Board 53

Board 53 (Click to download pbn file)
Our side vulnerable

♠ A K J 4 ♥ K Q 9 8 7 3 ♦ A 7 ♣ J

Partner passes, and RHO opens one club. I don't have a serious objection to bidding one heart, but I like double better. It gets spades into the picture right away, and it may prove more economical than starting with one heart and doing something dramatic later on. One heart also runs some risk of getting passed out, but I don't worry about that too much at the one level.

Over my double, LHO bids one diamond, partner bids two spades, and RHO passes. This was one of the reasons to double. Partner has made only one bid, and already his hand is better defined that it would have been after an advance to a one heart overcall.

I don't need much for a slam. Queen fifth of spades and the heart ace is enough. Queen fifth of spades and the club ace, however, is probably not enough, at least not with the expected a diamond lead. The easiest way to find out if partner has the heart ace is to splinter with four clubs. In general, I don't believe cue-bids should be mandatory in forcing auctions. But partner's range for two spades is so narrow that he can hardly have a reason not to cue-bid the heart ace if he has it. I bid four clubs, partner bids four spades, and I pass.

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

West	North	East	South
			Pass
1 ♣	Double	1 ♦	2 ♠
Pass	4 ♣	Pass	4 ♠
(All pass)

West leads the four of diamonds. I rise with the ace, and East plays the nine. I cash the ace and king of spades, dropping the six and seven from my hand. (I can't imagine I'll actually be leading the three of spades to dummy's four later on. But it costs nothing to retain the option. Ever since reading Michael Rosenberg's book, I make it a point to hold on to my low trumps as a matter of routine whenever I can afford to do so.) East pitches the deuce of clubs on the second trump. If West began with a singleton diamond, I might manage to make five. I lead the king of hearts. East plays the deuce; West, the six. I seem to have made five more quickly than I expected to. Now let's see if I can manage six. I ruff a heart with the eight of spades, lead the nine of spades to dummy's jack, and ruff another heart with the spade ten. West's ace falls. I have three pitches for my diamonds if I can get to dummy. My carefully preserved three of spades does me no good, since I need to use dummy's last trump to ruff a club. I lead the king of clubs. If West began with 2-3-1-7 and the club ace, I'll make six. Unfortunately, he has another diamond to lead to his partner's king. Making five.

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

I'm still not sure why West ducked the heart ace.

At the other table, the auction begins the same way, but North bids four diamonds over two spades. This is apparently supposed to be an out-of-the-blue cue-bid. I would expect it to be natural, despite East's one diamond response. If North doubled planning on jumping in diamonds at his next turn, why should a one diamond bid by his opponent be allowed to scuttle his plan?

In general, if a bid could be interpreted either as natural or as a cue-bid, I believe in treating it as natural, particularly if, as here, you have a cue-bid available in a different suit. When you hold a hand where you would like some bid to be a cue-bid but it's defined as natural in your partnership, there is usually something else you can bid instead. When you hold a hand where you would like a bid to be natural but it's defined as a cue-bid, you're probably completely at a loss for a sensible action. 

By way of illustration, after the auction

RHO	Me	LHO	Partner
1 ♣	Pass	1 ♦	1 ♠
Pass	?

I play that two diamonds is a cue-bid but two clubs is natural, since I had a chance to bid diamonds naturally on the previous round but no opportunity to bid clubs naturally (except as a pre-empt).

Over four diamonds, South bids four spades, which North passes. This auction elicits the ace of clubs lead instead of a diamond. West can shift to a diamond at trick two to hold declarer to four, but he shifts to ace and a heart instead, presumably trying to give his partner a ruff. Declarer takes the rest. Making five for a push.

Me: +650
Jack: +650

Score on Board 53: 0 IMPs
Total: +134 IMPs

Board 52

Board 52 (Click to download pbn file)
Both sides vulnerable

♠ J 10 8 3 ♥ 9 7 ♦ Q 10 9 5 ♣ J 8 7

The auction begins one club--double--pass to me. I bid one spade, LHO doubles, and partner passes. This pass should deny four spades. Once opener has acted over one spade, partner should raise to two spades on any minimum with four-card support. RHO bids one notrump. I bid two diamonds. I would pass if I were sure one notrump would end the auction. I have no particular reason to disturb this with a balanced hand. But LHO might remove it, and we might miss a nine-card diamond fit if I don't bid them now.

LHO bids two hearts--pass--pass back to me. I've run out of suits to bid.  Bummer. I pass, and partner leads the king of spades:

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

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

Declarer plays low from dummy. Somebody has a spade he's not supposed to. I doubt declarer bid this way with 3-4-3-3, so my guess is partner is the culprit. I suspect declarer is 2-4-3-4 and partner is 4-3-3-3. Perhaps his flat pattern convinced him to break the Law and sell out below two spades.

If I had an entry, it could be right for partner to switch to diamonds from any holding except ace-jack.  Since I doubt I have an entry,  I'd just as soon not break diamonds for declarer, so I encourage with the jack of spades.  Declarer plays the six. Partner continues with the five of spades--ace--three--four. Declarer leads the deuce of clubs from dummy. Declarer isn't expecting partner to have three clubs and I'd like to keep him in the dark a little longer, so I play the eight. If declarer thinks partner has a doubleton club, he might worry that trumps are four-one.

Declarer plays the kings of clubs. Partner wins with the ace and leads the queen of spades. Declarer ruffs with the jack of hearts. Either he has a hundred honors in hearts or he's unblocking to reach dummy later with the heart ten. He cashes the queen of clubs--three--four--seven, then the queen and king of hearts, partner playing deuce--three. That makes four heart tricks, the spade ace, the club queen, and a ruff. Even if we can stop declarer from scoring any diamond tricks, we can't stop him from scoring his long club. So we aren't beating this.

Declarer doesn't draw the last trump. Presumably he wants to save his trump ace as an entry to his long club. He leads the nine of clubs--five--six--jack. I lead the ten of diamonds. Declarer plays the jack, and partner wins with the ace. The king of diamonds is declarer's ninth trick. Making three.

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

I guess I was wrong. I did have an entry.  If partner had switched to a low diamond after winning the ace of clubs, we would have been able to take two diamond tricks when I gained the lead with the club jack.  Come to think of it, I'm not sure why he didn't switch to a low diamond at that point.  Assuming I'm four-four in my suits, the only time it's wrong is when I have specifically queen-jack-ten.  It's right when I have queen-ten-nine or jack-ten-nine and doesn't hurt when I have anything else.  I'm sure at dinner, partner will explain how he failed to find the diamond switch because he was tricked by my eight of clubs.

