Event 3 - Match 9 - Board 5

Board 5
Our side vulnerable

♠ J 7 2 ♥ Q 9 2 ♦ K J 10 7 ♣ Q 9 7

Two passes to me. I pass, and LHO opens one heart. RHO bids two clubs--natural, not Drury. LHO bids two diamonds, and RHO corrects to two hearts, ending the auction. Partner leads the three of spades.

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

West	North	East	South
Jack	Marcin	Phillip	Daniel
Pass	Pass	Pass	1 ♥
Pass	2 ♣	Pass	2 ♦
Pass	2 ♥	(All pass)

We lead lowest from an odd number, so partner has five spades, giving declarer ace-king or ace-queen doubleton. There is no reason for me to play the jack. If I play low, it will clarify the spade position for partner. I play the deuce, and declarer wins the trick with the six. Oops. What happened? I'm getting a feeling of deja vu. I expect to hear Lowenthal explain to me after the deal why it was necessary for him to lead low from king-queen-ten fifth.

Declarer plays the deuce of diamonds to the ace. Partner plays the four, and I play the seven. Declarer leads a diamond off dummy. We are going to have a hard time beating this contract if we take only one diamond trick, as we will if I hop and establish declarer's queen. If I duck, perhaps declarer will duck also, hoping to ruff out king third in partner's hand. I play the diamond ten. Declarer plays the queen; partner, the six. Can we start this board over?

Declarer plays the five of diamonds, partner plays the eight, and declarer ruffs with the four of hearts. I play the king, the card I'm known to hold. Declarer plays the five of spades--seven--ace--ten. The ten is a curious card. I'm still not sure what's going on in the spade suit.

Declarer leads his last diamond. Partner, perhaps flustered by my play so far, ruffs with the three of hearts. Declarer overruffs with the ace. Declarer leads the nine of spades--jack--queen--king. I see! Declarer is 4-5-4-0. That pattern didn't even occur to me. So it turns out my duck at trick one didn't cost. Luckily declarer had ace-queen fourth rather than ace-king fourth.

Partner plays the club ace, and declarer ruffs with the heart six. Declarer has a good spade and four hearts left. Declarer cashes the heart king and continues with the jack of hearts, partner playing five, eight. My queen of hearts is our last trick. Making five.

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

Obviously I can save a trick by hopping with the diamond king. I don't regret that play, however. Hopping is simply giving up. We can do better yet if partner avoids a spade lead. A spade from king third does seem like an overly aggressive choice when the club suit isn't a threat. A trump makes more sense.

Our teammates also missed the cold game and also received peccable defense, so the board is a push. (The cold game, by the way, is four spades: Three hearts, a diamond, and six trumps on a crossruff.)

Table 1: -200
Table 2: +200

Result on Board 5: 0 imps
Total: +8 imps

Event 3 - Match 9 - Board 4

Board 4
Both sides vulnerable

♠ Q 7 2 ♥ 10 6 2 ♦ 9 6 5 ♣ A 10 3 2

LHO opens one heart; RHO bids four hearts. Everyone passes, and partner leads the king of diamonds.

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

West	North	East	South
Jack	Marcin	Phillip	Daniel
			1 ♥
Pass	4 ♥	(All pass)

Four hearts? I agree this hand is too good for a limit raise, but that makes it a forcing raise, not a preempt. Perhaps Marcin is used to playing some forcing club system, where a pseudo-preempt like this makes some tactical sense.

Declarer plays low from dummy, I discourage with the five, and declarer follows with the three. Partner continues with the queen of diamonds. It's possible partner has king-queen-ten and is trying to pin a doubleton jack. It's also possible he has king-queen-jack.

In the latter case, when should partner lead the queen and when should he lead the jack? Some possible agreements are: (1) Always lead the jack if you have it. If you lead the queen, partner knows you are trying to pin the jack and will know what is going on if it doesn't work. (2) Show present count (lead the jack with an odd number and the queen with an even number). If declarer takes the ace, partner will know whether the third diamond is cashing or not. (3) Show suit preference. Agreement (3) makes no sense to me unless your diamond length is already known. I think clarifying your holding in the suit you are playing takes precedence over suit preference. I suspect, however, that Jack plays a fourth agreement that makes no sense at all: (4) Always lead the queen.

