Board 116

Board 116
Both sides vulnerable

♠ 4 ♥ J 10 6 3 ♦ K 10 8 7 6 ♣ 9 4 2

LHO passes, partner opens two notrump, and RHO passes. I bid three clubs, and partner bids three diamonds. I was expecting to hear three spades. If partner doesn't have four spades, spades could be a serious weak spot for notrump. Five diamonds might be a better contract, but I have no way to explore that possibility. I can't bid four diamonds. If partner can't support diamonds, we have no place to go. And if he can support diamonds, we may get too high, since he will assume (from my willingness to bid beyond three notrump) that I have slam interest.

I wonder how a four-three heart fit might play. Taking spade taps in the hand with four trumps isn't ideal. But if they can tap me in four hearts, that means they can run spades in three notrump, so why should notrump be any better? The best part about looking for a four-three fit is that I have only one way to do that: via Smolen. I must bid three spades, ostensibly showing four spades and five hearts. If partner has three hearts, he will bid four hearts. If he doesn't, he will bid three notrump. Either way, I may have stopped a spade lead. It has occurred to me before that it's safe to psyche Smolen, since partner doesn't really care about your four-card major (unless he gets the bright idea to try a four-three fit). I'd never thought of a reason to do it, but here's a chance to try it out.

I bid three spades, and partner bids three notrump. What could be better than this? We're playing the normal contract and I've probably stopped the most damaging lead. I pass, and RHO leads the seven of clubs.

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

West	North	East	South
		Pass	2 NT
Pass	3 ♣1	Pass	3 ♦2
Pass	3 ♠3	Pass	3 NT
(All pass)
1Stayman
2No four-card major
3Smolen

Right now the opponents are snatching at our convention cards and screaming for the director. Normally I welcome such histrionics, since it gives me extra time to plan the play. But there's not much planning to do on this deal. I have eight tricks off the top. I'm going to have to find the queen of diamonds to take nine. There's not much to think about until I see some discards.

I play low from dummy, and East plays the jack. I win with the king and cash the ace. West pitches the three of spades. West led a singleton? I was just wondering on the previous board whether he might do that. Now I know. The singleton club lead suggests he has the diamond queen, both because he is more likely to have it a priori and because he might have preferred a diamond lead from two small or three small over a singleton club. It also suggests he has at least nine major-suit cards, since he might have led a four-card diamond suit if he had one. Given the spade pitch, his likeliest pattern is 5-4-3-1.

Before we run the clubs, we should predict how West will discard. Making a prediction ahead of time makes it easier to notice if something unusual happens. (See the discussion of the "Mozart effect" on Board 81)

Let's give West honor fifth of spades, honor fourth of hearts, and three diamonds. He knows my major-suit shape, though not my high cards. It will certainly appear to him that his best chance to beat this is to take at least four spade tricks as soon as the defense gains the lead. He will also suspect that he can't afford a diamond pitch unless it appears his partner has the ace. With that in mind, he will probably come down to three spades, two hearts, and three diamonds. Coming down to three spades limits the defense's flexibility. It means they can't take four spade tricks unless the first spade lead comes from East. So I suspect a spade will be his final discard. He will hold on to four spades until the last minute in the hope that I began with only four clubs and he won't need to make a fourth discard.

I cash the club ace, and West discards the six of spades. I didn't expect the alarm to go off so soon. If West is giving up on holding four spades this early, my assumption that he has a spade honor is probably wrong. East probably has both the ace and king, which is too bad. It means they're not going to have as much trouble making this at the other table as I had hoped.

On the fourth club, West pitches the seven of hearts. I pitch the three of hearts from dummy. On the last club, West pitches the eight of hearts. I pitch the heart six from dummy, and East pitches the heart deuce. I've seen nothing to dissuade me from my original plan of playing West for the diamond queen. All that's changed is I'm less concerned about the finesse's losing, since I think the ace and king of spades are onside. I cash the diamond ace--deuce--six--five, then play the diamond jack. West plays the four. The missing spot is the three, which is consistent with my picture. East, it appears, gave count with five-three doubleton. I play low from dummy, and East plays the three. Making five.

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

I was right about the placement of the ace and king of spades but wrong about West's pattern. He did well to pitch a spade first. Most players lazily pitch from their five-card suit first, and most declarers lazily assume they will do that, as I did.

Too bad I wasted my free psyche on a hand where it didn't matter. The next time I bid Smolen, this psyche will be part of our partnership experience, and partner will have to tell the opponents about it. This particular psyche is more effective if it catches partner by surprise.

