Vugraph Deals #155 

To conclude our coverage of the first post-COVID World Championships, staged in Salsomaggiore in northern Italy, we return to the final of the Bermuda Bowl. A couple of week’s ago, we saw the action from the first stanza, after which the scores were level at 40-40. At end of the first day’s play, it was still close, with Netherlands leading by 6 IMP, 99-93. We re-join the action in the first of the three stanzas that will close the championships. 

As usual, we start with some problems. Firstly, with both sides vulnerable, you are East holding: 

What do you bid? 

Next, with just the opponents vulnerable, you are North with: 

What action, if any, do you take? 

While you think about those, we jump right into the action with just the third deal of the day; 

Michael Klukowski started with 1NT, showing a maximum and five hearts with his jump response to Stayman. Piotr Gawrys agreed hearts via 3♠ and Klukowski confirmed his slam suitability with 3NT. A couple of cue-bids and Blackwood later, the Poles had reached the small slam, Gawrys having ascertained that his partner did not hold the extra king needed to count 13 tricks. There was nothing to the play: E/W +1430. 

For the Dutch, Joris van Lankveld started with 1♥, which allowed Bas Drijver to intervene with a 1NT overcall, showing four spades and a longer minor. Berend van den Bos showed a game-forcing hand with a primary heart fit but Sjoert Brink’s jump to 4♠ then really unleashed the fox in the Dutch hen-house. One would have thought that this was a forcing pass situation, in which case it would seem to me that van Lankveld has the ideal hand, with good hearts and outside aces, on which to invite partner to take positive action. His double, therefore, looks very strange to me, but then what do I know? I’m just the writer!

Suffice it to say that the defence took the obvious five tricks and the penalty provided insufficient compensation: E/W +300 and 15 IMPs to SWITZERLAND. However, most of those IMPs went straight back on the very next board: 

The young Dutch pair redeemed themselves by overcoming their former compatriots’ intervention to reach the good slam here. There seems to be a danger that West’s 3♦ bid does not promise as good a hand as such a bid might show in an uncontested auction. However, Van den Bos’s raise clearly suggests that he expected something close to what his partner held. Van Landveld’s spade cue-bid was exactly what Van den Bos wanted to hear, and Blackwood soon got them to the top spot. 

Drijver’s spade lead meant that declarer did not need to rely on finesses. With the ♣K in the North hand, declarer was soon claiming 13 tricks: E/W +1370. 

Although they had the auction to themselves, the Swiss pair never really got close to the slam. Klukowki’s failure to cue-bid his spade control strongly suggests that East’s 4♣ bid was natural, rather than a cue-bid agreeing diamonds, as perhaps many pairs would play it. Thus, Garwys was left with the first of this week’s problems. With no spade control, holes in both of his suits, and minimal support for his partner’s suit, his lack of slam interest is understandable. E/W +640 and 13 IMPs to NETHERLANDS. 

The Swiss won the fourth stanza 37-22 to take a 9-IMP lead into the penultimate set.  

The Dutch Strong Club method meant that Ricco van Prooijen had to start with a nebulous 1♦ opening. Brink doubled for takeout and Bas Drijver elected to pass. When the opponents try to defend a doubled contract at the one-level, they are usually right, so Van Prooijen wisely decided that 1♦-X was not the place to play. Had he tried his luck with 1♥, the opponents would perhaps have struggled to catch him, but the redouble elicited the predictable spade response from Voorhees, doubled by Drijver. This was clearly not the best spot, so Van Prooijen removed to 2♣, doubled by Brink. 

Van Prooijen won the diamond lead in his hand and played his spade. Drijver won and would have done best to exit with his trump, but instead switched to a heart, covered by jack and king. Declarer won the diamond continuation in dummy and took the opportunity to score one of his low trumps by ruffing a spade. He then led his last diamond winner, Brink ruffing and playing a club to the king and ace. When declarer now exited with the ♥Q, Brink could win but had no good play. He cashed the ♥10 and exited with a spade, but declarer ruffed with his remaining low trump and played the thirteenth heart. Brink had to ruff this, and he was then endplayed to lead into declarer’s ♣Q-10 at trick 12. One down: N/S +200. 

