Event 3 - Match 7 - Board 8

Board 8
Neither vulnerable

♠ A 3 ♥ Q 9 8 7 3 ♦ Q 9 6 ♣ Q 9 5

Three passes to me. This is annoying. Obviously I must pass, but then I have nothing to write about. I'm going to pass officially. Then I'll replay the deal and open the bidding, just to give me something to discuss.

What would be the best opening bid if it were illegal to pass in fourth seat? I could open one heart and pass partner's response. But LHO is apt to have an easy take-out double or one spade overcall over one heart. If I'm going to open light without spades, perhaps it's better to open a weak notrump. That might make it harder for the opponents to enter the auction. I'm two high-card points shy. But so what? As a passed hand, partner can't have a drive to game on power anyway. So what does he care how many high-card points I have? And the danger of going for a number is diminished by the fact that LHO, also a passed hand, can't have a double. Hmm. I've never thought of that before. If you're going to open a weak notrump with ten points, fourth seat seems like the time to do it. Not that I intend to make a habit of it.

I open one notrump (12-14). LHO and partner pass, and RHO bids two spades, showing five spades and a minor. I prefer to play double here as take-out, but Jack won't hear of it, so I have no choice but to pass. Luckily, LHO raises to three spades on his own. Everyone passes, and I lead the three of hearts.

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

West	North	East	South
Phillip	Jack	Jack	Jack
	Pass	Pass	Pass
1 NT	Pass	Pass	2 ♠1
Pass	3 ♠	(All pass)
15 spades plus a minor

Three spades? If partner can't open one spade in third seat, I wouldn't expect to have a game. I don't see the point of raising.

Declarer rises with the heart ace. Partner plays the six; declarer, the deuce. Declarer obviously has a singleton heart. With a five-card minor or a sixth spade, he probably would have accepted the game invitation. So he must be either 5-1-3-4 or 5-1-4-3.

Declarer leads the five of spades--six--nine--ace. Was that a finesse against partner's queen? I hope not. Already two of our high cards--the king and queen of hearts--are taking no tricks on defense. If partner has the spade queen, that makes a third high card that isn't working, which would considerably lessen our chance of beating this.

Declarer can't have any useful discards coming, so I see no reason to break a minor. I continue with a heart to partner's king, leading the eight to avoid emphasizing either minor. Declarer ruffs with the deuce of spades and leads the deuce of clubs. That confirms declarer is missing the spade queen. If he weren't, he would be leading spades from his hand. Obviously, he needs to reach dummy to repeat the trump finesse.

If declarer has the club king, he will finesse the jack. When he later cashes the ace, I will drop the queen, the card I'm known to hold. But what good will that do if I'm still holding the nine? Perhaps, if I play the nine now, declarer will have something to think about when I drop the queen on the next trick. I'm not sure this play can ever gain, and it might cost a trick if partner has the king. But it appears we have little chance to beat this contract, so there is little to lose by giving it a try.

I play the nine. Declarer unexpectedly rises with the ace, and partner plays the four. If partner is giving honest count, declarer is 5-1-3-4.

Declarer plays the deuce of diamonds--five--jack. I win with the queen. What is going on? Why did declarer go up with the club ace? Apparently, he is convinced I have a doubleton. If I have queen-nine, he doesn't need to finesse; he can drop my queen later. If I have ten-nine, then he wants to lead the jack to pin my ten. He is postponing his decision until he finds out where the diamond honors are. But how is he getting back to dummy to lead the club jack if that's what he decides to do? Of course! He thinks partner's spade queen is dropping, since I must have three spades if I have a doubleton club.

I lead the queen of hearts--jack--four--spade four. Declarer continues his campaign of discovery by leading the king of diamonds--six--three--ace. Declarer is 100% convinced I'm 3-5-3-2, so he isn't worried about a diamond ruff.

Partner shifts to the ten of clubs, and declarer rises with the king. He must be quite disappointed to see me follow with the five. He cashes the king of spades--three--ten--eight. We have two black-suit queens coming to us. Down one.

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

Not bad. South can make four spades, and we managed to beat three.

Why didn't declarer repeat the spade finesse once he found out he was wrong about the club suit? I guess he judged it was more likely that I had falsecarded with ace-queen doubleton of spades than that I had opened one notrump in fourth seat with a ten count. In a sense, he's right. I didn't open with this hand. Officially, I passed. So perhaps he did the right thing.

The play of the club ace I find interesting. Jack assumed that I would never play the nine from queen-nine-small. If he is right about that, then going up with the ace loses only when I have queen-ten-nine. Although, admittedly, you must do some good guessing later on to exploit your position. I agree a defender is unlikely to play the nine from queen-nine-small. But never (as this deal demonstrates) is an overbid. This is a failing in the state of the art of computer bridge. Jack can draw only binary inferences. Either a hand is possible for an opponent or it isn't. He has no concept of "likely." Often this doesn't matter. But when the gain in making an assumption is small, there is a huge difference between "likely" and "certain."

