Free Weekly Instant Tournament - December 1 - Board 7

Board 7
Both sides vulnerable

♠ J 10 5  ♥ A 7 5  ♦ A K 10 6  ♣ K J 3

I open with one notrump in first seat and everyone passes. LHO leads the four of diamonds.

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

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

I have three diamond tricks, three clubs once I knock out the ace, and two hearts. Eight tricks. When the opponents take the club ace, they will have spade winners to cash. If they can cash four of them, they can hold me to eight tricks. If they can't, I can try a heart finesse for a ninth. If spades are three-three, it's possible I can set up my fourth spade for a ninth trick. But it seems unlikely I will have the tempo to do that. The opponents can probably establish a fifth trick in diamonds before the long spade is established.

I play the diamond jack from dummy and RHO covers with the queen. If I held the ace without the king, I would sometimes duck. I would almost never duck holding the king without the ace. So the ace is a more revealing card. Accordingly, I win with the king.

The three and deuce of diamonds are still out. If the lead is low, West could have anywhere from three to six diamonds.

I want the opponents to take the club ace early to give me some flexibility. Leading the club king is the likeliest way to achieve that. If LHO has ace third, he may be afraid to duck for fear his partner has jack third and I will somehow figure that out.

I lead the club king--deuce--seven--five. That didn't work. Now what? If I lead the jack to the queen, they will probably duck again. But if I lead low to the nine, East might win with an original holding of ace third for fear his partner started with jack fourth.

I play the club three--eight--nine--four of hearts.

So West started with five clubs. East is probably pitching lowest from a five-card suit, so West has a stiff heart. His most likely patterns are 4-1-3-5, 3-1-4-5, and 2-1-5-5.

I continue with a low club to my jack. East pitches the diamond deuce. West takes the ace and shifts to the nine of spades. East wins with the king, and I drop the ten, the card I'm known to hold. Here is the current position with East on lead:

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

If East's spade king is honest, then West has the queen. I doubt West would lead low from queen-nine doubleton or that he would squander the nine from queen-nine fourth. So if he has the queen, he must have queen-nine third. It's possible, however, that East has false carded. I haven't seen the robots play high from equals at trick one. But I have seen them do so in the middle of the hand.

West shifts to the seven of diamonds. I take the ace, and West follows with the five. The three is still out, so I'm still not sure of the diamond count.

If East did falsecard from ace-king-queen of spades, perhaps I can endplay him. I can cash the diamond ten, lead a heart to dummy's king, and cash the club queen, squeezing East out of his long spade if he started with four. This will be the position:

	NORTH Robot ♠ 8 ♥ J 3 2 ♦ -- ♣ --
		EAST Robot ♠ A Q ♥ Q x ♦ -- ♣ --
	SOUTH Phillip ♠ J 5 ♥ A 7 ♦ -- ♣ --

Now I can toss East in with a spade.

Back to the previous diagram. East has led a diamond to my ace. I pitch a spade from dummy, then cash the diamond ten, pitching another spade. LHO follows with the eight, East with the three. Now that East has shown up with four diamonds, I know the count. West was 3-1-4-5, leaving East with 3-5-4-1. East's remaining cards are

♠ A ?  ♥ Q 10 x x  ♦ --  ♣ --

If that spade '?' is the queen, I can lead a heart to the king and exit with a spade. Cashing the club queen in this layout would be a mistake. If West has the spade queen, the defense could then take the rest, and I would lose the heart ace.

But would East really have pitched this way with ace-king-queen of spades? He could surely see the endplay coming. Why pitch his diamond exit on the third round of clubs? He would have pitched another heart instead.

If the endplay isn't working, is there anything I can do? I don't see a legitimate line. But maybe they'll get tangled up in the end position. It's hard to see how. But the robots don't signal, and they don't draw inferences. It's easy to misdefend under those conditions. I'm fairly sure West has the spade queen. So hoping for a mistake looks like my best shot.

I lead the five of hearts--nine--king--six. Now the club queen--heart ten--diamond six--club six. Now a heart back to the ace, as East pitches his last club. If I'm right about the spade queen, this is the position.

	NORTH Robot ♠ 8 ♥ J 3 ♦ -- ♣ --
WEST Robot ♠ Q x ♥ -- ♦ 9 ♣ --		EAST Robot ♠ A x ♥ Q ♦ -- ♣ --
	SOUTH Phillip ♠ J 5 ♥ 7 ♦ -- ♣ --

If I exit with a spade, the defense can easily take the rest. A heart exit, forcing West to discard, is my only chance.

I lead the seven of hearts, and West pitches the spade six. Aha! That's promising. Now East must win the heart and underlead his spade ace.

East wins with the heart queen and cashes the spade ace, dropping his partner's queen. My spade jack scores the last trick. Making three.

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

Plus 150 is worth 86%. West make a foolish play in stiffing his spade queen. This is the robots' greatest weakness on defense: assuming both declarer and partner are double-dummy. Why make a play that forces partner to do the right thing when you can make a play that leaves him no losing options?

