Free Weekly Instant Tournament - May 10 - Board 1

Board 1
Neither side vulnerable

♠ A K 10 9 5 4  ♥ A 7 2  ♦ Q 4  ♣ 9 7

Partner passes, and RHO opens with one heart. I bid one spade. The auction continues pass--two clubs--pass to me.

If partner has a stiff spade and six good clubs, it could be right to pass. But this is a pretty good hand, so game isn't out of the question. And my suit offers decent play opposite a singleton. So I bid two spades. Everyone passes, and West leads the five of hearts.

	NORTH Robot ♠ 8 3 ♥ 10 9 6 ♦ A 10 6 ♣ K Q 5 4 2
	SOUTH Phillip ♠ A K 10 9 5 4 ♥ A 7 2 ♦ Q 4 ♣ 9 7

West	North	East	South
Robot	Robot	Robot	Phillip
	Pass	1 ♥	1 ♠
Pass	2 ♣	Pass	2 ♠
(All pass)

Passing two clubs would have worked out poorly. One usually has a better suit than this for a two-level advance, although partner did have a tough decision over one spade. I probably would have tried one notrump. Advancing one notrump without a stopper in opener's suit is sometimes the best choice with an awkward hand. The fact the suit wasn't raised offers some hope that partner has it stopped. And if he doesn't, you may manage seven tricks anyway after they run their suit.

In two spades, I have five losers if spades break. My best chance for an overtrick is to find the club ace onside--or for East to make a mistake and win the first club when clubs are three-three. East is quite likely to make that mistake. The robots don't give count when declarer plays a suit, so East will have no way to tell whether I have a stiff club or a doubleton.

What's the best play in the spade suit? In isolation, it's right to cash one honor, then get to dummy and lead low to the nine in case East has queen-jack fourth. On this deal, letting West gain the lead for a diamond shift looks like a bad idea. And, since East has five or six hearts, he's unlikely to have four spades anyway. So cashing the ace and king looks better.

Suppose I win the heart ace, cash ace and king of spades, and lead a club to the king. losing to East's ace. East can now lead hearts. If West has the last trump, he can overruff the fourth round to switch to a diamond, preventing me from using the club suit. 

Maybe cashing the ace and king of spades isn't such a good idea after all. Does drawing only one round of trumps and playing a club work better? Perhaps. If East takes the club ace and cashes hearts, we reach this position:

	NORTH Robot ♠ 8 ♥ -- ♦ A 10 6 ♣ Q 5 4 2
	SOUTH Phillip ♠ K 10 9 5 4 ♥ -- ♦ Q 4 ♣ 7

Now if East plays another heart, I pitch a diamond, and West ruffs with an honor. I must decide whether to play West for honor doubleton or queen-jack third of spades. But if I decide correctly, I make an overtrick, trading my diamond loser for a natural trump trick.

Drawing only one trump has another advantage: If West happens to have the club ace, it leaves me with a hand entry so I can lead clubs toward dummy twice. So this looks like the best line.

I play a low heart from dummy. East plays the eight and I win with the ace. I cash the ace of spades--seven--three--deuce. Now the nine of clubs. West hops with the ace, and East follows with the three. This looks promising. I'm probably making three now.

West shifts to the jack of clubs, and East ruffs my king with the spade six. I take that back about making three.

Here is the current position:

	NORTH Robot ♠ 8 ♥ 10 9 ♦ A 10 6 ♣ Q 5 4
	SOUTH Phillip ♠ K 10 9 5 4 ♥ 7 2 ♦ Q 4 ♣ --

I've lost two tricks, I still have two hearts to lose, and the queen and jack of trumps are still out. There is no way to avoid losing a trump trick. If the trumps are split, West can score an overruff on the fourth round of hearts. 

East cashes two hearts, switches to the king of diamonds, and eventually scores his trump trick. Making two.

