Free Weekly Instant Tournament - May 10 - Board 2

Board 2
Our side vulnerable

♠ K J 6 2  ♥ A 9 4 3 2  ♦ A Q 6  ♣ A

RHO passes, and I open with one heart. LHO bids two clubs, partner raises to two hearts, and RHO passes.

Five losers. Twenty total points. However you look at it, I have a four-heart bid. I bid four hearts, everyone passes, and West leads the club queen.

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

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

On the auction, East can hold only one high honor. I need to hope it's the diamond king. Then perhaps I can hold my losses to a heart and two spades. The two-club overcall gives me hope West's presumed spade ace is doubleton. If so, I can duck two spades to establish the suit.

This is a surprisingly poor game. Was I really supposed to make a short-suit game try in clubs instead of just bidding four hearts?

I play the club three from dummy. East plays the seven and I take the ace. I lead a low heart toward dummy. West hops with the king, and East follows with the seven.

West cashes the spade ace. I'm happy to see that card. East plays the three, and I follow with the deuce. That was a mistake; I should have played the six. The robots don't signal per se, but they presumably have some algorithm for choosing which spot to play, and West is privy to it. There was no reason for me to let West know that his partner played his lowest card.

West continues with the spade queen. I'm even happier to see that card. East plays the nine, and I win with the king.

What was that about? I suspect West had ace-queen doubleton and was hoping his partner could overtake the queen and give him a ruff. 

I play a heart to dummy. West plays the five; East, the eight. I cash the heart jack, and East pitches the five of diamonds. We've reached this position with the lead in dummy:

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

I can pitch one diamond on dummy's club king. If I guess who holds the diamond king, I can take the rest. I can cash all my winners ending in dummy, reaching this position:

	NORTH Robot ♠ -- ♥ -- ♦ 8 ♣ 10
	SOUTH Phillip ♠ -- ♥ -- ♦ A Q ♣ --

To hold the club jack, West must come down to a stiff diamond. So I must guess whether to finesse against East or to drop West's king. If I finesse and I'm wrong, however, I will lose the last two tricks and go down. So if I intend to take the finesse, I should do so while I still have a trump left. There is no sense in executing the squeeze unless I intend to play for the drop.

I might has well find out as much as I can before I decide. I cash the club king and pitch my low diamond. East follows with the four. When I ruff a club to my hand, East pitches the diamond deuce. That makes him 3-2-6-2 and West 2-3-2-6.

I cash the jack of spades. West pitches the club nine, and East follows. We have reached the moment of truth:

	NORTH Robot ♠ 8 ♥ -- ♦ 8 7 ♣ 10
	SOUTH Phillip ♠ 6 ♥ A ♦ A Q ♣ --

If West has the diamond king, I need to cash my last trump, then lead a spade to dummy to squeeze him. But if I'm going to finesse East for it, I can't afford to cash the last trump. I must lead a spade to dummy now to take the finesse.

The auction suggests the diamond king is on my left. At favorable vulnerability. East, with six diamonds, might have opened two diamonds if he held the diamond king. The play, however, suggests the diamond king is on my right.

A cardinal principle of placing cards is this: If someone makes a mistake, his partner is the one who holds the missing critical card. The assumption is that if the person who made the mistake held the critical card himself, he would know enough to avoid the mistake. Mistakes suggest incomplete information.

This principle makes sense here. West worked out his partner was likely to hold a king. He was hoping it was the spade king. If I held this hand, for example,

♠ J x x  ♥ A x x x x x  ♦ A K x  ♣ A,

West must get a spade ruff to beat me. But if West held the diamond king, he would know that his partner was broke, and he wouldn't try for the ruff.

I'm going to go with the inference from the play. Robots have funny ideas about weak-two bids. But it's hard to see West's making that spade shift if he's looking at the diamond king. I play a spade to dummy and a diamond to my queen. It holds. Making five. Here I was wondering if I should have avoided game, and I wound up making an overtrick.

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

See what I mean about robots and weak two bids? I can't imagine passing with the East hand at favorable. Two diamonds looks pretty routine. Some would open three diamonds.

Plus 650 is worth 91%. It's true West didn't find the best defense. But we are all playing against the same West, so everyone should get the spade shift. And the field doesn't do squeezes, so no one should fall into the trap. Why, then, was this such a good result?

