Free Weekly Instant Tournament - July 5 - Board 7

Board 7
Both sides vulnerable

♠ Q J 7  ♥ A 9 8 4  ♦ A Q 6  ♣ A J 7

I open with one club in first seat. Partner bids one heart and RHO doubles.

Before the days of supports redoubles, John and I would bid two notrump with this hand, an artificial bid showing four-card heart support and values to raise to the three level.

The theory was, if you had a balanced 18 or 19-count, you would redouble, since the opponents might be in trouble. Since this meant we had no need for a natural two notrump bid, we adopted the methods played by responder after a direct take-out double: Two notrump was a value raise to the three-level, and a jump raise was pre-emptive. "Pre-emptive" in this context meant a normal single raise with four trumps. So two hearts, by elimination, showed a single raise with only three trumps.

The advent of support redoubles changed all that. Redouble now showed three-card support, and a single raise showed four-card support. Two notrump was back to being natural, since you couldn't redouble any more.

The old-fashioned approach allowed you to penalize the opponents on occasion. And the pre-emptive raise to three sometimes made the opponents' life difficult. Of course, it sometimes made your life difficult when everyone passed and you found yourself too high. Most players today prefer the modern approach, where you can show your minimum with four-card support at the two level.

Back to deal at hand. I bid three hearts, and partner carries on to four. RHO leads the king of spades.

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

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

If the opponent can take a spade ruff, I need the rest, which probably means finding both the diamond king and the club queen onside. If they can't take a spade ruff, I can afford to lose one minor-suit trick. So I need the diamond king onside, or, if that fails, I need to guess whether to finesse against the club queen or the diamond jack.

East plays the spade three; I play the four. West continues with the spade ace, and East plays the nine. The robots don't signal on opening leads, so nobody knows whether East is ruffing the next spade or not. At least that's true if I play the spade ten. Since East probably wouldn't play the spade nine if he had the ten, the ten is the card I'm known to hold. If East has a doubleton spade and I don't play the ten, I've given the show away.

I play the ten, and West continues with the spade deuce. East follows with the five. Now all I have to do is draw trump and win one of my three possible minor-suit finesses. Unfortunately, I can try only two of them.

No. I take that back. Actually, I don't need any of the finesses to work. I can draw trump and take a diamond finesse--either lead a diamond to the queen or float the ten. If East wins, he must give me a trick in one of the minors or lead a spade and give me a ruff-sluff.

Since West has at least eight cards in the minors, leaving East at most six, the right way to play trumps is to cash the ace and finesse against East. I cash the heart ace. West drops the queen. Well, I was right he had a singleton. I cash the king and jack of hearts. West discards the club nine and spade eight. This is the current position:

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

If my goal is to make my contract, it makes no difference whether I finesse the diamond queen or float the ten. But if I finesse the queen successfully, I can try the club finesse for an overtrick. So I lead the seven of diamonds to the queen. West takes the king and returns a diamond. I have the rest.

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

Making four is worth 54%.

Which method of handling sandwich seat take-out doubles is better? The old-fashioned approach, where redouble shows a two-notrump rebid, or the modern approach, where redouble shows a three-card raise?

As I said earlier, the old-fashioned approach will sometimes propel you to the three level when you don't want to be there. But that's more of an issue with spades than with hearts. Getting to the three-level with eight spades is overbidding total tricks. Getting to the three-level with eight hearts is OK if the opponents have a spade fit.

Of course, no one says you have to have only eight trumps. Sometimes responder has a five-card suit and you belong at the three-level anyway. And sometimes, even if you don't belong there, the opponents take you off the hook. Aggressive bidding puts a lot of pressure on the opponents and can gain even if it's a loser double-dummy. 

I suspect what's theoretically best is to play is the old-fashioned method when responder bids hearts and the modern method when he bids spades. I don't know anyone who plays that way, however. And I doubt I'll encounter anyone who does.

Free Weekly Instant Tournament - July 5 - Board 6

Board 6
Opponents vulnerable

♠ A K 8 4 3  ♥ Q 8 3 2  ♦ Q 6  ♣ A 9

I open with one spade in second seat. Partner bids two clubs; I rebid two hearts.