I sympathize with East's play at the end. How could his partner hold the diamond nine and not discard it? My last two cards must be a spade and a good diamond. And that spade might be the queen. There are clues that isn't the case, but I think most of the blame falls to West.

I find one of the most difficult plays in bridge is spurning a legitimate but unlikely line in hope of a defensive error. It's one thing when you can see ahead of time the error an opponent might make. It's quite another when, as here, you are just hoping they will find some way to mess up. Ultimately, it's a matter of percentages. What's more likely? That you've misread the position or that the opponents will make a mistake? Sometimes playing for the mistake is the percentage line.

My former partner Howard Chandross put it more bluntly: "A finesse is only fifty percent," he would say, "but an idiot is always an idiot."

Free Weekly Instant Tournament - December 1 - Board 6

Board 6
Opponents vulnerable

♠ A J 10 9 2  ♥ 2  ♦ K 3  ♣ A K 8 6 4

RHO opens with one spade. Overcalling with two clubs will be a popular choice, but it's a bad idea. One reason is that the opponents may get into trouble if you stay out of their way. But a more important reason is that a two-club overcall misdescribes your hand.

When you have two suits of equal length, you bid the higher-ranking one first. The the way you "bid" a suit an opponent opens in front of you is to start with a pass. If you pass and subsequently take aggressive action, partner will know spades is your primary suit. He may even elect to play in spades, a result you can't achieve if you overcall with two clubs. This is an important consideration if the opponents play four-card majors or if the opening is in third seat. It is less important otherwise. Even so, it can't hurt to clue partner in as to what your hand looks like. If you bid two clubs, partner will never play you for a good five-card spade suit.

I pass, and LHO raises to two spades. Now would be a good time to make an aggressive take-out double, partner. No such luck. Partner and RHO both pass.

One could argue that double here should be for penalties. If you weren't willing to ask partner bid at the two level on the previous round, how could you want him to bid at the three level now? This is a sound argument in auctions where the opponents haven't found a fit. But when a suit has been bid and raised, it's less compelling. It's quite possible that you didn't double the first time not because you couldn't summon up your courage but because you were offshape. Now that the opponents have found a fit, it's likely your side has one as well and you don't want to sell out at a low level. Offshape doubles are easier to handle when you balance, because you can use advancer's two notrump as a scrambling device, an option that isn't available over a direct double.

Note that auctions such as

West	North	East	South
			1 ♠
Pass	1 NT	Pass	2 ♠

or

West	North	East	South
			1 ♠
Pass	1 NT	Pass	2 ♦
Pass	2 ♠	Pass	Pass

are different matters. In these auctions there is no presumption of an eight-card fit. It is more dangerous to act now than it was on the previous round, so playing these doubles for take-out makes no sense. In fact, the prospect of doubling for penalties on such an auction is one of the reasons for passing with this hand on the first round.

Unfortunately, as the auction went, I can't double. All I can do is sell out and be satisfied with 100 points per undertrick. Since it's unlikely we can make a game, this will probably be a good result.

What should I lead? When you hold four trumps, it's usually right to play a forcing game, leading your long side suit to tap declarer. With five trumps, that's often the wrong approach. One factor to consider is your trump holding. With a suit like AK432, a forcing game is probably right. You are forcing declarer to ruff with natural trump tricks and promoting your own small trumps. With good spots, however, a forcing game is less appealing. Your trumps are already winners. And if you force declarer, you are allowing him to score small trumps that he might not be able to score without your assistance. 

Often with five trumps it's better to score ruffs yourself to avoid getting endplayed. Imagine, for example, you come down to a five-card end position consisting of AJ1092 of trumps while declarer comes down to king-queen third of trumps and two losers. Declarer leads one of his losers. You have to ruff partner's trick and give declarer one of his trump honors. Then declarer leads his other loser. You ruff partner's trick again and have to give declarer his other trump honor. Clearly you would have done better had you ruffed a couple of declarer's tricks rather than partner's, coming down to ace-jack-ten of trumps, then sat back and waited for your two trump tricks.

Going for ruffs can be the right defense if your side has tricks to cash off the top. You cash your top tricks, getting some ruffs in the process, then exit. Now declarer is endplayed instead of you. But on this deal partner doesn't have much, so our tricks aren't coming from top cards. Whatever side-suit tricks we have will come from running the club suit. And the only way we can run the club suit is to force declarer to lose control. So a forcing game looks right.

I've settled on a club lead. Now which club? When you play a forcing game, it is often right to lead low from your long suit. Since a forcing game is essentially an attempt to convert the play to notrump, why not lead as if you were defending notrump? But one of the reasons to lead low against notrump is either to avoid blocking the suit or to retain communication if partner is short. Here, since we know partner is void in spades, it's unlikely partner has short clubs. So it looks better to lead an honor.

I know I've spent four paragraphs settling on the lead that most players would choose in half a second. But sometimes one's first instinct is wrong. It's worth thinking about what you are trying accomplish with your opening lead.

