Free Weekly Instant Tournament - July 5 - Board 3

Board 3
Opponents vulnerable

♠ Q 9 5 4 3  ♥ J 9  ♦ A 8  ♣ A Q 5 2

I open with one spade in first seat. Partner bids one notrump, forcing, and I rebid two clubs. Partner bids three spades, showing a limit raise with three trumps. With six losers, I have a possible, if pushy, acceptance over a four-card limit raise. But opposite a three-card raise, it's clear to pass. 

The lack of the spade jack is one problem. Loser count is crediting me with one spade loser if partner has, say, king third. The missing spade jack is less of a concern if partner has four trumps.

Another problem is the fourth club. Loser count assumes all your fourth-round cards are winners. That's a fair assumption if dummy has four trumps. Not so fair if it has only three. Opposite three trumps, this hand is closer to seven losers than six.

I pass, and LHO leads the ten of hearts.

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

West	North	East	South
Robot	Robot	Robot	Phillip
			1 ♠
Pass	1 NT	Pass	2 ♣
Pass	3 ♠	(All pass)

Since I have the heart nine, the ten is obviously a doubleton or singleton. I have two heart losers and two spade losers. I have to avoid a third spade loser to make this, which will be hard to do after three rounds of hearts. So my first job is to try to convince East to abandon the heart suit.

I play a low heart from dummy. East wins with the queen and I drop the jack, the card I'm known to hold. East may now choose not to continue hearts for fear his partner led from ten-nine third and my jack is a singleton.

No such luck. East cashes the heart ace, and West follows with the five. East continues with the seven of hearts, going for the trump promotion.

Is there any trump position where I can avoid three trump losers? Suppose East has ace-jack or king-jack doubleton. Then I can ruff with the nine. Whether West overruffs or not, I can reach dummy and play a spade toward my queen. The opponents can't take more than the ace and king of trumps.

I ruff with the nine, and West pitches the six of clubs. 

Even if I can bring home the trumps, I have a potential fourth-round club loser. I need for clubs to be three-three or for the diamond queen to be onside (so I can take a pitch) or for there to be a minor-suit squeeze. In any event, I don't want to use the diamond king to reach dummy and remove my squeeze or finesse options. So I need to lead a club to the king. 

But hold on. What about West's club pitch? He wouldn't pitch from a four-card suit. Maybe he has five. If so, a club to the king sets up a club ruff for the defense. If East has honor-jack doubleton as I'm hoping, it's a little tricky to take the ruff. East must hop with his trump honor and lead a diamond. West can then ruff with his honor and lead a club.

But so what? If I reach dummy by playing a diamond to the king, I'm down anyway on that layout, since I can no longer get rid of my club loser. If West does have five clubs, I'm better off leading a club to the king and hoping they don't find the killing defense. Now, when I discover the bad club break, I still have options in the diamond suit.

I lead a club to dummy's king. West plays the seven; East, the four.

Now the spade six. East follows with the deuce. I guess I'm down. Wait. Maybe not. Perhaps West has ace-king tight of spades and I can duck them out. Although if he does, he gave me the contract when he failed to overruff my nine of spades.

I play the spade three; West wins with the eight. He then cashes the ace and king of spade. East pitches the heart deuce on the third round of spades.

We've reached this position, with West on play.

	NORTH Robot ♠ -- ♥ -- ♦ K J 10 3 ♣ 9 3
	SOUTH Phillip ♠ Q ♥ -- ♦ A 8 ♣ A Q 5

West shifts to the nine of diamonds, and I play the jack from dummy. If East plays low, I'll have to overtake with the ace, since the suit is blocked. I'll then cash clubs. If West began with three or four clubs, my clubs are good. If he began with two, then East is 2-6-1-4 and the diamond finesse is marked. If West began with five clubs, I need to hope the diamond queen is onside. But I don't need to take the finesse. I can cash the spade queen for a show-up squeeze.

East doesn't give me the problem. He covers the diamond jack with the queen, and I claim down one.

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

Minus 50 is dead average. The field misplayed this deal. Only one other declarer ruffed the third heart with the spade nine. Some ruffed low; others pitched a club. Too bad it makes no difference as the cards lie. It would have been nice to score 96% for making an obvious play.

