Free Weekly Instant Tournament - July 25 - Board 4

Board 4
Both sides vulnerable

♠ K J 3 2  ♥ --  ♦ A 7 2  ♣ A K Q 8 4 2

LHO opens with one notrump, partner passes, and RHO bids two clubs, Stayman. I don't need much to make a game. Queen fifth of spades and out is probably enough. I'll start by doubling two clubs. Then, hopefully, I can make a take-out double of hearts on the next round. I could bid three clubs, but that might end the auction. If I want to make sure I get a chance to make a take-out double of hearts, it's better to double.

I double, LHO bids two hearts, and RHO raises to four. That's higher than I was hoping the auction would be at this point. There are only 23 HCP missing, and the opponents have bid game. So it's not likely partner has the queen of spades. But I might not even need it. Maybe I can hold my losers to two spades and a diamond. In any event, I can't see staying quiet with a four-loser hand. I double, and everyone passes. Partner leads the six of diamonds.

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

West	North	East	South
Robot	Robot	Phillip	Robot
			1 NT
Pass	2 ♣	Double	2 ♥
Pass	4 ♥	Double	(All pass)

Dummy has 8 HCP and declarer has 15, so partner has zero. Since he knows I have a primary club suit, he has a safe spot to pull the double. With no high cards, I doubt he would pass without five hearts.

We have three top tricks. Since partner led a diamond rather than my suit, it's likely he has a stiff diamond. If so, we can take two diamond ruffs for down two.

I win the ace of diamonds and declarer follows with the four. That's an additional clue that the lead is a singleton. With KQ4, it would be normal to unblock an honor. That's two clues the lead was a singleton, but I'm still not 100% sure.

I see no reason not to cash a club before giving partner a ruff. This will confirm my entry is in the club suit. I certainly don't want partner to ruff and try to put me in with the ace of spades. Robots don't play suit preference, so I can't signal my entry by leading a low diamond for him to ruff. Also, cashing a club will give partner a chance to confirm whether his lead was a singleton.

I cash the queen of clubs--six--five--three. Partner's five should be attitude. A discouraging club confirms the lead was a singleton; an encouraging club says it wasn't. I think most players would signal attitude here, since the alternative to giving partner a diamond ruff is cashing another club. If the alternative were shifting, however, some might have other ideas.

Take this deal from an article I wrote for The Bridge World years ago:

	NORTH ♠ K J 7 4 ♥ J 10 6 4 2 ♦ 8 ♣ J 6 5
WEST ♠ 9 ♥ K Q 9 8 5 2 ♦ J 4 ♣ A 7 4 2

West	North	East	South
1 ♥	Pass	1 ♠	5 ♦
Pass	Pass	Double	(All pass)

You lead a spade. Partner wins with the ace and cashes the ace of hearts. Both you and partner know that a heart continuation makes no sense. Even if partner had another heart to play, a second heart can't be cashing. So partner has two possible defenses: give you spade ruff or shift to a club.

Since partner must shift, I suspect many would play suit preference: High to suggest a spade ruff; low to suggest a club shift. I think that's a serious error. If you lead a possible singleton and partner wins and cashes a side winner, I believe your signal should always be attitude. Discouraging says, "No, you fool. That was a singleton." Encouraging says, "Yep. You got it right. I'm not ruffing. Try something else."

If your signal depends on what that "something else" is--attitude if it's continuing the suit, suit preference if it's shifting-- then you are setting yourself up for an accident. Yes, in this example, it's clear to both sides that "something else" is a club shift. But that won't always be the case. Sooner or later, you'll have a deal where the alternative to giving you a ruff isn't clear.

The point is: What possible gain is there from sometimes playing low to show your lead was a singleton and sometimes playing high to show the same thing? If low (or high if playing upside-down) always says your lead was a singleton, then you can't have an accident.

Let's change problem a bit.

	NORTH ♠ K J 7 4 ♥ J 6 4 2 ♦ 8 ♣ J 6 5 3
WEST ♠ 9 2 ♥ K Q 9 8 5 2 ♦ J 4 ♣ A Q 4

Again, you lead a spade to partner's ace and partner cashes the heart ace. Now how should you signal?

If partner has another heart, he has three possible defenses: Play a spade for you to ruff, play another heart, or shift to a club. I don't know how the Suit-Preference Guild would signal. But I do know how I would. A discouraging heart--as always--shows your lead was a singleton and requests a ruff. An encouraging heart (the nine if playing standard; the deuce if playing upside-down) says it isn't. Since partner doesn't know you have six hearts, he will probably continue hearts if you encourage.

In this case, however, you want a club shift. How do you get it? Via an alarm-clock signal. Play the heart queen. This, in theory, denies the king (more accurately, it denies a cashing king). And it denies a stiff spade, since you would simply discourage if you had one. So partner will shift to a club by elimination. 

Of course, this discussion is moot playing with robots. My robot partner isn't signaling at all. He's just playing a random card. So it's up to me to figure out what to do.

If the diamond lead was a singleton, we beat this contract two if I return a diamond now. If I cash another club, partner's fifth heart will be the setting trick, so we still beat it one.

If the diamond lead was a doubleton, I might lose my club trick and let declarer make if I return a diamond now. So perhaps I should cash another club just to make sure we beat it. Is that a realistic concern?

