Match 2 - Board 55

Board 55
Both sides vulnerable

♠ K 9 6 3 ♥ A K J 10 6 2 ♦ A ♣ 6 3

I open one heart. LHO overcalls two clubs, which is passed back to me. Jack suggests two hearts at this point. But I don't see how that can be superior to double. I'm happy to correct diamonds to hearts at whatever level partner chooses to introduce the suit. And double brings spades into the picture. Even if we don't have an eight-card fit in spades, the knowledge that I'm four-six in the majors may help partner to evaluate his hand.

LHO bids two spades. Advancer couldn't raise clubs, opener has shown spade length, and responder has implied club length and might have a trap pass. All in all, this is a dangerous move on LHO's part, so he should have quite a good hand. Some would play that this bid promises five spades. But those who employ Michaels indiscriminately would probably never have five spades. For those players, this bid should show self-sufficient clubs with a secondary spade suit--much like my hand with hearts and clubs reversed. I don't know how Jack plays this auction, and RHO isn't very forthcoming with the explanations.

Partner bids three diamonds, and I correct to three hearts as planned. Everyone passes, and West leads the six of diamonds.

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

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

What is going on here? This is the second time partner has declined to produce a perfectly normal single raise after an opponent's overcall. Had he bid two hearts, we would have had no trouble reaching game.

I play the diamond eight from dummy; East covers with the ten. That suggests the diamond lead is from a doubleton. Otherwise East would know my ace was singleton and might not cover. If two spades promised five, then West is 5-0-2-6. I don't have the entries to pick up four-zero trumps, so I cash the heart ace. West plays the queen; East follows with the four. I'm just as glad I was short of entries.

So it appears West is 4-1-2-6. He should have both black aces. Not only would his bid be exceptionally imprudent without them, his decision to lead a small doubleton in dummy's suit suggests that either black suit lead is unattractive.

I play the heart jack (Not the king. No reason to let West know his partner isn't winning the trick)--club deuce--seven--five. Then the heart king--club five-eight--nine. I play the club six--ace--eight--four. West returns the seven of clubs--king--ten--three. Jack tends to play up-the-line after his initial count signal. So East's remaining club is probably the jack.

I might as well cash the diamond king in case West made a sneaky lead from queen doubleton. King--three--spade three--diamond five. The only way to take an eleventh trick is to play East for queen doubleton of spades, even though it is unlikely he has it. Even with the queen West has a rather thin two-spade bid.

Well, maybe there is another way. Suppose I ruff out the queen of diamonds, then play a low spade toward dummy. If West has the spade queen, this is the problem he faces:

	NORTH ♠ J 10 2 ♥ -- ♦ 9 2 ♣ --
WEST ♠ A Q x ♥ -- ♦ -- ♣ x x		EAST ♠ ? x ♥ -- ♦ 7 4 ♣ x
	SOUTH ♠ ? x x ♥ x x ♦ -- ♣ --

West must decide who has the king. If East has it, West must duck to untangle his spade tricks. But if I have it, he must hop with the queen. (Yes, I know technically that isn't true. He can also untangle his tricks by hopping with the either honor and continuing with a low spade while East still has a club exit. But, for practical purposes, that is the same thing as ducking, so I will ignore that option.)

If I play this way, will he duck? Or am I better off pinning my hopes on the unlikely chance that East has the spade queen? Let's look at the problem from West's point of view. The auction suggests I have the spade king. I don't need it for my opening bid, but I might have balanced with two hearts rather than double if my spade suit were four small. Furthermore, the spade king would be a huge card for East on this auction. He might well bid four clubs over three diamonds if he had it. There is also a clue from the play. On the second club East had an opportunity to give a suit-preference signal. While I am not nearly so big a fan of suit preference as most experts, even I would give suit preference in this situation.

Against that, West might reason that if declarer has the spade king, the field will be in game, rendering his play immaterial. The only time his play is apt to matter is when East has the spade king. So he might as well assume that's the case and duck. If I were West, I would probably duck for this reason.

Of course, these considerations apply only when playing against a human. Jack will not consider any of these things. He will simply deal out some random hands and choose the play that works most often. Even if he doesn't deduce that I have four spades, he knows I have at least three. So I will hold the spade king more often than not in his simulation, and he will conclude that the percentage play is to hop. As unlikely as the finesse is to work, it probably has a better chance than the swindle.

Too bad. I hate it when I decide the normal play is right. It's much more fun to make the abnormal play. I lead the spade jack--five--six--queen. Making four.

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

Just to make sure, I backed up the play and tried the swindle. I ruffed out the queen of diamonds then led the nine of spades (advertising that, if I have the king, I have spurned a legitimate play). West hopped with the queen and cashed the ace. I'm glad to see my judgment was correct.

Not surprisingly, we are the only pair not to reach to game, so this is a well-deserved zero.

Score on Board 55: +170 (0 MP)
Total: 427 MP (64.7%)

Current rank: 1st