Partner bids three diamonds, which is explained as "five+ clubs and four+ diamonds." That's not what the bid should mean. With a diamond suit, responder should bid two notrump. Three diamonds should be a catch-all, denying the ability to bid anything else; that is, no three-card spade support, no four-card heart support, no sixth club, and only a partial diamond stopper. Something like:

♠ Q x  ♥ A K x  ♦ J x x  ♣ K J x x x

Playing the robots' methods, you have no bid with this hand. 

Why should three diamonds promise a partial diamond stopper? Why not no diamond stopper at all? Simply for reasons of frequency. With values to force to game, you are more likely to have a partial stopper than not. So if it promises a partial stopper, the hand for which you have no bid at all (e.g., the above hand without the diamond jack) is rare. If you hold such a hand, you simply have to tell whatever lie you think is least damaging.

You have an easier time of it if you play that a preference to opener's first suit shows specifically a doubleton. Then you can bid two spades with the above hand--whether or not you have the diamond jack. Playing this way, you must make a jump preference with three-card support.

This is a more common approach in Acol. I know of only a handful of American experts who play this way. Perhaps not even a complete handful. Eastern science fiction players don't like to jump in forcing auctions. But I don't see the problem in this case. Do you really need to start investigating slam at the two-level? To my mind, having to bid three spades to show genuine support isn't much of a hardship. Being able to bid two spades with a doubleton and an awkward hand can be quite valuable at times. And those are precisely the times where you want to keep the auction low: when you need room to explore the right strain.

In any event, whether playing my methods or the robots' methods, I have an obvious three notrump call over three diamonds. I bid three notrump, everyone passes, and LHO leads the king of hearts.

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

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

Leading an honor in declarer's second suit is a strange choice. But I suppose no suit is especially attractive in this auction.

East plays the five; I play the deuce. West continues with the ace of hearts, and East plays the six. If I can run clubs, I can take the rest: five clubs, three diamonds, two spades, and a heart. Making five. If I must concede a trick to club queen, I make four.

The likeliest defense is a diamond shift. Let's say West shifts to a low diamond, I play the eight from dummy, and East plays low. They've given me a diamond trick, but I can't untangle it. If I cash my diamond queen, I either have to spurn the club finesse to get back to dummy or take the finesse and risk never reaching dummy again if it loses.

Fortunately, the extra diamond trick is an illusion. I don't need it. If clubs run, I have the rest. If they don't I make four. It makes no difference whether I take three diamonds or four.

How should I handle the club suit? To run the suit, I need to find one opponent with queen doubleton or third. It may appear I can't afford to finesse East for the queen, since if it loses, a second diamond kills my dummy entry before I can unblock my club ace. But, in fact, I can unblock clubs by discarding the club ace on a diamond. So, unless clubs are five-one, I can safely finesse either way.

Since I have no reason to believe one opponent is more likely to have the club queen than the other, it's a guess which way to finesse if the queen is doubleton or third. What if someone has queen fourth? In that case, I want to finesse against West. No matter which hand has queen fourth, I make four by finessing against West and conceding a trick to the club queen.

In short, finessing West for the queen works more often than finessing against East. So that's my plan if I get a diamond shift.

I don't. West makes the friendly shift of a club, and East covers the jack with the queen. Making five.

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

Plus 460 is worth 67.9%.

The club shift is a poor choice. A diamond shift should be routine. As a general rule, when defending a misfit notrump contract, the best defense is to attack declarer's communication suit; i.e., the suit that is solid or close to solid and has honors split between the two hands.

The first time I encountered this principle was this deal from the 1979 Bermuda Bowl:

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

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

West led the club four. Declarer was Mike Passell, and it appears he has nine easy tricks: Five diamonds, two clubs, and two spades.

Passell won in dummy with the king, crossed to the spade ace, led a diamond to the queen, and led the spade queen, setting up his ninth trick. Unfortunately, he had Benito Garozzo on his right. Garozzo took the spade king and returned a diamond. There was now no way for Passell to take his nine tricks.

Attacking the communication suit isn't nearly so deadly on my deal. While it does scramble my communications, that doesn't really matter. The main reason it works is that it avoids picking up the club queen. But the principle is the same: Attacking declarer's entries is a better plan than helping him set up his suits. The robots would do well to learn from Garozzo.

Free Weekly Instant Tournament - July 5 - Board 5

Board 5
Our side vulnerable

♠ A K 10 9 5  ♥ A K Q J 6 4  ♦ J  ♣ K

Partner passes, and RHO opens with one diamond. I'm willing to drive this hand to game. In fact, I don't need much for slam. The spade queen and an ace suffices. A small doubleton spade and an ace might be enough opposite adequate heart support.

