Free Weekly Instant Tournament - May 26 - Board 6

Board 6
Opponents vulnerable

♠ Q 6 2  ♥ K 8 6  ♦ Q 2  ♣ A K J 9 7

RHO passes. I open with one notrump and partner raises to three. LHO leads the ten of spades.

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

West	North	East	South
Robot	Robot	Robot	Phillip
		Pass	1 NT
Pass	3 NT	(All pass)

My most promising source of tricks is the diamond suit. If I take the diamond finesse and it loses (and diamonds break), I have four diamonds, a spade, two hearts, and two clubs for nine tricks--unless the opponents can take five first. If the diamond finesse wins, I have eight top tricks. I can't decide on the best way to go after a ninth until I know more about the layout.

I play low from dummy and RHO wins with the king. The deuce and six are both lower than the ten, so I don't see that it matters which one I play. I choose the deuce. East cashes the spade ace. I want to win the next spade in my hand to take the diamond finesse, so I play the six. West follows with the four. East continues with the spade three to my queen, and West follows with the eight. He should have played the nine, the card he was known to hold. I now know he holds the thirteenth spade. That means if the diamond finesse loses, the opponents have no trick to cash, giving me a shot at ten tricks.

I play the diamond queen--nine--five--six. Now another diamond--seven--eight--three. The opponents aren't necessarily giving honest count. But if they are, diamonds are four-two. I see no reason for East to duck the second diamond, so West probably has king fourth. If so, how will I continue after cashing the diamond ace?

I could just concede a diamond and let West cash the long spade to make my contract. But it's tempting to take the club finesse instead. If it wins, I've made my contract and I have a chance to make five. Of course, if it loses, I'm down. West takes the club queen, the diamond king, and the long spade. Still, this is a contract everyone should be in. Since West has eight pointed-suit cards to East's five, the club queen is a favorite to be onside. So the matchpoint odds favor a club finesse.

But if I'm going to take the club finesse, why not take it now, while it's safer to do so? If I lose to the club queen now, I'm not necessarily down. I have nine tricks if the club ten drops. And if it doesn't, perhaps I have a double squeeze.

This will be the position after West wins the club queen and cashes the last spade.

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

If I were on lead in my hand, I could cash the ace and king of clubs, hoping to drop the ten. If West shows out, I can lead a heart to dummy's ace. This would then be the position:

	NORTH Robot ♠ -- ♥ 9 ♦ A J ♣ --
	SOUTH Phillip ♠ -- ♥ K 8 ♦ -- ♣ 9

To hold two diamonds, West must come down to a singleton heart, leaving East with the sole heart guard. The diamond ace now squeezes East in hearts and clubs.

Unfortunately, I'm not on lead when we reach the above position. West is. And a heart lead by him destroys the squeeze. For the double squeeze to work, I must cash the clubs first, squeezing West, then cash the diamond ace, squeezing East. A heart shift makes that sequence impossible. If I win in the dummy, I have no way to get back to the diamond ace. And if I win in my hand, I have no hand entry for the final squeeze against East.

Of course, West might not find a heart shift. If he leads a club, I don't even need a squeeze. If he does find a heart shift, I'll cash my winners then guess whether to try to drop the club ten or to finesse against it.

While taking the club finesse now isn't riskless, I would be quite unlucky to go down, and it gives me good chances for at least one overtrick. It is quite risky to take it later. So an immediate club finesse looks like the right play--provided I'm right that West has king doubleton of diamonds remaining. If I'm wrong and diamonds are three-three, then a losing finesse would hold me to three when I'm entitled to make four. 

How confident am I that West has king doubleton of diamonds? While the robots do sometimes falsecard when following suit, it's unlikely they are both falsecarding. And, even if they are, the club queen might be onside anyway. So I decide to take the club finesse. 

The finesses loses. West takes takes the queen and cashes the long spade. I pitch a heart from dummy and a club from my hand. East pitches the three of hearts. West doesn't find the heart shift. He leads a club into my ace-king-nine, and I claim. Making three.

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

Plus 400 is worth 86%. The reason this is such a good result is a number of declarers cashed the diamond ace at the critical juncture. Then, when the king failed to drop, they took the club finesse and went down. 

Once they had made the decision to cash the diamond ace, were they right to risk their contract with the club finesse? I had briefly considered the same play. I even said the finesse was odds-on.