	NORTH Robot ♠ 8 3 ♥ 10 9 6 ♦ A 10 6 ♣ K Q 5 4 2
WEST Robot ♠ 7 ♥ 5 4 ♦ J 9 8 7 5 ♣ A J 10 8 6		EAST Robot ♠ Q J 6 2 ♥ K Q J 8 3 ♦ K 3 2 ♣ 3
	SOUTH Phillip ♠ A K 10 9 5 4 ♥ A 7 2 ♦ Q 4 ♣ 9 7

Plus 110 is worth 93%. Almost everyone played the same contract and went down.

Drawing one round of trumps proved to be critical. Most declarers didn't bother and played a club at trick two. Now West can hop, give his partner a ruff, then ruff the third round of hearts with the trump declarer forgot to draw. He then switches to a diamond. After declarer takes dummy's ace, we've reached this position, with the lead in dummy:

	NORTH ♠ 8 3 ♥ -- ♦ 10 6 ♣ Q 5 4
WEST ♠ -- ♥ -- ♦ J 9 8 7               ♣ 10 8 6		EAST ♠ Q J 6 ♥ 8 3 ♦ K 3 ♣ --
	SOUTH ♠ A K 10 9 5 4 ♥ -- ♦ Q ♣ --

Declarer has lost four tricks. He can afford to lose a diamond or a spade but not both. This is possible double dummy. Declarer plays the club queen and, when East ruffs with an honor, declarer pitches his diamond and takes the rest of the tricks. If West has the remaining trump honor, however, this line will enable West to score a trump promotion. In that case, declarer must overruff East's honor with the king and cash the ace, drawing the remaining two trumps. The overruff is arguably the better line. In practice, no one who played a club at trick two managed to make his contract.

I can't say I saw the necessity of drawing a round of trumps. But I didn't see any reason not to either, so why not?  

Note that drawing two rounds of trumps does fail. West can hop on the first club and switch to diamonds. Now declarer can't avoid losing two spades, two hearts, a diamond, and a club.

Free Weekly Instant Tournament - March 15 - Board 8

Board 8
Neither side vulnerable

♠ A Q 9 4 2  ♥ 9 6 5  ♦ J 9 6  ♣ A 8

Three passes to me. This isn't a opening bid in first or second seat, but in third or fourth seat it looks right to open and pass partner's response. I bid one spade, partner bids one notrump, and I pass. RHO leads the deuce of clubs.

	NORTH Phillip ♠ A Q 9 4 2 ♥ 9 6 5 ♦ J 9 6 ♣ A 8
	SOUTH Robot ♠ 10 6 ♥ Q 8 4 ♦ A K 4 3 ♣ J 9 7 3

West	North	East	South
Robot	Phillip	Robot	Robot
		Pass	Pass
Pass	1 ♠	Pass	1 NT
(All pass)

I have four tricks. It appears I have some work to do. I'll start by ducking the club. Maybe West has led from king-queen.

He hasn't. East wins with the queen, and I drop the three. East returns the six of clubs--seven--four--ace. I don't know who has the king.

If I had no spots, the right way to play the spade suit would be to start by leading low from dummy. That gives away none of my legitimate chances and gives East the opportunity to hop with king doubleton. The presence of the ten and nine makes this approach less appealing. If jack third is onside, for example, starting low from dummy means I lose two tricks instead of one. And if king-jack third is onside, I lose a trick when I could run the whole suit. Still, the play does have some things going for it. East may hop with king doubleton or he may fail to hop with jack doubleton. And, perhaps more importantly, it leaves my hand a mystery to the defense. I don't want the opponents shifting to hearts. If I play a diamond to my hand at trick two, it advertises my diamond strength and my heart weakness.

I lead the spade deuce from dummy. East plays the three, and my ten forces West's king. If the jack is dropping, I have my seven tricks unless the defense can take five tricks first.

West shifts to the heart king. That doesn't look good. If West has king, ace-king in the majors, East must have the club king. So West can put him on play for a heart shift. I need to hope West has only three hearts or perhaps that East has jack-ten third and the suit will block.

East plays the heart deuce. I "encourage" with the eight.

