Sunday, May 25th 2014

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Board 8 West Deals None Vul	♠ A 9 6 3 ♥ Q J 10 9 5 ♦ K 10 4 ♣ K
♠ K 7 4 ♥ 2 ♦ A J 7 6 3 ♣ 10 5 4 3	N W E S	♠ 10 8 2 ♥ 8 7 6 3 ♦ Q 9 2 ♣ J 8 2
	♠ Q J 5 ♥ A K 4 ♦ 8 5 ♣ A Q 9 7 6

North opens 1H. South has a classic hand for a slam invitation: too much to simply bid game (about 17 in value), not enough for slam without something extra from partner, or at least good-fitting cards. In standard method, the simplest approach is a strong jump shift (3C) followed by supporting hearts. It's a good idea not to have a side suit when you make a three-level jump shift; a new suit by opener should be a control bid or notrump probe. North rebids 3NT here and South continues with 4H as planned. North should like his hand: the clubs, bolstered by North's King, should provide discards and North has control of both side suits. North bids 4NT, South's reply shows two Aces or three Key cards and North ends the bidding at 6H.

The auction suggests declarer plans to pull trumps and use the club suit for discards, so East attacks with a low diamond, hoping to catch partner with the Ace or King or at least the Jack. This is a reasonable shot since if partner were broke N/S might have considered grand slam. West wins his Ace and considers the defensive prospects -- partner may well have four hearts, perhaps the Jack of clubs and perhaps the ten of spades. It won't be possible to prevent dummy from ruffing a diamond so a diamond return looks best, hoping bad breaks will sink the contract.

Now declarer counts his tricks: one spade, five hearts, a diamond and three clubs, with loser already in. A diamond ruff along with setting up the fifth club or a successful spade finesse would bring home the slam. However, the only entry to the clubs will be in trumps, and declarer cannot both ruff a diamond and pull three rounds ending in dummy to enjoy the long club. So it looks like the contract will depend on the spade finesse.

Declarer cashes the King of clubs, ruffs a diamond high, cashes the Ace and Queen of clubs (pitching spades), low trump to the Queen and a trump back to dummy for the spade finesse. When that wins declarer pulls the remaining trumps and claims. All in all not a great contract; only one pair bid and made slam. Perhaps North should pass 4H.

Board 10 East Deals Both Vul	♠ A 9 4 ♥ A K 7 3 ♦ J 9 8 7 2 ♣ 6
♠ K 3 ♥ Q J 8 2 ♦ 5 ♣ K 9 8 7 5 3	N W E S	♠ J 10 7 6 5 2 ♥ 9 5 4 ♦ 3 ♣ Q 10 2
	♠ Q 8 ♥ 10 6 ♦ A K Q 10 6 4 ♣ A J 4

South opens 1D. West has a poor suit and hand for a vulnerable, two-level overcall but may try 2C anyway (at matchpoints) since it takes up a lot of space and preempts both majors. North may start with a negative double but would hate to catch partner with club length and a hand that looks like it should convert the double to penalties. 2H, planning to support diamonds later, is a reasonable option even though partner will expect a five-card suit. South leaps to 3NT, expecting seven or eight tricks from his own hand. Should North leave that in or try for slam? As I've blogged before, 4D in this sort of auction should be a forcing slam try, not an attempt to convert partner's game bid into a part-score. North has excellent controls, good shape and can expect strong diamonds opposite so 4D looks reasonable. South would like to make sure both majors are under control but with three key cards plus the Queen of trumps he probably has what North wants. 4NT followed by 5NT reveals two Aces and a side King, but neither partner can count a sure 13 tricks (or even 12 at notrump) so 6D should be the final contract. Two club ruffs bring the total up to 12 tricks and West can be squeezed in the majors for an overtrick.

Board 17 North Deals None Vul	♠ Q ♥ Q 7 5 4 ♦ Q 9 8 7 6 ♣ 8 4 2
♠ 5 3 ♥ A 10 9 2 ♦ A J 2 ♣ A K Q 7	N W E S	♠ A K 10 4 ♥ K J 8 ♦ 10 4 3 ♣ 10 9 5
	♠ J 9 8 7 6 2 ♥ 6 3 ♦ K 5 ♣ J 6 3

After two passes, South may open 2S in third seat (not vulnerable) to annoy West. West doubles for takeout; East may bid a natural 2NT (not playing lebensohl), stretch for 3NT, or pass for penalties. That looks attractive with three probable trump tricks and no clear game bid. The defense starts with three rounds of clubs and then hearts, declarer ruffing trick #6. A low diamond to the Queen will probably be ducked by West -- either declarer or partner must have the King. Now declarer leads the fourth heart for a ruff, then a low trump to the Queen. The defense ends with nine tricks for +800. Although the recap shows E/W can make slam, they weren't likely to bid it with only 29 hcp. Still, South caught partner with an especially poor hand so if your partner got slaughtered at 2S show some sympathy.