Because several declarers were punished for misplaying the heart suit. Instead of playing a low heart at trick two, they played ace and a heart. Cashing the ace picks up a stiff king on your right, but it manufactures a loser if king-ten fourth is on your left, which is three times as likely. 

Since hearts are three-two, one might think these declarers would have survived their error. But the bridge gods don't like it when you misplay a hand, and sometimes they find a peculiar way to make you pay.

In this case, you pay because you let West discover you have only five hearts. The South hand I posed above is now impossible. One can still construct some layouts where a spade shift is necessary, but there are fewer of them. And apparently fewer enough to tip the scales in favor of a heart continuation.

Free Weekly Instant Tournament - May 10 - Board 1

Board 1
Neither side vulnerable

♠ A K 10 9 5 4  ♥ A 7 2  ♦ Q 4  ♣ 9 7

Partner passes, and RHO opens with one heart. I bid one spade. The auction continues pass--two clubs--pass to me.

If partner has a stiff spade and six good clubs, it could be right to pass. But this is a pretty good hand, so game isn't out of the question. And my suit offers decent play opposite a singleton. So I bid two spades. Everyone passes, and West leads the five of hearts.

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

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

Passing two clubs would have worked out poorly. One usually has a better suit than this for a two-level advance, although partner did have a tough decision over one spade. I probably would have tried one notrump. Advancing one notrump without a stopper in opener's suit is sometimes the best choice with an awkward hand. The fact the suit wasn't raised offers some hope that partner has it stopped. And if he doesn't, you may manage seven tricks anyway after they run their suit.

In two spades, I have five losers if spades break. My best chance for an overtrick is to find the club ace onside--or for East to make a mistake and win the first club when clubs are three-three. East is quite likely to make that mistake. The robots don't give count when declarer plays a suit, so East will have no way to tell whether I have a stiff club or a doubleton.

What's the best play in the spade suit? In isolation, it's right to cash one honor, then get to dummy and lead low to the nine in case East has queen-jack fourth. On this deal, letting West gain the lead for a diamond shift looks like a bad idea. And, since East has five or six hearts, he's unlikely to have four spades anyway. So cashing the ace and king looks better.

Suppose I win the heart ace, cash ace and king of spades, and lead a club to the king. losing to East's ace. East can now lead hearts. If West has the last trump, he can overruff the fourth round to switch to a diamond, preventing me from using the club suit. 

Maybe cashing the ace and king of spades isn't such a good idea after all. Does drawing only one round of trumps and playing a club work better? Perhaps. If East takes the club ace and cashes hearts, we reach this position:

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

Now if East plays another heart, I pitch a diamond, and West ruffs with an honor. I must decide whether to play West for honor doubleton or queen-jack third of spades. But if I decide correctly, I make an overtrick, trading my diamond loser for a natural trump trick.

Drawing only one trump has another advantage: If West happens to have the club ace, it leaves me with a hand entry so I can lead clubs toward dummy twice. So this looks like the best line.

I play a low heart from dummy. East plays the eight and I win with the ace. I cash the ace of spades--seven--three--deuce. Now the nine of clubs. West hops with the ace, and East follows with the three. This looks promising. I'm probably making three now.

West shifts to the jack of clubs, and East ruffs my king with the spade six. I take that back about making three.

Here is the current position:

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

I've lost two tricks, I still have two hearts to lose, and the queen and jack of trumps are still out. There is no way to avoid losing a trump trick. If the trumps are split, West can score an overruff on the fourth round of hearts. 

East cashes two hearts, switches to the king of diamonds, and eventually scores his trump trick. Making two.

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

Plus 110 is worth 93%. Almost everyone played the same contract and went down.

Drawing one round of trumps proved to be critical. Most declarers didn't bother and played a club at trick two. Now West can hop, give his partner a ruff, then ruff the third round of hearts with the trump declarer forgot to draw. He then switches to a diamond. After declarer takes dummy's ace, we've reached this position, with the lead in dummy:

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

Declarer has lost four tricks. He can afford to lose a diamond or a spade but not both. This is possible double dummy. Declarer plays the club queen and, when East ruffs with an honor, declarer pitches his diamond and takes the rest of the tricks. If West has the remaining trump honor, however, this line will enable West to score a trump promotion. In that case, declarer must overruff East's honor with the king and cash the ace, drawing the remaining two trumps. The overruff is arguably the better line. In practice, no one who played a club at trick two managed to make his contract.

