Deals from pair games at the regional

 You might want to re-read my previous post, since I updated it in response to some comments.
Or not.

7) 2nd, both
T2 5432 Q842 A83

The opps bid, unopposed, P-1S, 2D-2S, P

2D was three card drury.  Pard leads DA (playing A from AK) and dummy tracks:
K86 QJT7 93 KQ75

What do you play, and why?  You play upside down count and attitude.

My partner played up the line, and, holding DAKJ76, I tried to give her an overruff and ended up giving declarer a ruff-sluff.  Better be careful when there is a doubleton in dummy and pard leads from AK.  We agreed (again, actually) not to encourage in this situation.

15) 2nd, favorable
AQT5 2 AK932 T65

P-1D-1H-2C, 2H-3C-P-3N, P-P-P

How was your auction?  Pard's 2C, in comp, only forced through 2D.  Playing with your favorite partner, answer these questions:

a) Does 3C show extras?
b) Is it forcing?
c) Would 2S have shown extras?
d) 2S would be forcing, but how high?

I think 3C doesn't show extras and isn't forcing.  After I went down two in 3N, when 5S and 6C are on, I decided that 2S wouldn't have shown extras, but now that I'm a little further removed from the issue, I'm not so sure.  I think it should show the ability to handle the auction, that is either you can pass 3C or you have enough to drive to game.

Also note the difference between the given auction and the one with the minors swapped:

P-1C-1H-2D, 2H-?

Since 2D forced to 3C, 2S doesn't show extras.

18) 3rd, favorable
J85 A6 QJ53 Q965

1S-1N, 2C-2D, 2N-3N, P

Pard lead C2 and dummy tracks AQ743 JK3 A9 JT7 and declarer calls for CJ.  Your play?

I hadn't led C2, so at dinner I showed partner all four hands and posed this question.  Staring at declarer's CK4, he stated he wasn't sure he'd duck at the table but he hoped he would, since it's demonstrably correct.

I'm not so sure.  If pard led from CKxx(x) nothing matters.  From Axxx it's right to duck.  From Axx it might be better to duck, freezing the suit.  If he led small from 8xxx (he usually wouldn't, to solve problems like this) it's clear to duck.

Pard said it can't be wrong to duck.  I wondered how he'd explain that to partner, who led from CAKxx.  I think it's pretty clear to hop CQ, since pard's much more likely to lead from AKxx than from Axxx when leading dummy's second suit instead of the unbid major.

22) 2nd, favorable
KJ843 JT63 98 82

2N-P-P-P

Your lead?  I decided to go passive with H3 and, man oh man, was I super duper wrong.
Declarer had HAKQ92 and SA7.  Double dummy it was only a two trick difference, but in real life I expect three tricks to swing on the lead.


Now for two unusual bridge problems.

35) 1st, favorable
53 Q32 KQ5 AQJ73

1N-2H, 2S-3H, 4H-4N, ?

Pard showed a 5-5 game force in the majors, and plowed on into blackwood after your signoff.  5D would show one or four, but as you're counting LHO flashes HJT98.

I bid 5D, hoping a missing key card and my hidden trump queen would keep us low, but pard blasted 6H with AQJT2 AK754 3 K2.  Meanwhile, 6N is cold (stiff SK offside).


16) 4th, favorable
KQJT KJ72 T8 QT8

We bid, uncontested, P-1S, 2S-P and got a trump lead:

A732 863 A975 43
KQJT KJ72 T8 QT8

I won SA, played to HJ losing to HQ, won ST (RHO followed), played DA, D to RHO's Q.  He returned a club to LHO's J and she played the third round of diamonds, stripping my last diamond from dummy as RHO pitched a club.

Dummy: 73 86 9 43
Me: KQ K72 - Q8

I sat there for about three minutes trying to figure out...where my other diamond went!  This was the third round and I was playing my fourth diamond.  I had a card in each other suit, so I couldn't have pitched it.  What on Earth was going on?  I finally worked out that dummy had revoked, pitching a diamond to preserve the club loser!  And the opps, with about 30,000 masterpoints, hadn't said anything!

