Event 3 - Match 9 - Board 6

Board 6
Opponents vulnerable

♠ 7 ♥ Q 10 7 2 ♦ A 10 9 8 5 3 ♣ A 4

I open one diamond in second seat. Partner bids one spade; I rebid two diamonds. Partner raises to three diamonds and buys it. The opponents must have about half the deck. Strange that they didn't put up much of a fight. LHO leads the queen of clubs.

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

West	North	East	South
Daniel	Jack	Marcin	Phillip
		Pass	1 ♦
Pass	1 ♠	Pass	2 ♦
Pass	3 ♦	(All pass)

To make this, I need either to avoid two trump losers or to avoid a heart loser. In general, when missing the king and jack (and with the ace and queen in opposite hands), the best play for one loser is ace and another with a nine-card fit and a double finesse (lead the queen, then finesse the ten if it loses) with an eight-card fit. If we ignore the bidding, this rule gives the correct answer here: Ace and another loses to king-jack third on my right; the double finesse loses to king-jack third on my left. Those holdings cancel out. Either play loses to a void on my right. The two holdings that make a difference are a void on my left (where the double finesse is the winner) and king-jack doubleton on my left (where ace and another is the winner). Since king-jack doubleton is more likely than a void, ace and another is the better play in isolation.

If we take the bidding into account, the king-jack thirds in opposite hands do not cancel out. West's pass over one diamond makes king jack third on my left more likely than king-jack third on my right. Fortunately, this makes ace and another even more attractive. If it made ace and another less attractive (for example, if the ace and queen were switched), then it would be harder to decide what to do, since the considerations from the auction would be difficult to quantify.

East plays the club six. Assuming he is encouraging, he should have either king-six doubleton or king-six-five. With four or more clubs, he would have a higher spot to play.

I see no reason to win the first trick. If I duck, maybe West will switch to a diamond to stop heart ruffs and solve my problem in that suit. So I let West's queen hold the trick. West shifts to the spade ace; East plays the four. Why is West shifting to spades? There doesn't appear to be any hurry to cash spade tricks. He might have ace doubleton and be aiming for an overruff. But if East has king fifth, why is he discouraging?

Whatever West was up to, he changes his mind. He shifts back to clubs, playing the five to East's king and my ace.

I'm not too worried that anyone has a singleton heart. So I might as well take a heart finesse now. If the jack holds, I can cash the heart ace, play a diamond to my ace, and take a ruffing finesse in hearts, conceivably making the contract even if I have two trump losers. I play the seven of hearts--eight--jack--king.

East shifts to the ten of spades. The ten? West shifted to the spade ace holding ace-king? Well, that explains the shift. He probably has ace-king fourth and was hoping to give his partner a ruff. It's interesting that Jack is unable to alter his lead agreements according to context. He leads ace from ace-king on opening lead, so he does the same thing at trick two, unable to reason that the agreement makes no sense when dummy has the queen.

The attempt to give his partner a ruff is futile, of course, since I would never rebid two diamonds with three-card support for partner's major. And "never" is not an overbid.

Lowenthal and I once had this auction:

John	Me
1 ♦	1 ♠
2 ♦	3 NT
4 ♠

"I thought we never rebid two diamonds with three spades," I said as John began to table the dummy.

"Absolutely!" agreed John. "How would I know what to do over three notrump if I had three spades?" Then he laid down

♠ J x x x ♥ x  ♦ A Q J 10 x x x ♣ x.

But I digress. I ruff East's spade with the five of diamonds; West follows with the spade three. I cash the diamond ace--deuce---six--jack. My only loser now is the diamond king. Making three.

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

West's hand looks like a pretty normal one spade overcall to me. The spades are good enough for a four-card-suit overcall, and the side five-card club suit offers some total-trick protection. (Often a fifth card in a side suit is as good as an extra trump.) If West overcalls, partner will bid one notrump, and East will cue-bid two diamonds. I will bid three diamonds (which is strictly competitive after partner's one notrump response). East, thinking his partner has five spades, will go on to three spades. This turns out to be an excellent decision, since both three diamonds and three spades are making.

Our teammates, unfortunately, also sold to three diamonds. The board is another push, the fourth of this match.