Let's give declarer something like

♠ A Q 10  ♥ Q J x x  ♦ K Q x  ♣ J x x

If I play a diamond, declarer wins, plays a heart to the ace and a spade to the ten. Now a heart to the king, a spade to the queen, and the ace of spades, pitching a club. Next, declarer ruffs a club in dummy, reaching this position:

	NORTH Robot ♠ -- ♥ 8 ♦ J 10 9 ♣ --
WEST Robot ♠ x  ♥ x x x ♦ -- ♣ --		EAST Phillip ♠ K ♥ -- ♦ 7 ♣ A K
	SOUTH Robot ♠ -- ♥ Q J ♦ K ♣ J

If he draws trump, he loses the last two tricks. If he plays a diamond, partner ruffs and plays a trump. He's down one either way.

So the diamond return doesn't risk the contract. I might as well go for it. I shift to the deuce of diamonds. Partner ruffs, plays a club to me, and I give him another ruff. Down two.

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

Plus 500 is worth 100%. That's my 3rd 100% board in this set. And the double wasn't even necessary. No one else beat it two, so plus 200 would have been just as good.

I'm sure partner wasn't happy having to decide what to do over the double. But as long he pulls to five clubs rather than four spades, we would probably survive. North has to find an inspired spade lead to beat it.

Free Weekly Instant Tournament - July 25 - Board 3

Board 3
Opponents vulnerable

♠ A K J 10 9  ♥ A  ♦ A 6 5 4  ♣ 4 3 2

I bid one spade. LHO overcalls with two clubs, partner passes, and RHO bids two hearts. I double for take-out, partner bids two spades, and East passes. I have a good hand. Should I make a game try?

Here is the auction so far:

West	North	East	South
Robot	Robot	Robot	Phillip
			1 ♠
2 ♣	Pass	2 ♥	Double
Pass	2 ♠	Pass	?

What would I have done had partner raised to two spades voluntarily? I have six losers, But I have three aces and no queens, so I should treat the hand as five losers. And five losers is worth driving to game opposite a single raise. On the other hand, my three small clubs is troublesome. RHO didn't raise clubs, so partner may have three clubs as well. Even if partner has a doubleton, East could be overruffing dummy. If we lose the first three tricks, taking ten will be an uphill battle. It's probably right to be cautious and merely invite.

If my hand is worth only an invitation after a voluntary raise and partner's hand is worse than that, then I'm not worth an invitation now. I pass. LHO passes as well and leads the deuce of spades.

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

West	North	East	South
Robot	Robot	Robot	Phillip
			1 ♠
2 ♣	Pass	2 ♥	Double
Pass	2 ♠	(All pass)

See? Three small clubs in dummy. We are quite high enough.

I play a low spade from dummy and East plays the queen. He would have ducked with queen fourth, so West has at least one more spade. What else do I know? Assuming West would have led a club from ace-king or king-queen, then East must have the king of clubs. 

What else? The trump lead is strange. Why not a heart? Presumably West would have raised hearts with three and would have led a singleton. So he must have a doubleton. Any doubleton other than jack doubleton would be an attractive lead. Wait. Maybe not. He knows I'm short in hearts from my take-out double, so he expects four hearts in dummy. I've changed my mind. Hearts isn't an attractive lead from any doubleton.

If diamonds are three-three, I can take five spades, a heart, and two diamonds to make this. If not, I need to ruff a diamond in dummy. I'll need to duck two diamonds, and the defense will be able to play two more trumps. So I can't manage a diamond ruff against best defense.

Is there another chance? What if West is 2-2-4-5 with king-queen of diamonds? Then I can lead up to the jack of diamonds twice.

I don't see any reason not to play a diamond right away. I can't think of a likely construction where someone has a singleton diamond. I lead the four of diamonds. West plays the queen; East, the deuce.

West continues with the seven of diamonds. It probably doesn't matter what I play from dummy. But I doubt West led a diamond from the king, so I play low. East plays the ten and I take my ace.

Dummy's eight of spades is high, so I can play another diamond and ruff the fourth round high if necessary. I play the five of diamonds--nine--jack--king. Diamonds were three-three, which is not a surprise. If they weren't, West probably would have continued trumps at trick three.

East shifts to the deuce of hearts. I take the ace, and West follows with the three. Everyone follows to the second round of trumps. We are down to this position with a trump still outstanding:

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

I could just draw the last trump and concede three club tricks. But the longer I keep the ball in play, the more chances the opponents have to drop it. It can't hurt to play my last diamond and pitch a club from dummy. That lets them ruff my diamond winner, but I get the trick back by ruffing a club in dummy.

I lead my diamond. West discards the six of clubs. I pitch the five of clubs from dummy. East pitches the five of hearts. No one wanted to ruff my diamond. Will they let me score a club ruff now for an overtrick? I play the deuce of clubs--jack--nine--eight. East exits with the king of hearts, which I ruff.

I decided at trick one that East has the king of clubs, so this must be the position:

	NORTH Robot ♠ 8 ♥ Q 10 ♦ -- ♣ 10
WEST Robot ♠ x ♥ -- ♦ -- ♣ A Q x		EAST Robot ♠ -- ♥ J x x ♦ -- ♣ K
	SOUTH Phillip ♠ J 10 ♥ -- ♦ -- ♣ 4 3

If I lead a club, West must find a crocodile coup, rising with the ace to lead the last trump. If he plays the queen, his partner will win with the king and won't have a trump to lead. So I'll cross-ruff the last three tricks. The crocodile coup isn't a sure thing. Rising with the ace is wrong if I have the club king instead of East.

I play the three of clubs. West gets it right. He rises with the club ace and plays a spade. Making two.

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

Plus 110 is worth 71%. Some Souths overbid and reached three spades.

This deal illustrates a common mistake robots make, which is a natural consequence of their algorithm. At the point West exited with the heart king, he should have played a trump. This would guarantee holding me to eight tricks whatever I held. When he didn't do that, he forced himself to guess who had the club king in the end position. True, it's not a hard guess. I would have bid more if I had it. But there is no upside to putting himself in that position.

