Free Weekly Instant Tournament - May 30 - Board 2

Board 2
Our side vulnerable

♠ 9 3  ♥ A Q 9 8  ♦ A 10  ♣ A K 10 9 4

RHO passes.

2-4-2-5 is an awkward pattern with 15 or 16 HCP. Take away the heart queen, and I would open with one notrump, since if I open with one club, I would have no good rebid after a one-spade response. But with 17 HCP, I have enough to reverse, so there is no reason to treat this hand as balanced. And evaluating this hand as 17 HCP doesn't even do it justice. Prime values. Good spots. One notrump is not only a misbid but an underbid as well.

I open with one club and partner responds one heart. I bid four hearts and everyone passes. RHO leads the four of diamonds.

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

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

This is a rather poor contract. Unless West has led from the diamond king, I have three fast losers and no easy way to get to my hand to take the heart finesse. In addition to managing a successful heart finesse, I need to establish the clubs. And I need to avoid a four-one heart break, since the defense can tap dummy to promote a heart trick if West has king fourth. 

Perhaps it's not so surprising this is a bad contract. Partner doesn't have much. Some would pass one club, though I agree with partner's decision to respond.

I play low from dummy. East takes the king. It's good technique to conceal the deuce. If the four is fourth best, playing the deuce lets East know that his partner doesn't have five. So I play the diamond eight.

East shifts to the deuce of spades. It might be right to play the queen just in case East is being tricky. But I doubt my robot opponent is leading low from ace-king. And if trumps break badly, retaining a spade stopper might prove useful. So I play low.

West wins with the ten and cashes the ace. East follows with the seven. West continues with the nine of diamonds to dummy's ace. East plays the jack. Here is the position, with the lead in dummy:

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

West surely would have tapped dummy if he had king fourth of hearts. So if I can reach my hand and the heart king is onside, I'll make this. I'll ruff a club high and hope West follows. If clubs are three-three, I can lead a heart honor for a finesse. If West has four clubs, I can lead a low heart to the eight, ruff another club, and repeat the finesse. If East has four clubs, I'm down. Or maybe not. If West doesn't overruff, I can try to drop a stiff king of hearts offside.

I play ace and king of clubs and ruff a club with the seven. They're three-three. I lead the jack of hearts and West covers. Making four. Nice one-heart bid, partner.

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

Plus 620 is worth 86%, since not everyone got to game. Some opened with one notrump and played it there. As I said before, one notrump is an underbid. It's true we got to a poor game and got lucky. But partner had a marginal response. If his hand were a tad better, we would be getting to a good game while those who opened with one notrump would still be playing it there.

Others missed game by raising one heart to three. That's a clear underbid. 19 support points. Or, if you prefer, four and half honor tricks. Or five losers. I can't think of a method that values this hand as less than a raise to game.

If you don't like counting points, honor tricks, or losers, you can always apply an extended version of Culbertson's Rule. The original Culbertson's Rule is for slam bidding: 

If partner's perfect minimum makes slam cold with normal breaks, then you are worth an invitation. 

The idea is that, if partner has a maximum and accepts, perhaps his maximum will subsume this perfect minimum. And, even if partner has the wrong cards, slam may still be a favorite, since it was cold opposite the hand you envisioned.

While the rule was meant for slam bidding, it's a reasonable rule for game bidding at matchpoints as well (though it's too conservative for vulnerable games at IMPs). The problem is that the rule tells you when you have invitation, not when you have a game or slam drive. So I recommend this extension:

If partner's perfect minimum makes you cold for an overtrick on normal breaks, you should drive to game (or slam). 

Partner's perfect minimum here would be:

♠ x x x  ♥ K x x x  ♦ x x x  ♣ Q J x.

Opposite that hand, you are cold for five against normal breaks. So you are worth a four-heart bid.

Free Weekly Instant Tournament - May 30 - Board 1

Board 1
Neither side vulnerable

♠ J 4 2  ♥ A 10 8  ♦ A 6 5  ♣ K J 10 6

Two passes to me. I open with one club, and LHO overcalls with one diamond. Partner bids one spade, and RHO bids two hearts.

