Marc Smith visits the first weekend of the French Premier League.

We return to France this week, for the first weekend of the Premier League. The league comprises three divisions, with 12 teams in Division 1. The format is a complete round robin of 11 32-board matches played over three weekends. This week, we will take a look at the best of the action from the two matches played on the opening day.

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

What action, if any, do you take?

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

What action, if any, do you take?

Finally, with only the opponents vulnerable, you are sitting South with these cards:

What action, if any, do you take?

The BBO VuGraph match in Round 1 was between Sports Association of BRENO and the team captained by Georges IONTZEFF. Hundreds had tuned in to watch the action live on BBO, and many were still finding their seats when the excitement got underway on the opening deal.

Dominique Hirtz opened an artificial 2♦ and rebid 2NT to show 21-22 balanced. With 12 HCP but no ruffing values, Alain Jarlot looked no further than raising to 6NT.

There were only 12 top tricks, and a 3-3 diamond split (or a doubleton jack) looks like the most likely source of a possible thirteenth. Neither of those materialized but, with East holding both four diamonds and the ♣K, he was squeezed in the minors when declarer cashed the ♣A and then followed with eight major-suit winners. N/S +1020.

Cedric Lorenzini (right) started with 1♠ on the North hand, and Thomas Bessis’s 2NT showed an invitational or better spade raise. Lorenzini forced to game with 3♦ and Bessis marked time with 3♠, denying a complete minimum. The key bid in the auction was Lorenzini’s 3NT, a waiting bid that left room for his partner to show controls. Bessis cue-bid in hearts, denying first or second-round control in either minor. Now Lorenzini used Blackwood, checking that all key-cards were present. His 5NT then asked whether his partner had anything else to show. Knowing that his partner had a diamond suit and, having already denied the ace or king of diamonds, Bessis showed the ♦Q with his 6♦ bid. That was exactly what Lorenzini needed to hear. He could now virtually count 13 tricks, 5♠, 3♥, 3♦, 1♣, and a diamond ruff. There was nothing to the play, a splendid N/S +1510 and 10 IMPs to A.S. BRENO to open the match.

Lorenzini was then one of the players in the hotseat later in the set, with both North players facing the first of this week’s bidding problem.

Dominique Hirtz chose to defend when Tom Hanlon’s 2♠ jump overcall was passed back to him. The contract went four down, but with undertricks only costing declarer 50 a time, that was a disappointing N/S +200.

Laurent Rigaud also overcalled 2♠ on the East cards, but Lorenzini was not interested in collecting a penalty in 50s. Yes, his 3♦ might have swapped a moderate plus score for a smaller plus or even a minus, but it also kept open the possibility of a much more substantial plus score. With a diamond fit and some scattered values, Thomas Bessis advanced with a 3♠ cue-bid, and Lorenzini essayed 3NT.

A heart or a club lead might have left declarer needing to get the diamonds right in order to bring home his contract. When Rigaud led a low spade, declarer won in dummy with the ♠7 and immediately played a diamond to the ten. When that won, Lorenzini simply conceded a trick to the ♠K and claimed 12 tricks. N/S +690 and another 10 IMPs to A.S. BRENO, who won their opening match 68-35.

The VuGraph match in Round 2 was between teams captained by Eric GAUTRET and Pierre ZIMMERMANN. The Zimmermann team included the captain and the two Polish members of the squad that won the Bermuda Bowl in Salsomaggiore earlier in the year, plus two more members of the Polish team that won the same competition in 2019, so there was a crush to join the gallery watching live on BBO. They were not disappointed with the battle that unfolded.

Early in the match, one East player had to deal with the second of this week’s problem hands:

Pierre Zimmermann (right) made things difficult for his opponents. Holding only 5 HCP facing a weak two opening, he judged that it was likely that his opponents could make a slam. His jump to the three-level, although vulnerable and despite only moderate support for his partner’s likely spade suit, was a reasonable proposition.

Yes, the opponent could have collected +1100 by doubling 3♠, but that was not so easy. No doubt, Zimmermann was delighted to see Bernard Cabanes end up playing game in the suit where he held KJxxx behind declarer. The only disappointment was that he could not defeat 4♥.