The problem is, West didn't see the downside either. Robots search for the best play assuming double-dummy play by both sides thereafter. Double-dummy, it makes no difference whether West exits with a heart or a trump, so he saw no reason to prefer one play over the other.

My favorite example of this flaw is a deal where my robot opponent went down in seven notrump with thirteen top tricks. I led dummy's void, and declarer saw no reason not to pitch a winner from dummy. That meant he now had only twelve top tricks. But, double dummy, he could always take thirteen, because he could finesse either defender for the queen of clubs.

Free Weekly Instant Tournament - July 25 - Board 2

Board 2
Our side vulnerable

♠ Q 9 7 5 4 3  ♥ A K 6  ♦ Q 7  ♣ Q 5

RHO bids one club. I overcall with one spade, and LHO raises to three clubs, pre-emptive. Partner bids three hearts, and I go on to four. RHO leads the jack of hearts.

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

West	North	East	South
Robot	Phillip	Robot	Robot
1 ♣	1 ♠	3 ♣	3 ♥
Pass	4 ♥	(All pass)

Not quite the hand I was expecting. If three hearts was non-forcing, partner should have a better heart suit. If it was forcing (as I presume most would play it), partner should have a better hand, especially given he has a singleton in my suit. A responsive double seems more to the point. Although I doubt we'd get to game after that. So I can hardly complain if we make this.

We're missing 17 HCP. Since West didn't lead a high club, East rates to have either the ace or king of clubs. If he has another king, that leaves West with at most 11 HCP. Since West appears to be balanced, he must have at least 12. So West should have both the spade and diamond kings.

What else do I know? East holds at least five clubs for his three-club bid, so West holds three or four. Since the robots open one diamond with four-four in the minors, West can't hold four diamonds. Either diamonds are three-three or West holds king doubleton. 

OK. I have a provisional construction. What are my prospects? I have to lose two clubs and a diamond, so I can't afford another loser. I need trumps to break and I need to avoid a diamond loser. 

Two basic plans are possible. I can try to set up spades or I can try to set up diamonds. To set up spades, I need the king of spades to be doubleton or third. I already know I can set up diamonds, provided I can manage to ruff one safely. That seems like the better plan unless it presents difficulties.

Does it? I can't afford to ruff a diamond with an honor. So I must rise with the ace or king on this trick to preserve a low trump to ruff with. Then I play a spade to my ace and a diamond up. West hops with ace. The defense cashes two clubs and plays another trump. I must win in dummy with the other honor. Now I ruff a spade to my hand and play a diamond. If West was three-two in the red suits, he can ruff high in front of dummy to score the setting trick.

Note the defense has to cash two clubs before leading the second trump for this to work. If they don't, I can pitch a club from dummy when West ruffs in, then later score a club ruff. They might not find this defense, so I might survive on this line even if West is three-two in the red suits.

How about setting up spades? I'll need lots of dummy entries, so I must start by winning this trick in my hand with the queen. Now ace of spades, heart to dummy, spade ruff, heart to dummy spade ruff. If the king of spades has ruffed out, dummy's spades are good. But so what? I have no way to get there. I've drawn three rounds of trump and ruffed twice, so I'm out of trump. If I lead toward the diamond queen, West hops and cashes oodles of club tricks.

Setting up spades doesn't work, so I have to set up diamonds. If West is three-two in the red suits, let's hope they misdefend.

I rise with the heart ace. East plays the heart nine. Interesting. The ten is the only heart out higher than my spots. That may solve my problem in the trump suit.

I play a spade--deuce--ace--six. Now a diamond. West hops with the king, and East follows with the four.

West shifts to the three of hearts. This is the current position, with dummy to play:

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

I was intending to rise with the king, saving the low heart to ruff with. But, since the ten is the only high heart left, there is no longer any reason to do that. I can duck the heart to my hand. If East plays the ten, all my hearts are high. If he doesn't, I win the heart cheaply. Now I can ruff a diamond with the king and still have the queen in my hand to draw the last trump. 

I play the six of hearts from dummy. East discards the four of clubs. Oops. West began with four hearts. That changes things.

If diamonds are three-three, I'm still OK. West kindly gave me the contract by picking up the heart suit for me. But what if they aren't? I can't ruff out the diamonds without setting up a trump trick. So I might as well just concede a diamond, losing two diamonds and two clubs for down one.

Will that work? Let's say I draw the third round of trumps, cash the diamond queen, and ruff a spade to my hand. There is one trump outstanding. This will be the position, with the lead in my hand:

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

No, it doesn't work. I'm tapped out. If I draw the last trump, cash the diamond ace, and diamonds don't split, I lose the last four tricks for down two.

Perhaps I can hold it to down one if West is 3-4-2-4. In that case, I can ruff out the spade king for an extra trick.

Let's see if that works. Say I win the heart six in dummy, ruff a spade, play a diamond to the queen, and ruff another spade, dropping the king. Now we're down to this position, with the lead in my hand:

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

Dummy's spades are good, but I can't use them. I don't see any way to take more than two tricks. I still lose four tricks at the end for down two. I might has well just draw trump and hope diamonds are three-three.

I cash the king of hearts and the diamond queen and ruff a spade to my hand. Now I draw the last trump and cash the diamond ace. Diamonds split, so I make my game. Nice three-heart bid, partner. 

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

Plus 620 is worth 100%. But 170 would have been worth 100% as well. As is often the case at matchpoints, you don't need to bid a game. You just need to make it.

Why did no one else take ten tricks? Apparently everyone had the same blind spot. When West continued hearts at trick four, everyone rose with the king. I don't know if they didn't notice that East played the heart nine at trick one or they didn't see that there was nothing to be gained by rising.