Did my play of the nine have any way to gain (other than declarer's losing his mind)? My half-formed idea was that declarer, with king-eight fourth, might place partner with ten fourth and waste a dummy entry leading up to his king-eight. Who knows whether that would make any difference or not? True, playing the nine might cost if partner has the king, since if declarer has ten-eight, he can now finesse against my queen. But, even then, I rate to survive if declarer has 10862 or 10842. With either holding, he will probably lead low to the next trick, expecting my queen to pop up. Then I can laugh at him.

Unfortunately, this was an imaginary result. My official result, passing it out, is duplicated at the other table, so we win the match by three imps and pick up 16 out of 30 victory points. That gives us 125 victory points with two matches to go. We are still in first place, seven points ahead of second place. Our opponents for the penultimate match, Christian and Floyd, play Bridge World Standard.

Table 1: 0
Table 2: 0

Score on Board 8: 0 imps
Result on Match 7: +3 imps (16 VP)

Current Total: 125 VP (out of 210)

Event 3 - Match 7 - Board 7

Board 7
Both sides vulnerable

♠ 10 6 4 2 ♥ 6 4 ♦ 10 8 ♣ A 10 8 7 4

I pass, LHO passes, and partner opens one notrump (12-14). RHO bids two hearts, showing five hearts and four or more cards in a minor. I pass, and LHO raises to four hearts, which ends the auction.

RHO probably has diamonds; his likeliest pattern is 3-5-4-1. I could lead a diamond, hoping for a ruff. But breaking declarer's side suit may be doing his work for him. I have no assurance that I can get a ruff or even that I need one (since partner may have slow diamond tricks anyway). I decide to go after spade tricks before they can be discarded on dummy's clubs. I lead the four of spades.

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

West	North	East	South
Phillip	Dimitri	Jack	Brodie
Pass	Pass	1 NT	2 ♥1
Pass	4 ♥	(All pass)
15 hearts plus a minor

Declarer's likeliest pattern isn't 3-5-4-1 any more. I don't care for North's four heart bid. The five-card diamond suit is of doubtful value opposite a heart-club two-suiter. Even the doubleton club is of doubtful value with only three trumps. I doubt there even exists a passed hand with only three hearts that is worth a raise to game. I would bid two notrump, intending to follow with three hearts to show an invitational raise (or four hearts if partner surprises me by bidding diamonds).

Declarer plays the eight from dummy. Partner plays the jack, and declarer wins with the ace. Partner presumably has the nine, else declarer would have played low from dummy. Though it can't hurt for declarer to play the eight for deceptive purposes if he has ace-nine-seven.

Declarer leads the three of diamonds. Declarer has no reason to attack diamonds with a singleton, so he is either 2-5-2-4 or 1-5-3-4. Either way, we probably have two tricks in the pointed suits plus my club ace. We need one more trick somewhere, and I suspect we have it. Declarer wouldn't be going after diamond tricks unless he needed to dispose of a club loser. Whatever his plan is to dispose of that loser, I don't think it's going to work.

I play the eight; dummy's nine forces partner's queen. Partner shifts to the club queen--king--ace--deuce. Presumably partner would have led low with queen doubleton, so he should have the club jack. That's the setting trick, and declarer still has two more clubs to try to dispose of. Too bad I couldn't double.

I might as well lead a spade through dummy's queen, so partner will have a safe exit when he wins the club jack. Obviously I must lead the ten to avoid giving partner a problem. Declarer plays the queen from dummy--king--three. I expect partner to cash the club jack, but he returns the nine of spades. Declarer ruffs with the heart deuce. Partner already knows the spade count, so I play the spade six to conceal the count from declarer.

I must be wrong about partner's having the club jack. Surely he would have cashed it if he did. Does that mean declarer is making this? Partner must have a heart higher than dummy's eight, so declarer can't ruff both clubs in dummy. Can he develop a diamond trick?

Declarer plays the five of diamonds--ten--ace--four. He has to be going down now. He can't ruff out partner's diamond king without drawing two rounds of trumps first. And, if he does that, he has no way to get back to dummy to cash the diamond.

Declarer plays the seven of hearts from dummy--five--jack--four. He cashes the jack of clubs and ruffs a club in dummy with the heart eight. Partner overruffs with the nine and returns the heart queen. I still have a club trick coming for down two.

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

Ruffing the club low was quite optimistic. Even if partner unexpectedly follows, declarer isn't home yet. As practical matter, it seems better to ruff with the ace and repeat the trump finesse to get out for down one. If they are in four hearts at the other table, you are throwing away three imps on a pipe dream.

The board is a push, which is disappointing. I didn't expect our teammates to reach the cold three notrump by North. But I was hoping that the one diamond opening at the other table would make it easier for them to avoid four hearts. If not, they might at least have held it to down one.