At the other table, North bids brazenly to three notrump after his partner's Stayman response. West leads the king of hearts. Nice lead! Much more effective than the king from king-queen fifth he produced yesterday. A low heart would have given declarer his ninth trick. It appears declarer will be forced into the winning play in diamonds. When he cashes the ace and king of clubs, he will discover he needs dummy's diamond entry to take the club finesse. Thus he has no way to finesse East for the diamond queen even if he wanted to.

As expected, declarer takes his heart ace and cashes two clubs. West pitches the deuce of spades. Declarer leads the diamond jack. When West plays low, he overtakes with the king. What's this? Has he decided to pin his hopes on the queen's dropping doubleton to avoid the risk of going down two? Can this be the percentage play?  And, more importantly, what's the possessive of  "the queen of diamonds"?  I had to drop the "of diamonds" a few sentences ago, because I wasn't sure.

Focusing on the bridge question, let's assume diamonds are three-two and that the play will go the same way at the other table except that I will finesse West for the diamond queen. How does declarer's play compare? If West has queen third of diamonds, declarer will lose 13 imps. If East has queen doubleton, declarer will gain 13 imps. And if East has queen third, declarer will gain 2 imps, going down one instead of two. Queen doubleton is two thirds as likely as queen third, so if you weight everything accordingly, declarer's expectation comes out to minus seven eights of an imp. His actual expectation is a little worse than that, since my calculation ignores the chance that West has queen fourth of diamonds or that the opponents can no longer beat you two after West's spade discard. (It also ignores the chance that East has both spade honors. But it's valid to ignore that, since that scenario renders the choice of diamond plays irrelevant.)

Declarer runs the clubs, cashes the ace of diamonds, then plays a heart. With the ace and king of spades onside, declarer's last horse comes home. The defense can take only four tricks. Making three.

Me: +660
Jack: +600

Score on Board 116: +2 IMPs
Total: -22 IMPs

Board 115

Board 115
Opponents vulnerable

♠ A K Q 2 ♥ K J 7 ♦ A 2 ♣ A 10 7 6

I could open two notrump. But I still need to generate some swings, so I'd rather have a different auction than the other table. It probably won't hurt to open one club, and something good might happen.

I bid one club, and LHO overcalls with one diamond. Two passes back to me. I double, and partner bids one heart. One notrump by me should show 18-19 high-card points, so two notrump seems about right. I'm slightly better placed than if I had opened two notrump, since partner can correct to three clubs with a Yarborough and club support. That's a contract they won't be able to reach at the other table. Unfortunately, partner simply raises to three notrump. Any swing is going to have to come from the play. LHO leads the five of spades.

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

West	North	East	South
			1 ♣
1 ♦	Pass	Pass	Double
Pass	1 ♥	Pass	2 NT
Pass	3 NT	(All pass)

It appears my auction has elicited an unfavorable lead. At the other table, where South will show his four-card spade suit after Stayman, West will surely lead diamonds. Declarer will then be pretty well placed. I'm going to have a tougher time making this than my opponent will. That's not the kind of swing in the play I was hoping to generate.

I play low from dummy, and East plays the six. That's strange. Could East have worked out I have ace-king-queen so that he needn't bother playing third hand high? Maybe. But it seems more likely that he's playing the six because all his cards are equals. That means there are four possible layouts for the spade suit:

WEST (1) ♠ 10 9 8 5 (2) ♠ 10 9 5 (3) ♠ 10 5 (4) ♠ 5

EAST ♠ 7 6 ♠ 8 7 6 ♠ 9 8 7 6 ♠ 10 9 8 7 6

I don't think West would have led the five from (2) or (3). It's possible but unlikely that he would have led the five from (1). (4) seems like the likeliest layout. A singleton lead is a bit bizarre, but we recently saw Jack lead a singleton in an unbid suit against six notrump. Maybe he would do the same against three notrump.

I have seven tricks. With two dummy entries, I can develop an extra diamond trick by force. Say I play ace and a diamond. West wins and clears diamonds, establish a third diamond trick for the defense. I can then lead a heart to the king or jack. If East has an honor and I guess right, I make it. If I guess wrong, I go down.

Another possibility is to play on hearts and leave diamonds for the end position. If I can strip West of his cards in the other three suits, I can play ace and a diamond and force West to give dummy a diamond trick, provided West has both the king and queen of diamonds.