Declarer plays the ace from dummy. Having given attitude at trick one, I should give present count now. But it's not a good idea to leave partner with the sole guard in a suit. If I play the nine, declarer may be able to throw partner in with the seven of diamonds later on, or he may be able to squeeze partner in diamonds and spades. Offhand, I can't think of how either of those events would come to pass. Perhaps there is no layout where playing the nine will cost. But I can hardly take the time to try to construct one now. So, to be safe, I play the six. Partner should be alert to the fact that I might not want to part with the nine and should give me some leeway.

It seems natural for declarer to play a club from dummy next. But he leads the three of hearts. I play the six--queen--seven. (My echo shows three trumps, by the way. It is not suit preference. I think it is a serious mistake to play suit preference in the trump suit, though it would take too long to present my arguments now. Maybe at some point I'll devote an entire post to the matter.)

Declarer plays the four of hearts to dummy's king. Partner discards the eight of diamonds, and I follow with the deuce of hearts. Declarer has drawn two rounds of trumps before playing clubs, risking our being able to draw a third round when we gain the lead with the club ace. So, whatever declarer's clubs are, he doesn't need to ruff two of them.

Declarer plays the five of hearts to his ace. Partner discards the ten of diamonds. I assume partner would have discarded from a five-card black suit by now. So declarer is either 3-5-2-3 or 2-5-2-4. In the latter case, in line with my earlier observation, declarer's clubs must be specifically king-queen-jack fourth.

Declarer plays the five of spades--eight--nine--queen. If declarer has another spade loser, he is down. If he doesn't, we need a second club trick. This is the position:

	NORTH Marcin ♠ A 6 4 ♥ 9 ♦ 7 ♣ 5 4
		EAST Phillip ♠ 7 2 ♥ -- ♦ 9 ♣ A 10 3 2

I can't see that it matters what I do. Either we have two tricks or we don't. There are no squeezes or endplays to prevent, nor is there any rush to cash tricks. With nothing else to guide me, my inclination is to fall back on general principles: Declarer doesn't seem to want to play clubs, so perhaps I should play them. What's bad for his side might be good for our side.

I play the club deuce--queen--six--four. Declarer leads the jack of clubs. I take my ace, and declarer takes the rest. Making four.

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

The result is the same at the other table.

It occurs to me that if declarer had the same hand without the club jack, my club switch would have cost the contract. If I switch to a spade or diamond instead, declarer will be unable to avoid two club losers. That wasn't exactly an oversight, since I had specifically rejected the possibility that declarer held king-queen-empty fourth of clubs. Declarer squandered two dummy entries. How can he have a hand where he needs to lead up to his clubs twice? In general, it's safe to do something for declarer that he easily could have done himself.

Still, I can't construct a layout where a club shift gains. If partner were to ask me what I was playing for, I would have no answer. I shouldn't make assumptions I don't have to make no matter how reasonable they are. So I have to consider the club switch an error.

Though it's not as serious an error as partner's failure to double one heart. What was he thinking? He was lucky that North had an over-strength preempt. If I passed over one heart with that hand and heard LHO raise to four hearts, I would be afraid I had missed a game.

Table 1: -620
Table 2: +620

Result on Board 4: 0 imps
Total: +8 imps

Event 3 - Match 9 - Board 3

Board 3
Opponents vulnerable

♠ J 5 ♥ A J 9 6 4 ♦ K J 9 8 ♣ 7 5

I pass, LHO passes, and partner opens three clubs. RHO bids three hearts.

We're probably beating this, possibly several tricks. But doubling would be premature. For all I know, the opponents aren't through bidding yet. In addition, they almost surely have a fit in spades, and a double might help them locate it. I pass. Everyone else does also. I lead the seven of clubs.

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

West	North	East	South
Phillip	Daniel	Jack	Marcin
Pass	Pass	3 ♣	3 ♥
(All pass)

Declarer plays the ace from dummy. Partner plays the nine; declarer, the jack. Declarer would probably duck with jack doubleton, so I suspect the jack was a singleton. I suppose declarer might have queen-jack doubleton. But we will have no trouble beating this if we have a club trick, so I might as well assume that's not the case.

