Match 2 - Board 56

Board 56
Neither vulnerable

♠ A K 10 4 ♥ 10 9 ♦ A K 10 8 6 ♣ J 6

LHO deals and passes, partner passes, and RHO opens with one heart. If you take away the diamond king, I might bid one spade. But I avoid overcalling in a four-card suit unless I'm happy to pass if partner raises. With this hand, if partner were to raise to two spades, I wouldn't know what to do. As a general rule, if you step out on a limb, get lucky (e.g., find the fit you were hoping for), and now find yourself faced with a a difficult problem, it's fair to say it was a mistake to step out on that limb in the first place.

So my choices are two diamonds or double. Two diamonds risks burying the spade suit; doubling and correcting clubs to diamonds suggests a better hand (without an agreement to the contrary). I decide to stretch a little and double. I do have four honor tricks after all, so it's not that much of a stretch.

LHO passes, partner bids one notrump, and RHO bids two hearts. I was intending to raise to two notrump if RHO had passed, and I see no reason to change my mind. I bid two notrump. LHO bids three hearts, partner bids four diamonds, and RHO passes.

One notrump, then four diamonds? I have a suspicion I'm going to disagree with at least one of partner's bids. It goes against the grain to pass with undisclosed five-card support for partner's suit. But it's hard to see how I can take 11 tricks opposite a hand that bid only one notrump the first time around. I pass, and LHO passes. RHO leads the five of spades, fourth best.

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

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

Four diamonds was downright weird. But one notrump was a mistake as well. With only two hearts opposite my known shortness, partner should anticipate there will be more bidding by the opponents, so he should get his five-card suit into the auction, allowing me to compete if I have good support. If he had just bid his long suit when he had the chance (look who's talking), he wouldn't need these heroics at the four-level.

I play the spade ace--nine--six. East must have the spade queen for his signal, giving West jack-eight-five. Wait. Does that make sense? Would East squander the nine with queen-nine-three-deuce? He could conceivably permit me to establish dummy's four by doing that. East must have five spades--queen-jack-nine-eight fifth--and West must have five-three or five-deuce doubleton.

I suspect West has both aces. With queen-jack fifth of spades and an ace, East would have bid over the double. If West has the club queen as well, I can establish a club trick to make this: Draw trumps, ruff a spade to my hand, and play a club toward the jack. West can't get his partner in to put a heart through.

Is there any way I can make it without assuming West has the club queen? Yes, there is, as long as West has at most one of the minor heart honors. I can draw trumps, cash the spade ace, then lead the ten of hearts. If East plays low, so do I. If he covers, I play the king. West is then endplayed. This line fails only if East has both the queen and jack of hearts.

I cash the diamond ace--five--three--seven, then the diamond king--club three--four--queen. The club three sets off all kinds of alarms. If East is 5-3-1-4, why is he pitching a club rather than a spade? I cash the spade king to get a look at the spots. East plays the deuce; West, the three. That certainly looks as if West led a doubleton spade. But I don't just believe East would clutch his fifth spade like that. Perhaps West led a middle spade from three small. I change my mind about floating the ten of hearts. I play the spade four--jack--jack of diamonds--spade eight. Whew! That was close. I have seen Jack lead middle from three small in the middle of the hand. But his convention card specifically says low from three small on opening lead. Good thing I got the wake-up call from East.

So West is 3-6-2-2. Can I lead a trump back to dummy and float the ten of hearts? No. That leaves me with only one trump in my hand. West will play three rounds of hearts. I can ruff, pitching a club loser from dummy. But now I have no trumps left to ruff dummy's last spade. The only way to endplay West is to lead a heart from my hand. That requires West to have both minor honors instead of just one.

It may appear that it's better to play on clubs. After all, that play requires West to have only one card, the club queen, while exiting with a heart requires him to have two, the queen and jack of hearts. But that reasoning ignores the fact that he is more likely to hold a particular heart than he is to hold a particular club. Let's examine the relevant hands:

(A)	♠ 8 5 3 ♥ A Q x x x x ♦ Q 7 ♣ A Q
(B)	♠ 8 5 3 ♥ A J x x x x ♦ Q 7 ♣ A Q
(C)	♠ 8 5 3 ♥ A x x x x x ♦ Q 7 ♣ A Q
(D)	♠ 8 5 3 ♥ A Q J x x x ♦ Q 7 ♣ A x

If West has (A) , (B), or (C), I must play a club. If he has (D), I must play a heart. Each of these hands leaves East with a normal two-heart bid over the double. If I were playing against anyone but Jack, I would rate (A) unlikely and would rate the other hands impossible. Therefore, I would play a club. But, after the last board, I'm not attaching much significance to East's failure to raise. So I will assume they are all possible.