I can't say I saw the necessity of drawing a round of trumps. But I didn't see any reason not to either, so why not?  

Note that drawing two rounds of trumps does fail. West can hop on the first club and switch to diamonds. Now declarer can't avoid losing two spades, two hearts, a diamond, and a club.

Free Weekly Instant Tournament - March 15 - Board 8

Board 8
Neither side vulnerable

♠ A Q 9 4 2  ♥ 9 6 5  ♦ J 9 6  ♣ A 8

Three passes to me. This isn't a opening bid in first or second seat, but in third or fourth seat it looks right to open and pass partner's response. I bid one spade, partner bids one notrump, and I pass. RHO leads the deuce of clubs.

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

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

I have four tricks. It appears I have some work to do. I'll start by ducking the club. Maybe West has led from king-queen.

He hasn't. East wins with the queen, and I drop the three. East returns the six of clubs--seven--four--ace. I don't know who has the king.

If I had no spots, the right way to play the spade suit would be to start by leading low from dummy. That gives away none of my legitimate chances and gives East the opportunity to hop with king doubleton. The presence of the ten and nine makes this approach less appealing. If jack third is onside, for example, starting low from dummy means I lose two tricks instead of one. And if king-jack third is onside, I lose a trick when I could run the whole suit. Still, the play does have some things going for it. East may hop with king doubleton or he may fail to hop with jack doubleton. And, perhaps more importantly, it leaves my hand a mystery to the defense. I don't want the opponents shifting to hearts. If I play a diamond to my hand at trick two, it advertises my diamond strength and my heart weakness.

I lead the spade deuce from dummy. East plays the three, and my ten forces West's king. If the jack is dropping, I have my seven tricks unless the defense can take five tricks first.

West shifts to the heart king. That doesn't look good. If West has king, ace-king in the majors, East must have the club king. So West can put him on play for a heart shift. I need to hope West has only three hearts or perhaps that East has jack-ten third and the suit will block.

East plays the heart deuce. I "encourage" with the eight.

West shifts to the five of clubs. Is there any reason for East not to return a heart when he wins the club king? Maybe. He doesn't know whether his partner has ace-king of hearts or king-queen. If I have ace fourth of hearts, then continuing the suit will allow me to set up my long heart. So that is the holding I must represent. What would I pitch from dummy if I had ace fourth of hearts? Clearly I would pitch a diamond. I would need both of dummy's hearts so I could duck one, then lead a heart to my hand. Accordingly, I pitch dummy's six of diamonds.

East wins with the club king and continues with the ten of clubs. Did my illusion work? Did my diamond discard convince East I had ace fourth of hearts?

I win with the club jack as West pitches the diamond deuce. I pitch a heart from dummy. Both opponents follow to the ace and queen of spades, so my spades are good. We've reached this position:

	NORTH Phillip ♠ 9 4 ♥ 9 ♦ J 9 ♣ --
	SOUTH Robot ♠ -- ♥ Q 4 ♦ A K 4 ♣ --

I have all but one of the remaining tricks. Could I have a squeeze for the last one? Dummy's heart nine and my long diamond are the threats, so West would need to have ace-jack-ten of hearts left and to have started with four diamonds. That gives him a 3-4-4-3 pattern, 14 cards. One of the necessary conditions for a squeeze is that your opponent must hold only 13 cards. A fourteenth card takes all the pressure off.

Still, maybe the opponents will make a mistake. I run spades, pitching hearts and keeping ace-king-four of diamonds in my hand. I lead the nine of diamonds from dummy. East covers with the ten, and I win with the king. When I cash the ace, East shows he was paying attention by throwing the queen and keeping the five to win the last trick. Show off!

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

Plus 120 is worth 93%. I'm not sure what East was playing for with the club return at the end. But the key to the deal was not revealing my diamond strength. Those who crossed to their hand with a diamond at trick two went down. It's hard for the defense to go wrong when you show them your hand.

Be sure to play in this week's Free Weekly Instant Tournament, so we can start comparing next week. You have until Thursday to play in it. I got a zero on one board. Although I would probably do the same thing again.

Free Weekly Instant Tournament - March 15 - Board 7

Board 7
Opponents vulnerable

♠ K 2  ♥ 10 7 6 5  ♦ K 4  ♣ A K 8 5 4

I open with one club. Partner bids one heart. I raise to two hearts and buy it. RHO leads the queen of clubs.