At the other table, the auction is the same except that my hand doesn't bid two diamonds over one notrump. South still bids two hearts. I'm not sure why he bid two hearts at either table.  He's unlikely to have a game, and either declaring one notrump (at the other table) or defending (at mine) seems like the safest route to a plus score.  He might have regretted bidding had his partner been 4-3-3-3, which was more likely than his actual pattern.

This declarer plays two hearts a little differently. He wins the first spade, draws three rounds of trumps, then exits with a spade. This messes up his timing so that the defense can get at their second diamond trick before his long club is established. Making two.

Me: -140
Jack: -110

Score on Board 52: -1 IMP
Total: +134 IMPs

Board 51

Board 51 (Click to download pbn file)
Opponents vulnerable

♠ J 9 7 6 5 2 ♥ 3 ♦ 10 8 7 ♣ J 5 3

Time to see if partner can take a joke. I open two spades. LHO passes, and partner bids three spades. It would appear I've survived. RHO bids four diamonds, showing diamonds and hearts (leaping Michaels without the leaping part). I pass, LHO bids four hearts, and partner bids four spades.

Oh, please! How can this auction ever be right? Let's wait for our opponent to get both of his suits into the auction, then bid four spades. Notice how every time you take some questionable action, partner does something outrageous on the same deal? It's as if he senses you've given up yelling rights. Whatever happens on this board is going to be your fault, so he can do whatever screwy thing he pleases.

RHO bids five hearts, which ends the auction. Partner leads the king of spades.  Not much to the play.  Let's go straight to the full diagram:

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

West	North	East	South
2 ♠	Pass	3 ♠	4 ♦1
Pass	4 ♥	4 ♠	5 ♥
(All pass)
1Hearts and diamonds

I know I made South the dummy. But most of this discussion is going to be about what happens at the other table, where South is declarer. So it's less confusing this way. At our table, declarer wins the lead with the spade ace and cashes the ace and king of hearts. Making five.

My two-spade opening seems to have kept them out of six hearts. I'm not sure whether I'm happy about that or not. In six hearts, declarer has two safety plays available: (A) Lead a low heart from dummy. If RHO plays an honor, win and lead low to the ten. If he plays low, finesse the nine. This works against a singleton honor on your right or against a singleton three, six, or eight on your left. (B) Cash the heart ace. If an honor drops on either side, play low to the ten. This works against a singleton honor on either side. After a spade lead, declarer should choose one line or the other. After a minor-suit lead, either line risks running into a ruff, so declarer might judge simply to play trumps from the top. (How's this for a nice defense? You lead a singleton diamond holding queen third of trumps. Declarer wins and cashes a high trump. You drop the queen. If you know you can't have any black suit tricks, you might actually be able to find that play.)

If you decide to take one of these safety plays, which is better? Initially, it appears that (A) works in more cases.  But, in fact, (B) gives you chances with any singleton on your left, since you might be able to manage a trump coup.

Say you get a spade lead. You ruff and cash a high trump. Everyone plays low, and you play a low trump to the ten. If LHO shows out, you win the return, play ace, king, and ruff a club, then play a diamond to dummy's jack and start running clubs. If RHO refuses to ruff, you have enough winners to pitch all your diamonds and finish with a trump coup.

After a club lead, you need some additional luck. You win with the ace, cash a high trump, and play low to the ten. LHO shows out. RHO wins and returns a club. You win in dummy and ruff a club, but you are an entry short for the coup. You must lead a diamond to the nine, ruff a spade, then play a diamond to the jack to execute the coup.

A diamond lead gives you a tough decision. Say you play the nine from dummy and it holds. You ruff a spade and cash a high trump. Everyone follows low. You can't play a low trump now. If LHO shows out, RHO simply wins and plays a diamond back, killing a critical entry. You must first play ace, king, and ruff a club. Then you play a low trump. Now if LHO shows out, the coup operates.  Since you don't even know you need a trump coup yet, this line is risky. Someone may ruff the second club or LHO may overruff the third round. Still, the ruff has to be with a doubleton trump for it to cost. So it might still be the right line.

The bottom line is, if Jack reaches six hearts, I fully expect him to make it if he receives a spade lead. I'm less confident, though still hopeful, if he receives a minor-suit lead. I wouldn't be surprised either to win or to lose 13 imps on this board. Let's see what happens.

My hand unimaginatively passes in first seat. South opens one heart in fourth seat and bids three diamond over his partner's one notrump response. North jumps to four hearts. By an unpassed hand, this should show a three-card limit raise. I'm not sure what it should show as a passed hand, since your failure to use Drury makes that hand impossible. To borrow an idea from canape systems, maybe it should be a splinter in support of diamonds, although obviously not without discussion. In any event, I don't understand what's wrong with three hearts with this particular hand.

Over four hearts, South bids Blackwood, I suppose as a vehicle for locating the trump queen for a grand. North shows his ace with five diamonds, then, over five spades, bids five notrump to deny the queen of hearts. South settles for six hearts, and West leads the three of clubs.

I was hoping for a spade lead. This doesn't look promising. Declarer plays the deuce from dummy, East plays the six, and declarer wins with the ace. He cashes the ace of hearts, then plays a diamond to the jack. It's looking even less promising.  West plays the seven; East, the three. Declarer ruffs a spade to his hand. He then plays a club to dummy's king and ruffs a club to his hand as East pitches the three of spades. Now, apparently trusting the opponents' count signals in diamonds, declarer cashes the ace and king of diamonds and plays a low heart to the ten. East can either lead away from his heart or play a spade, allowing declarer to reach dummy for the trump coup.

This was not one of the lines I considered. It avoids having to finesse the nine of diamonds, but it seems to have other flaws that are more serious. In my line, at the point I finesse the diamond, at least I know I have no other options. My teammate took risks that might have been unnecessary, since trumps could have been three-two all along. Furthermore, a diamond pitch by East on the third round of clubs surely would have put a stop to this. Declarer could still make six by cashing one more diamond and playing a trump, but that would be far too risky. West might easily be able to win the heart and give his partner a diamond ruff.

But I'm not complaining. As long as he made it, I don't have to defend my two-spade opening.

No post tomorrow. See you Friday.

Me: -650
Jack: -1430

Score on board 51: +13 IMPs
Total: +135 IMPs

Board 50

Board 50 (Click to download pbn file)
Our side vulnerable

♠ Q J 10 7 3 ♥ A Q 9 2 ♦ 6 3 ♣ 5 2

RHO opens one club in first seat. I bid one spade. LHO bids two diamonds, and partner bids three spades (pre-emptive). RHO bids three notrump, which ends the auction, and I lead the queen of spades.