The finesse is indeed odds on before you cash the diamond ace. But the odds change after you cash it, because East pitches the three of hearts. The robots sometimes falsecard when following suit. But they give count pretty reliably when discarding. So you can now be fairly sure East has five hearts, making clubs three-three. That makes the club finesse even money. And if you consider that East is a passed hand, it's actually worse than even money. East can't have the club queen and the queen-jack of hearts. So we must throw out some of the hands where he holds the club queen, making it a favorite to be held by West. So, once you have reached that position, the percentage play is to drive the diamond king and ensure nine tricks.

At my table, East might have dropped the heart queen instead of the three when West cashed the long spade. This would help West find the heart shift. Unfortunately for the defense, exposing that East has queen-jack-ten of hearts simply allows me to execute a different double-squeeze, with clubs as the double threat. I cash the hearts, ending in dummy, reaching this position:

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

West can hold at most two clubs, so when I cash the diamond ace, East is caught in a show-up squeeze. If he keeps a heart honor, I throw the heart eight and my clubs must be good. The only way for the defense to put me to a club guess is for West to find the heart shift on his own, retaining the possibility that he holds a heart guard.

Free Weekly Instant Tournament - May 19 - Board 5

Board 5
Our side vulnerable

♠ K J 10 9 3  ♥ A K Q 5  ♦ 9 2  ♣ 5 2

Partner opens with two diamonds and RHO passes. I frequently miss games opposite robot weak two bids, partly because they often have a hand that I would open with a one-bid. Could I have a game here? Possibly. Ace-king of diamonds and the spade queen may be enough for four spades if I can find some way to dispose of my fourth heart. But, if so, this will simply be another deal to add to my long list of missed games opposite robot weak two bids. I'm not going to go fishing for game when I need a maximum, a fit, and the right high cards. I pass.

LHO doubles and RHO bids two notrump, a puppet to three clubs. I pass and LHO bids three clubs, which is passed around to me.

At IMPs, passing is clear. If three clubs makes and three diamonds doesn't, or vice versa, it matters little what you do. Whether you are right or wrong, the IMPs swung will be small. The critical cases, where the stake are high, are: (1) both contracts make, in which case you must bid, or (2) both contracts go down, in which case you must pass. All you need to do is decide which of these two scenarios is more likely, which is usually an easy assessment to make. Here, it's fairly clear that (2) is more likely than (1), so it's right to pass. In general, simply competing to the three level when you have nine trumps and selling out when you have eight will achieve your objective without your having to think too hard.

At matchpoints, the decision is harder. If neither side is vulnerable (so that going down is unlikely to lose more than 100), it is right to bid even if only one of the two contracts is making. So you must judge the relative likelihood of these two scenarios: (1) At least one contract makes or (2) both contracts go down. Since this is a narrower distinction, the assessment is harder.

Partscore battles are my least favorite part of matchpoints. It feels to me as if much of the time you are simply guessing and there are a lot of matchpoints at stake. Since my judgment is geared toward IMPs, I know my instinct is to pass more than often than I should. But when I try to compensate for that fact, I sometimes overshoot. When I do compete and it turns out wrong, I feel stupid. Why didn't I just follow my instincts? I broke the "Law" and got what I deserved.

But there is no sense fretting. I have to make a decision, so I must do the best I can. Since we are vulnerable, I need to be a bit more conservative about competing. I must worry about going down two or down one doubled. But, since partner usually has quite good suits for his weak two-bids, neither seems likely. We rate to have five diamond tricks and three heart tricks, so we aren't apt to go down two. And I have enough high cards that I doubt the opponents will find a double.

So which of the two critical scenarios is more likely? It's certainly possible three diamonds is making. The queen of spades onside may be all I need. Or I might have six diamond tricks. It's also possible three clubs is making. It's not hard to see being unable to take more than one diamond and three tricks in the majors. So the parlay that both contracts go down seems like a poor bet. It's probably right to compete.

I bid three diamonds and buy it. RHO leads the four of spades.

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

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

Partner again has a hand I would have opened with one diamond. Twelve total points (10 HCP plus two for the six-card suit). Two and a half honor tricks. Five and a half playing tricks. However you choose to evaluate, this looks like an opening bid to me.

The spade four is the lowest outstanding spade. So spades are apparently three-three. West would have bid two hearts with four hearts, so East must have at least four of them. That means East is probably 3-4-2-4, 3-5-2-3, or 3-5-1-4.

I play the spade jack, East takes the queen. I know the four of spades is low, but East doesn't. So I play the seven to leave open the possibility the lead is from four-deuce.

East cashes the ace of clubs. That's good news. I'm off two spades and a club, and I have a variety of ways to dispose of the third club. If I can avoid two diamond losers, I've made this. My only problem is when West holds queen-jack fourth of diamonds.