Table 1: +110
Table 2: -110

Result on Board 6: 0 imps
Total: +8 imps

Event 3 - Match 9 - Board 5

Board 5
Our side vulnerable

♠ J 7 2 ♥ Q 9 2 ♦ K J 10 7 ♣ Q 9 7

Two passes to me. I pass, and LHO opens one heart. RHO bids two clubs--natural, not Drury. LHO bids two diamonds, and RHO corrects to two hearts, ending the auction. Partner leads the three of spades.

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

West	North	East	South
Jack	Marcin	Phillip	Daniel
Pass	Pass	Pass	1 ♥
Pass	2 ♣	Pass	2 ♦
Pass	2 ♥	(All pass)

We lead lowest from an odd number, so partner has five spades, giving declarer ace-king or ace-queen doubleton. There is no reason for me to play the jack. If I play low, it will clarify the spade position for partner. I play the deuce, and declarer wins the trick with the six. Oops. What happened? I'm getting a feeling of deja vu. I expect to hear Lowenthal explain to me after the deal why it was necessary for him to lead low from king-queen-ten fifth.

Declarer plays the deuce of diamonds to the ace. Partner plays the four, and I play the seven. Declarer leads a diamond off dummy. We are going to have a hard time beating this contract if we take only one diamond trick, as we will if I hop and establish declarer's queen. If I duck, perhaps declarer will duck also, hoping to ruff out king third in partner's hand. I play the diamond ten. Declarer plays the queen; partner, the six. Can we start this board over?

Declarer plays the five of diamonds, partner plays the eight, and declarer ruffs with the four of hearts. I play the king, the card I'm known to hold. Declarer plays the five of spades--seven--ace--ten. The ten is a curious card. I'm still not sure what's going on in the spade suit.

Declarer leads his last diamond. Partner, perhaps flustered by my play so far, ruffs with the three of hearts. Declarer overruffs with the ace. Declarer leads the nine of spades--jack--queen--king. I see! Declarer is 4-5-4-0. That pattern didn't even occur to me. So it turns out my duck at trick one didn't cost. Luckily declarer had ace-queen fourth rather than ace-king fourth.

Partner plays the club ace, and declarer ruffs with the heart six. Declarer has a good spade and four hearts left. Declarer cashes the heart king and continues with the jack of hearts, partner playing five, eight. My queen of hearts is our last trick. Making five.

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

Obviously I can save a trick by hopping with the diamond king. I don't regret that play, however. Hopping is simply giving up. We can do better yet if partner avoids a spade lead. A spade from king third does seem like an overly aggressive choice when the club suit isn't a threat. A trump makes more sense.

Our teammates also missed the cold game and also received peccable defense, so the board is a push. (The cold game, by the way, is four spades: Three hearts, a diamond, and six trumps on a crossruff.)

Table 1: -200
Table 2: +200

Result on Board 5: 0 imps
Total: +8 imps

Event 3 - Match 9 - Board 4

Board 4
Both sides vulnerable

♠ Q 7 2 ♥ 10 6 2 ♦ 9 6 5 ♣ A 10 3 2

LHO opens one heart; RHO bids four hearts. Everyone passes, and partner leads the king of diamonds.

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

West	North	East	South
Jack	Marcin	Phillip	Daniel
			1 ♥
Pass	4 ♥	(All pass)

Four hearts? I agree this hand is too good for a limit raise, but that makes it a forcing raise, not a preempt. Perhaps Marcin is used to playing some forcing club system, where a pseudo-preempt like this makes some tactical sense.

Declarer plays low from dummy, I discourage with the five, and declarer follows with the three. Partner continues with the queen of diamonds. It's possible partner has king-queen-ten and is trying to pin a doubleton jack. It's also possible he has king-queen-jack.

In the latter case, when should partner lead the queen and when should he lead the jack? Some possible agreements are: (1) Always lead the jack if you have it. If you lead the queen, partner knows you are trying to pin the jack and will know what is going on if it doesn't work. (2) Show present count (lead the jack with an odd number and the queen with an even number). If declarer takes the ace, partner will know whether the third diamond is cashing or not. (3) Show suit preference. Agreement (3) makes no sense to me unless your diamond length is already known. I think clarifying your holding in the suit you are playing takes precedence over suit preference. I suspect, however, that Jack plays a fourth agreement that makes no sense at all: (4) Always lead the queen.