Anyway, that's two 100% boards to start the event. It's going to be all downhill from here.

Free Weekly Instant Tournament - July 25 - Board 1

Board 1
Neither side vulnerable

♠ A Q 2  ♥ A K 10 9 5 3  ♦ J  ♣ K J 3

Two passes to me. I open with one heart and partner raises to two hearts. I have a clear drive to game. What do I need for slam to be cold? King of spades, queen of hearts, ace doubleton of clubs? That's well more than a perfect minimum, so I don't have a slam invitation. That means I shouldn't bother with a four-diamond splinter. I should simply bid four hearts.

Before I get a chance to act, however, RHO doubles. Once the auction becomes competitive after a single raise, priorities change. If you have a game drive, your primary responsibility is to help with a five-level decision should the opponents save. With that in mind, I don't think four diamonds should be a splinter after the double. A more useful treatment is to play that it shows game values with a second suit. When you hold a two-suiter, whether partner fits your second suit is a huge factor in determining your offense-to-defense ratio.

In this case, I'm not worried about a five-level save. RHO is a passed hand, and LHO couldn't bid over one heart. Plus, I have quite a good hand for defense. I probably have only one heart trick, since RHO is unlikely to have made a passed-hand double without a stiff heart. But I have four high cards sitting behind the doubler. So they could be in trouble even at the three level. If LHO bids three diamonds, as seems likely, I might have him down in my own hand. If partner happens to have a diamond stack, this could be brutal.

I can always bid four hearts later. Should I try to penalize the opponents first? I could redouble. But I think redouble encourages partner to double three diamonds more frequently than I want him to. We need to collect 500 to compensate for our game, so I don't want to defend unless he has a genuine diamond stack. After redouble, I think partner would be perfectly justified in doubling on honor third.

Suppose I pass, then balance with a double when LHO bids three diamonds? What does that auction mean?

I can't imagine a hand where I would want this double to be for penalties. How can I have a good enough hand in high cards plus good enough diamonds to double unilaterally? With such a hand, I wouldn't pass RHO's double. I would either make a game try or, if I were determined to try to penalize them, I would redouble to bring partner into the picture--just in case they don't happen to land in my best side suit.

If it's not a penalty double, the logical meaning of a balancing double is that I'm interested in competing to three hearts. If I were sure I wanted to compete (with a minimum and a sixth heart, for example), I would have bid three hearts directly over the double to pre-empt LHO. So the presumption is I'm not sure. I have a mixture of defense and offense.

I don't think any balanced hand would qualify. If I have a balanced hand without enough strength either to redouble or to invite game, I would have no interest in bidding on. So my hand must be unbalanced. And my short suit must be diamonds, otherwise I would be happy to defend.

In other words, the hand this sequence logically suggests is some 4-5-1-3 or 3-5-1-4 where I would have been willing to defend had LHO bid a black suit but want to compete after they've settled in my shortness. This is how the auction is defined in my notes. Partner is expected pull to three hearts most of the time. But doubling gives him the chance to overrule me if I catch him with a diamond stack. 

It's unusual to hold six hearts for this sequence. But I still think it's right. The fact that I have such good defense compensates for the sixth heart. If partner passes, we rate to take a lot of tricks. Unless, of course, partner thinks this is a penalty double.

I'm not sure how they robots play this auction. But they, like most humans, play fewer penalty doubles than I do. If I think this is a take-out double, the robots probably do as well.

In any event, I don't have to guess what they think. I can find out. I can pass, then, after three diamonds--pass--pass, I can check the tooltip. If partner thinks double is for take-out, I double, then raise to game if he pulls. If he thinks it's for penalties, I bid four hearts. Sometimes there are perks to robot bridge. I couldn't risk this auction undiscussed with a human partner.

I pass, LHO bids three diamonds, and partner passes. Partner should compete on virtually any hand with four-card support, so he probably has only three hearts. RHO passes as well. Now I check the tooltip. It says double shows "2+ diamonds, 5+ hearts, 11-21 HCP."

So partner doesn't think it shows shortness. On the other hand, he doesn't think it shows a diamond stack either. It doesn't show much of anything. It sounds like one of those dreaded do-something-intelligent-partner doubles. That's not what I was hoping for, but it may suffice. If partner thinks I might double with 11 HCP and a doubleton diamond, I doubt we'll do too badly if he chooses to pass.

I double. Everyone passes. OK. Let's hope I didn't do anything foolish. Partner leads the ten of clubs, and I see the following dummy. .

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

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

Nice lead, partner! For once your reluctance to lead my suit may have paid off. Declarer plays the queen, I win with the king, and declarer plays the nine.

The nine? Thanks for the clarification. I'm now sure partner led from shortness, although I would have suspected that anyway. Assuming partner would have competed to three hearts with four of them, declarer must be either 3-2-4-4 or 2-2-5-4. I'll assume the latter for now. South might have bid clubs with equal length. And if partner has five diamonds, declarer is in big trouble anyway.

How many tricks can we take? North made a questionable double with a doubleton heart, so we're taking two heart tricks instead of the one I was assuming. If we can manage all four of my black honors, declarer is down two even before partner takes any diamond tricks. The tricky part is going to be finding exits to avoid being endplayed.

Suppose, for example, I cash two hearts, lead the jack of diamonds, and it holds. Now I'm endplayed. I must either lead a black suit or give declarer a ruff-sluff in hearts. Perhaps I can avoid the endplay by cashing only one heart, leaving open the possibility of leading a heart to partner's queen.

I cash the king of hearts. Partner should play an attitude card here to let me know if I can underlead. But who knows what my robot partner will do?

