Event 3 - Match 7 - Board 4

Board 4
Both sides vulnerable

♠ A 5 2 ♥ K J 8 5 2 ♦ Q 3 ♣ K 6 4

Two passes. RHO opens with one spade. I don't like passing with an opening bid, but this hand is hardly appropriate for a vulnerable two-level overcall, and I can't double without diamond support.

I pass, LHO bids two spades, partner passes, and RHO bids three spades, which they play as invitational. I pass again, and three spades ends the auction.

A heart lead looks right. But which one? The deuce is the systemic lead. But if partner has the queen, I'd rather lead the king. It might drive an entry to partner's hand, and it will avoid leaving me with the only heart guard in case there are squeezes afoot. If partner has the ace and the queen is doubleton, my choice won't matter. If partner has the ace and the queen is third, either lead could be right. (It's right to lead low if declarer has queen third. But it could save a trick to lead the king if dummy has it.) Finally, if partner has neither honor, my choice probably won't matter, since I've made a poor lead anyway. On balance, the king of hearts looks better, so that's what I choose.

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

West	North	East	South
Phillip	Dimitri	Jack	Brodie
	Pass	Pass	1 ♠
Pass	2 ♠	Pass	3 ♠1
(All pass)
1Invitational

There is a useful technique for analyzing your defensive prospects that I haven't discussed yet in this blog: matching dummy's cover cards with declarer's losers. On this deal, I can credit South with six losers for his game try. We have no unexpected tricks (ruffs, stray jacks, etc.) So if dummy covers two of declarer's losers, we can't beat three spades. The ace of clubs covers one loser. If declarer has ace third of hearts, the doubleton heart will cover another (now that I've failed to lead a trump). So, for starters, I must assume declarer does not have ace third of hearts. Similarly, if declarer has the club queen, the club jack behind my king, will cover a second loser. So I must assume partner has the club queen.

I could reach these same conclusions by constructing possible three spade bids for declarer and discarding those where he is cold. But it is much easier and faster this way. With this technique, I know the minute dummy hits that, if we are to have any chance to beat this contract, partner must have the club queen and declarer must have fewer than three hearts (or we must have the tempi to stop a ruff).

Declarer plays low from dummy, partner overtakes my king with the ace, and declarer follows with the nine. Oops. Leading the king from this hand is risky if partner is inclined to overtake it. I overtook Lowenthal's king lead only once. ("Even if I had king-queen," he explained patiently after the session, "why would I lead the king if I needed you on play at trick two? I'd lead low--or perhaps the queen.") Anyway, I now have a new assumption to add to my list. I must assume partner has the heart queen. If he doesn't, we've compressed two of declarer's losers into one, which is surely all he needs to make this.

At this point, I can place all the major high cards. If partner has the ace-queen of hearts and the club queen, as I must assume he does, then declarer needs the rest--the king-queen of spades and the ace-king of diamonds--for his three spade bid. To get declarer's loser count down to six, I must credit him with a six-card spade suit or a four-card minor. With a four-card minor, he probably would have bid it in preference to three spades, so it's likely he has six spades.

Partner switches to the five of diamonds--ace--three--deuce. If declarer had ace-king doubleton of diamonds, partner would have led the diamond jack. So declarer must have ace-king third, and we must establish our diamond trick and cash it before declarer can pitch it on dummy's clubs. Partner's low diamond suggests he has the jack, so it's probably safe for me to lead diamonds myself when I get in. Partner's carding isn't always reliable, however, so I would rather not lead diamonds myself if I don't have to.

Declarer leads the three of spades. That's good news. If he's drawing trumps, then he doesn't have three hearts. I play the deuce, declarer plays the seven, and partner follows with the six. Declarer plays the eight of spades from dummy, partner pitches the three of hearts, and declarer plays the spade four.

So declarer has six spades. If I could trust partner's heart card, then I would know declarer is 6-2-3-2. Partner isn't big on giving present count, however, so declarer might also be 6-1-3-3. We need three more tricks. They must be either a diamond, a heart, and a club or a diamond and two clubs.

Do I need to shift to the queen of diamonds, hoping partner has the jack? If declarer is 6-1-3-3, we need two club tricks to beat this. So I don't need to play diamonds yet. We have plenty of time to set up our diamond and cash it. If he is 6-2-3-2, all I have to do to stop the pitch is take the ten of spades off the table (in case declarer has ten-nine doubleton of clubs). Again, there is no hurry to play diamonds. So I might as well try to cash a heart. I'd just as soon declarer didn't know partner had the heart queen, however. If he did, he might place me with the diamond queen. So I can't afford to play a low heart.