I double, showing three-card spade support. RHO bids three diamonds--pass--pass back to me. I have shown my hand; I have nothing further to say. I pass, and partner leads the king of spades.

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

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

The spade ace is declarer's last dummy entry. If he has the ace-queen of clubs, he will probably use it to take a club finesse. 

He does. He wins with the spade ace. I encourage with the four, and declarer plays the five. He then leads the nine of clubs from dummy. Double-dummy, I must cover this, since declarer could let the nine ride. But if he has AQ7x, covering might expose me to some kind of end position. Perhaps that's not possible. But there is no need for me to figure that out. Declarer isn't looking at my hand, so he isn't letting the nine ride. From a practical standpoint, there is no reason to cover. I play the six, and declarer wins with the queen. Partner plays the seven.

I expect declarer to play ace and ruff a club. But he plays the deuce of diamonds to the king, partner following with the seven. Why didn't he ruff a club? Does he have a doubleton? He has at most two spades, since partner has at least four. He has at most two hearts, since he didn't raise them. Unless he's 2-2-7-2, he has a club to ruff. Perhaps he knows the ruff will cost a trump trick. If he has QJ10xxx or QJ98xx, a ruff rates either to gain or to break even. So his diamonds must be worse than that.

Should I win this trick? It's often right to duck a stiff honor, since it gives declarer communication problems. Say declarer has this hand, for example:

♠ x  ♥ Q x  ♦ Q J x x x x  ♣ A Q x x

If I win, declarer has an easy nine tricks. If I duck, declarer may be afraid to ruff a spade to his hand for fear of tapping himself out. Instead, he may lead a heart. Then I can hop with the ace and lead the club king. Declarer will win and lead the queen of diamonds. Now I can take my ace, cash clubs, allowing partner to pitch a heart, then give partner a heart ruff, holding declarer to eight tricks.

Ducking does have a risk. If declarer has, say, 

♠ x x  ♥ J x  ♦ Q J x x x x  ♣ A Q x

he may continue with the five of hearts from dummy. Now my plan of hopping with the ace will not be a success.

Since he can place me with the heart ace for my opening bid, that's not a hard play from him to find. Still, that hand looks more like a two-diamond overcall than a one-diamond overcall. So I take my chances and duck.

Declarer continues with a low heart from dummy. I hop with the ace--deuce--six. I shift to the king of clubs--ace--five--eight.

Declarer leads the queen of diamonds, pitching dummy's seven of hearts. I take the ace, reaching this position with me on lead:

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

I cash two clubs. Unfortunately, partner follows to both of them, declarer pitching the seven of spades on the last club. Declarer was 2-2-6-3, so I can't give partner a ruff. Declarer has the rest. Making three.

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

Minus 110 is worth 79%.

The support double turned out to be important. Some chose to pass two hearts, either because they didn't know they were playing support doubles or because they didn't wish to make one with a "4333" shape. When they pass, South passes also, and partner competes with three clubs. Now, knowing his partner has tolerance for hearts, North competes to three hearts, scoring 140.

South should have passed even after my support double. Perhaps he was anticipating that the auction would go two spades--pass--pass back to him and felt that, if he was going to balance with three diamonds, he might as well bid it now to take away our bidding room.

Often it's a good idea to bid immediately to the level you're willing to compete to. But I'm not so sure I would want to compete to three diamonds over two spades. If I did, surely it would be better to pass now, showing heart tolerance, so that partner can correct back to hearts if he has a singleton diamond. 

In retrospect, I'm not sure I did the right thing in ducking the diamond king. It's hard to say. Partner's seven of clubs at trick two should be count. If I trust him, declarer can't be 1-2-6-4, so there is nothing to gain by ducking the diamond. Even if I think it's unlikely declarer has jack doubleton of hearts and will lead a low heart from dummy, there is no need to take that risk if I'm not gaining anything. On the other hand, the robots don't always give accurate count when following suit. So I'm not sure I should trust the seven. Defending with robots is difficult.

Challenge Match - Jazlene vs. Phillip - Board 16

I'm up 12 imps going into the last board of the match.

