Gatlinburg Saturday!
Morning KO - Final
Getting Snaked…
Here we go, taking on a team that has already beaten us once. The first half seems pretty good for us until the last board….but, for a couple of problems that cropped up, take a look at the 4th board out: You hold:
87652
72
void
AQ8762
You have plenty of methods in place over your RHOs 1NT opening to show anything you’d like. I elected, however, to just bid 3C - seems to get my hand off my chest. The opponent’s drove to 5D, which goes off 1 when we take the CA, CK, and the SA. Interestingly, we’re cold for four spades….would you have bid something to show spades and a minor? So we picked up 13 IMPs on that hand.
Next hand:
As dealer, you preempt 3D, all hot, holding:
8752
void
AQJ9752
52
So, you hear 3H from partner as the opponents are silent. What is your choice here? What’s that? You don’t like 3D with a four card major? Whatever - get over it. So you bid 3S. Partner bids 5D, and that ends proceedings. You catch:
4
K76532
1086
AQJ
Kind of a hungry action, if you ask me. But no one did - and if he happened to catch a heart fit, he has a beast of a hand.
Well, you’re missing a spade, and a club, and a diamond. This is not a bad spot, right? And so it proved, sort of. LHO opens with the SA, and switches to the HA. What is your plan? This is table feel, for certain. But considering the level of my LHO (not a chair), this is LOL defense - that’s “little old lady”, not “laugh out loud.” I smashed the DA into the table, the DK fell on my left, and I felt quite satisfied in winning 10 IMPs. The opps played 4D at the other table and made 5 - somehow - not sure what the line was…but of course in a part score, it is irrelevant,
A couple of hands later, we had a straight-forward-to-bid grand for a push. Overflowing with success to this point in the match (we’re ahead 28-1 at this point), we bid another slam from the west seat:
KQ962…………A103
AQJ72………….98
4………………...AK1076
A10……………..543
They lead a club. You win, cash 2 diamonds to pitch a club loser, and lose the heart hook. A club comes back, you ruff, cash HA, and ruff a heart….but do you ruff high or low, or what? Either way, it does not matter too much - South in this example has Jack four times in trumps…Is this a slam you’d like to bid? Luckily, the opponents did - so this was a push too.
There is a string of boring hands…4 of the next six boards are pushes, and they feel like pushes. Then, disaster…ack…
543
void
AQT52
A6542
The auction with you sitting south:
W…..N…….E…….S
P……1N….2C!....??
2C shows clubs and a higher suit (called ‘DON’T’)…what do you and your favorite partner do here? I decided that playing 3NT was in the realm of possibility, and so was partner cracking however many hearts they bid. It’s clear what the second suit is….so I passed for now. The auction continued…
W…..N…….E…….S
P……1N….2C!....P
2D!!...P…..2H…..3C
4H….X#...(all pass)
!! = relay to play in other suit
# = extraordinarily slow double.
I bid 3C. We have some agreement resembling when the opponents show two suits and we cuebid one, we have that stopper and deny the other. But I passed 2C - so something seems weird here. It really gave him a headache. If I just bid 3D the first time, the strain on his hand is lessened, a lot. Do you know what par is on this deal? It seems a challenge, but the best action for both sides is for them to declare 5H undoubled. Is that at all possible?
AJ762……….K108
J87652……..A1093
63…………….7
void………….Q10973
So we’re up 8 at the half after losing 18 IMPs on that last board….QP and ‘Sky had a tough auction, and apparently even tougher play, and went for 1100 in five spades cracked. I still have no idea how that number is remotely possible…but whatever…the good news is, we compressed our stupidity. That said, there is no way Snake and I will be playing 5D on these tickets - which is off 1. We have to lose 2 spades and a club…we’ll end up doubling them in the cold 5H - which is only 650, not the 690 we actually gave up.
IN the second half of this match, everything seems to be going our way - QP is playing well, I am playing well, and the opps are getting a shade unlucky. Hopefully Snake and Mars are holding up their end… We literally have no minus positions until the last board comes up - interesting, this is the same as the first half situation….
K4
72
82
K987652
partner opens 1D as the dealer. Pass to you. Equal white, you bid 1NT. Pard raises to three, and you catch this dummy…
AQ103
Q3
AQJ1042
Q
We have a little gadget in place in which a 3 level reverse over 1NT shows shortness in the bid suit and a raise to 3NT. That way, if partner has an issue in that suit, we will avoid playing 3NT when the opponents have the majority of cards in one suit. Should you haul that out here with Qx of hearts? I think the answer is definitely NO, but it would have worked wonders had you chosen that option. So, the opening lead is the HJ. Over to you.
