Free Weekly Instant Tournament - December 23 - Board 2

Board 2
Our side vulnerable

♠ A 9 4 3 2  ♥ Q 3  ♦ 10 3  ♣ A J 5 3

RHO opens with two hearts. One generally needs at least an opening bid to overcall a weak two-bid. While some would consider this hand an opening bid, it certainly doesn't qualify once you devalue the heart queen. It could be right to overcall anyway. I have the spade suit and heart shortness, both of which argue for being aggressive. But it still feels too thin for me, especially at this vulnerability. At matchpoints, the vulnerable game bonus doesn't compensate for the danger of going minus 200.

I pass, LHO passes, and partner balances with two spades.

Despite my five-card support, this hand, with eight losers, is worth only a strong invitation. In a competitive auction, it's OK to overbid with a ten-card fit, since, if you go down, it is likely the opponents could make something. But on this deal the opponents have shown no interest in bidding past the two-level, so going down at the four level is unlikely to be a good result. I'll simply show my limit raise by bidding three hearts.

Over three hearts, partner bids four spades and buys it. RHO leads the diamond ace.

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

West	North	East	South
Robot	Phillip	Robot	Robot
2 ♥	Pass	Pass	2 ♠
Pass	3 ♥	Pass	4 ♠
(All pass)

If partner accepts an invitation with that hand, I was right only to invite. The five-card heart suit is a serious liability, since it gives him a lot of losers to dispose of. If I had only three-card spade support, he would need me to have quite a good hand to have any chance of making this. Even with four spades, I would need good trump spots to avoid overruffs. I would have settled for three spades with partner's hand.

I'm off three fast tricks and a heart ruff, so I can't make this against best defense. But the fact that East is void in hearts may prove fortunate. If West continues diamonds at trick two, East loses his ruff, since he doesn't have a stiff heart to shift to.

East foolishly encourages with the diamond nine. Which card is more likely to induce West to continue diamonds? The five or the queen? If I play the queen, West may worry I have a singleton. If I play the five, he can be fairly sure I have another diamond, since his partner, with king-queen-jack, would play the king rather than the nine if he wished to encourage. In addition, I need to make sure East wins the next diamond trick. If I play the queen, East may be able to underplay West's spot at trick two.

Accordingly, I play the five. West, sadly, ignores his partner's signal and shifts to the heart ace. East pitches the club four, gets his heart ruff, and cashes the diamond king. I take the rest for down one.

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

An eight-one diamond split! West had no diamond to continue, so I had no chance to make this. Obviously East should have discouraged at trick one, since, if his partner had the thirteenth diamond, East certainly didn't want him to play it. East signaled with blinders on, looking only at his diamond holding rather than at the entire hand. He was lucky not to be punished. 

Some might play the diamond jack at trick one as an alarm-clock signal to suggest a void somewhere. I don't think that's the right use of the alarm-clock signal. The alarm-clock doesn't necessarily suggest a void. It says, "I don't want a continuation. But if I discourage, you will shift to the wrong suit. Please lead the other one." In this case, the natural shift is to a heart, not to dummy's source of tricks. So "the other one" is clubs. Perhaps you have the king-queen of clubs and can see an endplay coming if you don't get a club shift.

Minus 100 is worth only 25%. Plus 140 would not have been much better, scoring 43%. To get a good board, I have to overcall with two spades. We make game from my side unless East leads a diamond, and the club king is his normal lead. Over half the field did overcall. It's possible my judgment is wrong and overcalling is the percentage action. But if so, this deal is not evidence of that fact. The reason the overcall worked was rather random, having nothing to do with the merits of the bid.