Declarer plays the deuce of hearts from dummy--five--ten--jack. Declarer overcalled three hearts with five hearts and a singleton club? Why didn't he make a take-out double? One possibility is that he is 2-5-5-1, although that means partner bid three clubs with a four-card spade suit. Declarer might also be 3-5-4-1. Some would double with that pattern; others would bid three hearts. I'm not sure what school Marcin belongs to.

I have three natural trump tricks unless I get endplayed. If I tap declarer with a club, I will establish another trump trick. We need only one more trick to beat it, which we should be able to manage. I play the five of clubs--ten--queen--three of hearts.

Declarer plays the spade king. I play low, and partner follows with the three. If partner is giving accurate count, he has only three spades, making declarer 3-5-4-1. I'm not quite sure why declarer is cashing the spade king. That seems to serve no purpose other than clarifying the layout for me.

Declarer plays the queen of hearts. If I win this, I have a minor tenace (nine-six behind declarer's king-eight). If I duck, a have a major tenace (ace-nine over his king-eight). Major tenaces are often tactically superior to minor tenaces. So, since I have nothing compelling to do with this entry, I might as well duck. Partner pitches the deuce of clubs.

Declarer plays the three of diamonds--nine--ace--five, then the spade six--queen--ace--jack. Declarer is 4-5-3-1 and chose to overcall rather than make a takeout double? That comes as a surprise. Though, in retrospect, perhaps it shouldn't. I thought at the time that cashing the spade king with ace-king third was strange. Somehow, I failed to reach the obvious conclusion that declarer didn't have ace-king third. Cashing the spade king with ace-king fourth (so that he has the option of finessing on the next round if I drop an honor) makes more sense.

Declarer plays the deuce of spades. I ruff with the six, and partner pitches the club four. If declarer has the diamond queen, he's down one. I can cash the diamond king, exit, and wait for my two heart tricks. If partner has the diamond queen, we have the rest. Partner can play clubs through declarer, picking up his trumps.

I cash the diamond king--deuce--seven--four, then exit a diamond. Declarer wins it, so he is down only one.

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

Was my decision to duck the heart ace correct? In this particular layout, it makes no difference. But it might in a different layout. Suppose, for example, that declarer is 3-5-4-1, as I thought at the time:

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

If I win and play the spade jack, declarer ducks it. Now what? I've taken three tricks so far. Since I must give away a trick in a red suit, I might as well play the diamond king to kill dummy's entry. Declarer wins with the diamond ace and plays a spade to his ace. I ruff (trick number four). Now I get endplayed twice. I must lead into the queen-ten of diamonds or into the queen-eight of hearts. Either way, I get tossed back in with a  diamond and endplayed again. We wind up taking five tricks for down one.

What happens if I duck the queen of hearts? Declarer must either play a red suit himself or must play spades, giving partner an entry. Say he plays ace and a spade. Partner wins with the queen. That's two tricks for us. Partners plays a club. Declarer ruffs. I overruff and cash the trump ace drawing declarer's last trump. That's four tricks. I now exit with a low diamond to declarer's ten. Declarer plays a diamond to dummy's ace, and my hand is high. Down two. I get endplayed once instead of twice.

The reason ducking is superior is that I avoid having to break spades, thus depriving declarer of his avoidance play. I didn't see this at the time, but I didn't need to. As a general rule, when you have nothing useful to do, you are better off winning tricks late rather than early.

This looks like a pretty good result, since North-South are cold for a spade game and will presumably get there if South chooses to make a take-out double. We do pick up imps, but not as many as I had hoped. Somehow our opponents manage to reach three diamonds, down three. I can't even imagine how their auction went.


Table 1: +100
Table 2: +150

Result on Board 3: 6 imps
Total: +8 imps

Event 3 - Match 9 - Board 2

Board 2
Our side vulnerable

♠ 10 5 3 2 ♥ J 8 4 ♦ K 8 7 ♣ A 4 2

Pass on my right, pass by me, pass on my left. Partner opens one diamond. I bid one spade. Partner raises to two spades, and everyone passes. LHO leads the queen of clubs.

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

West	North	East	South
Daniel	Jack	Marcin	Phillip
		Pass	Pass
Pass	1 ♦	Pass	1 ♠
Pass	2 ♠	(All pass)

RHO plays the eight of clubs, and I take my ace.