Board 16
Opponents vulnerable

♠ A J  ♥ A 5 3  ♦ A Q 5  ♣ Q 9 5 4 3

Three passes to me. I open with one notrump. Partner bids two clubs, Stayman. I bid two diamonds. Partner bids two notrump and I go on to three. West leads the deuce of spades.

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

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

If East plays a spade honor on this trick, I don't like my chances of making this. I could try to drop a stiff king of clubs on my left. Or lead the queen, hoping to find a stiff jack on my right. Or I could hope both red-suit finesses are on. If I win the spade and run the heart suit, then lead a diamond to the queen, I'm down to this position:

(A)

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

I've taken six tricks. The two aces make eight, so I need to find one more. East, who presumably began with five spades, must hold all four of his remaining spades, else I can afford to concede a club trick. East must also hold two diamonds, else I can drop his king. So he was squeezed down to a stiff club. If it's the stiff jack or king and I can guess which, I'm home.

And there's a fourth option. I could play West for honor-nine-seven-deuce of spades, in which case the suit is blocked and I can try to set up clubs. 

I'm not sure yet which line I'll go for. I play the eight of spades from dummy, and East plays the nine. This deal just got easier. All I have to do now is avoid two club losers.

In isolation, the right way to play this suit is to play ace and another. The alternative of taking two finesses is correct with eight clubs but not with nine. Taking two finesses loses to king-jack tight or third offside. Ace and another loses to king-jack third or fourth offside. The king-jack thirds cancel out, and king-jack tight is more likely than king-jack fourth.

We aren't in isolation, however. West led the deuce of spades. If we assume he would have led a five-card suit if he had one, then the only way he can hold a singleton club is if he is specifically 4-4-4-1. That makes king-jack third on my right unlikely and tips the scale in favor of the double finesse. The assumption that West would have led a five-card suit if he had one is less certain against a robot than against a human, since robots like passive leads. But, given West chose to lead aggressively, I think it's safe to assume he would have led a five-card suit in preference to king-queen fourth.

Accordingly, I lead the three of clubs. No finesse is necessary, since West plays the jack. I win with dummy's ace as East plays the six. I continue with the seven of clubs. East pitches the six of diamonds and West wins with the king. West split with king-jack third? That was a poor play. I was intending to finesse, but he didn't know that. Splitting takes my guess away. Plus, for all he knows his partner had a stiff queen and splitting costs a trick by force.

West continues with the king of spades. East plays the six, and I take the ace.

West apparently began with king-queen fourth of spades and East with nine fifth. Since West has 9 HCP already and passed in first seat, the diamond king must be on my right.

I lead the nine of clubs and play low from dummy. East pitches the nine of hearts. The robots pitch count cards, so East appears to be either 5-2-5-1 or 5-4-3-1. The former seems more likely, since I doubt East would pitch down to a doubleton king of diamonds at his first opportunity.

When I cash the club queen, West pitches the three of diamonds; East, the diamond seven. That's a bit unexpected. If East is true to form and pitched his lowest diamond from five at his first discard, he must have K10976, leaving West with 43 doubleton, which means West pitched low from his doubleton. While the robots like to pitch count cards from length, I have noticed that they don't always pitch high from doubletons, especially from equals. So I'll assume I'm still right about the shape. On the last club, West pitches the four of spades; East, the deuce of hearts. If I've read the deal correctly, this should be the position:

(B)

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

East will show out when I cash the heart ace, and I can take the rest of the tricks.

I cash the ace of hearts--eight--four--five of spades. Now a heart to the jack on which East pitches the three of spades I lead the jack of diamonds. East covers with the king, but I was finessing anyway. I take the ace and claim. Making six.

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

Whoa! I was wrong about the spade queen. East played the nine at trick one holding queen-nine, apparently playing me for king-jack third. Had he played the queen, I would have a problem. As it happens, none of the four lines I contemplated works. But which one is right one?

It's hard to calculate the chance that West has a stiff club. But, given the opening lead, it's small. Let's assume it's zero for now to make our calculations easier. We can come back and revisit that assumption if necessary.