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

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

This lead is probably a singleton. Leading dummy's primary suit would be strange otherwise. And that means it's a fair assumption that trumps are three-two. With four trumps, West would be more interested in tapping me than in looking for ruffs.

If trumps are indeed splitting, I will lose a club, a diamond, a heart, and one or two spades. Dummy's last trump will take care of my third spade, and I can set up a club for the fourth spade. My plan, then, is to cash the ace and king of hearts, then lead a club and duck it, preserving communication to ruff out the club suit.

Cashing the ace and king of hearts will work out poorly if I'm wrong about three-two trumps. Can I afford to cash only one trump? If I cash one heart and play a club, West will pitch. Now I can't afford to duck. If I do, I let West score a ruff with a doubleton trump or two ruffs with three trumps. So all I've accomplished by cashing only one trump is to prevent myself from being able to duck a club. True, I might manage without ducking a club, but it certainly makes my handling easier. Since I'm pretty sure trumps are splitting, I'll back my judgment and cash both trump honors.

I win with the ace of clubs. East plays the deuce, and I follow with the three. Now ace and king of hearts. West plays four, jack; East plays eight, nine.

I play a club toward dummy. To my surprise, West follows with the ten. So West was making a passive lead from a sequence? Now I'm happy I cashed both trumps. If East is the one with a stiff club, cashing only one trump could have proven awkward.

I duck as planned, and East follows with the nine. It appears West's lead was from queen-jack-ten.

West cashes the queen of hearts, and East pitches the diamond deuce. West now cashes the diamond ace. We've reached this position with dummy to play:

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

If the spade ace is onside, I'll lose this trick and a spade and make an overtrick. If it's offside, I'll presumably lose two spades and make my contract. Do I have any chance to avoid a second spade loser if the ace is offside? 

What if West switches to a spade and I duck in dummy? East may play the ace for fear of losing it when I have the queen. Is that possible from East's perspective? Yes, provided he doesn't know I hold the diamond queen. I can't have both queens, else I would have made a game try over two hearts. So I must avoid the lazy play of unblocking the diamond king on this trick. Fortunately, I don't need the diamond queen as a hand entry. I can always ruff the fifth club if I need to play a spade toward the king myself.

I play low from dummy on the diamond ace. East plays the six, and I follow with the three. West now shifts to the eight of spades.

The moment of truth. Do I go for the swindle or take my legitimate chance that West has underled the spade ace? I don't see how he can afford to underlead. For all he knows, I have queen third of spades and have no guess. If so, I'll take the rest.

I play low from dummy. East inserts the jack then cashes the ace. Making two.

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

Minus 110 is worth 61%. I see West's opening club lead was from queen-ten doubleton. That's a holding that never occurred to me.

The spade eight was a poor choice for West's shift. He should help his partner out by leading his lowest spade if he holds the queen and the highest spot he can afford if he doesn't. With this hand, he should lead the four. But the robots don't signal, so East could conclude nothing from his partner's spot. He simply had to work out what to do as best he can. Perhaps he thought his partner might have bid at some point with five spades. As long as the missing spades are four-four, playing the jack can't cost. He can't lose the ace even if I do have the queen.

West has a harder problem: deciding whether to lead spades at all or to exit passively after cashing the diamond ace. I have only two pitches. So if I have four spades, leading a spade can never gain. And if my four spades includes the jack, leading a spade might cost.

How can the defense solve this? West actually should have gotten this right, given the robots' peculiar discarding tendencies. The robots signal count on their first discard, so, when East pitches the diamond deuce on the queen of hearts, West knows East is 3-2-5-3 (assuming he would pitch a low spade from 5-2-3-3). Thus West knows the spades can't go away, and he should exit passively with a diamond.

Most of us humans don't play that way, however. We give attitude when discarding. But that works on this deal also. On the queen of hearts, East should pitch a discouraging diamond, suggesting tolerance for a spade shift. Since East is marked with the spade ace on the auction, he wouldn't suggest a spade shift with just the ace. West needs no help finding a spade shift from queen-jack. So a discouraging diamond should show at least the ace-jack of spades, and West knows a spade shift is safe. 

So either count or attitude solves West's problem. Even though each leads to a different solution.

