We are back in Louisville, Kentucky, the venue for the 2024 North American Spring Nationals, and we are here to bring you the best of the action from the prestigious Vanderbilt Knockout Teams. 16 of the original 60 teams have made it to day three, and with relatively few upsets so far. Only three of the teams originally seeded to reach this stage have fallen, and all of the top eight seeds are still alive.

The format for all matches is 60 boards divided into four 15-board stanzas. On this visit, we will once again bring you the best of the action from the various matches shown live on BBO VuGraph.

As usual, we start with some problems. Firstly, with only your opponents vulnerable, you are North holding:

What action, if any, do you take?

Next, with both sides vulnerable, you are sitting in the East seat with:

¿Qué pujas?

Finally, only your side vulnerable, you hold in West chair:

¿Qué medidas adopta?

While you consider those, we start in the opening set of the match between the 2023 Spingold winners, #3 FLEISHER (USA/France/Italy), and #14 BATHURST (USA). Both North players had to answer the first of the problems above.

Hongji Wei (left), a member of the winning Chinese team in the Youngsters Teams at the 2015 World Youth Championships responded 1NT to his partner’s 1♠ opening. “What problem?” you may be asking, noting that it did not occur to French star Cedric Lorenzini to bid anything on that North hand. Jing Liu rebid 2♦ and passed when Wei gave preference back to spades.

The defenders duly came to one spade, one diamond and two hearts. E/W +140 and no reason to expect many IMPs to change hands here, you might think.

The non-green cards at the front of the bidding boxes got quite a workout on this deal after John Hurd had decided that the North hand was worthy of action. Antonio Sementa doubled Hurd’s 2♣ overcall, and Kevin Bathurst (right) redoubled to show values. That was passed back to Sementa, who removed himself to 2♦, which Bathurst doubled for penalties. When Alfredo Versace redoubled, Hurd decided that discretion was the better part of valour and retreated to 3♣. Bathurst might have let sleeping dogs lie but, having not heeded the warning signs, he was still under the illusion that he had a good hand. Versace’s double of his 3NT might have caused him to doubt that assessment, but the time to seek more comfortable pastures was already long gone.

The defence was accurate, Versace opening the ♠10, covered by jack, queen and ace. The ♣Q was allowed to win at trick two, and Versace then took the second round of clubs and persisted with the spade attack. Sementa took the ♠Q and ♠9 and conceded the fourth round of the suit to declarer’s ♠8. When declarer led a low heart, Versace hopped up with the ace and switched to a diamond. Sementa took three diamonds and a spade, leaving declarer with just the last two tricks. That was four down: E/W +800 and 12 IMPs to FLEISHER on a nothing deal.

However, one swallow does not a summer make, and BATHURST led 36-17 at the end of the opening stanza. They then won the second set 45-32 to lead by 32 IMPs at the halftime break. The margin was 42 IMPs going into the final set and, although FLEISHER cut the deficit by a few, it was BATHURST who advanced to the next round with victory by 145-113.

For the second stanza, we join the match between the winners of the last two Bermuda Bowls, #2 SWITZERLAND, and #15 HANS (Australia/New Zealand). HANS led by 5 IMPs, 16-11, after a dull first set, but the action began in earnest on the opening board of the second stanza…

At both tables, the auction began with an off-centre 1NT, a 2♣ overcall showing both majors, and an unexplained jump to 3♥. Neither system card tells us what 3♥ means, but logic suggests that it is either a transfer to clubs or a game-forcing hand with short hearts.

At this table, Franck Multon (left) joined in with 4♥ on the South cards. That was passed back to New Zealander Michael Whibley in the East seat, who backed in with a double. Nabil Edgtton decided that he was content to defend, so there matters ended.

Edgtton led the ♣K, and it seemed as if the defenders were on course to collect a four-figure penalty despite the vulnerability. A diamond went to the queen and ace, and now Edgtton accurately played the ♥A and a second trump.  When declarer then led a spade from dummy, Whibley could have held declarer to just five tricks by rising with the ♠A and forcing dummy with another club. When he instead played low, Multon won with the ♠K and continued with a diamond to the jack and king.  When Whibley cashed the ♠A, Edgtton made the mistake of pitching a diamond rather than a club. Edgtton ruffed the third round of spades and switched back to clubs, forcing declarer to ruff with the ♥K. However, Multon now played the ♦10 and the now-master ♦6, discarding his remaining clubs. Edgtton could make the ♥J, but that was it. Declarer had escaped with seven tricks: only E/W +500.

After the same start, Sartaj Hans understandably did not think the South hand worthy of intervention. Mikael Klukowski (right) was thus able to bid clubs at the four-level. When Jacek Kalita continued with a spade cue-bid, Klukowski Blackwooded himself to slam.