That means Line 1 (playing West for a stiff king) is out. Line 2 (playing East for a stiff jack) works in one out of four cases when the suit is 3-1 and in zero out of six cases when the suit is 2-2. That's 10% of the time. Line 3 (the squeeze) needs two finesses plus East having whichever club honor I choose to play him for. That's essentially three finesses, or 12.5% of the time.

What about Line 4 (playing for the suit to block)? There are six critical spot cards, so fifteen ways for West to hold two of them for his middle spot cards. That means he will hold specifically K972 one time in fifteen. And even if the suit is blocked, I still have to be able to establish a club trick, so the line is worse than that.

The squeeze is the winner in our rough calculation. What happens if we revisit our assumption that West can't have a stiff club? That assumption overstated the odds of dropping the stiff jack but had no bearing on the squeeze. So the squeeze is still the winner.

[Jazlene is good at these calculations, so I had her check them over before I published. She points out that my one-in-fifteen calculation for the spade suit's being blocked assumes West has the spade king. In fact, I don't know that he does. He's two to one to have the spade king by restricted choice, but East might have both honors. So Line 4, which was already in last place, falls even further behind.

She also pointed out that my statement after Diagram A, "So he was squeezed down to a stiff club," is incorrect. If East began with a doubleton king of diamonds, he wasn't squeezed. He's now down to a stiff king of diamonds and two clubs. So I should try to drop the diamond king before making my guess in clubs.]

Jazlene took 11 tricks on this board, so I pick up another imp, winning the match by 13.  In her post mortem, she also pointed out that ace and another club was right in isolation but concluded that, because of the opening lead, it was right to take two finesses. Her reasoning was slightly different from mine. You can hear her argument at JazPlaysBridge.

It was a tight match. 13 of the 16 boards were pushes or small swings. Jazlene bid more aggressively than I did on two deals. She lost 5 imps on one and picked up 12 on the other. Both results were just. She overbid on the first board, and I underbid on the second. I regained those 7 imps with a series of 1- and 2-imp wins, bringing the match back to even. The match hinged on board ten, where we each faced a guess on an auction made awkward by the robots' methods. I guessed right and picked up 13 imps, the margin of victory. On a different layout, her guess would have been right. So the board--hence the match--could easily have gone the other way.

Next week, I return to the Free Weekly Instant Tournament format. If you want to compare results, be sure to play in this week's tournament on BBO. You have until Thursday night.

Challenge Match - Jazlene vs. Phillip - Board 15

I'm up 12 imps with two boards to go.

Board 15
Our side vulnerable

♠ K Q 5  ♥ A K J 10 9 3  ♦ 9 5  ♣ A Q

I open with one heart, and partner bids one notrump. With 19 HCP and a sixth heart, I'm worth driving to game. It's possible that we have only nine winners, making three notrump a better game than four hearts. But I don't know how to find out. With diamonds wide open and the opening lead coming through my ace-queen of clubs, four hearts rates to be better, so that's what I bid. Everyone passes, and West leads the deuce of spades.

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

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

Three spades, five hearts, and two minor-suit aces. Ten tricks should be no problem. Can I make an overtrick? Queen third of hearts might be onside. Or the club king might be onside. Or I might set up a diamond trick for a club pitch.

It would be convenient if I had two dummy entries in spades. If I play the ten of spades and it holds, I can try the heart finesse. Later, I can duck a diamond, then play a diamond to the ace and ruff a diamond. I'll still have the spade ace to get to dummy for my pitch or to take a club finesse if diamonds didn't break.

I play the ten of spades, East plays the eight, and I play the five. Awesome! (I've noticed a lot of people saying "awesome" lately, so I'm trying it out. Not sure I like it. It doesn't fit my persona. I take it back. Change that to "Good." No exclamation point.)

I have my two spade entries. Now for a trump finesse. Five of hearts--eight--jack--queen. A spade continuation will spoil my plan of setting up diamonds. I'll have to win in my hand. Then, when I duck a diamond, they can lead a third spade to knock out my entry. Will West find the spade continuation?

He does. He shifts to the six of spades. I play low from dummy, East plays the nine, and I win in my hand with the king.

West chose to lead a spade from the jack, which means he probably doesn't have a passive lead available in clubs. So he has either the king or the jack of clubs. But if he had jacks in both black suits, he could have chosen to lead either one. By restricted choice, then, his club honor is two-to-one to be the king. 