Holiday Swiss

Here are a few hands from the first three rounds.  Maybe there will be more later.

28) 3rd, favorable
x KJ9 Kxxx QJTxx

The opps bid P-1S, 1N-4S, P
Pard led a heart and dummy tracked xx AQTxx Jxx xxx.  I won HJ and returned CQ-K-A.  Pard returned C9 so I ducked to get another heart through.  Flushed with success, pard continued clubs, just to make me sweat over the discards in a red game, at IMPs, in the first round.  We got it right, though the whole deal was played slowly by everyone.  Ugh.  She said she should have returned a heart, and just played too quickly.  Fair enough.  There are a lot of ways a small pause early in the deal saves a lot of time later.


17) 2nd, none
Axxx Axxxx Jxx x

P-P-P-1C, X-?

I can bid 1H, forcing, but it seemed better (playing my methods) to XX, setting up the ability for either of us to make a cooperative double (as opposed to passing here and backing in with a pure penalty double).  LHO tried 1D and pard pulled to 2C, showing a weak, shapely hand.  She made three, but we can make four hearts.  Oops.

She thought I should have bid 1H (sure, in retrospect, when you have a stiff diamond...) but I thought she should pass 1D pull my double to 2C, showing some cards.  Then I could try 2H and get to the (lousy) 4H game that happened to make at the other table.

I asked Marc Jacobus about this (I knew what I said was "standard" because I've seen it in the ACBL bulletin 34 times) and he said that 2C (weak, shapely) and 3C (playing strength, shapely, not a lot of defense), and pass/pull (shape or not, with high cards) were standard, but that a new suit directly over interference (particularly something like 1S-X-XX-2C, 2D) is forcing, since you might not get another convenient chance to show it.  Neat stuff.

Then he said everyone plays a single raise of opener/overcalled shows NOTHING and that you should play transfers.  I already do that with some partners, and it's fun.  But I'll save that for another post.


Finally, a pet peeve.  Another thing I've seen in the bulletin 34 times is the instruction that it's not appropriate to describe a convention by name.  So, for example, whenever the opps bid 1S-2S, 3D and I ask about 3D (no alert) and they say Help Suit Game Try I ask for description and get a different story, or no story at all.  Some answers I've received:

a) It asks for HELP in the suit (gee, thanks for that clarification)
b) It asks partner to look at the suit in particular, and their hand in general
c) It might be a second suit, or not
etc.

I usually follow by asking what type of hand they'll bid 3D with ("A hand that needs help in diamonds!") and/or what type of hand will accept the try ("A hand with help in diamonds!").  Then I if a singleton is "help".  One regular columnist in the bulletin's advanced player section told me "It is if she thinks it is!".  Ah, active ethics.

Some people, less actively unethical than him, will answer helpfully, though the answers vary "Yes, a stiff is help!  She'd sign off with Qxx." or "No, he'd bid game with Qxx but sign off with a stiff."

Yesterday, I asked an opp what 3D was and she said "Second suit".  After the auction was over, I asked a further question about suit quality and declarer said it was  a help suit game try.  I asked which was their agreement, and she said they're the same.  Under pressure, she admitted that pard should go with an honor in the suit.  Of course pard hadn't gone and had an honor in the suit.

For those at home, please note that the example hand for a help suit game try of 1S-2S, 3H in the 2001 Encyclopedia of Bridge is AKxxx xxx x AQJx.  Wouldn't the clubs be the second suit?

I wouldn't mind the opps' ignorcance so much if they didn't talk down to me while misdescribing their methods ("Of COURSE second suit is the same as help suit!  Duh!).

To be fair, Bridge World Standard 1968 used help suit game tries, and called them Long Suit Game Tries.  Sigh.

For those who play these, btw, think about how AKxxx xxx x AQJx plays opposite the following dummies:

Qxx x Axxxx xxxx
xxx KQJ Qxxx xxx

Each "helps" you in hearts, covers two heart losers, and the second hand has 1/3 more HCP!  Which is a better dummy?