A priori, (D) is roughly five times as likely as either (A) , (B), or (C), since there are five ways to hold ace-small of clubs and only one way to hold ace-queen. That's enough of a difference that, at the table, I wouldn't bother incorporating the heart suit into my calculation. But, since we have time, let's do it anyway just for the sake of completeness. There are 20 ways to hold three small hearts out of six, 15 ways to hold four small hearts out of six, and six ways to hold five small hearts. So there are 15 ways to hold (A), 15 ways to hold (B), six ways to hold (C),  and 100 ways (20 times five) to hold (D). As long as I'm right to pay no attention to East's failure to raise, exiting with a heart is by far the better play.

I play the heart king. West takes the ace, cashes the queen, then cashes the club ace. Making four.

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

It didn't matter what I did. Either play would have worked.

Almost everyone played four diamonds, but only one other pair made it, probably because they didn't have the foresight to play it from the South side. A heart lead from East beats it easily. So there! For those of you who didn't like my take-out double.

One pair defended four hearts and allowed it to score. I guess it's not that hard to slip up. You lead the diamond king and it holds. Unless you play three rounds of spades now, declarer will make it. That looks easy looking at all four hands. But what if you simply make one of declarer's spades a small club? Now the winning defense is to tap dummy with a second diamond, killing the entry to the spades and leaving declarer with a club loser. How can you decide? You could cash the spade king at trick two to get a count card from partner. But if you can't read his card, then you still won't know what to do. Perhaps the pair who allowed four hearts to score was playing upside-down signals. If declarer correctly drops the eight, South's six will be unreadable.

We get nine matchpoints for plus 130.

Score on Board 56: +130 (9 MP)
Total: 436 (64.9%)

Current rank: 1st

Match 2 - Board 55

Board 55
Both sides vulnerable

♠ K 9 6 3 ♥ A K J 10 6 2 ♦ A ♣ 6 3

I open one heart. LHO overcalls two clubs, which is passed back to me. Jack suggests two hearts at this point. But I don't see how that can be superior to double. I'm happy to correct diamonds to hearts at whatever level partner chooses to introduce the suit. And double brings spades into the picture. Even if we don't have an eight-card fit in spades, the knowledge that I'm four-six in the majors may help partner to evaluate his hand.

LHO bids two spades. Advancer couldn't raise clubs, opener has shown spade length, and responder has implied club length and might have a trap pass. All in all, this is a dangerous move on LHO's part, so he should have quite a good hand. Some would play that this bid promises five spades. But those who employ Michaels indiscriminately would probably never have five spades. For those players, this bid should show self-sufficient clubs with a secondary spade suit--much like my hand with hearts and clubs reversed. I don't know how Jack plays this auction, and RHO isn't very forthcoming with the explanations.

Partner bids three diamonds, and I correct to three hearts as planned. Everyone passes, and West leads the six of diamonds.

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

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

What is going on here? This is the second time partner has declined to produce a perfectly normal single raise after an opponent's overcall. Had he bid two hearts, we would have had no trouble reaching game.

I play the diamond eight from dummy; East covers with the ten. That suggests the diamond lead is from a doubleton. Otherwise East would know my ace was singleton and might not cover. If two spades promised five, then West is 5-0-2-6. I don't have the entries to pick up four-zero trumps, so I cash the heart ace. West plays the queen; East follows with the four. I'm just as glad I was short of entries.

So it appears West is 4-1-2-6. He should have both black aces. Not only would his bid be exceptionally imprudent without them, his decision to lead a small doubleton in dummy's suit suggests that either black suit lead is unattractive.

I play the heart jack (Not the king. No reason to let West know his partner isn't winning the trick)--club deuce--seven--five. Then the heart king--club five-eight--nine. I play the club six--ace--eight--four. West returns the seven of clubs--king--ten--three. Jack tends to play up-the-line after his initial count signal. So East's remaining club is probably the jack.

I might as well cash the diamond king in case West made a sneaky lead from queen doubleton. King--three--spade three--diamond five. The only way to take an eleventh trick is to play East for queen doubleton of spades, even though it is unlikely he has it. Even with the queen West has a rather thin two-spade bid.

