Friday, November 15th 2013

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

South opens 1NT; how should North proceed with 16 hcp? With a combined total of 31-33, North should want to explore for a suit slam – there may not be enough tricks for 6NT. However, if partnership methods are uncertain, I would simply leap to 6NT, hoping for help from the diamond suit. Some possible methods for investigating a diamond slam:

 

(1) a direct leap to 3D, natural, game-forcing, unbalanced and/or slammish;

(2) using 2NT or 3C as a transfer to diamonds, followed by 4NT asking for Aces or Key cards – transfer-then-3NT would invite slam, so 4NT should be control asking;

(3) Stayman followed by 3D, equivalent to (1) but with some ambiguity about whether responder has a major suit.

 It’s important not to redefine each of these sequences at random – be sure you have a clear way to suggest slam in each of the four suits.

 Using the normal 3D forcing jump, South bids 3H to show a concentration of strength in case North has a singleton there and is worried about playing notrump. North bids 3S to keep things rolling; this initially sounds like North is worried about the unbid suit, clubs. South covers the clubs and so bids 3NT, expecting North to have a hand like Axx xxx AKxxxx x . Any bid beyond 3NT, however, makes it clear North is aiming for slam. North bids 4C now, a control cue-bid. South likes his controls but is concerned about trumps. 4D kicks the ball back to partner. It’s tempting to bid 4NT now, especially if that’s RKCB, but there won’t be room to find out about the Queen of trumps. Under the assumption that South’s 3H bid effectively showed a control 4S at this point suggests some other problem. South can bid 4NT and guess to sign off when North shows three key cards – if North had enough strength for slam and three key cards and the Queen he would’ve bid RKCB himself.

6D is obviously doomed; with no strong suit, perhaps 6NT was best after all. Against 6NT West leads the King of diamonds. South counts ten top winners; the hearts might provide one more. For a 12^th declarer will need to hope for a squeeze or defensive error in the minors, or a lucky J109 tight in clubs.

Declarer ducks the first diamond to “rectify the count”: squeezes are generally easier when you’ve lost all the tricks you can afford to lose. Winning the second diamond, South has to plan ahead – cashing spades forces declarer to pitch. If he pitches his last diamond he’ll need to keep an entry to dummy later if the squeeze works. It looks right to play hearts, then spades, then clubs. Ace, Queen, low heart – drop or finesse? The standard play is the drop, but you need West to have both minors for the squeeze, so finesse East in hearts. Success; West pitches a diamond. On the fourth heart West parts with a spade and dummy pitches a diamond. Now three rounds of spades (pitching South’s last diamond) and West is cooked. The Jack of diamonds would be too obvious, but after West drops a club declarer wins four tricks in the suit. All declarer really needs to watch for is the Jack of diamonds; if West doesn't pitch that, the clubs either run or they don't.

 Did you stop in a notrump game? Then you should not play for there to be 12 tricks – you’d lose to anyone bidding and making slam. Surrender two diamonds and claim 11 tricks; +660 would've beat 7 of 9 scores.

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

North opens 2D, weak, if not playing Flannery or Mini-Roman or whatever. I have yet to see a better use for the bid than the simple 2D, preempting both majors. After two passes, West doubles, planning to show his strong hand by bidding hearts next. The King of diamond is probably under the Ace but that still leaves 17 working hcp. Allowing an average of 8 points for North, there are 12 outstanding or around 6 for partner.

East has an awkward hand – if partner has four spades, East is worth a jump; but opposite only three it would be better to show clubs. I would be inclined to try 3C and hope to show the spades later – either partner or South may bid again. There is a risk partner will not believe you have four spades but I think bidding the long suit first is sound on this sort of 4-6 hand. West rebids 3H as planned and then raises East’s 3S to game.

The defense takes two diamonds and, playing the partner of the preemptor for trump length, East takes the remaining tricks. 6S or 6C can be made from West’s hand, with the King of diamonds protected on the opening lead, but there does not seem a practical way to right-side this one and slam does require reasonable breaks and finding the Queen.

 

Board 27 South Deals None Vul	♠ 7 4 3 ♥ 7 ♦ A Q J 6 4 2 ♣ J 7 6
♠ 9 8 6 ♥ A K J 8 ♦ K 3 ♣ K 10 5 3	N W E S	♠ 10 5 2 ♥ 10 5 4 3 ♦ 9 7 ♣ Q 8 4 2
	♠ A K Q J ♥ Q 9 6 2 ♦ 10 8 5 ♣ A 9

South opens 1NT and North should simply blast 3NT. Don’t fool around with a minor suit transfer or SAYC-type invitation – if the diamonds don’t run, 5D won’t make, but odds are better than 2 to 1 partner or West has the King. Add the King of clubs to North’s hand and I would bid a strong 3D or transfer to diamonds, then rebid 3H to show the singleton, depending on partnership methods. When partner opens 1NT, trot out your minor-suit gadgetry when you have a weak hand or an opening bid. In the 8-10 range just raise to 3NT.