If West has the club king and the long diamond, I think I can squeeze him for the overtrick. Let's say I draw trump and duck a diamond. East must return a spade to kill the dummy entry, else I can simply set up diamonds. After I win the spade in dummy, this will be the position:

	NORTH Robot ♠ -- ♥ -- ♦ A 10 8 6  ♣ 10
	SOUTH Phillip ♠ -- ♥ 9 3 ♦ 5 ♣ A Q

I can now come to my hand with the club ace and finish trumps, squeezing West in the minors.

Of course the club king isn't 100% to be on my left. And the squeeze doesn't have to work if it is. So I might as well run a bunch of hearts before I decide what to do. If it appears the squeeze isn't going to work, I'll fall back on the club finesse.

I cash the ace and king of hearts, pitching a diamond and a club from dummy. Both opponents follow.

On the fourth round of hearts, West pitches the six of clubs. I pitch another diamond from dummy, and East pitches the deuce of clubs. Robots like to pitch count cards, so someone has three clubs and someone has five. That's encouraging. It appears that West might be 4-3-3-3, in which case I have him.

I cash a fifth round of trumps. West pitches the jack of spades. I pitch a club from dummy, and East pitches the three of clubs. If I've read the deal correctly, this is the position, with the lead in my hand:

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

I lead the nine of diamonds--four--six--queen. East doesn't kill the spade entry as I was expecting. Instead, he shifts to the four of clubs, so no squeeze is necessary. I hop with the ace of clubs, ruff out the diamond, then return to dummy with the spade ace to cash it. Making five.

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

Hmm. The club king was onside all along. And the club jack. So much for my inference from the opening lead. If East had shifted to a spade at the end, I would have led a club to my ace and played for the squeeze. Making only four.

It's a weird position. Usually the way to force declarer to guess whether to take a finesse or to play for something else is to lead the suit he has the finesse in and force him to commit himself. Here, that's exactly the wrong idea. Leading clubs gave me no way to go wrong. 

Jazlene chose a different approach in the auction. You can hear her thoughts on the board at this bookmark at JazPlaysBridge. I'm actually going to listen to the whole video again. I'm curious if Jazlene is one of those people who say "awesome."

Challenge Match - Jazlene vs. Phillip - Board 14

Board 13 was a push. I'm up 12 imps with three boards left in the match.

Board 14
Neither vulnerable

♠ Q 4  ♥ K Q 10 7 6  ♦ A K 8  ♣ K Q 5

RHO passes. I open with one heart and partner bids one spade.

Had partner responded with one notrump, I would raise to three. Two notrump should show 17-18 HCP, and you should drive to game with 19. But after a one-spade response, the range of two notrump should be extended to include 19 HCP.

There are two reasons for this: For one, we may belong in four spades, something you needn't worry about after one-notrump. If you rebid three notrump, partner, with five spades, has no way to check for three-card support. And, even with six, he will be wary of correcting, since you could be bidding three notrump with a stiff spade and solid hearts. Another reason is that two notrump keeps the auction low in case partner has a good hand and wants to investigate slam. Again, that isn't a concern when partner is limited.

I rebid two notrump. Partner raises to three, and LHO leads the king of spades.

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

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

Three notrump! Why not three diamonds? Not only could we have a five-three spade, but, even if we don't, we could be going down in three notrump cold for a diamond game. Or even a diamond slam, though I'm not sure how we could get there intelligently.

Fortunately I have a doubleton spade and good clubs, so three notrump is the right spot. East plays the spade seven; I play the four. West shifts to the deuce of hearts. I win and play a heart to the ace. Hearts split, so I claim eleven tricks.

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

West's heart shift was a nice play. If I have ace-king tight of diamonds, it tangles up my entries. If I hold,

♠ Q x x  ♥ K 10 x x x  ♦ A K  ♣ K Q x,

the heart shift beats me. Even if you add the queen of hearts to my hand, a heart shift stops the overtricks. 

I have one question I hope someone can answer. Since my contract was safe, after winning the heart ace, I could have played a spade and conceded two overtricks to score the beer card. Is the beer card worth two imps? I don't drink beer, so I don't know.