If South passes, West opens 1C, East responds 1S and West shows his values by jumping to 2NT. East counts a combined 29-30 hcp with no obvious fit, so a raise to 3NT ends the bidding. West makes 11 or 12 tricks depending on how he plays the heart suit.

Sectional: Friday Evening, 5/16/2014

No link to hand records at this time; I copied diagrams from a club game and manually edited the cards, so my apologies if there are any errors.

Board 3 South Deals E-W Vul	♠ 3 ♥ A 10 9 8 7 3 ♦ 3 ♣ Q J 7 6 3
♠ Q 10 9 4 ♥ 6 4 ♦ A J 9 5 2 ♣ 10 9	N W E S	♠ A K 8 7 6 5 2 ♥ K 5 ♦ Q 6 ♣ 4 2
	♠ J ♥ Q J 2 ♦ K 10 8 7 4 ♣ A K 8 5

South opens 1D, North responds 1H, East bids some number of spades. Ordinarily, you wouldn't preempt with 12+ hcp, but with both opponents bidding and partner passing it may pay to jam the bidding. 4S looks too rich so the choice is between 1S and 3S.

Over 1S, South absolutely must raise. While it can be playable to require four trumps to raise responder in a purely constructive auction, you give up too much if you don't raise in a competitive auction. Some play support doubles to show exactly three card support, but support doubles are among the most disaster-prone gadgets around -- they should be far down on your list of gadgets to add. A simple raise to 2H gets the job done. If responder has only four trumps and wants to bid or try for game, he should avoid re-raising the suit; instead, bid notrump or a new suit. In competition, double should suggest extra strength without extra shape.

West raises to 2S and North has good playing strength. Although 4H risks pushing the enemy into game, North has an Ace and partner opened the bidding so 4H looks justified. This should suggest some defense, bidding one under an enemy game. Lacking defense North should choose 3H, 5H or pass. East is bidding 4S regardless; South lacks the shape to bid again or enough defense to double, so 4S gets passed back to North. Trusting that opener would've doubled with a better defensive hand, North tries 5H, which may make or prove to be a good sacrifice. East counts the Ace of spades and the King of hearts as probable defensive tricks; not enough to double and the vulnerability argues against bidding again. West likely doubles based on his Ace, and the defense scores two Aces and the King of trumps.

If East preempts 3S, South is shut out. West raises to 4S. North has too much shape to sell out and bids 5C.  This should escape undoubled, as West cannot count on East for much defense after the preempt.

Board 6 East Deals E-W Vul	♠ J 10 7 5 3 ♥ A J 10 ♦ J 8 3 ♣ K 9
♠ K 9 ♥ 9 8 7 5 4 3 ♦ Q 9 ♣ 10 5 3	N W E S	♠ A Q 8 4 ♥ K Q 2 ♦ A 2 ♣ A Q 6 2
	♠ 6 2 ♥ 6 ♦ K 10 7 6 5 4 ♣ J 8 7 4

East opens 2NT (20-21). This is a good hand for a Texas transfer: 4D showing 6+ hearts and no doubt about the proper level -- responder is planning to pass or continue on to slam. Give responder another four or five points and he'd like to suggest slam if opener has good cards. That can be accomplished by using a Jacoby transfer (3D) and then raising 3H to game. Match up Kx J10xxxx Kx Kxx with opener's hand, for example: responder may be reluctant to use 4NT with zero key cards, but opener has four key cards plus the trump Queen. However, Texas comes up rarely and when our bidding started 2NT-3D; 3H-4H I guessed to pass.

On lead, South figures the opponents for about 24-28 hcp, leaving 8-12 for partner. That's enough to be optimistic about finding partner with a fitting honor in whatever suit you lead; on the other hand it seems likely the King of diamonds is sitting over something in the 2NT opener's hand. The problem is that leading a spade or a trump isn't safe: you will often finesse partner, and dummy may be short of entries so that may be a real help to declarer. I would probably try a low diamond and that's what South did against my 4H. Dummy's Queen wins and declarer leads a low trump toward the KQx. North splits honors, Declarer may cash the Ace of diamonds to eliminate that suit, return to dummy with a spade, and lead another trump. With the club finesse also working declarer can score +680. On a spade or trump lead the defense should collect a club or diamond to go with the Ace of trumps.