Table 1: +200
Table 2: -200

Score on Board 7: 0 imps
Total: +3 imps

Event 3 - Match 7 - Board 6

Board 6
Opponents vulnerable

♠ A Q 8 7 4 ♥ 8 5 3 ♦ J 7 4 3 ♣ 6

RHO opens with one heart. I don't like overcalling with three cards in the opponent's suit. But that's not enough to deter me with this hand. My overcall is at the one level, I'm not vulnerable, and I have the spade suit.

I bid one spade, LHO bids two diamonds, partner bids three clubs, and RHO bids three notrump. I pass and LHO passes, but partner bids on to four clubs, which RHO doubles. If partner doesn't think we're beating three notrump, he's probably right. I just hope we don't go down too many. I may yet regret having overcalled with three hearts. Move one of my hearts to any other suit, and I'd be pretty sure we had done the right thing.

RHO leads the ten of diamonds.

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

West	North	East	South
Brodie	Phillip	Dimitri	Jack
1 ♥	1 ♠	2 ♦	3 ♣
3 NT	Pass	Pass	4 ♣
Double	(All pass)

Partner should not have saved. For one thing, he can't be sure of taking seven tricks. If I don't have an ace or if he has to lose a trick to the club jack, he rates to go for 800. For another, he can't be sure three notrump is making. The diamond queen is a scary card to hold. For all he knows, neither of their suits is running. In general, when you sacrifice, you must be fairly sure either that you aren't going down too many or that their game is making. A bid that has two ways to lose is seldom a good bet.

East plays the diamond king, and I drop the queen. He shifts to the ace of hearts. If West has a doubleton diamond, then East must shift to a trump at trick three for the defense to take all their tricks. If he plays another diamond, playing for his partner to have the singleton, I can ruff and take a spade finesse to pitch a heart.

How does West clarify whether or not his diamond lead was a singleton? As I play, he does so via an attitude signal. A low card asks partner to shift back to the original suit (probably, though not necessarily, because it is a singleton), and a high card suggests he do something else. One might also play suit preference: low to ask for a diamond and high to ask for a spade. Since a spade into dummy's ace-queen is illogical, a signal for spades (like an encouraging attitude signal) means nothing more than that you don't want a diamond shift. Partner must work out for himself what to do instead.

Whether you play attitude or suit preference makes little difference so long you are consistent about it. It would be a mistake to vary your methodology depending on the choice partner is faced with, that is, to signal attitude if the choice is between hearts and diamonds but suit preference if the choice is between spades and diamonds. Sometimes the choice is clear, but sometimes it isn't. And sometimes it is clear to one defender but not to the other. The main thing partner is interested in is whether or not your lead was a singleton, so you need an unambiguous way of conveying that information. To use attitude sometimes and suit preference sometimes to convey the same information is begging to have an accident. In this particular case, of course, you can't have an accident. A low heart suggests a diamond shift however you choose to signal. But you won't always be so lucky, so it pays to have a firm, consistent agreement.

I play the heart seven, and West plays the deuce. Despite this card, East switches to the three of clubs. How did East get this right? I suspect he paid no attention to his partner's signal (and rightly so). He probably considered it unlikely that I would bid four clubs with two diamond losers and played accordingly.

I don't need to finesse the club ten to pick up jack third of clubs onside. East is going to be ruffing the fourth round of hearts, after which his jack will drop. Only if East has jack fourth will it gain to finesse, and that's unlikely given the auction. I'm more likely to find West with ace-jack doubleton, so I play the club queen.

West wins with the ace. He cashes the king and queen of hearts, on which East pitches deuce, six of spades. West then plays a fourth heart, which East ruffs with the club five. East plays the diamond ace. I ruff with the ten of clubs and cash the king. Fortunately both opponents follow, so I'm minus 500.

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

Our counterparts at the other table also took the questionable save, so the deal is a push. Three notrump makes on any sensible line of play, so I suppose partner saved three imps. But it doesn't take much to make his decision a bad one. Give declarer ace-jack third of clubs, for example. Or, better yet, switch the seven and nine of spades. Now we might actually beat three notrump. (To make it, declarer must win the opening club lead. If he ducks, he corrects the count for a squeeze against his own hand on the run of the diamonds. Not easy to see at trick one.)

Table 1: -500
Table 2: +500

Score on Board 6: 0 imps
Total: +3 imps

Event 3 - Match 7 - Board 5

Board 5
Our side vulnerable

♠ A Q J 9 7 ♥ A K 10 7 2 ♦ 4 ♣ J 5

Two passes to me. I open one spade, and partner responds one notrump. We play Acol two-bids, so three hearts by me is non-forcing. An Acol two-bid shows about eight playing tricks. Since I was just short of that, three hearts now seems about right.