The second approach seems to offer more flexibility. Depending on how the play proceeds, I may be able to put dummy's nine of hearts or my ten of clubs to some use. There are too many possibilities to work everything out ahead of time. Making the contract on this line may well depend on my card-reading abilities, which is what makes hands like this fun.

I start by leading a spade to dummy's jack for a heart play. West plays the eight; East, the seven. So it appears we have layout (1) above. West did in fact lead low from 10 9 8 5. I lead the deuce of hearts, and East plays the eight. I play the jack, and West wins with the queen. Either East had ace-ten-eight or he's giving count with important spot cards again. West exits with the ten of spades. I expect East to pitch a club on this trick.  Indeed he does--the deuce.

West is unlikely to hold the heart ace. With two likely heart entries, he probably would have led his long suit, which in fact would have beaten me. So I decide to lead a club to dummy and a heart toward my king.

I play the six of clubs--four--king--three, then the four of hearts. East plays the three. So he was giving count with important spot cards. Or perhaps he was being very clever, giving me a losing option. I could, after all, choose to play the seven, finessing East for the ten. But I'm sticking to my original plan. I don't know where the ten is, but I don't think West has the ace. I play the king of hearts, and West follows with the ten. West was apparently 4-2-5-2. He surely has both diamond honors, since his overcall was light enough as it is. So I can cash my blacks aces and play ace and a diamond. West can't prevent dummy from scoring a diamond trick.

I can improve on that line, however. I needn't assume West was 4-2-5-2. I can afford to lead a heart first just in case he was 4-3-5-1 and the opponents have carded strangely in hearts. I doubt very much that's the case. But, as long it doesn't hurt to cater the possibility, why not? I play the seven of hearts, West discards the diamond four (which means East probably has the three), and East wins with the ace. West shifts to the five of diamonds. I hop with the ace, and West plays the eight. I cash the club ace--jack--eight--five.

We're down to this position, with my needing two more tricks:

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

I can always make it now provided I guess the diamonds. If East has a diamond honor, I must cash the spade and pitch a diamond from dummy. Then, when I lead a diamond, West is winkled. He can hop and crash his partner's honor, or he can duck, allowing his partner to the win the trick, after which East must concede either a heart trick to dummy or a club trick to my hand (whichever loser he didn't pitch on the spade ace). If West has both honors, I must cash the spade, pitching the good heart from dummy, then lead a diamond.

I'm fairly confident West has both diamond honors both from the bidding and from the carding. If East's remaining diamond is an honor, it means West discarded the four and eight of diamonds, concealing the diamond three. Most players just don't do things like that. It seems more likely that West's four was his lowest diamond and East shifted to the five from five-three doubleton. Accordingly, I pitch the heart from dummy on the spade ace and play a diamond. Making three.

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

The shift to the five of diamonds was a poor play on East's part. After his partner discarded the diamond four, he should have shifted to the three, the card he was "known" to hold. Had he done that, I would have something to think about in the end position.

The other table reaches three notrump via the auction I predicted above: two notrump followed by Stayman. If West leads a low diamond, declarer will presumably win in dummy and play a heart to the jack. West will win and clear diamonds. Declarer will then play a heart to the king for his ninth trick. But it doesn't go that way. West, for some reason, leads the king of diamonds. This gives declarer three diamond tricks. When he eventually scores a heart, it's for an overtrick. Making four.

Me: +400
Jack: +430

Score on Board 115: -1 IMP
Total: -24 IMPs

Board 114

Board 114
Our side vulnerable

♠ K 8 3 ♥ K 10 6 2 ♦ 9 2 ♣ A K J 7

RHO passes. I open one heart. Partner responds one notrump, and I pass. Since we open weak notrumps with five-card majors, my pass shows a minimum strong notrump. LHO balances with two spades, which is passed around to me.

Partner should act in front of me with a doubleton spade. With a 2-2-5-4 or 2-2-4-5, for example, he should bid two notrump. If I could trust partner to do that, it would be clear for me to pass. Why bid to the three-level when they're in a seven-card fit? Somehow, I don't think Jack can be trusted to be so Law-abiding. But I can't bid his hand for him. A bid by me could easily turn a plus into a minus, so I pass.