I could start with two diamonds, a Michaels cue-bid. But I'm not a fan of Michaels with good hands. When it's our hand, I like to keep the auction low to find out as much as I can. If I bid one heart and partner raises to two hearts, at least I know he has something. But if I bid two diamonds and partner bids two hearts, I know very little. Partner could have a hand where he would have raised an overcall. Or he could have nothing. He might even have a doubleton heart. In short, I'm better placed if I give partner a chance to raise my suit voluntarily.

One downside to overcalling is that you might buy it there. In general, I don't worry about that too much, since opponents rarely sell out at the one-level. But there is more danger with this hand than with most--not because of the high cards but because of the spade suit.

If the auction goes one diamond--one heart--pass--pass and opener is looking at a stiff spade, he might well choose to sell out. He knows his partner can't have four spades unless he's broke. So either his partner has a terrible hand, or the opponents have a nine-card or better spade fit they haven't found yet. Either way, the opponents probably have a better spot than one heart. Why give them another chance to find it?

Maybe I'm giving the robots too much credit. But the prospect of the auction's ending in one heart does worry me a little. And, while bidding two diamonds may not be best, it isn't a terrible choice. Many players wouldn't even consider a different action. 

A bit reluctantly, I bid two diamonds. LHO passes, partner bids two heart, and RHO passes.

This was just the auction I was worried about. Now I wish I had bid one heart. If I bid one heart and partner passes, I can give up on slam. I would continue with three spades over RHO's presumed balance. But if partner raises to two hearts, I can be more aggressive. A reasonable approach would be to make a "game try" of two spades, bidding Blackwood if partner accepts and settling for four hearts if he doesn't.

How do I get partner's cooperation after this start? Two spades isn't even forcing. It's simply a forward-going bid with a sixth spade. Three clubs and three diamonds are available as "game tries," but they should show fragments. Partner will expect the king of that suit to be worth something. Furthermore, they are passable. With a misfit, he might decide to pass three of a minor. Since I want to play game even opposite a misfit, I can't take that risk.

Four of a minor is obviously a slam try, but it's not clear what it means. Does it suggest concern about the other minor? Might four diamonds, for example, be this hand:

♠ A K 10 9 5  ♥ A K Q J 6 4  ♦ --  ♣ x x  ?

Perhaps the right bid is three notrump. That should be some kind of slam try, and it avoids focusing attention on a specific minor. If partner has a minor-suit ace, he can cue bid it, and I can bid four hearts. Now, if partner has the spade queen, he should bid on. Two sure cover cards must be enough if I have slam interest after two hearts.

Of course making up bids in the middle of an auction is a bad idea even with a non-robot partner. However obvious it may seem to you that an undiscussed bid should mean what you want it to mean, it may not be obvious to partner. Slam is sufficiently remote that I'll just give up on it and bid a practical four hearts.

I bid four hearts, everyone passes, and RHO leads the diamond king.

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

West	North	East	South
Robot	Phillip	Robot	Robot
			Pass
1 ♦	2 ♦	Pass	2 ♥
Pass	4 ♥	(All pass)

We didn't miss a slam. I'm off two minor-suit tricks. I need to avoid two spade losers to make this. If trumps are two-two, that should be easy. If not, I need to find spades three-two or find a singleton honor somewhere.

Can I handle a four-one spade break if an honor doesn't fall? If the hand with four spades has three hearts, I can draw one trump, then play ace-king and a spade. They can't stop me from taking a spade ruff. That would be poor line, however, if spade are four-one but trumps two-two. Now I'm letting the defense score a ruff when I'm cold if I just cash two trumps.

If someone does hold a stiff spade, he is likelier to hold two hearts than one. So unless something strange happens to convince me otherwise, drawing two rounds of trumps looks best.

East follows to trick one with the five of diamonds. I play the deuce. West cashes the club ace and taps dummy with another club.

I draw trump. East follows to three rounds. When I cash the spade ace, West follows with the jack. I'm making this. In fact, if that was queen-jack doubleton of spades, I'm making five.

I cash the king of spades. West drops the queen, and I claim. Making five.

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

Plus 650 is worth 64%.

