Sunday, May 29th 2011

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Competition Corner -- bidding over their takeout double
Board 20: North opens 1H; East's hand is far from classic, but with 13 hcp outside of hearts and four spades, a taekout double is reasonable. South, with 9 hcp, should give partner a bid; a 1S "baby psyche" is an old ploy, but a simple 1NT showing 6-9 hcp is just as effective at blocking the spade suit. West assumes a spade fit but is too weak and shapeless to bid; the defense would take the first seven tricks, and -200 is almost always a poor score. 1NT should end the auction. As it happens, hearts and clubs both run, but game would be a poor bet. Give East one fewer heart and one more club (as is likely from the auction) and you'll see what I mean.

With a better hand, 10 hcp, South would redouble.

Slamarama
Board 9: North opens 1S and South responds with the popular Jacoby 2NT game-forcing raise, promising 4 card support and game values. North's first priority is to show a singleton; with none, he describes his strength: 4S = minimum, 3NT = medium, 4S = strong. The classic ranges would be 12-14, 15-17 and 18+, but those assumed 2NT was limited to about 15 points while the modern style is for 2NT to be unlimited. I prefer 4S = 11 to a poor 13, 3NT = good 13 to 15, 3S = 16+. Either way, North's hand qualifies as a minimum, so 4S. South counts only 5 losers, generally enough for slam opposite an opening bid; partner's expected 12 hcp should cover 4 losers. South would like to be sure of a heart control, but no bidding room below 4NT,  RKCB is the practical bid, followed by 6S when North shows 1 Ace or 2 Key cards. If playing regular Blackwood, a 5C control bid is the best move; North shows the desired heart control and again 6S is reached. The defense, of course, cannot score more than the Ace of diamonds.

Board 15: West has a monster, 22 hcp, 0463 shape, 2 or 3 losers, 4 first-round and 3 second round controls. There is some risk of being passed out at 1D, though it is likely someone will bid spades. The problem with a 2C opening is that partner will likely respond 2D (waiting or semi-positive), West rebids 3D, and a possible 4-4 heart fit may be lost in the shuffle. But 6D looks likely and 2C is the best first move toward that goal. Assume East responds 2D semi-positive, 4+ hcp (2H would be 0-3.) West bids 3D; East must choose between 3NT and 4D. At IMP scoring (teams) 5D will probably be safe and the raise looks correct, but at matchpoints you hate to score 600 when 630 at notrump was possible. I'd probably bid 3NT but when West pulls to 4D East can proceed with Blackwood or RKCB folowed by 6D. A player who pulls 3NT to 4 of a minor is not looking to trade a game bid for a part-score, it should be a slam try and East knows the King is a big card.

East, declarer thanks to the artificial 2D response, ruffs the opening spade lead in dummy. East wants to score an overtrick if possible but the first priority is to remove trumps. The Ace and King of diamonds accomplish that task, leaving East in hand to lead the Jack of hearts for a finesse. +940 ties for a top.

Board 17: North passes, East opens 1D, South likely overcalls 1H despite minimal values and an "empty" suit -- the 1534 shape is good, and all 9 hcp are in the longer suits. West should be thinking 6S or 6D, but a jump to 2S would be weak "in competition" so West starts with a simple 1S. NOrth jams the bidding with a preemptive jump to 3H. East counts 7 tricks on the expected heart lead; can partner provide two more? It's a guess but going down one or two in 3NT may prove less costly than deffnding versus hearts, so 3NT it is. South passes and West still does not know which slam to bid: 6D opposite a hand like East has today, but 6 or 7 spades if East has a balanced 18 count.. Rather than guess, West bids 4H hoping for a clue. East wonders what that is supposed to mean but 5D seems obvious and West raises to 6.

Cashing an Ace is often the best defense against a suit slam, but here the bidding suggests East has the King and West may be void, so South leads the King of clubs. East counts 2 spades, 6 diamonds and 2 clubs, so 2 more tricks are needed by way of heart ruffs or long spades. The lead removes an entry to the spades, and declarer lacks non-trump entries to his hand to lead hearts for ruffs. It looks like spades must be ruffed for transportation, so East may as well try to establish the suit. 3-2 spades and 2-2 diamonds would make the slam easy, but rather than count on luck, East cashes a high trump (noting the fall of the ten), a high spade, ruffs a spade high, and is glad of his caution when South discards. Now the slam depends on believing North's ten was not a false-card; declarer needs two more entries to dummy and must pull two rounds of trumps before cashing any spades; a low diamond to the 7 succeeds, another sapde is ruffed high and dummy is reached with the last low diamond to the nine. Now declarer pitches 3 hearts and a club on the good spades and concedes a club for a well-played +920.

My partner faced an opening spade lead. He cashed one high spade and tried ruffing one low, which South over-ruffed. But that left an extra trump in dummy, and it was simple to ruff a heart to dummy, ruff a spade high, pull trumps and return to dummy with the Ace of clubs to cash four more spade tricks. Holding the missing Ace, South was unlikely to reach partner for ruff, but leading a singleton can cause transportation problems for declarer. Here, however, it seems obvious to try and set up a club, and perhaps surprise declarer with the bad spade break.