Riga Round 24: Switzerland vs Norway

As the tournament entered its closing stages, this match carried enormous implications for both teams. Norway sat in second place, just 1.26 victory points behind Denmark. A win here could propel them into first, especially with Denmark facing the equally dangerous French team. Even a narrow loss would likely keep Norway firmly in the race for the top spot.

The situation was far more precarious for Switzerland. After consecutive losses to Georgia and Lithuania, two teams that had largely fallen out of qualification contention, the Swiss slipped to ninth place, exactly half a victory point behind Sweden in eighth. They were already on the wrong side of the qualification line, and another defeat would only widen the gap, putting their Bermuda Bowl hopes in serious jeopardy. For Pierre Zimmermann, it also threatened to end an extraordinary streak, as it would mark his first missed Bermuda Bowl since 2008, when he was still representing France.

Would Norway take another step toward gold, or could Switzerland keep their Bermuda Bowl hopes alive?

This Swiss got the early touches in the set. They started here.

Multon	Heiberg-Evenstad	Nowosadzki	Helgemo
		1♣	1♥
P	1♠	2♣	2♦
4♣	AP

This auction felt slightly unusual. Given the natural 1♣ opening, it was surprising that Multon did not respond 1♠ with his hand before retreating to 2♣ later. It was also somewhat awkward for Nowosadzki to rebid 2♣ with only five clubs. Nevertheless, the sequence worked out in the end, as they reached a makeable contract while successfully keeping the opponents out of the auction.

Helgemo might have considered bidding 4♥, but the risk was likely too high given the vulnerability and the auction. Partner's failure to compete over the preemptive raise suggested limited values, and North-South were unlikely to have a game available anyway. The result was plus 130 for East-West.

Brogeland	Kalita	Bakke	Klukowski
		1♣	1♥
3♣	P	P	3♥
P	4♥	5♣	X
AP

Conversely, Brogeland chose the aggressive route of bidding 3♣ after his partner's 1♣ opening, which could have been as short as two cards. Kalita raised to game with his strong trump support, putting pressure on Bakke to consider a sacrifice. Given his two aces and kings in the spade and club suits, Bakke was likely counting on partner having long clubs and limited defensive tricks, expecting to take around three immediate tricks himself.

However, the intimidation factor ultimately cost the partnership 6 IMPs, as Kalita quickly claimed ten tricks after the opening lead.

Multon	Heiberg-Evenstad	Nowosadzki	Helgemo
			1♦
P	1♥	1♠	2♦
AP

Brogeland	Kalita	Bakke	Klukowski
			1♦
P	1♥	1♠	3♦
AP

The contrast between the opening rebids gave Norway 5 IMPs, even though both tables ended up taking eight tricks. Klukowski's jump rebid was likely justified, as the Polish Club system limited the strength of their 1♦ opening. In their structure, 3♦ was a non-forcing jump rebid showing roughly 14 to 17 points.

This hand looks vaguely similar to the previous one we mentioned. Again, it involved both south hands and their decision to open at different levels.

Multon	Heiberg-Evenstad	Nowosadzki	Helgemo
			4♠
AP

Brogeland	Kalita	Bakke	Klukowski
			3♠
AP

Helgemo was unfazed by the possibility that 4♠ was more vulnerable to being doubled and converted for penalties compared to stopping at the three level. On this board, however, the decision did not work out perfectly.

Multon led a low club, which was won by his partner's ace after declarer inserted the ♣J from dummy. Nowosadzki continued with the ♥Q, which dummy won. When Multon later took the ♠A while drawing trumps, he returned a club, eliminating their chance to score a heart ruff. The defense still managed to defeat the contract by one trick.

Meanwhile, Brogeland took the simpler route of leading a spade, which immediately removed any chance of holding declarer to a partscore.

This auction occurred in the France-Denmark match:

Lorenzini	Tylvad	Bessis	Hammelev
			3♠
P	P	4♦	P
4NT	X	AP

Perhaps this is one of the rare auctions where 4NT could reasonably be considered a natural contract. North's attempt to double the game backfired, as Cédric Lorenzini took ten tricks to earn 10 IMPs for France.

This board was likely the turning point of the match. Up to this point, the match had been relatively quiet, with Switzerland holding a narrow lead. The momentum, however, swung decisively in the other direction.

Multon	Heiberg-Evenstad	Nowosadzki	Helgemo
	P	P	1♠
4♥	4♠	AP

Helgemo prioritized showing his five card major despite holding a six card club suit. Although his opening bid was certainly light, it is possible he would have opened the hand regardless of his seat. The auction eventually led to 4♠, a contract that would have made had trumps broken 3-2.

Instead, the unfavorable 4-1 trump split allowed the defense to tap declarer repeatedly and eventually exhaust his trumps. Helgemo still managed to escape for down one. Minus 100 was not a poor result, as 4♥ would likely have had only three losers.

Geir Helgemo

Brogeland	Kalita	Bakke	Klukowski
	P	P	4♣
4♥	P	P	X
AP

Klukowski is certainly known for making bold and unconventional bids, but this one was particularly surprising. While he was clearly trying to disrupt the auction, opening with this hand while holding a five card major on the side felt difficult to justify. It was especially unusual given that their 2♠ opening already showed spades and a minor, likely at least 5-5 at this vulnerability.

The opening also made it much harder to recover later. Klukowski eventually doubled, and the contract was left there. Perhaps Kalita simply had no clear agreement about what the double meant. It may have been intended as a spade showing action or a request for a diamond ruff.

Even so, a diamond lead would not have been enough to defeat 4♥. Declarer could only be forced once in diamonds, leaving the defense with that ruff and the two red aces. At the table, a club was led instead. Kalita won the ♥A at trick two, cashed the ♦A, and gave partner a diamond ruff, but it still was not enough. Norway collected 12 IMPs after the disastrous bidding sequence.

After that, there was little time left for Switzerland to recover, and they eventually fell 13–26. The loss left them in ninth place, now trailing Ireland by less than half a victory point. Meanwhile, Norway climbed into first place after Denmark suffered a sizable defeat to France.