What would have happened had I overcalled with one heart? Some players tried that. The auction proceeds pass--pass to West, who balances with two clubs. Most players now bid three spades. Partner should correct this to four hearts, but of course, he doesn't. He passes three spades.

This is a robot quirk I've noticed before. They don't like correcting with bad hands. A robot once left me in my second suit with a doubleton, holding four cards in my first suit. Maybe, knowing that's a danger, two diamonds is the right bid after all.

So far as not balancing as opener with a stiff spade goes, my favorite example is this hand, which I held years ago in a Regional Open Pairs in Denver:

♠ x  ♥ A K Q J x x x x  ♦ x x  ♣ x x

Vul against not, I opened with one heart. LHO overcalled with two diamonds--pass--pass back to me. It felt funny to sell out below two hearts with eight tricks in my own hand, but the stiff spade worried me. At this vulnerability, I didn't want to get pushed too high, and I suspected the opponents could do a lot of pushing. So I passed. I still remember the look on partner's face when he led a heart and declarer ruffed it.

Selling out was right, but not in the way I expected. The opponents were not cold for four spades. They were cold for five clubs. 

Free Weekly Instant Tournament - July 5 - Board 4

Board 4
Both sides vulnerable

♠ 2  ♥ 8 6 2  ♦ A K Q J 3 2  ♣ K J 6

Three passes to me. I open with one diamond, and partner bids one spade. This is a good hand, but not quite good enough to rebid three diamonds. Three diamonds shows seven and a half to eight tricks. This hand has about seven.

I bid two diamonds, and partner bids two hearts. The tooltip says this bid is forcing to three notrump. Obviously it can't be, since partner is a passed hand. But I'm just as happy partner thinks it is. That means I can bid two notrump and give him a chance to rebid a five-card heart suit. If two notrump were not forcing, I would have to bid three notrump, possibly leaving partner to guess whether to pass or bid four hearts.

I bid two notrump, and partner bids three diamonds. Partner is 5-4-3-1 or 5-4-4-0 and is presumably concerned about three notrump because of his club shortness. While I don't have a sure double club stopper, the fact that my diamonds are solid may mean that a single stopper is good enough. So I bid three notrump. Everyone passes, and LHO leads the three of clubs.

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

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

I don't care for partner's three diamond bid. With a stiff ace of clubs, he should raise two notrump to three. Three diamonds will worry me unnecessarily about the club situation and will often steer us away from three notrump when we belong there.

I have nine top tricks. I have two ways to try for a tenth in hearts: (A) I can lead a heart to the queen, or (B) I can lead a heart to the nine, in case jack-ten or onside, then lead to the queen later if that fails. 

There are two problems with (B). For one, it can't work double dummy (unless spades are blocked), since the opponents will be able to cash three spades when East wins the heart trick. I'm not too worried about that, though, because the opponents are unlikely to find the winning defense. East is apt to return a club after winning the heart. A more serious problem is that, if East wins with the ten or jack and returns a club, a heart to queen now risks my contract. The only way to finesse against the heart king safely is to do so right away.

I'm inclined to try (B) anyway. The robots are bad at deceptive discarding. After I run six diamond tricks, I'll probably know whether the heart king is onside or not. So I might as well give myself the extra vig of finding jack-ten onside.

I win the club ace in dummy, as East plays the four. The deuce is still out. If East wanted to play a low a club, he might have played the deuce rather than the four, so West probably has the deuce. That means clubs are probably five-four. Although the robots do card strangely, so that's hardly a sure thing.

I lead the five of diamonds from dummy. East plays the eight. Which card should I win with? The ace is clearly wrong. It telegraphs that I have no finesses to take. The king is marginally better, since I could be missing the ace. But the queen is better yet. It leaves open the possibility that I'm missing the ace or the king.

I win with the queen, and West follows with the six. I lead the six of hearts, and West inserts the ten. I guess I didn't have to worry about whether to finesse the nine or not. I cover with the queen, and East follows with the five. We've reached this position:

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

I have ten tricks. Can I find an eleventh? I could play ace and a heart, hoping the ace drops West's king or that the suit is three-three. But that again risks the defense's finding a spade shift and holding me to nine tricks. Will they find it?

If hearts are three-three and West wins the trick, he knows there is no future in the club suit. So he may find a spade shift. What if East wins the heart with jack fourth? Then West gets a chance to pitch a club. That should suffice to get a spade switch. Setting up the heart isn't likely to work. Is there a safer way to try for another trick?