West shifts to the five of clubs. Is there any reason for East not to return a heart when he wins the club king? Maybe. He doesn't know whether his partner has ace-king of hearts or king-queen. If I have ace fourth of hearts, then continuing the suit will allow me to set up my long heart. So that is the holding I must represent. What would I pitch from dummy if I had ace fourth of hearts? Clearly I would pitch a diamond. I would need both of dummy's hearts so I could duck one, then lead a heart to my hand. Accordingly, I pitch dummy's six of diamonds.

East wins with the club king and continues with the ten of clubs. Did my illusion work? Did my diamond discard convince East I had ace fourth of hearts?

I win with the club jack as West pitches the diamond deuce. I pitch a heart from dummy. Both opponents follow to the ace and queen of spades, so my spades are good. We've reached this position:

	NORTH Phillip ♠ 9 4 ♥ 9 ♦ J 9 ♣ --
	SOUTH Robot ♠ -- ♥ Q 4 ♦ A K 4 ♣ --

I have all but one of the remaining tricks. Could I have a squeeze for the last one? Dummy's heart nine and my long diamond are the threats, so West would need to have ace-jack-ten of hearts left and to have started with four diamonds. That gives him a 3-4-4-3 pattern, 14 cards. One of the necessary conditions for a squeeze is that your opponent must hold only 13 cards. A fourteenth card takes all the pressure off.

Still, maybe the opponents will make a mistake. I run spades, pitching hearts and keeping ace-king-four of diamonds in my hand. I lead the nine of diamonds from dummy. East covers with the ten, and I win with the king. When I cash the ace, East shows he was paying attention by throwing the queen and keeping the five to win the last trick. Show off!

	NORTH Phillip ♠ A Q 9 4 2 ♥ 9 6 5 ♦ J 9 6 ♣ A 8
WEST Robot ♠ K 7 5 ♥ A K 10 3 ♦ 8 7 2 ♣ 5 4 2		EAST Robot ♠ J 8 3 ♥ J 7 2 ♦ Q 10 5 ♣ K Q 10 6
	SOUTH Robot ♠ 10 6 ♥ Q 8 4 ♦ A K 4 3 ♣ J 9 7 3

Plus 120 is worth 93%. I'm not sure what East was playing for with the club return at the end. But the key to the deal was not revealing my diamond strength. Those who crossed to their hand with a diamond at trick two went down. It's hard for the defense to go wrong when you show them your hand.

Be sure to play in this week's Free Weekly Instant Tournament, so we can start comparing next week. You have until Thursday to play in it. I got a zero on one board. Although I would probably do the same thing again.

Free Weekly Instant Tournament - March 15 - Board 7

Board 7
Opponents vulnerable

♠ K 2  ♥ 10 7 6 5  ♦ K 4  ♣ A K 8 5 4

I open with one club. Partner bids one heart. I raise to two hearts and buy it. RHO leads the queen of clubs.

	NORTH Phillip ♠ K 2 ♥ 10 7 6 5 ♦ K 4 ♣ A K 8 5 4
	SOUTH Robot ♠ 9 7 5 3 ♥ A K 3 2 ♦ Q 3 ♣ 7 6 3

West	North	East	South
Robot	Phillip	Robot	Robot
	1 ♣	Pass	1 ♥
Pass	2 ♥	(All pass)

This lead is probably a singleton. Leading dummy's primary suit would be strange otherwise. And that means it's a fair assumption that trumps are three-two. With four trumps, West would be more interested in tapping me than in looking for ruffs.

If trumps are indeed splitting, I will lose a club, a diamond, a heart, and one or two spades. Dummy's last trump will take care of my third spade, and I can set up a club for the fourth spade. My plan, then, is to cash the ace and king of hearts, then lead a club and duck it, preserving communication to ruff out the club suit.

Cashing the ace and king of hearts will work out poorly if I'm wrong about three-two trumps. Can I afford to cash only one trump? If I cash one heart and play a club, West will pitch. Now I can't afford to duck. If I do, I let West score a ruff with a doubleton trump or two ruffs with three trumps. So all I've accomplished by cashing only one trump is to prevent myself from being able to duck a club. True, I might manage without ducking a club, but it certainly makes my handling easier. Since I'm pretty sure trumps are splitting, I'll back my judgment and cash both trump honors.