I play the club three. West plays the eight. East cashes the spade ace, and West follows with the five. Now the club jack--king--four--five. We've reached this position:

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

Can I endplay West if he has queen-jack fourth of diamonds? I might as well start by cashing a high diamond. If East drops an honor, I have nothing to think about. I cash the diamond ace--six--deuce--four.

No honor dropped. Is an endplay possible? I will need to take two ruffs in my hand and come down to a three-card end position. Say I play heart to dummy, ruff a spade, heart to dummy, ruff a heart, then ruff a club in dummy, reaching this position:

	NORTH Phillip ♠ K 10 ♥ Q ♦ -- ♣ --
WEST Robot ♠ -- ♥ -- ♦ Q J 5 ♣ --
	SOUTH Robot ♠ -- ♥ -- ♦ K 10 8 ♣ --

Now I ruff something to my hand. West overruffs and is endplayed. To reach this ending, West must have three hearts, else he can simply overruff the third heart, exit, and wait for his second trump trick. Can he have three hearts and four diamonds? That would make him 3-3-4-3. But with that pattern, he would have bid two hearts over the double. So an endplay isn't possible.

I suppose I could have reached that same conclusion more quickly simply by noting that the endplay requires me to strip him of all his non-trump cards. There is no conceivable way to strip him of his fourth club, so even thinking about an endplay was a waste of time. I need diamonds to break.

I cash the diamond king. Everyone follows. Now I play a heart to the ace, pitch my last club on a spade, and claim nine tricks.

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

Plus 110 is worth 64%.

Once again I was wrong to go against my IMP-oriented instincts. If I pass, we go plus 150 for 86%. Admittedly that seems like a lot to hope for. My hearts all cash, I get a third-round spade trick, and partner has three tricks in top cards for his pre-empt. But if I take away one of West's major-suit losers, it could easily still be right to defend. If I make one of those losers a diamond, both three clubs and three diamonds go down. In fact, three diamonds goes down even if I make his spade loser a fifth club. The defense gets two spades, a club, and two spade ruffs.

Maybe it was against the odds to compete. Matchpoints is hard.

Free Weekly Instant Tournament - May 12 - Board 4

Board 4
Both sides vulnerable

♠ A 10 7  ♥ K J 8  ♦ A Q 6  ♣ J 10 9 3

One diamond--pass--one heart to me.

I am a big believer in playing one notrump in sandwich position as natural. With the unbid suits, doubling works just fine. Not having a second way to show that hand is no hardship. But not having a way to show a strong notrump can result in missed games. Nonetheless, a flat hand with scattered high cards is not the right hand for bidding one notrump. If the opponents can double, you are probably in big trouble. And, even if they can't, such hands tend to be better on defense than on offense, so bidding can easily result in a minus score when you are entitled to go plus. Those who insist on playing sandwich notrump overcalls for takeout may do so because they think bidding one notrump with hands like this one is the alternative.

It isn't. A natural sandwich one-notrump overcall should have a source of tricks. Let's move a the high cards around a bit:

♠ 10 7  ♥ K J 8  ♦ A 6  ♣ A Q J 10 9 3

Now one notrump is a standout. Partner might raise one notrump to three with a hand where he would pass a two club overcall. And if the opponents double one notrump, you have a spot to run to.

Since I'm not allowed to move my high cards around, I pass, LHO bids one spade, and RHO bids one notrump. I pass again, and RHO buys it for one notrump.

I don't like defending in these robot individuals. I find defending with a robot partner quite difficult. I don't mind so much that he neither signals nor pays attention to my signals. In fact, the robots' flat refusal to play suit preference signals I find quite comforting. The big issue I have is I can't draw inferences from partner's line of defense. Inferences like "Partner wouldn't leave me on play if his clubs were cashing. He would just overtake and cash them. The fact that he left me on play means he must need me to shift to a diamond" simply aren't valid. Partner doesn't even think about how to help me on defense. And he draws no such inferences about my defense either, so even when I know how we should defend, it's hard to get him to cooperate.

It's not clear to me why the field should be better at defending with robots than I am. But, for some reason, they are. My average score on defense is embarrassingly low. I'm actually surprised that's the case. In my experience, the average player relies more heavily on signaling than he should, so I should expect him to have an even harder time on defense than I do.

In any event, I have to find an opening lead. How aggressive should I be? Holding diamonds in front of dummy is bad, but holding hearts behind declarer is a plus. Since partner doesn't rate to have much, it's probably right to go passive.

The most passive lead is a club. But clubs is often declarer's longest suit on this auction, so a club lead may help him more than us. Still, nothing else appeals. Lowenthal might try a spectacular queen of diamonds, but I see no reason to be that desperate. I stick with the pedestrian club jack.