Well, maybe there is another way. Suppose I ruff out the queen of diamonds, then play a low spade toward dummy. If West has the spade queen, this is the problem he faces:

	NORTH ♠ J 10 2 ♥ -- ♦ 9 2 ♣ --
WEST ♠ A Q x ♥ -- ♦ -- ♣ x x		EAST ♠ ? x ♥ -- ♦ 7 4 ♣ x
	SOUTH ♠ ? x x ♥ x x ♦ -- ♣ --

West must decide who has the king. If East has it, West must duck to untangle his spade tricks. But if I have it, he must hop with the queen. (Yes, I know technically that isn't true. He can also untangle his tricks by hopping with the either honor and continuing with a low spade while East still has a club exit. But, for practical purposes, that is the same thing as ducking, so I will ignore that option.)

If I play this way, will he duck? Or am I better off pinning my hopes on the unlikely chance that East has the spade queen? Let's look at the problem from West's point of view. The auction suggests I have the spade king. I don't need it for my opening bid, but I might have balanced with two hearts rather than double if my spade suit were four small. Furthermore, the spade king would be a huge card for East on this auction. He might well bid four clubs over three diamonds if he had it. There is also a clue from the play. On the second club East had an opportunity to give a suit-preference signal. While I am not nearly so big a fan of suit preference as most experts, even I would give suit preference in this situation.

Against that, West might reason that if declarer has the spade king, the field will be in game, rendering his play immaterial. The only time his play is apt to matter is when East has the spade king. So he might as well assume that's the case and duck. If I were West, I would probably duck for this reason.

Of course, these considerations apply only when playing against a human. Jack will not consider any of these things. He will simply deal out some random hands and choose the play that works most often. Even if he doesn't deduce that I have four spades, he knows I have at least three. So I will hold the spade king more often than not in his simulation, and he will conclude that the percentage play is to hop. As unlikely as the finesse is to work, it probably has a better chance than the swindle.

Too bad. I hate it when I decide the normal play is right. It's much more fun to make the abnormal play. I lead the spade jack--five--six--queen. Making four.

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

Just to make sure, I backed up the play and tried the swindle. I ruffed out the queen of diamonds then led the nine of spades (advertising that, if I have the king, I have spurned a legitimate play). West hopped with the queen and cashed the ace. I'm glad to see my judgment was correct.

Not surprisingly, we are the only pair not to reach to game, so this is a well-deserved zero.

Score on Board 55: +170 (0 MP)
Total: 427 MP (64.7%)

Current rank: 1st

Match 2 - Board 54

Board 54
Opponents vulnerable

♠ 4 ♥ A K Q 9 8 6 5 ♦ K 8 7 2 ♣ 5

I open with two hearts, an Acol two-bid. (This shows eight or more playing tricks and is forcing for one round.) Partner bids three spades. I play this as a splinter in support of hearts, but Jack plays it as natural. Since two spades creates a game force, this should show a self-sufficient suit. Even so, hearts looks like a better trump suit to me. I bid four hearts. Partner bids four notrump, key-card Blackwood for hearts. I bid five spades, showing two key cards and the queen of hearts. Partner bids six hearts, and I pass. LHO leads the six of clubs (fourth best).

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

West	North	East	South
		Pass	2 ♥1
Pass	3 ♠	Pass	4 ♥
Pass	4 NT2	Pass	5 ♠3
Pass	6 ♥	(All pass)
1Acol Strong two
2Ace asking for hearts
32 aces and queen of trumps

Partner is the ten of spades away from having his three-spade bid. In a slam auction, a self-sufficient suit should be defined as one in which you can play a slam opposite a small singleton.

I play the club ace, and East plays the nine. There doesn't appear to be much to the play. Just draw trumps and drive the spade ace. Is there any conceivable way to get the opponents to duck the spade ace, giving me a shot at making seven? One thing for sure. No one is going to duck a spade if he thinks a club might be cashing. To have any chance of sneaking a spade through, I must let the opponents know I have a singleton club. At trick two, I play the ten of clubs from dummy. East plays the three. I ruff with the six of hearts, and West plays the club deuce. I now cash the heart ace.

This line must look pretty strange to dummy. I ruff a club to my hand so I can cash the heart ace? What possible reason could I have for doing such a thing? A former partner of mine used to start laughing out loud whenever I played a hand this way. Well, partner, now you know what I was up to. Not every play I make is technical. Sometimes it's just for propaganda.