Over three hearts, partner bids four clubs, a cue-bid in support of hearts. This is an encouraging development. If partner has, say

♠ K x ♥ Q x x x x ♦ x x x ♣ A x x

we have a slam, which we will bid easily. At the other table, the auction may well go one spade--one notrump / two hearts--four hearts.

I bid four diamonds to show my diamond control. Partner bids four hearts. If he had the magic hand above, he wouldn't be giving up, so I suppose we're high enough. I pass. West lead the deuce of diamonds.

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

West	North	East	South
Dimitri	Jack	Brodie	Phillip
	Pass	Pass	1 ♠
Pass	1 NT	Pass	3 ♥
Pass	4 ♣	Pass	4 ♦
Pass	4 ♥	(All pass)

I don't like the four club bid. It's dangerous to cue-bid a king in a suit partner is apt to be short in. And it's not as if partner needs to find an aggressive bid. Slam seems pretty unlikely opposite a hand that couldn't open two spades, so a simple four hearts is adequate.

Presumably RHO is going to win the diamond ace and shift to a spade. I'm not sure yet whether I will finesse or not. But, if LHO has the spade king, at some point he will get in and will play a low club, forcing me to guess the suit.

What clues do I have about the club honors? One clue is RHO's failure to double four clubs. I'm not sure what to make of that, however. Would East be more likely to double four clubs with the ace or with the queen? East presumably has the diamond ace. If I were East, I would be more inclined to double four clubs with the queen, encouraging partner to lead from his putative king before my diamond ace is knocked out. With both minor suit aces, I would have no reason not to let partner make his natural lead. But I doubt Jack thinks that way. His failure to double probably suggests he doesn't have the ace.

Another consideration is the opening lead. If West has the club ace, he knows North cue-bid a king, so underleading the club ace at trick one would look pretty attractive. This is exactly the time to try such heroics: We have investigated slam and stopped at the four-level, so a straight-forward defense is unlikely to beat us. For a good player, failure to lead a low club under these circumstances is a pretty good indication that he doesn't have the ace. (The converse, however, is not true. Leading a low club at trick one does not suggest the ace. On the contrary, if West has the club queen, he would expect dummy to have the ace, and a club lead in an attempt to establish a trick would be pretty normal. That fact is what makes the underlead of the ace a plausible deception, unlike many trick-two situations where such an underlead is risibly transparent.)

But, again, to draw an inference like that is to give Jack more credit than he is due. Against an expert pair, I have two indications that the club ace on my right. Against Jack, I think both the failure to double and the failure to lead a club suggest the ace is on my left.

If East has both the ace and king of diamonds and is careless enough to win trick one with the king, then I can establish a diamond for a club pitch and not worry about who has the club ace. There is no particular reason I need to play dummy's nine. For all East knows, I have the stiff ten in my hand. By retaining the nine, I may get two pitches if West has ten third.

I play a low diamond from dummy. East wins the trick with the ten. He can't possibly do that with ace-ten. He might have king-ten, but that requires West to have underled the diamond ace into my cue-bid, which would be bizarre. So East must have ace-king-ten. That means I get to pitch a club.

East plays the ace of diamonds. What's this? He thought I psyched my cuebid? I ruff with the ace of hearts, as East plays the five. Against some pairs, I would suspect that West had falsecarded his opening lead.

I play the seven of hearts to the queen. West plays the four; East, the nine. If I draw the last trump, then ruff out the diamond king, I have no way to get back to dummy safely. So I have to take the ruffing fineese now. Despite my suspicion that West falsecarded on the opening lead, I don't think I need to worry that he has a doubleton. East would not have passed twice with ace-king-ten sixth of diamonds. Nor he is wily enough to have won trick one with the ten while holding the eight. So West must have the eight, and ruffing out the diamond king should be safe. I play the jack of diamonds--six--club jack--diamond eight. I draw the last trump and take a spade finesse. I'll take the rest if it wins. It doesn't. West takes the king and cashes the club ace. Making four.

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

Partner's gratuitous cuebid might have been fatal. On this auction, a low club lead from the West hand seems pretty obvious.

The board is a push, although our opponents did reach four hearts from the other side of the table. I assume North bid two hearts, rather than one notrump, over the one spade opening. I'm not sure whether I approve or not. That choice will probably work out well if partner bids again. In some cases, it may make it easier to find a five-three heart fit. But if partner passes, two hearts may well be the wrong partscore.

Table 1: +620
Table 2: -620

Score on Board 5: 0 imps
Total: +3 imps

Event 3 - Match 7 - Board 4

Board 4
Both sides vulnerable

♠ A 5 2 ♥ K J 8 5 2 ♦ Q 3 ♣ K 6 4

Two passes. RHO opens with one spade. I don't like passing with an opening bid, but this hand is hardly appropriate for a vulnerable two-level overcall, and I can't double without diamond support.

I pass, LHO bids two spades, partner passes, and RHO bids three spades, which they play as invitational. I pass again, and three spades ends the auction.

