Year End 2010

In the Swiss Teams at the London Year End congress we managed to avoid our usual first board cock-up by making a quiet 1NT, but disasters soon followed as I let though two games and we allowed the oppo to make 6 Hearts when we were cold for 6 Spades. After a 20-0 loss our fortunes improved somewhat and we ended 27th out of 104.

This was an interesting slam hand



Even at green against red, my 3 Hearts was a bit frivolous as it didn't really interfere with the opponents' bidding and warned declarer about the bad breaks. Declarer made 12 tricks by squeezing me in the rounded suits. You can follow the play by clicking on 'Next'.

No-one was concentrating too hard as they had stopped in game but declarer played the hand well. He did give us a very difficult chance to hold him to 11 tricks - when he led ♥Q at trick 3, West needed to ruff high and return a club - a counter-intuitive defence that I only found by running the hand through Deep Finesse. Declarer can make 12 tricks on any defence by cashing one round of trumps before leading ♥Q.

I was sure that Chris and Hil would be in 6 Spades and so it proved. West led a diamond which should make life easier for declarer - a reasonable line is to draw 3 rounds of trumps, then play the top clubs, throw a club on a top diamond and ruff a club to establish the suit. Now exit with a trump and dummy is high. This line needs one of the black suits to break 3-2.

It's an easy game when you can see all four hands and Chris tried a different line by ruffing hearts. When East trumped one of dummy's top diamonds it should have been fatal, but West's defence was not the best and Chris emerged with 12 tricks for a 13 imp gain.

Singleton Queens at Peebles

Our first visit ot the Gold Cup Congress in Peebles more than lived up to all the good things that we had heard about the food, wine, friendly bridge and efficient organisation.

The bridge started off on the wrong note when we conceded a Biltcliffe Coup (with an overtrick to boot) on the very first board, but things improved after that. Ann began the weekend needing 3 Green Points to reach Grand Master, and a good win against strong opposition in the last match of the pairs allowed us to pick up more than enough greens and just make the prize list.

This deal helped, even though our bidding was not quite what it said on the tin.



Making 4 Hearts scored about 75% on the board so other pairs cannot have found it easy to bid. Chris and Hilary had languished in 1♠, so in the rather alcoholic celebration of Ann's new status she was on the receiving end of some gentle teasing as to whether a Grand Master should be opening 2NT with a stiff queen of clubs.






Chris shows what he thinks about opening 2NT with a singleton queen.





Justification was soon at hand. Next morning, Ann and I went for a swim in the splendid Hydro pool and then dropped in to watch a few boards of the Gold Cup final on vu-graph. Almost immediately Zia picked up as dealer

♠ A 9 7 5 ♥ K 6 3 ♦ K Q 10 9 8 ♣ Q

What did Zia open? 1NT of course. This worked like a charm as he missed a diamond fit and stopped in an easy 4NT. In the other room the hand was opened with a boring 1♦ and they ended in 6♦, a good contract but doomed on the actual lie of the cards. The 13 imp gain on this hand was the start of a change in fortunes that saw Zia's team recover from an early deficit to score a convincing win.

Walking on water

At the Guildford Swiss teams this hand showed how even the most unlikely contracts can come in when it's your lucky day.

My partner obviously does not believe in the adage about never putting a 7 card suit down as dummy, and when she chose to support spades rather than rebid 2 diamonds I showed a bit too much faith in the losing trick count and bid game.



It looked a hopeless contract when dummy went down, but the cards lay so favourably that after West led the obvious diamond there was no defence. Click on 'Next' to follow the play and click GIB after each trick to get a double dummy analysis. To defeat the contract West must start with 2 rounds of spades - not easy.

Later on I also held a 7-3-3-0 distribution and an even more ridiculous auction ensued.



When I picked up my hand it looked like a balanced 13 count, and it was only on the second round of the auction that I realised that my hearts were in fact diamonds. I doubt that even Keith Bartlett, the world's greatest aficianado of off-beat 1NT openings, has ever tried it on a 7-3-3-0 shape. Although it is a good way of making sure that you do not put a 7-card suit down as dummy...