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

West	North	East	South
			1 ♣
1 ♠	2 ♦	3 ♠	3 NT
(All pass)

North's two-diamond bid is strange. Two notrump seems more to the point. Declarer wins in his hand with the ace as partner plays the five. Declarer plays the four of clubs--five--nine--three, then leads the club ten. Partner pitches the three of hearts, and declarer plays low. Declarer has six club tricks and two spades. If he has the diamond ace, he has nine tricks, so I must assume partner has it. Partner would not have pre-empted with an ace-king, so that gives declarer the diamond king. Declarer can lead up to either one of his kings to develop a ninth trick. Our only chance is to convince him that both aces are offside and offer him an alternative line.

After declarer runs clubs, I will be down to six cards. If I can convince him I have kept

♠ J 10 x ♥ Q 9 ♦ A ♣ --,

then perhaps he will play a low diamond from his hand.  If, instead, I have kept

♠ J 10 x ♥ A Q 9 ♦ -- ♣ --,

then he will be sorely disappointed.

Unfortunately, partner's low heart pitch has gotten us off to a bad start at convincing declarer he has the ace. But it's our only shot, so I have to try. I must imagine I'm looking at

♠ Q J 10 7 3 ♥ Q 9 2 ♦ A 6 3 ♣ 5 2

If I had that hand, how would I discard? Actually that question could lead to an infinite regression. What I should ask is what is the routine way to discard from that hand? Perhaps a spade first, suggesting to partner that I have something in both red suits, then high-low in diamonds. Declarer cashes the queen of clubs, partner pitches the deuce of diamonds, and I play the three of spades. Declarer overtakes the king of clubs with the ace. Partner pitches the six of spades, and I play the six of diamonds. On the next club, I play the three of diamonds, dummy plays the heart seven, and partner plays the four of hearts.

Declarer plays his last club. I'm supposed to be down to

♠ J 10 7 ♥ Q 9 2 ♦ A ♣ --

If that's the hand I had, would I really pitch a heart after partner has pitched two of them? I don't think declarer will buy that. Perhaps a spade pitch is more believable. Can we beat it after a spade pitch? Perhaps we can. If declarer began with

♠ A x ♥ J x x ♦ K x ♣ A J x x x x

and leads a low diamond, trying to drop my ace, partner will win with the queen and play a spade to dummy. Declarer will play another diamond to partner's ace. Now, when partner cashes his spade, dummy is squeezed. For this to work, I have to ensure that partner, not I, is winning the third round of spades. So I unblock the ten of spades. I've clung to all four of my hearts and pitched all my diamonds away. This is such an unnatural sequence of plays, maybe declarer will actually fall for this. On the last club, dummy plays a diamond, and partner discards the eight of spades. Oops. Not good. That was the squeeze card.

It appears I never had much chance of convincing declarer I have the diamond ace, because he has it himself. He cashes it, and I pitch the deuce of hearts. Declarer plays a spade to dummy, then leads the king of hearts. Partner no longer has a spade with which I can reach him, so I take two hearts and a spade and have to give declarer his jack of hearts at trick thirteen. Making four.

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

I was curious if my deception would have worked, so I edited the deal, giving partner the diamond ace and declarer the diamond king. I also forced partner to pitch a diamond, not a spade on the last club. This was the end position we reached:

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

I'm hoping declarer thinks the red-suit aces are reversed and will lead a low diamond from his hand. Instead, he finds a better line, one that works both on the actual layout and on the layout I'm trying to convince him exists. He plays a spade to dummy's king (as I unblock the jack), then leads the jack of diamonds. This line also works if I have a singleton queen of diamonds remaining. The defense would be able to take two diamonds and a spade, but would have to break hearts for him. In fact, it even works I'm left with

♠ J 7 ♥ Q 2 ♦ A Q ♣ --

In short, it's a pretty good line. I suppose my illusion was never destined to work against best play. But it was still the right defense, since it was our only chance.  Declarer can never go wrong unless you give him a losing option.

At the other table, the auction is the same. West chooses to pitch, in order, deuce of hearts, three of diamonds, three of spades, six of diamonds. Declarer makes four by playing a heart to the king.

Me: -630
Jack: -630

Score on Board 50: 0 IMPs
Total: +122 IMPs

Board 49

Board 49 (Click to download pbn file)
Neither vulnerable

♠ 6 4 ♥ J 10 7 3 ♦ Q 6 3 ♣ A Q J 5

Two passes to me. I don't like to pass with such a chunky suit.  With either a better hand or a worse hand, I would open one club.  But this hand is just good enough so that, if I open, I rate to find myself going minus when the opponents can't make anything.  I pass, LHO opens one spade--pass--one notrump to me. I double. Perhaps this is a bit frisky, but I would hate to pass and hear the auction continue two spades--pass--pass. It would be too dangerous to balance when I have no assurance that the opponents have an eight-card fit. Better to invite partner into the fray now.

LHO bids two clubs, partner passes, and RHO corrects to two spades, which ends the auction. Partner leads the six of hearts.

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

West	North	East	South
Pass	Pass	Pass	1 ♠
Pass	1 NT	Double	2 ♣
Pass	2 ♠	(All pass)

Two spades was rather timid. That looks like a two notrump bid to me. Declarer should have four clubs for his two club bid, since he could have passed with a balanced hand after my double. That means partner rates to be 4-2-5-2. It's odd he didn't bid with five diamonds. He must not have much of a hand, or perhaps he has too much wastage in spades.

Dummy plays the heart four, I play the three, and declarer wins with the queen. He plays the three of spades--five--jack--four. Declarer plays the deuce of spades to his queen and partner's king. Can partner have another spade trick? He surely doesn't have the ace, but he might have the ten. In fact, I must hope he does. Otherwise declarer has four spades tricks, three hearts, and the ace of diamonds, which means we're not beating this.

Partner plays the deuce of hearts. Declarer plays the eight from dummy. There's no reason to cover this. Declarer can't afford to win this trick in the dummy. I play the seven; declarer overtakes the eight with his ace and plays the ten of spades, pitching a club from dummy.