Declarer plays the ace from dummy. Having given attitude at trick one, I should give present count now. But it's not a good idea to leave partner with the sole guard in a suit. If I play the nine, declarer may be able to throw partner in with the seven of diamonds later on, or he may be able to squeeze partner in diamonds and spades. Offhand, I can't think of how either of those events would come to pass. Perhaps there is no layout where playing the nine will cost. But I can hardly take the time to try to construct one now. So, to be safe, I play the six. Partner should be alert to the fact that I might not want to part with the nine and should give me some leeway.

It seems natural for declarer to play a club from dummy next. But he leads the three of hearts. I play the six--queen--seven. (My echo shows three trumps, by the way. It is not suit preference. I think it is a serious mistake to play suit preference in the trump suit, though it would take too long to present my arguments now. Maybe at some point I'll devote an entire post to the matter.)

Declarer plays the four of hearts to dummy's king. Partner discards the eight of diamonds, and I follow with the deuce of hearts. Declarer has drawn two rounds of trumps before playing clubs, risking our being able to draw a third round when we gain the lead with the club ace. So, whatever declarer's clubs are, he doesn't need to ruff two of them.

Declarer plays the five of hearts to his ace. Partner discards the ten of diamonds. I assume partner would have discarded from a five-card black suit by now. So declarer is either 3-5-2-3 or 2-5-2-4. In the latter case, in line with my earlier observation, declarer's clubs must be specifically king-queen-jack fourth.

Declarer plays the five of spades--eight--nine--queen. If declarer has another spade loser, he is down. If he doesn't, we need a second club trick. This is the position:

	NORTH Marcin ♠ A 6 4 ♥ 9 ♦ 7 ♣ 5 4
		EAST Phillip ♠ 7 2 ♥ -- ♦ 9 ♣ A 10 3 2

I can't see that it matters what I do. Either we have two tricks or we don't. There are no squeezes or endplays to prevent, nor is there any rush to cash tricks. With nothing else to guide me, my inclination is to fall back on general principles: Declarer doesn't seem to want to play clubs, so perhaps I should play them. What's bad for his side might be good for our side.

I play the club deuce--queen--six--four. Declarer leads the jack of clubs. I take my ace, and declarer takes the rest. Making four.

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

The result is the same at the other table.

It occurs to me that if declarer had the same hand without the club jack, my club switch would have cost the contract. If I switch to a spade or diamond instead, declarer will be unable to avoid two club losers. That wasn't exactly an oversight, since I had specifically rejected the possibility that declarer held king-queen-empty fourth of clubs. Declarer squandered two dummy entries. How can he have a hand where he needs to lead up to his clubs twice? In general, it's safe to do something for declarer that he easily could have done himself.

Still, I can't construct a layout where a club shift gains. If partner were to ask me what I was playing for, I would have no answer. I shouldn't make assumptions I don't have to make no matter how reasonable they are. So I have to consider the club switch an error.

Though it's not as serious an error as partner's failure to double one heart. What was he thinking? He was lucky that North had an over-strength preempt. If I passed over one heart with that hand and heard LHO raise to four hearts, I would be afraid I had missed a game.

Table 1: -620
Table 2: +620

Result on Board 4: 0 imps
Total: +8 imps

Event 3 - Match 9 - Board 3

Board 3
Opponents vulnerable

♠ J 5 ♥ A J 9 6 4 ♦ K J 9 8 ♣ 7 5

I pass, LHO passes, and partner opens three clubs. RHO bids three hearts.

We're probably beating this, possibly several tricks. But doubling would be premature. For all I know, the opponents aren't through bidding yet. In addition, they almost surely have a fit in spades, and a double might help them locate it. I pass. Everyone else does also. I lead the seven of clubs.

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

West	North	East	South
Phillip	Daniel	Jack	Marcin
Pass	Pass	3 ♣	3 ♥
(All pass)

Declarer plays the ace from dummy. Partner plays the nine; declarer, the jack. Declarer would probably duck with jack doubleton, so I suspect the jack was a singleton. I suppose declarer might have queen-jack doubleton. But we will have no trouble beating this if we have a club trick, so I might as well assume that's not the case.