A heart lead looks right. But which one? The deuce is the systemic lead. But if partner has the queen, I'd rather lead the king. It might drive an entry to partner's hand, and it will avoid leaving me with the only heart guard in case there are squeezes afoot. If partner has the ace and the queen is doubleton, my choice won't matter. If partner has the ace and the queen is third, either lead could be right. (It's right to lead low if declarer has queen third. But it could save a trick to lead the king if dummy has it.) Finally, if partner has neither honor, my choice probably won't matter, since I've made a poor lead anyway. On balance, the king of hearts looks better, so that's what I choose.

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

West	North	East	South
Phillip	Dimitri	Jack	Brodie
	Pass	Pass	1 ♠
Pass	2 ♠	Pass	3 ♠1
(All pass)
1Invitational

There is a useful technique for analyzing your defensive prospects that I haven't discussed yet in this blog: matching dummy's cover cards with declarer's losers. On this deal, I can credit South with six losers for his game try. We have no unexpected tricks (ruffs, stray jacks, etc.) So if dummy covers two of declarer's losers, we can't beat three spades. The ace of clubs covers one loser. If declarer has ace third of hearts, the doubleton heart will cover another (now that I've failed to lead a trump). So, for starters, I must assume declarer does not have ace third of hearts. Similarly, if declarer has the club queen, the club jack behind my king, will cover a second loser. So I must assume partner has the club queen.

I could reach these same conclusions by constructing possible three spade bids for declarer and discarding those where he is cold. But it is much easier and faster this way. With this technique, I know the minute dummy hits that, if we are to have any chance to beat this contract, partner must have the club queen and declarer must have fewer than three hearts (or we must have the tempi to stop a ruff).

Declarer plays low from dummy, partner overtakes my king with the ace, and declarer follows with the nine. Oops. Leading the king from this hand is risky if partner is inclined to overtake it. I overtook Lowenthal's king lead only once. ("Even if I had king-queen," he explained patiently after the session, "why would I lead the king if I needed you on play at trick two? I'd lead low--or perhaps the queen.") Anyway, I now have a new assumption to add to my list. I must assume partner has the heart queen. If he doesn't, we've compressed two of declarer's losers into one, which is surely all he needs to make this.

At this point, I can place all the major high cards. If partner has the ace-queen of hearts and the club queen, as I must assume he does, then declarer needs the rest--the king-queen of spades and the ace-king of diamonds--for his three spade bid. To get declarer's loser count down to six, I must credit him with a six-card spade suit or a four-card minor. With a four-card minor, he probably would have bid it in preference to three spades, so it's likely he has six spades.

Partner switches to the five of diamonds--ace--three--deuce. If declarer had ace-king doubleton of diamonds, partner would have led the diamond jack. So declarer must have ace-king third, and we must establish our diamond trick and cash it before declarer can pitch it on dummy's clubs. Partner's low diamond suggests he has the jack, so it's probably safe for me to lead diamonds myself when I get in. Partner's carding isn't always reliable, however, so I would rather not lead diamonds myself if I don't have to.

Declarer leads the three of spades. That's good news. If he's drawing trumps, then he doesn't have three hearts. I play the deuce, declarer plays the seven, and partner follows with the six. Declarer plays the eight of spades from dummy, partner pitches the three of hearts, and declarer plays the spade four.

So declarer has six spades. If I could trust partner's heart card, then I would know declarer is 6-2-3-2. Partner isn't big on giving present count, however, so declarer might also be 6-1-3-3. We need three more tricks. They must be either a diamond, a heart, and a club or a diamond and two clubs.

Do I need to shift to the queen of diamonds, hoping partner has the jack? If declarer is 6-1-3-3, we need two club tricks to beat this. So I don't need to play diamonds yet. We have plenty of time to set up our diamond and cash it. If he is 6-2-3-2, all I have to do to stop the pitch is take the ten of spades off the table (in case declarer has ten-nine doubleton of clubs). Again, there is no hurry to play diamonds. So I might as well try to cash a heart. I'd just as soon declarer didn't know partner had the heart queen, however. If he did, he might place me with the diamond queen. So I can't afford to play a low heart.

I play the heart jack, intending to switch to a spade if it holds. It doesn't. Partner plays the four, and declarer ruffs with the spade jack. Declarer leads the nine of spades to dummy's ten as partner pitches the seven of hearts. Now the four of diamonds--eight--jack--queen. I exit with heart. We still have two club tricks coming. Down one.

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

The diamond finesse was an error. Declarer should have played a diamond to the king and a third diamond if the queen didn't drop, hoping to set up dummy's long diamond for a club pitch. The queen of diamonds dropping doubleton or diamonds splitting three-three is likelier than the finesse.

