Recap Of 10/21/2019 28 Board IMP Individual

When we play, our movement is an individual movement with 7 rounds, 4 boards each round with everyone else who is playing being your partner for 4 hands.  Round 3 had, for the first time, all 4 boards with double digit swings (11-12-12-11 IMPs respectively) and those were the only double digit swings all day until one more came in the last round.  And, there were quite a number of other amazing hands which did not result in a double digit swing, but could have – so I decided to write up one of those.  Bidding and leads both played a role in creating the swings, but for the hands reported, neither defense nor declarer play were ever a factor in the swing.

There are lots of debates among experienced players about what sort of balanced hand opens 1NT with a 5 card major – some always do, some never, and some ‘it depends.’  As you see, one table opened with 1♥ and soon they were in the heart game.  The other table opened 1NT.  After the 1NT opener, South showed a good hand with at least 9 black cards with doubt about strain and level (from his perspective, the deal could play in spades, hearts, clubs or NT in game or slam, depending on partner’s hand and possibly a perfect fit).  He did this by first transferring to spades and then bidding clubs.  After it was over, North admonished himself for not bidding 3♥ on the way to 3NT.  His partner can certainly raise, bid NT themselves, or repeat a black suit if appropriate.  When my partner found the diamond lead, the defense quickly scored their 5 diamond tricks to set the 3NT contract 1 trick.  At the other table, trying to ensure 10 tricks, it is best to take an early spade finesse while dummy still has trumps to control diamonds.  When spades behaved so well, declarer had 5 tricks in each major and 2 top clubs for 12 tricks, +480 for our teammates and our +50 won 11 IMPs.

What should you open with the North hand?  I think it is a matter of style.  Sometimes, the 1NT opening bid will shut out the spade suit where neither defender can enter the auction reasonably at the 2 level, but, if you don’t choose to open 1NT, they can overcall 1♥ with 1♠.  With South taking his time in the bidding and not merely jumping to 3NT, he sent the right ‘alarm’ to North, but North persisted with NT.  North certainly had hearts covered and ♦Q97 seemed enough.  The opening NT bid wasn’t fatal, but the final signoff in 3NT was.  My partner almost chose a passive heart lead (any suit that is only 4 long headed by the AJ is often ineffective for an opening lead when a strong NT is bid on your right).  Here the diamond lead was quite effective, in spite of holding ♦AJ83.  Thanks partner!

Preempting in second seat is the most risky time to be offbeat.  This is because one opponent has already passed, so of the two players remaining to bid, one is partner, one is your left hand opponent.  Preempting your partner can create unwanted difficulties.  In short, it is recommended to have classic values when opening a 2nd seat (vulnerable) preempt.  At the other table, our teammate sitting South began the auction with 3♦ and North, assuming classic values (and possibly a little more?) bid the slam.  South is unlikely to have both the ♦AK as well as a side Q, but if they do, you are on a finesse.  Here there was no side Q, but the extra shape (1=4=7=1) that South had fit quite well (along with great heart spots) and that proved to be enough.  It was a quick easy auction and when the heart honors are split between East and West, 12 tricks are there for the taking.  Unless a heart is led on opening lead (it was), both the ♥10 and ♥9 are critical to make the slam (and the ♥8 also if the suit splits 4-1).  As long as opener was 7-4, the 4 card suit could have been spades or clubs and the slam still would have had play (especially with the ♠J (making it cold) or the ♣10 which would provide the same chances that the actual heart suit provided).  The shape of a hand usually radically changes the trick taking ability.  Had opener been 2=2=7=2, the only way to make would be an opening lead of a K from KQ, allowing a later lead up to the J for a discard in the remaining doubleton.

At our table, a 3♦ checkback (part of the Wolff relay system after a 2NT rebid) found the 4-4 heart fit which also was able to score the same 12 tricks when the hearts honors were split between the defenders.  On this deal, 12 tricks are available in either red suit, but for slam, diamonds is a safer contract due to having complete trump control.  So, our teammates scored +1370 while we were -680 to win 12 IMPs.

Our luck ran out on this deal.  With no stopper in 2 suits, I was sure West would not open the hand 1NT at the other table.  Wrong!  After a failed Stayman invite auction, East-West quickly arrived in 3NT.  After the normal spade lead (and spade continuation after winning the ♦A), E-W had 10 tricks with declarer scoring 2+0+4+4.

When I began the auction with 1♣ we had a wildly different auction at my table.  North, of course, overcalled 1♠ and partner made a routine negative double.  South showed invitational spade support and I doubled to show serious clubs.  North retreated to 2♠ and partner supported my clubs.  Time to try for 9 tricks in NT, so I bid 3NT.  On a spade lead, it looks like 8 tricks and where there are 8, there must be 9!  But, Manfred, with his club void, wasn’t done.  He gave me a problem when he bid 4♠ passed back around to me.  I could take the money and simply double 4♠, but, there are some reasonable lines of defense/declarer play that will actually allow 10 tricks in spades (but if all players play double dummy, only 9 tricks are possible in spades).  In any case, I felt that I could score 10 tricks in NT (just like they did at the other table), so I bid 4NT.  My clue should have been South’s invitational cue bid.  Even though I had a likely source of tricks, my choice to try to declare 4NT vs. defend 4♠ was simply wrong.  When Manfred made the excellent sneak attack lead in hearts, South won the ♥10 and led spades through.  I was limited to my ♠A and 4 club tricks, scoring 5 total tricks, down 5!  We lost -250 while our teammates were -430, lose 12 IMPs.

