Free Weekly Instant Tournament - March 15 - Board 6

Board 6
Opponents vulnerable

♠ A Q 2  ♥ A 9  ♦ K Q 5 3 2  ♣ A 8 2

One pass to me. I have 19 HCP, so I open with one diamond, intending to rebid two notrump to show 18 or 19. I know some will add a point for the five-card suit and open with two notrump. But I disapprove. I think upgrading to a two notrump opening is almost always a mistake.

The two-notrump opening is one of the weakest parts of standard bidding. If partner has a good hand and you belong in a minor-suit slam, it is very difficult to get there, since you can't even introduce your suit below the four-level. And if partner has a bad hand and passes two notrump, you are probably too high. The main reason for opening two notrump--that you may miss a game if you open at the one-level and partner passes--doesn't apply when you have only 19 HCP. So what's the point of upgrading? It serves no constructive purpose. 

True, it may serve a tactical purpose. Two notrump--three notrump gives nothing away. A slower auction may help the opponents on opening lead. 

It may also serve a pre-emptive purpose. Sometimes the opponents can actually make something or have a profitable save, and a two-notrump opening will shut them out of the auction. Still, I think the disadvantages outweigh the advantages. As a general rule, I don't go out of my way to open two notrump. It's an opening I try to avoid.

Over one diamond, partner responds one heart. I rebid two notrump as planned. Partner bids three spades, showing four-four in the majors. I bid three notrump and everyone passes. West leads the three of clubs.

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

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

I have three club tricks, probably four diamond tricks, and four tricks in the majors. Eleven tricks in all. If spades come home or if I can execute a major-suit squeeze, I have twelve.

I play the club ten from dummy. East plays the four. I suppose there is some chance East ducked with the queen if his hand is good enough to know his partner can't have the ace. But it's more likely the club queen is on my left. And, even though the robots like three-card leads against notrump, I doubt West would lead from queen third. So I'll make the tentative assumption that West has queen fourth. I play the eight, leaving open the possibility from East's perspective that the lead is from a five-card suit.

I lead the jack of diamonds from dummy--seven--deuce--eight. Now the ten of diamonds--four--three--six.

I don't want to give away the spade position, so I come to my hand with the club ace rather than a spade to continue diamonds. East plays the six; West, the five. Now king of diamonds--heart six--heart deuce--diamond ace. This is the position, with East on lead:

	NORTH Robot ♠ K 10 7 4 ♥ Q 10 4 ♦ -- ♣ K
	SOUTH Phillip ♠ A Q 2 ♥ A 9 ♦ Q 5 ♣ 2

The robots usually give count when discarding, so the heart six is probably high from a four-card suit. That makes West 3-4-2-4, in which case I'm making six. But it's possible the six isn't as high as it looks. If it's West's lowest heart, he could be 4-3-2-4 or 2-5-2-4. Is the latter really possible? Wouldn't West have led a heart with that pattern? Partner did bid the suit, so maybe not. I'll assume either shape is possible.

Let's consider 4-3-2-4 first. If that's what West has, the run of the diamond suit will probably clue me in and I can take a finesse in the end position. What if he's 2-5-2-4? If his doubleton spade is the jack, I'm making six. If it isn't, then my only chance is to squeeze East in the majors. Since the spade threat is in front of East, my heart threat must be behind him. That means I need East to have both the king and jack of hearts, making my nine a threat.

East shifts to the seven of clubs. West plays the queen and I win with dummy's king. Now that I know for sure West has the queen, I'm confident he started with four clubs. In most scenarios, the queen, the card West was presumed to hold, would be his correct play. In this case, his low club would have been a better choice. I'm more likely to question my presumption about the club queen than I am to believe West led a club from queen third.

I play a spade to the ace. East plays the three; West, the five. The robots do not give count when following suit, so I can draw no inference from their spade spots.

Now diamond queen--heart eight--heart four from dummy. East follows with his last diamond. I still don't know if the heart six was high or low. 

I cash the spade queen to save time if the jack falls. It doesn't. West plays the eight; East the nine.

Now the ace of hearts--five--ten--seven. So the six was high, which means West began with four hearts. If I've read the position correctly, West was 3-4-2-4 and this should be the layout:

	NORTH Robot ♠ K 10 ♥ Q ♦ -- ♣ --
WEST Robot ♠ x ♥ x ♦ -- ♣ 9		EAST Robot ♠ x ♥ x x ♦ -- ♣ --
	SOUTH Phillip ♠ 2 ♥ 9 ♦ 5 ♣ --

Could I be wrong? Let's recheck my assumptions. I suppose it's possible West did lead a club from queen third after all. If so, he holds two spades and a heart now. If that's the case, perhaps his heart is the king and he will be squeezed when I cash the last diamond. But if he pitches a low heart, I'm not finessing the spade. If I'm wrong about the club lead, I'll pay off.

I cash the diamond. West pitches the heart three. East removes all doubt by pitching the six of spades. I claim. Making six.

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

Plus 490 is worth 75%, which seems generous for what should be a flat board. Since jack third of spades is onside, there is no guess in the spade suit.

It turns out the two-notrump openers were punished. After a two-notrump opening and a Stayman auction, West doesn't find out about North's heart suit, so he has a natural heart lead, holding the contract to five.

Despite the fact that I don't approve of the two-notrump opening, this result does seem unfair. As I mentioned in the opening paragraphs, one possible gain in opening two notrump is that the auction will be less revealing. For the two-notrump opening to work out badly precisely because the auction is less revealing is cruel. But I'm not complaining. Sometimes the bridge gods work in mysterious ways.