Perhaps I misdefended in giving him that option. If I had seen declarer's hand, I would have shifted to the king of clubs when I was in with the spade ace. If declarer ducks, I would play another club. Declarer can make his contract by ducking again. But if he thinks I have king doubleton, he will rise with the ace, draw my trump, and take a diamond finesse. Three-three diamonds is no longer an option, since dummy has no entries.

Is there any way for me to find that defense? Not unless partner cards more helpfully. If he switches to the diamond ten rather than the five, I will know declarer has ace-king-jack. If he then drops the seven of hearts (present count) on the second round of trumps, I will be double-dummy. I hate to admit it. But I'm not entirely sure I would find the right defense even then. I would have to appreciate that, if I leave the club ace in dummy, declarer should play ace, king of diamonds rather than take the finesse. I didn't appreciate that as I was defending. But maybe that's only because I had too many things to worry about. Maybe if I knew for sure declarer had the diamond jack and if I knew for sure the heart wasn't cashing, it would be easier to focus on declarer's options. Or maybe not. We'll never know. Against this particular declarer, shifting to the club king is the wrong defense anyway. If he's going to misplay it, why should I risk giving him the contract if he has the club ten?

Meanwhile, score one for the offshape take-out double. We're cold for four hearts. I know some readers who are very pleased to see that, but I'm not changing my mind about offshape doubles yet. I think partner is closer to doubling two spades than I am to doubling one.

Fortunately, our opponents did not reach game either. They also defended three spades and beat it a trick. I'm a little surprised at that. Not only is ace, king, and a low diamond declarer's best play in diamonds in most scenarios, it is also fairly easy for the defense to mark West with the diamond queen. If the defense starts with a low heart to East's ace, for example, East is marked with the ace-queen of hearts and, by assumption, a club honor (else declarer has two club tricks). Once he shows up with a singleton spade, the diamond queen is a huge favorite to be offside.

Table 1: +100
Table 2: -100

Score on Board 4: 0 imps
Total: +3 imps

Event 3 - Match 7 - Board 3

Board 3
Opponents vulnerable

♠ A 10 8 ♥ Q 9 ♦ A J 10 9 5 ♣ K 8 7

I open one notrump (12-14). I might upgrade this hand to a strong notrump if not for the fact that I would then have to open one diamond. I'd rather not give up the pre-emptive value of opening one notrump.

Partner bids two diamonds, a transfer to hearts. I bid two hearts, and partner bids three notrump. Everyone passes, and West leads the deuce of clubs, showing an odd number of clubs.

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

West	North	East	South
Dimitri	Jack	Brodie	Phillip
			1 NT
Pass	2 ♦1	Pass	2 ♥
Pass	3 NT	(All pass)
1Jacoby-transfer

I have four club tricks, two spades, a heart, and a diamond. I need one more trick. Diamonds is the surest place to develop one. But I need two entries to my hand, so I can't afford to guarantee four club tricks by playing low from dummy. That's probably OK. In the unlikely event I cost myself a club trick by rising, I can probably get it back by developing a second trick in diamonds.

I play the club queen. (Not the ace, which would announce to everyone that I have king.) East plays the three. I follow with the seven. The opponents play upside-down attitude, so, if the carding is honest, the three is either a singleton or is encouraging from jack third.

I lead the eight of diamonds; East plays the three. I play the five, and West wins with the queen. West surprises me by continuing with the deuce of diamonds. He must think I was trying the old trick of attacking my weak suit to talk the opponents out of leading it. I pitch the three of hearts from dummy, East plays the diamond six, and I win with the nine.

The routine play at this point would be to drive the diamond king. But West's diamond play is suspicious. The usual inference when an opponent makes an aggressive, desperate play is that the cards lie favorably for you. West must think dummy's hearts are a threat, and, since he knows I have a doubleton heart, he wouldn't think that unless hearts were three-three.

For example, give West something like

♠ Q x ♥ J x ♦ K Q x x ♣ J x x x x

I can make five by driving the diamond king, since East gets squeezed in the majors. But would West ever continue diamonds with this hand? Unless I have king-queen doubleton, I can't set up hearts without losing the lead twice. So why not just persist in clubs, doing what you can to disrupt declarer's communications?

The same thing is true if West has king third of hearts. Only if I had queen-jack doubleton would I be able to establish the suit with one loser, so there is no need for desperation. It appears that East has king third of hearts, which means I can lead up to my heart queen and make five. Even if I'm wrong, I'll still make four on this line provided one of my assumptions is correct: either the heart king is on my right or the suit is three-three.

I cash the king of clubs--five--nine--four. So far, so good. If East had shown out, I would have to rethink my conclusions. Admittedly, it's not entirely safe to play another club. If West led a deceptive deuce from a doubleton or from jack fourth (or if he simply forgot his lead conventions) and if I get unlucky, I could wind up going down. I might worry about that against human defenders, but I'm not too worried against Jack. He's an honest sort who never forgets his methods.

