Ten pairs set out on the quest to represent England in the Seniors Teams at the European Championships in Herning, Denmark this summer. After a first stage in the sunny Birmingham suburb of Solihull, the leading four pairs formed two teams. They converged on the TGR club in north London for the final showdown. The two teams were MOSSOP (David Mossop, Gunnar Hallberg, John Holland and Alan Mould) and WARD (Trevor Ward, Rob Cliffe, Pat Shields and Richard Chamberlain).

The leading team would automatically be selected. Those two pairs, in conjunction with the selection committee, would then select a third pair from the leading five pairs in the first stage. The format of the final was a 112-board match divided into eight 14-board stanzas.

As usual, we start with a couple of problems. Firstly, with only your side vulnerable, you are West holding:

What action, if any, do you take?

If you pass, what do you lead? Next, with only your opponents vulnerable, you are sitting in the South seat with:

What do you open?

There was a technical problem with the VuGraph coverage from one table in the opening stanza. Although it was not a set with a great deal of action, MOSSOP built a 24-0 lead. The second stanza also began quietly, and the match score had advanced only to 33-7 when this deal arrived at the table.

John Holland intervened with a vulnerable jump to 3♣ and Pat Shields (left) braved the three-level despite only holding three-card support for his partner’s major. Richard Chamberlain went to game and no one had anything further to contribute.

A trump lead would restrict declarer to just seven tricks, but Holland understandably opened a top club. Declarer can get out for one down now, by ruffing, crossing to the ♥A, and ruffing a second club in dummy, denuding East of clubs and effectively killing the West hand. Declarer will eventually make four trumps, two club ruffs, a heart and two diamonds. When Chamberlain instead played a trump at trick two, Alan Mould was able to win and play a second round of the suit, and now declarer had six losers. Not that the extra undertricks were a disaster at only 50/trick:  E/W +150.

Trevor Ward (right) decided that 2♣ was enough on the West hand, which allowed David Mossop to raise spades via a support double. Facing his partner’s vulnerable two-level overcall with both opponents bidding, Rob Cliffe decided that he liked his hand enough to jump to 3NT. That didn’t stop Hallberg carrying on to game in spades, and Cliffe doubled in the pass-out seat. That left Ward with the first of this week’s problems.

As we have already seen, passing the double will lead to somewhere between +100 and +500, depending on the opening lead and the subsequent play. However, those are small potatoes, and Ward opted instead to gamble for all the marbles by advancing to 4NT. When that came back to Hallberg, he closed the auction with a red card. All that was left now was the find a winning opening lead.

A spade would beat the contract by two, limiting declarer to just the ♠A and seven clubs, for +500 to E/W. Even a diamond lead would be good enough to beat the contract by one. However, Hallberg opted for the ultra-cautious choice of the ♣9. But this was not a time for caution.

Cliffe won in dummy and advanced the ♥10, running it when North followed with a low card. Hallberg won with the ♥A and switched to a diamond, hoping to find his partner with A-K-Q, with the backup that North held the ♣Q and that declarer would misguess. Mossop won with the ♦A and switched to a spade, but declarer won with the ♠A, cashed the ♦K, and then overtook the ♣Q. Running the clubs squeezed North so that declarer did not even have to rely on retaking the virtually-marked heart finesse for his overtrick. A spectacular E/W +1010, a score that usually means an overtrick in a major-suit slam, and 13 IMPs to WARD.

WARD won the second stanza 22-9, so they trailed by 11 IMPs (22-33) after two sets. MOSSOP’s lead did not make it past the opening deal of the third stanza.

Alan Mould eventually forced his partner to choose a suit, and then he raised to slam on his monster. Trevor Ward led the ♦A, ruffed in dummy. John Holland played a trump, but Rob Cliffe (left) won with the ♠A and exited safely with the ♦K. Holland played three rounds of hearts, hoping to ruff down the ♥Q and, when that failed, he had to rely on the club finesse. When that also lost, he was one down. E/W -100.