I lead the club king and see the following dummy:

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

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

Partner plays the club deuce, and declarer follows with the nine. I see no reason to abandon my plan. I continue with the ace of clubs. Partner follows with the five and declarer ruffs with the three of spades. Partner has kept the queen and jack of clubs, blocking the suit. I'm not sure whether I'm happy about that or not. A club entry to his hand might prove useful in getting off a potential endplay in diamonds. But in some scenarios it might prevent me from scoring my long club. Partner might have done better to keep one high club and one low one to give us some flexibility.

Declarer leads the five of hearts to dummy's king. Partner plays the four. I expect declarer to lead a spade off dummy. When partner shows out, he will duck, letting me win the nine. What should I do then?

I don't need to decide that. Declarer surprises me by leading the ten of clubs and ruffing it with the five of spades. What's that all about? What can he have for this line to make any sense?

Declarer now leads the spade king out of his hand. I take my ace, and partner plays the eight of diamonds. The robots play this card as count, and I assume partner would pitch a heart with 0-5-4-4, so it appears he is 0-3-6-4, giving declarer 5-5-2-1. If so, this is the current position:

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

I don't want declarer to score any more ruffs. I can lead the jack of spades, ruff declarer's likely heart lead, then draw the remaining trumps. Since I will still have a trump left, I can then lead a club to partner for a diamond play. If partner has the queen of diamonds or the jack-ten, this defense will hold declarer to two more tricks.

I lead the jack of spades. Partner pitches the five of diamond and declarer wins with the queen. Declarer doesn't even try to endplay me. He leads a diamond to dummy's ace. We have the rest. Down three.

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

Plus 300 is worth 86%.

I still don't understand declarer's line of play. Why not lead a trump toward the king when he's in dummy with the king of hearts? When partner shows out, he will change his mind about playing the king and duck. Now what do I do? Presumably I will continue the tap with a third club. That will bring declarer down to king-queen tight of spades. Declarer will play the heart ace. I will ruff and play ace and a spade, drawing declarer's trumps. This will be the position with declarer on lead. Partner might be holding a high club, or he might have pitched it and be holding four diamonds.

	NORTH Robot ♠ -- ♥ 9 6 ♦ A 9 6 ♣ --
WEST Phillip ♠ 10 ♥ -- ♦ K 3 ♣ 8 6		EAST Robot ♠ -- ♥ J ♦ J 10 8 (x) ♣ (Q)
	SOUTH Robot ♠ -- ♥ Q 10 8 ♦ Q 2 ♣ --

Declarer now leads the heart queen. If partner has pitched his high club, I can ruff the next heart and cash two clubs. But then I must concede the last two tricks. Down only two. If partner has held onto his high club. I must be careful. If I ruff, we get only one club trick, and declarer has the rest. Down only one. To beat it two, I must pitch a club, then ruff the next heart, so declarer has no entry to the long heart in his hand. Then I can play a club to partner for a diamond play.

What happened to those who overcalled with two clubs? LHO bid two spades, partner raised to three clubs, and RHO bid three spades, judging his five-card heart suit compensated for the missing sixth spade.

So the two-club overcallers did better than I did. Or they could have. Most of them squandered their good fortune by doubling three spades. Doubling can hardly be right. As I said earlier, partner isn't going to play you for five good spades after you overcall. He'll expect four spades. And South's three-spade bid corroborates that. With the spade void you know he has, there is no way partner will sit for this double. Your should simply pass, happy you pushed the opponents up a level.

For those of you who scoffed at the idea of a low club lead, let me point out that the double-dummy analyzer reveals that putting partner on play for a diamond switch is the only way to beat this contract legitimately. After the lead of the club king, declarer can make the hand by not touching trumps. Persistently leading hearts hold the defense to four trump tricks and one club. Of course, this is an absurd line of play unless you know trumps are five-zero. Perhaps it's just as well I didn't have a penalty double of two spades available.

Free Weekly Instant Tournament - December 1 - Board 5

Board 5
Our side vulnerable

♠ K 9 6  ♥ K J 9 8 7 6  ♦ A J  ♣ J 5

Two passes to me. I open with one heart, LHO passes, and partner bids one spade.

If RHO passes, my correct rebid is two spades. The spade support is more important than the sixth heart. Why tell partner about one card in my hand when I can tell him about three?

It's true that if partner is four-two in the majors with a weak hand, we will play the wrong partscore. But if partner is five-one in the majors with a weak hand, it's the two heart rebid that will land us in the wrong partscore. If my bid is going to end the auction, it's a tossup which rebid works better. So I should worry about the times my bid doesn't end the auction. In those cases, it will probably work out better if I show my spade support. 

Unfortunately, the robots play that two spades promises four trumps. If I bid two spades, partner will assume spades are agreed and won't look for another strain. So a two-heart rebid is foisted upon me.

Thankfully, RHO comes to the rescue with a two-diamond overcall. Now I can show my three spades with a support double. It's a weird system where you pray for your opponents to interfere so you can bid your hand intelligently. Incidentally, the support double solves both of the problem scenarios above. With five spades and a bad hand, partner bids two spades. With four-two in the majors and a bad hand, he bids two hearts. The double leaves room to play either major at the two level.