Free Weekly Instant Tournament - March 15 - Board 6

Board 6
Opponents vulnerable

♠ A Q 2  ♥ A 9  ♦ K Q 5 3 2  ♣ A 8 2

One pass to me. I have 19 HCP, so I open with one diamond, intending to rebid two notrump to show 18 or 19. I know some will add a point for the five-card suit and open with two notrump. But I disapprove. I think upgrading to a two notrump opening is almost always a mistake.

The two-notrump opening is one of the weakest parts of standard bidding. If partner has a good hand and you belong in a minor-suit slam, it is very difficult to get there, since you can't even introduce your suit below the four-level. And if partner has a bad hand and passes two notrump, you are probably too high. The main reason for opening two notrump--that you may miss a game if you open at the one-level and partner passes--doesn't apply when you have only 19 HCP. So what's the point of upgrading? It serves no constructive purpose. 

True, it may serve a tactical purpose. Two notrump--three notrump gives nothing away. A slower auction may help the opponents on opening lead. 

It may also serve a pre-emptive purpose. Sometimes the opponents can actually make something or have a profitable save, and a two-notrump opening will shut them out of the auction. Still, I think the disadvantages outweigh the advantages. As a general rule, I don't go out of my way to open two notrump. It's an opening I try to avoid.

Over one diamond, partner responds one heart. I rebid two notrump as planned. Partner bids three spades, showing four-four in the majors. I bid three notrump and everyone passes. West leads the three of clubs.

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

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

I have three club tricks, probably four diamond tricks, and four tricks in the majors. Eleven tricks in all. If spades come home or if I can execute a major-suit squeeze, I have twelve.

I play the club ten from dummy. East plays the four. I suppose there is some chance East ducked with the queen if his hand is good enough to know his partner can't have the ace. But it's more likely the club queen is on my left. And, even though the robots like three-card leads against notrump, I doubt West would lead from queen third. So I'll make the tentative assumption that West has queen fourth. I play the eight, leaving open the possibility from East's perspective that the lead is from a five-card suit.

I lead the jack of diamonds from dummy--seven--deuce--eight. Now the ten of diamonds--four--three--six.

I don't want to give away the spade position, so I come to my hand with the club ace rather than a spade to continue diamonds. East plays the six; West, the five. Now king of diamonds--heart six--heart deuce--diamond ace. This is the position, with East on lead:

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

The robots usually give count when discarding, so the heart six is probably high from a four-card suit. That makes West 3-4-2-4, in which case I'm making six. But it's possible the six isn't as high as it looks. If it's West's lowest heart, he could be 4-3-2-4 or 2-5-2-4. Is the latter really possible? Wouldn't West have led a heart with that pattern? Partner did bid the suit, so maybe not. I'll assume either shape is possible.

Let's consider 4-3-2-4 first. If that's what West has, the run of the diamond suit will probably clue me in and I can take a finesse in the end position. What if he's 2-5-2-4? If his doubleton spade is the jack, I'm making six. If it isn't, then my only chance is to squeeze East in the majors. Since the spade threat is in front of East, my heart threat must be behind him. That means I need East to have both the king and jack of hearts, making my nine a threat.

East shifts to the seven of clubs. West plays the queen and I win with dummy's king. Now that I know for sure West has the queen, I'm confident he started with four clubs. In most scenarios, the queen, the card West was presumed to hold, would be his correct play. In this case, his low club would have been a better choice. I'm more likely to question my presumption about the club queen than I am to believe West led a club from queen third.

I play a spade to the ace. East plays the three; West, the five. The robots do not give count when following suit, so I can draw no inference from their spade spots.

Now diamond queen--heart eight--heart four from dummy. East follows with his last diamond. I still don't know if the heart six was high or low. 

I cash the spade queen to save time if the jack falls. It doesn't. West plays the eight; East the nine.

Now the ace of hearts--five--ten--seven. So the six was high, which means West began with four hearts. If I've read the position correctly, West was 3-4-2-4 and this should be the layout:

	NORTH Robot ♠ K 10 ♥ Q ♦ -- ♣ --
WEST Robot ♠ x ♥ x ♦ -- ♣ 9		EAST Robot ♠ x ♥ x x ♦ -- ♣ --
	SOUTH Phillip ♠ 2 ♥ 9 ♦ 5 ♣ --

Could I be wrong? Let's recheck my assumptions. I suppose it's possible West did lead a club from queen third after all. If so, he holds two spades and a heart now. If that's the case, perhaps his heart is the king and he will be squeezed when I cash the last diamond. But if he pitches a low heart, I'm not finessing the spade. If I'm wrong about the club lead, I'll pay off.