It is clear that your LHO did not underlead AKJ10(xx) or hearts or whatever. Playing the queen doesn’t rate to be right. Both declarers did that, however. At my table, my RHO won the ace and shot back a heart to the 8 on my left. At this point, LHO tabled the H4, and RHO showed out. Uh oh. So they have 7 hearts and the club ace. They make 2NT…in a peculiar twist, they are cold for 2NT, no matter which side is declaring because the DK is offside for us.
Result on that board? Win 2. The opponents took a hook in diamonds to try to hold the damage to down 3, and went down 5…same auction, same essential result. SO, my prediction is a beating, and it was - 33-2. Finally, a victory! Sky is happy, and so is the rest of the squad…and importantly, that is 35 points in the bank….to which ‘Sky informs me it is not the points that are important, but rather it is the W…
So, onward to the Sat-Sun KO.
Sat-Sun KO - Afternoon session
We end up in a three way in the afternoon today. I come in for the second half, and we’re ahead of one team by 32, and the other by 4. So, so far, so good. In the first six board set, against what appears to be the stronger of the 2 teams, we have a tough card. You have to play 3NT on the following hand:
J3
J762
Q9863
K4
AKQ2
853
A5
AJ72
South opened 1C. North bid 1D. This is a bit of a weird call for us (but not the weirdest of the auction) as I was under the apparently mistaken impression that we were playing a Walsh-style 2/1 which bypasses diamonds to bid a four card major if the hand is worth essentially one bid (and this barely 7 count isn’t worth much more). Anyway, I rebid 2NT. North now bid 3H. WTF is that? I have no clue. SO I bid 3NT. Perhaps he is 6-5 in the reds, and I should raise to 4H…but just in case he’s doing something weird, I will bid 3NT as my black suits suggest that they can’t run them at me. The opening lead is the HK, and at the second trick, they switch to a medium spade. Over to you..
Then, a balancing decision. Your LHO opens 1S playing precision (note: since the opener’s hand is limited by the inability to open 1C, RHO is able to take some liberties that standard bidders may not be able to take…). After two passes, you have to make a decision holding these cards, equal white:
872
10762
A108
AQ10
Are you doing anything? I didn’t….and gave up a quiet 110 for a push. Some folks might appreciate a 1NT balancing bid (stoppers are for p*ssies)…some might think a T/O double is more appealing….I thought pass was the right call. BB agrees, which means it is right in my book….
There was this hand:
Q1087
void
KQ42
AQJ42
So I open 1C which could be short in third chair. We’re white, they’re red, and LHO bids 4H. Pard passes, and RHO lifts to 5H. What the hell is going on? Certainly if partner had a penalty double of 4H and was waiting for me to reopen (we play negative doubles through the roof), he will know what to do over 5H. It goes all pass. We give up a delightful 650 when our 2 aces cash and that is all we get. At the other table, the auction was the same, except your partner made a negative double of 4H. Now this hand drove to slam in spades. That was down 1 and our teammates collected 50. Lose 12. Oops. So we lose this set by a total of 29-5 as I find out they made the 3NT hand above in which I went down 1. Have you thought about your line of play yet? Let me know and I’ll be happy to tell you if you made it.
It felt like we lost this set, so we better protect the 32 IMP lead in the other set. And off we go. Third board out of the gate and there is no action so far…but, I pick up:
542
4
K872
AQJ95
As south, I am the dealer at none vul, and pass (objections?)….
W…..N…..E…..S
--…..--…..--…..P
P…..1H….P….1NT
2S…3C….P…??
Now what? At this point in our partnership, QP is more than aware that I do not take jokes in the bidding very well. I have a great hand. How great? If 920 is there, we’ll miss it, but we’re not missing 420. I bid 5C. My righty smacks this. Again, going back to the ‘taking a joke’ thing…there is NO WAY he is going down in this contract, right? WRONG! But I shipped it back anyway because -100 and -200 are probably the same result
W…..N…..E…..S
--…..--…..--…..P
P…..1H….P….1NT
2S…3C….P…5C
P…..P…..X…..XX
(all pass)
The opening lead is, somewhat surprisingly, a trump. I was sure a spade was hitting the table…RHO must have spades, too. Ready for partner’s eccentric 3C bid?
A2
KJ10653
J
K876
When QP and I played together in San Francisco, my opponent doubled him in 5D after I had opened 1NT, rejected his game and slam try. I was not, however, even the slightest bit worried that game was going down. I sent it back and we collected +1000 for making. In Toronto, I had a strong NT type hand when my RHO opened 1D…I don’t quite remember the flaw in my hand, and thus my reason for not overcalling 1NT, but when LHO bid 1H, partner bid 2S. Now, again, I cant take jokes well, and with three trumps and fairly prime cards, I shot out a game in spades. This was viciously doubled and I sent it back. -1600 later, I was making mental notes of the electro-shock therapy I had just received.
