club tricks with the ♥10. E/W +600.

In the replay, the Italians again seemed to have a problem identifying how many hearts they held.

The auction started in identical fashion, but then somehow came off the rails at the three-level.

Mikael Rimstedt (left) opened the ♣9 against 4♥. Giovanni Donati won with the king and played dummy’s singleton spade to the king and ace. Mikael continued clubs, declarer winning in dummy as he pitched a diamond from his hand. A heart to the king now lost to South’s ace, and the trump continuation was won by Ola with the ♥Q. Declarer won the diamond switch but, when trumps failed to break he was three down: E/W -300 and 14 IMPs to ORCA.

ORCA won the third stanza 34-11 to take a 39-IMP lead (98-59) into the final set. There were to be no dramatic comebacks and ORCA won the final stanza 33-27 and the match/title with a 45-IMP victory.

Congratulations to the ORCA team:

Pictured left to right: Erik Berg, Peter Crouch, Richard Plackett, Mikael Rimstedt, Espen Erichsen and Ola Rimstedt.

We will be heading East now, to Poland, to bring you the best of the action from the final of the National Mixed Teams.