So we're not beating this.  From now on it's all about preventing overtricks. I need to find two discards. If I pitch a diamond and a club, declarer can draw the last trump, ruff out my last diamond, then toss me in with a heart to score his king of clubs, making three. After my double of one notrump, that line should be easy to find, as Edgar would be quick to point out.  If, instead, I pitch two clubs to retain a diamond exit, I do worse.  Declarer can play on clubs and make four.  I pitch the five of clubs. On the next trump, dummy and I both pitch low diamonds.

Declarer now cashes the king of diamonds--five--four--six. I'm annoyed at myself. I doubt it would have made any difference, but I should have suspected he had a singleton king of diamonds from partner's failure to bid. Declarer cashes the last trump, partner plays the seven of diamonds, and dummy plays the ten. Declarer has already made three and is trying to strip squeeze me to make four.  He seems to be playing me to be down to

♠ -- ♥ J 10 ♦ Q J  ♣ A Q.

If this is what I have, then the last trump squeezes me.  I can pitch a heart, setting up a heart winner; a diamond, allowing him to cash red-suit honors and endplay me with a heart; or a club, allowing him to duck a club to my ace.  I must make it appear that I've stiffed my ace of clubs.  Accordingly, I pitch the club queen. Declarer plays a heart to dummy, then plays a low club to my jack. Making three.

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

Since partner had the ten of clubs, we could have held declarer to two if he had shifted to clubs when he was in with the spade king. I'm not too worried about that, though. The opponents do seem to be cold for three notrump, which is no surprise, since they have 26 high-card points. My reason for doubling wasn't to persuade the opponents they didn't have the high cards they were looking at, but it seems to have had that effect. Perhaps North took a conservative view because he suspected spades were five-one.

At the other table, the auction begins the same way, but my hand passes over one trump. South bids two clubs, North bids two notrump, and South carries on to three.

East leads the jack of hearts. I would have led low. Low appears to give away a trick, but that's an illusion. With the diamonds blocked, declarer must play a heart honor from dummy to retain an entry to his hand. Declarer wins the heart lead with dummy's queen and drives the spade ace. West doesn't find a club shift and East pitches a diamond on the third spade, so declarer eventually tosses East in with a heart to lead away from his king of clubs. Making four.

Me: -140
Jack: -430

Score on Board 49: +7 IMPs
Total: +122 IMPs

Board 48

Board 48 (Click to download pbn file)
Opponents vulnerable

♠ J 9 6 ♥ A Q 9 7 ♦ J 7 ♣ A J 9 7

Partner opens one diamond in second seat, and RHO passes. I bid one heart, and partner rebids one notrump, which I raise to three. West leads the four of clubs.

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

West	North	East	South
		Pass	1 ♦
Pass	1 ♥	Pass	1 NT
Pass	3 NT	(All pass)

I have four heart tricks and three aces off the top, so I need two more tricks. I consider hopping with the club ace to prevent a spade switch. But that's probably not a good idea, since I can't guarantee establishing more than one extra trick in diamonds. East rates to have the spade length anyway, and I can finesse diamonds through him, so I'm not desperate to avoid a spade switch. Still, I'd like to avoid one if possible. Perhaps if I disguise my club strength by playing the nine from dummy, East will continue clubs. I play the nine of clubs, East plays the queen, and I drop the five.

My subterfuge doesn't work on East. He shifts to the spade eight--deuce--queen--six. But it does seem to work on West. He shifts to the six of clubs. Both the eight of spades and the fact that West didn't continue spades suggest that West has the king. It appears West began with king--eight---six--four of clubs. I can ride this to my ten, then knock out the diamond king to come to nine or ten tricks. Unfortunately, if I win this trick in my hand, I can't conveniently take a diamond finesse, so I would have to give up on making five. Can I afford to play the jack from dummy to leave open the possibility of taking the rest of the tricks? If West doesn't have the club king, he probably began with eight-six-four and his eight is dropping, so playing the jack won't cost. It will cost only if he made both a strange lead and a strange continuation, and Jack isn't all that tricky with his carding. It seems wildly unlikely it will cost the contract to play the jack, and, besides, this hand is getting boring. I want to see if I can develop some kind of end position to hold my attention. I play the jack--deuce--ten. Now jack of diamonds--king--ace.

Now I can cash the spade ace, run hearts, and cash the club ace. I will come down to

	NORTH ♠ J ♥ -- ♦ 7 ♣ 7
	SOUTH ♠ -- ♥ -- ♦ Q 9 8 ♣ --

If West began with the diamond ten, he is caught in a progressive squeeze. He has either stiffed the ten, or he has set up a black card in dummy, allowing me to cash it and squeeze him again. I'm not about to finesse the diamond, so If East has the ten, I'm held to three unless he has ten third of diamonds remaining, in which case I'll make four.

I cash the spade ace, and the king falls on my left. That changes things. Now I have an extra trick to cash and can come down to a two-card end position. If West began with the ten of diamonds, he is squeezed in the minors. Or I can guess to finesse at the end with no risk of going down if I'm wrong.

East actually makes it easy for me by pitching a diamond. When he follows to the club ace, I know he was 5-2-3-3, so I have a show-up squeeze. Making five.

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

I realize this was an inconsistent line. I wasted a card to give myself a minuscule extra chance of making my contract. Then I risked the contract ever so slightly for an extra overtrick.  I have to confess that I wouldn't have played the club jack in a real match.  Because Jack is so reliable, I think the risk was actually zero that West had anything other than king-eight or singleton eight remaining.  Part of the fun of this match is figuring out Jack's weaknesses and exploiting them to the fullest.  Whenever I find myself making a play against Jack I wouldn't make against a human, I'll try to remember to say so.

The auction and lead are the same at the other table. Declarer does not find the sneaky nine of clubs play, so after East wins the queen of clubs and plays a spade to West's queen, West sees no future in clubs. He switches to the eight of hearts. Declarer wins in dummy with the nine and leads the jack of diamonds. East declines to cover, so the jack holds. Declarer continues with a diamond to the queen and has tricks to burn. Making five for a push.

Me: +460
Jack: +460

Result on Board 48: 0 IMPs
Total: +115 IMPs

Board 47

Board 47 (Click to download pbn file)
Our side vulnerable

♠ Q J 4 ♥ A K 7 5 4 2 ♦ -- ♣ K 9 8 5

I open one heart in first seat. Partner responds one spade, and RHO doubles. Without the double I would bid two spades. I think two hearts should virtually deny three-card spade support and two clubs should deny support if you have a minimum opening. This hand isn't quite good enough to bid two clubs and support spades later, though it's close. This is a minority view but not as uncommon as some of my minority views, and it is one I feel quite strongly about. But RHO's double renders the point moot, since I can now redouble to show three spades.

