Board 112

Board 112
Opponents vulnerable

♠ K ♥ Q 10 8 5 ♦ 9 3 ♣ Q 10 9 6 3 2

LHO and partner pass. RHO opens one spade. Partner is a passed hand and the vulnerability is favorable, so it looks like a good time to jam their auction. I bid three clubs. LHO bids four diamonds, which is described as a cue-bid in support of spades. A cue-bid? I've never heard of this treatment, nor do I approve.  If opener is interested in slam, at this point in the auction he will care more about the degree of fit than in the location of any aces responder might have.  And if he isn't interested in slam but is faced a decision over an opposing five-club bid,  he will care about the degree of fit even more.  Jump shifts should show a raise to four spades with a good side suit and should imply an unbalanced hand.  Four clubs should show a balanced raise based on high cards.  Four spades covers the remaining possibility, a raised based on shape but without a good side suit.

Over four diamonds, RHO cue-bids four hearts, and LHO bids four spades. RHO bids Blackwood, then carries on to six spades when his partner shows one key card. He already knew his partner had one key card, so presumably he was prepared to bid a grand opposite two key cards. That means this contract isn't going to be easy to beat.

I have high hopes of scoring my spade king. Where is the other trick coming from? Partner can't have an ace. I probably need him to have a king. If he has the diamond king behind dummy's ace, it isn't going anywhere. If he has the club king, I doubt we can beat it. If the opponents have bid a slam with at most 30 high-card points, someone rates to have a singleton club. If partner has the heart king, however, I might be able to beat it by leading a heart, establishing our winner while I still have my spade entry. If hearts is declarer's source of tricks, I may regret leading the suit, but my hand suggests that his source of tricks is diamonds. I lead the eight of hearts.

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

West	North	East	South
	Pass	Pass	1 ♠
3 ♣1	4 ♦2	Pass	4 ♥3
Pass	4 ♠	Pass	4 NT4
Pass	5 ♦5	Pass	6 ♠
(All pass)
1Weak jump overcall
2Mixed cue with support
3Control in hearts for spades
4Ace asking for spades
51 or 4 aces

Four diamonds looks like an overbid to me. Since the auction is jammed, it's OK to stretch with a four-trump limit raise. But with a three-trump limit raise, I think three spades is sufficient, especially opposite a third-seat opening bid.

Declarer plays the jack of hearts from dummy, partner plays the three, and declarer follows with the seven. I hope I'm right about the singleton club. If declarer began with ace doubleton of clubs, I made a poor lead. Declarer leads the queen of spades--deuce--three. I win with the king.

I have only two plays that make any sense: (A) Lead a club, playing partner for the ace, or (B) lead a heart, hoping partner can ruff it. (A) can't possibly work. Declarer would not have bid slam after discovering he was off two key cards. Could (B) work? Declarer would have to be six-six, which would give him something like:

♠ A J 10 x x x ♥ A K x x x x ♦ -- ♣ A

I suppose there's no reason he can't have that hand. He knows his partner has the ace of diamonds, so he can afford to bid Blackwood despite the diamond void. But if he does have that hand, I don't need to lead a heart. If I exit with a club, declarer has to draw partner's two remaining trumps, after which he is left with a heart loser.

Neither play can work as a practical matter. But (A) can at least work in theory. Accordingly, I play the ten of clubs. Partner plays the king and it holds! Down one.

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

Declarer really bid a slam knowing he was off two key cards? I suppose he knew he was missing the club ace and the spade king, and, given my pre-empt, he was willing to gamble on the spade finesse. But how did he know he even had a spade finesse? Shouldn't he at least have bid five hearts to confirm his partner had the spade queen? It's a good thing I couldn't think of a hand where a heart continuation was necessary. Otherwise I would have led one. The club play was nothing more than an act of desperation.

At the other table, my hand passes over one spade, and North raises to four spades. What's with these overbids? This time North wasn't even jammed, so he has no excuse. On this auction, my teammate apparently doesn't value his singleton club and diamond king as much South did at my table. He passes four spades. West leads a diamond. Declarer wins with his king and lays down the ace of spades. Making seven. Sixteen boards to go, and we're within striking distance again.

Me: + 100
Jack: -710

Score on Board 112: +13 IMPs
Total: -28 IMPs