Riga Round 8: England vs Norway (BBO), Italy vs Netherlands (LB)

This hand involved a duo of two preemptive hands. Had the opener not chosen to preempt, the East hand would most certainly have done so.

All four North players chose to preempt, either with a 2♥ opening or a Multi 2♦. However, one approach clearly identified opener's major, while the other left it unspecified.

This board did not bring significant impact for the Norwegians nor the English.

Dyke	Heiberg-Evenstad	Byrne	Helgemo
	2♥	P	4♥
AP

Here, the simple auction brought the Norwegians to 4♥. On the diamond lead, North was down two as they had 2 spades, 2 hearts, and 1 diamond to lose.

In the other room:

Brogeland	Norton	Bakke	Tommasini
	2♦	P	4♣ (1)
P	4♦ (2)	P	4♥
AP

1. Asks partner to transfer to their major suit

2. Hearts

After a Multi 2♦ opening, Tommasini bid 4♣, and the partnership eventually reached 4♥ with West on lead. Brogeland chose a low diamond, allowing declarer to escape for down one. England came away with the benefit of the doubt.

Things took a different turn in the other match:

Nijssen	Donati	Van de Paverd	Percario
	2♦	P	2NT
P	3♣	P	4♥
AP

9 tricks were taken for -50. However, things took a different turn in the other room.

Versace	Van den Bos	Sementa	Van Lankveld
	2♦	P	2♠
P	3♥	3♠	4♥
4♠	P	P	X
AP

Joris Van Lankveld took the more conservative route by bidding 2♠, likely out of caution in case his partner had preempted on only a five-card major. The downside was that it allowed Sementa to enter the auction with a 3♠ overcall, which likely showed a distributional hand with spades rather than pure strength, as a stronger hand would have been suitable for a direct overcall.

Since 2♠ did not promise significant values in the way that 2NT or 4♣ likely would have, competing with 3♠ was much less dangerous. As a result, the Italians reached 4♠ doubled, which was inevitably cold given the favorable 2–2 trump break. They were rewarded 11 IMPs on the opening board from this game swing.

This was not a board about finding the right game. It was about deciding whose game it was. North-South appeared destined for 4♥, but the contract was hardly cold. East-West, meanwhile, possessed a mountain of clubs and enough distribution to make life uncomfortable. Would they settle for a sacrifice, or could they successfully bid their own game?

Brogeland	Norton	Bakke	Tommasini
Versace	Van den Bos	Sementa	Van Lankveld
1♣	1♥	X	4♥
5♣	X	AP

In both rooms, the West players chose to bid 5♣ over 4♥ despite holding a flat 7-2-2-2 distribution. There are certainly many layouts where 5♣ has realistic chances to make, while doubling 4♥ would produce a much smaller return. Holding the ♥A also suggested that partner was likely short in hearts, increasing the appeal of competing. Moreover, 4♥ could easily be making if partner had fitting club support, leaving the opponents with a trump shortage. That was not the case on this deal, but it is an important consideration in favor of bidding 5♣. The defense had 3 tricks available for -200.

The other two tables played in 4♥, as neither the Dutch nor the English chose to compete to the five level with the West hand. The Norwegians lost 9 IMPs after taking only eight tricks, while the Italians limited the damage to 7 IMPs by taking nine tricks in 4♥.

In an uncontested auction, you reach 6NT. East leads the ♣J, which you duck, allowing West's king to win the trick. A second club is returned to dummy's ace, and from this point on, you cannot afford to lose another trick.

The obvious line is to take the spade finesse, hoping the king is onside. However, there is another possibility: combine your chances by playing for a squeeze in one of the major suits. If you choose the squeeze route, which defender would you target?

This dilemma ultimately stuck Nicolai Heiberg-Evenstad as choosing the wrong person to squeeze ultimately damaged the chances of making the contract. Playing West for both the spade and heart honors, he cashed the ace of spades after cashing all his minor winners, which West pitched his 5th club on the last diamond. At this point, West pitched a club on the 6th diamond and he ended up taking the heart finesse, which had lost to East's singleton heart queen and lost the last trick to the spade king, which was in fact onside.

It's funny how the simple spade finesse would have succeeded, while the more sophisticated squeeze line was the one that failed. England picked up 15 IMPs on the board, setting the tone for the rest of the match as they cruised to a 34–8 victory.

At the other table, both the Dutch and Italians reached 6♦, a contract that was always destined to be pushed. Both declarers brought it home, resulting in a flat board. Italy went on to win the match 32–12, helped by a vulnerable game swing on a later deal (shown below).