I said I might accept with this hand after a four-card limit raise. Just to show that's not completely crazy, note how much difference the fourth trump would make. For starters, the fourth trump makes me 70% to pick up spades for two losers. And it means the fourth club is no longer a problem. So all I need to do is to avoid two heart losers. If the ace is onside, I'm home, making my overall odds at least 35%. Plus I have other chances.  West might lead from the heart queen, or he might lead a diamond, picking up the diamond queen and letting me pitch a heart. Maybe it's not a game you want to be in at matchpoints. But it's certainly worthwhile vulnerable at IMPs.

Free Weekly Instant Tournament - July 5 - Board 2

Board 2
Neither side vulnerable

♠ A K 10 8 5 2  ♥ 6  ♦ Q 7 5  ♣ A K Q

RHO opens with two hearts, weak. The usual rule in bidding over a pre-empt is that you place partner with 8 HCP and bid accordingly. By that standard, I should be driving to game. I might make four spades opposite as little as a doubleton spade and king-jack of diamonds. Unfortunately my suit isn't good enough to blast four spades, and I have no convenient way to set up a force and investigate. My best choice is probably three spades. It's an underbid. But it's justified because the suit is poor. At least partner knows I have six of them and a good hand. He doesn't need much of an excuse to raise.

I bid three spades, and partner bids four diamonds. Is this bid natural? Some would argue that three spades set the trump suit, so four diamonds is a cue-bid in support of spades. Others would argue that, while three spades shows a good suit, other strains are still possible, so four diamonds suggests diamonds may be a better spot than spades.

Marty Bergen once told me that he plays that, if partner has bid a suit, you can't introduce a minor at the four level except in auctions that begin with two clubs. At least I think that's what he told me. It was a long time ago. So presumably Marty would play this as a cue-bid.

Edgar Kaplan did not agree with this approach. He liked being able to bid his suits. Even in an auction like

1 ♠	1 NT
3 ♠	4 ♦

Edgar played four diamonds as natural. I suspect most experts would play it as a cue-bid.

My own agreements are in between these two extremes. My partnership notebook states that you can't introduce a minor at the four-level if you have previously bid notrump. Thus I would play four diamonds in the previous auction as a cue-bid, but in the auction

1 ♥	1 ♠
3 ♥	4 ♦

I would play it as natural.

The idea is that if you wanted to bid diamonds on the latter auction, it's your own fault. You had your chance and you blew it.

Fortunately, playing with robots, we don't have to guess how partner intends four diamonds. If we ask, he'll tell us. And he intends it as natural.

So what could partner have? A stiff spade and ace-king sixth of diamonds seems like a likely hand. Opposite that we belong in slam. If I had to place the contract, I would probably bid six diamonds. But there is no reason not to bid Blackwood on the way. If partner has only one keycard, we can stop in five diamonds.

I bid four notrump, and partner bids five diamonds. Oh, well. Glad I checked. I pass. RHO leads the king of hearts.

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

West	North	East	South
Robot	Phillip	Robot	Robot
2 ♥	3 ♠	Pass	4 ♦
Pass	4 NT	Pass	5 ♦
(All pass)

Nicely done, partner. I suppose. I might have passed three spades with your hand. If you don't catch a diamond fit, we are propelled too high. I'm glad we were sitting in the right seats.

East plays the heart seven at trick one, and I follow with the deuce. West's best defense is to tap dummy with a heart. Now, with two heart losers exposed, I can't afford to draw trump. Cashing the ace and king of spades, pitching my hearts, will work so long as West doesn't have a stiff spade. Is there anything I can do if he does?

It depends on what heart East follows with at trick two. If he plays the queen (or lower), then West, with ace-king-jack of hearts, can't have the diamond ace. And East is out of hearts. So there is no need to take my pitches immediately. I can just draw trump and take them later.

What if East follows with the heart ace at trick two? Personally, I would open one heart with king-queen-jack sixth of hearts and a side ace. But I suspect the robots would open two, so I can't afford to play two rounds of trumps. Can I play one round? Suppose I play a low diamond from dummy to my ten. If either opponent takes the ace or if West shows out, I have no further problems. What if my ten holds? Then I've reached this position:

	NORTH Phillip ♠ A K 10 8 5 2 ♥ -- ♦ Q ♣ A K Q
	SOUTH Robot ♠ -- ♥ 10 5 ♦ K J 8 3 2 ♣ J 8 3

I can't afford to play another trump. So I must play a club to dummy, take my pitches on the ace and king of spades, then lead another diamond. Have I gained anything? I gain if  West holds

♠ x  ♥ K Q J x x x  ♦ A x  ♣ x x x x

since he would be ruffing the second spade with his trump ace. I don't see any downside to playing one round of trumps, so that's my plan.