On the king of hearts, declarer plays the deuce; partner, the six. That should be encouraging from Q64. But even if partner intends it as count, I'm OK. For the six to be his lowest card, he must have Q86. So, however he intends the six, I'm pretty sure he has the queen. Although not 100% sure. A random six from 864 is just the kind of trap robot partners like to set for you.

I shift to the jack of diamonds. Declarer plays the four, and partner overtakes with the queen to lead another club. Partner is being uncharacteristically nice to me. Declarer rises with the ace and leads a diamond to his ace as I discard the three of hearts. Declarer exits with a club to my jack as partner pitches the seven of spades. The robots pitch count cards, so it appears partner has four spades and declarer is indeed 2-2-5-4.

We've reached this position with me on lead:

	NORTH Robot ♠ K J 8 5 ♥ J ♦ 9 ♣ 2
WEST Robot ♠ x x x ♥ ? x ♦ x x ♣ --		EAST Phillip ♠ A Q 2 ♥ A 10 9 5 ♦ -- ♣ --
	SOUTH Robot ♠ x x ♥ ? ♦ x x x ♣ x

If partner has the queen of hearts, I can underlead to take two spade tricks and whatever diamond tricks partner has left. In fact, even if partner doesn't have the queen of hearts, the heart underlead won't cost. I'll lose a heart trick, but I'll get two spade tricks and break even.

I lead a low heart. Partner takes the queen, cashes the king and ten of diamonds, and taps declarer with a heart. This is the right defense. We get two more tricks this way even if I don't have the spade queen. Down five.

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

Plus 1100 is worth 100%. Plus 500 would also have been worth 100%. So, while we were lucky to take as many tricks as we did, most of that luck was overkill. Three diamonds doubled would still have been the right contract in less extreme scenarios.

I was curious how many experts play the double of three diamonds as showing shortness, so I took a poll. Some did, but the vast majority of those I asked play the double as penalties.

I don't get it. I still can't imagine a hand where, having passed North's double, I would want to make a penalty double now. And I'm someone who likes penalty doubles. At one time, I even gave up negative doubles to play penalties doubles as an experiment. So it's an unfamiliar experience for me to be on this side of the penalty-or-take-out argument.

Even those who play most low-level doubles for takeout apparently make an exception when they've bid and raised a suit. After finding a fit, I'm told, they play double for penalties (unless it's specifically defined as something else--maximal, for example). 

That rule makes sense in general, but here I think it ignores a key factor: You could have redoubled on the previous round and didn't. However you choose to define it, surely redouble followed by double and pass followed by double should mean different things.

Free Weekly Instant Tournament - May 30 - Board 8

Board 8
Neither side vulnerable

♠ 10 7 3  ♥ A K 9 6  ♦ A K Q 6 4  ♣ K

Partner opens with one club in second seat. I bid one diamond, and partner bids one notrump. 19 HCP opposite 12-14 is worth an invitation to slam. It's possible six diamonds will make when six notrump goes down. But it would be hard to diagnose that. So there isn't much point in bidding two hearts to initiate some complicated auction no one will understand anyway. I might as well just make a quantitative invitation in notrump.

I bid four notrump, and partner raises to six. RHO leads the four of spades.

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

West	North	East	South
Robot	Phillip	Robot	Robot
		Pass	1 ♣
Pass	1 ♦	Pass	1 NT
Pass	4 NT	Pass	6 NT
(All pass)

I play low from dummy, East plays the king, and I win with the ace. The lead of the four doesn't tell me much. It could be from four-deuce doubleton, or it could be low from three or four cards. Or fourth best from five. At least I know it's not fourth best from six, since there is only one lower card. So East must have at least two spades.

I have twelve top tricks with lots of possibilities for a thirteenth. Hearts could come home, or I could execute one of a variety of squeezes. 

Let's say I come down to this position:

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

(A) If either East or West holds four hearts and the queen of clubs, he's squeezed down to a stiff club when I cash the spade queen. The hand with long hearts is roughly even money to hold the club queen, so this line offers about a 50% chance (after excluding three-three hearts).

(B) If West holds four hearts and the jack of spades, he is squeezed in the majors. I must be careful to cash the spade queen first to avoid guessing what to pitch from dummy. When I cash the club ace next, I can pitch the spade ten if I haven't seen the jack.

This line offers roughly a 25% chance, since it works only against one opponent. But, since the same sequence of plays works for both A and B, I can combine my chances. The combination A/B offers roughly a 62.5% chance.

(C) If West holds four hearts and East holds the club queen, I can execute a double squeeze with spades as the double threat. I cash the club ace, pitching a spade from dummy, then cash hearts, reaching this position:

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

West must hold two hearts, so he has already been squeezed down to a stiff spade. Now, when I cash the king of hearts, East is squeezed in the black suits. 

West is 50% to hold the heart length, and East is 50% to hold the club queen. So C works about 25% of the time. It doesn't work if the heart length and club queen are reversed, because then I have no threat behind West. When I cash the heart king, South gets squeezed before West does.

Unfortunately, I can't combine C with either A or B. A or B requires my cashing the spade queen. C requires my retaining it as an entry to the double threat.

Are there any other possibilities? I can think of one more:

(D) If East has both the club queen and the spade jack, I can cash the club ace, pitching a heart from dummy, then cash three hearts. On the last heart, I'm down to

	NORTH Phillip ♠ 10 7 ♥ K ♦ -- ♣ --
	SOUTH Robot ♠ Q 6 ♥ -- ♦ -- ♣ J

East must either pitch his club queen or stiff his spade jack.

This line, however, requires me to give up on three-three hearts. Furthermore, it's never necessary. If East has the club queen, then I can execute A if East has heart length and C if West has heart length. So we can forget about D.

