It's your lead: Part II

Here's the full deal from yesterday's post (deal rotated for reader's convenience):

	♠ K85 ♥ 7 ♦ AT753 ♣ AKQ5
♠ A92 ♥ QT62 ♦ J64 ♣ J43

The auction had gone: (1S) P (2D) 2H; (3D) 4H (6S) [all pass]. I hoped that the opponents were 5-4 in diamonds, so I led the four of diamonds, planning to hop in with the ace of spades on the first round and triumphantly give a diamond ruff. Besides, with LHO's jump to 6S, it didn't sound like he had any hearts... so, the four of diamonds came out.

I was mildly surprised to see a heart in dummy, but had no worries-- trusty partner would give me trump suit preference! A high spade would show the ace of hearts, and a low spade would show a singleton diamond.

Declarer won in hand and led the queen of spades. I jumped with the ace, and partner played... the four! Thrilled with my chain of reasoning, I led another diamond. The whole hand, of course, was:

	♠ K85 ♥ 7 ♦ AT753 ♣ AKQ5
♠ A92 ♥ QT62 ♦ J64 ♣ J43		♠ 43 ♥ AJ9853 ♦ 92 ♣ T82
	♠ QJT76 ♥ K4 ♦ KQ8 ♣ 976

It's your lead...

You're East, non-vul against vul at matchpoints. You hold:

♠	A92
♥	QT62
♦	J64
♣	J43

West	North	East	South
	1♠	P	2♦
2♥	3♦	4♥	6♠
P	P	P

What's your lead?

Think about it, and I'll post the full hand tomorrow. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Boston NABC: Open Board-A-Match

On Sunday, I played the first day of the Open Board-A-Match with Jenni Carmichael. Jenni is an old friend, but this was our first time playing together [outside of the midnight game]. We decided to play a version of Transfer Precision with lots of fun stuff. Our teammates, T.C. Yang and Li-Chung Chen, played vanilla two-over one.

A quick word about Board-A-Match [BAM]: This is a team of four event that looks a lot like a pair game. You play two boards against one team at the same time your teammates are playing the same boards against their teammates. It's scored like matchpoints, but your score only gets compared with what happens at the other table. The three possibilities are to lose the board [zero points], tie the board [half a point], or win the board [one point]. It doesn't matter how much better you do than the other table's result – beating them by 10 points gets you the same “win” as beating them by 1000 points.

Here's an example of BAM bridge:

I held

954 753 QT32 AQ4.

Nobody was vulnerable, and partner opened 1NT [14-16]. My RHO overcalled a Cappeletti 2C, showing an unspecified long suit. I passed, LHO bid a forced 2D, and RHO showed his suit with 2H. I passed this as well. Jenni made the good decision to reopen with a double with

AK87 T4 KJ95 K85.

RHO passed, and I pulled to 3D. LHO bid 3H, which got passed around to me. Now, I certainly couldn't see the five tricks we'd need to set 3H, but I doubled anyway. I felt that our cards could easily go +90, +110, or +120 at the other table, so if we were about to go -140, a double wouldn't cost anything. But if we're about to go +50, a double turns it into +100, beating the possible 90 at the other table. And if we're about to set it two for +100, double would turn it into +300 which beats any possible partscore result. The only time that double would cost was if our teammates were also in 3H and 3H was making. The chances of both of those things being true was so miniscule that double is going to be right more than 90% of the time.

At the other table, our teammates were indeed in 3H... but they went down the same two tricks as our opponents did. +300 at our table and -100 at theirs adds up to a win!

In the first session, we scored 16 points out of a possible 26, a very good score. We dropped down to twelve and a half (a touch below average) in the second set, but we qualified for the second day quite comfortably. In the second day, we didn't do much of anything, and ended up half a board shy of the overalls.

Two problems:

(A) All red

3 Q954 T32 K9872

You pass in first seat. LHO opens 1C, RHO bids 1S, LHO lifts to 2S, and RHO hops to 4S. This gets passed around to partner, and she doubles. What's your lead?

(B) All red

T762 76 KJ9862 J

There are three passes around to partner, who opens 1C [strong, artificial, and forcing]. LHO overcalls 1H, you double [artificial, 5-7 HCP], and LHO jumps to 3H. Partner doubles [takeout]. RHO passes. What's your call?

A few more hands from Boston

For the first Friday and Saturday of the Boston NABC, I played pairs with a student. Michael is very easy and fun to teach. He's always interested in learning something new, and he retains what he's learned very well.

