Adventures In Play

Isn't this the main ingredient of any pairs tournament? Why bother about who did what when over 400 pairs are competing? One can be pretty sure that most of the beautiful plays found at one specific table will have been duplicated somewhere else. And if not, just simply read on about the missed chances.

Take for example the board below.

Board 9. Dealer North. E/W Vul.
	ª A Q 7 6 4 3 © Q 8 ¨ A § Q 10 9 3
ª 5 © A K 5 4 3 ¨ J 10 5 4 3 2 § 7		ª J 10 9 8 2 © 7 2 ¨ K 7 § K J 6 4
	ª K © J 10 9 6 ¨ Q 9 8 6 § A 8 5 2

If North opens 1ª and South responds with a forcing (or even non-forcing) notrump, you need a gadget to show your mediocre twosuiter, if you want to show it at all. If you pass, North will bid 2§ and South will raise. The kiss of death will be the outcome once South has the guts to axe whatever West does.

On the next board, dropping the singleton Queen lands a very ambitious contract.

Board 10. Dealer East. All Vul.
	ª J 10 7 3 © 10 5 2 ¨ A J 10 9 6 § 10
ª Q © K 6 4 3 ¨ K Q 3 2 § K Q 9 4		ª A 8 4 © Q J 9 8 ¨ 5 § J 8 7 6 5
	ª K 9 6 5 2 © A 7 ¨ 8 7 4 § A 3 2

If South opens in 2nd position, North will raise to Three Spades and NS might end up defending Four Hearts and beating it on the club ruff. An initial club lead would even put it down two. This would still be a good save against the vulnerable game in the cards here for NS. The only thing needed is to guess to play the ªK in the first round of the suit. The opposite results, 4© making and 4ª down two are much more likely to occur, however…

Board 12. Dealer West. N/S Vul.
	ª J 8 6 3 © 7 4 2 ¨ A 10 8 § A 9 2
ª 10 5 4 © Q 6 5 ¨ J 5 § Q 8 6 4 3		ª 9 7 2 © K J 9 3 ¨ K 6 3 2 § J 10
	ª A K Q © A 10 8 ¨ Q 9 7 4 § K 7 5

One might expect the auction to be 1¨-1ª; 2NT-3NT at nearly all tables. West hits the jackpot with a heart lead, but on the more likely club lead how would you tackle the diamond suit? The double finesse works, as the onside honour drops doubleton, and so does the interesting play of a diamond to the Queen and a diamond back to the ace, which caters for jack doubleton on either side. With so many 600's on the scoresheets one wonders what has happened round the playing area.

The following board was a matter of counting declarer's points.

Board 13. Dealer North. All Vul.
	ª K J 4 3 © 10 5 ¨ K 2 § J 10 5 4 3
ª 10 6 © Q 9 4 3 ¨ Q 9 8 5 § A 9 2		ª 9 8 7 5 © A K J ¨ J 10 3 § 8 7 6
	ª A Q 2 © 8 7 6 2 ¨ A 7 6 4 § K Q

South would open a 15-17 NT most of the times, and West would lead a red suit. If he picks a heart, all will be well for the defence straight away, but after a diamond lead he will have to do some thinking. Declarer will win dummy's King and play two top clubs from hand, West ducking. Next comes a spade to the Jack and another club. At this point, West has seen 11 of South's points (ªQ, ¨A, §KQ). A heart switch therefore looks in order. South may or may not hold the ªA, but East will surely hold something interesting in hearts and West thus has to be quick, certainly if South holds the ªA as well.

Now imagine South, who is playing a 12-14 NT, opened 1NT. All of a sudden, this reasoning no longer applies, as South simply cannot hold the ªA as well (15 hcp. In that case). So a diamond looks safe, but was not at the table I was watching. The second overtrick was worth a lot of matchpoints.

Board 14. Dealer East. None Vul.
	ª Q 10 2 © K Q 7 4 ¨ J § K Q J 5 2
ª A K 6 © 5 2 ¨ Q 8 5 3 § 9 8 7 6		ª J 7 5 © J 8 3 ¨ A 9 7 6 2 § A 3
	ª 9 8 4 3 © A 10 9 6 ¨ K 10 4 § 10 4

Say North is in Three Hearts after EW pre-empted in diamonds. East leads the ¨A and West contributes the eight, a Lavinthal suggestion for spades. East then duly switches to the ª5 and West wins the Ace, which looks obvious as east cannot be misled. Now what should West return if North follows suit with the ª2? This depends on your play agreements (4th or 3rd/5th). To complicate matters, we repeat the question in case North plays the ª10 in the first round of the suit.