This board is probably another push. You can check out Jazlene's play at JazPlaysBridge to verify.

Board 14 was quick, so I'll offer a bonus. This was a fun deal I played this morning in the Zenith Daylong:

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

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

West leads the spade four. East wins with the ace and returns the queen of spades to my king as West plays the nine.

I have eight tricks. Reese says where there are eight tricks, there are nine. Is he right on this deal? The opponents have five tricks--four spades and the diamond ace. If I can squeeze East out of a spade, they have only four. Then perhaps I can then set up a diamond trick. 

Unless East has king-queen of hearts and the diamond ace, I don't see how I can squeeze him. And if he has all that, it leaves West with nothing for his spade raise. But it doesn't hurt to run clubs and see what happens. 

I overtake the club queen and start the club suit, pitching a heart and a diamond. Everyone follows to the first two clubs. On the third club, East pitches the deuce of spades. He pitched a spade already? He knows he has to come down to five cards, and he has decided that they can't include three spades. What can he have to reach that conclusion? If he had the diamond ace, surely he would plan to come down to three spades, the ace of diamonds, and a heart and hope his partner can stop the heart suit. If he thinks he needs to pitch a spade, the ace of diamonds must be on my left.

What should I discard? I need someone to come down to a stiff ace or queen of diamonds, so I want to make it dangerous for the opponents to pitch hearts. That means I need to keep my hearts. I pitch another diamond.

I cash another club. East pitches the seven of hearts, and I pitch another diamond. West pitches the nine of hearts.

The robots tend to pitch count cards. So it appears West has four hearts and East began with honor-ten-seven. That means East is 5-3-3-2 and West is 3-4-2-4. If I've read the deal correctly, this should be the current position, with the lead in dummy:

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

On the last club, East pitches the seven of diamonds. I pitch a diamond, and West pitches the nine of diamonds. West apparently has queen third of hearts left and is afraid I have ace-king, so he stiffed his diamond ace. I exit with a small diamond from dummy. The defense takes a diamond and two spades, and I take the last two tricks. Making three.

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

The key to this deal is realizing East's spade pitch marks the diamond ace in the West hand. I'm compiling a list of rules for card-reading, and I'm adding this one: "The defender who pitches winners in notrump doesn't hold the missing ace." 

Most of the rules in my list, like this one, are obvious when you think about it. But they can be surprisingly easy to miss at the table when you have lots of things to think about. It helps to have them formulated ahead of time, so they become second nature.

Challenge Match - Jazlene vs. Phillip - Board 13

I picked up an imp on the last board. I take that back. I picked up an imp on the previous board. The last board is yet to come. Anyway, I'm up 12 imps going into

Board 13
Both sides vulnerable

♠ K Q 8  ♥ A Q 4 2  ♦ A Q 4 2  ♣ A 8

Two passes to me. I open with two notrump, showing 20-21 HCP. Partner bids three clubs, Stayman. I bid three hearts and partner raises to four. LHO leads the seven of spades.

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

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

The seven of spades is probably from shortness. If it's from length, it must be from specifically jack-nine-seven. I play low from dummy, East plays the three, and I win with the eight.

Surely East would have played the nine if he had it, so West should have jack-nine-seven. Still, I've seen the robots make some pretty strange ducks third hand. And jack-nine third is not an attractive holding to lead from. So, even though it appears spades are three-three, I'm keeping an open mind.

Even if I lose three trump tricks, I should make this. I can ruff my diamond loser in dummy and pitch my club loser on dummy's long spade. I just have to make sure I get to do all that. If spades are not three-three, I'll need the diamond ruff as my entry to cash the long spade, so I don't want to ruff a diamond early. 

In isolation, the proper way to play the heart suit is to cash the ace, then lead toward the queen. If the king is onside, this line doesn't cost anything, since I always have at least one trump loser whatever I do. And it saves a trick if the king is offside singleton.

In this case, however, since I need to postpone my diamond ruff, I can't afford to give up control of the trump suit. Suppose, for example, I cash the heart ace, play a diamond to dummy and lead another heart. If East shows out, West can play three rounds of trump, stopping my diamond ruff. Then, if it turns out spades aren't three-three, I could go down, losing two hearts, a diamond, and a club.