Declarer plays the deuce of hearts from dummy--five--ten--jack. Declarer overcalled three hearts with five hearts and a singleton club? Why didn't he make a take-out double? One possibility is that he is 2-5-5-1, although that means partner bid three clubs with a four-card spade suit. Declarer might also be 3-5-4-1. Some would double with that pattern; others would bid three hearts. I'm not sure what school Marcin belongs to.

I have three natural trump tricks unless I get endplayed. If I tap declarer with a club, I will establish another trump trick. We need only one more trick to beat it, which we should be able to manage. I play the five of clubs--ten--queen--three of hearts.

Declarer plays the spade king. I play low, and partner follows with the three. If partner is giving accurate count, he has only three spades, making declarer 3-5-4-1. I'm not quite sure why declarer is cashing the spade king. That seems to serve no purpose other than clarifying the layout for me.

Declarer plays the queen of hearts. If I win this, I have a minor tenace (nine-six behind declarer's king-eight). If I duck, a have a major tenace (ace-nine over his king-eight). Major tenaces are often tactically superior to minor tenaces. So, since I have nothing compelling to do with this entry, I might as well duck. Partner pitches the deuce of clubs.

Declarer plays the three of diamonds--nine--ace--five, then the spade six--queen--ace--jack. Declarer is 4-5-3-1 and chose to overcall rather than make a takeout double? That comes as a surprise. Though, in retrospect, perhaps it shouldn't. I thought at the time that cashing the spade king with ace-king third was strange. Somehow, I failed to reach the obvious conclusion that declarer didn't have ace-king third. Cashing the spade king with ace-king fourth (so that he has the option of finessing on the next round if I drop an honor) makes more sense.

Declarer plays the deuce of spades. I ruff with the six, and partner pitches the club four. If declarer has the diamond queen, he's down one. I can cash the diamond king, exit, and wait for my two heart tricks. If partner has the diamond queen, we have the rest. Partner can play clubs through declarer, picking up his trumps.

I cash the diamond king--deuce--seven--four, then exit a diamond. Declarer wins it, so he is down only one.

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

Was my decision to duck the heart ace correct? In this particular layout, it makes no difference. But it might in a different layout. Suppose, for example, that declarer is 3-5-4-1, as I thought at the time:

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

If I win and play the spade jack, declarer ducks it. Now what? I've taken three tricks so far. Since I must give away a trick in a red suit, I might as well play the diamond king to kill dummy's entry. Declarer wins with the diamond ace and plays a spade to his ace. I ruff (trick number four). Now I get endplayed twice. I must lead into the queen-ten of diamonds or into the queen-eight of hearts. Either way, I get tossed back in with a  diamond and endplayed again. We wind up taking five tricks for down one.

What happens if I duck the queen of hearts? Declarer must either play a red suit himself or must play spades, giving partner an entry. Say he plays ace and a spade. Partner wins with the queen. That's two tricks for us. Partners plays a club. Declarer ruffs. I overruff and cash the trump ace drawing declarer's last trump. That's four tricks. I now exit with a low diamond to declarer's ten. Declarer plays a diamond to dummy's ace, and my hand is high. Down two. I get endplayed once instead of twice.

The reason ducking is superior is that I avoid having to break spades, thus depriving declarer of his avoidance play. I didn't see this at the time, but I didn't need to. As a general rule, when you have nothing useful to do, you are better off winning tricks late rather than early.

This looks like a pretty good result, since North-South are cold for a spade game and will presumably get there if South chooses to make a take-out double. We do pick up imps, but not as many as I had hoped. Somehow our opponents manage to reach three diamonds, down three. I can't even imagine how their auction went.


Table 1: +100
Table 2: +150

Result on Board 3: 6 imps
Total: +8 imps

Event 3 - Match 9 - Board 2

Board 2
Our side vulnerable

♠ 10 5 3 2 ♥ J 8 4 ♦ K 8 7 ♣ A 4 2

Pass on my right, pass by me, pass on my left. Partner opens one diamond. I bid one spade. Partner raises to two spades, and everyone passes. LHO leads the queen of clubs.