Board 15. Dealer South. N/S Vul.
	ª A J 8 5 © A K 9 4 ¨ Q 9 2 § 3 2
ª 6 3 © Q 10 8 5 2 ¨ A 10 8 5 § 10 5		ª K 10 9 2 © 6 ¨ K J 7 6 4 § K 9 6
	ª Q 7 4 © J 7 3 ¨ 3 § A Q J 8 7 4

The other side of the coin will be the theme of the very next board. Say West opens his weak major/minor twosuiter with a Polish style 2©. If North still ends up in 3NT, there might be a problem for the defence. East will duly find the diamond lead and West will win the ace and return the suit. But which card should West play? If he returns the classic 4th best (the ¨5) the suit is blocked. With the diamond length already given, West can afford to return the 10 or the 8, but not if the minor "suit" may well consist of three cards only, as we saw at one table…

Another nice case of which suit to return, and when, we saw just one board later. North, green v. red, would open 4© in second position to silence everyone.

Board 16. Dealer West. E/W Vul.
	ª 10 6 3 © K J 10 9 6 4 3 ¨ - § Q J 10
ª K Q 9 © 8 ¨ 10 7 6 4 3 2 § A 6 4		ª J 7 4 © A 7 5 ¨ A Q J 9 § 5 3 2
	ª A 8 5 2 © Q 2 ¨ K 8 5 § K 9 8 7

When East makes the very good lead of the ª4, ducked in dummy, what should North continue after winning the ªQ? At this point there is ambiguity in the air. The ªK is as good as anything, but it does not give East a clear count, even less so when North contributes the ten. Still, cashing the ªJ after winning the ©A at the second attempt should be in order, as the possible diamond loser will go on the clubs only if declarer holds at least AQx in the suit. Cashing the ¨A first might lead to disaster, as you can see afterwards…

It needs a very careful defence to beat 3NT on this one:

Board 21. Dealer North. N/S Vul.
	ª J 6 5 © Q ¨ A J 9 5 4 § A 9 7 2
ª Q 9 3 © 8 7 5 2 ¨ K Q 6 2 § K 5		ª 10 7 2 © A 10 9 ¨ 10 7 3 § Q 8 6 4
	ª A K 8 4 © K J 6 4 3 ¨ 8 § J 10 3

Though it is quite an ambitious proposition, 3NT was the popular contract. If South is declarer, West might find the lead of a low diamond. If he does so, the Jack should be inserted - an unlikely card. If East is allowed to score the ¨10 and switches to a spade, declarer is lost and has to play well to escape for one down.

If North is declarer, a spade from East is probably best. Declarer will run this to his Jack, so West wins the trick and can switch to the desired low diamond after all. If he does not, declarer may get the timing right to make the contract - which happened at many, many tables.

Do you want to be thrown in? Well, any bridge player would intuitively say "no, thank you," but sometimes you have to help nature a little.

Board 26. Dealer East. All Vul.
	ª A K © A 10 7 5 3 ¨ 10 3 2 § Q 10 8
ª Q J 10 9 8 7 5 © Q ¨ A § K 9 5 2		ª 6 2 © J 4 ¨ Q J 9 8 7 4 § J 7 6
	ª 4 3 © K 9 8 6 2 ¨ K 6 5 § A 4 3

A popular auction would be: 4ª by West, double by North, passed out. Two down.

A variation will occur when West elects to open 1ª. Now North can overcall 2©, South will raise to game and West will be forced to go to 4ª after all. Now, if NS double, we are back to par for the hand, but when they go to 5©, par will be beaten either way. Much depends on the lead and the desire to be thrown in.

If West is on lead, his troubles are over once he leads the ¨A.

Or are they? This is a matter of definition. If a routine unblock is too much for west, his troubles will return later on. All he has to do is to go up with the §K as soon as he gets the chance, and return the suit.

But if West switches to a club after the ¨A? Now declarer can win the Queen, eliminate the major suits and play §A and another. Of course, West has seen the danger and got rid of his §K under the Ace.

So far, so good. If East is on lead, the picture is different, except if she leads the ¨Q. This will be ducked in dummy and we are back in the variation above. On a spade lead, declarer will draw trumps, cash the other spade and lead a low club. Now, if West does not go up, cashes the ¨A (!) and returns a club, the contract will be made. Bridge is an endlessly nice game, isn't it?