I play the heart jack, intending to switch to a spade if it holds. It doesn't. Partner plays the four, and declarer ruffs with the spade jack. Declarer leads the nine of spades to dummy's ten as partner pitches the seven of hearts. Now the four of diamonds--eight--jack--queen. I exit with heart. We still have two club tricks coming. Down one.

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

The diamond finesse was an error. Declarer should have played a diamond to the king and a third diamond if the queen didn't drop, hoping to set up dummy's long diamond for a club pitch. The queen of diamonds dropping doubleton or diamonds splitting three-three is likelier than the finesse.

Perhaps I misdefended in giving him that option. If I had seen declarer's hand, I would have shifted to the king of clubs when I was in with the spade ace. If declarer ducks, I would play another club. Declarer can make his contract by ducking again. But if he thinks I have king doubleton, he will rise with the ace, draw my trump, and take a diamond finesse. Three-three diamonds is no longer an option, since dummy has no entries.

Is there any way for me to find that defense? Not unless partner cards more helpfully. If he switches to the diamond ten rather than the five, I will know declarer has ace-king-jack. If he then drops the seven of hearts (present count) on the second round of trumps, I will be double-dummy. I hate to admit it. But I'm not entirely sure I would find the right defense even then. I would have to appreciate that, if I leave the club ace in dummy, declarer should play ace, king of diamonds rather than take the finesse. I didn't appreciate that as I was defending. But maybe that's only because I had too many things to worry about. Maybe if I knew for sure declarer had the diamond jack and if I knew for sure the heart wasn't cashing, it would be easier to focus on declarer's options. Or maybe not. We'll never know. Against this particular declarer, shifting to the club king is the wrong defense anyway. If he's going to misplay it, why should I risk giving him the contract if he has the club ten?

Meanwhile, score one for the offshape take-out double. We're cold for four hearts. I know some readers who are very pleased to see that, but I'm not changing my mind about offshape doubles yet. I think partner is closer to doubling two spades than I am to doubling one.

Fortunately, our opponents did not reach game either. They also defended three spades and beat it a trick. I'm a little surprised at that. Not only is ace, king, and a low diamond declarer's best play in diamonds in most scenarios, it is also fairly easy for the defense to mark West with the diamond queen. If the defense starts with a low heart to East's ace, for example, East is marked with the ace-queen of hearts and, by assumption, a club honor (else declarer has two club tricks). Once he shows up with a singleton spade, the diamond queen is a huge favorite to be offside.

Table 1: +100
Table 2: -100

Score on Board 4: 0 imps
Total: +3 imps

Event 3 - Match 7 - Board 3

Board 3
Opponents vulnerable

♠ A 10 8 ♥ Q 9 ♦ A J 10 9 5 ♣ K 8 7

I open one notrump (12-14). I might upgrade this hand to a strong notrump if not for the fact that I would then have to open one diamond. I'd rather not give up the pre-emptive value of opening one notrump.

Partner bids two diamonds, a transfer to hearts. I bid two hearts, and partner bids three notrump. Everyone passes, and West leads the deuce of clubs, showing an odd number of clubs.

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

West	North	East	South
Dimitri	Jack	Brodie	Phillip
			1 NT
Pass	2 ♦1	Pass	2 ♥
Pass	3 NT	(All pass)
1Jacoby-transfer

I have four club tricks, two spades, a heart, and a diamond. I need one more trick. Diamonds is the surest place to develop one. But I need two entries to my hand, so I can't afford to guarantee four club tricks by playing low from dummy. That's probably OK. In the unlikely event I cost myself a club trick by rising, I can probably get it back by developing a second trick in diamonds.

I play the club queen. (Not the ace, which would announce to everyone that I have king.) East plays the three. I follow with the seven. The opponents play upside-down attitude, so, if the carding is honest, the three is either a singleton or is encouraging from jack third.

I lead the eight of diamonds; East plays the three. I play the five, and West wins with the queen. West surprises me by continuing with the deuce of diamonds. He must think I was trying the old trick of attacking my weak suit to talk the opponents out of leading it. I pitch the three of hearts from dummy, East plays the diamond six, and I win with the nine.