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

West	North	East	South
Daniel	Jack	Marcin	Phillip
		Pass	Pass
Pass	1 ♦	Pass	1 ♠
Pass	2 ♠	(All pass)

RHO plays the eight of clubs, and I take my ace.

If everything breaks normally, I can take one spade, one heart, four diamonds, the club ace, and a club ruff for eight tricks. It takes a four-one break in spades or diamonds to give me a problem.

Given the opponents have 21 high-card points between them and failed to open the bidding, it's going to be hard to construct layouts where either suit splits four-one. For starters, it is unlikely anyone has a small singleton. If anyone does have a singleton, it is apt to be the queen or jack to justify their silence. In addition, any diamond singleton is apt to be on my left (given RHO's pass over one diamond) and any spade singleton is apt to be on my right (given LHO's pass over one spade and failure to balance).

I will need to lead a spade toward dummy's king sooner or later, and I have limited hand entries. So I might as well do it now. While a spade to the king is not how I would handle this suit in isolation, I don't have a lot of flexibility. I play the deuce of spades--seven--king--jack. RHO apparently has queen-jack doubleton or a stiff jack. Since I can afford to lose three trump tricks, I can now abandon trumps and set up diamonds. If I can establish diamonds with one loser, I'll make my contract.

Since I expect any diamond singleton to be on my left, the way to play diamonds in isolation is to cash the ace (guarding against a singleton honor) then lead the ten and let it ride (guarding against a small singleton). But the lack of dummy entries may make that approach problematic. Say I cash the ace and no honor appears. I pass the ten, and West, with ace-queen-nine of spades remaining, ruffs. He can now cash the ace and queen of spades and tap dummy with a club. Diamonds are blocked, so I can't develop another diamond trick. I finish down one.

The only way to make it if West has a small singleton diamond (and four trumps) is to float the diamond ten without cashing the ace. If that holds, I play a diamond to the king. If West ruffs, draws trumps, and taps dummy, I have no further problems. I can ruff out a diamond to establish my eighth trick and return to dummy with the heart ace to cash it.

But if West has a singleton honor, a first round finesse will not work out well. In that case, I must play a diamond to my king. I can then concede a diamond to East. In short, I can guard against a small singleton or a singleton honor but not both. A priori, a small singleton is more likely. But the opponents' silence may have changed that. Consider this layout:

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

Some Easts would pass that hand in first seat, but many would open, and I suspect Jack is among them. So I must move some honor to the West hand to make this a viable construction. I can't move a heart honor, else West would open in third seat. But perhaps he wouldn't open with a singleton diamond honor (at least not with the jack).

Frankly, I doubt diamonds are four-one at all. But if they are, a singleton honor seems more likely than a small singleton. Accordingly, I play a diamond to the king. East contributes the five; West, the six. I play the seven of diamonds, West plays the deuce, and I duck in dummy. East wins with the jack. He returns the queen of diamonds. West ruffs with the nine of spades and shifts to the deuce of hearts. This is the position:

	NORTH Jack ♠ 8 6 4 ♥ A 10 6 ♦ A 10 ♣ --
	SOUTH Phillip ♠ 10 5 3 ♥ J 8 4 ♦ -- ♣ 4 2

I can afford to lose three more tricks. If I duck this, my contract is safe, the opponents can't take more than a heart and two spades.

Do I have a safe play for an overtrick? If I duck, East will win and tap dummy with club. If the remaining spades are one-one, I can play a spade and make an overtrick. But I can't afford to try that. I risk going down if West has ace-queen of spades.

What if I hop with the heart ace and play a diamond, pitching a heart? That's perfectly safe. The opponents still can't take more than two trumps and a heart. But now they have a chance to make a mistake. If they don't cash the heart, they aren't going to get it. I can't imagine whey they wouldn't play a heart. But it doesn't hurt to try. They can't make a mistake if I don't give them the chance.

I play the ace of hearts--seven--eight. Now I play the diamond ace. East ruffs with the spade queen, and I pitch the jack of hearts. West pitches the five of hearts. There is no reason I can think of for East not to play a heart. But he doesn't. He plays the king of clubs. I ruff in dummy and cash the ten of diamonds, pitching my last heart. Making three.