I draw trumps in three rounds, pitching a spade from dummy. On the second round and third rounds, West pitches the eight and jack of clubs. Is there a hand where ducking the spade might be the right defense? Not one that's consistent with the auction. If I had the same pattern without the king of diamonds, however, it would be right for West to duck the spade ace. That beats the slam by force if he has ace fourth and, unless I am a good guesser, will beat it in practice if he has ace third or ace doubleton. (If he has ace third, I must win the spade in dummy, then continue with a spade honor and pitch. When West wins and plays a diamond, I must make the anti-percentage play of hopping with the ace and playing for three-three spades. If West ducks with ace doubleton, I must make the even stranger play of winning the spade in dummy and continuing with a low spade.)

I play a spade--six--king--ace. I claim the balance.

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

This is worth nine matchpoints, more than it should be. Reaching slam isn't all that hard. What happens if I am playing Standard and start with one heart instead of two? Jack says he would bid two spades. Again, he is the ten of spades shy for that call. His biggest problem rates to be distinguishing between a doubleton and a singleton spade in my hand. And starting with one spade is the best way to do that. He actually has a better shot at making that distinction with me than with most people. I raise responder's major with any unbalanced minimum containing three trumps. This style lends some clarity to my third-round preferences. Take these auctions, for example:

South	North
1 ♥	1 ♠
2 ♥	3 ♦
3 ♠

South	North
1 ♥	1 ♠
2 ♣	2 ♦
2 ♠

If you typically have four-card support when you raise responder's major, then these auctions suggest three-card support. But, as I play, these auctions unambiguously show two spades. In the first auction, the two heart bid flatly denies three spades. In the second auction, two clubs denies three spades if I have a minimum. I might have a hand with three spades that's too good for a single raise. But, if I do, I must take a jump preference over the fourth suit. So, again, the simple preference shows a doubleton. The ease with which you can sometimes locate your six-two fits is one of the benefits of this style.

On this deal, however, the benefit quickly evaporates. Opener will bid three hearts over one spade, which does not deny three-card spade support. Responder can be fairly sure he belongs in a slam but is unsure of the proper strain. I would attempt to solve that problem by bidding three spades, intending to follow with five notrump, offering partner a choice of trump suits.

Why did so many Jacks miss a slam? I had Jack bid the hand with himself to find out. He opens four hearts with the South hand and passes with the North hand. Yes, that will do it. I think it's fair to say that if one person pre-empts with a given hand and another opens a strong two-bid, at least one of them has made a poor choice.

Score on Board 54: +980 (9 MP)
Total: 427 MP (65.9%)

Current rank: 1st

Match 2 - Board 53

Before we begin, those of you who read my earlier posts advising Hartford Opera Theater about the mechanics of playing bridge might enjoy seeing the use to which my advice was put. The following video is from the rehearsal of Samuel Barber's A Hand of Bridge. Michelle Hendrick's stagings are always creative. I've never seen a bridge game quite like this one.

The video takes you through the auction and the opening lead. If you want to see the rest of the hand, you can purchase tickets here.

Board 53
Our side vulnerable

♠ A 5 4 3 ♥ Q 10 2 ♦ Q 8 ♣ 9 7 6 4

Partner passes, and RHO opens with one heart. I pass, LHO bids one notrump (forcing), and RHO bids two hearts. I pass again, and LHO raises to four hearts. Everyone passes.

If I had the same hand with three small hearts, I might lead the queen of diamonds, hoping either to build up diamond tricks or to maneuver a ruff. But, since I have a trump trick that I didn't have to have, there is less reason to be aggressive. I lead a third-and-lowest six of clubs.

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

West	North	East	South
		Pass	1 ♥
Pass	1 NT1	Pass	2 ♥
Pass	4 ♥	(All pass)
1Forcing

Declarer plays the club king from dummy; partner plays the eight; declarer, the deuce. Declarer cashes dummy's club ace. Partner plays the five, and declarer pitches the seven of diamonds. Since partner knows my club count, there is no reason for me to reveal it to declarer. So I decide to conceal the four. I choose the nine rather the seven, since it is the card I'm known to hold. (Partner obviously intended the eight as high, so he cannot hold the nine.) It may appear to the casual kibitzer that I'm giving suit preference for spades. Rest assured I am not.

Declarer's likeliest shape is 3-6-3-1. If he has a third-round spade loser, he can ruff it in dummy. If that is his plan, he will lead a spade from dummy at trick three. If he doesn't lead a spade, it's likely he has either the spade queen (with or without the king) or a doubleton spade. In the latter case, he is probably 2-7-3-1. 2-6-4-1 is unlikely, given the diamond pitch.

He doesn't lead a spade. He leads the three of clubs. Partner plays the ten, and declarer ruffs with the heart three.