The routine play at this point would be to drive the diamond king. But West's diamond play is suspicious. The usual inference when an opponent makes an aggressive, desperate play is that the cards lie favorably for you. West must think dummy's hearts are a threat, and, since he knows I have a doubleton heart, he wouldn't think that unless hearts were three-three.

For example, give West something like

♠ Q x ♥ J x ♦ K Q x x ♣ J x x x x

I can make five by driving the diamond king, since East gets squeezed in the majors. But would West ever continue diamonds with this hand? Unless I have king-queen doubleton, I can't set up hearts without losing the lead twice. So why not just persist in clubs, doing what you can to disrupt declarer's communications?

The same thing is true if West has king third of hearts. Only if I had queen-jack doubleton would I be able to establish the suit with one loser, so there is no need for desperation. It appears that East has king third of hearts, which means I can lead up to my heart queen and make five. Even if I'm wrong, I'll still make four on this line provided one of my assumptions is correct: either the heart king is on my right or the suit is three-three.

I cash the king of clubs--five--nine--four. So far, so good. If East had shown out, I would have to rethink my conclusions. Admittedly, it's not entirely safe to play another club. If West led a deceptive deuce from a doubleton or from jack fourth (or if he simply forgot his lead conventions) and if I get unlucky, I could wind up going down. I might worry about that against human defenders, but I'm not too worried against Jack. He's an honest sort who never forgets his methods.

I play a club to dummy's ace. West plays the six; East, the jack. If I cash the last club, I will have to pitch my diamond ten, and I'd rather not do that just yet. I'd like to retain the option of establishing a diamond trick. If I lead a heart to my queen and it holds, for example, I can just drive the diamond king to make five and not rely on the heart split. I play the five of hearts. East isn't going to allow me to make five that easily. He hops with the king; West follows with the deuce.

East shifts to the seven of diamonds. I rise with the ace, West plays the four, and I pitch dummy's deuce of spades. This is the position:

	NORTH Jack ♠ K 6 ♥ A 8 6 ♦ -- ♣ 10
	SOUTH Phillip ♠ A 10 8 ♥ Q ♦ J 10 ♣ --

If hearts are indeed three-three, I have the rest. But I have chances even if they aren't. I can cash the heart queen, play a spade to dummy, and cash the club, pitching the diamond ten. If East has four hearts and the queen-jack of spades, he is squeezed. Or, if West has four hearts and honor doubleton of spades, he is caught in a guard squeeze. To stop both red suits, he must pitch his last spade, allowing me to finesse against the remaining honor in East's hand. I just have to be careful to cash the club before the heart ace, else I will squeeze my own hand first.

I play accordingly. Hearts were three-three as expected. Making five.

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

The inference I drew on this deal (that an aggressive defense means suits are breaking favorably) and the converse (that a passive defense means suits are breaking unfavorably) come up frequently, often on the opening lead. West certainly knew he had little chance to beat this when he won the diamond queen, so an aggressive defense was called for. But I still don't understand the diamond continuation. A shift to the spade jack seems better.

I don't care for the opening lead either. I can understand not leading a diamond. If you are on lead against three notrump and have no five-card suit of your own, it is often a good idea to try to find one in partner's hand. But, on this auction, you are more likely to find partner with five spades than with five clubs. Dummy might have an undisclosed club suit (as it did), but it won't have an undisclosed spade suit. I assume Jack chose clubs on the idea that three small is safer than jack third. But now is not the time to be playing it safe. Three-three hearts screams for aggressive tactics just as much now as it did at thrick three. A spade lead probably won't beat the contract. But it will certainly worry declarer more than the club lead did.

I'm disappointed to discover this board is a push. I thought I did well to make five.

Table 1: +460
Table 2: -460

Score on Board 3: 0 imps
Total: +3 imps

Event 3 - Match 7 - Board 2

Board 2
Our side vulnerable

♠ K Q 10 4 ♥ 9 5 ♦ K J 10 6 5 ♣ 5 2

RHO opens one spade. If I weren't vulnerable, a two diamond overcall would be clear, since the four-card spade suit makes it likely we have a diamond fit. Vulnerable, however, an overcall does not appeal. I pass, LHO bids one notrump, and RHO bids two clubs. I pass, LHO corrects to two spades, which is passed back to me.

