The main event of the congress was a full-day pairs tournament, classified as part of the Grand Prix Poland series, in which the Foundation’s pair Krzysztof Buras – Piotr Lutostański emerged victorious.
The tournament attracted nearly 300 pairs, marking the highest attendance at a Polish event this year.
The players continued their strong performance in the following days, which ultimately led to their triumph in the overall event standings.
Congratulations!
Below is an impressive hand from the winners
After the auction:
1 ♣ – 1 ♥
3 ♦ (at least an invitational hand with clubs and hearts, 15+hcp) – 3 ♠ (showing a singleton)
4 ♦ (shortness) – 4 ♠ cue bid
5 ♠ (3 points in hearts and a cue bid in spades) – 6 ♣ no queen, but all values
6 ♠ additional values in spades – 7 NT final decision
In pursuit of the highest score, the winning pair reached the highest contract in bridge, i.e., 7 no trumps.
Looking at the protocol, it seems the risk was justified, as winning 7 hearts would have scored 87.85%, while 7 no trumps paid 97.65%.
On the other hand, the advantage over the second pair on the podium was only 0.13%, so it appears that every point was crucial.
Two words about the play: we had 12 tricks in hand, and the 13th trick was provided by the ♣ division, J10 of clubs, or a forced diamond-club play if the 4 clubs had been accompanied by KQJ ♦.
There was also an additional factor that emerged during the play: when taking tricks in the side suits, the defender could not have held KQJ ♦, as they likely would have bid that suit earlier in the auction.