If everything breaks normally, I can take one spade, one heart, four diamonds, the club ace, and a club ruff for eight tricks. It takes a four-one break in spades or diamonds to give me a problem.

Given the opponents have 21 high-card points between them and failed to open the bidding, it's going to be hard to construct layouts where either suit splits four-one. For starters, it is unlikely anyone has a small singleton. If anyone does have a singleton, it is apt to be the queen or jack to justify their silence. In addition, any diamond singleton is apt to be on my left (given RHO's pass over one diamond) and any spade singleton is apt to be on my right (given LHO's pass over one spade and failure to balance).

I will need to lead a spade toward dummy's king sooner or later, and I have limited hand entries. So I might as well do it now. While a spade to the king is not how I would handle this suit in isolation, I don't have a lot of flexibility. I play the deuce of spades--seven--king--jack. RHO apparently has queen-jack doubleton or a stiff jack. Since I can afford to lose three trump tricks, I can now abandon trumps and set up diamonds. If I can establish diamonds with one loser, I'll make my contract.

Since I expect any diamond singleton to be on my left, the way to play diamonds in isolation is to cash the ace (guarding against a singleton honor) then lead the ten and let it ride (guarding against a small singleton). But the lack of dummy entries may make that approach problematic. Say I cash the ace and no honor appears. I pass the ten, and West, with ace-queen-nine of spades remaining, ruffs. He can now cash the ace and queen of spades and tap dummy with a club. Diamonds are blocked, so I can't develop another diamond trick. I finish down one.

The only way to make it if West has a small singleton diamond (and four trumps) is to float the diamond ten without cashing the ace. If that holds, I play a diamond to the king. If West ruffs, draws trumps, and taps dummy, I have no further problems. I can ruff out a diamond to establish my eighth trick and return to dummy with the heart ace to cash it.

But if West has a singleton honor, a first round finesse will not work out well. In that case, I must play a diamond to my king. I can then concede a diamond to East. In short, I can guard against a small singleton or a singleton honor but not both. A priori, a small singleton is more likely. But the opponents' silence may have changed that. Consider this layout:

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

Some Easts would pass that hand in first seat, but many would open, and I suspect Jack is among them. So I must move some honor to the West hand to make this a viable construction. I can't move a heart honor, else West would open in third seat. But perhaps he wouldn't open with a singleton diamond honor (at least not with the jack).

Frankly, I doubt diamonds are four-one at all. But if they are, a singleton honor seems more likely than a small singleton. Accordingly, I play a diamond to the king. East contributes the five; West, the six. I play the seven of diamonds, West plays the deuce, and I duck in dummy. East wins with the jack. He returns the queen of diamonds. West ruffs with the nine of spades and shifts to the deuce of hearts. This is the position:

	NORTH Jack ♠ 8 6 4 ♥ A 10 6 ♦ A 10 ♣ --
	SOUTH Phillip ♠ 10 5 3 ♥ J 8 4 ♦ -- ♣ 4 2

I can afford to lose three more tricks. If I duck this, my contract is safe, the opponents can't take more than a heart and two spades.

Do I have a safe play for an overtrick? If I duck, East will win and tap dummy with club. If the remaining spades are one-one, I can play a spade and make an overtrick. But I can't afford to try that. I risk going down if West has ace-queen of spades.

What if I hop with the heart ace and play a diamond, pitching a heart? That's perfectly safe. The opponents still can't take more than two trumps and a heart. But now they have a chance to make a mistake. If they don't cash the heart, they aren't going to get it. I can't imagine whey they wouldn't play a heart. But it doesn't hurt to try. They can't make a mistake if I don't give them the chance.

I play the ace of hearts--seven--eight. Now I play the diamond ace. East ruffs with the spade queen, and I pitch the jack of hearts. West pitches the five of hearts. There is no reason I can think of for East not to play a heart. But he doesn't. He plays the king of clubs. I ruff in dummy and cash the ten of diamonds, pitching my last heart. Making three.

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

The result is the same at the other table.

Table 1: +140
Table 2: -140

Result on Board 2: 0 imps
Total: +2 imps