We are back in Goa, India, at the Mavericks Summer National Championships, where we have reached the semi-final stage of the Gold Teams. The format is 56-board matches divided into four 14-board segments. The draw pits two of the pre-tournament favourites, FORMIDABLES and MAVERICKS, against each other. These two teams include the three pairs who will be representing India in the upcoming Bermuda Bowl in Morocco in August. In the other semi-final, it is MAVERICKS PRODIGIES against DHAMPUR SUGAR MILLS.

Only one problem this week. With only your side vulnerable, you are North holding:

What action, if any, do you take?

We begin our coverage in the opening stanza of the match between the favourites. MAVERICKS built at early lead and led 29-12 when the penultimate deal of the set arrived at the tables. This was the layout.

How good do you think that South hand is when your partner has shown 5-6 in the majors? Having forced to game with his initial 2♦ response, Sumit Mukherjee (left) decided that he was worth a 4♣ cue-bid, showing some interest beyond game. However, when his partner did not cue-bid in diamonds, he gave up the hunt for slam.

With North’s spades poor, declarer could not both draw trumps and set up the hearts by ruffing with dummy’s high spades.  Rajeshwar Tewari managed to make ten tricks: a well-judged N/S +620.

After the same start to the auction, Laltu chose to advance with 4♦ rather than 4♣ for some reason. When Keyzad Anklesaria retreated to 4♠, he then continued with 5♣. Anklesaria admitted to a diamond control, which prompted Laltu to jump to slam. Sagnik Roy decided he had heard enough, and doubled.

Declarer here managed the same ten tricks: N/S -500 and a massive 15 IMPs went to FORMIDABLES. A small gain on the last board of the set then gave FORMIDABLES a 3-IMP lead, 32-29, at the end of the first set. In the other semi-final, DHAMPUR SUGAR MILLS led 42-26 after 14 boards.

In the second stanza, Board 26 produced a huge swing in both matches. Let’s start in the match between DHAMPUR and PRODIGIES.

The DHAMPUR E/W pair conducted a perfectly controlled auction. Sunit Choksi forced with a fourth-suit 2♦ and then agreed spades at the three-level. When Swarnendu Banerji (right) showed a diamond control, Choksi Blackwooded. Although Banerji’s earlier 4♦ bid had probably denied a club control, Choksi advanced with 5NT to confirm that all the key-cards were present. When Banerji again denied holding the ♣K, Choksi settled for the small slam.

South led a diamond. Banerji won in dummy and drew three rounds of trumps. When he then played the ♣A and a second club, North rose with the king, allowing declarer an early claim. E/W +1430.

After the same start to the auction, Anindra Sarkar chose to advance with a heart cue-bid rather than Blackwood. That left Pritam Das to ask for key-cards on the East hand. Having found that all the key-cards were present, Das then advanced with 6♣. He presumably intended this as asking for the ♣K, but that is information that you would usually discover via 5NT. Sarkar took 6♣, correctly it seems to me, as asking for third-round club control (as you would to avoid a grand slam with a side suit something like K10xxx opposite Axx). Holding a doubleton ♣A, he therefore jumped to the grand slam.

The contract was not completely without play, but it needs the club finesse to work, in addition to finding both black suits breaking 3-2, so hardly a grand you want to reach. With the club finesse failing and clubs breaking 4-1, declarer went two down. N/S -200 and 17 IMPs to DHAMPUR SUGAR MILLS, who led 87-54 at the midway point of the match.

In the other semi-final, both E/W pairs bid to 6♠. For MAVERICKS, Keyzad Anklesaria followed the same line taken at the first table above. North did not rise with the ♣K on the second round, but declarer could give up a club and take one club ruff to achieve the same 12 tricks. E/W +1430.

At the other table, declarer won the diamond lead in dummy, crossed to a high trump in his hand, and ran the ♣J. North won with the ♣K and, having listened to the bidding, returned a club for his partner to ruff. E/W -100 and 17 IMPs to MAVERICKS, who led 80-48 at the halftime break.

There was another deal that generated a swing in both matches towards the end of the third set. One North player had to deal with this week’s problem:

Laltu forced to game with his initial 2♦ response, and Anklesaria then bid and rebid his spades, showing at least 5-6 distribution. When South raised to 4♠, should Anklesaria make another move?

He didn’t do so. If the defenders lead clubs, forcing declarer at every opportunity, then 6♠ will need trumps to split 3-2, which is certainly within the bounds of acceptable odds for a small slam. N/S +680.

Sayantan Kushari (right) made his international debut as a member of the India Schools team at the 2016 World Youth Championships. He has represented India numerous times in Under-26 events. He played in the Under-31 Teams at the 2022 World Championship in Salsomaggiore, just missing out on a medal as India finished fourth.

Kaustubh Bendre started with a natural 2NT response. When Kushari bid spades, Bendre retreated to 3NT. Taking a much rosier view of his hand than North had at the first table, Kushari then jumped to slam in his long suit.

Slam in hearts is worse than 50%, needing trumps 2-2, but fortune was on the side of the brave today. N/S +980 and 13 IMPs to FORMIDABLES, who had reduced the deficit to only 13 IMPs with one 14-board stanza remaining.

There was a completely different scenario at both tables in the other semi-final, where both West players opened with a club pre-empt.

Rajendra Sirohia’s 3♣ opening set North a tricky problem – should he bid his seven-card suit or show both Majors? Vinay Desai chose to bid his hearts. When Pijush Baroi upped the ante to the five-level and Ashok Goel doubled, Desai had an even more difficult decision – rebid his hearts, introduce his spades, respond with a minimum bid at the five-level, or jump to slam?

Desai settled for 5♥, which ended the auction. With trumps breaking 2-2, he made twelve tricks: N/S +680.

West also opened 3♣ here, but Sabyasachi Sadhukhan chose to show both of his suits via a 4♣ cue-bid. Here, too, East raised to 5♣, but Joyrup Mullick (left), a member of the Indian Junior team at the 2012 World Youth Championships, competed with 5♠. Sadhukhan’s raise to slam then ended the brief but effective auction. N/S +1430 and 13 IMPs to MAVERICKS PRODIGIES, who went into the final set trailing 91-106.

For some reason, there was no VuGraph coverage of the final set of these matches. We do know that DHAMPUR SUGAR MILLS hung on to their lead to win their semi-final, but MAVERICKS did not. Thus, the final will be DHAMPUR v FORMIDABLES.

We will be back soon with the best of the action from that final.