Here's a few tough hands we faced:

(A) Red vs. white

AKQ53 9 J64 KQ75

Over your 1S opening, partner forces to game with 2H. You rebid 3C, and pard bids 3H. What's your call?

(B) All white

KQT97642 4 none T954

Partner passes and RHO opens a weak 2H. Do you bid here?

We had a nice auction with these hands:

[South] QJ543 42 AQ4 AQ5
[North] AK T JT65 KJT942

South first to bid:

1NT[1] – 2S[2]
2NT[3] – 3H[4]
4C[5] – 4NT [6]
5S[7] – 6C

1.15-17, often holds a five-card major
2.Either a balanced invitational hand or clubs
3.Minimum – with the invitational hand I would've passed
4.Shows a slam try with long clubs and short hearts
5.Natural and slam-positive [in the context of already having showed a minimum]
6.Keycard ask
7.Two keycards [two aces or one ace and the king of clubs] plus the queen of clubs

They led a heart to East's queen, and shot a diamond back through AQx. Michael took the percentage line by rejecting the finesse. He hopped up with the ace and drew two round of trumps, unblocked the ace and king of spades from the board, came back to hand with a high club drawing the last trump, and pitched three diamonds on his good spades. Well done!

There was a cute play position on this board:

[North] AT2 AK9542 J6 AQ
[South] Q84 J86 A8 T7532
I opened 1H as North. LHO stuck in a 2D bid. Partner raised to 2H, and that's all I needed – I jumped to 4H. LHO led the king of diamonds. I won on the table and tried to split the trumps 2-2, to no avail. RHO had a trump trick. So I exited with a diamond, putting LHO in a fix. Another diamond would give me a ruff-sluff, and she didn't want to lead away from the king of clubs, so she led a low spade. I played low from the table, and the king popped up on my right. I won the ace and decided it was a good time to try to endplay my right-hand opponent. I led out a heart, and he put a club back through my AQ. I finessed, losing to the king. LHO returned a diamond. I ruffed in hand, laid down the ace of clubs, and played out all of my trumps. Here's the position I saw when I led my last trump:

Q8
none
none
T

T2
2
none
none

I knew my LHO had the jack of spades, and hoped she had the jack of clubs. When she parted with a spade, I pitched the club from the table, and led to the queen of spades. The jack duly dropped on my left! I lost only a heart, a diamond, and a club. Making four!

(C) White vs. red

K42 A75 Q2 AKJ53

LHO opens 3D, partner doubles, and RHO passes. What's your call?

A few more hands from Boston

For the first Friday and Saturday of the Boston NABC, I played pairs with a student. Michael is very easy and fun to teach. He's always interested in learning something new, and he retains what he's learned very well.

Here's a few tough hands we faced:

(A) Red vs. white

AKQ53 9 J64 KQ75

Over your 1S opening, partner forces to game with 2H. You rebid 3C, and pard bids 3H. What's your call?

(B) All white

KQT97642 4 none T954

Partner passes and RHO opens a weak 2H. Do you bid here?

We had a nice auction with these hands:

[South] QJ543 42 AQ4 AQ5
[North] AK T JT65 KJT94

South first to bid:

1NT[1] – 2S[2]
2NT[3] – 3H[4]
4C[5] – 4NT [6]
5S[7] – 6C

1.15-17, often holds a five-card major
2.Either a balanced invitational hand or clubs
3.Minimum – with the invitational hand I would've passed
4.Shows a slam try with long clubs and short hearts
5.Natural and slam-positive [in the context of already having showed a minimum]
6.Keycard ask
7.Two keycards [two aces or one ace and the king of clubs] plus the queen of clubs

They led a heart to East's queen, and shot a diamond back through AQx. Michael took the percentage line by rejecting the finesse. He hopped up with the ace and drew two round of trumps, unblocked the ace and king of spades from the board, came back to hand with a high club drawing the last trump, and pitched three diamonds on his good spades. Well done!