Here, too, Richard Chamberlain (right) finally bid his spade suit at the five-level, and soon thereafter found himself in slam. The only difference in the auction was Gunnar Hallberg’s final double.

Chamberlain won David Mossop’s ♥6 opening in dummy and played a trump. Winning with the ♠A, Hallberg was perhaps concerned that declarer might hold a singleton club and would therefore be able to ruff down his doubleton king. Never mind, as he could be almost certain that his partner would not have led a doubleton heart, so he returned a heart for his partner to ruff. Yes, Mossop had led a singleton, so the operation was a success in that regard. However, the patient died anyway, as Mossop had no trump with which to ruff. Declarer’s club loser now disappeared on dummy’s third heart winner and the contract was made. A massive E/W +1660 and 18 IMPs to WARD, who moved into a 7-IMP lead.

A few boards later, came a deal that was all about high-level bidding judgement.

Shields led a trump against North’s 4♥. David Mossop (left) drew three rounds and then played the ♦A and a diamond to the queen. Shields exited with a third round of diamonds and, when the suit split 3-3, declarer was able to pitch a club from dummy on the thirteenth diamond. N/S +420.

It is not possible to stop North making ten tricks in hearts but, looking at all four hands, you can see that 4♠-Doubled is very cheap, losing just two diamonds and a trick in each major. I will leave you to decide who is supposed to take the save in this auction or whether it is just too difficult to find.

The Strong Club system in use at the other table completely changed the complexion of the auction.

Trevor Ward started with an artificial Strong Club. John Holland entered the fray with a very skinny 1♠ overcall and Ward bid his hearts. Alan Mould (right), who had thus far contributed nothing to the auction, found himself with a relative monster of a hand, so he raised to 4♠ and even showed his heart shortage on the way.

It thus fell to Rob Cliffe to decide between taking the small plus available from 4♠ or to try for the game bonus at the five-level. He chose to bid, theoretically exchanging a small plus for a small minus. 

Mould led a spade, declarer winning and drawing trumps. Ward led the diamond queen, covered by king and ace, and then tried a club towards the king without first trying to establish a long diamond trick. He thus lost three clubs and a diamond to go two down. Not such a small minus after all: N/S -300 and 12 IMPs to MOSSOP. Towards the end of the third set, both South players had to decide what to open on the second of this week’s problem hands…

Gunnar Hallberg (left) opened 1♦ in third seat, and then showed his three-card spade support via a support double of Pat Shields’ 2♣ overcall. Mossop competed to 3♠ after Chamberlain had raised clubs, and Hallberg bid one for the road.

The defence began with a high club and a switch to the ♥J. Of course, the jack was allowed to run around to declarer’s ♥Q, so Mossop ruffed a club and ran the ♠J. Drawing trumps then enabled him to claim the rest of the tricks. N/S +480.

With only five major-suit cards and facing a partner who could not open in first seat at favourable vulnerability, I have a lot of sympathy for Rob Cliffe’s decision to pre-empt with a Gambling-style 3NT on this hand. Of course, there was no chance of getting to spades after that, and the auction duly died in 4♦. N/S +150 and 8 IMPs to MOSSOP.

Who do you blame for this loss? In my partnership, we have a rule that you cannot pass in first seat non-vulnerable with a five-card suit (except sometimes clubs). Except in very rare circumstances, you have to open at either the one-level or the two-level, and there is no hand that is too good for a weak two but not good enough for a one bid. So, I would assign 75% of the blame to North for not opening, and the other 25% to South, not for his 3NT opening, but for failing to make his partner understand that he has to open these hands. I suppose this is a Senior event and not one for Juniors, so one has to expect a bit of old fuddy-duddery 😊

MOSSOP won the third set 59-30, so they now lead by 40 IMPs (92-52).

We will be back soon with more highlights as this final edges towards a decision as to who will be England’s representatives in Denmark.