My plan proves unnecessary, however. At trick two, West shifts to the six of diamonds. East takes the ace and continues diamonds, and I claim.

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

Making five diamonds is worth 85%. Quite a few players bid two spades over two hearts and played it there. Of those two bid three spades and heard partner bid four diamonds, no one else bid Blackwood. Most simply raised to five diamonds, which seems awfully pessimistic. As I said earlier, if I were barred from bidding Blackwood, I would raise to six, not five.

One person stubbornly persisted with four spades over four diamonds and went down two. (You realize you still get to play the hand even if partner is declarer, right?)

After I posted this, some suggested I should have doubled two hearts rather than bid three spades. I didn’t address that earlier, because I didn’t consider that a possibility. With a one-suited, one generally tries to get his suit into the auction as early as possible before the auction gets uncomfortably high. Sometimes one must, regrettably, double a one-bid with a strong one-suiter, since there is no other option. But there is no reason to double a pre-empt with a one-suiter. Since jumps are strong, you can simply bid your suit at whatever level you deem appropriate. Doubles of pre-empts should always show flexible hands. Accordingly, if you do double and bid spades, partner should not play you for a suit this good. He should play you for a five-card spade suit with playability in other strains.

Free Weekly Instant Tournament - July 5 - Board 1

Board 1
Neither side vulnerable

♠ 9  ♥ A 5 4  ♦ A J 10 7  ♣ A K 8 6 4

Partner passes. RHO opens with one notrump, showing 15-17 HCP. I have enough strength to double, but doubling is unattractive with a stiff spade. Partner will expect a balanced hand and will not hesitate to bid a five-card spade suit, either pulling the double if he is weak or competing if the opponents run.

You might risk doubling with a stiff spade if you have a self-sufficient suit to correct to. But encouraging partner to bid your singleton with a "5431" is not a good idea, especially when you have perfectly fine way to handle this hand: Pass, intending to double for takeout if the opponents bid spades. If the opponents don't bid spades, there is a good chance the hand is a misfit and you don't want to be in the auction anyway. 

If you play Astro, then this sequence has the additional advantage that partner will expect you to be 1-3-4-5 or 1-3-5-4, since with a 1-4-x-y pattern, you would have bid two clubs on the first round. (The robots don't play Astro. And it's probably just as well. It's too sophisticated for them.)

I pass. LHO transfers but not to the suit I was expecting. He bids two diamonds, and RHO bids two hearts. It's now highly likely partner has a spade suit, which means our hands are better suited for defense than for offense. I pass again, and two hearts ends the auction.

Some say you should never have an ace-king and fail to lead it. But I see no reason to lead a high club with this hand. I have control of all suits, so the club tricks aren't going anywhere. And if dummy has a stiff club, a club lead may kill my only entry to partner's hand for a spade ruff. So I lead my stiff spade.

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

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

Dummy and I have 22 HCP. Declarer's 15 means partner has at most three. If partner has either the heart king or the diamond king, we can take five top tricks and a spade ruff to beat this.

Declarer plays the jack of spades from dummy. Partner plays the three; declarer, the six. I'm glad partner didn't have the spade queen. That means it's still possible he has a red king. If he doesn't, he might have the club queen. In that case, we can't beat it, but I can underlead to his queen and get a spade ruff to stop the overtrick.

Declarer leads the six of hearts from dummy--seven--eight. Is declarer finessing against the heart jack with king-eight doubleton? That would be weird. The normal way to play that suit is to play low to the king, then finesse the other way. There is no reason to lose a first-round finesse to a stiff jack.

If declarer has king-jack-eight, I could duck and hope to see an informative card from partner when I hop with the ace on the next round. But I would be crashing partner's king if declarer has only jack-eight. I can't take that risk. I have to win the ace now.

My robot partner isn't much for signaling. But I suspect he's up to dropping the club queen under the king if he has queen-jack. I cash the king of clubs--three--five--deuce. So no queen-jack of clubs. We've reached this position with me on lead:

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

Partner can have the club queen or either red king. I don't see how it's possible to cater to all three possibilities. But maybe I can cater to two of them. I can try to reach partner with the diamond king and wait for him to get in with the heart king if that doesn't work.