Several declarers managed 12 tricks, probably on a low heart lead. With three honors in a suit, it is rarely correct to lead a low card; from AKJx the standard lead is the King. (See the Lead vs. Notrump section on your convention card.) East may as well encourage with the 5; no shift is apt to be better. -460 salvages an average for the defense.

 

Friday, October 25th 2013

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Board 1 North Deals None Vul	♠ K 5 4 2 ♥ Q J 5 ♦ K 4 ♣ 10 8 6 2
♠ A J ♥ 9 8 7 4 2 ♦ 9 7 6 2 ♣ A 7	N W E S	♠ Q 8 ♥ A 3 ♦ A Q J 10 5 ♣ K Q J 9
	♠ 10 9 7 6 3 ♥ K 10 6 ♦ 8 3 ♣ 5 4 3

East opens 1D; West responds 1H. East might rebid 2NT, showing his strength and generally balanced shape, but with no real spade stopper 3C is probably best, creating a game force. West takes a preference to 3D, leaving room to explore hearts, notrump or slam contracts. East's best move at this point is 3S; players familiar with the concept of "fourth suit artificial" would recognize this as asking for help in spades -- with good spades, East would bid 3NT himself. West has an easy 3NT call, which should end the auction. Some Wests may have simply bid 3NT over 3C, but this risks disaster when partner is 1354 and guesses to pass 3NT.

If partner is unfamiliar with the fourth suit concept, East might gamble 3NT himself, but there is obviously no assurance partner has help in spades. Next best is 4D, leaving room for West to cue-bid toward slam or perhaps rebid a strong heart suit. Here, West has an easy 4S control bid, suggesting both the spade control and a fair hand for slam. East bids 4NT to check on Aces or key cards and bids 6D when West confirms two. 6D is a better bet than 6NT as you may need ruffing values to score twelve tricks. While game in notrump is generally better than in a minor, minor suit part-scores and slams are fine.

Only one pair reached slam and that failed. At 6D declarer can pitch a spade on a club and then ruff a spade; the slam depends on the winning trump finesse. Thin slams are usually best played with a trump suit.

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

After three passes, I would have a simple auction: 2NT-3NT, down one on the obvious heart lead. Shuffle the N/S cards and more often North would lead another suit for a quick ten tricks; or partner would have at least Jxx in hearts. If West does not open 2NT, 1D is better than 2C. You are unlikely to miss game if partner passes. If the long suit were a major 2C would be best.

At our table South opened a semi-psychic 1C in third seat and the auction proceeded (1C)-Dbl-(1H)-2D; (2H)-3H, showing the equivalent of a 2C opening. The final contract of 5D was down one, same as 3NT; I don't think South's vulnerable opening was worth the risk.

Board 12 West Deals N-S Vul	♠ K ♥ A Q J 10 3 ♦ 7 5 4 2 ♣ K Q 6
♠ 10 2 ♥ 9 8 6 5 4 2 ♦ 10 8 ♣ 7 3 2	N W E S	♠ Q 9 7 6 5 4 ♥ K ♦ J 6 3 ♣ A J 8
	♠ A J 8 3 ♥ 7 ♦ A K Q 9 ♣ 10 9 5 4

North opens 1H; East overcalls 1S or possibly 2S. The suit is fairly poor but at favorable vulnerability opposite a passed partner some will want to jam the enemy bidding. Over 1S South bids 2D, aiming for game in notrump or possibly slam in diamonds. Over 2S South likely bids a direct 3NT rather than trap-passing at unfavorable vulnerability. That should end the auction.

After (pass)-1H-(1S)-2D, North raises to 3D and South must decide between the obvious 3NT and trying for slam. The singleton in partner's suit, lack of club control, and no certainty of spade shortage with partner argues for 3NT, and in fact no pair ventured beyond 3NT. Notice that trying something like 3S will practically insure missing 3NT.