I cash the diamond. West pitches the heart three. East removes all doubt by pitching the six of spades. I claim. Making six.

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

Plus 490 is worth 75%, which seems generous for what should be a flat board. Since jack third of spades is onside, there is no guess in the spade suit.

It turns out the two-notrump openers were punished. After a two-notrump opening and a Stayman auction, West doesn't find out about North's heart suit, so he has a natural heart lead, holding the contract to five.

Despite the fact that I don't approve of the two-notrump opening, this result does seem unfair. As I mentioned in the opening paragraphs, one possible gain in opening two notrump is that the auction will be less revealing. For the two-notrump opening to work out badly precisely because the auction is less revealing is cruel. But I'm not complaining. Sometimes the bridge gods work in mysterious ways.

Free Weekly Instant Tournament - March 15 - Board 5

Board 5
Our side vulnerable

♠ A K 8 3  ♥ A 6 2  ♦ Q 10 5  ♣ A 4 2

Two passes to me. I open with one notrump, and partner bids two hearts, a transfer to spades.

I believe one should pre-accept on almost any hand with four spades. This hand, with four trumps and four-plus honor tricks, should meet anyone's standards. 

I bid three spades, partner goes on to four, and West leads the queen of clubs.

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

West	North	East	South
Robot	Robot	Robot	Phillip
	Pass	Pass	1 NT
Pass	2 ♥	Pass	3 ♠
Pass	4 ♠	(All pass)

I have two diamonds losers, so I need to hold my heart losers to one. If I can strip the hand, I might manage an endplay. There are two ways to play the heart suit in the end position. I can play a low heart from my hand, guess whether to play the ten or queen, and hope, if I guess wrong, that East has both honors and is endplayed. Or I can cash the ace and lead to the ten or queen, hoping, if I guess wrong, that East is out of hearts and must give me a ruff-sluff. For either plan to work, however, I need to have a trump left in each hand after drawing trump and ruffing two clubs. So I will need trumps to be two-two.

Should I ruff a club now while it's convenient? Let's see if I need to. If I win the second trump in my hand and trumps are indeed two-two, I can ruff one club at that point. Then, assuming from the opening lead that East has at least one diamond honor, I can always reach my hand with a diamond to ruff the second club. Since I have no entry problems, there is no need to ruff a club now. An early, gratuitous ruff might prove embarrassing if trumps don't split.

East plays the seven of clubs at trick one. I take the club ace, play a spade to dummy, and a spade back to my hand. They split.

Now a club ruff. West plays the three; East, the five.

I lead the deuce of diamonds. East hops with the king; West follows with the seven. East continues with the ace of diamonds. I play low, and West following with the eight. East continues the nine of diamonds to my queen, as West discards the nine of hearts. We've reached this position:

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

The nine of hearts is presumably count. If so, West is 2-4-2-5, and I'm cold. All I have to do is ruff a club, play a heart to my ace, then play a heart to the queen or ten. It makes no difference which, since if it loses, East has only minors left and is endplayed.

I ruff a club to dummy and play a heart. East plays the jack. I take the ace and claim ten tricks.

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

I guess East hopped with the jack to save himself the embarrassment of being endplayed.

Plus 620 was worth 82%. Strangely, quite a few players didn't pre-accept and languished in two spades.  

I see some declarers did ruff a club at trick two. Once I saw that the immediate ruff was unnecessary, I didn't bother to check if it might cost. Let's do that now.

Suppose I ruff a club at trick two, then draw trump. If trumps turn out to be three-one, I must draw three rounds. Then I drive a diamond honor, and the defense leads a third club to tap dummy, reaching this position:

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

I drive the other diamond. Now they tap my hand with a fourth club and I'm out of trumps. Even if I guess hearts correctly, I'm still going down if the hand with the heart king has the long club. So an immediate club ruff is an error. I could go down when I'm cold if I guess hearts.

Ruffing a club at trick two is the kind of error an expert can easily fall into when he's being lazy. Stripping the hand looks like a good idea. So why not ruff a club now, when you have the chance? Stopping to work out whether you're short of entries and need to ruff a club early is too much work.