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

The result is the same at the other table.

Table 1: +140
Table 2: -140

Result on Board 2: 0 imps
Total: +2 imps

Event 3 - Match 9 - Board 1

Board 1
Neither vulnerable

♠ 9 ♥ A 10 9 7 ♦ J 9 5 4 3 ♣ A 6 4

Our opponents for the final match are playing Bridge World Standard.

Two passes to me. I pass, and LHO opens one notrump (15-17). RHO bids Stayman, LHO bids two spades, RHO raises to three, and LHO goes on to game--pass--pass to me.

When the opponents reach game after a limit bid and an invitation, you should consider doubling if it appears they are going to run into any bad luck. The game will usually be marginal, and a little bad luck will probably defeat it. If you're lucky, you may beat it two, which is where the vig in doubling comes from. If your upside were a mere two imps, it would not be worth the risk.

On this deal, I know spades are breaking almost as badly as they can, and whatever spade honors we have are behind the stronger hand. Another plus for our side is that partner has roughly as many high cards as I do. When the high cards are evenly split, the defense has maximum flexibility. They have the communications to establish their winners and cash them. And they are less apt to be subjected to squeezes or endplays. Add the diamond king to this hand, and it would be a less attractive double.

The biggest danger in doubling is that someone will show up with a fifth spade. Then the bad spade split isn't so bad. In fact, my hand may well be good news for declarer. Our aces are in front of the notrump bidder instead of behind him where they belong. I'd be happier doubling if one of my aces were a queen-jack.

Nonetheless, I'm doubling. What sways me is I don't think Jack will expect me to hold a hand like this. If he thinks I have a spade stack, he may adopt a creative line of play and go down in a cold contract. If double causes him to go down, it is a big winner.

Of course, I would not consider doubling if RHO had raised to four spades instead of to three. You can afford doubles like this only when you know the opponents can't have extras. Otherwise, bad luck may simply mean they make fewer overtricks than one would normally expect

I double, everyone passes, and partner leads the queen of clubs.

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

West	North	East	South
Jack	Marcin	Phillip	Daniel
Pass	Pass	Pass	1 NT
Pass	2 ♣	Pass	2 ♠
Pass	3 ♠	Pass	4 ♠
Pass	Pass	Double	(All pass)

Partner might have led a singleton diamond, so probably both he and declarer have doubletons. Declarer can't have four hearts, so he is either 4-3-2-4 or 5-3-2-3. Partner is unlikely to have led a club from queen-jack third. So my guess is declarer is 5-3-2-3. So much for the bad trump break. The good news is that, with five spades, declarer would have accepted even with a minimum in high cards, so partner could have up to five high-card points in addition to his queen-jack of clubs.

We have two aces and a club trick, so we need only one more trick. A spade honor or the diamond ace in partner's hand will do nicely. The heart king will not do, since declarer can draw trumps and pitch a club away, holding us to one club and two heart tricks.

I don't see any gain in taking the club ace. If I duck, declarer will play three rounds of diamonds, pitching a club. Partner can ruff and play a club to my ace for another diamond play. If I win the ace and return a club, partner would have to play a heart to my ace after ruffing. Why expend two entries for a task when one entry will do? I encourage with the club six.

Declarer wins with the king and cashes the diamond ace. Good. He would be drawing trumps if he had the ace and king of spades. So partner must have one of those cards, which means we're beating this at least one. Partner plays the deuce; I play the three. Declarer plays a diamond to the king and cashes the queen of diamonds, pitching the club deuce as partner ruffs with the deuce of spades. I follow up the line in diamonds, confirming my club ace, as if partner couldn't work that out himself.

Partner plays the seven of clubs to my ace. Declarer follows with the three. Can playing a diamond accomplish anything? What if partner has king-eight of spades left? If declarer ruffs low, partner overruffs with the eight, plays a heart to my ace, and gets a trump promotion for down two. So ducking the club ace paid off. We couldn't do this if I had wasted my club entry.

Declarer can prevent the second undertrick by ruffing with the ace. But it doesn't hurt to put him to the test. I lead the jack of diamonds. Declarer ruffs with the spade five. Partner, unfortunately, pitches the club nine. Declarer cashes the spade ace; partner follows with the four. Declarer made no attempt to get to dummy for a spade finesse, so he probably can't. With king-queen of hearts, he could have driven the heart ace and ruffed a heart to dummy, so he must have king-jack of hearts, which gives him 15 high-card points.

