We have skipped across the English Channel to the Netherlands. A few weeks ago, we saw the best of the action from the semi-final match between the Swiss Bermuda Bowl winners representing BC de LOMBARD 1 and the current reigning Dutch European Champions playing as BC t’ONSTEIN 1.

The Swiss pulled off a narrow victory in that match, so the final will be contested by BC de LOMBARD 1 (Pierre Zimmerman, Michal Nowosadzki, Sjoert Brink, Bas Drijver, Jacek Kalita and Michal Klukowski) and BC t’ONSTEIN 2 (Ricco van Prooijen, Bob Drijver, Guy Mendes de Leon and Thibo Sprinkhuizen). The format is an 80-board match divided into five 16-board stanzas.

As usual, we begin with a couple of problems. Firstly, with neither side vulnerable, you are North holding:

What action do you take?

What would you have opened in third seat if West had passed?

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

What action, if any, do you take?

While you mull those over, we begin early in the opening stanza.

Guy Mendes de Leon showed a good hand with his reverse.  Thibo Sprinkhuizen (left) tried to find a fit and, having failed to do so, settled for game in his seven-card suit. Dummy’s singleton trump turned out to be the king, but slam was still well against the odds.

To play the trump suit for one loser needs to find either the jack singleton (a 5.6% chance) or doubleton (27.2%), so that’s a combined chance of 32.8%, in itself not good odds. On a diamond lead (or switch after winning the first round of trumps with the ace), declarer also needs to find the clubs breaking no worse than 5-3 (80%), as he will need to discard his three spade losers on dummy’s high clubs whilst there are still trumps out. That all means that the chance of making twelve tricks is a tad over 1-in-4.

Sjoert Brink (right) recently announced that he thought 2024 was going to be a really lucky year for him, so his policy was to bid on the assumption that his finesses would work. On this deal, we see that philosophy in action, to devastating effect.

Brink was able to bid a forcing 2♥ over Bas Drijver’s reverse, and he too found out that his partner had extra values but no heart fit. In essentially the same position as Mendes de Leon at the first table, Brink jumped to 6♥! As we have seen, the odds of making twelve tricks are roughly equivalent to needing two finesses to work. With the ♥J coming down and the clubs also behaving, this was indeed a demonstration that 2024 is a lucky year for Brink. N/S +1430 and 13 IMPs to BC de LOMBARD 1.

Towards the end of the first stanza, came another potential slam deal…

Ricco van Prooijen (left) did not open the West hand in second seat, which left Bas Drijver with the problem of what how to treat the North hand. Facing a passed partner, Drijver decided that shutting the opponents out was more important than keeping slam options open.

Keeping opponents out of the auction is not so easy in this game, and van Prooijen bravely balanced when Drijver’s 4♥ opening was passed back to him. Bob Drijver duly retreated to 4♠, which would have been a profitable save for E/W (just -300), but Brink was having none of it and he pressed on to 5♥. Of course, with a passed hand facing a pre-empt, slam was never in the frame at this table.

Bas Drijver won the spade opening, drew trumps, and had time to set dummy’s diamonds up for a club discard. N/S +480.

Pre-emption can be a double-edged sword that adds momentum to your opponents’ auction.

Pierre Zimmerman had a toy, so he opened the West hand with 2♠, showing five spades and at least a four-card minor. That left Guy Mendes de Leon (right) with the first of this week’s problems. One option is to overcall 4♥, which would probably have duplicated the result at the first table, with East jumping to 4♠ and South competing to the five-level. However, Mendes decided that his hand was too strong for that option, so he began with a takeout double.

Michael Nowosadzki duly upped the ante with a jump to game, and now Sprinkhuizen joined in with a responsive double. That prompted Mendes to take a shot at slam in his long suit,

Now the spotlight was on Nowosadzki. Would the double Bermuda Bowl champion divine the club lead needed to break the slam? No, he fished out a spade, so declarer was also able to establish diamonds for a club discard. N/S +980 and 11 IMPs to BC t’ONSTEIN 2.

Honours were fairly even at the end of the first segment, with BC de LOMBARD 1 ahead by 6 IMPs, 31-25. The action began early in the second segment. On this deal, the precise meaning of a 2M opening played a big role.

Michal Klukowski opened a weak 2♥ variant which showed five hearts and a four-card or longer minor. With such a huge fit for both minors, Jacek Kalita (left) asked his partner to bid his minor with a jump to 4NT after West’s spade overcall. Klukowski obliged and Bob Drijver, no doubt influenced by his heart holding, doubled on the way out.

The defence began with two rounds of spades, declarer ruffing. With the doubleton ♦K in the slot, Klukowski was not hard-pressed to pick up the trumps and concede a club. Ruffing the last spade in hand then left dummy high. N/S +550.

At the other table, Thibo Sprinkhuizen also opened 2♥. The huge difference was that here this showed just a natural weak two in hearts and said nothing about a minor. West overcalled 2♠ but, with no knowledge of a fit opposite, what could Mendes de Leon do?

Michal Nowosadzki’s raise to 3♠ was passed back to Mendes. South is known to hold five or six hearts and, probably, one or two spades. That leaves perhaps only five cards in the minors. Would you really want to venture to the four-level on that North hand in those circumstances? Nor did Mendes de Leon.

Mendes started by cashing two high clubs. With a possible diamond discard coming from dummy on the ♣J, Mendes de Leon tried his luck in diamonds next, playing the ace and another. Pierre Zimmermann (right) won with the ♦K, drew trumps, and eventually lost a trick to South’s ♥K. N/S -140 and 12 IMPs to BC de LOMBARD 1.

Switching to a trump at trick three would have at least beaten 3♠, but that would not have saved many IMPs. Not to worry, as this was the very next deal. Both South players saw the second of this week’s problems and their action determined the destination of a large number of IMPs.

For the Dutch, Sprinkhuizen chose a 3♣ overcall after East’s Stayman bid, which was passed around to Michal Nowosadzki (left) in the East seat. With adequate values for game, he re-opened with a double and then, having found an eight-card fit, he raised Zimmermann’s 3♥ to what looks like a perfectly normal game.

North led the ♦2. How would you play? As you can see, looking at all four hands, declarer can make the contract by rising with the ♦A, drawing four rounds of trumps, and then playing a club to establish a tenth trick. With what looks like three unavoidable losers in the black suits, declarer cannot afford a diamond loser, so finessing at trick one looks like the obvious thing to do.

Sprinkhuizen won with the ♦K, cashed a high club, then played the ♣2 for his partner to ruff. He then ruffed the diamond return and gave his partner a second club ruff. Mendes de Leon had a safe exit in either red suit, so declarer still had to lose a spade at the end. Three down: E/W -300.

After the same start, Michal Klukowski tried his luck with a jump to 4♣. Bob Drijver (right) reopened with a double on the East cards and van Prooijen had no reason to act at this level. Proving that even the very best can lose their way in the most trying of circumstances, declarer managed to go four down. E/W +800 and a massive 16 IMPs to BC t’ONSTEIN 2.

We leave things after 20 boards of this 80-board match.  BC de t’ONSTEIN 2 have their noses just ahead, by 3 IMPs, 48-45.

We will be back soon with more highlights from this enthralling encounter.