How do I do that exactly? Suppose I lead ace and a diamond. No, that doesn't work. If declarer has king-queen of diamonds, I'll lose my club ace.

How about ace of clubs, then ace and a diamond? No, that doesn't work either. If declarer has, for example,

♠ A Q x x  ♥ J 8  ♦ K Q x x  ♣ Q J x

he can pitch both of dummy's spades and stop the ruff.

I think I have to underlead the ace of diamonds. That way partner gets in in time to give me my ruff no matter which red king he has. The problem with underleading is that if partner has neither red king, I may lose the diamond ace. Declarer can draw trump and pitch dummy's diamond on his fourth spade.

Nonetheless, I think it's worth the risk. Some people will bid with my hand, so this may not be a normal contract. Going plus is probably more important than holding the overtrick.

Is there any reason not to cash the club ace before I underlead? Not that I can see. Declarer can't pitch both of dummy's spades away on clubs. Even if he has queen-jack fourth of clubs, partner will be ruffing the first club with his heart king.

I cash the club ace--ten--jack--seven. The club jack? Partner is limited to three HCP, so he can't have the diamond king any more. Good thing I cashed the club ace. Now I know not to underlead. I play ace and another diamond. Making three.

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

Minus 140 is worth 36%. Those who acted with my hand did better. Some overcalled one notrump with two notrump, presumably showing five-five or better in the minors. I don't like that bid at all. You have too much defense to distort your pattern and risk going minus in a silly contract. The time to make a flaky bid is when you have a bad hand, not a good hand.

Others doubled and pulled partner's two-spade bid to three clubs. Partner conveniently had a second suit and conveniently chose to bid it (which is hardly clear, since West could, and probably should, have six or seven clubs for this auction). Three diamonds typically made five.

I think the doublers lucked out. Passing and hoping to double two spades offers your best chance to get to the right spot.

Free Weekly Instant Tournament - May 10 - Board 8

Board 8
Neither side vulnerable

♠ A 8 5  ♥ K J 4  ♦ K 7  ♣ A J 10 3 2

Partner opens with one diamond in second seat. I bid two clubs, game forcing, and partner rebids two diamonds. This bid does not promise a six-card suit in the robots' methods.

Three notrump should show about 16-17 HCP, a hand with mild slam interest but not enough to bid past game. Fast arrival can't apply here, because responder must be free to bid two notrump with a minimum to leave room for investigating other strains. The robots don't play this way, however. They appear to make no distinction between two notrump and three notrump.

If three notrump doesn't show mild slam interest, then there is no reason to bid it. I bid two notrump to give partner the opportunity to describe his hand. Partner, not one to squander an opportunity, bids three diamonds.

Is this a slam try? Would partner have just raised to three notrump with no slam ambitions? As a general rule, finding the right strain takes precedence over slam bidding. Until proven otherwise, we should assume partner is simply concerned that three notrump is the wrong game. He could easily have a minimum opening. So where do we stand?

To express doubt about three notrump, partner should have a singleton somewhere. And his singleton is probably in a major, since shortness in the suit I bid is of no particular concern. If he does have a major-suit singleton, he is likely either 4-1-6-2 or 1-4-6-2, since he didn't support clubs.

Why not bid his four-card major with those patterns? He should if his diamonds are weak. But if they are playable opposite a doubleton, I think three diamonds is a better choice. If we belong in a diamond slam, it will be hard to get there if partner doesn't confirm a good suit now.

It would be nice to know where partner's singleton is. If it's in spades, our hands fit quite well. Opposite as little as 

♠ x  ♥ Q 10 x x  ♦ A Q J x x x  ♣ K x

slam is virtually cold.

The best bid at this point is three hearts. This is, in essence, an anti-Bluhmer, saying, "I have stuff in hearts. If your singleton is in hearts, I've got you covered. If it's in spades, three notrump is probably the wrong contract."

I know some will say it's a waste of time to try to have a sophisticated auction with a robot. But spades is the only suit we haven't bid. How sophisticated does partner have to be to bid notrump if he has good spades and something else if he doesn't? Besides, the alternative is to give up and bid a unilateral three notrump. That seems too defeatist to me. We could easily have a slam if partner has spade shortness, so I have to make some attempt to get there.