I double. Partner bids two spades, and everyone passes. RHO leads the four of hearts.

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

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

West probably has a singleton heart to be leading dummy's suit. And he probably has six diamonds to be overcalling at the two level with such a bad suit. Since this is a best-hand tournament, East is limited to 13 HCP, which means West has at least eight. And he shouldn't have more than ten--at least if I'm right he has six diamonds--since he didn't open with one diamond.

Is there anything to conclude from the fact that he chose not to open with two diamonds? Some opponents might be dissuaded by a four-card spade suit. But the robots like to have good suits for weak two-bids, so the fact that the diamond suit has only one high honor is probably enough of a deterrent for a robot.

I'm off two clubs, a heart, and a spade off the top. Even if I can avoid losing to the jack of spades and can avoid a third club loser, I still must hold my diamond losses to one trick, which means I need to ruff one diamond in dummy. That won't be easy.

I play a low heart from dummy. East wins with the ten and shifts to his presumed singleton diamond, the eight. I play low, and West continues to show his Christmas spirit by playing the king. I win with dummy's ace.

Where do I stand now? I'm losing a heart, a spade, two clubs, and a diamond ruff as soon as the opponents get in. I have to take the rest, so I must assume I can avoid a third club loser. I must also assume the spade jack is on my right. If West has it, East can lead a heart for a trump promotion at some point. My problem, then, boils down to ruffing my fourth diamond in dummy without getting overruffed.

Suppose I lead the spade king from dummy. Say West wins and gives his partner a diamond ruff. East might now be able to play ace of clubs and a club to the king to score a diamond overruff with the spade jack. Since I must assume East has the spade jack anyway, I might as well take a first-round finesse against it. Then dummy's spade king will be available for a ruff if necessary.

I lead the spade six from dummy--five--four--ace. West leads the four of diamonds, and East ruffs with the deuce.

West exits with the jack of spades. I play the queen from my hand, East follows, and I play low from dummy. We are down to this position:

	NORTH Phillip ♠ K ♥ K J 9 8 7 ♦ -- ♣ J 5
	SOUTH Robot ♠ 10 8 7 ♥ -- ♦ Q 7 ♣ Q 9 7

I can now ruff a diamond in dummy and lead a club to my nine. But trumps are drawn, so there is no hurry to do that. I might as well lead a club toward dummy to give West a chance to hop with the king.

I lead the seven of clubs--four--jack--king. King? West can't have the ace of clubs.

♠ A x  ♥ x  ♦ K 10 9 x x x  ♣ A x x x

is a clear an opening bid. So East must have both club honors and has made a careless play, winning with the king instead of the ace.

East now leads the club deuce. This makes no sense. If East were looking at my hand, he would know he could afford to underlead the club ace. He can't lose it, because I need dummy's trump to ruff my diamond loser. But he's not looking at my hand. For all he knows I have queen ten of diamonds and he's conceding the rest of the tricks. The robots don't think about giving declarer a guess. They worry about what works under the assumption that declarer is double dummy. Under that assumption, underleading the club ace can cost but can never gain. So, as hard as it is to believe, West must have the club ace.

I play the nine. West wins with the ten and exits with the club ace. I ruff in dummy and concede one trick. Down one.

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

West had a doubleton heart, not a singleton. That makes his failure to open a tad more understandable, but only a tad.

After the gift of the diamond king, can I make this if I play West for a doubleton heart? At the point I floated the six of spades, suppose I lead the king of hearts to ruff out East's ace? Then I lead a spade to dummy's king, reaching this position:

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

I lead the jack of hearts. East plays low, letting his partner ruff with the ace. The defense can then score two clubs and two diamond ruffs. No, I can't make it by setting up a heart trick. I can make it by leading the nine of clubs out of my hand. But that's not a sensible line.

Not that I need to make it. Down one is worth 96%. That's surprising. The auction and the first few tricks should be the same at every table. Not every declarer will float the six of spades. But that turns out not to matter. If you start spades by leading the king, the defense can't exploit your error without breaking the club suit. So you're still down only one.

The reason this is such a good result is that most players are bidding two hearts over two diamonds. Even given the opportunity to clarify that their support is only three cards, they still elect to show that all-important six of hearts instead. West of course doubles two hearts. Some stood their ground; others ran to two spades. But now the opponents have enough information to double that contract as well.

Free Weekly Instant Tournament - December 1 - Board 4

Board 4
Both sides vulnerable

♠ A K 9 5 2  ♥ 4 2  ♦ A 9 8 7  ♣ A 3

Partner opens with one heart in second seat. I bid one spade, and partner rebids one notrump. I have a king more than I need to bid game. That extra king means it's possible I should just raise to three notrump and not bother checking for a spade fit.

At IMPs I would do that. The fact that my spades are headed by ace-king is a plus for notrump. If spades break poorly, then, thanks to my extra high cards, I may be able to take nine tricks without needing to set up spades.