West started with a low spade to my jack and, hoping to put off for as long as possible the moment when my hand would be revealed, I led a low diamond. West went in the the King and was no doubt surprised to see his partner follow with the queen. West cashed his spades and when they broke 4-3 I was finally forced to own up. In fact I was so relieved to come out unscathed that I forgot to win the last trick with the seven of diamonds and claim a free beer.

Torquay 2010

In the Torquay Swiss Pairs, Ann and I finished 22nd out of 114, almost exactly the same position as last year, although we did manage big wins against the two strongest pairs we met. There were several hands where squeeze play would have been useful - here are two that we got wrong.



South declared 6NT against a club lead. You have 11 top tricks, and the problem is to find the best way to combine your chances in the red suits. At the table declarer tried a low heart towards the Queen, and although this was successful when West went in with the King, making 12 tricks was a below average score.

The best line is to win the lead in dummy and take a diamond finesse. If this loses, win the return, unblock the ♥A and cash all the black suit winners, discarding two hearts from hand. If the diamonds do not break 3-3, you will still succeed if the long diamonds and ♥K are in the same hand. If the diamond finesse wins, you have the same play to make an overtrick.

On the actual deal East had ♦Qxx, so many declarers were making an overtrick.




I opened a dubious 1♠ as South, and we ended up too high in 5♠. West started with the King and queen of hearts, then switched to a trump. I drew a second round of trumps (East started with a singleton) and cashed the Ace and King of diamonds, as I could avoid the club finesse if the Queen was doubleton, but both followed with small cards. The club finesse held, but the King did not fall when I cashed the Ace so I took the ruffing diamond finesse. When West produced the Queen I was one down.


After the club finesse has worked, the best line is to ruff a diamond and run the trumps. If West has ♦Q he will be squeezed on the last trump and forced to unguard ♣K. This line wins whenever West has ♦Q, but also when East has ♦Qxx, a significant improvement on the 50% chance of the ruffing finesse.

It was not all bad. This hand was a good example of the downside of intervention on weak distributional hands. South dealt at love all.




As South I opened 1♣, North responded 1♦ and East bid 2♦ to show at least 5-5 in the majors. I doubled to show extra values and interest in a penalty, West bid 2♥ and I ended in 3NT.

West led the ♥6 to East's Ace and a heart was returned. I tried the Jack which won as West followed with the 8 to show three cards. Now I cashed the Ace of clubs and both followed. With East holding at least 10 cards in the majors, I felt that West was a strong favourite to hold the Jack of clubs, so I played a small club to the 10 and was pleased to see East discard a spade. Now there was an obvious strip squeeze against East - I cashed ♣Q, came to hand with a spade and cashed the club winners. East came down to three spades and two hearts, so I played ♥K and another heart to endplay East. She led a spade and, with dummy holding KQ10, we all put our cards back in the board and scored up 3NT+2.

It was only at the end of the session when I looked at the hand records and saw that West had Jx of spades so the squeeze was unnecessary! Tant pis.

Was that the right play in clubs? According to my calculations, if West has 3 hearts and East has at least 5-5 in the majors, the chances of the different breaks in the club suit are

5-0 20%
4-1 49%
3-2 28%
2-3 3%

After East has played a small club on the first round, the finesse wins 80% of the time and playing for the drop only 45%.

Another Chance Missed

In the Green Point Swiss Teams at Andover we finished a slightly disappointing 5th after losing our least match. When we played the eventual winners, the boards were wild and either side could have won by 50 imps with accurate play. I missed a chance to shine on this hand.



Doubling 5 clubs would have been an easier way to earn a living, but dummy's diamond suit was an undeserved bonus. I ruffed the club lead and drew trumps, relieved to find the 3-2 break. Now I played on diamonds, but had to lose two diamonds at the end to go one down.

I should have given some thought to a 5-0 diamond break, quite likely after East's strong bidding. It costs nothing to lead a heart at trick 5, covering West's card. East has to return a club and I ruff and play a diamond to the Jack. If this loses to the Queen I can claim but when East shows out I ruff a heart, play a diamond to the ace and ruff another heart. West and South are now down to three diamonds - I have K 10 8 and West has Q 9 7 - and I can exit with the 8 or 10 of diamonds to endplay West.