There was a cute play position on this board:

[North] AT2 AK9542 J6 AQ
[South] Q84 J86 A8 T7532
I opened 1H as North. LHO stuck in a 2D bid. Partner raised to 2H, and that's all I needed – I jumped to 4H. LHO led the king of diamonds. I won on the table and tried to split the trumps 2-2, to no avail. RHO had a trump trick. So I exited with a diamond, putting LHO in a fix. Another diamond would give me a ruff-sluff, and she didn't want to lead away from the king of clubs, so she led a low spade. I played low from the table, and the king popped up on my right. I won the ace and decided it was a good time to try to endplay my right-hand opponent. I led out a heart, and he put a club back through my AQ. I finessed, losing to the king. LHO returned a diamond. I ruffed in hand, laid down the ace of clubs, and played out all of my trumps. Here's the position I saw when I led my last trump:

Q8
none
none
T

T2
2
none
none

I knew my LHO had the jack of spades, and hoped she had the jack of clubs. When she parted with a spade, I pitched the club from the table, and led to the queen of spades. The jack duly dropped on my left! I lost only a heart, a diamond, and a club. Making four!

(C) White vs. red

K42 A75 Q2 AKJ53

LHO opens 3D, partner doubles, and RHO passes. What's your call?

Warmup Pairs: First Thursday, Boston NABC

I played the first event at the Boston NABC – the Thursday Stratified Open Pairs – with Cincinnatan up-and comer Adam Parrish. Adam and I had a fabulous time but didn't matchpoint very well. Adam's lots of fun – we'll be playing the North American Swiss Teams later in the tournament.

All problems are matchpoints.

(A) Red vs. white

Q7 KJ984 AQJ52 8

Partner opens 1C, and over your 1H, rebids 3NT. What is he showing here? What's your bid?

(B) All white

AJT94 9 QJ7 9862

LHO opens 1NT, showing “good 10 to bad 13”. RHO invites with 2NT, and LHO bids 3NT, which gets passed around to you. Your call.

(C) Red vs. white

A3 AQT9753 742 8

LHO opens 1D. Pard passes, and RHO bids 1S.

(C1) What's your call?

(C2) LHO will pass, and RHO will bid 3NT over 2 or 3H. Your lead.

(D) All red

QT KJT832 J8 K92

Partner opens 1C. You respond 1H, He rebids 1S, and you bid 2H (showing constructive values). He rebids 2S, presumably 5=x=y=6. What's your call?

(E) All red

A AK74 AQ9854 52

There are two passes to you, and you open 1D. LHO overcalls 1S. Partner bids 2H, and RHO leaps to 4S. What's your bid?

Virginia Beach Morning Compact KO: Day Two

After barely surviving both round-robins of the day before, Geoff and I entered the semi-final of the Morning Compact KO.

Match One: We met up with one of the teams that had beaten us the day before.

(A) All white

T9764

432

AK95

Q

RHO opens 2S, which gets passed around to partner. He balances with 3H, and RHO passes. What's your call?

(B) All red

T72

Q43

KT72

AT2

RHO opens 2NT, 20-21. Everyone passes. What's your lead?

We had a great time of it at both tables -- final score (for 12 boards): 54-4. Revenge is sweet.

Match Two: We played against the Grand Old Couple of Mid-Atlantic bridge, the Bloomers. Always tough but always fun, George and Judith have been winning bridge tournaments since before my parents were alive.

(C) All white

KJ9

AK5

K874

T43

The opponents have the uncontested auction of:

1NT [15-17] - 2D [transfer]; 2H - 3H; 3NT - Pass.

What's your lead?

(D) Red vs. white

J8

Q5

98542

Q964

LHO passes, partner opens 1D, and RHO bids 1S. What's your call? I bid 2D... but whatever you do, you'll be on lead against 4S when LHO forces to game. What's your lead?

(E) All white

KQJ4

A

KJ9763

A6

Partner opens 1H. You force to game with 2D, and he rebids 2H. You show your second suit with 2S, and he rebids 2NT. What's your bid?

Final score: 40-10. We were much stronger as a team on the second day, and Geoff and I had many fewer misunderstandings. Hopefully we get the opportunity to play again sometime soon.

Boston NABC starts today!

Today is the start of the 2008 Fall NABC in Boston, MA. I'll be there through the bitter end. Internet access may be limited, but I'll try to keep you up to date on what's going on!

A few hands from Monday night

On Monday, I directed the local 199er game. An odd number of people showed up without partners, so I sat in with John. We came in first by less than half a matchpoint -- sorry, Colvilles! [I'm not eligible to win masterpoints in this game, but my partner is.] There were a few very interesting hands.

First, I held

none

QJ985

AKQJ64

T8

at favorable vulnerability. There were two passes to me. I opened 1D, LHO doubled, pard redoubled, and RHO bid 1S. It didn't seem right to beat around the bush here, so I just threw out 4H, hoping he'd pull to 5D with short hearts. It worked well... he held

A5

7642

85

K9542

On a spade lead, I pitched a club and lost only a club and two hearts.