West leads the ten of spades against 3NT and dummy wins perforce. Declarer can cross to hand with a diamond and try the heart finesse; the clubs will provide an entry later. But the finesse wins only if West has Kx in hearts, requiring East to have five-five or six-five in the majors. At our table declarer simply called for the Ace of hearts and scored +690 when the King dropped. At a diamond slam it would be normal to play the Ace, planning on a ruffing finesse against East.

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

East opens 1NT (15-17.) Some fanatics might trot out a 2S or gadget overcall with South's hand but that has little to recommend it. West has slam interest with a combined 30-32 hcp and at least a 6-2 club fit. A simple approach would be Gerber (or Blackwood, if that's how you play 1NT-4NT.) More scientific bidders would like to check on club honors; if you play any sort of transfer scheme, transfer-then-4NT should be key card asking for clubs. East shows two keys plus the Queen of trumps; that accounts for nine or ten of East's high card points. In this case it seems likely most of the field will reach slam; while 6C may have better chances and would be preferred at a team game, 6NT looks like right at matchpoints.

On a diamond lead East may as well duck to his Queen, hoping South has either minor suit King. On any other lead East loses the club finesse and has twelve obvious tricks. At six clubs declarer can pitch a diamond on a spade before losing the club. Nine pairs reached slam, six of them in notrump.

Friday, October 18th 2013

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

West opens 1NT. East jumps to 3S, showing a single-suited hand with slam interest. There is no need to use a transfer on such a strong hand. Alternatively, East might transfer and then jump to show his singleton, but when the singleton is an Ace or King I wouldn't bother to show it -- partner will discount values in that suit and expect you to have more outside. West rebids 3NT, denying spade support; with support he would cue-bid his cheapest control or raise to 4 with a very poor hand for slam. East cue-bids 4C, looking for a heart control. This shows why you don't want to require first-round controls for the first round of cue-bidding; Blackwood can sort out whether you are missing two first-round controls. Playing Key Card; I like to think of East as "borrowing" one of his trump key cards for the cue-bid. Partner won't go overboard without checking on key cards. East's cue-bid confirms at least 6 trumps; a 5332 hand would raise the notrump.

West, with three key cards and four quick tricks, should assume he has everything partner needs and proceed with 4NT. East replies 5H (two key cards, no Queen) or 5D (Blackwood, one Ace.) Missing the Queen of trumps West signs off at 6S. Playing Blackwood West should continue with 5NT (confirming all the Aces) then 6S over partner's two-king reply. East might correct to 6NT; with a possible spade loser, there will be the same 12 tricks if partner has either the King of hearts or the Queen (for an extra stopper) and either minor suit Queen, or if they don't lead hearts.

Most pairs reached 6S.

Board 15 South Deals N-S Vul	♠ K 9 3 ♥ 10 6 5 3 ♦ 10 7 4 3 ♣ 10 2
♠ Q 8 5 2 ♥ A K Q ♦ K 2 ♣ A K J 6	N W E S	♠ A J 4 ♥ 8 7 4 ♦ A Q 8 5 ♣ 9 7 3
	♠ 10 7 6 ♥ J 9 2 ♦ J 9 6 ♣ Q 8 5 4

West opens 2C, planning a 2NT rebid to show 22-24 hcp. Depending on your methods:

(a) Playing 2D negative, East jumps to 3NT, showing a balanced 10-12. West probably bids 6NT to avoid any confusion over Stayman/Gerber/Blackwood in this rare sequence.

(b) East bids 2D waiting, West makes his planned 2NT rebid. East raises to 6NT.

(c) East bids 2NT "steps", showing 10-12. West rebids 3NT to show his balanced hand; East cannot pass with so much strength. East raises to 6NT.

(d) East bids 2D semi-positive, promising an Ace or King or (in some styles) 4+ hcp. West rebids 2NT; this is unlimited in strength (since 2D created a game force) but again East computes 22+11= 6NT. With interest in a major suit East could use Stayman or transfers over 2NT.

North probably leads a heart; there is little to choose between the red suits but no one investigated major suits and partner did not double an artificial 2D. Partner has a few points and any lead may finesse him but there is nothing safe; leading from length may avoid setting up a suit for declarer. West counts two spades (with a possible loser if the finesse fails), three hearts, three diamonds, and two to four clubs; ten sure tricks and extra chances in spades, clubs or diamonds (on a squeeze.) I won the heart and immediately led low to the Jack of spades; if this lost I'd need the club finesse to work and one of the two black suits to break 3-3, with squeeze chances if they don't. In fact, someone must attempt to guard two suits. When the Jack won I promptly finessed in clubs. That won, bringing the trick total up to 11. If the clubs were 3-3 that would provide the 12th trick, but if not I might need to lose a trick to set up the fourth spade or a squeeze, so I played a low spade from both hands. This would not be safe if I'd tried the clubs first and someone had the fourth winner in that suit. The fourth spade set up for trick 12. If you did test the clubs first, the correct play would be to lead the Queen of spades and duck North's King, since North would've shown out in clubs. But ducking the spade first rectifies the count for a possible squeeze, while still allowing you to test both black suits first for a 3-3 split.