Partner leads the three of hearts, presumably a singleton. Good. That means he does have three spades, since he surely would have bid with a six-card suit or with five-five in the minors

	NORTH ♠ A 9 7 ♥ 9 8 7 5 ♦ 8 4 ♣ 9 5 4 3
		EAST ♠ K 8 3 ♥ K 10 6 2 ♦ 9 2 ♣ A K J 7

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

It seems declarer balanced with a four-card spade suit. He wouldn't do that with five diamonds. So he must be 4-4-4-1, leaving partner with 3-1-5-4.

Dummy plays the five of hearts, I cover with the six, and declarer wins with the queen. Declarer leads the six of diamonds, partner plays the three, and dummy plays the four. I guess partner wants me to win this trick, probably to make sure he gets his heart ruff. I win with my nine. If I give partner a heart ruff and he plays a club to me for another ruff, we will have taken four tricks. The king of spades makes five. We will need one diamond trick to beat this. If partner doesn't have the diamond ace, we will have to prevent declarer from ruffing both of his remaining diamonds in the dummy. Partner can prevent that by playing his last trump after taking his second heart ruff.

To force him to do that, my plan is to lead the deuce of hearts (suit preference) for him to ruff. When he returns a club, I will win with the ace and give him a second ruff. Winning with the ace will inform him that I don't have a second club entry. That way he won't be tempted to try to put me in for a third ruff and will shift to a trump. Frankly, I'm not sure that's even necessary. Declarer may have a hard time making this even if partner does play a second club. But why take the time to figure that out? I know this line is going to work.

I play the deuce of hearts--four--spade deuce--seven. Ignoring my signal, partner shifts to the king of diamonds. Declarer wins with the ace and leads the seven of diamonds. Partner plays the queen, and declarer ruffs with dummy's nine. The play of the queen by second hand should deny the jack, but I know partner has it anyway. If declarer's last diamond were the jack, partner would be playing the ten on this trick.

If we assume partner has nothing useful in spades, we are down to this position, with me still to play (hence my ninth card):

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

We need four tricks. I could overruff the nine with the king and give partner another heart ruff. If he then plays a club to my king, I could then give him a third heart ruff for down one. But if he plays a diamond, trying for an uppercut, declarer can ruff with the ace and play a spade, making his contract. And if he plays his last spade, declarer can win in his hand and ruff his last diamond with the spade ace. Perhaps partner shouldn't make either of those errors. But, if possible, I would prefer to find a defense that doesn't give him a chance to make a mistake.

Usually it's wrong to overruff with a natural trump trick, since it helps declarer keep control. What happens if I follow general principles and pitch a club? If declarer plays a heart himself, I can't be any worse off than if I had overruffed and played a heart.  So I won't even bother analyzing that variation. What if declarer plays a club?  I can hop with the king and give partner a ruff. Partner then has three suits he can play. Let's take each one in turn.

(1) If partner plays another club (as my king suggests I want him to do), then declarer can't make it. If declarer ruffs the club and ruffs his last diamond with the seven, I score my spade eight. If he ruffs the club and ruffs his last diamond with the ace, I can pitch my king of hearts. Declarer is tapped out and never scores his heart ace.

(2) If partner plays a spade, declarer is also down. If declarer ducks, I win with the king and return a spade. If he hops with ace, he can't dispose of his last diamond.

(3) Finally, if partner plays a diamond, declarer can ruff with the ace and make it. But that shouldn't be too hard for partner to figure out.

Refusing to overruff looks like the better plan, since it makes things easier for partner. Even if he chooses a suit to return at random after getting his ruff, he has two chances out of three to get it right. I pitch the seven of clubs. Declarer plays the three of clubs. I hop with the king--ten--eight. I play the ten of hearts. Partner ruffs declarer's jack with the five and returns the spade six. Declarer plays low. I win with the king and play another trump. Down one.

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

At the other table, my hand opens one club. Why not one notrump?  Oh, I see.  I have only fourteen high-card points.  Somehow I got fifteen when I added them up the first time.  The hand looks more like a strong notrump than a weak notrump anyway.  After one club, the auction proceeds as follows.

West	North	East	South
	Pass	1 ♣	Double
1 ♦	Pass	1 ♥	Pass
3 ♣	(All pass)

South leads the queen of spades to declarer's king. Declarer cashes the jack of clubs, then plays a diamond. This is a good idea, since he goes down if plays a second trump. South hops and plays another diamond. Declarer wins, draws trumps, and runs the diamonds, taking four clubs, four diamonds, and the spade king.

South should have ducked the diamond. That makes declarer's life a little more difficult, but he should still make it.

