Tollemache 2012

The Tollemache is the annual EBU inter-county championship for teams of eight, though we take five pairs as it is quite a demanding weekend. This year the Dorset team was

Janet Smith and Alan Wilson
Margot Wilson and John Gardner
Mark Hooper and Phil Norman
Tim Dunsby and Krzysztof Ginda
Ann Sharples and Bob Mott

The teams are split into four groups of nine or ten teams with the leading two teams going through to the final. Dorset teams have propped up the field in recent years so this year's finish of equal 5th represents something of an improvement.

We got off to a dreadful start, losing 94 imps in five boards to arch rivals Hampshire (that's not a misprint, each board is scored four times by comparing both North-South pairs with both East-Wests), but things improved after that and we finished just below average, pleased to find ourselves ahead of Hampshire in the final table.

The bidding in the Tolly tends to be a lot more aggressive and competitive than at the local club. Here are three examples where telephone number scores depend on your decision.

First, a simple bidding problem

Your 1NT overcall may not be straight out of the textbook but you look to have seven top tricks on a heart lead. Are you a man or a mouse?

Next, a choice between the frying pan and the fire.

I held this hand and was getting ready to bid 4♣ when East opened 2♠, a weak two-suiter with spades and another suit. You can't pre-empt over a pre-empt, so I had to pass but I was none too pleased when partner weighed in with 4NT to show a 2-suiter. I expect you can work out which two suits.

One of my adages is 'never put down a seven card suit as dummy', but what about an eight carder? Partner is short in spades and may have two or even three clubs. In Victor Mollo's menagerie they would solve this problem by bidding an insufficient 4♣ over 4NT, silencing partner for the rest of the auction when you correct to 5♣, but I didn't think that this would meet with the Best Behaviour at Bridge guidelines, so I left partner to stew in 5♦.

When the defence cashed a spade and two top diamonds, I had visions of an enormous penalty and was thinking that I should have bid 6♣, but my partner was good enough to hold QJ to six diamonds and ♥AKQ109 and escaped for 500, no big deal when the opponents had an easy 450 in 4♠. Meanwhile, East's second suit was ♣AKJ10 and 6♣ would have cost at least 1400.

Now another man or mouse decision

In spite of the unlimited auction, East was determined to show that he was homo sapiens rather than mus musculus by making a macho double of 3NT to call for a spade lead. Kris, not ashamed of his spade suit,  was man enough to redouble and when Tim brought home 3NT with an overtrick they had the unusual score of plus 1000.

Back to the choice whether to stick or twist in 1NT doubled. The Dorset player who faced the problem does not scare easily and is planning a sponsored parachute jump, so it was no surprise that they sat for 1NT doubled. Not an unreasonable decision, but unfortunately the parachute failed to open as the full hand was

and they were soon writing 1400 in the out column. They were not alone, for three tables (out of 16) lost four figure penalties in 1NT doubled.

At another table South ran to 2♣ after a similar start, leaving West with a tricky problem. You need some well-defined partnership methods when opponents run from 1NT doubled - I play that pass is forcing over two of a minor and that the first double is for take-out. Even with such an agreement, I think that West should try and describe his hand with a jump to 3♦, otherwise partner will never expect such a long suit.

5♦ is an easy make for East-West (and slam is on a finesse that is almost certain to work after South's 1NT), but it is not so easy to bid, and all of the other three tables in our match stopped in 3♦. When I held the South cards I opted for a mouse-like 2♣ overcall. The auction continued 2♦ - pass - 2♥ - 3♣ - 3♦ before grinding to a premature halt. East should have raised to 3♦ at his second turn and then West would surely have bid on to game.

Overtime

In our first round Crockfords match against a Devonian team we were 31 imp down at half time. This slam hand did not help

It was a perfect hand for a weak 2 Diamond opening. 2NT was an enquiry and I showed a weak hand with a six card suit to two top honours. Unfortunately West led the ace of hearts and, after an agonising pause, continued the suit for his partner to ruff. They stopped in 4 spades in the other room so we lost 13 imp.