This line also works if East's distribution is 2-4-0-7 as West has to discard his 4th heart when East returns a club at trick 6.

On Guard

In the teams at Dorchester the following hand was of interest in both bidding and play.



Hilary and Chris were the only pair to bid to the par conract of 7♣ with the auction shown. 4♣ was Roman Key Card Blackwood with clubs agreed and 5♦ asked for specific kings.

I know you shouldn't argue with success, but maybe North should have bid RKCB directly over 3♣. I expect that most Souths would have bid 3♠ over 3♦, and then any subsequent RKCB bid would have assumed spades as trumps.

In 7♣ you have twelve top tricks and a heart ruff for the thirteenth. But the question in the bar afterwards was whether you could make 7NT if West makes the most awkward lead of a heart. The winning line is to run six club tricks, discarding a diamond and three spades (unblocking the 10) from dummy. West cannot afford to throw a diamond or a spade, as a spade discard would allow declarer to take three spade tricks by a finesse against East. So West must throw all his hearts, and now three rounds of diamonds squeeze East in the majors. Click on 'Next' in the diagram to follow the play.

This type of squeeze, where a player needs to keep a holding to prevent his partner being finessed, is called a guard squeeze. To be more precise, it's a double guard squeeze, similar to the second example here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guard_squeeze

A Chance Missed

In the Weymouth handicap teams, we scraped home by a fraction of a per cent, though things would have been more comfortable if we had been on the right side of this interesting slam hand

	♠ A K 6 ♥ Q 10 ♦ A Q 3 ♣ A K 9 7 3
	♠ 4 3 ♥ A J 8 7 4 3 ♦ K 7 4 2 ♣ 2

South	West	North	East
2♥	p	2NT	p
3♥	p	5♥	p
6♥	p	p	p

For once I was quite pleased with our auction. 2NT was an enquiry and 3♥ showed upper range (8-9 HCP), but without 2 of the top 3 honours in hearts. 5♥ now showed controls in all the outside suits and asked partner to bid on with good trumps.

West led a spade, and declarer won in dummy and ran the queen of trumps, West discarding a spade. Declarer now played the ten of trumps, and again East defended accurately by refusing to cover. What had seemed to be a laydown contract was now quite awkward, as declarer needs to bring off a trump coup against East.

I think the best line is to cash the ace and king of diamonds, king of spades and ruff a spade, then play two top clubs. If all this has passed off peacefully the position is now

	♠ ♥ ♦ Q ♣ 9 7 3
immaterial		♠ ? ♥ K 9 6 ♦ ? ♣ ?
	♠ ♥ A J 8 ♦ 2 ♣

East is down to 3 trumps and one other card, but it doesn't matter what it is. Declarer leads a club from dummy and ruffs in hand, then exits with a diamond to endplay East. If East ruffs in the diagrammed position, declarer overruffs and plays a diamond, still losing just one trump trick.

That line of play succeeds as long as East does not have a singleton or void in a side suit. If East started with a 2-5-4-2 distribution he can discard a club on the third spade and ruff the second round of clubs. No matter, declarer can overruff, cash the queen of diamonds and lead another club to make two more tricks with the A J of trumps.

At the table East held a 2-5-2-4 shape and declarer erred by playing a third diamond, allowing East to ruff while he still had an exit card in clubs.

Getting the Monkey off our Back

In the second round of the Gold Cup we managed to end a losing streak against Jeremy Baker's team that had lasted for over ten years, winning a closely fought match by 14 imp. Even though it cost us a lot of points, this was the most interesting hand. East dealt at Game All and both Wests (I was one of them) chose to open 3 clubs in 3rd seat.

At my table North doubled, South bid 3 spades and North rebid 3NT. Declarer ducked the club lead and, with no future in clubs, I switched to a heart to try and attack dummy's entry. Declarer won in hand with the Ace, played Ace and another spade to dummy's Jack, then finessed the Queen of diamonds. East took this and returned a heart but declarer could win, cross to hand and lead another spade, setting up the spades with the Jack of diamonds as an entry. It would not help East to duck the diamond, as declarer could play a spade while the king of hearts was still in dummy.