This was a small loss for my decision (if you can call it that) to open one heart, since I pre-empted us out of our club fit.  After  a weak notrump opening, there are are various ways the auction could proceed, but they all seem to wind up with our bidding and making something. I tend not to worry about 2-imp losses on partscore hands, however. It's going minus at both tables that you try to avoid.

For the record, had I opened one notrump, the way to handle the South hand playing Astro is to bid two clubs, showing hearts and a minor.  If partner bids two hearts, you pass.  If he bids two diamonds (denying heart support), you bid two spades, ostensibly 4-4-4-1 or 4-4-1-4, though 3-4-1-5 is also possible.  If partner wishes to play your minor, he bids two notrump over two spades. Just one of the ancillary benefits of Astro.  Most two-suited methods of interfering over one notrump have no provision for handling three-suiters.

Me: + 50
Jack: +110

Score on Board 114: -2 IMPs
Total: -23 IMPs

Board 113

Board 113
Neither vulnerable

♠ 10 7 ♥ J 3 ♦ A J 6 4 3 ♣ Q J 6 5

Partner opens one notrump (12-14), and RHO doubles. In my own methods redouble is natural, and two of a suit is ostensibly natural but may be the start of wriggle. To wriggle, you bid something, then wait for the opponents to double. You can then redouble to show four-four in the next two higher suits or you can run to show four-four in the suit you run to and the non-touching suit.  "4333" patterns and "4432" patterns that include clubs are unwriggable. To show an unwriggable hand, you pass, which is forcing. Opener must then run following the exact same methodology. If opener also has an unwriggable hand, he redoubles.

It's true that this method entails some risk.  The opponents might do well to pass out your first bid, depriving you of your chance to wriggle.  But, since you might be in serious trouble, that's a tough decision for them to make.  How can they be sure that they can collect more defending the the wrong contact undoubled than they can defending the right contract doubled?  Besides, many partnerships systemically can't defend two of a minor undoubled after they have doubled one notrump.

In any event, this is all moot.  Jack stubbornly refuses to play this method. He plays some Byzantine system I've never seen before, the major flaw of which is that it does not permit a natural redouble. I've reluctantly agreed to play Jack's way. I won't go into the details, but my only choices with this hand are (A) pass, requiring partner to run if he has a five-card suit or to redouble if he doesn't, or (B) two clubs, showing either a diamond one-suiter or both majors. (A) seems unwise, since I suspect RHO might start bidding majors at some point, and I'd like to get my diamond suit into the auction before he does. Accordingly, I bid two clubs.

LHO passes, and partner bids two diamonds. RHO bids two hearts. I'm not going to sell to two hearts with a doubleton heart. I bid three clubs, hoping partner works out I don't have the majors.

Partner seems to get the idea.  He corrects to three diamonds, and RHO bids three hearts. I pass, and LHO raises to four. Enough is enough. We have the balance of power, they have at most nine trumps (possibly only eight), and they don't sound very confident. I double. If partner has all his high cards in the minors, I hope he pulls. Everyone passes.

One generally leads a trump after these balance-of-power doubles. But dummy didn't raise two hearts to three, so I doubt he has much in the way of ruffing values. It seems better to go after my own ruffs. I lead the ten of spades.

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

West	North	East	South
		1 NT	Double
2 ♣1	Pass	2 ♦2	2 ♥
3 ♣	Pass	3 ♦	3 ♥
Pass	4 ♥	Pass	Pass
Double	(All pass)
1Diamonds OR spades and hearts
2Forced

Dummy plays the deuce; partner, the king; and declarer, the eight. It looks as if I made the right opening lead. Partner cashes the ace of spades, on which declarer plays the nine, and continues with the six of spades, on which declarer plays the jack. I ruff with the three of hearts.

Declarer appears to be four-six in the majors. The only time it would seem to matter what what I do is when declarer has king doubleton of diamonds. I don't think he does, since if partner were 3-4 in the minors, he would have passed three clubs. But there's no reason for me do to anything other than exit with the queen of clubs and wait. We eventually score one diamond trick for down one.

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

I don't care much for South's double. He should be more interested in exploring his own offensive potential than in doubling us. It's a good hand for Astro. (I bet you knew I was going to say that.) You start with two diamonds, showing spades and another suit, then bid three hearts on the next round, showing four spades, primary hearts, and game interest. That looks like a fair description to me.