At the time I was moaning about our bad luck, but maybe West's 3 Hearts gave us a warning. If North bids 4 Clubs over 3 Hearts and this is taken to be a cue bid with diamonds agreed, South would surely bid 4 Hearts with a singleton or void. On the actual hand this might help us to avoid the doomed slam.

When the opponents then proceeded to make a grand slam on a finesse it seemed as if it was not our night. But the fates were smiling on us for this board in the last set.

In 3NT I won the second heart and had nine top tricks when the jack and nine of diamonds fell. If the diamonds had not come in, I would have needed West to hold the ace of clubs.

In the other room North bid 3 Spades over the double and South ended in 6 Clubs. On a heart lead declarer played three rounds of spades but East was able to ruff and prevent declarer getting rid of the heart loser. Declarer should now settle for one off but he played three rounds of diamonds so East was able to ruff and take the contract two down.

The extra undertrick was crucial; we gained 13 imp instead of 12 and the match ended in an exact tie. Our good luck continued in the extra four boards when our opponents kept Ann and me out of the auction with an emaciated weak two bid which was too much even for Keith. In the other room the opponents reached their cold vulnerable game but misplayed it to lose the match by 4 imp.

A Game of Two Halves

The National Inter-County Leagues final is a one-day teams-of-eight event for the champion counties of each division of the five regional inter-county leagues. Although Dorset did not win the A Division of the Western League, we got into the final by the back door as the winners did not want to take part.

In football parlance this was a game of two halves. For the first half we played well and had our share of good luck and we ended with a narrow lead. Sadly it was too good to last - a mixture of bad luck and inferior play saw us fall away to finish in third place - respectable but a bit disappointing after the first half.

We were certainly out of luck on this number

That was the auction where Ann and I sat East-West. North's four hearts was a splinter bid showing spade support and heart shortage, and South's final bid was extraordinary unless he could see through the backs of the cards. Both Dorset pairs bid this 95% slam and went down on a heart lead and a diamond ruff, while both the opposing pairs stayed in game.

On the other hand, the loss on this deal was self-inflicted with all four pairs having a finger in the pie.

South declared 3NT at all four tables, and both Dorset Wests led a high spade. Both declarers then tested diamonds and then ducked a club to establish a ninth trick.

With no sure outside entry, it is much better for West to lead a low spade and that was what our two declarers had to contend with. Both played on diamonds and went down when the suit failed to break.

A far stronger line for declarer is to play a spade back at trick 2. This will lead to egg on the face if spades are 6-1, but otherwise you are much better placed. On the actual hand, West has a choice of losing options; if he cashes all his spade winners he will squeeze East in the minors, while if he does not cash them declarer can afford to duck a club to East.

At first sight it seems as if declarer can play three rounds of diamonds to test the suit and then exit with a spade. The minor suit squeeze will still work if West cashes all of his spades, but West can thwart this plan by exiting with a heart rather than cash the last spade.

A slightly different layout could lead to a more complex squeeze position as there is also a threat in hearts. For example, if the club honours are divided and West cashes all his spades the contract can be made on a guard squeeze.

A further advantage in playing a spade back at trick 2 is that if the spades are 4-3, declarer can afford to duck a club, making if either minor beaks 3-3.

Torquay 2012

This year we chose to play in the teams rather than the pairs but the result was similar to last year - a promising position spoilt by a heavy defeat in the last round. Ann and I had some mixed results but Chris and Alastair brought back a succession of good cards so that we were second going into the last round against Michael Byrne and three junior internationals.

This was the crucial hand

Three Clubs was a little exuberant but the final contract was a good one. West doubled with an air of 'do these old codgers really know what they are doing?' and although he looked somewhat less confident when dummy went down the contract was doomed on the 5-1 heart break and we lost 800.

In the other room South passed over Two Spades and North ended in Four Hearts, which went one down undoubled for 12 imp in the out column. (It can go two down on the double dummy defence of a club to the ace and a heart switch.)