Board 25 North Deals E-W Vul	♠ A 10 7 5 ♥ K 6 5 3 2 ♦ 9 8 6 2 ♣ —
♠ J 9 3 ♥ A Q 7 ♦ Q J ♣ K Q 7 6 3	N W E S	♠ 4 2 ♥ 10 8 4 ♦ A K 7 3 ♣ A J 9 2
	♠ K Q 8 6 ♥ J 9 ♦ 10 5 4 ♣ 10 8 5 4

East opens 1D; a 1C opening might prove embarrassing if South overcalled 1H and West bid 1S. I'm sure many Wests simply bid 3NT, but this will look silly if they rattle off five spade tricks and partner's hand is cold for 6C: x xxx AK10xx AJxx. West responds 2C and East raises to three. West probes for 3NT with 3H; East would bid 3NT with a spade stopper or perhaps 3S (fourth suit) with a partial stop or even three small. With a singleton spade East would bid 5C or perhaps splinter 4S. Holding two small, East bids 4C and West raises confidently to five. Well-bid! Five of a minor is usually a poor matchpoint spot but on today's hand 5C is nearly cold while 3NT is odds against. "Nearly", however, wasn't enough this time: the defense cashed A-K of spades and switched to the Jack of hearts. No reason to risk the finesse; a heart, four diamonds, five clubs and a spade ruff will produce 11 tricks. Win the Ace, play a trump -- disaster! Although the recap claims 5C is makeable, I haven't been able to puzzle that out. I tried clearing the QJ of diamonds, ruffing a spade and then cashing the AK of diamonds, but South was able to ruff the last one, leaving me a trick short. Perhaps North can be squeezed in hearts and diamonds. Anyway, the odds of a 4-0 trump break are less than 10%, far below the odds North or South has five spade tricks to defeat 3NT. 5C will usually tie 3NT when spades are 4-4, but there is a chance they'll lead something else after an uninformative 1D-3NT auction. Next time I get this hand I'll bid it the same way! But six of nine declarers scored 630 or 660 at 3NT, probably on a heart lead.

Board 28 West Deals N-S Vul	♠ Q 2 ♥ J 3 ♦ 8 7 ♣ A Q J 10 6 5 3
♠ K 6 4 ♥ A Q 6 5 4 ♦ K 9 3 ♣ 7 2	N W E S	♠ A 8 ♥ K 10 8 2 ♦ A Q J 5 ♣ K 9 4
	♠ J 10 9 7 5 3 ♥ 9 7 ♦ 10 6 4 2 ♣ 8

West opens 1H and North bids 2C or 3C according to taste. Although 3C is an overbid vulnerable vs. not the strong suit reduces the chance of being penalized. Over 2C, East can cue-bid 3C (limit raise or better) and hope to show slam interest below game level. Over 3C East can try 4C or 4NT. It is difficult for East to determine whether 12 tricks are available in notrump, and there is a definite risk of a club ruff at 6H. 4C does not show clear slam interest; it mostly serves to distinguish a power game raise from a more distributional one, where we might not want to double the enemy if they bid to the five level. Another possibility is 3D; this is forcing (so you can support hearts later) and will clue partner in that the King of diamonds is a big card. If he doesn't have it, South is likely to and slam chances will be poor.

West raises to 4D but when East corrects to 4H, it is still not clear East was trying for slam -- in a competitive auction, such a bid may be an attempt to direct the defense (for example, heart lead and diamond switch if the King is not in dummy.) I doubt if a panel of experts would agree on this issue. I don't think it's sound for East to drive to slam on these cards: with 14 hcp outside of clubs opposite partner's assumed 12, a club loser and another seem likely. My partner, however, simply bid 6H, which had an interesting effect -- North assumed he was void in clubs and did not lead her Ace! After a 4NT auction North would probably lead her Ace and, seeing no better chance after dummy appears, continue the suit for down one. 6NT makes from East's hand but seems to require perfect cards.

Seven of nine pairs reached 6H, five going down (presumably on the club ruff), so a cautious +450 was worth 5.5 matchpoints out of nine.