I play a club to dummy's ace. West plays the six; East, the jack. If I cash the last club, I will have to pitch my diamond ten, and I'd rather not do that just yet. I'd like to retain the option of establishing a diamond trick. If I lead a heart to my queen and it holds, for example, I can just drive the diamond king to make five and not rely on the heart split. I play the five of hearts. East isn't going to allow me to make five that easily. He hops with the king; West follows with the deuce.

East shifts to the seven of diamonds. I rise with the ace, West plays the four, and I pitch dummy's deuce of spades. This is the position:

	NORTH Jack ♠ K 6 ♥ A 8 6 ♦ -- ♣ 10
	SOUTH Phillip ♠ A 10 8 ♥ Q ♦ J 10 ♣ --

If hearts are indeed three-three, I have the rest. But I have chances even if they aren't. I can cash the heart queen, play a spade to dummy, and cash the club, pitching the diamond ten. If East has four hearts and the queen-jack of spades, he is squeezed. Or, if West has four hearts and honor doubleton of spades, he is caught in a guard squeeze. To stop both red suits, he must pitch his last spade, allowing me to finesse against the remaining honor in East's hand. I just have to be careful to cash the club before the heart ace, else I will squeeze my own hand first.

I play accordingly. Hearts were three-three as expected. Making five.

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

The inference I drew on this deal (that an aggressive defense means suits are breaking favorably) and the converse (that a passive defense means suits are breaking unfavorably) come up frequently, often on the opening lead. West certainly knew he had little chance to beat this when he won the diamond queen, so an aggressive defense was called for. But I still don't understand the diamond continuation. A shift to the spade jack seems better.

I don't care for the opening lead either. I can understand not leading a diamond. If you are on lead against three notrump and have no five-card suit of your own, it is often a good idea to try to find one in partner's hand. But, on this auction, you are more likely to find partner with five spades than with five clubs. Dummy might have an undisclosed club suit (as it did), but it won't have an undisclosed spade suit. I assume Jack chose clubs on the idea that three small is safer than jack third. But now is not the time to be playing it safe. Three-three hearts screams for aggressive tactics just as much now as it did at thrick three. A spade lead probably won't beat the contract. But it will certainly worry declarer more than the club lead did.

I'm disappointed to discover this board is a push. I thought I did well to make five.

Table 1: +460
Table 2: -460

Score on Board 3: 0 imps
Total: +3 imps

Event 3 - Match 7 - Board 2

Board 2
Our side vulnerable

♠ K Q 10 4 ♥ 9 5 ♦ K J 10 6 5 ♣ 5 2

RHO opens one spade. If I weren't vulnerable, a two diamond overcall would be clear, since the four-card spade suit makes it likely we have a diamond fit. Vulnerable, however, an overcall does not appeal. I pass, LHO bids one notrump, and RHO bids two clubs. I pass, LHO corrects to two spades, which is passed back to me.

This is annoying. I have good defense against spades, but the opponents have probably stopped low enough that we won't be able to beat them. This is precisely why, if not vulnerable, it makes sense to overcall. An immediate two diamond bid, before they have a chance to gauge their fit, might propel them to the three-level.

I pass. What should I lead? Often it's right to go for a tap when you have trump length. But with natural trump tricks, that's less clear. If declarer has aces and kings on the side, scoring his small trumps via ruffs may be exactly what he wants to do. The determining factor is how good declarer's clubs are. If he has slow club tricks, it will be right to deprive him of those tricks via a tap. If he doesn't, tapping him is probably wrong. I have no way of knowing for sure. But I do know I can't offer any assistance in stopping clubs, so I lead the diamond jack.

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

West	North	East	South
Phillip	Dimitri	Jack	Brodie
			1 ♠
Pass	1 NT	Pass	2 ♣
Pass	2 ♠	(All pass)

Declarer plays low from dummy. Partner plays the three; declarer, the seven. I don't know much more now than I did before seeing dummy. Tapping him still might be the wrong idea. But I've started on this path, and I don't see any clear reason to change my mind. I play the six of diamonds. Declarer plays low, partner plays the ace, and declarer ruffs with the deuce of spades. Partner couldn't work out to play the nine on this trick?

Declarer plays the three of clubs. I see no reason to give count, since partner doesn't have much to do on this deal. I play the deuce--king--six. The four is missing, so I can't tell if partner has played high or low. Declarer plays the six of spades. The fact that he is drawing trumps suggests his clubs are running. If they weren't, he would either be establishing them or he would be ruffing a diamond, preparing to play the hand on a scramble. So I can be pretty sure declarer has the club queen.

Partner plays the three of spades, and declarer plays the eight. That looks like ace-jack-nine-eight fifth. I win with the queen rather than the ten. I don't have anything in particular in mind. But, as Lowenthal demonstrated to me time and time again, you don't need to see why a falsecard might gain in order to produce it. If it can't cost, you might as well give it a try. It can pay off in unexpected ways. This particular falsecard might cost on a different deal. For example, I might find myself on play with king-ten of spades, with declarer holding jack doubleton, and be unable to draw his trumps. But that can't happen on this deal, since I have no entries outside the trump suit.