I redouble, LHO bids two diamonds, and partner passes. Partner surely has at most two hearts and probably has only four spades. With five, even with a minimum response, he would generally compete to two spades. RHO bids three notrump. It sounds as if RHO might have doubled with a hand too good to overcall two diamonds and that the two-diamond bid convinced him his diamonds were running. Perhaps he has something like

♠ A x ♥ Q J x ♦ A K x x x x x ♣ A.

I pass, as does everyone else.

If declarer does have seven diamonds, that gives partner at most two, which in turn gives him at least five clubs. It occurs to me now that I might have passed too quickly over three notrump.  If partner has as little as

♠ K x x x ♥ x x ♦ x x ♣ Q J x x x,

we could be making five clubs. And, to make matters worse, we're not beating three notrump. Too late to worry about that now.  I need to hope we can beat three notrump somehow.  We can't beat it if declarer has the hand I pictured, so I have to assume he's gambling on something. If so, my guess is he's gambling on a club stopper. Neither of us bid clubs, so he may be hoping his partner can offer some help in that suit. He might have, for example,

♠ A K ♥ Q J x ♦ A K x x x x x ♣ Q.

I don't need to commit myself yet. I can lead the heart king and take a look at dummy first. I do, and this is what I see:

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

West	North	East	South
1 ♥	Pass	1 ♠	Double
Redouble	2 ♦	Pass	3 NT
(All pass)

So one thing declarer was gambling on was the diamond king. I hope that's not all. Partner plays the heart eight; declarer plays the six. Partner would appear to have only four clubs, which is relief, but it means one of my assumptions is wrong. Perhaps he has five spades and chose not to bid two spades over two diamonds because he had no high cards in his suit. It still looks as if my best chance to beat this is to find declarer with a singleton queen of clubs. I switch to the club king. Partner plays the four, and declarer pitches the deuce of diamonds. I see. Partner is 4-2-2-5 after all. We take five clubs and two hearts for down three:

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

As it happens, we do make five clubs, but they have a down one save in five diamonds, so beating this three tricks is actually two imps better than par.  I'm uncomfortable about this deal.  We might have lost a double-game swing.  Maybe I was supposed to bid four clubs over three notrump.  But it's scary to stick your neck out on an inference that could be completely wrong.  If East didn't have long diamonds at all but simply had a balanced 21-count, partner would never understand.

The auction is the same at the other table. West also infers his partner's club length, but, rather than hedge his bets by leading a high heart, he leads the club five at trick one. He achieves the same down three I did, but it seems unfair. He deserves to have found declarer with a singleton queen of clubs.

Me: +150
Jack: +150

Score on Board 47: 0 IMPs
Total: +115 IMPS

Board 46

Board 46 (Click to download pbn file)
Neither vulnerable

♠ K Q 10 9 7 6 5 ♥ 9 5 ♦ 8 4 ♣ 8 5

RHO opens one diamond, and I bid three spades. LHO makes a negative double, which RHO pulls to four hearts. Everyone passes. There doesn't seem to be too much point in leading a spade. I might set up a spade trick, but if any one of the three other players has a singleton, I won't be able to cash it. I decide to try the eight of clubs. Clubs rates to be partner's best suit. It may establish club tricks for partner, or I may be able to get a ruff:

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

West	North	East	South
			1 ♦
3 ♠	Double	Pass	4 ♥
(All pass)

Declarer plays the deuce from dummy, partner wins with the ace, and declarer drops the queen. Partner shifts to the three of spades. It's strange that he didn't return a club in case I had a singleton. Perhaps he has a singleton spade. If so, a spade shift can't hurt if I have the ace. He can always ruff the second spade and try for a club ruff at trick four. And if I happen to have ace-queen of spades, perhaps three rounds of spades is our best defense. Come to think of it, if partner has a singleton spade and five clubs, he can be fairly sure I don't have a stiff club. That would mean declarer opened one diamond with 3-4-3-3.

Declarer wins with the ace, and I encourage with the ten, just to let partner know I'm not mad at him for not returning a club. Declarer plays the six of hearts--five--ace--four, then the deuce of hearts from dummy--eight--queen--nine. He now cashes the king of clubs. Since he's abandoning trumps, it appears partner began with king third and saw no reason to hop on the second round.

Declarer plays the deuce of diamonds to the queen. When that holds, our hope of beating this is gone. In fact, our hope of holding this to four is gone. Even if declarer is 3-4-4-2 with king empty fourth of diamonds, there is no defense. He can ruff the fourth round of diamonds in dummy and play a trump. Partner will have nothing but clubs left and will have to lead into dummy's jack-nine of clubs, letting declarer pitch both his spades.

As it happens, declarer doesn't need to do anything so fancy to make five. I was wrong about partner's holding a singleton spade. Declarer is 2-4-5-2 and needs only one spade discard.

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

It seems to me partner made a mistake in not returning a club. There's no reason I couldn't have a singleton club and the spade ace, in which case we need the ruff to beat it. In fact, I don't necessarily need a singleton club. A doubleton club and the heart queen is good enough. If declarer plays hearts by leading low to the ten, I score my queen on an overruff. If he doesn't, we score two trump tricks. Perhaps there's a layout where a spade shift at trick two is necessary to beat it, but I can't think of one offhand.

At the other table, my hand overcalls with one spade. North doubles, and South bids three hearts, which North raises to four. West also chooses to lead the eight of clubs. Again, East wins with the ace and shifts to a spade. This time, however, declarer is less afraid of a club ruff and more afraid of handling problems should king-fourth of hearts be onside. He leads the jack of hearts for a finesse. North wins with the king and returns a spade, holding declarer to four.

Bidding one spade instead of three gained a trick in the play by virtue of being less descriptive.  But it gave the opponents more room to investigate the proper contract, which, as it happens, they didn't need.   After three spades, they might have been propelled into four hearts with less and might have had serious problems if either hand had only three hearts.

Me: -450
Jack: -420

Result on Board 46: -1 IMP
Total: + 115 IMPs

Board 45

Board 45 (Click to download pbn file)
Both sides vulnerable

♠ 9 7 5 ♥ -- ♦ A 10 9 8 5 ♣ A J 9 6 4

Two passes to me. Seven losers and two quick tricks looks like a fine third-seat opener to me. I bid one diamond. LHO doubles, and partner redoubles. RHO bids one heart. I bid two clubs.  I could pass, since partner's redouble created a force, but I think when you have no intention of sitting for a double and you have an important distributional feature to show, you should show it right away.  Passing and then bidding clubs should show more flexibility. Partner corrects two clubs to two diamonds, and RHO bids two hearts.