Declarer exits with a spade to partner's king. We may still beat this two if declarer misguesses hearts. But I need to make sure partner plays a club. Jack doesn't understand the concept of putting declarer to a guess, so he might see no reason not to lead a heart. To ensure he doesn't do that, I need to trick partner into trying to cash his jack of clubs. I need to hold onto my club, leaving open the possibility that declarer has it. Accordingly, I pitch the nine of diamonds. Partner plays the jack of clubs, and declarer ruffs.

Declarer plays a spade to dummy and plays a heart. I play low, and declarer goes up with the king. Down one.

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

We were pretty close to collecting 300 on this deal, so it was right to double. Declarer probably guessed right in hearts because he thought I wouldn't have doubled without the heart ace. Little does he know.

As declarer played, we would have collected 300 if partner had held my nine of spades. Why did declarer ruff low? I can think of two layouts where ruffing low saves a trick: (1) I have king-nine-four of spades and a small doubleton heart. If declarer ruffs with the ace, I score my spade king, two hearts, and the spade nine on a trump promotion. (2) I have nine-four of spades and a doubleton club. If declarer ruffs with the ace, I score a club ruff with the spade nine when partner gets in with the spade king. But neither of these layouts is plausible for a variety of reasons. If the bridge gods had any sense of justice, they would have given partner my spade nine to punish declarer for this play.

Then again, maybe I shouldn't argue with the bridge gods. As Edgar once said to me, "Actually, it's fortunate we aren't punished for all our mistakes. If we were--well, I won't presume to speak for you, but I would have given up the game long ago."

Our teammates went down one undoubled in the same contract, so we pick up two imps.

Table 1: +100
Table 2: -50

Result on Board 1: +2 imps
Total: +2 imps

Event 3 - Match 8 - Board 8

Board 8
Neither vulnerable

♠ A 8 2 ♥ K Q 8 4 ♦ Q 9 7 3 ♣ A 5

LHO opens one diamond, partner passes, and RHO bids one spade. I do play one notrump in sandwich position as natural, but I bid it only with a source of tricks, not with a flat hand. I pass, LHO bids one notrump, and there are two passes to me. This looks like a good spot. Rather than contract for seven tricks in notrump on offense, I'll contract for the same number on defense.

I pass, and partner leads the ten of clubs, showing zero or two higher honors.

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

West	North	East	South
Jack	Christian	Phillip	Floyd
			1 ♦
Pass	1 ♠	Pass	1 NT
(All pass)

Partner has the king and jack of clubs, leaving him with at most a queen or two jacks in addition. South covers the club ten with the queen, I take the ace, and declarer follows with the seven.

With three small clubs, declarer would duck to block the suit. So declarer must be 2-3-4-4 or 3-2-4-4 with seven-six fourth of clubs. We have three club tricks, one spade, and two hearts (if we can manage them). We need one more trick somewhere.

I'm pretty sure the best defense is for me to lead a club to partner and get a heart shift. But how will partner know to do that? He should be able to draw the same inference I did that declarer has four clubs. But how does he know a heart shift won't just pickle my queen? Maybe it will help if I return a diamond--a high one to suggest I want a shift. Then, when declarer plays clubs himself, perhaps partner will work out to play a heart.

It might cost to break diamonds. Declarer might, for example, have ace-king-jack-ten and be unable to take two finesses unless I lead the suit for him. But I'm probably going to have to lead diamonds sooner or later anyway. So why not now?

I switch to the seven of diamonds. Declarer takes the ace; partner plays the four. Declarer has marked himself with the ace and king (winning with the king would have been a better idea), thereby increasing the chance from partner's point of view that I have both heart honors. Maybe partner will get this right.

Declarer leads the three of clubs to partner's jack. If it wasn't clear to partner at trick one that declarer had four clubs, declarer's attacking the suit himself should certainly make it clear now. Come on, partner. Heart shift! No such luck. Partner cashes the club king. As a general rule, I should pitch the major I don't want led in this position. But I'm not sure I can afford a spade. I don't want declarer to be able to lead a spade toward his hand once, then duck out my ace. So I pitch the eight of hearts. That can hardly be my lowest heart, so perhaps partner will appreciate my problem.

