Free Weekly Instant Tournament - September 8 - Board 6

Board 6
Opponents vulnerable

♠ A Q J 9 8 7 5  ♥ J 10 6  ♦ A J  ♣ A

I have eight and a half playing tricks in spades. One spade followed by three spades typically shows seven and a half or eight, so this hand is too good for that sequence. My plan is to open one spade and bid four spades over partner's putative one-notrump response.

I don't get to open, however. RHO opens with one heart in front of me. I bid one spade, LHO and partner pass, and RHO reopens with a double.

Since partner couldn't bid, I'm not worth four spades any more. So I ratchet it in a notch and bid three spades. This alerts partner to the fact that I'm not simply competing. I still think we might have a game. A simple two spades would not accomplish that.

LHO passes, and partner bids three notrump.

In general, when partner suggests three notrump and you have three cards in the opponent's suit, you should respect his decision. That is certainly true here. We are apt to run into heart ruffs in spades, so it looks safer to try for nine tricks in notrump. I pass, and RHO leads the three of clubs.

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

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

I appear to have made the right decision. In four spades, the opponents will start with two hearts and a ruff. I will then be unable to reach dummy for a spade finesse or to score the club king, so I will probably finish down two. In this contract, I should manage six spade tricks and two aces. I have good chances for a ninth trick. But even if I can't find one, I may get a decent result for going down only one.

Where might I find a ninth trick? The spade king could be singleton. Or the opponents might persist in clubs when they gain the lead. Or I might be able to establish a heart trick. If the opponents can take two diamonds before I establish a heart, I'll go down. But if West has both diamond honors or one honor doubleton, they can't do that. 

I win with dummy's club ace. East plays the deuce. It's unfortunate he has that card. If his lowest card were higher than my five, I would conceal the five. But there is no way I can make the deuce look high, so I don't bother to falsecard.

I cash the spade ace--deuce--three--four. Now queen of spades--king--six--club four. So East has king third of spades. Four spades has no chance. Unfortunately, I allowed West to pitch a club. One of my chances was that East would continue clubs. Now he isn't going to do that. I wonder if I should have led the queen of spades at trick two and not cashed the ace.

East shifts to the nine of hearts. I play low and West wins with the king. I brace myself for the diamond shift, but he cashes the heart king and plays another heart. I have the rest. Making four.

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

I don't know why East didn't find the diamond shift. How can ace and a third heart ever be right? Plus 430 is worth 100%. 

It's strange to get 100% for doing nothing but taking the obvious action at every turn. What did everyone else do?

Several players doubled one heart. From the fact that I didn't discuss an alternative to one spade, you can probably tell that call didn't even cross my mind. The idea of doubling because your hand is too good to overcall is an old-fashioned one. I'm surprised it's even still around.

If it were just old-fashioned, that wouldn't necessarily be bad. But the idea is also misguided. Doubles should suggest flexible hands. Hands with an independent suit don't qualify. If double followed by a new suit shows an independent suit, it restricts your ability to make sensible rebids after a double. Sometimes, after partner's advance, you want to make an exploratory bid in a new suit without suggesting that a singleton, or even two small, is sufficient support. 

Some bid an immediate four spades over four hearts. I've never understood the appeal of pre-empting with good hands. If four spades rated to be a good save if it went down, it might make sense to bid it. But that's not the case here. You have too much defense. You are probably entitled to a plus score, so you don't want to bid four spades unless it's making.

One player bid one spade, then passed over the double (hoping East would defend?). When East bid two clubs, he competed to two spades. Then, when West balanced with three clubs, he took the push to three spades. This sounds like an eBay auction. Not only does this sequence let the opponents exchange information, increasing the chance they will make the correct final decision, it also makes it sound to partner as if you are reluctantly being pushed. If you're happy to complete to three spades, why not just bid it over the double so partner knows you're serious? 

A few players had the same auction I did but corrected three notrump to four spades. I'm sure one can construct hands where four spades is a better spot than three notrump, but it isn't easy. Holding three hearts is a red flag in this auction.