What's this play all about? It appears declarer is stripping the hand for an endplay. Perhaps he intends to play ace and a heart to his jack, endplaying me if I win with queen doubleton. Although, given my conclusions about his spade holding, I can't construct a precise hand where that makes any sense.

Perhaps there is no technical basis for this play. Perhaps it is only a discovery play. Maybe declarer is trying to gather information about the lie of the club suit to help resolve a guess in another suit. If so, what card should I play? Either card will reveal something. The four will reveal my count; the seven will reveal I don't have an honor (since he knows I have only one card left higher than the six). How will this information help him? Count will help him if he is trying to guess the trump suit. Knowing about my high cards will help him if he is trying to place honors. Since there is nothing he can do about his trump loser, I would rather he have an accurate count than know I don't have a club honor. I play the club four.

Declarer plays the four of hearts. Declarer has no reason I can see to insert the eight, and splitting would cost a trick of partner has a stiff king. So I play the deuce--ace--nine. Declarer leads the eight of spades--seven--ten.

This looks like king-ten third of spades. So it appears declarer does need to ruff a spade. He just postponed the spade play, although I'm not sure why. It seems awfully risky--as well as pointless--to make this discovery play in clubs. What if I had something like

♠ Q x x x x ♥ Q x ♦ x x x ♣ 9 7 6 ?

I could win the spade queen, return a spade to partner's ace, and get a trump promotion on the fourth round of clubs. Maybe I was wrong to play the club four. The seven, making it appear that I was now out of clubs, might have given declarer more to worry about.

I take my ace and return the three of spades--jack--queen--king. Declarer cashes the king of hearts. In the fullness of time, I take my heart queen. Making five.

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

One pair got all the way to six hearts, down two. (Down two is a bit of a surprise. That means West didn't lead the spade ace, looking at a likely trump trick.) Of the five declarers who played in game, two made only four. So we get three matchpoints for minus 450.

Would I have done better to conceal the club count, playing the seven instead of the four on the third round? One of the advantages of playing against Jack is you can actually answer such questions. I replayed the hand to find out. Declarer was indeed afraid of an uppercut if I did that. Instead of playing a heart to the ace right away, he cashed the heart king, then played a heart to ace. He can no longer make five. Even if he guesses spades, I can take my ace, cash the heart queen, then exit in a minor to score partner's queen of spades.

Should I have seen this? I certainly should have seen that concealing the club count will make declarer worry about an uppercut. Annoyingly, that didn't occur to me until a few tricks later. It may be hard to see precisely how this worry will play out, but I don't need to. Instilling this worry must represent some advantage to the defense, and that fact is sufficient reason to play the seven. So I did made a mistake.

Declarer misplayed it, of course. It's unlikely he would learn anything useful from ruffing the club. He should have played a spade to the ten at trick two (taking the percentage guess in spades, since my failure to lead the suit increases the likelihood that I have the ace). But that's little consolation. When declarer misplays a hand, I'm supposed to make him pay.

Score on Board 53: -450 (3 MP)
Total: 418 MP (65.7%)

Current rank: 1st

Match 2 - Board 52

Board 52
Both sides vulnerable

♠ J 6 ♥ 9 4 2 ♦ K J 10 5 ♣ Q J 7 2

LHO opens one diamond, partner overcalls with one spade, and RHO makes a negative double. I bid one notrump. LHO bids two hearts, and RHO raises to four. Partner leads the ten of clubs.

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

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

Wow! It seems the opponents let me off the hook. I was lucky that South couldn't pass my one notrump advance to give his partner a chance to double. Was I not supposed to bid? My call seems fairly routine.

Declarer's likeliest shapes are 1-4-4-4 and 1-4-5-3. If he has 11 high-card points, that leaves partner with at most six--perhaps both black kings. Two kings? What kind of vulnerable overcall is that? Maybe he's five-five in the black suits, giving declarer a 1-4-6-2 pattern. That seems to be the likeliest construction. It also means we weren't in as much trouble as I thought. Two clubs wouldn't fare too badly.

Dummy plays the club ace. Normally, I would discourage to let partner know I have good diamonds. But partner doesn't rate to have much to do in this hand. Any signal I give will help declarer more than partner. So I encourage with the club seven. Declarer plays the six.

Declarer plays the heart three from dummy--four--jack--queen. Partner's side card is the heart queen instead of the club king? Even five-five in the black suits doesn't make this overcall look attractive any more. Partner continues with the eight of hearts--five--deuce--ten.