The count isn't right for a squeeze. I just have to hope the opponents mis-discard. I'll run all my winners except for the club king. Then, if I judge it's safe to do so, I'll exit with a heart or a spade and hope to score two club tricks. If that's my plan, I must cash the heart ace before running diamonds. I want to be in my hand when I make the critical decision in the end game.

It doesn't hurt to cash one more diamond, though. I lead the nine of diamonds from dummy. East discards the seven of spades, and I play low from my hand. The six of spades is still out. The robots tend to discard count. So if East has the six, he probably has four spades. If not, he probably has five.

I cash the ace of hearts. East plays the four; West, the king, the card he's known to hold. I can't be sure whether West began with king-ten or king-jack-ten of hearts.

I play a diamond to my hand, as East discards the seven of clubs.

On the fourth diamond, West discards the five of clubs. I still haven't seen the deuce. But I'm still assuming West has it for the time being. I pitch a spade from dummy, and East discards the spade nine. Still no six. If East had four spades, he might have completed his echo or, more likely, pitched another club or a heart. I'm inclined to think he has five spades and is 5-3-1-4, making West 2-3-3-5.

On the penultimate diamond, West discards the spade eight; East, the club eight. If West started with ace doubleton of spades, I have him now. He's down to

♠ A  ♥ J  ♦ --  ♣ ? x x

I can cash the last diamond and toss him in to get a club lead into my king-jack. No, wait. He can't have ace doubleton of spades. I already concluded that if spades are 2-5, West must have the six. So the only way West can have a doubleton spade is if he has eight-six.

I cash the last diamond. West finally pitches the elusive club deuce, confirming he started with five clubs. East pitches the heart three.

I'm still not sure of the spade count. But I'm pretty sure West has the club queen. East wouldn't have stiffed it if he had it. So there are two possible layouts:

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

or

	NORTH Robot ♠ J 10 ♥ 9 7 ♦ -- ♣ --
WEST Robot ♠ ? ? ♥ -- ♦ -- ♣ Q x		EAST Robot ♠ ? 6 ♥ J  ♦ -- ♣ x
	SOUTH Phillip ♠ 2 ♥ 8 ♦ -- ♣ K J

Either way it can't hurt to exit with a spade. I can't lose the club king, and if East can't or doesn't gain the lead in spades, West will have to lead into my club tenace at the end. A heart exit would be a mistake, however. In the first layout, East could pitch his last club on the heart jack and take the last three tricks.

I exit with the spade deuce. West plays the queen. East overtakes with the king, taking his partner off the endplay. Making four.

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

Plus 630 is worth 71%. I'm not sure what East would have done if I had played ace and a heart after the heart finesse won. Would he have returned his partner's suit or would he have found the spade shift?

Since one measly overtrick was worth 71%, I was right not to find out. I wish I could give you a reason one overtrick was such a good result, but I can't. Everyone was in three notrump. And, for reasons I can't fathom, six declarers simply cashed out and never bothered with a heart finesse.

Free Weekly Instant Tournament - July 5 - Board 3

Board 3
Opponents vulnerable

♠ Q 9 5 4 3  ♥ J 9  ♦ A 8  ♣ A Q 5 2

I open with one spade in first seat. Partner bids one notrump, forcing, and I rebid two clubs. Partner bids three spades, showing a limit raise with three trumps. With six losers, I have a possible, if pushy, acceptance over a four-card limit raise. But opposite a three-card raise, it's clear to pass. 

The lack of the spade jack is one problem. Loser count is crediting me with one spade loser if partner has, say, king third. The missing spade jack is less of a concern if partner has four trumps.

Another problem is the fourth club. Loser count assumes all your fourth-round cards are winners. That's a fair assumption if dummy has four trumps. Not so fair if it has only three. Opposite three trumps, this hand is closer to seven losers than six.

I pass, and LHO leads the ten of hearts.

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

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

Since I have the heart nine, the ten is obviously a doubleton or singleton. I have two heart losers and two spade losers. I have to avoid a third spade loser to make this, which will be hard to do after three rounds of hearts. So my first job is to try to convince East to abandon the heart suit.

I play a low heart from dummy. East wins with the queen and I drop the jack, the card I'm known to hold. East may now choose not to continue hearts for fear his partner led from ten-nine third and my jack is a singleton.

