World Bridge Tour Copenhagen: world-class bridge in Denmark
Copenhagen once again hosted one of the world’s strongest bridge events as the World Bridge Tour brought together 22 teams for five days of competition.
I played for Plan B Bridgeklub, partnering young Danish Open team member Nikolaj “Pepe” Hammelev.
To give you an idea of the strength of the field, I’ll start with a deal where bidding a slam on 22 HCP was only average against the field.
A 22-HCP slam… and still below average
East opened 3♥ and, sitting South, I overcalled 4♣, showing at least 5-5 in Clubs and Spades — a convention called Non-Leaping Michaels.
West understood that our side was likely heading for a high-level contract and tried 4NT as Keycard to throw us off. This time it did not work: Pepe bid 5♥ as a slam try in Spades, and I accepted with 6♠.
West then sacrificed in 7♥, which we doubled. I was slightly worried that a Spade lead could be ruffed and that my potential Diamond ruff might disappear if declarer was able to draw trumps. Instead, I chose to lead the Ace of Clubs.
The contract went only five down for +1100. Surprisingly, that was a big minus on the Butler and cost us 8 IMPs in the match.
Choosing 3NT over the eight-card major fit
Here is another deal where we found a nice 3NT rather than playing in our eight-card major fit.
1♠ – 1NT – 2♣ – 2♠ – 3♠ – 3NT.
2♣ was Gazilli-style, showing either a natural Club suit or any hand with at least 16 HCP. My 2♠ showed a minimum hand and could even be made with a singleton Spade.
Pepe judged to make only an invitational bid with the North hand. His reasoning was simple: if I had no Spade support, we might be short of tricks; if I did have Spades, I would be eager to raise them.
This time I had a maximum for my minimum, and with only slow honors I suggested playing in notrump. On perfect defense there is some guessing involved, but the contract can always be made. At the table I got a little help and had a fairly straightforward route home.
Why 3NT?
Compared with 3NT, 4♠ is a much worse contract: there are two immediate Spade losers, and the best chance of reducing the side-suit losers to one is to solve the Heart suit and discard the Club loser on the Queen of Diamonds. In 3NT, the long major still provides tricks even though it is not trumps. When there is no dangerous suit to protect against, 3NT with a long major can be a very attractive contract.
Qualification day: maximum pressure
Going into the final day of qualification, we were 6th, with the top four teams advancing to the knockout stage. There were still enough victory points available, and with several direct contenders on our schedule, we felt we had a real chance.
In the first match of the day, this board brought us IMPs. North opened 1♦ in third seat. Since I was a passed hand, Pepe was less worried about missing slam and instead chose to put maximum pressure on the opponents by overcalling 4♥.
He got exactly the auction he was hoping for: North balanced with a takeout double and South chose 4♠. After two passes, Pepe doubled.
This was not a pure penalty double. When the player who has preempted doubles later, it usually shows a very strong hand for the preempt — often a hand that expects the preemptive contract to make. Had I not been strong in Spades, I would have removed to 5♥.
This time I passed, and 4♠ went five down for +1100. This time, +1100 was a very good score!
Just short of the knockout stage
Unfortunately, a few less successful boards meant that we did not qualify for the knockout stage. Instead, we played the 5th Place Swiss and finished 4th there, giving us 9th place overall.
I first played the WBT in Copenhagen in 2023, and I had wanted to come back ever since. It is one of — if not the — best-organized events I have ever played, and the quality of the field is absolutely world class.
The event was won by Team EDMONDS, who beat Team DE BOTTON in the final. The next World Bridge Tour event will be held in Reykjavik, Iceland, in January. Hopefully I’ll see some of you there!
What was your favorite deal?
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