Sunday 1/9/2011

Right-click here for hands. I started a new job last week so haven't played much. Nice 8 table game today.

Board 6: East passes and Suth should pass; his primary suit is weak and he has excellent support for the other major. West has "only" 8 tricks and 18 high card points but all the slam controls; still, game is unlikely if partner cannot respond to 1D so no need to stretch for 2C with a minor-suited hand. North overcalls 1S; East has a close choice between pass and 2D; there is little chance of partner having only 3 diamonds since the only shape that opens 1D with 3 is 4432 and that's unlikely given his own spade length and the overcall. Raising puts partner in a good position to compete for the part-score, so let's assume East raises to 2D. Those who play "inverted minor" need to realize the convention is off over competition; a jump raise should be very weak while a cue-bid, 2S in this case, replaces the game-invitational raise.

South should now jump to 4S with his excellent fit and very shapely hand. When the opponents bid and raise a suit you are short in it pays to be optimisitic and assume partner has one or two low cards in the suit you can ruff or pitch on the long hearts. West applies the same logic: partner bid, so he has some values; they have a big spade fit, so partner's cards rate to be in hearts or clubs where they will fit with West's Aces. West must decide between game and slam; 5D seems reasonable to me but if West is going to bid slam he may as well bid 5S "on the way" to suggest 7D. West makes 12 or 13 tricks depending on how many hearts he arranges to ruff in dummy. Bidding game nets an average plus; only one pair bid slam (7D.)

If South opens a very undisciplined 2H West faces a problem. The normal way to show a powerful hand would be to double and then jump in your suit; but to double with a singleton or void in the other major is volunteering for a disaster whenever partner is long in the suit, which will be common. I think West's best guess is to leap to 5D. This will probably end the bidding but nets a solid 5 out of 7 score.

Board 7: West opens 1H; North is really too weak for a vulnerable 2 level overcall but I expect that was a popular action. East, with 9 tricks opposite a partner who opened, should drive the hand to slam unless partner proves to have no Ace or he is certain there are two diamond losers. A 2S response over 2C is 100% forcing, but it isn't clear East will learn anything useful. Playing RKCB or 1430, however, many play that an immediate leap to 4NT would agree hearts as trumps and so elevate the King of hearts to the status of an Ace. Plain Blackwood bidders or those who play simple Blackwood when no suit has been agreed may as well bid 4NT now; "implied fit" bidders like me should bid 2S and woe to partner who thinks that isn't forcing! South competes to 3C and West can pass with little more than already promised (South's raise will give East another chance to bid.) Now East can bid 4NT followed by 6S. What if partner had only the Ace of clubs or two fast diamond losers? Bad luck -- there isn't always a perfect way to bid every hand. 6S will make far too often for East to bid cautiously.

If North passes, East should reply to 1H with a strong jump shift, and repeat the suit at the 3 level. This may coax a cue-bid out of West, which will help clarify things after 4NT later in the auction. If East/West play weak jump shifts, the bidding is apt to be quite tortured: 1H-1S; 2C-2D (fourth suit artificial); 2H-3S; 4S and finally a 4NT sequence ending at slam.

East counts 8 trump tricks, two hearts and a club; one diamond ruff or establishing the heart suit will bring in the 12th trick. If the defense leads anything but a East can score his ruff by leading a diamond before pulling trumps. If the defense leads a trump East should win in hand, cash the Ace of hearts and ruff heart, then a low trump to dummy's 10, cash the King of hearts and breathe a sigh of relief when the suit splits 3-3, making 7 since all the diamonds can be pitched.

Board 23: South opens a 15-17 notrump and North follows a classic Stayman sequence:
1NT-2C; 2D-3S. The jump shows 5-4 in the majors and game-forcing values. In standard methods North jumps in his long major (spades in this case); Smolen bidders would jump in the shorter major to effect a transfer, but I don't find that convention especially useful -- I play it if it's what partner is used to.

Either way, South bids 4S on the known 5-3 fit and North continues with 4NT, Blackwood or RKCB. North counts 31 hcp plus 2 points for shape once the fit is located, so slam should have a reasonable play. South's reply shows one Ace or key card (5D, or 5C in the "1430" style) and North bids 6S knowing only one Ace or key card is missing. A common mistake for advancing players is to think you need all four Aces or all five key cards for slam -- the point of Blackwood is to avoid a hopeless slam missing two Aces. If you are uncertain about bidding slam missing one Ace or key card, you have no business bidding 4NT.

Cashing an Ace is normal against a suit slam, unless the opponents have bid the suit. With no clue about South's diamonds, East cashes his Ace, followed by perhaps a low heart. North must be careful to retain a high honor with his ten of spades; in case of a bad split it is possible to pick up Jxxx with West but not East. Win the heart, count 5 spades, 4 hearts, 3 diamonds and a club, so only a trump loser can sink the slam. North cashes the King of spades, crosses to the Ace, notes East's show-out and finesses against West's Jack.

Was the Ace lead a mistake? Not really, North can always lead diamonds himself and score 5 spades, 3 hearts, 2 diamonds and 2 clubs.