As long as I'm criticizing my opponent's auction, I might as well criticize my own. My double was asinine. I don't know what got into me. The opponents bid game voluntarily, and I have no surprises for them. So the best I can reasonably hope for is down one. If my teammates aren't in game, the double gains one imp when it's right and loses three when it's wrong. If they are in game, it gains two imps when it's right and loses five when it's wrong. Maybe I'm a favorite to beat this, but I'm surely not enough of a favorite to warrant laying odds like that. The double makes no sense except perhaps as an expression of contempt. It's probably OK at matchpoints, where the odds I'm laying rate to be close to even money. It would surely be right at matchpoints if the opponents were vulnerable, since in that case I may well have more to gain than to lose by doubling.

At the other table, East opens one diamond. South doubles. West bids two notrump, showing a limit raise in diamonds. East corrects to three diamonds, and South bids three hearts. North chooses not to raise.

Against three hearts, West leads the queen of clubs. Declarer wins, draws trumps, and plays spades from the top, pinning West's ten. Making four for a seven-imp gain. (Not a paltry six imps, thanks to my double.)

Me: + 100
Jack: -170

Score on Board 113: +7 IMPs
Total: -21 IMPs

Board 112

Board 112
Opponents vulnerable

♠ K ♥ Q 10 8 5 ♦ 9 3 ♣ Q 10 9 6 3 2

LHO and partner pass. RHO opens one spade. Partner is a passed hand and the vulnerability is favorable, so it looks like a good time to jam their auction. I bid three clubs. LHO bids four diamonds, which is described as a cue-bid in support of spades. A cue-bid? I've never heard of this treatment, nor do I approve.  If opener is interested in slam, at this point in the auction he will care more about the degree of fit than in the location of any aces responder might have.  And if he isn't interested in slam but is faced a decision over an opposing five-club bid,  he will care about the degree of fit even more.  Jump shifts should show a raise to four spades with a good side suit and should imply an unbalanced hand.  Four clubs should show a balanced raise based on high cards.  Four spades covers the remaining possibility, a raised based on shape but without a good side suit.

Over four diamonds, RHO cue-bids four hearts, and LHO bids four spades. RHO bids Blackwood, then carries on to six spades when his partner shows one key card. He already knew his partner had one key card, so presumably he was prepared to bid a grand opposite two key cards. That means this contract isn't going to be easy to beat.

I have high hopes of scoring my spade king. Where is the other trick coming from? Partner can't have an ace. I probably need him to have a king. If he has the diamond king behind dummy's ace, it isn't going anywhere. If he has the club king, I doubt we can beat it. If the opponents have bid a slam with at most 30 high-card points, someone rates to have a singleton club. If partner has the heart king, however, I might be able to beat it by leading a heart, establishing our winner while I still have my spade entry. If hearts is declarer's source of tricks, I may regret leading the suit, but my hand suggests that his source of tricks is diamonds. I lead the eight of hearts.

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

West	North	East	South
	Pass	Pass	1 ♠
3 ♣1	4 ♦2	Pass	4 ♥3
Pass	4 ♠	Pass	4 NT4
Pass	5 ♦5	Pass	6 ♠
(All pass)
1Weak jump overcall
2Mixed cue with support
3Control in hearts for spades
4Ace asking for spades
51 or 4 aces

Four diamonds looks like an overbid to me. Since the auction is jammed, it's OK to stretch with a four-trump limit raise. But with a three-trump limit raise, I think three spades is sufficient, especially opposite a third-seat opening bid.

Declarer plays the jack of hearts from dummy, partner plays the three, and declarer follows with the seven. I hope I'm right about the singleton club. If declarer began with ace doubleton of clubs, I made a poor lead. Declarer leads the queen of spades--deuce--three. I win with the king.

I have only two plays that make any sense: (A) Lead a club, playing partner for the ace, or (B) lead a heart, hoping partner can ruff it. (A) can't possibly work. Declarer would not have bid slam after discovering he was off two key cards. Could (B) work? Declarer would have to be six-six, which would give him something like:

♠ A J 10 x x x ♥ A K x x x x ♦ -- ♣ A

I suppose there's no reason he can't have that hand. He knows his partner has the ace of diamonds, so he can afford to bid Blackwood despite the diamond void. But if he does have that hand, I don't need to lead a heart. If I exit with a club, declarer has to draw partner's two remaining trumps, after which he is left with a heart loser.

Neither play can work as a practical matter. But (A) can at least work in theory. Accordingly, I play the ten of clubs. Partner plays the king and it holds! Down one.