Which squeeze should I play for? The A/B combination is clearly the right line a priori. But I don't have to decide just yet. Perhaps I can gather some clues as I run diamonds.

I cash the jack and ten of diamonds. West plays three, eight; East plays five, deuce. I play a diamond to the queen. West discards the deuce of clubs. The robots tend to discard count when not following suit, so that's probably from a five-card suit. Assuming hearts are not three-three (since I don't need a squeeze if they are), that makes West either 2-4-2-5 or 4-2-2-5.

I cash the king of diamonds, pitching a club. East pitches the deuce of spades; West, the deuce of hearts. While the robots typically discard count cards, they sometimes pitch low from doubletons, so it's still possible West is 4-2-2-5. It's also possible West has five hearts and his first discard was from three small clubs. That makes him 3-5-2-3. 

Let's take stock. There are two layouts to consider:

(1) West is 4-2-2-5. In that case, I must hope East has the club queen and play for A. If West has the club queen, no squeeze works.

(2) West is 3-5-2-3. West has pitched a club, so if he has the club queen, it's dropping. If East has it, I must play for C.

I cash dummy's last diamond, discarding a heart. East pitches the five of clubs. Well. That changes things. If East started with queen third of clubs, the queen is now dropping, so I needn't worry about case (1) any more. The only case that matters is case (2), so I must go for the double squeeze.

I cash the club king, reaching the position above. Now I lead a heart to my queen, cash the ace of clubs, pitching a spade, and lead a heart to dummy. Both opponents follow to the second round of hearts, so the nine of hearts is good. Making seven.

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

Hearts were three-three all along, so no squeeze was necessary.

Only three other players were in slam, and only one of those managed to cash his thirteen top tricks to make seven. So plus 1020 is worth 96%.

I'm surprised so many missed slam. I would have thought the field wouldn't even bother to invite but would simply blast six notrump. Weak players tend to overbid hands with lots of high-card points out of irrational exuberance.

Free Weekly Instant Tournament - May 30 - Board 7

Board 7
Both sides vulnerable

♠ A 9 4 3  ♥ A K  ♦ K Q 6  ♣ K 7 6 5

I open with one club in first seat. Partner bids three clubs, pre-emptive.

Should you bid three notrump with 18-19 balanced opposite a pre-emptive raise? My partnership notes say, "yes." If responder has no interest in playing three notrump opposite that hand, he shouldn't make a pre-emptive raise. Some say, "no." Responder is expected to be weak, and any hand that want to play in three notrump opposite 18 to 19 balanced doesn't qualify. It's a matter of partnership agreement, but you need to make one agreement or the other and responder should bid accordingly.

There was a poll on Bridge Winners a few years ago: "I've heard some say that, playing inverted minors, one should avoid the pre-emptive raise to three with a hand that wants to play 3NT opposite a balanced 18-19. Do you agree with this?" The answers were evenly divided, so there does not appear to be a consensus on this matter.

When I hover my mouse over three notrump, the tooltip says it shows 21 HCP. So the robots, if they subscribed to Bridge Winners, would presumably answer 'yes' to the poll. But I don't believe the tooltip. I've seen the robots make pre-emptive raises with quite good hands. So I'm bidding three notrump. If partner has the wrong hand and three notrump has little play, maybe the cards will lie favorably. Or maybe the opponents will misdefend.

I bid three notrump. Everyone passes, and LHO leads the three of hearts.

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

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

See what I mean? I don't understand three clubs with this hand. Even in my style, I would bid one notrump rather than three clubs, since I believe three clubs suggests more shape. In a style where you don't expect partner to bid three notrump without 21 HCP, three clubs makes no sense at all.

The deuce of hearts is missing, so I'm not sure which opponents has five hearts. But hearts are probably five-four one way or the other. 

What do I need to make this? If clubs come home, I'll take four clubs, two hearts, and two spades, for eight tricks. If I knock out the diamond ace, they will take three hearts and two aces for down one. So I need to find my ninth trick in spades. I could simply take a finesse. Or I could hope that the hand with five hearts has the diamond ace and the spade queen. If so, he'll be squeezed when I run clubs. He must either come down to a doubleton spade or pitch a heart, allowing me to knock out the diamond ace. Of course, it will take some good card-reading to exploit that possibility.

I play low from dummy and East plays the jack. If I had the ace alone, I might duck. If I had the king alone, I couldn't afford to duck. So the king conveys less information. I win with the king and lead the six of clubs--deuce--queen--ten. I continue with a club to my king. East discards the deuce of diamonds, which is probably from a five-card suit. That makes East either 3-4-5-1 or 2-5-5-1.

West takes the club ace and leads the ten of hearts. East plays the eight, and I win with the ace. If West began with ten fifth, it would be strange to lead the ten. He would be more apt to retain it to avoid blocking the suit. So I suspect he has four hearts, making East 2-5-5-1. It's also possible hearts are 3-6, though West might have chosen a spade lead over a heart if that were the case.

I might as well run clubs to see what I can find out. Since West seems to have spade length, I'll probably wind up taking a spade finesse unless something strange happens.

I lead the seven of clubs to the jack. East pitches the five of diamonds. This is the current position:

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

If I finish running clubs, I'll need to lead a spade to the ace to take the finesse. If spades are three-three, then I won't be able to cash the fourth spade. So if I want to retain the option of taking four spade tricks, I must lead a club to my five and play a spade to the jack now. But my provisional construction places East with 2-5-5-1. Since it doesn't appear spades are three-three, I think I'd prefer to cash two more clubs and get more information.