I'm not sure that auction even exists. If RHO has a bad hand and is willing to compete to two hearts, he should bid two hearts (pre-emptive) immediately over the redouble. If he has a good hand, he should pass over the redouble and bid hearts later.

Let me expand on that idea a little. Passing over the redouble initially suggests that you have no suit to bid or that you have a high-ranking suit to bid and don't wish to burn your bridges. For example, after

LHO	Partner	RHO	You
1 ♦	Double	Redouble

you should pass with

♠ x x x x ♥ x x ♦ x x x x ♣ x x x.

There is no reason to bid spades until the opponents have doubled you in one heart. Perhaps they can't double one heart (but can double one spade), and this is your only way to get out of trouble. Reverse the majors, however, and you would certainly bid one heart over the redouble. You must introduce the cheapest suit if you can.

The corollary to this principle is that, if you pass one diamond redoubled and later bid hearts, you must have a good hand. The same isn't true of the black suits. (You must pass, then jump to show a good hand with a black suit.)

I pass over two hearts, hoping partner doubles. I intend to pull, but perhaps partner's double will dissuade the opponents from competing to three hearts. LHO passes. Instead of doubling, partner bids three diamonds. RHO bids three hearts, casting further doubt on the wisdom of his initial bid.  I pass, and LHO gets into the act, raising to four hearts. Now partner doubles. With two aces, I have better defense than I need to on this auction, but I'm still nervous.

I can't afford to lead either ace, since it might deprive partner of an entry for a crucial trump lead. I consider underleading one of them , but I don't think things are that desperate just yet, so I lead the five of spades.

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

West	North	East	South
		Pass	Pass
1 ♦	Double	Redouble	1 ♥
2 ♣	Pass	2 ♦	2 ♥
Pass	Pass	3 ♦	3 ♥
Pass	4 ♥	Double	(All pass)

Declarer plays the three from dummy. Partner wins with the ace as declarer drops the four. I'm rooting for a trump back, but partner returns the six of spades--ten--seven--eight. Perhaps partner has a doubleton spade and is playing for a ruff. Declarer plays the jack of hearts, on which I pitch the four of clubs. Partner plays the heart deuce. Partner has at best ten fourth of hearts. To come to ten high-card points for his redouble, he must have the club king and either the king or queen-jack of diamonds. His pattern must be either 3-4-3-3 or 2-4-4-3. The latter makes more sense given partner's spade return at trick two, although it would mean declarer concealed the spade deuce at trick one.

Declarer unexpectedly plays the queen of spades, to which partner follows. So partner is 3-4-3-3. I'm not sure what the spade continuation was all about. Declarer plays the five of clubs--six--queen--king. Partner is finally on board with the idea of playing trumps. He plays the heart five, which declarer rides around to dummy's eight as I pitch the five of diamonds. Declarer plays a diamond from dummy, and partner hops with the king to play a third heart. I can afford a club. Declarer has enough entries to ruff out my clubs and establish a winner in dummy, but he can't get back to cash it.

Declarer plays the spade king. Partner ruffs with his last trump and declarer overruffs. Declarer takes a ruffing finesse against my diamond ace, but he still falls a trick short. I score my ten of diamonds at trick thirteen. Down one:

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

A trump return by partner at trick two would have accomplished nothing.  His spade return, attacking declarer's entries, was perhaps the right idea. But it shouldn't have succeeded either. Whichever suit partner returns, declarer should win in dummy and play a diamond. He can develop a diamond trick by taking a ruffing finesse against my ace if partner hops with the king or by ruffing out partner's king if he doesn't. With five hearts, two spades, and a diamond, he needs only two ruffs in dummy to come to ten tricks.  Since he has plenty of entries to his hand, he doesn't need to give up a tempo by playing a club.

Partner's double of four hearts was misguided. Every high card in his hand is working on offense, and he has a fit in both of my suits. If I think it's right to bid on to five clubs or five diamonds, doesn't he want me to? Why stop me by doubling?

I wouldn't have bid on, of course. With two aces, I would have chosen to defend (undoubled). Double-dummy, that appears to be the wrong decision. Par is five clubs doubled by us, down two. But defending four hearts looks like the right practical choice.  Holding five clubs to down two is tricky, and I might not find the winning line.  Also, it might prove to be a phantom save, since declarer might find a way to go down in four hearts, as he did. 

Is partner's pass of four hearts forcing?  I know some people (even a former partner) who would say so, but that doesn't make sense to me.  Pass means exactly what it would mean if it were forcing, namely, "I have better offense than defense."  But I don't see how a limited hand can create a high-level force.  Responder's hand is sufficiently defined that opener should have a fairly good idea what to do, and I can't imagine why defending undoubled shouldn't be one of his options.

Finally, we come to the redouble.  The redouble actually makes it harder to penalize the opponents, since the only suit responder can double is hearts. And partner is unlikely to have four cards in the suit the opponents land in, so he won't be doubling either.  With "4333" distribution, responder should generally pass, intending to make a cooperative double on the next round.  Partner will assume your double is based on only three trumps and will act accordingly.  Of course, whether that works or not depends on what Jack thinks a pass followed by a double means.

At the other table, my hand passes in third seat. North opens one club, then raises his partner's one heart response to three. South goes on to four.

The defense again starts with two rounds of spades. But this time declarer wins and plays a club. East takes the king and plays a second club, which declarer ruffs. Declarer plays a trump to dummy, discovering the bad break, then cashes the king of spades and plays a diamond. East hops with the king and plays a trump. Declarer wins in his hand, passes the jack of diamonds, then cross-ruffs to take the rest. Making four. I'm not sure why Jack found it easier to play this hand when the opponents were silent. At our table we practically showed him our cards, but he still went down.

Me: +100
Jack: -420

Score on Board 45: +11 IMPs
Total: +116 IMPs

Board 44

Board 44 (Click to download pbn file)
Our side vulnerable

♠ A K Q J 10 ♥ 7 4 ♦ 9 6 5 3 ♣ K 9

LHO opens two diamonds, weak, which is passed around to me. I bid two spades, and partner raises to three. I have six losers. To make a game, partner needs to cover three of them. It generally takes a limit raise to cover three losers, and partner doesn't have one, since he didn't bid three diamonds. Still, this looks like a pretty good hand for a balancing two-spade bid, so let me think about this some more. Let's give partner two aces, a pretty optimistic construction for a raise to three spades. To make game even opposite that ideal hand, I would need to ruff two diamonds in dummy without getting overruffed. I guess it's right to pass. West passes also and leads the seven of clubs.