Declarer plays the seven of hearts to dummy's king. Partner discards the diamond deuce. That's weird. Why offer declarer any insight into the lie of the diamond suit? Why not just pitch from his five-card club suit? It's also somewhat surprising that declarer prefers to win this trick in dummy rather than in his hand.

Declarer plays the queen of diamonds. I cover with the king--ace--seven. So Partner wasn't five-five. He seems to have made a flaky overcall with 5-2-2-4. Since declarer has only one trump in dummy, I'm destined to take two diamond tricks. Declarer plays the three of spades--deuce--queen--six, then a diamond from dummy--ten--four--spade five. I play a club. Declarer wins and concedes a trick to my jack of diamonds. Making four.

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

Declarer has an extra trick in the end position. He's pitching a winner on the spade ace. Was a spade to the queen a practice finesse? I guess so--but only because diamonds were four-two. It would have been necessary to take the spade finesse if diamonds were three-three.

Declarer didn't time the play very well. He would have done better to start diamonds earlier. It would be nice to lead toward the queen of diamonds. But he doesn't have the entries to do that conveniently, and it's probably not necessary. Even if West has the king, leading toward the queen doesn't really gain anything as long as East can't overruff dummy. West would need to have king fourth of diamonds, a virtual impossibility on the auction, before declarer would regret starting diamonds from the table.

So declarer should play the queen of diamonds from dummy at trick two. East covers with the king. Declarer takes his ace, plays a spade to the queen, then plays another diamond to East's ten.

If East foolishly switches to a trump, declarer will make six. It is frequently a bad idea to lead trumps when declarer is about to embark on a crossruff, despite the propensity of many players to do exactly that. Playing trumps simply pickles the defense's middle-ranking cards and removes the threat of overruffs or uppercuts. East does better to play another club. (A low one, of course, so declarer will not know who has the club queen.) Declarer wins and plays a diamond. West ruffs in with the eight, forcing dummy's king. Declarer can still make six by playing a heart to the ace, but I see no particular reason for him to do so. He will probably take a losing heart finesse. But then he has the rest. Making five. Only two other declarers managed to make five, so plus 650 would be a respectable score.

Too bad I wasn't declarer. It's easy to see after the fact that starting diamonds from the table is the right move. It would be nice to confirm that I would have seen that before the fact. We get eight matchpoints for holding this to four.

Score on Board 52: -620 (8 MP)
Total: 415 MP (66.5%)

Current rank: 1st

Match 2 - Board 51

Board 51
Opponents vulnerable

♠ A K ♥ K Q J 7 5 ♦ 8 4 2 ♣ 10 6 4

As I've said before, good things seems to happen when you open hands like this with a weak notrump, no matter how offensive it may be to your sense of propriety. And this deal is no exception. I open one notrump, and the auction proceeds pass--pass--two hearts.

In my methods, a double by me or by responder is for take-out. But Jack plays this as a penalty double. Until now, I've never seen a hand with which I would want to double for penalties on this auction. And, now that I've seen it, I don't know if I can afford to do so. Is partner really supposed to pass this double with a singleton heart? Perhaps he is. Never having played this way, I'm not entirely sure how it works. But if he is supposed to pass with a singleton, that means I can't double unless I have five. It seems wrong to reserve a useful call for such an unlikely event.

I would just pass if I thought partner was apt to pass it out. But, if he has a singleton heart, he is probably going to balance anyway. Having passed one notrump, he can bid a four-card spade suit or he can bid two notrump (unusual) with fewer spades. My best chance to shut him up is to double and hope for the best.

I double; everyone passes. Since we normally lead ace from ace-king, I lead the king of spades to show my doubleton.

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

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

Did partner sit with a heart void? I doubt it. More likely, declarer has balanced on a five-card suit.

Partner plays the six of spades; declarer plays the seven. On the spade ace, partner plays the five; declarer plays the ten.

Partner should not encourage in spades if he can stand the obvious shift. So, if I trusted partner's carding, I would assume he did not have the king of diamonds, in which case I would consider a club shift. (If declarer has king doubleton of diamonds and partner has the club ace, it might be necessary to put partner in before declarer can take a spade pitch.) But Jack doesn't think that way. It's too dangerous to break clubs without a compelling reason. I'm not entirely whether I would play a club if I did trust partner's carding. I'm certainly not going to play one when I don't. So I shift to a diamond. I choose the eight, since, if declarer plays low, I don't want partner inserting the ten from king-ten.