Sometimes playing by instinct is unavoidable. You don't always know enough about the layout to tell whether or not you need to make some preparatory play, such as taking an early ruff or ducking a trick to prepare for a squeeze. So you have to rely more on instinct than on analysis. But this deal isn't one of those cases. If you bother to check, you can see easily enough that you aren't short of entries, so there is no hurry to ruff a club. 

Incidentally, I did misbid this hand, because I was unfamiliar with the robots' methods. I discovered later that they play two notrump over the transfer as a maximum with four trumps and "4333" distribution. So that's what I should have bid. It might allow partner, with a different hand, to choose three notrump rather than four spades.

Free Weekly Instant Tournament - March 15 - Board 4

Board 4
Opponents vulnerable

♠ K 4  ♥ K Q 8  ♦ K 8 4  ♣ J 9 8 6 3

RHO opens two diamonds, weak, in third seat. I pass, LHO raises to three diamonds. Partner, despite being a passed hand, chimes in with three spades, and RHO passes.

Personally, I would never bid this way. If I had a suit I'm willing to introduce at the three-level, I would do something on the first round of the auction. Obviously partner doesn't agree with this approach. So what does he have? Why is he willing to bid three spades now when he wasn't willing to bid on the first round?

I suspect he has a two-spade opening, or possibly a three spade opening, but was deterred by a four-card heart suit. If so, my hand is golden. I have three cover cards for him. (The king of diamonds is probably opposite his singleton, so I'll ignore that card.) Still, if three cover cards were enough for game, partner would have a six-loser hand. A six-loser hand with ten cards in the majors is an opening bid. Another concern is that his fourth heart may be an unexpected loser, since he won't be able to ruff it in dummy. Despite the fact this is quite a good hand on the auction, it doesn't appear to be enough to raise.

I pass, as does LHO. RHO leads the heart six.

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

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

I called it! A weak two-spade bid with four hearts and seven losers. So my three cover cards are just enough to make three. Fortunately, partner has the heart jack, so the fourth heart isn't a problem. Although a heart ruff by an opponent might be. This lead looks suspiciously like a singleton. If so, is there anything I can do about it?

I could try winning the heart in dummy and leading a low spade from the table. But what if East hops with the ace, leads another heart, and West follows? Then there was no heart ruff after all. But now spades are blocked. I can't get to my hand to draw the last trump. So if West has it, I've gone down in a cold contract.

In fact, if West has three spades, the ploy can't work anyway. Even if East ducks the spade ace, he can still give his partner a ruff on the next round. So the ploy works only when West is specifically 2-1-6-4 and East choses to duck the spade ace. And I go down in a cold contract whenever West is three-two in the majors and East hops. The swindle is clearly a bad bet.

I win with the heart king; East plays the deuce. I lead the spade king--eight--deuce--ace. Oh. Somehow I didn't think of the pre-empter's holding the spade ace. The swindle is worse than I thought. It works only if West is 2-1-6-4 and East holds the spade ace and chooses to duck it.

West continues with the heart four. I have three unavoidable losers left. Making three.

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

Everyone played three or four spades and almost everyone took nine tricks. Plus 140 was worth 61%.

One declarer tried a ploy I didn't think of. He won the first heart in his hand with the ace and played a spade toward dummy. If East holds five hearts, this leaves open the possibility from his perspective that the opening lead is from jack-nine-six and declarer holds ace doubleton. Unfortunately, declarer's imaginative play was punished. West ducked the first spade, won the second, and played another heart. Declarer had no way to get off dummy to draw the last trump, so he went down one.

This might have worked if East had the spade ace. But even then it seems unlikely. If declarer has ace doubleton of hearts, why wouldn't he cash his hearts and pitch his stiff diamond before driving the spade ace? Still, I like the idea of trying to convince East the lead isn't a singleton.

Perhaps there's a better way to accomplish that: Play the heart king from dummy and overtake with the ace. You can always hook against the ten later, and this sequence might make it appear to East that you have ace-jack third and are retaining an additional hand entry.

Again, it seems unlikely this will work. It's not as if East has anything better to do than to try to give his partner a heart ruff. But it can't hurt to try. Unlike the other two ploys, there is no risk if the six is an honest card. If West unexpectedly has the ten, you will find out in time, since he will play the seven on the second round. So why not? I wish I'd thought of it.