I win with the ace of clubs. East plays the deuce, and I follow with the three. Now ace and king of hearts. West plays four, jack; East plays eight, nine.

I play a club toward dummy. To my surprise, West follows with the ten. So West was making a passive lead from a sequence? Now I'm happy I cashed both trumps. If East is the one with a stiff club, cashing only one trump could have proven awkward.

I duck as planned, and East follows with the nine. It appears West's lead was from queen-jack-ten.

West cashes the queen of hearts, and East pitches the diamond deuce. West now cashes the diamond ace. We've reached this position with dummy to play:

	NORTH Phillip ♠ K 2 ♥ 10 ♦ K 4 ♣ K 8 5
♦ A
	SOUTH Robot ♠ 9 7 5 3 ♥ 3 ♦ Q 3 ♣ 7

If the spade ace is onside, I'll lose this trick and a spade and make an overtrick. If it's offside, I'll presumably lose two spades and make my contract. Do I have any chance to avoid a second spade loser if the ace is offside? 

What if West switches to a spade and I duck in dummy? East may play the ace for fear of losing it when I have the queen. Is that possible from East's perspective? Yes, provided he doesn't know I hold the diamond queen. I can't have both queens, else I would have made a game try over two hearts. So I must avoid the lazy play of unblocking the diamond king on this trick. Fortunately, I don't need the diamond queen as a hand entry. I can always ruff the fifth club if I need to play a spade toward the king myself.

I play low from dummy on the diamond ace. East plays the six, and I follow with the three. West now shifts to the eight of spades.

The moment of truth. Do I go for the swindle or take my legitimate chance that West has underled the spade ace? I don't see how he can afford to underlead. For all he knows, I have queen third of spades and have no guess. If so, I'll take the rest.

I play low from dummy. East inserts the jack then cashes the ace. Making two.

	NORTH Phillip ♠ K 2 ♥ 10 7 6 5 ♦ K 4 ♣ A K 8 5 4
WEST Robot ♠ Q 10 8 4 ♥ Q J 4 ♦ A 10 9 5 ♣ Q 10		EAST Robot ♠ A J 6 ♥ 9 8 ♦ J 8 7 6 2 ♣ J 9 2
	SOUTH Robot ♠ 9 7 5 3 ♥ A K 3 2 ♦ Q 3 ♣ 7 6 3

Minus 110 is worth 61%. I see West's opening club lead was from queen-ten doubleton. That's a holding that never occurred to me.

The spade eight was a poor choice for West's shift. He should help his partner out by leading his lowest spade if he holds the queen and the highest spot he can afford if he doesn't. With this hand, he should lead the four. But the robots don't signal, so East could conclude nothing from his partner's spot. He simply had to work out what to do as best he can. Perhaps he thought his partner might have bid at some point with five spades. As long as the missing spades are four-four, playing the jack can't cost. He can't lose the ace even if I do have the queen.

West has a harder problem: deciding whether to lead spades at all or to exit passively after cashing the diamond ace. I have only two pitches. So if I have four spades, leading a spade can never gain. And if my four spades includes the jack, leading a spade might cost.

How can the defense solve this? West actually should have gotten this right, given the robots' peculiar discarding tendencies. The robots signal count on their first discard, so, when East pitches the diamond deuce on the queen of hearts, West knows East is 3-2-5-3 (assuming he would pitch a low spade from 5-2-3-3). Thus West knows the spades can't go away, and he should exit passively with a diamond.

Most of us humans don't play that way, however. We give attitude when discarding. But that works on this deal also. On the queen of hearts, East should pitch a discouraging diamond, suggesting tolerance for a spade shift. Since East is marked with the spade ace on the auction, he wouldn't suggest a spade shift with just the ace. West needs no help finding a spade shift from queen-jack. So a discouraging diamond should show at least the ace-jack of spades, and West knows a spade shift is safe. 

So either count or attitude solves West's problem. Even though each leads to a different solution.