This is annoying. I have good defense against spades, but the opponents have probably stopped low enough that we won't be able to beat them. This is precisely why, if not vulnerable, it makes sense to overcall. An immediate two diamond bid, before they have a chance to gauge their fit, might propel them to the three-level.

I pass. What should I lead? Often it's right to go for a tap when you have trump length. But with natural trump tricks, that's less clear. If declarer has aces and kings on the side, scoring his small trumps via ruffs may be exactly what he wants to do. The determining factor is how good declarer's clubs are. If he has slow club tricks, it will be right to deprive him of those tricks via a tap. If he doesn't, tapping him is probably wrong. I have no way of knowing for sure. But I do know I can't offer any assistance in stopping clubs, so I lead the diamond jack.

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

West	North	East	South
Phillip	Dimitri	Jack	Brodie
			1 ♠
Pass	1 NT	Pass	2 ♣
Pass	2 ♠	(All pass)

Declarer plays low from dummy. Partner plays the three; declarer, the seven. I don't know much more now than I did before seeing dummy. Tapping him still might be the wrong idea. But I've started on this path, and I don't see any clear reason to change my mind. I play the six of diamonds. Declarer plays low, partner plays the ace, and declarer ruffs with the deuce of spades. Partner couldn't work out to play the nine on this trick?

Declarer plays the three of clubs. I see no reason to give count, since partner doesn't have much to do on this deal. I play the deuce--king--six. The four is missing, so I can't tell if partner has played high or low. Declarer plays the six of spades. The fact that he is drawing trumps suggests his clubs are running. If they weren't, he would either be establishing them or he would be ruffing a diamond, preparing to play the hand on a scramble. So I can be pretty sure declarer has the club queen.

Partner plays the three of spades, and declarer plays the eight. That looks like ace-jack-nine-eight fifth. I win with the queen rather than the ten. I don't have anything in particular in mind. But, as Lowenthal demonstrated to me time and time again, you don't need to see why a falsecard might gain in order to produce it. If it can't cost, you might as well give it a try. It can pay off in unexpected ways. This particular falsecard might cost on a different deal. For example, I might find myself on play with king-ten of spades, with declarer holding jack doubleton, and be unable to draw his trumps. But that can't happen on this deal, since I have no entries outside the trump suit.

I have three trump tricks and the diamond ace. We need two more tricks. The only place we can get them is in the heart suit, so I need partner to have the king and queen of hearts. One way to take two heart tricks is to lead the suit. But that requires declarer to have three hearts. If I can tap him out and lock him dummy, maybe we can take two heart tricks even if has a doubleton.

Suppose declarer is 5-2-1-5. I lead the king of diamonds, tapping him. Now he cashes the ace of spades and starts running clubs. We will reach this position:

	NORTH Dimitri ♠ -- ♥ A 8 7 2 ♦ Q ♣ 10
WEST Phillip ♠ K 10 ♥ 9 5 ♦ 10 5 ♣ --		EAST Jack ♠ -- ♥ K Q 10 x x ♦ -- ♣ x
	SOUTH Brodie ♠ J ♥ J x ♦ -- ♣ Q x x

If he leads the queen of clubs, I ruff, draw his last trump, and play any red card. He's locked in dummy and must lose two hearts.

Double-dummy declarer can make it in this position. He needs only three tricks. He can take them by playing a heart to dummy, pitching a heart on the queen of diamonds, and ruffing a heart. But that requires partner to be out of trumps.

An alternative line is to lead the jack of spades, hoping trumps are three-three. If he does that, I win the spade king and play a diamond. Now I don't need partner to have the king and queen of hearts. The king alone will do, since I have a long diamond for the setting trick. This line would be particularly attractive to a gullible declarer who assumes partner must have the ten of spades.

So if declarer is 5-2-1-5, I need to lead the diamond king. I can't beat him by force. But it does give him a losing option. Does it hurt anything to lead the diamond king if declarer is 5-3-1-4 with jack third of hearts? Is partner in danger of being endplayed?