Piotr Gawrys started with a Polish Club (clubs, a weak no-trump or any 17+) and Michal Klukowski’s 1♦ was negative (any 0-7 HCP). Simon deWijs came in with an imaginative 1♠ overcall on his chunky four-card suit, and Bauke Muller raised spades constructively with a 2♣ cue-bid. When de Wijs showed no extra values by retreating to 2♠, Gawrys felt his hand justified a takeout double. On the basis that if they have a fit then we have a fit, he would have been right. Except, they didn’t have a fit. What could Klukowski do other than retreat to 3♣? Sensing blood, Muller doubled on the way out. (Yes, I know, I could have used the Pole-axed joke here.) 

Muller started with a top heart and switched to a diamond at trick two. Gawrys won in hand and played his spade. De Wijs won, played a heart to queen and ace, and Muller exited with his second diamond. Declarer won in dummy, ruffed a spade, and tried to cash the ♦A, but Muller ruffed and exited with a third round of hearts. Now Gawrys had to guess how to play the trumps, and he led the ♣Q from his hand, De Wijs winning with the ♣K and playing a diamond. Declarer discarded his heart, but Muller ruffed and exited with the ♠K, ensuring another trump winner with the ♣J at the end. Three down, E/W -800, and 12 IMPs to NETHERLANDS. 

This was the only doublet-digit swing in a low-scoring set that the Dutch won 24-13. With just 16 boards remaining, the Dutch led by 2 IMP, 145-143. Although the final set was also low-scoring, there was plenty of drama. 

Bas Drijver started with an artificial, game-forcing 2♣ response and Berend van den Bos came in with a pre-emptive jump to 3♠. Drijver had an obvious 4♥ bid when that came around to him, but what about Joris van Lankveld? Can anyone really blame him for not competing to 4♠, vulnerable against not, on that balanced junk? Of course not, but that was the action that would have pressurized the Swiss pair into making a decision. It really is sometimes an extremely tough game! Declarer just lost the two black aces in 4♥: N/S +450. 

The Tarzan Strong Club system played by this Dutch pair enables them to put maximum pressure on opponents in the Meckwell style, raising the limited major-suit openings to game on a huge variety of hands. Because he does not need to cater to slam possibilities, as responder to a major-suit opening in a standard, natural system must, responder can jump to game on both very weak hands and on quite strong hands, like the North one on this deal. This makes it much tougher for an opponent to judge whether they should come into the auction at a high level. However, this can be a two-edged sword, and on this deal it led to Drijver facing the second of this week’s problems. 

At this vulnerability, it surely looks right to double and defend at the four-level, having tempted a vulnerable opponent in. Not only do you not have to worry that you may be able to make only ten tricks in hearts, but there is also the chance that 4♠-X will be more than one down, meaning that the penalty is higher than your non-vulnerable game is worth.  

However, this was the perfect layout for the Poles, as dummy had exactly the shape needed by declarer. Gawrys was not only able to score a third-round diamond ruff but, in so doing, he also reached dummy to take the winning finesse in the trump suit. A rather fortunate one down for declarer: N/S +200 and 6 IMPs to SWITZERLAND. This was the only swing in the first five deals of the set, which meant the Swiss had edged back in front. They led by 4 IMPs when Board 22 arrived. 

The transfer sequence meant that the Poles played the spade game from the best side, a heart lead with West as declarer giving the contract no chance. Muller led a trump to the ten and king, and Gawrys crossed to a high club to play a second trump. Had North followed with the last low spades, Gawrys would surely have finessed, paying off if Muller had led a low trump from Q-x.  

North’s ♠Q appeared on the second round, so now Gawrys eliminated clubs ending in dummy and played a diamond. When De Wijs put in the ♦J, he was allowed to win. Assuming that South holds the ♦A, as seems likely, the defenders can never take more than two more tricks. Unable to play either minor profitably, De Wijs exited with the ♥J, but declarer simply covered with the king. Muller won with the ace could make no more than the ♥Q: E/W +620. 

Whilst this may look likely to be a flat board, that would be figuring without the ingenuity of the Swiss Dutchmen at the other table. 

Never knowingly undersold, Brink and Drijver have occasionally died by the sword during these championships, but their constant interference in auction that rightly belong to their opponents has brought in bushels of IMPs over the two weeks. It was therefore no surprise to see Brink come in over East’ 1NT, with 2♦, showing diamonds and a major. Van Lankveld’s jump to 3♥ was now Rubensohl (or Transfer Lebensohl), showing invitational or better values with six spades. Now Drijver joined in the roguery with 4♣, an invitational diamond raise but effectively asking about his partner’ suitability to save over 4♠.  