I cash the eight of clubs. East pitches the seven of diamonds; West, the seven of spades. That's an unexpected card. Does that mean he doesn't have the queen? Or might he pitch from queen fourth? Actually, he might. Since I don't have two hand entries anymore, pitching from queen fourth is perfectly safe.  I don't think I can assume East has the queen.

I cash dummy's last club. East pitches the deuce of spades; West pitches the six of spades. There are only three spades left. If I'm right that East was 2-5-5-1, then the spades are dropping, and I can make an overtrick by cashing dummy's king and overtaking the jack with my ace.

Could my construction be wrong? Can West have all three remaining spades? If so, I go down if I cash the spade king. I must, instead, lead a low spade to my ace and take a finesse. But a low spade from dummy blocks the suit and gives up the overtrick if spades split.

For West to have three spades, East must be 1-6-5-1. That means West led a heart from ten-third rather than his own five-card spade suit. And it means West echoed with five spades, playing 7-6 from Q10876. Any one of those three things is possible, but they are all unlikely. So I'm not playing for the parlay. I cash the king of spades--eight--four--ten. I take three more spades and concede the last two tricks. Making four.

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

Plus 630 is worth 86%. Cashing all the clubs turned out to be a good idea. Had I led a club to the five for an early spade finesse, it might have been easier for West to hold his spades.

Actually, it was pretty easy for him to hold spades on this line. Why did West pitch the second spade anyway? Could that ever have been right? Maybe he was playing me for

♠ A x x  ♥ A K Q 6  ♦ Q x  ♣ K x x x

and assumed his partner had squandered the eight of hearts on the second round. If so, this would be the position, with West to play:

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

A heart or the diamond ace gives me a trick. If he pitches a low diamond, I can cash three spades and lead a diamond, forcing him to lead into my queen-six of hearts. But a spade pitch doesn't help. After three rounds of spades, ending in my hand, he's faced with the same problem. If he thinks this is the layout, his best play is to pitch a low diamond and hope his partner has the six of hearts. 

Surprisingly, everyone is in three notrump. Given the lack of consensus on the Bridge Winners poll and given what the tooltip says, I would have thought at least some would pass three clubs.

Free Weekly Instant Tournament - May 30 - Board 6

Board 6
Opponents vulnerable

♠ A K 5 4  ♥ K J 9 6  ♦ 8  ♣ K J 5 4

RHO passes. I bid one club, partner bids one diamond, and RHO chimes in with one notrump, showing the unbid suits. Double also shows the unbid suits. I'm not sure under what conditions the robots choose one notrump over double.

Double by me would be a support double of diamonds. I like support doubles for majors, but support doubles for diamonds make no sense to me. In any event, playing the robots' methods, pass is my only option. I pass, LHO bids two spades, and partner bids three spades, showing a good hand with club support. I have both majors under control, so I bid three notrump. Everyone passes, and LHO leads the three of spades.

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

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

Dummy's queen holds, East playing the deuce. 

When partner shows the majors, one generally bids hearts with equal length. This is especially true when partner is a passed hand. With 6-5 in the majors, one can open quite light. But 5-6 is problematic. If you open one heart, you may lose the spade suit. If you open one spade and bid hearts, partner will expect your spades to be equal or longer (and rightly so). So one is less apt to open light with 5-6. That means if you pass and show majors, you are more likely to have six hearts than six spades.

So West should be 3-2 in the majors, making his partner 5-6. Since I need diamonds to break, I need to hope East is 5-6-2-0.  If so, I can play a club to my hand and a diamond up. Then I need to guess whether to play West for king third or jack third. If I guess correctly, I set up six tricks in diamonds. If I guess incorrectly, I'm probably going down.

A priori, it's 50-50 which honor West holds. But the auction changes those odds. Sometimes when West holds jack third, East would have opened the bidding in first seat. For example, East probably would have opened with

♠ J 10 x x x  ♥ A Q x x x x  ♦ K x  ♣ --

but not with

♠ J 10 x x x  ♥ A Q x x x x  ♦ J x  ♣ -- .

That means some of the hands where West holds jack third are eliminated, making it better than 50% that West holds the diamond king.

I lead a club to my king, and East pitches the deuce of hearts. I was hoping he would show out, but the deuce is unexpected. BBO robots consistently pitch count cards, so I know he's 5-5-3-0. West, for some reason, chose to bid spades rather than hearts with equal length. That means it makes no difference whether I finesse the queen or ten of diamonds. If West has either honor doubleton, I take six diamond tricks whichever card I play.

Since it makes no difference what I do if my construction is correct, I might as well assume it's wrong. I'll proceed with my plan to finesse the diamond queen just in case East gave false count in hearts, though I seriously doubt he did.

I play a diamond, West plays the nine, I play the queen from dummy, and East wins with the king. He now cashes the heart ace--six--four--deuce, then shifts to the spade jack. We've reached this position with me to play to the spade jack:

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

If East began with king third of diamonds, then West's jack is dropping and I have the rest. I can pitch clubs on the ace and king of spades; lead a club to the ace; cash the diamond ace, dropping the jack; and run diamonds. 

What happens if the jack doesn't drop? The jack of diamonds gives East nine HCP. He presumably would have opened the bidding with the heart queen as well, so West has it. This will be the position after I cash the diamond ace:

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

I've taken six tricks. When I lead a diamond, East will win and cash his spades, and I must come down to two cards. If I come down to king-jack of hearts, West keeps two hearts. If I come down to the king of hearts and the club jack, West keeps his queen of clubs. So the king of hearts is all I get, for down two.