No such luck. East cashes the heart ace, and West follows with the five. East continues with the seven of hearts, going for the trump promotion.

Is there any trump position where I can avoid three trump losers? Suppose East has ace-jack or king-jack doubleton. Then I can ruff with the nine. Whether West overruffs or not, I can reach dummy and play a spade toward my queen. The opponents can't take more than the ace and king of trumps.

I ruff with the nine, and West pitches the six of clubs. 

Even if I can bring home the trumps, I have a potential fourth-round club loser. I need for clubs to be three-three or for the diamond queen to be onside (so I can take a pitch) or for there to be a minor-suit squeeze. In any event, I don't want to use the diamond king to reach dummy and remove my squeeze or finesse options. So I need to lead a club to the king. 

But hold on. What about West's club pitch? He wouldn't pitch from a four-card suit. Maybe he has five. If so, a club to the king sets up a club ruff for the defense. If East has honor-jack doubleton as I'm hoping, it's a little tricky to take the ruff. East must hop with his trump honor and lead a diamond. West can then ruff with his honor and lead a club.

But so what? If I reach dummy by playing a diamond to the king, I'm down anyway on that layout, since I can no longer get rid of my club loser. If West does have five clubs, I'm better off leading a club to the king and hoping they don't find the killing defense. Now, when I discover the bad club break, I still have options in the diamond suit.

I lead a club to dummy's king. West plays the seven; East, the four.

Now the spade six. East follows with the deuce. I guess I'm down. Wait. Maybe not. Perhaps West has ace-king tight of spades and I can duck them out. Although if he does, he gave me the contract when he failed to overruff my nine of spades.

I play the spade three; West wins with the eight. He then cashes the ace and king of spade. East pitches the heart deuce on the third round of spades.

We've reached this position, with West on play.

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

West shifts to the nine of diamonds, and I play the jack from dummy. If East plays low, I'll have to overtake with the ace, since the suit is blocked. I'll then cash clubs. If West began with three or four clubs, my clubs are good. If he began with two, then East is 2-6-1-4 and the diamond finesse is marked. If West began with five clubs, I need to hope the diamond queen is onside. But I don't need to take the finesse. I can cash the spade queen for a show-up squeeze.

East doesn't give me the problem. He covers the diamond jack with the queen, and I claim down one.

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

Minus 50 is dead average. The field misplayed this deal. Only one other declarer ruffed the third heart with the spade nine. Some ruffed low; others pitched a club. Too bad it makes no difference as the cards lie. It would have been nice to score 96% for making an obvious play.

I said I might accept with this hand after a four-card limit raise. Just to show that's not completely crazy, note how much difference the fourth trump would make. For starters, the fourth trump makes me 70% to pick up spades for two losers. And it means the fourth club is no longer a problem. So all I need to do is to avoid two heart losers. If the ace is onside, I'm home, making my overall odds at least 35%. Plus I have other chances.  West might lead from the heart queen, or he might lead a diamond, picking up the diamond queen and letting me pitch a heart. Maybe it's not a game you want to be in at matchpoints. But it's certainly worthwhile vulnerable at IMPs.

Free Weekly Instant Tournament - July 5 - Board 2

Board 2
Neither side vulnerable

♠ A K 10 8 5 2  ♥ 6  ♦ Q 7 5  ♣ A K Q

RHO opens with two hearts, weak. The usual rule in bidding over a pre-empt is that you place partner with 8 HCP and bid accordingly. By that standard, I should be driving to game. I might make four spades opposite as little as a doubleton spade and king-jack of diamonds. Unfortunately my suit isn't good enough to blast four spades, and I have no convenient way to set up a force and investigate. My best choice is probably three spades. It's an underbid. But it's justified because the suit is poor. At least partner knows I have six of them and a good hand. He doesn't need much of an excuse to raise.

I bid three spades, and partner bids four diamonds. Is this bid natural? Some would argue that three spades set the trump suit, so four diamonds is a cue-bid in support of spades. Others would argue that, while three spades shows a good suit, other strains are still possible, so four diamonds suggests diamonds may be a better spot than spades.

Marty Bergen once told me that he plays that, if partner has bid a suit, you can't introduce a minor at the four level except in auctions that begin with two clubs. At least I think that's what he told me. It was a long time ago. So presumably Marty would play this as a cue-bid.