The correct line in Six Clubs is to ruff the diamond lead, cash ace of hearts and ruff a low heart, and then draw trumps. The contract makes when the trumps are 2-2 and hearts play for 5 tricks, or when trumps are 3-1 and hearts play for 4 tricks, a total of about 60%.

Dorset Swiss Teams

We were not on top form for the Dorset one day Swiss teams, finishing in the middle of the field. This hand was typical, where we managed to let through a no-play 3NT.

The 1 diamond response showed hearts - these transfer responses to 1 club allow weak responses with somewhat less risk than normal. Ann led a diamond to my ace, I returned a diamond to the king and a third round went to my queen. After a long think I played a heart into the ace-queen - a good try but no cigar. If declarer had held an extra spade and one less club this would have been the winning defence, but he was able to play three rounds of clubs ending in hand, cash the diamond winner and lead a spade up, making nine tricks when he guessed to play the king.

An initial heart lead would have been better and would have simplified the defence, but I should have spent more time thinking at trick 1. It would have been a good idea to play the queen on the first trick. Declarer surely has a diamond guard on the bidding and when the queen holds the first trick that has to be four or five to the jack. Now the only chance for the defence is if partner holds the ace of spades, so a spade return is marked.

Maybe this was not that easy a defence, as Dave Huggett and his partner also let Chris make 3NT for a flat board.

Hand of the Week

A couple of people are trying to persuade me to start a 'hand of the week' blog, discussing interesting hands from the duplicates at Dorchester or Weymouth. I'm not sure about that, but this was the most interesting hand at Dorchester this week.

West led the ten of spades and declarer ducked the first two tricks (in case East had opened with a 5-card suit) and won the third. As West is more likely to hold the length in hearts, his next move was to play ace, king and another heart, but East was able to win and cash spades for two down.

Declarer missed an extra chance with an avoidance play. After a heart to the ace, he can come back to hand in diamonds and lead another heart, ducking when West plays the queen.

However, West could have thwarted this cunning plan by ditching the queen of hearts on the third round of spades. A tough play to find, but not too far-fetched as it only costs if declarer has jack doubleton of hearts. This would leave partner with four hearts, unlikely after the weak two opening. But then the defence have no chance if declarer wins the second round of spades.

Reverse Lightner

We made too many mistakes to make the cut in the regional final of the National Pairs, and in any case we have already used up a lifetime's worth of good fortune in this event. This wild hand provided some light relief.

At our table the auction escalated rapidly to six hearts and I made what seemed an obvious Lightner double. Obvious, that is, until I realised that my partner was not on lead. I tried to avoid showing any sign of embarrassment and led the nine of clubs. Partner's ace was good news, as the contract could easily have been cold with an overtrick. After an agonising wait a spade hit the table and I could breathe again. Thank you partner!

Deja Vu

Once again we were riding high in the Bath Swiss teams, until a loss in the last match led to ninth place rather than second. Just like last year, there was a difficult declarer play hand in the last round.

At our table the opponents ended in 6NT by South and I led a spade. Declarer started with a heart to the ace and another heart to the queen and king, followed by a diamond to the king and a diamond to the jack which held. After two winning finesses declarer now tried for the hat-trick, but the queen of clubs lost to the king and there was no play for the contract.

Declarer missed a better chance. After the winning diamond finesse, she should cash her winners in the majors, throwing a club from dummy. The distribution is now an open book, and if East discards a diamond declarer can exit in diamonds to force a lead into the AQ of clubs. The only chance for the defence is for East to bare the king of clubs without showing any sign of distress - not easy. Even then, declarer should play to drop the king of clubs as East is a 4 to 3 favourite to hold the king.

At the other table, Chris was also declarer in 6NT and claimed to have spotted the end play, the only problem being that he had already misguessed the hearts and had to rely on a winning club finesse and four diamond tricks. This led to two down and a loss of 2 imps on the board.

Luck of the Draw

We were rather lucky to win the Weymouth College Trophy Swiss Teams, leapfrogging the field with a 20-0 win in the last match after we had avoided playing most of the other leading teams. The decisive hand in our match against the runners up was also somewhat fortunate

That was our auction to an almost solid slam, which made with an easy overtrick when North led her singleton spade.