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

Declarer really bid a slam knowing he was off two key cards? I suppose he knew he was missing the club ace and the spade king, and, given my pre-empt, he was willing to gamble on the spade finesse. But how did he know he even had a spade finesse? Shouldn't he at least have bid five hearts to confirm his partner had the spade queen? It's a good thing I couldn't think of a hand where a heart continuation was necessary. Otherwise I would have led one. The club play was nothing more than an act of desperation.

At the other table, my hand passes over one spade, and North raises to four spades. What's with these overbids? This time North wasn't even jammed, so he has no excuse. On this auction, my teammate apparently doesn't value his singleton club and diamond king as much South did at my table. He passes four spades. West leads a diamond. Declarer wins with his king and lays down the ace of spades. Making seven. Sixteen boards to go, and we're within striking distance again.

Me: + 100
Jack: -710

Score on Board 112: +13 IMPs
Total: -28 IMPs

Board 111

Board 111
Our side vulnerable

♠ K J 7 6 ♥ A J 7 ♦ 4 ♣ K Q J 10 3

I open with one club, LHO bids one heart, and partner raises to two clubs. RHO doubles. I bid two spades. LHO bids three diamonds, and partner bids four clubs. Partner rates to have a singleton for that bid.  It's certainly not in hearts. And it's probably not in spades, both because the opponents don't seem interested in playing spades and also because my two spade bid appears to have excited him. My guess is he's 3-4-1-5.  Neither opponent should have six diamonds on this auction, but perhaps LHO canaped with 5-6 in the red suits.

RHO bids four notrump. LHO shows no aces, and RHO bids five diamonds, which ends the auction. Since they stopped short of slam, partner should have an ace; but that doesn't leave RHO much of a hand for his Blackwood call.  What hand can he possibly have missing two key cards and the spade king that warrants bidding this way?  I'm about to find out.  Partner leads the deuce of clubs.  (Another strange development, since I was expecting a spade lead.)

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

West	North	East	South
		1 ♣	1 ♥
2 ♣	Double	2 ♠	3 ♦
4 ♣	4 NT	Pass	5 ♣
Pass	5 ♦	(All pass)

I see.  He's not missing two key cards.

To begin with, North's hand is not my idea of a responsive double. A responsive double should be a relatively balanced hand. I generally describe it as a penalty double without a trump stack. Of course, no alternative really springs to mind. I don't mind risking a non-forcing two diamonds with a fairly good hand, but this particular hand is well outside the bounds.  Personally, I play three diamonds as natural and game-forcing (roughly a strong jump shift, since that's what you need to force to game without a fit). With that agreement, three diamonds is the obvious choice.  But  I suspect it's more common to play three diamonds as fit-showing.

As for North's second call, I don't like it on principle. The purpose of Blackwood is to find out if you're off two aces. If you bid it and sign off when you're off only one ace, you probably should have bid something else. Again, it's hard to say what that something else is. I doubt South would accept any invitation looking at the trump suit he must be looking at. And it looks as if they're off a spade trick (at least after the spade lead both North and I were anticipating), so they probably can't make slam unless South has the heart ace. Perhaps Blackwood actually is the most practical solution, but it still turns my stomach.

Declarer rises with the club ace. I discourage with the three. Declarer cashes dummy's five of diamonds (show off!), then leads the deuce of hearts. I rise with the ace and play the ten of clubs. Declarer ruffs and, in due time, takes the rest. Making six.

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

So they didn't have a spade loser! It's a good thing we kept our four-four spade fit a secret. North surely would have bid a slam if we hadn't.  Perhaps our teammates will get there.

At the other table, the auction begins the same way, but my teammate holding the North cards finds a different practical solution. Over two clubs, he bids three notrump. That seems like a reasonable call to me. He has eight tricks. All he needs is for his partner to contribute one.

For some reason, South decides to let him play there. Perhaps his partner has yelled at him in the past for pulling his three notrump bids. But it's hard to see how it could be wrong to pull with this hand.  If partner is balanced, four hearts rates to be a better game.  If partner has solid diamonds, it's surely right to pull.  And he can't have solid spades, since you're looking at the spade queen.

Three notrump is down one for a ten-imp loss.  We're losing ground and running out of time.

Me: -420
Jack:+50

Score on Board 110: -10 IMPs
Total: -41 IMPs

Board 110

Board 110
Neither vulnerable

♠ A K 9 3 ♥ Q 9 ♦ Q J 7 ♣ K Q 5 2

I open one spade in second seat.  Partner bids two diamonds, and I rebid two notrump, showing a strong notrump. Partner bids three spades, presumably checking for a fifth spade. I bid three notrump, and partner raises to six notrump.