Say I tap declarer with the diamond king and, again, he cashes the spade ace and starts running clubs. I ruff the third round, reaching this position, needing three more tricks:

	NORTH Dimitri ♠ -- ♥ A 8 7 2 ♦ Q ♣ --
WEST Phillip ♠ K ♥ 9 5 ♦ 10 5 ♣ --		EAST Jack ♠ -- ♥ K Q 10 x ♦ -- ♣ x
	SOUTH Brodie ♠ J ♥ J x x ♦ -- ♣ J

My plan was to draw declarer's last trump and play a red card. I can't play a heart, however. Partner will be endplayed. Perhaps I can play a diamond, forcing declarer to pitch a heart, thereby destroying the endplay. No. That doesn't work. Partner can pitch one heart on the spade king, but when I play a diamond, he's squeezed. It's an unusual squeeze, since partner is squeezed out of a loser, not a winner. If he pitches his club loser, declarer can afford to pitch his jack of clubs, retaining the endplay.

What if I don't cash the spade so the count isn't corrected for the squeeze? Does that work? If declarer has three hearts (as I will know from partner's count signal in clubs), then I don't need to draw declarer's trump. He can't ruff anything that I can't overruff.

Suppose, in the above position, I immediately play a diamond. Partner pitches a heart. Now it is declarer who is squeezed. If declarer also pitches a heart, there is no endplay. When he plays a heart from dummy, partner can hop with the queen and return the king, and I will take the last two tricks. If, instead, declarer pitches a club, then partner's club is high. When declarer plays a low heart from dummy, partner hops and plays his club winner. Declarer ruffs, I overruff and cash the last diamond for the setting trick. Interesting. Refusing to cash the spade avoids correcting the count for the squeeze against partner. But the count is already corrected for the squeeze against declarer. That's because declarer has an extra busy card. He can't afford to "pitch" his trump on the queen of diamonds.

Back to this position:

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

I lead the king of diamonds; declarer ruffs with the nine of spades. But he doesn't cash the spade ace. Instead, he plays the six of hearts--five--ace--three, then plays the seven of spades to his jack. My falsecard paid off. This would not be a possible line had I won the first spade trick with the ten.

I win with the spade king. If partner has the heart king, declarer is down. I play a diamond to dummy's queen. Partner pitches the four of hearts; declarer, the four of clubs. Declarer plays a club to his ace, cashes the spade ace, and plays the club queen. I ruff and cash the long diamond. Unfortunately, it is declarer who has the heart king, so he takes the last trick. Making two.

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

Did partner's error at trick two cost the contract? No. We were never beating this. If partner plays the diamond nine and the play proceeds along similar lines, we would eventually reach this position with declarer needing three more tricks.

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

Obviously three more tricks are easy. In fact, he can score a fourth for an overtrick. Declarer cashes the ace and king of hearts and plays a club. The only way I can prevent him from scoring dummy's seven of spades is by ruffing and leading a trump. If I do that, declarer regains control and scores a club trick.

So we actually had no way to stop three. Yet, by presenting declarer with a gift of the queen of diamonds, we managed to hold him to two. I'm not sure why it works out that way, but I'll take it.

The key to this deal, as is often the case, is drawing the right inference in order to reduce the number of things you have to worry about. The fact that declarer tried to draw trumps rather than play for a scramble meant his clubs were solid. The end position was complicated enough even after drawing that conclusion. If you have to worry about layouts where partner has a club trick, the deal would be virtually impossible to analyze.

Our teammates play two spades, making three, so we pick up an imp.

Table 1: -110
Table 2: +140

Score on Board 2: +1 imp
Total: +3 imps

Event 3 - Match 7 - Board 1

Board 1
Neither vulnerable

♠ K 6 4 3 ♥ Q 5 ♦ 7 6 ♣ Q 9 6 3 2

Like our previous-round opponents, our new opponents, Dimitri and Brodie, play Dutch Doubleton.

Partner opens one notrump (12-14). Everyone passes, and RHO leads the jack of hearts. If you have bridge-playing software that can read the PBN file linked to above, you might want to try your hand at declaring one notrump yourself before reading on.

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

West	North	East	South
Brodie	Phillip	Dimitri	Jack
			1 NT
(All pass)

I'm not sure I approve of partner's opening bid. With three and a half honor tricks, this hand looks more like a strong notrump than a weak notrump to me. But that was partner's decision to make.

If diamonds are four-four, I can afford to lose two club tricks. If they are five-three, I need to pick up the clubs or hope they don't find a diamond shift. The best play in clubs is to lead through the hand more likely to have a singleton in case that singleton happens to be the ace.

