| Board 5 North Deals N/S Vul |
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North opens 1H. East overcalls 2C or possibly 2H (Michaels), but I prefer to stick with 5-5 for Michaels except not vulnerable over a minor, where partner can bid either major at the two level. South has a not uncommon hand type: fairly weak with 5 card support but balanced shape. Many players, including my partner, will leap to 4H on such hands, trusting that ten trumps makes ten tricks a desirable bid (whether or not it makes.) However, 5332 shape is given as a negative adjustment factor for the Law of Total Tricks and the classic requirements for a preemptive game raise include five trumps and a singleton. 5332 is the most common shape for a major suit opener, about 35%, and about 20% 5422's. There will be a lot of side suit losers opposite such shapes; 5431 and 55 hands will have fewer. If East had passed I would probably make only a simple raise with South's hand. After the overcall, South should at least jump to 3S (preemptive in competition.) The King of clubs seems well-placed after the overcall. Over a Michaels bid, it might be reasonable to guess that as East is showing more shape, partner is apt to be shapelier and perhaps 4H is the best call.
West has five card support for clubs, a singleton in the enemy suit, and three Queens. The club Queen is obviously good for offense and poor for defense; the other two are uncertain on the given auction. All in all competing to 5C seems right; if South bid only 3H, do not bid 4C now and 5C later -- that gives North/South two chances to get right whether they should bid on or defend, perhaps doubling. Decide whether you want to sell out to 4H and, if not, jump to 5C immediately.
Over any raise that suggests at least four trumps North's 3550 shape becomes huge. At our table I think the auction went 1H-(2C)-4H-(5C) and I simply bid 6H. This won't make on a spade lead but East not unreasonably started with the Ace of clubs. I ruffed and played a heart toward dummy. East ducked but playing the Ace and shifting to a spade won't help. I next finessed the Jack of diamonds and led another tump. East shifted to a spade but I was able to cash the top diamonds (pitching a spade), ruff a diamond, ruff a club back to hand and pitch dummy's last spade on the fifth diamond.
| Board 21 North Deals N-S Vul |
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East opens 1D; West has more than enough for a strong 2H jump, but a 1H response is fine also. Strong jumps are most useful when responder has around 17 to 19 in value. Plausible auctions:
1C-2H (strong); 2S-2NT; 3NT-6NT
1C-1H; 1S-2NT (forcing); 3NT-6NT
1C-1H; 1S-2C (artificial & forcing); 2NT-6NT
1C-1H; 1S-6NT if you aren't sure any rebid would be clearly forcing.
Declarer counts four spade winners, four or five hearts, three or four diamonds, and two or three clubs. That's a minimum of twelve tricks if the heart finesse fails and thirteen if it succeeds, so the other suits are irrelevant and declarer may as run the Jack of hearts early. All five pairs bid 6NT.
| Board 27 South Deals None Vul |
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South opens 1C and North has a good hand for a strong, flexible jump to 2H. I say flexible because Standard American rules for strong jumps forbid having a side suit; for my money 1C-2H; 2S-3S would be an excellent way to start an auction if a 4-4 spade fit existed. Plausible auctions:
1C-2H; 3C-3S; 3NT-6NT North's 3S is aimed at finding whether South has something in diamonds, or delayed support for hearts, or extra clubs.
1C-1H; 2C-2S; 3NT-6NT (as above, with the implication of extra strength for opener.)
1C-1H; 2C-2S; 3C-4NT; 5D (Blackwood)-6NT
1C-1H; 2C-2S; 3C-4NT; 5H (two key cards)-5NT; 6C (no side Kings)-pass or 6NT.
West leads a spade. Textbooks often advise "count your losers at a trump contract, winners at notrump" but I find it best to count both at both. Otherwise you may plan out a path to nine winners at 3NT, only to realise too late they'll get five first; or count three losers at 4H, only to find you don't actually have ten winners. You must also pay attention to timing and entries. Here it looks like no losers in clubs, or one on a bad break, and a finesse in either hearts or diamonds. But a careful count of winners reveals that a winning diamond finesse still leaves you with only six side-suit winners, while finessing in hearts establishes three or four winners if it loses and three to five if it wins.
At 6C, South wins the spade in hand, leads to the Queen of clubs, leads another club to the Ace or King and gets the bad news there. To enjoy all the heart winners declarer cashes the other high trump and concedes a trick to the Jack; no return from East will embarass you. East avoids giving declarer a free finesse by returning a spade; declarer, wanting to be in hand, ruffs this. Again counting winners, declarer has three spades, two red Aces, and five trumps. Needing two more tricks, a diamond finesse will only provide one, unless West has a doubleton King. Running the Queen of hearts brings home the slam.
At 6NT, North may get a "friendly" diamond lead, but West should play the King if and only if declarer calls for the Queen. Declarer counts twelve winners if clubs split, but only eleven if they don't; and if hearts split there could be twelve or thirteen tricks despite a bad club split. In a team game you could virtually guarantee the contract by leading a low heart at trick two! At matchpoint, however, you can expect a lot of company in 6NT so you should try to combine good odds of making with some chance for an overtrick. If you play off clubs and they break badly, you will still need the long clubs unless West has Kxx in hearts. So, it looks right to play on clubs (losing the fourth round to East) and cash the remaining clubs before running the Queen of hearts. An opening spade lead complicates declarer's transportation; you cannot get back to the clubs if they split 4-1. Best, then, to run the Queen of hearts at trick two. West covers and then shows out on the third round (as declarer pitches one of dummy's diamonds.) Conceding a heart would leave declarer needing four club tricks or the diamond finesse, while if the clubs run you have that vital overtrick. So the best matchpoint play for what looks like a normal contract is, I think, attempting to run the clubs. When West also shows out there, you have one more chance: East has four hearts and four clubs, and so exactly five cards in spades and diamonds. Finesse the Jack of diamonds and cash the Ace of diamonds and Ace-King of spades. East now the 9x in hearts and Jx in clubs. Cash a third heart and throw East in with the fourth -- he must lead a club, and dummy's K9 brings home the slam! I doubt I would come up with that play at the table.
Four of five pairs bid slam, none making; 6C by West down 1 looks like a mistake in direction since West would, perforce, be down many tricks at any contract.
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