But this is matchpoints. If spades takes more tricks than notrump, three notrump will score poorly. And that's likely if spades break normally. In essence, choosing three notrump is a safety play against a bad trump break. At matchpoints, it's better to go with the odds and forgo the safety play.

I bid two clubs, artificial and forcing. Partner bids two spades and I raise to four. LHO leads the six of clubs.

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

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

If I can set up hearts for diamond pitches, I may be able to avoid the diamond finesse. But I need to preserve entries to dummy, so I play the club jack and, when East plays the eight, I overtake with the ace. East would have covered if he had the queen, so West must hold it.

Should I start hearts right away, or should I cash a high trump to see if LHO drops an honor? If I lead a heart to dummy and it holds, I'd like to return to my hand with a trump to lead another heart. If I've already cashed one high spade, I'm returning to my hand with the other one. Opening up the spade suit doesn't look like a good idea. It allows the opponents to draw dummy's last trump and lead a club to tap me when they gain the lead. If I retain control of the trump suit, they can't do that. It's not clear I can manage a safety play in trumps anyway, so seeing an honor drop on my left may gain nothing. It looks better to start hearts right away.

I lead the four of hearts (better than the deuce, since if someone plays the three, his partner won't know that's his lowest heart). West hops with the ace and East follows with the eight. West shifts to the deuce of clubs (revealing he started with at least five clubs)--king--ten--three. 

If spades break and no one has a stiff heart, I can make an overtrick: cash two spades, heart to dummy, ruff a heart, concede a trump, and claim.

I play a spade. East plays the queen, and West drops the three under my ace. I cash the king of spades. West plays the six, and East discards the five of diamonds. This is the current position, with West holding two high trumps:

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

West started with at least nine black cards, so he is probably short in hearts. If he started with two, I can play a heart to dummy and ruff a heart, setting up the suit. If West overruffs, draws dummy's last trump, then leads a club to tap me, I have the rest. He does better not to overruff. If he pitches a club, I can lead a diamond to dummy and take one pitch. But West ruffs, draws dummy's trump, and taps me. I can't get back to dummy to pitch my last diamond.

What happens if I don't bother setting up the hearts? If I play a heart to dummy's king, then cash the queen, pitching a diamond?  If West follows, I can play another heart and pitch my last diamond. If he ruffs and draws dummy's trump, this will be the position:

	NORTH Robot ♠ -- ♥ 9 7 ♦ K J 6 ♣ --
	SOUTH Phillip ♠ 9 5 ♥ -- ♦ A 9 8 ♣ --

If West taps me with a club, I have the rest, since, when I cash my last trump, East is squeezed in the red suits. To break up the squeeze, West must shift to a diamond. As long he has either the queen or the ten, this will give me a diamond trick and, again, I have the rest.

This looks like the right plan. All I need is three-three hearts or for West to have one diamond honor. I play a heart to dummy's king and cash the queen, pitching the seven of diamonds. West ruffs, cashes his last trump, and taps me. East shows out on the club lead, so the squeeze is no longer inferential. East is marked with all red cards. I ruff in my hand and claim.

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

Plus 620 is worth 82%. I was wrong that I needed West to have a diamond honor. Having a void worked as well. 

Raising one notrump to three would have turned out better, as one would expect when spades break poorly. After the normal diamond lead, it's easy to make four, which is worth 96%. You can actually make five by endplaying East in hearts to force another diamond play. But if you ever duck a spade, you can't do that. You can't execute a throw-in for eleven tricks if you've already lost two. Since it's hard to imagine a sensible line that doesn't involve ducking a spade at some point, making five notrump is unlikely.

Another interesting feature of this deal: Against certain declarers in four spades, East has an opportunity to place North in his debt by executing an anti-cervisial coup. At the point I pitched the seven of diamonds, such declarers would pitch the eight. Now, when South executes the squeeze, East must pitch his heart stopper--not a diamond--to prevent declarer from scoring the beer card at the end.

Free Weekly Instant Tournament - December 1 - Board 3

Board 3
Opponents vulnerable

♠ Q 3 2  ♥ 9 3 2  ♦ A 6  ♣ A K Q 8 4

I open with one notrump. LHO and partner pass, and RHO balances with two hearts, showing hearts and a minor.

It's tempting to bid three clubs. But as a general rule it is the responsibility of the player short in the opponent's suit to act. If partner has a doubleton heart, he should balance unless he is broke. If he has three hearts, we will probably do better on defense than on offense. So I pass. LHO and partner pass also, and RHO buys it for two hearts.

I lead the king of clubs and see the following dummy:

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

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

North had a tough problem. If his partner has five hearts, he wants to pass. But if his partner has four hearts and a five-card minor, he wants to bid two notrump to play the minor. It's a complete guess.

I don't understand why Astro, which solves such problems, isn't more popular. Playing Astro, partner bids two clubs to show hearts and a minor. With this hand, you bid two diamonds, denying three-card heart support. If partner has five hearts, he bids two hearts and you pass. If he has four hearts and a longer minor, he passes two diamonds or bids three clubs. Why play guessing games with Cappelletti when there is a convention that let's you find out what you need to know?