Which defender is more likely to have a singleton club? A singleton in either hand would make entering the auction more attractive. But West needs a better hand to bid in direct seat than East needs to balance. So East's silence is louder. If anyone holds a singleton, it is probably West.

If the opponents played standard leads, I might have reason to play the heart queen from dummy to disguise the fact that I have both the ace and king of hearts. But the opponents play that the lead of the jack denies a higher honor, so East already knows I have those cards. Since I want to attack clubs by leading toward the dummy, it makes sense to win this trick in my hand.

I play low from dummy, East plays the nine (upside-down attitude), and I win with the king. I play the four of clubs (I can't afford the seven. If West shows out on this trick, I will need that card.)--eight--queen--ace. I expect a diamond shift. Surprisingly, East returns the three of hearts--six--four--queen. What a strange play! East knows I have the heart ace. If clubs are running, I have seven tricks. How can he not try to cash six more tricks before letting me in? One thing I can be sure of: East does not have five diamonds. If he did, he would switch to a diamond in an attempt to cash five diamonds and the spade ace.

The deuce of hearts is still out. East's three could be high from three-deuce doubleton. Or it could be his only heart, in which case West is concealing the deuce, either for deceptive purposes or simply because he is giving present count. Jack, however, is not big on present count, nor is he big on deception. So I suspect East has the deuce and hearts are four-three.

I lead the deuce of clubs, and East plays the five. The moment of truth. My play doesn't matter if diamonds are four-four, so I must assume they are five-three. I've already concluded that it's impossible for East to have five diamonds. So I must assume West does.

Would West really lead a four-card heart suit holding five diamonds? Probably not if we were in three notrump. But in one trump, where West expects the defense to have more entries, he might well avoid leading a five-card suit that might more profitably be attacked by his partner. Besides, if he doesn't have five diamonds, I have no problem. So I might as well assume he does.

Is West more likely to be 2-4-5-2 or 3-4-5-1? A priori, 3-4-5-1 is more likely (since a five-two spade split is less likely than a three-one club split). On top of that, East's heart continuation suggests he has some hope that clubs aren't running. Ace-jack third of clubs would offer more hope than ace doubleton. And, if that's not enough, there's some chance I could survive a finesse even if it loses. With something like

♠ x x ♥ J 10 8 4 ♦ A Q 10 x x ♣ J 8

West might decide to play his partner for the spade ace and diamond jack (or four diamonds) rather than for the diamond king. But if I go up with the king and I'm wrong, the defense can hardly make a mistake.

I play the club ten; West plays the seven of spades. I did the right thing in the club suit. But I don't yet know if my play was necessary. If West is 4-4-4-1, I gained only overtricks. I cash the king of clubs and play a club to dummy. West discards nine, ten of spades. East discards the spade deuce. The opponents would not blithely set up dummy's spades, so East must be holding the three remaining spades. That means West is indeed 3-4-5-1, and I needed to guess clubs to make this. I hope our opponents open one notrump at the other table, so we will have a chance for a pickup. If they don't, they will probably land in a club partscore, which will make easily.

On the last club, East plays the diamond deuce, I discard the diamond four, and West pitches the heart eight. Why would he give me a heart trick? Maybe I'm wrong about four-three hearts and West is 3-5-4-1 instead of 3-4-5-1. Although that means he is atypically clutching the deuce of hearts. I play a spade to the ace and cash the heart ace. Both opponents follow. So West simply made a mistake with his heart pitch. Making four.

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

I agree with West's opening lead. I would lead the diamond queen against one notrump--three notrump but the heart jack against this auction.

So what was East playing for with his heart continuation? Maybe he was hoping his partner had six hearts and that my ace and queen would fall together. That's a reason to win trick one in my hand that I didn't think of. I'll have to remember that for the future.

As usual, the difficult part of this deal is noticing that something unusual happened. If you are focusing on your own problems as declarer, the strangeness of East's heart continuation will slip right past you. If you are looking at the deal through your opponents' eyes and making predictions about what the opponents will do, then the heart continuation will set off an alarm. Once you hear the alarm, the rest is easy.

Our teammates played three diamonds, down two, so we pick up two imps.