Then came this hand:

K52

A7

A

AQJ9873

I opened 1C at all white, and partner bid 2NT. I wasn't sure how to find out if 6N would be any better than 6C, so I just shot out 6C. Everyone passed, and LHO led the jack of diamonds. I saw:

Q7

KQT3

Q963

KT2

K52

A7

A

AQJ9873

I was relieved to see that 6N would be down on a diamond lead. Twelve tricks were there for the taking -- seven clubs, three hearts, one diamond, and one spade -- but at matchpoints, garnering an overtrick can be very important. So I tried to find a thirteenth trick while making sure to not give up my twelfth.

I won the diamond in hand with the stiff ace, and led a trump to the ten [both opponents following - now there's only one left out]. I led a low diamond off the table, and RHO played the king! There's one hurdle crossed. I ruffed high in my hand (safety first! I severely doubt RHO made this play from seven diamonds to the KT, but you never know) and went back to the king of clubs, drawing the last trump. I cashed the queen of diamonds (RHO showing out) pitching a spade, and led out all of my trumps (throwing spades from dummy). Here's the position when I led my last trump from hand:

none

KQT3

9

none

K5

A7

none

A

So I led the last club. I knew LHO had the diamond ten left, so when she threw away a heart, I could safely pitch the nine from dummy. RHO looked rather uncomfortable, and I knew I had them. RHO also pitched a heart, and I led out the top hearts dropping RHO's jack for making seven. RHO needed to keep Jxxx of hearts and the ace of spades for her last four cards, and that's certainly impossible!

This isn't a true double squeeze, in that my LHO wasn't squeezed at all -- but if she'd had the heart length instead of her partner, she would've been squeezed between Jxxx of hearts and the ten of diamonds.

It's possible that this ending wouldn't produce 13 tricks if LHO had the ace of spades to go with the ten of diamonds and RHO had sole control of the heart suit, but in that case, I would've just had the twelve tricks I started with!

Thursday A/X Swiss, second session: Virginia Beach

At halftime, we had 56 Victory Points on a 40 average.

I didn't keep as extensive a record as in the first half-- I apologize!

Match 5: We played another team of unknowns.

On the first board out, I held

(A) All white

52

3

KQJ986

AKQ3

The auction goes (2H) P (3H) to you. What's your bid?

Then I held

(B) All red

975

Q9

A7643

AQ6

In second seat, I passed. Does anyone agree with me here? My LHO opened 1S, and this got passed around to me. What should my call be?

Final score: 11-3; 14 VPs. Total: 70

In match six, we played against ACBL Hall of Famer Fred Hamilton and his sponsor. My big decision in this match came on this board:

(C) Red vs. white

53

652

AQ862

KQ2

LHO [sponsor] opened 1D, pard doubled, and RHO passed. What to

Final score: 17-1, 4 VPs. Total: 74

In match seven, things didn't get any easier... fellow HoFer, five-time Bermuda Bowl champion, and fifteen-time National champion Billy Eisenberg was at our table.

(D) All white

AJT2

KJ8653

K

64

In fourth chair, I opened 1H. Partner made a Druryish 2D bid (3+ card support, limit raise). Should I sign off in 2H or continue on?

(E) All red

42

Q7

A863

KQJ32

Here's another one of those second-seat passes that nobody will agree with. Bear with me.

In fourth seat, partner opens 1S. You bid 2C (natural!), pard rebids 2S, and you bid 2NT [do you?]. Pard now bids 3H, which gets doubled on your right. What's your call?

Final score: 24-14, 14 VPs. Total: 88

Going in to the last match, we had a chance to win. The Hamilton team was leading the event with 95 VPs, but if we had a big win and them a small one, or us a medium win and them a loss, we'd be there.

Surprisingly, in match eight, we met another team of unknowns. Still, to be in the hunt this late, they had to be strong...

(F) White vs. red

AJ63

95

75

AJT84

Partner opens 1D, and rebids 2D over your 1S. Your call.

We had a solid set, but our teammates had the best set of the week!

Final score: 36-0, 20 VPs. Final total: 108 VPs out of 160.

We rushed to the scorers' table only to find out that Hamilton had squeaked out a medium win -- and 109 VPs. Nuts! Second place in a tough event like that was very nice, but one or two more victory points wouldn't have been that tough to find...