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

West	North	East	South
Phillip	Robot	Robot	Robot
	1 ♦	Pass	1 ♥
Pass	1 ♠	Pass	1 NT
(All pass)

Declarer has at least 6 HCP. Dummy has 14 and I have 15, so that leaves partner with at most 5. Declarer has four or five hearts and at most three spades. Other than that, I don't know much about the layout. The first trick proceeds ace--deuce--four. I said partner doesn't signal, but I believe this is one of the few situations where he would. With queen third of clubs behind the ace-king, I believe he would play high. So either declarer has the club queen or partner has queen doubleton.

Declarer plays the three of spades--deuce--queen. If declarer has the spade king, I'd prefer to duck. Declarer has one spade entry to his hand, and I would just as soon he use it now. When I see what declarer does at trick three, I will have a better idea of the layout, so I might have a better idea how to defend once I do take the spade ace  Furthermore, ducking keeps declarer in the dark about the lie of the spade suit. If he thinks it is possible for partner to have ace doubleton, he may wish to lead a second spade from dummy, a play that would be unnecessary if I win this trick.

But how confident am I that declarer has the king? Normally I wouldn't expect declarer's first play to be attacking a weak suit. But he is missing the ace-queen of diamonds and the king-jack of hearts. So neither of those suits looks promising. Playing a spade to queen third or even queen doubleton may well look like his best play. If so, ducking may not cost a trick in the spade suit, but it does give declarer a hand entry. Since he needs hand entries to lead diamonds--and possibly to lead toward the heart queen--giving him a hand entry he's not entitled to would be a mistake.

Perhaps it's wrong, but I'm going to win this trick. Before I do, however, I might as well decide what I'm going to do next. Deciding on your continuation before winning the trick is clearly a good idea against a robot, who will draw no inference from your tempo. But it's a good idea in a face-to-face game as well. If you are going to duck, you are better off ducking smoothly. But f you are going to win, there is nothing to be gained by winning smoothly. So there is no reason for me to take the ace until I know what I am going to do next. After reflection, I may decide it's better to duck after all. While I no longer have the option of ducking deceptively, it may still be right to duck for technical reasons.

If I do win, I can't see doing anything but playing another club. But which club? If partner began with queen doubleton, I want to lead low to establish my two club tricks. Leading low might also be necessary if partner has eight doubleton. If I lead the ten, declarer will win in dummy and will now have a tenace over me, so I won't be able to lead the suit again. Since I have a number of unplayable suits already, I don't want to create another one. 

Could leading low cost? It might cost if declarer has queen-eight fourth or fifth. But even then the extra trick might be immaterial. Once we take whatever top tricks we have coming to us, declarer may have tricks to burn. Furthermore, he might not even take the trick if I give it to him. He might think I have jack-ten third and decide to win in dummy to avoid blocking the suit.

I take the spade ace and shift to the three of clubs. Declarer rises with dummy's king. Partner plays the eight; declarer, the seven. If my assumption that partner would encourage with queen third is correct, declarer has the queen. The spade king and the heart ace would bring declarer up to 11 HCP, so partner should have one of those card.

Declarer plays the five of spades from dummy--six--king--seven. Partner appears to have the heart ace. If he has ace-ten-nine fourth, we have four heart tricks. If he doesn't, we have three. But to to take four heart tricks, I would need to unblock the jack, which would be a mistake if declarer has the ten. So I'm not sure what to do in the heart suit.

We've reached this position, with the lead in declarer's hand:

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

Declarer leads the deuce of diamonds. Should I hop with the ace and cash hearts? Even if we do have the whole heart suit, that still gives us only six tricks. Declarer has three clubs and three spades, so ducking and letting him score a diamond trick can't cost. Since I don't know whether to unblock the heart jack or not, I might as well duck. I play the six, declarer rises with the king, and partner plays the five.

Good. Now we have two diamond tricks, so three hearts tricks will suffice to hold declarer to his contract. Declarer can take his two spades and the club queen, and we have the rest. 

Or do we? When declarer cashes two spades, what do I pitch? If declarer began with four clubs, I can't afford a club pitch, so I have to pitch a heart. Now we can cash only two heart tricks if declarer has the ten. But that's OK. When I gain the lead, I can play the club ten, establishing a club for our sixth trick. Had I exited with the club ten instead of a low one at trick three, I wouldn't be able to do that. While I didn't foresee this exact position, I did see that I would be rendering the club suit unplayable if I exited with the club ten. So I deserve partial credit for getting trick three right.