Partner is having a hard time getting the message to play hearts. He shifts to the seven of spades. Declarer plays the ten from dummy. I play the ace, and declarer plays the three. Partner's seven was the lowest outstanding spot, so he must have queen-nine-seven or jack-nine-seven, giving declarer a 3-2-4-4 pattern with king-queen-three or king-jack-three of spades. Playing the ten from dummy doesn't make a lot of sense with the latter holding, so I'm betting on king-queen-three.

If declarer takes three spade tricks, he'll make this: three spades, one heart, two diamonds, and one club. So I must get the ace of hearts off the table while the spade are blocked. Of course, if I lead the heart king, declarer can just duck it. But he doesn't know spades are three-three, so he might find something else to play for. And there is nothing to lose by trying. If declarer does duck, at least I have one heart trick in the bag.

I lead the king of hearts--six--deuce--ace. Well, that's some progress. Dummy is now dead.

Declarer plays the four of spades to his queen. I play the deuce; partner plays the nine. Declarer would probably have taken the diamond finesse if he had the jack, so we must be down to this position:

	NORTH Christian ♠ 6 5 ♥ J 10 ♦ 6 5 ♣ --
WEST Jack ♠ J ♥ x x x ♦ J ♣ 2		EAST Phillip ♠ 8 ♥ Q 4 ♦ Q 9 3 ♣
	SOUTH Floyd ♠ K ♥ x ♦ K 10 8 ♣ 6

Declarer has taken three tricks so far. He can cash three more and play a heart to the jack. I will have to give him one red-suit ten or the other for his seventh trick.

Declarer cashes the club six, pitching a diamond from dummy. I pitch a heart. Declarer then cashes the diamond king. Partner follows with the ten rather than the jack as I expected. Yes, of course. That was foolish of me. I should have realized declarer has no reason to take the diamond finesse. If I have the queen, I'm endplayed anyway, so he might as well try to drop the queen in partner's hand. Nice play, Floyd.

I expect declarer to cash the spade king and play a heart to endplay me. But he leads a low diamond out of his hand instead. I cash my three red-suit winners and declarer takes the spade king at the end. Down one.

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

Declarer misread the ending. He thought I had four spades and three diamonds. Perhaps my seven of diamonds confused him. That's serendipitous, since I didn't mean it as a falsecard. It was an honest attitude card, intended to suggest a heart shift. Of course, Jack doesn't signal that way. His attitude cards pertain to the suit led, not to the hand as a whole. So he would never lead high himself when holding the diamond queen. Declarer might also have been misled by my pass over one spade. In the post mortem, Jack expressed the opinion that I should have bid one notrump. I'm a big believer in playing one notrump in the sandwich position as natural. But if partner started bidding it on hands like this, I would change my mind.

Could we beat this legitimately if partner shifts to a heart after cashing his club king? Declarer would duck, and I would win with the king. (No need to win with the queen, since partner is now out of the picture.) I would play another diamond. Declarer would finesse the jack, reaching this position:

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

When declarer cashes his long club, I'm squeezed. If I pitch a spade, he plays king and a diamond. I would now either have to cash the spade ace, giving declarer two spade tricks, or lead a low spade, setting myself up to be endplayed. To have any chance to beat it, I must hold all my spades and stiff the heart queen, hoping declarer doesn't read the position.

To beat this by force, partner must play a heart before cashing the club king. Declarer can't come to seven tricks without setting up his long club, so partner will eventually gain the lead to play a second heart. This would be difficult even for an expert partner. It is well beyond Jack's ability, since he seems unable to draw the inference that his clubs aren't running.

The board is a push, although we deserve some extra credit, because our opponents at the other table beat two notrump a trick. We win the match by 18 imps and collect 21 out of 30 victory points. We retain our lead, but we are only ten points ahead of second place with one match to go.

Table 1: +50
Table 2: -50

Score on Board 8: 0 imps
Result on Match 8: +19 imps (21 VP)

Current Total: 146 VP (out of 240)