Round of 32 Part 1 - Slow and Steady Wins the Race

When the cards fit, there’s only one real question: is it time to pull the trigger? Despite North’s opening bid, many East-West pairs were left debating whether slam was truly the right spot.

Some of the more common auctions for tables that missed slam were:

West	North	East	South
	1♣	1♥	P
4♥	AP

West	North	East	South
	1♣	2NT(1)	P
4♥	AP

(1) at least 5-5 in red suits

In both of these sequences, the auctions were brief, leaving very little room to explore slam.

There were several ways East-West could navigate the auction to reach slam, from slower cue-bidding sequences to more direct jumps, all depending on the auction at the table.

Below are some auction sequences from a few tables, highlighting the decisions that allowed East-West pairs to explore and reach slam.

Dyson vs Formidables:

Closed Room:

West	North	East	South
Townsend	Kushari	Handley-P	Bendre
	1♣	2NT	P
3♣	X	4♣	5♣
6♥	AP

Rather than jumping immediately to game, Tom Townsend started with a 3♣ cue-bid, allowing his partner, Ben Handley-Pritchard, to show a club control with 4♣. Even with the intervention, East-West smoothly reached 6♥ and scored 1430, a well-earned 13 IMPs for Dyson.

Other table:

West	North	East	South
Mukherjee	Crouch	Tewari	Dyson
	1♣	2NT	P
4♥	AP

Bridge For Business vs Altshuler:

Open Room:

West	North	East	South
Blach	Zatorski	Golebiowski	Pachtman
	1♣	1♥	P
4♥	AP

Here, a simple auction led EW to an easy 680.

Closed Room:

West	North	East	South
Zack	Ciechomski	Ginossar	Janiszewski
	2♣(1)	2♥	P
4♥	P	4♠	P
6♥	AP

(1) 11-16, 6+♣ or 5+♣ and 4M

This table demonstrates another route to 6♥. Ciechomski opened 2♣ and Eldad Ginossar overcalled 2♥, setting the stage for a smooth auction. While Yaniv Zack opted to jump to 4♥ rather than cue-bid or make a 4♦ splinter, Ginossar’s 4♠ bid helped guide the partnership safely to 6♥, showing that multiple approaches can succeed depending on the auction at the table.

Photo credits: European Bridge League (Facebook)