Edgar Kaplan did not agree with this approach. He liked being able to bid his suits. Even in an auction like

1 ♠	1 NT
3 ♠	4 ♦

Edgar played four diamonds as natural. I suspect most experts would play it as a cue-bid.

My own agreements are in between these two extremes. My partnership notebook states that you can't introduce a minor at the four-level if you have previously bid notrump. Thus I would play four diamonds in the previous auction as a cue-bid, but in the auction

1 ♥	1 ♠
3 ♥	4 ♦

I would play it as natural.

The idea is that if you wanted to bid diamonds on the latter auction, it's your own fault. You had your chance and you blew it.

Fortunately, playing with robots, we don't have to guess how partner intends four diamonds. If we ask, he'll tell us. And he intends it as natural.

So what could partner have? A stiff spade and ace-king sixth of diamonds seems like a likely hand. Opposite that we belong in slam. If I had to place the contract, I would probably bid six diamonds. But there is no reason not to bid Blackwood on the way. If partner has only one keycard, we can stop in five diamonds.

I bid four notrump, and partner bids five diamonds. Oh, well. Glad I checked. I pass. RHO leads the king of hearts.

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

West	North	East	South
Robot	Phillip	Robot	Robot
2 ♥	3 ♠	Pass	4 ♦
Pass	4 NT	Pass	5 ♦
(All pass)

Nicely done, partner. I suppose. I might have passed three spades with your hand. If you don't catch a diamond fit, we are propelled too high. I'm glad we were sitting in the right seats.

East plays the heart seven at trick one, and I follow with the deuce. West's best defense is to tap dummy with a heart. Now, with two heart losers exposed, I can't afford to draw trump. Cashing the ace and king of spades, pitching my hearts, will work so long as West doesn't have a stiff spade. Is there anything I can do if he does?

It depends on what heart East follows with at trick two. If he plays the queen (or lower), then West, with ace-king-jack of hearts, can't have the diamond ace. And East is out of hearts. So there is no need to take my pitches immediately. I can just draw trump and take them later.

What if East follows with the heart ace at trick two? Personally, I would open one heart with king-queen-jack sixth of hearts and a side ace. But I suspect the robots would open two, so I can't afford to play two rounds of trumps. Can I play one round? Suppose I play a low diamond from dummy to my ten. If either opponent takes the ace or if West shows out, I have no further problems. What if my ten holds? Then I've reached this position:

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

I can't afford to play another trump. So I must play a club to dummy, take my pitches on the ace and king of spades, then lead another diamond. Have I gained anything? I gain if  West holds

♠ x  ♥ K Q J x x x  ♦ A x  ♣ x x x x

since he would be ruffing the second spade with his trump ace. I don't see any downside to playing one round of trumps, so that's my plan.

My plan proves unnecessary, however. At trick two, West shifts to the six of diamonds. East takes the ace and continues diamonds, and I claim.

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

Making five diamonds is worth 85%. Quite a few players bid two spades over two hearts and played it there. Of those two bid three spades and heard partner bid four diamonds, no one else bid Blackwood. Most simply raised to five diamonds, which seems awfully pessimistic. As I said earlier, if I were barred from bidding Blackwood, I would raise to six, not five.

One person stubbornly persisted with four spades over four diamonds and went down two. (You realize you still get to play the hand even if partner is declarer, right?)

After I posted this, some suggested I should have doubled two hearts rather than bid three spades. I didn’t address that earlier, because I didn’t consider that a possibility. With a one-suited, one generally tries to get his suit into the auction as early as possible before the auction gets uncomfortably high. Sometimes one must, regrettably, double a one-bid with a strong one-suiter, since there is no other option. But there is no reason to double a pre-empt with a one-suiter. Since jumps are strong, you can simply bid your suit at whatever level you deem appropriate. Doubles of pre-empts should always show flexible hands. Accordingly, if you do double and bid spades, partner should not play you for a suit this good. He should play you for a five-card spade suit with playability in other strains.

Free Weekly Instant Tournament - July 5 - Board 1

Board 1
Neither side vulnerable

♠ 9  ♥ A 5 4  ♦ A J 10 7  ♣ A K 8 6 4

Partner passes. RHO opens with one notrump, showing 15-17 HCP. I have enough strength to double, but doubling is unattractive with a stiff spade. Partner will expect a balanced hand and will not hesitate to bid a five-card spade suit, either pulling the double if he is weak or competing if the opponents run.