Cabanes won the spade lead with the ace and then crossed to dummy in diamonds to play a trump the ten. Zimmermann won with the ♥J and continued spades. Declarer threw a club on the ♠K and played a second trump, the ♥9 losing to South’s king. Zimmermann exited with his remaining diamond, but Cabanes won with the ♦Q and ruffed dummy’s third spade with his small trump. He then cashed the ♥A-Q and started cashing diamond winners. Zimmermann could ruff with the thirteenth trump whenever he liked, but then had to play a club into declarer’s remaining A-J, ensuring the contract irrespective of the location of the ♣K. Nicely played: E/W +620.

N/S also bid to 3♠ at this table, but the timing was different. Jean-Luc Aroix’s 2♥ opening was either strong with hearts or weak with spades, so Piotr Gawrys passed at his first turn. Jeremie Tignel’s jump to 3♠ was pre-emptive and willing to play at least game if his partner held the strong heart hand.

When 3♠ came back to Gawrys, he backed in with a double and Michal Klukowski (right) had no reason to bid anything other than 3NT. When Gawrys then removed to 4♥, there was a strong inference that he had a flexible hand, prepared to play in other strains too, since he had not bid 4♥ on his previous turn. Klukowski corrected to game in diamonds, and Gawrys showed his excellent judgement by raising to slam.

6♦ is not much worse than one of two finesses, essentially needing to find North with either rounded-suit king. On a non-club lead, declarer also has chances of establishing hearts for two discards, but Aroix opened the ♣8. Klukowski played low from dummy and, when South could not produce the ♣K, he was just about home. After winning with the ♣Q, declarer played trumps and, once they split 2-2, he could take the heart finesse for an overtrick. E/W +1370 and 13 IMPs to ZIMMERMANN. A couple of boards later, came a deal on which game could be made in both directions.

E/W can make game in either black suit. In spades, declare cannot avoid losing a heart and two trumps. In clubs, the defenders have to cash the ♥A at trick one, or the heart loser disappears on the diamonds. Declarer can then draw trumps, eliminate the diamonds, and play a spade to the king. When South wins the second round of spades with the queen, he has only hearts left and is thus endplayed to concede a ruff-and-discard, and away goes declarer’s second spade loser.

E/W can take three diamond tricks against a heart contract, but the spade loser then goes on the long diamonds. With North as declarer, if West wins the second round of diamonds and switches to a spade without first cashing the third diamond winner, declarer loses to the ♠K. However, dummy’s third diamond will then disappear on the ♠A and, again, ten tricks will be made.

Perhaps the kibitzers were looking forward to seeing some excellent declarer play to bring home a tricky game. However, things didn’t work out that way, as N/S at both tables bid to par spot of 5♥. However, neither E/W pair was prepared to take the small penalty on offer.

At this table, North did not open the bidding but got in with a heart overcall at his second turn. When Klukowski then bid 4♠ after South had raised to game in hearts, Jean-Luc Aroix committed to the five level via a club cue-bid, directing his partner to what he hoped would be the winning lead against 5♠. But Klukowski had other ideas, and tried his luck in clubs at the slam level. 

North doubled and cashed his two aces. Klukowski correctly dropped South’s ♠Q on the second round of the suit, but that was still one down: N/S +200.  At the other table, North’s opening bid meant that the auction was grossly accelerated with the result that Pierre Zimmermann was left to deal with the last of this week’s bidding problems.

Frank Multon opened 2♥ on the North hand, showing a weak hand with at least 5-5 in hearts and a minor. Cabanes overcalled 2♠ and Zimmermann raised to 5♥. When Eric Gautret then jumped to 6♠ and Multon doubled, Zimmermann had a tough decision. West’s jump to slam certainly suggested that the defenders had no heart trick. How could Zimmermann possibly know that his ♠Q was a sure trick – the auction does not sound like one where the defenders will hold two natural trump tricks. The only question is, “on what is partner’s double based?”

Zimmerman took the insurance, but it was hefty premium to pay on this layout. Cabanes led a spade, so declarer won with the ♠Q in dummy, but he still had three diamonds to lose: N/S -500 and 12 IMPs to GAUTRET, who won the match 61-45.

We will return next week with highlights from the two matches played on the second day of this first weekend of the 2022 French Premier League.