July 14, 2009

So, this is my first attempt at reviewing actual deals from the duplicate bridge game here in Oxford, Mississippi. The Oxford Duplicate Bridge Club meets on Tuesday nights at 7:00 p.m. at the clubhouse at Wellsgate off Highway 6W. This week, there were two and a half tables playing. During the summer months, a lot of the regular players go on vacation, have family visit, etc., so the games are smaller than normal. For those of you who have never played a 2.5 table game, you're only compared to one other pair, so it's a lot like Board-a-Match where each board can be won, lost, or tied. Plus, the half table means there's a sit-out for about 30 minutes for each pair playing. The following two boards I chose from this game.

Board 19. Matchpoints. South Deals.

E-W Vul.      A Q 5 3 2

              A

              A K 7 5 3

              A 9  

 8  T 9 7 4

 Q 8 7 4 2  6 5 3

 J 9 8 6 4  Q T

 8 6  K 4 3 2

             K J 6

             K J T 9

             2

             Q J T 7 5

The Bidding.

West North East South

Pass

Pass 2¹  Pass 2²

Pass 2  Pass 3³

Pass 4NT⁴ Pass 5⁵

Pass 5NT⁶ Pass 6⁷

Pass 7 All Pass

1. Strong

2. Waiting. I like to bid this in response to 2 when I don't have a decent suit to talk about.

3. This is my strong support. If I had less points, I would jump to game.

4. Roman Keycard Blackwood 1430

5. Shows 1 or 4 keycards (the king of spades in this case).

6. Asking for outside kings.

7. Shows the king of hearts specifically (and by inference, denies the king of clubs)

This auction is an example of what I would bid if I were bidding across from myself, and I was playing Standard American with gadgets (namely RKC Blackwood). You may have bid it differently, but I feel this was the most efficient and accurate way to get to the grand slam in spades. Now, if you're the kind of bidder who opens such 11-point hands such as South's hand, then the auction would've been quite different. Personally, I think that South's hand is too anemic for opening, but I know that every bidder has his or her own philosophy regarding what hands should be opened.

The Play.

Opening Lead: 2

Ok, so you needed some help, and you got it when RHO led fourth from her longest and strongest. You still need to count to 13 tricks, though. Let's see, there's 5 in spades, 2 in hearts, 2 in diamonds, and 2 in clubs. That's only 11 total tricks, so we have to create 2 tricks. Here's the gameplan: ruff 2 diamonds in dummy (South) and hope the trumps split 3-2 (which will happen about 68% of the time). Here's the thing, though: when you're in a grand slam, you better make it, because it's very likely you're the only one in it! As it is, the trumps split 4-1 and the grand slam is doomed. Here's how it would go:

1. Play low to your 9

2. Play the A from your hand

3. Play a low diamond, ruffing with a low spade

4. Play a low heart to your A

5. Play another low diamond, ruffing with the J

6. Play the K from dummy, low from your hand

7. Play a low club to your A

8. Lead the A, and when West shows out, you may commence weeping. See for yourself:

           Q 5 3

           -

           K 7

           - 

 -  T 9

 Q 8 7  6

 J 9  -

 -  K 4

           -

           K J T

           -

           Q J

Well, sometimes you get the bull, sometimes the bull get you. The only hope you had at making this was if East decided to try a ruff the third diamond lead. If so, then you overruff and take the contract home (remembering, of course, to cash that K before crossing back to your hand to pull the rest of the trumps).This does not mean you shouldn't have bid the grand slam. You just got unlucky, that's all. At our club, both tables bid 6.

Board 21. Matchpoints. North deals.

N-S Vul.     A 9

             9

             A T 9 8 4 3

             K 5 3 2

 T 8 7  K 6 4

 K Q 5 3  T 6 4

 K Q 6  J 7 5 2

 A J 8  Q 7 4

             Q J 5 3 2

             A J 8 7 2

             -

             T 9 6

The bidding.

West North East South

1 Pass 1

Pass* 2 Pass 2

Pass 3 All Pass

*15 balanced points, yes, but I don't like 1NT here as you don't have a spade stopper and Dbl isn't appropriate due to your shape.

What to do when there's a misfit? Pass! After North showed his 6-4 shape (that's what that sequence of bids typically shows), South had to give up on his dreams of playing in a major suit. It could be argued that South was too weak to bid 2, but when you have a void in partner's suit and 8 points, I think it's justified. I don't think South has enough points to bid hearts again, though. Also, notice that with 5-5 in the majors as responder, spades was bid first. This is so that if partner wants to support your first suit, he can do so at the 2-level. Since you're weak, that's about as high as you'd like to go.

The play.

Opening lead: 4

What a killer lead! If East had lead anything else, you might have brought home your contract via a crossruff in the red suits. As it is, though, West wins his A and leads another one to your king. Now you have to win as many tricks as you can in this situation. You already have 1 trick in clubs, and you should get 1 trick in each of the other suits, making it a total of 4 tricks. You could crossruff with the trumps you have left for 3 more tricks, but that's down 2 for -200. Can you make one of those offsuits set up? Spades looks like your only hope, so here's how to play it. After 2 rounds of clubs, putting you in your hand, ruff a diamond (not the ace), and lead a low spade to the A. Then, lead the 9 to the Q-J. If East goes up with the king, and then leads a heart, you duck, making sure West wins that heart. Then, because of how the diamonds block, you are only down 1. If East instead leads any other suit, you have an entry in hearts to win those good spades. Hey, you didn't make it, but you kept it from getting out of hand, and you may have even got a top on the board. At our club, one pair was in 2NT and another was in 3.

I hope you enjoyed my first formal bridge article. Till next week!