Playing three rounds of trump is an easy defense for West if his partner's singleton was the jack or ten. If West has king-jack-ten fourth, playing three rounds of trump costs a trump trick, but it gets that trick back by stopping the diamond ruff. And it gains two tricks if spades don't break, since it kills my entry to the long spade.

A stiff heart on my right is more likely than specifically a stiff king on my left. Plus, I'm not even sure it hurts to lose a finesse to a stiff king. Let's go through the play to check.

Say I lead a diamond to dummy, play a heart to the queen, and West wins with the king and shifts to a club--queen--king--ace. I cash the trump ace, and West shows out. I think I'm still OK. I start by cashing two spades. I know they're cashing, since if anyone is short in spades, it's West. Now I ruff a diamond in dummy. I've reached this position with the lead in dummy:

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

So far, I've scored three spades, the trump ace, the club ace, the diamond king and a diamond ruff. Seven tricks. I cash the last spade, pitching a club. If East ruffs, I'm home, since I have control and lose only three trump tricks. If East is out of spades, he does better to discard. But now I've taken eight tricks. All I have to do is ruff a club for the ninth, then cash a diamond for my tenth. If it cashes, that is.

Actually, if East is 3-4-3-3, he can pitch a diamond on the fourth spade. Now, when I try to cash the diamond ace, he can ruff, draw my last trump, and cash a club trick. To prevent that, I have to cash the diamond ace before ruffing a diamond in dummy. Now I reach this position with the lead in dummy, having taken eight tricks instead of seven:

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

I lead the spade ace. Again, if East ruffs, I'm home. But this time if he discards, the spade ace is my ninth trick and the club ruff will be my tenth.

If East started with a doubleton diamond, this line won't work, since he can overruff the third round and cash his club. But that's quite a parlay. For me to go down by taking the heart finesse, West must have a stiff king of hearts and six diamonds, and East must have the club king. If that's what I'm guarding against by cashing the heart ace, taking the finesse looks safer than the "safety play."

I play a diamond to the king. West plays the three; East, the six. Now nine of hearts--six--queen--king.

West shifts to the six of spades. The six! So he did lead a doubleton. And East, for some reason, withheld his nine at trick one. I was right to worry about that.

I win in my hand and cash the heart ace. Everyone follows, so I have no further problems. I cash a third spade, ruff a diamond to dummy, and pitch a club on the spade ace. I have only a trump loser left. Making five.

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

I can't construct a layout where it's right for East to play low on the spade lead. The robots need a diagnostic mode, so you can ask what they're "thinking" about.

Fortunately, Jazlene has a diagnostic mode. You can hear her thoughts on the board at JazPlaysBridge.

Challenge Match - Jazlene vs. Phillip - Board 12

The previous board was a push, so I'm still up 11 imps going into

Board 12
Our side vulnerable

♠ A J 8 7  ♥ A K 6 4  ♦ Q 8 5  ♣ 7 2

LHO opens with one diamond--pass--pass to me. I balance with one notrump, showing 11 to 14 HCP. Partner bids two hearts, a transfer to spades.

In most circumstances I would pre-accept with four-card support. But partner had a chance to overcall one diamond with one spade and chose not to, so he can't have much. A game seems unlikely under these conditions. I bid a cautious two spades, which ends the auction. LHO leads the spade ten.

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

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

If West has an ace-king, one would expect him to lead it in preference to a trump. Is it possible that he doesn't have an ace-king? Since East passed one diamond, he has at most five HCP. So he can't have both minor-suit kings. And if he has an ace, he can't have a king at all. So West must have ace-king in one minor or the other.

Given my one notrump bid, not leading from ace-king of diamonds is understandable. If I have queen-jack of diamonds, leading a high diamond may blow a trick. But not leading from ace-king of clubs would be strange. So East should have either the ace or king of clubs. 

Even after my one notrump call, West might have led from ace-king fifth of diamonds, trying to give his partner a ruff. So he probably has only four. That means he's either balanced or 1-4-4-4. 