It turns out not to matter. Declarer plays a club to the queen himself, and partner follows. Clubs were three-three all along, so my play at trick three made no difference. We take our six tricks and hold declarer to one notrump.

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

Minus 90 is worth 71%, well above my average score when defending. A few defenders did get tangled up and dropped a trick on defense. But most of the matchpoints came from refraining from the ill-advised one-notrump overcall, which went down anywhere from one to three. 

Free Weekly Instant Tournament - May 5 - Board 3

Board 3
Opponents vulnerable

♠ A 4 3  ♥ A 8 7  ♦ K J  ♣ K J 9 7 5

I open with one notrump in first seat. Partner bids two spades, minor-suit Stayman, showing a game force with at least four cards in each minor.

Partner might have slam interest, but he doesn't promise it. With a major-suit singleton, he can bid two spades then show his shortness to search for the best game. So he could easily have a minimum game force. He might even be stretching a little. If he is interested in slam, I have a terrific hand for him: aces in the majors, secondary honors in both of his suits, six controls (a strong notrump typically has five), and a fifth club. Some hand such as

♠ K x x  ♥ x  ♦ Q x x x x  ♣ A Q x x

is all he needs for slam to be virtually cold.

I bid three clubs, and partner bids three notrump. This continuation should show at least mild slam interest. Without a singleton, there is no reason to explore for a minor-suit fit with a minimum game force. You would simply bid three notrump with such a hand.

I could cue-bid four hearts, but I don't see the point. If partner has any slam interest at all I have a clear acceptance, so I might as well just bid six clubs.

I do so. Everyone passes, and LHO leads the heart ten.

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

West	North	East	South
Robot	Robot	Robot	Phillip
			1 NT
Pass	2 ♠	Pass	3 ♣
Pass	3 NT	Pass	6 ♣
(All pass)

I agree with partner's decision to treat his hand as balanced. If he shows a heart singleton, I will be more worried about the heart situation than I should be. There is a big difference between a singleton king and and a singleton deuce. Frankly, however, I don't care for his two spade bid. I would raise one notrump to three. But who am I to complain? Slam is excellent. So I'm glad partner held that hand instead of me.

I play the heart king, and East follows with the deuce.

My only problem is a three-zero trump split. If someone has a club void, who is it apt to be? There are some hands that include a club void that might entice West to bid over one trump. There are fewer such hands that would entice East to bid at the three-level. So East is likelier to have a void than West. That means I should start clubs by cashing the king. I lead the ten from dummy. East plays the six, I play the king, and West follows with the three.

I've made my contract. Is there any way to make seven? Suppose I lead a diamond from dummy, East ducks, and I score my king. Is there a squeeze? No. To come to twelve tricks without touching diamonds again, I need to ruff both my minor-suit losers in dummy. And if I do that, I'm out of threats.

Is it possible I can get East to duck the diamond ace twice? Actually, he might. How I would I play this hand if I had king third of diamonds? My legitimate line would be do play someone for ace doubleton: lead toward one honor, then try to duck out the ace. But I can give myself an extra chance by leading toward the king, then returning to dummy to lead a low diamond. This works just fine if East has a doubleton ace, But it also give him a chance to make a mistake and hop on the second round. So it is certainly plausible for East to duck both diamonds, playing me for king third. Since East has no chance to beat this contract by hopping with the ace, this ploy would almost certainly work at IMPs. 

I play a club to dummy's ace, picking up West's queen. East plays the spade deuce. Now diamond six--deuce--king--five. How should I return to dummy? I want East to think I have three diamonds and a doubleton major. That doubleton is most likely in spades, so it's best to avoid leading spades, thus depriving West a chance to play a count card. 

Yes, this is pretty thin logic. If East were going to trust his partner to give count in spades, why not just trust him to give count in diamonds? But I need some reason for leading one suit rather than the other, and this is the only reason I can think. 

(I once phoned Alan Truscott and caught him in the middle of shaving. He was delighted. "For years," he said, "I've been shaving the left side of my face first so my left ear will be free in case I'm interrupted with a phone call. Finally, it paid off.")

I ruff a heart to dummy. Now another diamond. East plays the four! Did this actually work? No. West takes my jack with the ace. Making six.

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

West ducked the ace on the first round of diamonds? I'm surprised. I don't see how the duck ever gains. Apparently he was confident enough it wouldn't cost that he felt it was safe to toy with me.

Plus 920 is worth 100%. Everyone else who had this auction passed three notrump. Considering slam was excellent and partner arguably didn't even have his bid, passing three notrump strikes me as a misjudgment.