Declarer plays the queen from dummy, partner wins with the king, and declarer plays the ten. I assume this isn't a singleton. Even if partner is expected to sit with heart shortness and a semi-balanced hand, surely he should pull with a six-card suit. Partner returns the jack of spades. Declarer plays the queen, and I ruff with the heart five.

Obviously declarer has the four of spades remaining, since partner would have led the four rather than the jack if he had it. Declarer's falsecard at trick two was ill-conceived. If he had retained the ten, I wouldn't know the spade count. "Play the card you're know to hold" (or are going to be known to hold).

I play the four of diamonds--six--seven--heart deuce. Partner did sit with six diamonds! I'm just as happy this time, partner. But let's not make a habit of it. Declarer leads the eight of hearts from his hand. I play the jack, and partner follows with the six.

Declarer is 4-5-1-3, and he must have a club loser, else he would not have finessed the diamond at trick three. I will take two more heart tricks unless I get endplayed, and the only way I can get endplayed is if declarer can cash three club tricks. Thus it would be a mistake to switch to a club. If declarer has ace-king small or ace-queen small, a club switch would allow him to take three club tricks and pitch his spade on the diamond ace, reducing me to only trumps. If I play a diamond, I am guaranteed two more trump tricks.

I play a diamond to dummy's ace, and declarer pitches the seven of clubs. He plays a heart to the ten and my queen. I exit with a club and eventually score the heart king for down two.

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

Declarer could have held it to down one by rising with the diamond ace at trick three, since I must eventually break the club suit. But it would have made no difference. Even down one undoubled would have been a top for us. Everyone else declared one notrump our way. Half of them made it; half went down one.

That means we would have the same top if partner had pulled to three diamonds (as he should), assuming he made it. The defense can't beat it by force, but best defense will probably beat it in practice. Say South leads a spade. Declarer wins and plays the king of hearts. South takes his ace. He must now play a diamond to North's ace, and North must switch to the jack of clubs. Declarer covers with the queen. South wins and underleads his remaining honor. Declarer's percentage play (by restricted choice) is to play low.

This would be an unlikely defense to find. Not the jack of clubs shift. That's a well-known position. The hard part is the diamond shift. It's right only when partner has the diamond ace and the jack-nine of clubs. A club shift, however, is right anytime partner has the club queen and a slow diamond trick. Surely that's more likely.

Score on Board 51: +500 (12 MP)
Total: 407 MP (66.5%)

Current rank: 1st

Match 2 - Board 50

Board 50
Our side vulnerable

♠ Q ♥ 9 4 2 ♦ K 6 3 2 ♣ A 10 6 3 2

RHO opens with a Precision club. I like to interfere over strong clubs. But at this vulnerability, there's not much I can do with this hand. I pass.

LHO bids one heart, showing five hearts and eight or more high-card points and creating a game force. Partner bids one spade, and RHO raises to three hearts.

I pass, LHO bids four hearts, and RHO continues with Blackwood. This auction makes no sense. Why bid three hearts with a hand where you intend to bid again over a signoff? Better to bid two hearts, keeping the auction low in case partner can cooperate. Three hearts should show an intermediate hand--a hand with moderate slam interest, where you wish to wish to get your invitation off your chest then leave further action up to partner. Two hearts should be either a minimum or a hand with serious slam interest. That way, you get to show three ranges instead of just two.

(In classic Precision, two hearts is a trump-asking bid, and three hearts shows a minimum. But I assume my opponents aren't playing asking bids, else RHO would have chosen that route over a clunky Blackwood auction.)

LHO bids five diamonds, showing one or four key cards. RHO bids five spades to ask about the trump queen. Thanks, RHO. Perhaps my failure to double this will steer partner to a minor-suit lead, hopefully a diamond. I pass. LHO bids five notrump, denying the trump queen, and RHO settles for six hearts.

What lead should a double by me call for? Obviously it should call for some minor-suit lead. But, since the opponents have bid no side suits naturally, it's not clear which minor it should call for. Some partnerships have a specific agreement. (For example, "Lead the lower-ranking unbid suit.") Others, like me, prefer to leave it more flexible. ("Lead the suit you think I'm most apt to be void in.") A diamond lead is surely our best shot, even though it might not work. So, if I had reason to believe that double would elicit a diamond lead, I might try it. But I don't, so I pass. Partner leads the jack of spades.

