Weekly Free Instant Tournament - Apr 8, 2022 - Board 7

Board 7
Both vulnerable

♠ A Q 9  ♥ A Q 3 2  ♦ A J 9 2  ♣ A 5

I open with two notrump, showing 20 to 21 HCP. Partner bids three clubs, Stayman. I bid three hearts, and partner bids three notrump. Everyone passes, and West least the diamond five.

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

West	North	East	South
Robot	Robot	Robot	Phillip
			2 NT
Pass	3 ♣	Pass	3 ♥
Pass	3 NT	(All pass)

I have six cashing tricks. Maybe seven if spades come home. Getting two more is going to be difficult. With only one dummy entry, I don't see much point in attacking clubs. Yes, someone might have king-queen tight, but that's a long shot. At IMPs I would go for it. But this is a normal contract, so at matchpoints I just want to take as many tricks as I can, and playing on hearts looks like the way to do that. If West has the heart jack, leading toward the ten will develop a trick. If that doesn't work, I have a heart finesse to fall back on.

I play a diamond from dummy, and East plays the king. Ducking this is unlikely to be productive. And winning the trick gives the opponents more work to do in running the diamond suit. I take the ace and lead the deuce of hearts. West hops with the jack, and East follows with the seven.

West shifts to the spade ten. That looks like ten doubleton, so spades aren't coming home unless I get some help from the defense. East plays the five. West is more apt to believe his partner has the queen than to believe he has the ace, so I win with the ace.

I have seven tricks once I drive the heart king. If West plays another spade at some point, that will give me an eighth trick, but I don't have the communication to cash it. Perhaps I can manage a stepping-stone squeeze. Let's say I play another heart. West wins with the king and plays another spade to my nine. I lead the diamond jack to West's queen, hoping this strips East of his last diamond. West returns a heart. Then I can cash my hearts, coming down to this position:

	NORTH Robot ♠ K 8 ♥ -- ♦ -- ♣ J 10 7
	SOUTH Phillip ♠ Q ♥ -- ♦ 9 2 ♣ A 5

East must hold two spades, so he is down to three clubs. Now I cash the spade queen and play ace and a club. If East has king-queen third, he must give dummy a spade trick at the end. If the club honors are split, I must hope West's last four cards are two diamonds and two clubs. If so, when he wins the club, he must give me a diamond trick. Either way, I score an eighth trick for down one. That should be a decent result, since I doubt anyone is going to make this. 

Back to the current position:

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

I play the three of hearts; West plays the eight. Too bad. I was hoping to lose this trick to West.

East wins with the heart king and plays the diamond four. West presumably has queen-ten-eight, so double-dummy it doesn't matter which card I play. What's the best way to get West to continue diamonds? He might expect his partner to lead the jack or nine if he had it. If so, he is placing me with both those cards and it would be a mistake to play low. I need West to believe I began with ace-jack-nine tight. If that's what I had, I would probably play the nine, thinking it more likely East held the ten then that he had falsecarded at trick one. So I play the nine.

West wins with the ten and cashes the queen. Hooray! I'm up to eight tricks. I pitch the club three from dummy; East pitches the club four. 

We have now reached this position:

	NORTH Robot ♠ K 8 7 ♥ -- ♦ -- ♣ J 10 7 6
	SOUTH Phillip ♠ Q 9 ♥ A Q ♦ J ♣ A 5

West shifts to the spade six. I play low from dummy and East plays the four. I got my spade continuation, but it doesn't help now. A throw-in doesn't do any good when you have only one loser. Maybe if I win with the queen, West will think I began with ace-queen doubleton and will throw a spade away. Unfortunately, I don't have a legitimate squeeze even if East has both club honors, since both threats are in front of him.

I win with the queen and cash the diamond jack. East pitches the club deuce. On the heart ace, he pitches the club eight. On the last heart, I have to come down to a stiff club in dummy. East pitches the spade deuce and I claim. Wow! I made this? My deception in the spade suit worked?

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

Oh, I see. I didn't stop to count the hand when East showed out in hearts. He actually was squeezed. His partner had a stiff club, so the five in my hand was a threat.

I was the only one to make three notrump, so I score another top. Most declarers played ace and a club, taking their long shot at making this. It's amusing that the declarers who desperately tried to make their contract went down, whereas I tried to hold it to down one and wound up making it. 

My average is 84%. I've been in first place all the way. One board to go.