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

West	North	East	South
		Pass	1 ♠
Pass	2 ♦	Pass	2 NT
Pass	3 ♠	Pass	3 NT
Pass	6 NT	(All pass)

Six? That's why I took Blackwood off the convention card, so we could bid four notrump with hands like this. I would have accepted, of course, but it would have been nice to have had some say in the matter.

If the spade finesse works, I have twelve tricks. If it doesn't, I will need three-three clubs or a club-heart squeeze. I rise with the ace of clubs. East plays the three. I lead the jack of spades--four--three--queen. West continues with the six of clubs--low--eight--king. It appears that West led a doubleton club and that East has jack-ten left. If so, I will need East to have the heart king for the squeeze to operate.

How likely is it East has the king of hearts? A small doubleton is a dangerous lead against six notrump. (To see why, just move dummy's club nine to my hand.) Perhaps West chose a club over a heart because he has the heart king. If so, I might still be able to make my contract by transferring the threat in hearts. I can lead the heart queen, forcing West to cover, then hope that East has the jack and ten of hearts and is squeezed. Since this line requires three cards to be right instead of just one, I would have to be fairly sure that West has the heart king before I adopted it.

I might as well postpone my decision as long as possible. I cash the ace, king and nine of spades. West follows to all three rounds; East follows once, then pitches the deuce and six of hearts. I can't attach too much significance to the heart deuce, since East has no reason to advertise possession of the king. I play the queen of diamonds and a diamond to the king. West plays five-deuce, and East plays six-ten. My guess is that West gave count with five-four-three-deuce and that East followed up the line with ten-six doubleton. I play a low diamond back to my jack. East pitches the seven of hearts.

The moment of truth has arrived. We're down to this position:

	NORTH ♠ -- ♥ A 8 ♦ K ♣ 9
WEST ♠ -- ♥ ? 5 3 ♦ 4 ♣ --		EAST ♠ -- ♥ ? ? ♦ -- ♣ J 10
	SOUTH ♠ -- ♥ Q 9 ♦ - ♣ Q 5

I assume West has the five and three of hearts, since Jack seems to discard spots from the bottom up after his initial signal. The question marks are the king, jack, and ten of hearts. East has two of those cards. So, a priori, he is two to one to have the heart king. The question is how much does West's failure to lead a heart change that?

I suspect West would lead a heart from three small in preference to a doubleton club. But a lead from jack third or, to a lesser extent, from ten third isn't very appealing. So I don't have a good reason to play him for the heart king. In addition, if East has sneakily concealed the three or five of hearts, then he has only one of the three honors, and leading the queen can't possibly work.  Accordingly, I'm going with the a priori odds. I lead a low heart to the ace and cash dummy's last diamond. Wrong. Down one.

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

I don't what feels worse, not to have thought of the winning play or to have thought of it and to have rejected it. Note, by the way, that if I had chosen to lead the queen of hearts, West should duck.  His play is irrelevant when I have queen-ten or queen-nine.  And covering takes me off a guess when I have queen-jack.

At the other table, my opponents employ some gadget I'm not familiar with. South opens one notrump, and North bids two spades, described as "minor-suit asking." South bids three hearts, showing four clubs and denying four diamonds. North bids four notrump, which is key-card Blackwood in clubs. (While I did remove Blackwood from my team's card, I left in on my opponents' cards. No need to impose my prejudices on them. The fact that Jack would treat this four notrump bid as Blackwood strengthens my conviction that I was right to remove it.) South bids five spades (two key cards and the trump queen). North bids five notrump, and South bids six diamonds (one king). North bids six notrump.

West leads the deuce of diamonds. Declarer wins and cashes three clubs. West pitches a diamond on the third round. Declarer then cashes four diamonds. East pitches the deuce of hearts and the deuce of spades; West, the five of spades. Declarer now leads the ten of spades. When East plays the four, declarer rises with the ace. Has he found a way to make this? If he plays king and a spade, West is endplayed. West needed to hold the fourth spade for an exit card.

For some reason, South decides it was East who began with queen fourth of spades. He plays a heart to dummy and leads the jack of spades, apparently intending to finesse. When East shows out, he's down two.

This is becoming my new way to pick up IMPs. Bid a slam and go down one fewer than my opponents.

Me: -50
Jack: -100

Score on Board 110: +2 IMPs
Total: -31 IMPs