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

West	North	East	South
	1 ♣1	Pass	1 ♥
1 ♠	3 ♥	Pass	4 ♥
Pass	4 NT2	Pass	5 ♦3
Pass	5 ♠4	Pass	5 NT5
Pass	6 ♥	(All pass)
116+ HCP
2Ace asking for hearts
31 or 4 aces
4Asking for queen of trumps
5No trump queen

If declarer has at least two diamonds, I may yet regret not doubling. Given South's Blackwood response, partner must have the ace or king of hearts. If it's the king, declarer, fearing a spade ruff, might decide to play a heart to the ace and bank on the diamond finesse. He is wrong about the diamond finesse, but he will be pleasantly surprised when the heart king drops. Either minor-suit lead would leave declarer with no reason not to take the heart finesse.

(I have known players--though I won't mention any names--who would solve this problem by "accidentally" letting declarer see the king of diamonds in their hand. Once declarer knows the diamond finesse is off, he'll take the heart finesse. Even if I were unburdened by any sense of ethics and inclined to try this maneuver, I couldn't. Jack's programmers forgot to include a flash-half-your-hand-to-declarer button.)

Declarer plays the spade king--queen--seven. Now ten of hearts--four--three--ace. Yay! Partner leads the nine of spades--ace--heart deuce--spade deuce.

What was the spade nine all about? For whatever reason, partner wanted to play a low card, and the nine was the lowest card he could afford. So declarer must have the eight (and he should have played it). It appears declarer is 3-5-2-3 or 3-5-1-4 with the king and queen of clubs. In the latter case, he will likely choose a ruffing finesse against my diamond king. In the former case, we have at least one more trick coming. Can I contrive to take another one?

Suppose I lead the ace of clubs to tap dummy. Declarer leads a heart to his king and plays a diamond to dummy's ten. (Hopefully, partner's doubleton includes the nine.) Say I duck. Now declarer can't get off dummy to repeat the finesse. He will probably play ace and ruff a diamond, trying to drop partner's king. When it doesn't drop, he has a spade loser left. But all I've done is broken even. No, wait. I haven't even done that. He can cash the king and queen of clubs, pitching dummy's spades, then ruff his spade. I've lost a trick on this line.

Although, come to think of it, giving declarer two club tricks might not be such a bad idea for another reason. What if he's 3-5-1-4? If I lead the club ace, setting up his king and queen, he is left with only one unruffable black-suit loser. So he needs only two diamond tricks to take the rest. If I don't hand him the club suit, he pretty much has to take the ruffing finesse in diamonds against me. But if I do, then he has the option of finessing partner for the diamond king.

I play the ace of clubs--seven--four--heart eight. Declarer plays the jack of hearts. But, instead of overtaking as I expect, he lets it hold, as partner plays the five of clubs. If declarer intended to finesse partner for the diamond king, surely he would have overtaken the jack of hearts. He must have a singleton diamond, and he's decided to take a ruffing finesse against me.

No. Declarer plays dummy's last heart and overtakes with his king. I play the club deuce; partner plays the spade four. Since dummy is out of entries, declarer can no longer take a ruffing finesse in diamonds. Furthermore, he can no longer ruff a loser in dummy, so one pitch on the diamonds must be sufficient. 3-5-1-4 is no longer possible. Declarer must have

♠ 8 7 2 ♥ K 7 6 5 3 ♦ 9 x ♣ K Q 7

Declarer leads the nine of diamonds--seven--eight. There is no reason to take this trick. If declarer repeats the finesse, I can exit with a club, locking him in his hand. He is left with a spade loser for down three. If he doesn't repeat the finesse, no harm done. We take partner's spade trick instead of my king of diamonds. I play the three of diamonds.

Declarer cashes the king and queen of clubs, pitching dummy's spades. I see. Declarer doesn't need to repeat the diamond finesse. He can now cash his trumps, executing a show up squeeze against partner. If the diamond king is onside, he will take the rest. If not, he will lose the last trick.

Oops. Declarer doesn't see the squeeze. He plays the four of diamonds--five--ten.  I take my king and exit with a club. Declarer ruffs and eventually loses a spade trick. Down three.

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

Jack must have been upset with his contract to have misplayed the end position so badly. Still, it didn't matter how many we beat this. No one else ventured past the four level, so we were the only East-West pair to go plus. While I would not have chosen North's auction, I do sympathize with him. He was probably the only one in the room who knew his partner had five hearts, and the fifth heart makes a huge difference in his hand evaluation. Consider that slam isn't all that bad opposite as little as

♠ x x ♥ A 9 x x x ♦ x x x ♣ x x x.

Score on Board 50: +150 (12 MP)
Total: 395 MP (65.8%)

Current rank: 1st