With his red-suit kings clearly devalued by South’s overcall, Van den Bos passed to say that he would not have accepted a game try. Brink duly corrected to 4♦. West could have decided to bid the spade game anyway, but it would have been from the wrong side (whether he had a 4♥ re-transfer available is not known) but he didn’t have any more than his original invitation. Yes, East might have doubled 4♦ on the way out, but with his red-suit honours looking to be poorly placed and a lot of high cards likely to be wasted facing his partner’s long suit, he did not like his defensive prospects. 

Of course, the cards much better for the Dutch pair than they might have imagined. Like many before then, and many in the future too, no doubt, they had been convinced by audacious bidding from Brink and Drijver’ that the hands they were looking at were not as good as it first appeared. 4♦ went the obvious three down: E/W +150 but 10 IMPs to SWITZERLAND, now ahead by 14 IMPs with 10 deals remaining. 

A few IMPs changed hands as the boards dribbled away. With just four deals remaining, and the Swiss still ahead by 10 IMPs, came what looked like curtains for the Dutch.  

Slam bidding is one of the most difficult aspects of the game but, particularly at this level, also one of the most important. This auction throws up a number of questions that serious pairs need to address, preferably before reaching the final stanza of a Bermuda Bowl final. When West cue-bid 4♥, did it deny a diamond control? Does 4♥ therefore require East to bid beyond 4♠ with a diamond control or does East have the option based on the quality of his hand in terms of what he has already shown? Should West cue-bid diamonds rather than hearts, bearing in mind that the lead will be coming through his hand at trick one. All things for regular partnerships to address.  

Not that simply bidding Blackwood on this hand will necessarily resolve the problem. Will the Blackwood bidder not find out that he is missing an ace and the ♠Q. Who is in a position to know that there is a ten-card fit, and thus that possession of the trump queen is not relevant?  

Not an easy hand, but perhaps a slam that should be reached at this level. E/W +680. Surely, the Swiss E/W pair will bid this and the final will effectively be over as a contest. Gloomy Dutch supporters had reckoned without the heroics from their pair in the other room: 

Simon de Wijs started the ball rolling by opening the North hand. When you start with an overcall and some sort of raise the auction is, inevitably, less well-defined than when you have opened the bidding, even if the auction does then become contested. Not content to making the Poles defensive bidders with his opening bid, de Wijs now introduced his heart suit over Klukowski’s cue-bid raise of Gawrys’s 1♠ overcall.  

Gawrys now showed his second suit, but 3♣ probably sounded more like a game try (and it was perhaps intended as such too). If the Poles were in any doubt about whether this was a game auction or a slam hand, Bauke Muller’s bold leap to 4♥ (holding just a pair of red queens) surely convinced them, and it is hardly any surprise that Klukowski’s competitive 4♠ bid ended the auction. 

E/W +710 and just 1 IMP to SWITZERLAND. Amazing bidding by the Dutch pair to keep the match alive as a contest. They trail now by 11 IMPs with three boards to play. 

Alas for the Dutch, it turned out that the slam hand was their last chance. Although they gained on all of the remaining deals, the swings were 1-IMP, 2-IMPs and 5-IMPs, so the recovery fell just 3 IMPs short. 

By a score of 167-164, SWITZERLAND had won one of the most exciting Bermuda Bowl finals in the history of the event dating back to 1950. Indeed, this will go down as one of the most exciting finals in any major championship.

Congratulations to the Swiss on their win: Pierre Zimmermann, Fernando Piedra, Michal Klukowski, Piotr Gawrys, Bas Drijver, Sjoert Brink and coach Krzysztof Martens. Commiserations too to the Dutch, without whom this final would not have been such an epic contest: Bauke Muller, Simon de Wijs, Louk Verhees, Ricco van Prooijen, Berend van den Bos and Joris van Lankveld. The two teams are pictured together here at the medal presentation ceremony. Chapeau to them all! 

After the first major F2F championship since the pandemic began, it is time now for us to return, at least temporarily, to the online game. Next week, we will be back with the best of the action from the first heat of the monthly Alt-’22.