So coming into this tournament, we were net -600 for our redoubled contracts. You’ll see that on a spade lead, partner has no chance…BUT…on a trump lead, there’s the hope that the two red aces are on your left, and they are…you can do it! +800 and win 12 IMPs. More importantly, two things…
a) I still like to friggin redouble so have your bid…
b) we’re now net +200 for our redoubled game contracts.
I am not sure when QP will get to the point in his bidding when he realizes that huge swings are possible when we bid this way…This was a 19 IMP swing on the opening lead - we won 12 instead of losing 7. Life goes on.
Now, you get to play 3NT as south when the opponents were silent and partner bid spades twice…
AK9732
4
Q4
AJ72
5
AK32
A8762
K43
North showed 6-4 in the blacks during the auction. So, the lead is the 8 of hearts, and RHO plays the 9 on this. What are your general thoughts? See if you can make 3NT double dummy…
………………..AK9732
………………..4
………………..Q4
………………..AJ72
QJ1086………………..………………5
86………………..…………………….QJ10975
K1053………………..………………..J7
54………………..…………………….Q986
………………..4
………………..AK32
………………..A9862
………………..K63
So you win this set by the total of 19-8. Winning by 43 IMPs. Now, if you blow the 19 IMPs back on the redouble, we win by 24…JUST ENOUGH to hold on to a victory… We are moving right along to the dinner hell playoff for 3rd place…here’s hoping it goes fast, as well as in our favor.
Dinner Hell KO - playoff for 3rd.
This was very cool. Our opponents, Janine Bibb, Peter Petruzellis, Joe Sauro and his partner agreed to play a four board match - winner take all. There was essentially nothing to the match, except for a hand with 33 combined HCP and nine diamonds…our teammates bid the odds-on six diamonds. Our opponents bid 3NT. Trumps went 4-0….this was a 90% slam…but we lost 11 IMPs, and there goes the match…c’est la vie! Fourth place!
Mars did have a difficult decision on one of the hands when his RHO opened 1D, and he held: Q4…AQ95….AQJ1054….A
He chose double. This is not close for me - it is a pass. With both VUL, hopefully you will be able to pound out something and rock them….Mercifully, I didn’t bid any black suits. His LHO jumped to 2S weak…pass pass back to him. Mars bid 3S…two wrongs making a right? I bid 4H and it went all pass. They defended quite well. They are entitled to 2 spades, a diamond ruff, and the King of trumps. I cannot take the trump finesse because I have no entry to do so. C’est la vie, no?
J105
J10762
32
J32
Great hand, huh? At least we survived the auction. The other table played 4D-X and went down for 300…so at least we picked up IMPs on the board…but not enough to recover from the non-making diamond slam.
On to dinner.
Sat-Sun KO, Evening sesion
I sit first half, ‘Sky sits second half. Off we go…First board out, I am feelin’ it. Invincibility is mine - or at least I hope it is because I was pretty hungry the first board out of the box:
QJT87
J4
103
A872
QP opened 1H as the dealer at favorable vulnerability. RHO overcalled 1NT. I pounded it. Not everyone’s choice, but I have 4-5 tricks on a spade lead - and if they can run their 7 before we get our 7, it’s only 180….
LHO redoubles for rescue, so we’re okay so far. They arrive in 2D doubled, and QP leads the Jack of trumps which holds, dummy having two small. He now plays the DQ which holds. I guess it’s easy enough to figure out the diamond position. So he switches to a spade, and we collect our 7 tricks for +500. We have 8 tricks against 1NT, so the same result….+500 and win 3 only IMPs. Teammates? They found their way to 3NT, undoubled! Down 4. I bet they didn’t expect to have coverage on this board.
The next hand is a tough one to bid. Assign the blame, if you would, to east and west in missing the following game, much less the slam…
A42………………….K753
Q653………………..void
4………………..……K87
K9872………………AJ10543
North opens 1D. East overcalls 2C. South passes. West bids 2D. North passes. East bids 2S. West bids 3C after another pass by South…and that ends the auction.
There was a hand where we were the benefactor of a misplay by the declarer - pulled the wrong card - and he actually did - it wasn’t some story he gave his partner…if he DID do it deliberately, it was quite possible the singular worst play in bridge history, so it was reasonable to conclude that he actually pulled the wrong card. There was a hand were we didn’t bid a slam, which, if partner has 2 or fewer clubs is on a hook…If pard has 3 or more clubs, it requires honor doubleton onside…so it was not a good slam…it also requires the 3 missing trumps, all small, not to lie in the same hand. We lost 13 imps on that. Life goes on…
Despite being up a few at halftime……nah, just kidding, we win this match…the second half was 39-29 in our favor. 19 of their 29 came from us not bidding the above game (the ‘assign the blame’ game) and not bidding the poor slam. On to the semi-finals…and we’re in another money round. This puts ‘Sky over 50 points…
Getting Snaked…
Here we go, taking on a team that has already beaten us once. The first half seems pretty good for us until the last board….but, for a couple of problems that cropped up, take a look at the 4th board out: You hold:
87652
72
void
AQ8762
You have plenty of methods in place over your RHOs 1NT opening to show anything you’d like. I elected, however, to just bid 3C - seems to get my hand off my chest. The opponent’s drove to 5D, which goes off 1 when we take the CA, CK, and the SA. Interestingly, we’re cold for four spades….would you have bid something to show spades and a minor? So we picked up 13 IMPs on that hand.