Is opening 1NT the right bid?  Is it right to accept the 2NT invitation with two unstopped suits and sub-minimum HCP?  On this deal it certainly worked well.  I have opened 1NT many times with a 6 card minor, but my two weak red doubletons convinced me not to do it this time.  

Here, the first 2 bids were the same at both tables, but my partner elected to show their spade stopper by bidding 1NT.  I showed my heart stopper by bidding 3NT and that ended the auction.  An initial club lead, or a spade lead that sees a discouraging signal and then figures out to make a club shift would allow 5 tricks for the defense.  On the actual heart lead partner was able to claim the first 10 tricks.

Meanwhile, when diamonds were raised (rather than bidding NT), much more competitive bidding followed where, eventually, E-W ventured into the diamond slam which was doubled by South (thinking that both aces would cash).  They did.  So, our teammates were +100 while we were +430 to win 11 IMPs.

What about the lead vs. 3NT?  The sneak attack doesn’t always work to defeat 3NT, but I have found on nearly every competitive auction that arrives in 3NT, the contract will fail with the right lead.  And, it seems to me, more often than not, that right lead is the off suit, not the one that you advertised during the auction (such that the declarer’s side felt that it could cope with that lead when they bid 3NT).  That isn’t to say leading your suit is always wrong.  But figuring out the right lead always swings a HUGE number of IMPs.

What about the competitive auction?  The defensive prospects vs. 5♦ are not strong (it is cold on a difficult spade guess), so North (Jerry) at the other table made an excellent decision to push on to 5♥.  Now East had to decide about their defensive and offensive prospects.  Since partner had not bid 1NT initially and had not doubled 5♥, East was fearful that the vulnerable opponents might be making 5♥!  Unless the defense achieves a ruff (not impossible, but not possible after an opening diamond lead), 5♥ will only be down 1.  In any case, East decided to take out insurance and try for 12 tricks in diamonds.

Most players in my group use invitational jump shifts.  That is, the jump shift is not weak at all, but it  is natural and not forcing.  The West hand here is the prototypical example of an invitational jump shift showing about 10 points and a good 6 card suit – exactly what they held.  West, with a known key filler in the diamond suit, converted to 3NT.  Partner had to find a passive diamond lead (or an even more impossible spade lead, then heart shift) to beat it.  Declarer has 8 top tricks, but on the lead of either unbid suit (hearts/clubs), declarer is presented with his 9th trick and wraps up the game.

At the other table, our teammates were not an established partnership, so in order to avoid too much table talk that would give away the hand, West simply bid a forcing NT and passed when they heard the spades rebid.  Declarer managed 8 tricks for +110, while at our table, after the club lead, declarer just claimed their 9 tricks 0+0+6+3 for -600, lose 10 IMPs.

So, that was it for the double digit swings.  Here is one more, that could’a been a double digit swing, for a little bid of comic relief. 

At both tables E-W scored 12 tricks with hearts trump, so there was a missed slam opportunity, but the board was not a push!  At the other table, competitive bidding got the auction high and opener had to decide, with their 3 loser hand whether or not to chance a key card call.  When they bid 5♣ partner bid 5♥ and the auction was over.  With declarer’s club suit providing a diamond discard from dummy (and the ♠A in dummy), 12 tricks were easy.  But, even with the ♠A, 12 tricks are not assured – if dummy had 1 more diamond and 1 less spade or heart, 11 tricks would have been the limit since there would have been 2 diamond losers.

At our table, where I decided to start with 2♣ North trotted out their Suction tool.  South alerted, said it was Suction, but couldn’t remember what it showed, so they passed.  I knew what Suction was so I told him, but he still passed.  At this point, even though I was playing with a regular partner, we hadn’t discussed what various continuations would be after this intervention.  I thought we might land on our feet, but I wasn’t confident about finding a slam, let alone making one.  And, if we arrived in the wrong game and went minus, it would be a huge loss, so I decided to just defend 2♥ at 100 per trick, rather than try to figure out where we should play and how high.  Lazy?  Perhaps.  Looking at all of the hands, passing 2♥ seems pretty crazy (letting the opponents play 2♥ undoubled when we are cold for slam).  But, both East and South have 5 points.  Both hands would ‘show values’ opposite the 2♣ opening bid and pass the 2♥ bid to show those values (with a bad hand, East would conventionally double the overcall showing a double negative worthless hand).  And, given the confusion, it seemed more likely to me that South held the hand that East held and East held the hand that South held.  If that were true (East and South trade hands), then the double dummy best contract is 6♦ but that requires a doubleton ♦QJ (which North held).  Meanwhile, in spite of the 6 card heart suit (that South would have held if East/South traded hands), North-South would be down 5 playing 2♥.  3NT is another reasonable place to play, but there is risk there as well (poor spade stopper).  I don’t know what contract we would have chosen (either with the actual East hand or if East held the South hand).  Anyway, however foolish I was to pass out 2♥ at the table, I did.  The result was +700 vs. -680 to win an IMP.  Bridge is a great game.  When is the last time you saw +700 on a scorecard (recalling the old days of scoring when doubled non-vulnerable penalties were 100-300-500-700-900-1100…was changed in September 1986)?