In the other room Hilary opened the North hand with a frisky three diamonds, not a bid you will find in many textbooks, but you cannot argue with success. Even with a view of both hands, I cannot come up with a sensible way of bidding slam and at the table they did not come close. East bid 3 hearts (for take-out, a method I would only recommend to my opponents) and West ended the auction with a jump to four spades.

A Fine Defence

This was a fine defence played against us at the Christchurch Friday pairs. I will give it as a problem.

You are East, and your double of the transfer bid showed a strong hand that would have doubled 1NT. Your partner leads the ten of hearts, playing standard leads. Plan the defence.



Our round against Krzys and Patrick started well when the famed Polish Club misfired, allowing us to play in 2 diamonds up one when they were cold for 4 clubs and the club suit never got a mention. They got their revenge on this board, where this was the full layout. Your double has marked you with most of the high cards, so click 'Next' to see your fate if you play the ace of hearts on the first trick.

Playing a low heart at trick one will lead to the same end play. At the table, Krzys found the fine defence of the jack at trick one. Now there was no chance of an end play as West can win the second round of hearts to play a diamond through. Declarer was reduced to trying the trump finesse and the contract failed.

Foiled Again

I have never managed to bring off a trump squeeze, but at the Christchurch Friday duplicate a couple of defensive errors set up the required position. And for once I recognised the possibility at the table and not just in the post-mortem. And the opponents' cards were such that a trump squeeze was needed to gain an extra overtrick. But as you might expect from the title, things did not quite go according to plan...



My partner's raise to 4 spades was well-judged. West's failure to support partner was not, as it allowed us to conduct an invitational auction rather than guess whether to bid game.

West led a heart which, for reasons that have since escaped me, I won in dummy. West took the first trump and returned a club, which was ducked to my queen. (That was where both defenders went wrong.) I then played four more rounds of trumps and the ace of hearts. East does best to discard his hearts and a club, which would lead to this position.



Now when I play the penultimate trump and throw a diamond from dummy, East is caught in a trump squeeze. If he throws a club I cross to a diamond and ruff a club to set up dummy's king; if he throws a diamond I cash two top diamonds and ruff a club back to hand and score the last diamond.

So did I manage all this? Unfortunately not. No doubt expecting me to have some hearts after his partner's failure to support, East chose to keep hearts and his first four discards were two clubs, a heart and a diamond. Now I had plenty of tricks, but no trump squeeze. I played a diamond to the king, ruffed out the ace of clubs, and then another diamond to the ace, remembering to unblock the nine from hand. The king of clubs was a winner but I ruffed it and salvaged something from the wreckage by winning the last trick with the seven of diamonds.

Year End 2011

The Swiss Teams at the Year End in London was a bit of a struggle - we lost four of the first five matches but then won the last two to finish near halfway. I misplayed this hand, which is a good example of the adage ' when you have found a good play, look for a better one'.



West led the queen of spades to my ace and it looked like a text book hand where you need to knock out the opponents' entries in the right order. West was more likely to have long spades, so I played on hearts first to knock out his possible entry. East won the second round and continued spades - I ducked and won the third round, discarding a club from dummy. I now cashed the king of clubs, preparing to finesse the jack on the next round and lose the lead to East, the safe hand if West started with five spades.

It was bad news when West showed out but I still had Plan B. I crossed to the ace of clubs and cashed the winning hearts; if East held the king of diamonds he would have to come down to two clubs and two diamonds as his last four cards, and I could endplay him by playing ace and another diamond. All to no avail as West won the king of diamonds and I was one down.

Where I went wrong was to play the king of clubs. I should have led a low club and played the jack, which would have ensured three club tricks against any distribution while keeping West off lead.

With the new Bridgemates the results from all tables are now available on the internet for sad people to analyse. On this hand 3NT was played 70 times on a spade lead and was only made 21 times. Both declarers went off in the match between the teams that finished first and second. And Zia's team lost 800 in 7 clubs doubled! That makes me feel a bit better.