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

West	North	East	South
2 ♦	Pass	Pass	2 ♠
Pass	3 ♠	(All pass)

I play low from dummy, East plays the ten, and I win with the king. I have eight tricks, counting the diamond king, but I can't afford to work on a ninth until I get the trumps out of the way. I draw trumps in three rounds. Both opponents play up the line; East discards the deuce of clubs on the third round.

West would probably have led a singleton heart, so he is either 3-2-6-2 or 3-3-6-1. The king of diamonds will be my eight trick.  I will need to develop either a second diamond trick or a heart for my ninth.  Since I know how the diamonds lie, let's consider going after a second diamond trick first.  If that doesn't work, I'll think about playing hearts. Say I lead a diamond to the jack and king. I now play a heart. If the defense continues hearts, I ruff the third round and play a diamond toward the ten. West hops. Since he has no more hearts, he can't tap me. I can establish my diamond nine, and I still have a trump to get to my hand to cash it. Suppose when I play a heart from dummy, West wins and plays another club. That means he was 3-2-6-2, so if I rise with the ace and play another heart, he's down to all diamonds. I can ruff whatever they return and play a diamond, eventually scoring my nine. It doesn't help for West to hop with the diamond ace on the first diamond. In fact, that makes my job easier.

So diamonds it is. I play the three of diamonds--jack--king--club three. Now the deuce of hearts--six--seven--queen. The defense plays two more hearts, tapping me, and I play another diamond. Making three:

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

At the other table, the auction begins the same way, but South continues on to four spades after the raise and goes down one. I was a little surprised by this, so I checked to see what three diamonds by North would have meant. Jack calls this an "unassuming cue-bid." Apparently it denies spade support. I suppose if you have a good hand with no support, no stopper, and no suit of your own, it might be useful for three diamonds to mean that. But that seems like a rare hand. I would rather just do the best I can with that hand and give myself two ways to raise spades below game. If I had known three spades showed any hand with support that was unwilling to raise to game, I'm not sure what I would have done. The diamond length is a big liability, so I suspect I still would have passed, but I would have been a lot more nervous about it.

Me: +140
Jack: -100

Score on Board 44: +6 IMPs

Total: +105 IMPs

Board 43

Board 43 (Click to download pbn file)
Neither vulnerable

♠ 8 7 5 4 ♥ 8 2 ♦ K 10 8 4 3 ♣ Q 6

I pass in first seat; partner opens one notrump in third seat. Everyone passes, and West leads the jack of hearts:

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

West	North	East	South
	Pass	Pass	1 NT
(All pass)

It looks as if I need to take four diamond tricks, two aces, and one more trick in a black suit. If the defense can hold up the diamond ace until the third round, that extra black-suit trick will have to be the club queen, which I will need as a dummy entry. Meanwhile, the opponents have at least three hearts and two aces to cash. If I have to use the club queen as an entry to dummy, they will have the club king as well. In that case I can't afford to let them take a second spade trick nor can I afford five-two hearts. This isn't going to be easy.

My best chance to run diamonds without a side entry is to play East for ace doubleton or West for ace-jack doubleton. I could either play a diamond to the ten or I could lead the diamond queen out of my hand first, then lead a diamond to the ten. The latter seems better. If West has ace third of diamonds, he must duck, since from his point of view I could have queen-jack. I might then work out to play the king on the next round, picking up East's jack doubleton. East is equally likely to have ace-small as to have jack-small, so, other things being equal, it's a toss-up whether to play the ten or the king on the second round.

East overtakes the jack of hearts with the queen. I see no compelling reason to win this, and I would like to have as much information as possible before I play diamonds. So I play the deuce. East continues with the king. I duck again, playing the six, and West follows with the five. East continues with the four of hearts--ace--nine. I pitch a spade from dummy.

I continue as planned by leading the queen of diamonds--six--three--five. If West plays the nine on the second diamond, I'll have something to think about, but there's no sense worrying about that yet. Which diamond should I lead?

___

The deuce. The only way my play can matter is if West has ace third (or ace-jack third) and has to make a decision before seeing his partner's second card. If he thinks I have queen doubleton, he might find some reason to play the ace in an attempt to hold me to one diamond trick. If I play the seven, he can't possibly think I have a doubleton, since his partner would have played the deuce from three. If I play the deuce, it's possible that his partner's five was lowest from jack-seven-five (or nine-seven-five). Could West really find some plausible reason to hop with the ace on the second diamond? It's not my job to figure that out. My job is simply to give West the opportunity to do so. The seven doesn't give him that opportunity, and the deuce does. So the deuce is the right play.

On the deuce of diamonds, West plays the jack. Good. This hand had the potential to take quite a long time if he had played the nine. I play dummy's king, and East wins with the ace. What's going on? Did West play the jack from jack-nine or did East forget to duck?

East shifts to the spade deuce. He can't have the ace, since he passed in second seat and has already shown up with nine high-card points, so I play the jack. West wins with the ace. The spade king is my seventh trick. Making one.

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

I didn't need the queen of spades to be onside.  If the jack of spades loses to the queen, West is end-played after cashing his heart.  Even if he has a third diamond to play, I only have to read his shape to make it.  I know he has both the club king and the spade ace.  When I run dummy's diamonds, he must come down to three cards.  I must guess whether he has a singleton king of clubs, in which case I drop it, or king doubleton, in which case I throw him in with a spade.

That means that, if West had followed to the second diamond with the nine instead of the jack, my percentage guess would have been to play the ten.  If I'm right, I've made the contract (unless I misguess West's shape in the end position).  On the other hand, if I play the king and I'm right, it's not over yet.  I still need to find West with the club king, and I need to find a favorable spade position.

Now for the big mystery.  Why did East take the diamond ace on the second round of diamonds? Possibly because he thought I needed only two diamond tricks to come to seven tricks. And he could have been right. If I had

♠ K x ♥ A x x x ♦ Q x x ♣ A K J x,

then his defense was correct. Is this problem solvable? Is there any way East could work out whether I had this hand or the hand I actually held?

Suit preference (which Jack seems not to play) might help some, but it won't solve the problem entirely. At trick three, West has a choice of playing the ten or the nine of hearts. Certainly with

♠ A J 10 x ♥ J 10 9 x ♦ J x ♣ x x x

he would play the ten. So if he plays the nine, East shouldn't play him to hold that hand. He should duck the second diamond.