At the other table South bid an optimistic 4 spades, but North was aware of his partner's rose-tinted spectacles and passed where some would have made a slam try. 4 spades is a much trickier proposition than 3NT, and it's not easy to see how to make it without taking some unlikely double-dummy plays (such as ducking the first club or finessing the 10 of hearts). However, the line shown on the diagram (click on 'Next' to follow the play through) seems a reasonable way to play the hand.

The key play is the low spade lead at trick 2. If you play Ace and another spade East can win and then West plays two rounds of clubs. East can overruff dummy and exit with his last trump, and wait to make the king of diamonds.

On the suggested play, if East goes up with the King of trumps at trick 2 and West plays two rounds of clubs, this still promotes a second trump trick for East. The difference is that he can now be endplayed with his last trump and forced to lead a red suit so that declarer avoids a diamond loser.

Apart from this hand, I felt that we had more than our fair share of the luck, but who's complaining?

Hope for us all

The Year End Congress in London gave us a chance to play against rather stronger opposition than normal, but even the very best can go wrong. Here are three hands where top players misdefended against us.

	♠ Q 9 5 2 ♥ 4 2 ♦ A 3 ♣ A K J 7 3
♠ K J 10 6 ♥ 8 7 3 ♦ Q J 6 5 ♣ 6 5		♠ 8 7 ♥ A 10 6 5 ♦ K 10 8 7 4 ♣ 9 4
	♠ A 4 3 ♥ K Q J 9 ♦ 9 2 ♣ Q 10 8 2

Ann declared 3NT as South against Artur Malinokswi and Janet de Botton and West got off to the best lead of a diamond. Ann ran the clubs and led a heart from dummy, but East went up with the Ace and switched to a spade. West then added to the debacle by throwing spades so that dummy's Queen scored and Ann made 11 tricks.

	♠ Q 7 5 4 ♥ K Q 6 2 ♦ 7 ♣ A 9 7 2
♠ J 3 2 ♥ 5 4 3 ♦ A K J 4 3 ♣ K 4		♠ K 10 8 ♥ A 10 6 5 ♦ 9 8 5 ♣ Q J 5 3
	♠ A 9 6 ♥ J 9 8 ♦ Q 10 6 2 ♣ 10 8 6

I was North and passed as dealer at game all - I don't like opening marginal 4-4-4-1 hands. West opened 1♦ in fourth seat and I doubled, felling quite pleased that I had been able to describe my hand well. But then things took a nasty turn as East (Victor Silverstone) redoubled and Ann bid 1NT - not what I wanted to hear. East doubled and after a spade lead it seemed as if the contract must go one off for -200 (the kiss-of-death at pairs scoring) but Silverstone went wrong at the end to allow Ann to score an unlikely +180.

	♠ 3 ♥ 9 6 ♦ A 7 5 4 ♣ A Q J 8 7 6
♠ K 8 7 ♥ A Q 7 4 3 2 ♦ Q J 2 ♣ 2		♠ Q 9 6 4 2 ♥ K ♦ K 8 6 3 ♣ 5 4 3
	♠ A J 10 5 ♥ J 10 8 5 ♦ 10 9 ♣ K 10 9

The final hand occurred in the Swiss Teams, where we beat a team of junior internationals 18-2 in the penultimate round to reach table 4, before a big loss in the last match (two games let through at our table) sent us tumbling back down the ranking list.

West opened 1♥ and Ann overcalled 2♣. I bid an optimistic 2NT which Ann raised to 3 and East doubled. West led a heart and East returned a spade to the jack and king. West cashed the ace of hearts and went into the tank. Eventually he played his other top heart to set up my ninth trick. The auction was much the same in the other room but North chickened out to 4♣ which was just made so we gained 9 imp.

The first two hands were clear defensive errors but on the last hand West had a guess after cashing the ace of hearts. His defence would have been right if I had held
♠A Q J 5 ♥ J 10 8 3 ♦ K 10 ♣ 10 9 5
Maybe he expected his partner to hold the king of clubs for the double of 3NT.