Table 1: +180
Table 2: -100

Score on Board 1: +2 imps
Total: +2 imps

Event 3 - Match 6 - Board 8

Board 8

Neither vulnerable

We're down five imps going into the last board of the match. I pick up:

♠ A Q J 3 ♥ Q 9 7 6 5 4 ♦ 7 5 ♣ 3

This hand, with ten cards in the majors and six losers, is a one heart opening in my opinion. I suspect my counterpart at the other table will not agree, so we would have an opportunity for a swing if I were in first seat. Unfortunately, I'm in fourth seat. LHO opens one diamond, partner passes, and RHO bids two clubs (not game-forcing).

My choices are two hearts or double. Double brings spades into the picture. But that's not probably not important unless partner has five spades. A six-two heart fit rates to play better than a four-four spade fit, especially given that my hearts are weak. I bid two hearts.

LHO raises to three clubs, and partner bids three hearts. RHO bids four clubs.

Partner should have at most two cover cards for his single raise. So four hearts seems like a poor proposition. I pass. LHO and partner pass also. I lead the seven of hearts (third best from an even number).

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

West	North	East	South
Phillip	Thomas	Jack	Adrian
	1 ♦	Pass	2 ♣
2 ♥	3 ♣	3 ♥	4 ♣
(All pass)

Partner plays the king, and declarer wins with the ace. Does this mean declarer has another heart? Partner knows I have six hearts. He might duck with king fourth to advise me we don't have any heart tricks. Then again, perhaps he can't afford to do that. I might underlead the heart ace if I needed a quick spade shift, especially since I wouldn't expect declarer to have the heart king after he gave up on three notrump.

Partner can have at most one more cover card for his raise. If he has the spade king, we aren't beating this. I must hope partner has the diamond ace, in which case we can take a diamond, two spades, and possibly a heart. Make that probably a heart. With king fourth of hearts and an ace, partner might have raised to four hearts rather than to three.

Declarer plays the deuce of clubs to the ace; partner plays the five. Declarer leads a low club from dummy to his queen, partner following with the nine. I doubt declarer would have bid four clubs with a five-card suit. But I can't be sure whether he has six or seven. Since I want partner to switch to a spade when he gets in with the diamond ace, I pitch a heart (the six). A spade discard would suggest I want to cash my heart queen.

Declarer plays the three of diamonds; I play the seven. Partner captures dummy's queen with the ace and shifts to the jack of clubs. Partner must have the jack of diamonds to be doing this. I'm glad he overrode my request for a spade shift. This will work out better. With dummy's diamonds out of the picture, we will hold declarer to six clubs, one heart, and one diamond: down two.

What should I discard? A spade pitch might enable declarer to establish a long spade trick if he has four spades. Not that that's likely. He would probably have bid three spades rather than four clubs if he did. But I'd rather not make any assumptions I don't have to.

The danger in keeping all my spades is that I may get endplayed if declarer is 3-2-2-6. Will that happen? Declarer can cash a diamond, ruff a diamond, and play trumps. His last five cards will be three spades, a heart, and a club. If I keep three spades and two hearts, declarer can play a heart. I win and tap him. Now a low spade endplays me. To prevent that, I must keep three hearts and two spades. If declarer cashes the last trump, I can simply pitch the spade queen and claim the balance.

So I must keep three hearts, but I don't need four. I can pitch a heart on this trick. After that, I must pitch spades.

I pitch the heart five. Declarer cashes the queen of diamonds--nine--eight--five. Instead of ruffing a diamond to his hand and hoping I sleepily pitch another heart, he leads the eight of spades--deuce--seven. Apparently he has king-ten of spades and is hoping partner has queen-jack. I win with the jack and lead the queen of hearts. Declarer follows. I tap declarer with a heart and score two more spade tricks. Down two.

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

We can actually make four hearts! Partner covers two of my six losers, and the spade finesse covers a third. This is an exceedingly lucky lie of the cards, so I don't regret not bidding game. I needed RHO to have the spade king to have a chance. If LHO had it or even if partner had it (leaving him with at most one more cover card), I would have four losers. So game was something less than 33% on the information I had.

I assume we've lost the match. It's hard to see how we're going to pick up five imps. Our teammates need a plus score, and there aren't many plus scores available to them on this board. But surprise! Our teammates come through. They score plus 400 in three notrump. I'm not sure how that happened. Perhaps West was on lead and tried the queen of spades? In any event, we pick up 11 imps to win the match by 6, giving us 17 out 30 victory points.

Table 1: +100
Table 2: +400

Score on Board 8: +11 imps
Result on Match 6: +6 imps (17 VP)
Current Total: 109 VP (out of 180)