Board 14 East Deals None Vul	♠ J 6 ♥ A 10 8 ♦ A Q 8 ♣ 9 8 7 5 2
♠ 9 8 ♥ K J 9 6 4 ♦ 10 5 3 2 ♣ J 3	N W E S	♠ A 10 5 3 ♥ Q 7 5 3 ♦ J 7 6 ♣ Q 10
	♠ K Q 7 4 2 ♥ 2 ♦ K 9 4 ♣ A K 6 4

South opens 1S; North responds 2C (standard) or 1NT Forcing. Over 2C, a raise to 3C should be forcing; I would rebid 2S on a more limited hand, planning to support clubs later. If you prefer 2S to promise extra length and don't think 3C is forcing, South must improvise a 2D rebid. I like to use the 2S rebid as the default "I had to bid something" action and make all other bids well-defined.

After 1S-2C; 3C, North bids the obvious 3NT with both red suits stopped. South is worried about hearts but it generally won't pay to run away from 3NT when it may be right. On this layout, however, both 3NT and 6C depend on the clubs splitting 2-2.

After 1S-1NT, South rebids 2C. This is a wide-ranging rebid and North would raise on many hands with only 8 or 9 hcp, in case opener has 16+ . Notrump looks like the practical bid again and North rebids either 2NT (invitational, about 11-12) or an aggressive 3NT. Getting to 6C looks unlikely.

Board 16 West Deals E-W Vul	♠ A Q J 4 ♥ J 10 ♦ 10 ♣ A K Q 10 9 4
♠ 9 8 7 6 ♥ 2 ♦ A K 9 7 5 4 2 ♣ 7	N W E S	♠ K 10 5 3 ♥ Q 6 ♦ Q J 8 3 ♣ J 8 2
	♠ 2 ♥ A K 9 8 7 5 4 3 ♦ 6 ♣ 6 5 3

West might bid any number of diamonds or pass (because of the side four-card major.) I hate passing hands with good, long suits so I'd probably open 3D.  North is too strong for any immediate club bid and so starts with a double; wouldn't it be lovely if partner had spades? East, with four trumps, should raise the preempt; given the vulnerability, balanced shape and scattered values outside diamonds 4D is enough. At equal vulnerability I'd bid 5D.

South has 8 likely tricks opposite a partner who should deliver better than an opening bid. There should be a slam if partner has two Aces. Would 4NT be Blackwood here, natural, or some sort of high-level, two-suited takeout? It would be interesting to find out what an expert panel thinks, but at the table I'd bash 6H to avoid any chance of an accident.

Board 18 East Deals N-S Vul	♠ A J 6 3 ♥ K J ♦ 10 5 3 ♣ A Q 7 6
♠ K Q 4 2 ♥ 8 4 3 ♦ 9 7 2 ♣ J 5 3	N W E S	♠ 10 8 7 ♥ 7 6 2 ♦ A K Q J 6 4 ♣ K
	♠ 9 5 ♥ A Q 10 9 5 ♦ 8 ♣ 10 9 8 4 2

East opens 1D. South is very light for a vulnerable overcall, but the good suit and good shape argue for bidding. The choice is between a light 1H, showing the best suit, or an Unusual 2NT, showing both suits but committing to the three level, vulnerable. I prefer a better hand for 2NT (about 8+) so I'd rather try 1H. Pass  may be the safer call. Over 1H, West shows spades with a negative double. North can show values (10+ hcp) with a redouble. East rebids his diamonds. With a more balanced hand, South would pass things around to partner; with today's 5-5, he'd like to bid, but may pass anyway rather than climb up to 3C.

North has a problem -- he should force to game, but where? A 3D cue-bid should inspire partner to bid notrump if he's got a stopper, or perhaps show something else of interest. 4H may be playable if all else fails.  South might repeat the chunky hearts but 4C is probably best. North might try 4H but partner will be tapped  quickly with diamond leads so 5C looks right.

At 4H or 5C, declarer may lose a spade, diamond and club. But if West leads the King of spades, South may place the King of clubs with East and drop it with his Ace.