Declarer plays the five of clubs from dummy for whatever reason. Partner plays the six; declarer, the seven.

My proper continuation is the club queen, but I don't trust my robot partner to work out I have the ace. I don't want him ruffing this if clubs was declarer's second suit. So I lead the ace. Declarer continues his MUD convention by playing dummy's nine. Partner plays the jack; declarer, the three.

I still don't know much about declarer's hand other than that he has at least nine cards in the red suits. But I see no reason not to persist in clubs. I play the club queen. Partner follows with the ten, and declarer ruffs with the heart five.

If declarer is five-five in the red suits, it probably doesn't matter much what we do. Let's assume he's five-four one way or the other. If he is 4-5, he will probably play on spades, hoping to scramble some ruffs in his hand.

Declarer plays the four of diamonds. Since he seems to be playing for control rather than scrambling, it's likely he has five hearts, so I'll assume he's 2-5-4-2.

I duck, declarer wins with dummy's queen, and partner plays the seven. Declarer continues with the deuce of diamonds from dummy--three--king--ace.

Declarer would have ducked this trick without the diamond jack, and he wouldn't have started diamonds early with king-jack-ten fourth. So his long diamond is a loser.

If partner has the spade ace, I can lead a spade to him and get a diamond ruff. That brings us up to five tricks. Declarer will probably have the king-queen of hearts if partner has the spade ace. So we will need to score our long diamond trick to beat it. Can we?

If declarer has the spade jack, he has a guess when I lead a spade. But he should guess correctly, since I can hardly have the spade ace. Even though that gives me only 17 HCP, the prime values and good five-card suit make that hand too good for a one-notrump opening. So declarer should play low on my spade shift and unblock the jack under partner's ace. Then he can pitch his diamond loser on dummy's spade ten.

What if partner has the jack of spades? Declarer ducks the spade shift. Partner wins with his jack and gives me a ruff. I play a spade to partner's ace for the setting trick. Partner can now play his last diamond and I can ruff with the nine, uppercutting the dummy and possibly promoting a trick for down two.

What is the danger in shifting to a spade? If declarer has ace-nine, a spade shift will give him a spade trick to pitch his diamond loser on. That's a very specific layout, however. A priori, partner is three times as likely to have ace-jack third of spades as declarer is to have ace-nine doubleton, so switching to spades is the percentage play.

I lead the spade deuce. Declarer rises with the king. Partner wins with the ace, and declarer follows with the five.  Declarer must be missing the jack. He decided rising with the king was his only chance. Partner shifts to the diamond ten, declarer covers with the jack and I ruff.

That's five tricks, and the spade queen makes down one. How confident am I that partner has the spade jack? If he does, I can underlead my queen to put him on play for the uppercut, possibly yielding down two.

Wait. What am I thinking? I don't need partner to lead diamonds. Declarer has to lead them himself or concede a diamond trick at the end. So there is no reason to underlead. Queen and a spade, tapping declarer, works just as well.

I cash the spade queen. Partner follows with the six; declarer, with the jack. Wow! So declarer did misguess! I'm insulted. But now dummy has a spade trick he can pitch his diamond on. Can we stop  that? Maybe. If partner has the jack-ten of hearts, this is the position:

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

If I play a heart or a spade, declarer has the rest. So I might as well play a club. What happens then? If declarer pitches from dummy and ruffs in his hand, partner can pitch his spade. preventing the diamond discard. So declarer must ruff the club in dummy. Partner overruffs with the ten, and declarer overruffs with the queen. He can now lead a heart to the ace and take his discard. But then he can't get off dummy. My nine of hearts promotes for the second undertrick.

I lead a club. Declarer ruffs in dummy. Partner overruffs with the ten, and declarer overruffs with the queen. It looks as if this is going to work.

It does. Partner has the jack of hearts, so declarer finishes down two,

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

Plus 200 is worth 100%. 

I was feeling pretty good about my defense until, stepping through the play with the double-dummy solver, I got to the point where I shifted to a low spade:

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

The solver said that leading the spade queen beats the contract by force.

Really? How does that work? I see. If I lead the queen, declarer covers and partner wins with the ace. Declarer can't afford to play the jack. If he does, he has only one spade winner and can't get a diamond pitch. So he must play low, blocking the suit. Partner gives me a ruff for our fifth trick. Now a ruff-sluff in clubs works the same magic it did in my line, yielding the setting trick.

Annoying. Even though I wound up beating it two on my defense, I was just lucky. Declarer should have guessed the spades and made it. The spade queen is a pretty play. It would be nice to be able to brag that I had found it.

Admittedly, the spade queen isn't 100%. If partner doesn't have jack-ten of trumps, leading low and hoping declarer misguesses is your only shot. But I think the chance that a decent declarer will misguess is pretty slim, so shifting to the spade queen looks right.