There are 19 HCP outstanding, so West must have at least 14. If he is 1-4-4-4, he probably would have doubled two spades for takeout, so I suspect he is balanced. That means he has exactly 14, since he didn't open with one notrump. So the high cards must be distributed specifically 14-5. 

West wouldn't have led the spade ten from ten third, so the only patterns consistent with his one diamond opening are 2-3-4-4 and 2-4-4-3. Some players might open one diamond with 2-2-4-5, but I've never seen the robots do that.

So I know quite a bit. I know West is 2-3-4-4 or 2-4-4-3 with exactly 14 HCP and East has either the ace of king of clubs. Do I know anything else? Maybe. With ace-king-jack fourth of diamonds, West has no reason to spurn a diamond lead. So East should have the jack of diamonds along with his club honor. To have exactly five HCP, East must have specifically the ace of clubs and the jack of diamonds. We are almost double dummy. West has either

♠ 10 x  ♥ Q x x  ♦ A K x x  ♣ K Q x x

or

♠ 10 x ♥ Q x x x  ♦ A K x x ♣ K Q x

While I can't rule out the first hand, it's less likely than the second, since if one of those club x's is the ten--or even the nine, West might have preferred the king of clubs to a trump lead. If I were playing face-to-face, I would write the second hand down on a napkin, fold it, and set it aside to show the table when the deal was over. If I was right, I would look like a genius. 

I win the spade lead with the ace and play a spade back to dummy. Spades, as expected, are two-two.

I might as well take the losing heart finesse. I know West doesn't have a doubleton queen, so there is no reason to play for the drop. Taking the finesse keeps my heart holding concealed. If the defense doesn't cash their diamonds, I can pitch a diamond from dummy on a long heart.

I lead the heart jack--deuce--four--queen. West cashes the diamond king. East plays the three. Since my eight and five are both higher than the three, there is nothing to gain by false-carding. I play the five.

West shifts to the nine of hearts, so the diamond goes away. Making three.

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

It may seem like a waste of time to construct the layout so fully when there was nothing to the play. But it was good practice. And fun. And, as it turns out, there was something to the play. Without my construction, I might have tried to drop the queen of hearts. Then West would have known to cash out. So I probably did gain an imp from the exercise. 

Unfortunately, I picked the wrong hand for the napkin. So I don't look like a genius. Maybe a fallible genius?

Incidentally, what hand was West playing me for when he shifted to a heart? Maybe

♠ A J x x ♥ K x x  ♦ Q x x  ♣ A x x ?

He was hoping for a heart to the ace, a club to his queen, and a heart exit, which beats me. No, wait. It doesn't. West is strip-squeezed. I cash winners, coming down to

	NORTH Robot ♠ -- ♥ -- ♦ 10 ♣ J 8
	SOUTH Phillip ♠ -- ♥ -- ♦ Q ♣ A x

West must either stiff his club king or come down to two clubs and a stiff diamond ace, in which case I can toss him in.

Maybe East should win the heart ace and switch to the diamond jack. If so, I cover. West wins and exits with a heart. I ruff the diamond in dummy, coming down to

	NORTH Robot ♠ K 9 ♥ -- ♦ -- ♣ J 8 3
	SOUTH Phillip ♠ J x ♥ -- ♦ -- ♣ A x x

Now a trump to my hand and a low club endplays West.

West can't beat me if I hold that hand, so he must have been playing for something else. How about

♠ A J x x ♥ A x x  ♦ J x x  ♣ A x x ?

West shifts to the heart nine. I duck. Now he underleads to the diamond queen for a club back. 

But why shift to a heart at all? If I have the heart eight, it costs a trick. Since West needs to play East for the diamond queen anyway, why not just underlead the diamond now, get a club shift, then exit with a third diamond? I could understand a diamond underlead, which also blows a trick, but I don't understand the heart shift. If anyone can think of a layout where it's necessary, let me know.

I also don't understand East's three of diamonds. When West cashes the diamond king, he is obviously fishing for the queen for an underlead. East should play his highest diamond spot with the queen and his lowest without it. He should never play the middle card.

Now see what Jazlene has to say about this board at JazPlaysBridge.