Board 115

Board 115
Opponents vulnerable

♠ A K Q 2 ♥ K J 7 ♦ A 2 ♣ A 10 7 6

I could open two notrump. But I still need to generate some swings, so I'd rather have a different auction than the other table. It probably won't hurt to open one club, and something good might happen.

I bid one club, and LHO overcalls with one diamond. Two passes back to me. I double, and partner bids one heart. One notrump by me should show 18-19 high-card points, so two notrump seems about right. I'm slightly better placed than if I had opened two notrump, since partner can correct to three clubs with a Yarborough and club support. That's a contract they won't be able to reach at the other table. Unfortunately, partner simply raises to three notrump. Any swing is going to have to come from the play. LHO leads the five of spades.

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

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

It appears my auction has elicited an unfavorable lead. At the other table, where South will show his four-card spade suit after Stayman, West will surely lead diamonds. Declarer will then be pretty well placed. I'm going to have a tougher time making this than my opponent will. That's not the kind of swing in the play I was hoping to generate.

I play low from dummy, and East plays the six. That's strange. Could East have worked out I have ace-king-queen so that he needn't bother playing third hand high? Maybe. But it seems more likely that he's playing the six because all his cards are equals. That means there are four possible layouts for the spade suit:

WEST (1) ♠ 10 9 8 5 (2) ♠ 10 9 5 (3) ♠ 10 5 (4) ♠ 5

EAST ♠ 7 6 ♠ 8 7 6 ♠ 9 8 7 6 ♠ 10 9 8 7 6

I don't think West would have led the five from (2) or (3). It's possible but unlikely that he would have led the five from (1). (4) seems like the likeliest layout. A singleton lead is a bit bizarre, but we recently saw Jack lead a singleton in an unbid suit against six notrump. Maybe he would do the same against three notrump.

I have seven tricks. With two dummy entries, I can develop an extra diamond trick by force. Say I play ace and a diamond. West wins and clears diamonds, establish a third diamond trick for the defense. I can then lead a heart to the king or jack. If East has an honor and I guess right, I make it. If I guess wrong, I go down.

Another possibility is to play on hearts and leave diamonds for the end position. If I can strip West of his cards in the other three suits, I can play ace and a diamond and force West to give dummy a diamond trick, provided West has both the king and queen of diamonds.

The second approach seems to offer more flexibility. Depending on how the play proceeds, I may be able to put dummy's nine of hearts or my ten of clubs to some use. There are too many possibilities to work everything out ahead of time. Making the contract on this line may well depend on my card-reading abilities, which is what makes hands like this fun.

I start by leading a spade to dummy's jack for a heart play. West plays the eight; East, the seven. So it appears we have layout (1) above. West did in fact lead low from 10 9 8 5. I lead the deuce of hearts, and East plays the eight. I play the jack, and West wins with the queen. Either East had ace-ten-eight or he's giving count with important spot cards again. West exits with the ten of spades. I expect East to pitch a club on this trick.  Indeed he does--the deuce.

West is unlikely to hold the heart ace. With two likely heart entries, he probably would have led his long suit, which in fact would have beaten me. So I decide to lead a club to dummy and a heart toward my king.

I play the six of clubs--four--king--three, then the four of hearts. East plays the three. So he was giving count with important spot cards. Or perhaps he was being very clever, giving me a losing option. I could, after all, choose to play the seven, finessing East for the ten. But I'm sticking to my original plan. I don't know where the ten is, but I don't think West has the ace. I play the king of hearts, and West follows with the ten. West was apparently 4-2-5-2. He surely has both diamond honors, since his overcall was light enough as it is. So I can cash my blacks aces and play ace and a diamond. West can't prevent dummy from scoring a diamond trick.

I can improve on that line, however. I needn't assume West was 4-2-5-2. I can afford to lead a heart first just in case he was 4-3-5-1 and the opponents have carded strangely in hearts. I doubt very much that's the case. But, as long it doesn't hurt to cater the possibility, why not? I play the seven of hearts, West discards the diamond four (which means East probably has the three), and East wins with the ace. West shifts to the five of diamonds. I hop with the ace, and West plays the eight. I cash the club ace--jack--eight--five.

We're down to this position, with my needing two more tricks:

	NORTH ♠ -- ♥ 9 ♦ J 10 9 ♣ --
WEST ♠ 9 ♥ -- ♦ ? ? x ♣ --		EAST ♠ -- ♥ 5 ♦ ? ♣ Q 9
	SOUTH ♠ A ♥ -- ♦ 2 ♣ 10 7

I can always make it now provided I guess the diamonds. If East has a diamond honor, I must cash the spade and pitch a diamond from dummy. Then, when I lead a diamond, West is winkled. He can hop and crash his partner's honor, or he can duck, allowing his partner to the win the trick, after which East must concede either a heart trick to dummy or a club trick to my hand (whichever loser he didn't pitch on the spade ace). If West has both honors, I must cash the spade, pitching the good heart from dummy, then lead a diamond.

I'm fairly confident West has both diamond honors both from the bidding and from the carding. If East's remaining diamond is an honor, it means West discarded the four and eight of diamonds, concealing the diamond three. Most players just don't do things like that. It seems more likely that West's four was his lowest diamond and East shifted to the five from five-three doubleton. Accordingly, I pitch the heart from dummy on the spade ace and play a diamond. Making three.

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

The shift to the five of diamonds was a poor play on East's part. After his partner discarded the diamond four, he should have shifted to the three, the card he was "known" to hold. Had he done that, I would have something to think about in the end position.

The other table reaches three notrump via the auction I predicted above: two notrump followed by Stayman. If West leads a low diamond, declarer will presumably win in dummy and play a heart to the jack. West will win and clear diamonds. Declarer will then play a heart to the king for his ninth trick. But it doesn't go that way. West, for some reason, leads the king of diamonds. This gives declarer three diamond tricks. When he eventually scores a heart, it's for an overtrick. Making four.

Me: +400
Jack: +430

Score on Board 115: -1 IMP
Total: -24 IMPs