What should he do if West does play the ten? Since West has only two cards to choose from, he must show suit preference for one side suit or the other.  If he has something in only one of the black suits, his choice of cards is easy.  But if he has something in both suits (as he does on the actual hand), he must judge which holding partner is more likely to care about. 

So all East can conclude if West plays the ten of hearts is that he doesn't have a hand where all his side cards are in clubs.  That doesn't help. He has to use some other criterion to make his decision. If I were East, I imagine I would still duck the second diamond, reasoning that declarer might have been hesitant to duck hearts with only king doubleton of spades.

As it happens, the only card West could afford at trick two was the five of hearts. Suppose that isn't true.  Suppose he has jack-ten-nine-eight of hearts, so that he can play any one of three cards at trick two.  Should he play the ten to show spades, the eight to show clubs, and the nine to show both suits or neither?  I know some pairs would do that, but I don't like it.  As far as I'm concerned, your first signal in a suit you've lead is supposed to clarify your length in that suit.  Most of the time, that's what partner wants to know. Perhaps on this deal he doesn't care about heart length, and suit preference is more important.  But, to my mind, making ad hoc decisions that a card doesn't mean what it usually means is asking for an accident.

At the other table, the auction and lead are the same, but declarer takes a rather strange line. He wins the first heart and returns the three of hearts. West hops up with the nine and shifts to a low spade. East plays the queen, and South wins with the king. Declarer plays another heart. East wins with the king and shifts to the seven of clubs. West takes his king, cashes the ten of hearts, and plays another club. Declarer still isn't ready to attack diamonds. He overtakes the queen of clubs with the ace and cashes the jack, setting up a long club trick for the opponents. Finally, he gets around to playing diamonds. He plays a diamond to the king, but the defense has lots of tricks to cash by this time. Down two. I think declarer must have had something else on his mind while he was playing this hand.

Me: +90
Jack: -100

Score on Board 43: +5 IMPs
Total: +99 IMPs

Board 42

Board 42 (Click to download pbn file)
Both sides vulnerable

♠ 8 5 4 ♥ K J 4 ♦ J 10 7 ♣ A 9 3 2

RHO opens two spades in first seat. I pass, as does everyone else. The jack of diamonds looks like a normal enough opening lead, but I wish I had chosen something else when I see dummy:

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

West	North	East	South
			2 ♠
(All pass)

Declarer plays the queen from dummy--ace--six. Partner shifts to the three of hearts--ace--four--deuce. If declarer has the king-queen of spades, he has eight tricks, so I must assume partner has a spade trick. At trick three, declarer plays the five of clubs. Even with a spade loser, a club ruff will bring him up to eight tricks. It doesn't look promising.

My first thought is that my only chance to beat this is to play partner for a singleton ace of diamonds. Suppose I win the club and lead a diamond. Partner ruffs, plays a heart to me, and I give him another diamond ruff. That's still only five tricks. We need for a second heart to cash. That gives declarer 6-3-3-1, which is impossible. Why would he lead a club at trick three with that?

Is there anything else that might work? Since I'm already playing partner for the spade king, suppose I play him for the ten or nine as well. Perhaps that will enable us to exploit my eight of spades. Suppose I win the club, cash two hearts (the jack, then the king, to retain the lead), then shift to a spade. Declarer wins, plays the diamond queen, ruffs a diamond, and ruffs a club. He's down to all trumps in his hand and we need two trump tricks to beat him. He ruffs a diamond with the ten (or nine, whichever card partner doesn't have). If he leads the queen of spades, trying to pin the eight, he'll go down. But if he leads low, letting partner's king catch air, he'll make it. I have the eight behind declarer's queen, but partner has nothing to play for a trump promotion.

Maybe I'm better off if declarer started with only two hearts. When I try to cash the second heart, he ruffs it, ruffs a club to dummy, and cashes the diamond king. We're down to this position:

	NORTH ♠ A ♥ 10 ♦ 9 5 4 3 ♣ --
WEST ♠ 8 5 4 ♥ -- ♦ 10 ♣ A 2

We need three more tricks. Declarer still has a club loser in his hand, and partner still has the queen of hearts. Declarer cashes the spade ace and ruffs a diamond low. Again, if he leads a low spade, there's nothing we can do. But if he leads the queen, partner can win, cash a club, and play the queen of hearts for a trump promotion. In the diagrammed position, he might do better to ruff a diamond and ruff his last club with the spade ace. We now need three trump tricks. He leads a diamond and ruffs with the six. I overruff with the eight and tap him with a club. If partner has the king-ten of trumps left, he's down. King-nine isn't good enough in this variation.

I hop with the nine of clubs, intending to play jack, then king of hearts. Partner has different ideas. He overtakes my nine with the ten and returns the eight of diamonds, apparently playing me for a singleton diamond. Really, now! Would I rise with the club nine if I needed him to win this trick and give me a diamond ruff? Declarer pitches the five of hearts, I play the ten of diamonds, and dummy wins with the king. Declarer cashes the nine of diamonds and pitches the seven of hearts. It appears he was 6-3-1-3. If so, he can now cross-ruff hearts and clubs and we might or might not have trump tricks when he's done.

Declarer ruffs a heart, ruffs a club with the jack of spades, then cashes the ace of spades. He plays a heart and pitches the jack of clubs, allowing me to score the king of hearts, then takes the rest. Making four.

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

Our spades were good enough to keep declarer from making five. If he had continued the cross-ruff, he would have no way to get off dummy when he was done.  Whichever red suit he led, partner could uppercut with his ten of spades, promoting my eight.

If partner did have king-ten of spades and four hearts, would he still have overtaken my nine of clubs? Was I really supposed to hop with the ace of clubs to make sure I retained control of the defense? I don't think so. There's no reason declarer couldn't have the club king.

At the other table, West leads the heart four against the same contract. Maybe that's right. Perhaps there's sufficient danger that dummy has a source of tricks in a minor that I should be making an aggressive lead. Declarer takes East's queen with the ace and plays a diamond to the king. If East wins and returns a trump, they hold declarer to eight tricks. But he ducks!  Declarer ruffs a diamond to his hand and plays a club. West wins with the nine, cashes two hearts, then leads the ace of clubs to tap dummy. Declarer ruffs, ruffs a diamond, and plays a trump to the ace. He pitches his last club on a diamond as the defense ruffs. Then he takes the rest. Making three.

Me: -170
Jack: -140

Score on Board 42: -1 IMP
Total: +94 IMPs