Klukowski won the ♥K opening in his hand and laid down the ♣K, revealing the 4-0 trump split. He ruffed a heart, cashed the ♠A and ruffed a spade. He then followed with a second heart ruff, a second spade ruff, a diamond to the ace and a second diamond back to the king. When Klukowski then led dummy’s last spades, what could Hans do?

If he discarded his heart, declarer would ruff with his last trump and exit with a red card. With only trumps left, South would have to ruff his partner’s winner and then lead into dummy’s ♣A-9 at trick 12. At the table, Hans ruffed the spade, so Klukowski overruffed and ruffed his last heart with the ♣9. The ♣A was then declarer’s twelfth trick. An impressive E/W +1370 and 13 IMPs to SWITZERLAND. Collecting the maximum +1100 at the other table would have only limited the loss.

HANS won the second set 38-33, so they led by 10 IMPs, 54-44, at the midway point of the match. However, the multiple world champions came to life in the second half, winning the third stanza 50-17 to take a 23-IMP lead into the final set. They then won the last set 52-7 to make the victory look much more one-sided than the match really was.

For the third quarter, we join #4 ROSENTHAL (USA/Norway) against one of yesterday’s giant-killers, #20 ROMBAUT (USA/France/Denmark). At the midway point, ROSENTHAL held a 21-IMP lead, 60-39. The third stanza was a very one-side affair. Early on, the French father/son Rombauts bid a thin slam that was missed at the other table. Then came…

Christian Bakke showed an invitational or better three-card spade raise with his 2♣ cue-bid. Boye Brogeland (left) bid his second suit, which left Bakke with the second of this week’s problems. Having already shown his spade fit and with his square shape, it does not seem unreasonable to suggest an alternative game in no-trumps. With no shortage (having already shown 5-4 in his two suits) is Brogeland supposed to remove to spades? A difficult combination.

Leo Rombaut led a low club against 3NT. Bakke won with the ♣Q and, even with a working heart finesse, he could make only eight tricks without the spades. He had little choice other than to hope clubs were breaking 4-4. They weren’t and, when South regained the lead with the ♠A he cashed his four club winners. E/W -100.

Multiple world champion Sabine Auken (right) wasted little time on the auction, jumping directly to game after her partner had shown a spade suit. Chris Willenken started with three rounds of clubs, perhaps in the hope of scaring declarer into ruffing high from dummy and perhaps promoting a trump trick later. Auken was not tempted and duly scored up her game. E/W +620 and 12 IMPs to ROMBAUT.

ROMBAUT won the third stanza 42-14 and thus carried a 7-IMP advantage into the final set. They then won the final set 40-31 to claim their place in the quarter-finals with victory by 16 IMPs (121-105).

For the final quarter, let’s take a look at the action from #5 WOLFSON (USA/England) against #12 GOODMAN (USA/Netherlands/Italy). GOODMAN led by 10 IMPs after the first set, by 18 at the midway point, and still held a 13-IMP advantage going into the final stanza. On the first board of the last set, both West players had to answer the last of this week’s problems. The question is, should you blindly follow ‘the system’ or are you allowed to exercise judgement based on your years of bridge experience?

David Berkowitz answered the question by making a support double, showing his three-card heart support. Simon de Wijs jumped to 3♥, a mixed raise in spades, and Bauke Muller (left) continued to the spade game over Steve Garner’s 4♥. Garner doubled on values on the way out, not knowing that his partner’s hand was huge offensively but with little defence.

The defenders made two hearts and a club but, with the ♦K onside for declarer, that was their lot. N/S +590.

I don’t know whether the Italians are playing support doubles but, even if they are, the 2♣ bid chosen by Giacomo Percario (right) seems like a far better description of that West hand. With a likelihood that LHO is going to raise spade, potentially leaving partner with a high-level decision, is it not incumbent on you to describe the most significant feature of your hand? Is that three-card heart support or a semi-solid seven card club suit?

When Percario later jumped to 4♥, Giovanni Donati had a fairly clear picture of his partner’s hand. He was, therefore, above to judge that he should bid on to 5♣ when the English pair reached 4♠.

There were three top losers in 5♣: N/S +100 meant 10 IMPs to GOODMAN to open the final set, extending their lead. GOODMAN won the final stanza 28-12 and the match by 29 IMPs, 107-78.

If the first couple of days of the 2024 Vanderbilt had been relatively free of upsets, there were plenty today, with the #3, #4, #5 and #6 seeds all being relegated to the sidelines. It so happens that the quarter-final draw pits the four remaining original top 8 seeds against each other, leaving those who were seeded outside the top 8 to contest the other two semi-final places. Each semi-final is now certain to include one team seeded in the top 8 and one not.

The line-up for the quarter-finals is #1 NICKELL v #8 AMOILS, #12 GOODMAN v #20 ROMBAUT, #2 SWITZERLAND v #7 LEBOWITZ and #22 CAYNE v 14 BATHURST.

We will be back soon with the best of the action from those quarter-finals.