Perhaps I do better to cash one spade and one heart before leading a club to dummy, to avoid setting up East's spade suit. Now if the jack of diamonds doesn't drop, this will be the position:

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

I lead a diamond to East's jack, pitching a heart as West pitches a club. East now leads a heart. West wins and tosses me in with a spade to lead clubs into his queen-ten. Again, down two.

Against best defense, it makes no difference which two cards I cash, but cashing a spade and a heart at least requires both opponents to stay awake. If West carelessly pitches a spade or if East carelessly exits with a spade in the end position, I can endplay West and score my club jack.

I win the spade ace and cash the king of hearts, pitching clubs from dummy. Now I play a club to the ace and cash the diamond ace. The jack drops, and I claim. Making five.

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

Plus 460 is worth 96%. Seems generous. 

At the point East shifted to the spade jack, he could have returned a diamond to endplay dummy, holding me to four. But for all he knows, I have the club queen and there's no endplay. And there is no reason his partner couldn't have the spade ace, in which case the defense can take at least two spade tricks on a spade return. So the spade return seems normal.

The opening lead made things harder for East than it needed to be. Having supported spades, West should lead the seven if he choses to lead the suit at all. Or he could lead a heart, since he has some help in that suit. But, given everyone is playing against the same opponents, everyone should get the same opening lead. So I'm not sure why everyone isn't scoring 460.

Weirdly, about half the field actually went down. I no longer have access to the play at other tables, so I can't see how they managed that.

[Addendum: I posed this as a play problem on social media and a surprising number of people suggested playing ace and a small diamond. I have no idea what the point of that play is, and no one explained why he thought it was better than taking a finesse. But at least it explains how some are going down.]

Free Weekly Instant Tournament - May 30 - Board 5

Board 5
Our side vulnerable

♠ A 8 4  ♥ Q J 10 7 2  ♦ J 8  ♣ A J 8

Partner passes, and East opens with one spade. Does this hand merit a two-level vulnerable overcall? There are several negative factors: I have only a five-card suit. I'm balanced. And I have the worst holding (three cards) in the opponent's suit. The only positive is my 13 HCP. But those high cards are just as useful on defense as on offense.

If I bid two hearts and the auction proceeds pass--pass--double--all pass, I won't be happy. But that's almost always true. If I worry too much about being doubled, I won't overcall frequently enough. A better question to ask is, would I be happy if I bid two hearts and it's passed out? The answer is "no." If RHO doesn't want to balance, the hand is probably a misfit. There is an excellent chance I will go minus 200. And, even if I hold it to down one, it's likely I would have gone plus on defense.

Still, it's close. I would bid non-vulnerable, since minus 200 is no longer a consideration. And I would bid vulnerable if you made the seven of hearts the nine. That card means I rate to take three tricks more in hearts than I would on defense.

I pass, LHO bids one notrump, RHO rebids two spades, and everyone passes. I lead the queen of hearts.

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

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

It appears I made the right opening lead. If we drive dummy's heart entry, perhaps declarer will be unable to make use of the diamond suit.

Declarer plays low from dummy, partner plays the five, and declarer wins with the king. He leads a low spade. I play low, and partner captures dummy's ten with the king. I'm expecting a heart return to knock out dummy's ace. But partner shifts to the ten of clubs. Declarer plays the king and I win with the ace. Here is the position, with me on lead:

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

Why didn't partner knock out dummy's heart ace? Maybe he knows diamonds aren't a threat. He must have something like A10xx or Q10xx. 

Could it be right to persist in clubs? Let's give declarer some hand like

♠ Q J x x x x  ♥ K x  ♦ Q x  ♣ K Q x

Say I return the jack of clubs and play a third club if declarer ducks it. When I win the spade ace, I can play a diamond to partner and get a fourth club, promoting my eight of spades if partner has the nine. That makes three spade tricks, two clubs, and the diamond ace for down one.

I don't see any reason that can't be the layout. Shifting back to hearts would just be insulting partner. He knows what his diamonds are. If he didn't think knocking out the heart ace was necessary, he's probably right.

I play the jack of clubs. Partner plays the nine; declarer, the four. The nine? I hold the eight, so if partner knows he can afford the nine, he must have led from Q109. That gives declarer

♠ Q J x x x x  ♥ K x  ♦ Q x  ♣ K x x

or perhaps

♠ Q J x x x x  ♥ K x  ♦ A x  ♣ K x x .

In the former case, we have six tricks without a trump promotion. In the latter case, we need to score my spade eight for the setting trick.

It is strange that partner didn't overtake. If he could afford the nine, he could afford the queen. How did he know I had another club to lead? Maybe I have something wrong. Still, I see no reason not to continue clubs.

I lead the eight of clubs. Partner plays the seven, and declarer ruffs with the five. So declarer is 6-3-2-2. We have a heart trick instead of a club trick.

Declarer plays the six of diamonds to the king, and partner takes the ace. We still have a heart trick coming, so declarer is down one. Can we beat this two if partner has the nine of spades? If he does, this is the current position:

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

If partner plays a heart, I get a heart trick but no trump promotion. If partner plays a club, declarer pitches a heart from his hand. I score my spade eight but no heart trick. It appears down one is the best we can do.

Partner shifts to the four of hearts, so I get a heart trick. Down one.

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

Plus 50 is worth 21%.

Overcalling two hearts would have worked out better. You play it there and make it. Funny that being passed out in two hearts was an auction I feared. In fact, if I had bid two hearts, heard it go all pass, and were told I could take my bid back, I would jump at the chance.

I still think pass is the percentage call. At least it would be at IMPs. I did go plus after all, which your primary concern in partscore battles at IMPs. At matchpoints, where you must aim for the highest plus score, who knows what's right? Partscore battles at matchpoints are hard. Sometimes the winning action seems pretty random to me.