Board 23 South Deals Both Vul	♠ Q 10 ♥ A Q 8 5 3 ♦ J 9 7 ♣ 9 7 4
♠ 9 5 3 2 ♥ 10 9 2 ♦ 8 ♣ A K Q 8 2	N W E S	♠ A K J 6 4 ♥ 6 ♦ A Q 10 6 3 2 ♣ 3
	♠ 8 7 ♥ K J 7 4 ♦ K 5 4 ♣ J 10 6 5

East may open 1D  or 1S in fourth seat, or North may open a light, third-seat 1H. Partners often punish you for light openings -- they have a near opening bid themselves and drive the bidding too high. Sometimes I prefer a five-card weak two but this hand has little playing strength. Pass is probably best unless partner is known to tread lightly after passing.

After 1D, West responds 1S. North should view a vulnerable 2H here as too risky. East counts one loser in each suit and blasts to game, or dusts off the 4D rebid gadget to show spade support and long, strong diamonds. Either way, West probably settles for 4S given his poor trumps.

After 1S, West responds with a limit raise or Drury 2C gadget or a passed-hand 3C Fit Jump, all leading to 4S. If North opens 1H, East bids 2H (Michaels), South raises to 3H (about 8-10 in support), West competes with 3S and East bids game.  E/W score +680 when spades and diamonds break evenly -- the diamonds set up with two ruffs.

Board 24 West Deals None Vul	♠ Q 10 9 ♥ 5 3 ♦ K 8 4 ♣ J 10 8 7 3
♠ K 6 3 ♥ A K J 10 6 ♦ A 7 3 ♣ A 2	N W E S	♠ A J 8 7 4 2 ♥ 7 4 ♦ 9 6 5 ♣ Q 4
	♠ 5 ♥ Q 9 8 2 ♦ Q J 10 2 ♣ K 9 6 5

West, with strength in between 1NT and 2NT, opens 1H. East responds 1S and West jumps to 2NT, suggesting 18-19 or perhaps 17 with a small doubleton spade. It's important to have agreements about rebids at this point -- do you want methods to stop at three of a suit, or do you want to be able to explore for slam? Years ago I read that after opener's jump to 2NT, all bids by responder are forcing; 2NT is the only part-score we can play. Some experts use 3C as a sign-off gadget but I doubt it's worth the effort. Two other considerations: if you play New Minor Forcing, do you want to extend it to this situation? That allows responder to bid 3C to check on a 5-3 fit and bid a direct 3S to show 6. Finally, can responder count on opener for at least two-card support? If so, today's responder can simply leap to 4S; a 3S rebid would suggest slam interest.

Excellent luck in both majors allows declarer to claim 13 tricks, but with only 26 hcp this is another slam I wouldn't expect to bid.

Board 29 North Deals Both Vul	♠ K 7 5 4 ♥ ♦ J 9 7 4 ♣ 10 9 7 6 4
♠ Q 10 ♥ A Q J 10 9 8 5 3 ♦ 8 2 ♣ Q	N W E S	♠ A 8 2 ♥ 7 4 2 ♦ A 6 ♣ A K 8 5 2
	♠ J 9 6 3 ♥ K 6 ♦ K Q 10 5 3 ♣ J 3

East opens 1NT; South may pass (after checking the vulnerability) or overcall 2D, natural or DONT (diamonds plus a major.) Playing Cappalletti, I wouldn't risk a bid vulnerable since you cannot reach diamonds below the three level.

If South passes, West counts six losers and, at 3 points per trick, assumes opener can cover five of them. But the partnership could be missing as many as three key cards, so the five level may not be safe. Gerber can help -- if partner replies 4H, you can pass! Otherwise it will be reasonable to bid slam; you might need a finesse in trumps if partner doesn't have the King. Another approach is to make some sort of below-game slam try. Transfer-then-bid-game is one possibility (1NT-2D; 2H-4H) but that leaves no room for cue-bidding. A common expert treatment is the "self-splinter": transfer, then jump in your singleton to show slam interest with at least a six-card suit (1NT-2D; 2H-4C.) Unlike a splinter raise, the self-splinter does not add playing strength (you'll be ruffing with long-trump winners) but it shows control of the suit and helps partner evaluate how well the hands fit. For hands with no singleton, I use a direct jump to 3H or 3S to show slam interest.

After 1NT-2D; 2H-4C (self-splinter) opener figures responder for six losers. He covers four of those with quick tricks and the odds favor being able to set up the fifth club for a discard; the hand has plenty of entries and the good controls should allow enough time. Opener can check on responder's trumps with an RKCB 4NT or an old-fashioned leap to 5H. With one key card missing 6H looks right. Some might chase the 10 point notrump bonus but while 6H is nearly cold 6NT looks like a five-or-seven proposition -- a diamond lead and losing finesse would be fatal. At hearts you can pitch a diamond on a club before attempting the trump finesse.