Belated congratulations to Simon Gillis and his team, who recently won the Gold Cup for the third time. Simon always invites his gang of bridge superstars (and good friends) to big tournaments; they bring a dose of glamour and a distinctly Scandinavian flavour to his team. Admittedly, one, Zia Mahmood, couldn’t look less Nordic if he tried, but the rest have full Viking blood: Boye Brogeland, Christian Bakke and Odin Svendsen are Norwegian, Dennis Bilde is Danish.
And they are all exceptionally nice. Dennis, in particular, is hugely popular. Always smiling, always friendly, he’s known as ‘everyone’s favourite partner’. Now 34, he was born on a farm ‘in the middle of nowhere’ – a place called Ballebo, which consisted of just five houses. Quite a contrast from his current life as globe-trotting bridge pro. But it’s not as unlikely as it seems: his parents both play for Denmark and taught Dennis and his siblings as children.
This hand comes from the Gold Cup final. He was North, Zia South: (*balanced raise.) East led the ♦7 to West’s ♦A, Bilde dropping his ♦Q. West switched to a heart. East won, and back came a heart, ruffed in hand. Next Bilde played the ♠Q to his ♠A, and another trump, ducked. A third spade went to West’s ♠K, and West returned the ♣Q to dummy’s ♣️A. A diamond to dummy’s ♦K was followed by the ♠9, on which Bilde threw the ♣9, and West the ♦5. The four-card ending: N: ♠️6 ♦6 ♣️107, S: ♥Q9 ♦J ♣K, W: ♥KJ ♣️J6. On the play of the ♦6 to dummy’s ♦J, West was squeezed. If he discarded the ♣️6, Bilde could cash the ♣K, ruff a heart, then cash the ♣️10. If he discarded the J♥, Bilde could ruff a heart and return to the ♣️K to cash the ♥9.
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