I have three trump tricks and the diamond ace. We need two more tricks. The only place we can get them is in the heart suit, so I need partner to have the king and queen of hearts. One way to take two heart tricks is to lead the suit. But that requires declarer to have three hearts. If I can tap him out and lock him dummy, maybe we can take two heart tricks even if has a doubleton.

Suppose declarer is 5-2-1-5. I lead the king of diamonds, tapping him. Now he cashes the ace of spades and starts running clubs. We will reach this position:

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

If he leads the queen of clubs, I ruff, draw his last trump, and play any red card. He's locked in dummy and must lose two hearts.

Double-dummy declarer can make it in this position. He needs only three tricks. He can take them by playing a heart to dummy, pitching a heart on the queen of diamonds, and ruffing a heart. But that requires partner to be out of trumps.

An alternative line is to lead the jack of spades, hoping trumps are three-three. If he does that, I win the spade king and play a diamond. Now I don't need partner to have the king and queen of hearts. The king alone will do, since I have a long diamond for the setting trick. This line would be particularly attractive to a gullible declarer who assumes partner must have the ten of spades.

So if declarer is 5-2-1-5, I need to lead the diamond king. I can't beat him by force. But it does give him a losing option. Does it hurt anything to lead the diamond king if declarer is 5-3-1-4 with jack third of hearts? Is partner in danger of being endplayed?

Say I tap declarer with the diamond king and, again, he cashes the spade ace and starts running clubs. I ruff the third round, reaching this position, needing three more tricks:

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

My plan was to draw declarer's last trump and play a red card. I can't play a heart, however. Partner will be endplayed. Perhaps I can play a diamond, forcing declarer to pitch a heart, thereby destroying the endplay. No. That doesn't work. Partner can pitch one heart on the spade king, but when I play a diamond, he's squeezed. It's an unusual squeeze, since partner is squeezed out of a loser, not a winner. If he pitches his club loser, declarer can afford to pitch his jack of clubs, retaining the endplay.

What if I don't cash the spade so the count isn't corrected for the squeeze? Does that work? If declarer has three hearts (as I will know from partner's count signal in clubs), then I don't need to draw declarer's trump. He can't ruff anything that I can't overruff.

Suppose, in the above position, I immediately play a diamond. Partner pitches a heart. Now it is declarer who is squeezed. If declarer also pitches a heart, there is no endplay. When he plays a heart from dummy, partner can hop with the queen and return the king, and I will take the last two tricks. If, instead, declarer pitches a club, then partner's club is high. When declarer plays a low heart from dummy, partner hops and plays his club winner. Declarer ruffs, I overruff and cash the last diamond for the setting trick. Interesting. Refusing to cash the spade avoids correcting the count for the squeeze against partner. But the count is already corrected for the squeeze against declarer. That's because declarer has an extra busy card. He can't afford to "pitch" his trump on the queen of diamonds.

Back to this position:

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

I lead the king of diamonds; declarer ruffs with the nine of spades. But he doesn't cash the spade ace. Instead, he plays the six of hearts--five--ace--three, then plays the seven of spades to his jack. My falsecard paid off. This would not be a possible line had I won the first spade trick with the ten.

I win with the spade king. If partner has the heart king, declarer is down. I play a diamond to dummy's queen. Partner pitches the four of hearts; declarer, the four of clubs. Declarer plays a club to his ace, cashes the spade ace, and plays the club queen. I ruff and cash the long diamond. Unfortunately, it is declarer who has the heart king, so he takes the last trick. Making two.

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

Did partner's error at trick two cost the contract? No. We were never beating this. If partner plays the diamond nine and the play proceeds along similar lines, we would eventually reach this position with declarer needing three more tricks.

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

Obviously three more tricks are easy. In fact, he can score a fourth for an overtrick. Declarer cashes the ace and king of hearts and plays a club. The only way I can prevent him from scoring dummy's seven of spades is by ruffing and leading a trump. If I do that, declarer regains control and scores a club trick.

So we actually had no way to stop three. Yet, by presenting declarer with a gift of the queen of diamonds, we managed to hold him to two. I'm not sure why it works out that way, but I'll take it.

The key to this deal, as is often the case, is drawing the right inference in order to reduce the number of things you have to worry about. The fact that declarer tried to draw trumps rather than play for a scramble meant his clubs were solid. The end position was complicated enough even after drawing that conclusion. If you have to worry about layouts where partner has a club trick, the deal would be virtually impossible to analyze.

Our teammates play two spades, making three, so we pick up an imp.

Table 1: -110
Table 2: +140

Score on Board 2: +1 imp
Total: +3 imps