A word about using double-dummy solvers. Initially, I was wary of them. I was afraid if I used them, my brain would atrophy. I still believe that's a danger if you use them as a substitute for thinking. But when used as I did here--to see if you missed something on a deal you have already played--they can be a useful tool.

Without a double-dummy solver, I never would have realized that shifting to the spade queen beats the contract by force. Having discovered that, perhaps the next time I encounter a similar position I'll do the right thing.

Free Weekly Instant Tournament - December 1 - Board 2

Board 2
Our side vulnerable

♠ Q 4 3  ♥ 6 5  ♦ A Q 7 6  ♣ A Q 7 5

RHO passes, and I bid one diamond. LHO overcalls with one heart, partner bids one spade, and RHO raises to two hearts. I double, showing three-card spade support, and partner goes on to four spades. RHO leads the heart ten.

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

West	North	East	South
Robot	Phillip	Robot	Robot
Pass	1 ♦	1 ♥	1 ♠
2 ♥	Double	Pass	4 ♠
(All pass)

I have one heart loser and a potential loser in each minor. I should be making this, so it's a question of overtricks.

East wins trick one with the heart king. He then lays down the heart ace. I ruff, and West follows with the eight. It appears West began with queen-ten-nine-eight; West, with ace-king-jack sixth.

What is the best play in the club suit? I suspect some declarers will lead low, guarding against a stiff king onside. That's an error. While this does pick up a stiff king onside, it loses to a stiff eight or nine offside, which is twice as likely. Leading the jack is correct.

If I lead the jack and West plays low, how confident will I be that the club king is offside? Fairly confident, I think. The robots cover any time it might gain and can't cost double dummy. From West's point of view I might have jack-empty third, so he must cover. Of course, I wouldn't lead the jack with jack-empty third, but the robots don't know that.

If West plays low, then, I can rise with the ace and draw trumps. If trumps are two-two, I can play a club, endplaying East if he began with king doubleton. Should I try endplaying East if he follows only to one trump? This works if East is 1-6-4-2. But I will suffer a club ruff if he began with 1-6-3-3. No need to worry about that now. I'll decide when the time comes.

First I need to make sure trumps aren't four-zero. I cash the ace of spades--eight--three--deuce. 

No four-zero trump break. I lead the jack of clubs, and West covers with the king. I take the ace, and East follows with the four. The diamond king is surely offside. West would have bid two hearts, not one, with ace-king-jack sixth of hearts and nothing on the side. So my only problem now is how to avoid a club loser if clubs are four-one.

Is there anything I can do? Suppose East is 2-6-4-1. I can draw one more round of trumps, then test clubs. If they don't break, I can lead the diamond nine and pass it, hoping East has king-jack-ten fourth. He will then be endplayed and will have to allow me to dispose of my club loser.

I cash the spade queen. East pitches the heart seven. East doesn't rate to have two black singletons, so clubs are probably splitting. Too bad. I hate it when you are in a normal contract and suits break. Its hard to get a good board when careless play suffices.

I draw the last trump, run clubs, and take a losing diamond finesse. Making five. This should be flat.

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

It's not flat. Plus 650 is worth 79%!

The reason this is a good result is that quite a few players bid two spades over two hearts, which is supposed to show four-card support. 

Why does this matter? because the opponents have a good save in five hearts. Apparently East is disinclined to save after a support double for fear we are in an eight-card fit and trumps are breaking four-one. When he expects dummy to have four spades, he is happy to save. 

This suggests an interesting tactic. Could it sometimes be right to psyche a support double--to double with four trumps (when you know partner has five), hoping to entice the opponents into under-competing? I can hardly wait to try this out. If one of you beats me to it, be sure to let me know how it works out. 

I suspect the two-spade bidders didn't even realize that support doubles were on in this auction. Since partner's one spade bid promises five, they reasoned, why do I need a support double?

While there is some logic to this argument, I prefer support doubles here for several reasons:

(1) I dislike making exceptions. Double is support in most auctions after a one-heart or one-spade response. If you don't play them here, it would be easy to forget.

(2) Even when partner has five spades, it can helpful for him to know whether you have three-card or four-card support. If the opponents bid on, it might help him decide whether to compete. And it can help him in a constructive auction as well. The difference between three- and four-card support can be important if partner is contemplating a slam.

(3) I know I'm in the minority here, but I don't think responder's one spade bid promises five. There are hands with only four spades where a negative double can prove awkward. Such hands may be rare after a one diamond opening, since you can make a negative double and correct clubs to diamonds. But they are fairly common after a one club opening. If you double without diamond support after one club--one heart, you need to be prepared to correct diamonds to clubs a level higher.

Originally, negative doubles were conceived of as take-out doubles. Somewhere along the way, players started treating them as replacements for bidding the unbid major. So one of a minor--one heart--double, we were told, showed four spades and said nothing about the unbid minor.

I never bought into that idea. One diamond--pass--one spade can be a four-card suit after all. Why should the one heart overcall change anything? To my mind, negative doubles show support for both unbid suits or the ability to handle the auction. If that means you must sometimes bid one spade over a one-heart overcall with only four spades, so be it. I don't see what the problem is.