I bid three hearts, and partner bids four hearts. The tooltip says this shows a four-card suit, presumably suggesting a final contract. If partner thinks a four-three heart fit is a better spot than three notrump, the inference that he holds a singleton spade is pretty strong. So six diamonds looks like a good bet. I bid six diamonds. Everyone passes, and RHO leads the deuce of hearts.

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

West	North	East	South
Robot	Phillip	Robot	Robot
		Pass	1 ♦
Pass	2 ♣	Pass	2 ♦
Pass	2 NT	Pass	3 ♦
Pass	3 ♥	Pass	4 ♥
Pass	6 ♦	(All pass)

I wouldn't have been so cavalier about bidding past three notrump with partner's hand. Over responder's three hearts, three spades gets the message across: "I know you're worried about spades. My spades aren't good enough to bid three notrump, but I do have some help there." With the black suits reversed, partner would be fully justified in spurning three notrump, and six diamonds would be a fine contract.

Even opposite this hand, slam is quite good on the expected spade lead. If West leads from the king, the contract is almost cold. If East has the king, I can make it if the heart queen is onside with some chances if it isn't.

The actual heart lead isn't so friendly, but at least it reveals that the heart finesse isn't working. West surely isn't leading from the heart queen in a suit we've bid and raised. He probably has three or four small. In the latter case, the queen is dropping, so I have three cashing heart tricks. In the former case, I have three tricks after I lose one. I Either way, that brings me up to eleven tricks. For a twelfth, I need to set up a long club or possibly execute a black-suit squeeze against West.

I need the heart king as an entry to ruff out clubs, so I play low from dummy and win with the ace. East contributes the ten. Now a club to the five, ace, and eight and a low club from dummy. If East has the king, he may hop. A human East would know I can't have queen doubleton when I didn't take a finesse, but robots don't draw inferences like that. If East hops with the king, then all I need is four-three clubs. I can draw trump, cross to the spade ace, and lead the jack of clubs, pitching my spade. Then I have two clubs tricks for heart pitches.

No such luck. East plays the nine on dummy's club lead. I ruff, and West follows with the seven. I play the six of diamonds--three--king--eight and another club from dummy. East plays the king. I ruff, and West follows with the four.

We've reached this position, with the club queen still outstanding:

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

I might as well test diamonds. If diamonds don't break, I can't afford to ruff the last club. I cash the diamond ace. Both opponents follow.

If West led from four small hearts, I'm home. I'll draw the last trump, lead a heart to the king, dropping East's queen, then ruff out the club queen for my twelfth trick. If West led from three small hearts, I'll need some luck. When the heart queen fails to drop, I'll find myself in this position with the lead in dummy:

	NORTH Phillip ♠ A 8 ♥ J ♦ -- ♣ J 10
	SOUTH Robot ♠ Q 3 ♥ 7 6 ♦ J ♣ --

After I ruff out the club queen, East is down to the heart queen and three spades. If he has the spade king, I'm home. I exit with a heart, and he must give me an entry with the spade queen to cash the last heart. 

I don't see anything better. I need to hope that the heart queen drops or that East has the spade king. I draw the last trump, pitching a spade from dummy. West follows, and East pitches the nine of hearts. 

The nine of hearts? Time to rethink my construction. East isn't stiffing his queen. It appears West didn't lead from heart length. The deuce must have been a singleton. I need a new plan.

What's West's shape? If he has the last club, he's 5-1-3-4. If that's the case, I can play a heart to the king, then lead the club jack, pitching a heart. When West wins, he has only spades left. If he has the king, he's endplayed. I'll take two spades and can pitch my last heart on the club ten.

I like my chances. East is five to three to have the spade king a priori, and the fact that he didn't lead a spade on an auction that screamed for it makes it even more likely he has the king.

I play a heart. West pitches the spade deuce. I win in dummy, reaching the position above. I lead the jack of clubs. East pitches the spade four. I pitch a heart, and West wins with the queen.

West switches to the jack of spades. I duck in dummy. Annoyingly, East wins with the king and cashes the queen of hearts. Down two.

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

So close. Minus 100, as you might expect, is a zero. Most players bid an unimaginative three notrump over two diamonds and played there. I certainly don't mind reaching this slam. It had excellent chances right up to the end. Sometimes luck isn't on your side.