You might risk doubling with a stiff spade if you have a self-sufficient suit to correct to. But encouraging partner to bid your singleton with a "5431" is not a good idea, especially when you have perfectly fine way to handle this hand: Pass, intending to double for takeout if the opponents bid spades. If the opponents don't bid spades, there is a good chance the hand is a misfit and you don't want to be in the auction anyway. 

If you play Astro, then this sequence has the additional advantage that partner will expect you to be 1-3-4-5 or 1-3-5-4, since with a 1-4-x-y pattern, you would have bid two clubs on the first round. (The robots don't play Astro. And it's probably just as well. It's too sophisticated for them.)

I pass. LHO transfers but not to the suit I was expecting. He bids two diamonds, and RHO bids two hearts. It's now highly likely partner has a spade suit, which means our hands are better suited for defense than for offense. I pass again, and two hearts ends the auction.

Some say you should never have an ace-king and fail to lead it. But I see no reason to lead a high club with this hand. I have control of all suits, so the club tricks aren't going anywhere. And if dummy has a stiff club, a club lead may kill my only entry to partner's hand for a spade ruff. So I lead my stiff spade.

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

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

Dummy and I have 22 HCP. Declarer's 15 means partner has at most three. If partner has either the heart king or the diamond king, we can take five top tricks and a spade ruff to beat this.

Declarer plays the jack of spades from dummy. Partner plays the three; declarer, the six. I'm glad partner didn't have the spade queen. That means it's still possible he has a red king. If he doesn't, he might have the club queen. In that case, we can't beat it, but I can underlead to his queen and get a spade ruff to stop the overtrick.

Declarer leads the six of hearts from dummy--seven--eight. Is declarer finessing against the heart jack with king-eight doubleton? That would be weird. The normal way to play that suit is to play low to the king, then finesse the other way. There is no reason to lose a first-round finesse to a stiff jack.

If declarer has king-jack-eight, I could duck and hope to see an informative card from partner when I hop with the ace on the next round. But I would be crashing partner's king if declarer has only jack-eight. I can't take that risk. I have to win the ace now.

My robot partner isn't much for signaling. But I suspect he's up to dropping the club queen under the king if he has queen-jack. I cash the king of clubs--three--five--deuce. So no queen-jack of clubs. We've reached this position with me on lead:

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

Partner can have the club queen or either red king. I don't see how it's possible to cater to all three possibilities. But maybe I can cater to two of them. I can try to reach partner with the diamond king and wait for him to get in with the heart king if that doesn't work.

How do I do that exactly? Suppose I lead ace and a diamond. No, that doesn't work. If declarer has king-queen of diamonds, I'll lose my club ace.

How about ace of clubs, then ace and a diamond? No, that doesn't work either. If declarer has, for example,

♠ A Q x x  ♥ J 8  ♦ K Q x x  ♣ Q J x

he can pitch both of dummy's spades and stop the ruff.

I think I have to underlead the ace of diamonds. That way partner gets in in time to give me my ruff no matter which red king he has. The problem with underleading is that if partner has neither red king, I may lose the diamond ace. Declarer can draw trump and pitch dummy's diamond on his fourth spade.

Nonetheless, I think it's worth the risk. Some people will bid with my hand, so this may not be a normal contract. Going plus is probably more important than holding the overtrick.

Is there any reason not to cash the club ace before I underlead? Not that I can see. Declarer can't pitch both of dummy's spades away on clubs. Even if he has queen-jack fourth of clubs, partner will be ruffing the first club with his heart king.

I cash the club ace--ten--jack--seven. The club jack? Partner is limited to three HCP, so he can't have the diamond king any more. Good thing I cashed the club ace. Now I know not to underlead. I play ace and another diamond. Making three.

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

Minus 140 is worth 36%. Those who acted with my hand did better. Some overcalled one notrump with two notrump, presumably showing five-five or better in the minors. I don't like that bid at all. You have too much defense to distort your pattern and risk going minus in a silly contract. The time to make a flaky bid is when you have a bad hand, not a good hand.

Others doubled and pulled partner's two-spade bid to three clubs. Partner conveniently had a second suit and conveniently chose to bid it (which is hardly clear, since West could, and probably should, have six or seven clubs for this auction). Three diamonds typically made five.

I think the doublers lucked out. Passing and hoping to double two spades offers your best chance to get to the right spot.