Free Weekly Instant Tournament - December 1 - Board 1

Sorry for the hiatus. I've found the schedule I set for myself too tight. Covering one board from each week's Weekly Free Instant Tournament means I have from Friday to Sunday to play in the event and write up a board. If I have a busy weekend, it's difficult to do that.

So I've decided to go back to what I was doing previously: writing up all eight boards from a given Weekly Free Instant Tournament, one at a time. This gives me a week to write up each board. 

If you want to compare results, be sure to play all the boards in this week's tournament. Here is board one. I'll post board two on Sunday.

Board 1
Neither vulnerable

♠ 9 8 4  ♥ A Q 3 2  ♦ K 6 4 3  ♣ K 9

Two passes to me. I open with one diamond. LHO bids one spades, partner makes a negative double, and RHO bids two clubs.

I bid two hearts, promising four-card support. LHO bids two spades, and partner doubles.

I'm allowed to pull, since we are known to have an eight-card heart fit. But, with three spades, I know partner's spade tricks are getting ruffed, This hand will not play well for us, so it looks right to defend. 

Admittedly, I don't have a particularly good hand for defense either. I have only two tricks on defense (one and two halves). So partner, as a passed hand, will need to contribute four. Still, I don't expect to go plus on offense. Partner thinks we can beat this, so why shouldn't I trust him?

I pass. Partner leads the nine of diamonds, and RHO tables the dummy.

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

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

Declarer plays low from dummy. I win with the king and declarer follows with the five.

Partner will normally have four spades for this double. But it appears he has doubled with only three. Declarer surely has six spades. He has no reason to rebid a five-card suit freely in this auction.

How do hearts split? Partner should have only four. With five hearts and enough high cards to be doubling this, he would have bid two hearts over one spade.

What about diamonds? Is the nine a singleton or a doubleton? Clearly a doubleton. With five diamonds, declarer has no reason to finesse. He would have hopped with the ace. With four diamonds, he might finesse to cut our communications. So I know declarer's shape. He must be 6-1-4-2.

If I return a diamond, partner can put me in with the heart ace when he wins a trump trick and I can give him a diamond ruff. That brings us up to four tricks. If partner has the club ace, we have two more for down one. In fact, he doesn't need the club ace, does he? One more trump trick suffices, since declarer has no dummy entry with which to take a club finesse.

I return the six of diamonds (suit preference for hearts, even though robots don't play suit preference). Declarer follows with the seven and partner unexpectedly ruffs with the spade six. Declarer plays the ten from dummy.

So declarer is 6-1-5-1? Why didn't he go up with the diamond ace at trick one?

Partner leads the five of hearts to my ace, and declarer drops the jack. We need three more tricks. Where can we find them? If partner has the club ace and the spade king, we can manage. I can lead another diamond for partner to ruff. Then he can underlead his club ace to my king and I can play another diamond for a trump promotion.

I play the diamond three (suit preference again, suggesting a club underlead). Partner ruffs with the spade seven and leads the club ace. Oh well, unless partner's last spade is the ace, we aren't beating this.

Partner continues a club to to my king and, to my surprise, declarer follows. Really? Declarer is 5-1-5-2? He rebid a five-card spade suit?

I play another diamond. Partner ruffs with the spade jack. His last spade, the king, is now singleton, so declarer takes the rest. Down two.

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

Plus 300 is worth 71%.

Can we do better? It never crossed my mind not to give partner his second diamond ruff when I was in with the heart ace. But, since partner has two natural trump tricks, giving him ruffs doesn't accomplish anything. What happens if I continue hearts?

Say declarer ruffs and plays ace and queen of spades. Partner wins and taps him again. This will be the position:

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

If declarer plays another trump, partner has a heart to cash. If he doesn't, we score our trump tricks separately. Either way he is down three.

Should I have figured that out? While it's true partner should have four spades for his double, he might have decided to make an aggressive double because of his stiff diamond. Frankly, that seems more likely than that declarer decided to rebid a five-card spade suit looking at a good hand for defense (a diamond stack and probably a four-one heart break).

Further, partner might have chosen a heart lead at trick one with this hand. With king-jack fourth of spades, going for the tap makes more sense to me than going after diamond ruffs. An initial heart lead would make the defense easy.

Still, I might have worked it out. I did wonder why declarer didn't rise with the diamond ace at trick one, but I didn't take the time to answer that question. Taking the diamond finesse with 6-1-5-1 makes no sense at all. With 5-1-5-2, ducking is more attractive. The diamond ruffs don't hurt declarer, since he is danger of being tapped out anyway. So he might as well duck and save the tempo.

So I should have realized declarer had only five spades. Even so, the right defense isn't clear. Note if declarer has the spade jack instead of partner in the above position, he gets out for down one by cashing it and pitching dummy's diamond ace. Still, I should have at least considered a heart continuation. Partner seemed to want diamond ruffs, so I complied without thinking too hard. It was a lazy defense.