Next hand:
As dealer, you preempt 3D, all hot, holding:
8752
void
AQJ9752
52
So, you hear 3H from partner as the opponents are silent. What is your choice here? What’s that? You don’t like 3D with a four card major? Whatever - get over it. So you bid 3S. Partner bids 5D, and that ends proceedings. You catch:
4
K76532
1086
AQJ
Kind of a hungry action, if you ask me. But no one did - and if he happened to catch a heart fit, he has a beast of a hand.
Well, you’re missing a spade, and a club, and a diamond. This is not a bad spot, right? And so it proved, sort of. LHO opens with the SA, and switches to the HA. What is your plan? This is table feel, for certain. But considering the level of my LHO (not a chair), this is LOL defense - that’s “little old lady”, not “laugh out loud.” I smashed the DA into the table, the DK fell on my left, and I felt quite satisfied in winning 10 IMPs. The opps played 4D at the other table and made 5 - somehow - not sure what the line was…but of course in a part score, it is irrelevant,
A couple of hands later, we had a straight-forward-to-bid grand for a push. Overflowing with success to this point in the match (we’re ahead 28-1 at this point), we bid another slam from the west seat:
KQ962…………A103
AQJ72………….98
4………………...AK1076
A10……………..543
They lead a club. You win, cash 2 diamonds to pitch a club loser, and lose the heart hook. A club comes back, you ruff, cash HA, and ruff a heart….but do you ruff high or low, or what? Either way, it does not matter too much - South in this example has Jack four times in trumps…Is this a slam you’d like to bid? Luckily, the opponents did - so this was a push too.
There is a string of boring hands…4 of the next six boards are pushes, and they feel like pushes. Then, disaster…ack…
543
void
AQT52
A6542
The auction with you sitting south:
W…..N…….E…….S
P……1N….2C!....??
2C shows clubs and a higher suit (called ‘DON’T’)…what do you and your favorite partner do here? I decided that playing 3NT was in the realm of possibility, and so was partner cracking however many hearts they bid. It’s clear what the second suit is….so I passed for now. The auction continued…
W…..N…….E…….S
P……1N….2C!....P
2D!!...P…..2H…..3C
4H….X#...(all pass)
!! = relay to play in other suit
# = extraordinarily slow double.
I bid 3C. We have some agreement resembling when the opponents show two suits and we cuebid one, we have that stopper and deny the other. But I passed 2C - so something seems weird here. It really gave him a headache. If I just bid 3D the first time, the strain on his hand is lessened, a lot. Do you know what par is on this deal? It seems a challenge, but the best action for both sides is for them to declare 5H undoubled. Is that at all possible?
AJ762……….K108
J87652……..A1093
63…………….7
void………….Q10973
So we’re up 8 at the half after losing 18 IMPs on that last board….QP and ‘Sky had a tough auction, and apparently even tougher play, and went for 1100 in five spades cracked. I still have no idea how that number is remotely possible…but whatever…the good news is, we compressed our stupidity. That said, there is no way Snake and I will be playing 5D on these tickets - which is off 1. We have to lose 2 spades and a club…we’ll end up doubling them in the cold 5H - which is only 650, not the 690 we actually gave up.
IN the second half of this match, everything seems to be going our way - QP is playing well, I am playing well, and the opps are getting a shade unlucky. Hopefully Snake and Mars are holding up their end… We literally have no minus positions until the last board comes up - interesting, this is the same as the first half situation….
K4
72
82
K987652
partner opens 1D as the dealer. Pass to you. Equal white, you bid 1NT. Pard raises to three, and you catch this dummy…
AQ103
Q3
AQJ1042
Q
We have a little gadget in place in which a 3 level reverse over 1NT shows shortness in the bid suit and a raise to 3NT. That way, if partner has an issue in that suit, we will avoid playing 3NT when the opponents have the majority of cards in one suit. Should you haul that out here with Qx of hearts? I think the answer is definitely NO, but it would have worked wonders had you chosen that option. So, the opening lead is the HJ. Over to you.
It is clear that your LHO did not underlead AKJ10(xx) or hearts or whatever. Playing the queen doesn’t rate to be right. Both declarers did that, however. At my table, my RHO won the ace and shot back a heart to the 8 on my left. At this point, LHO tabled the H4, and RHO showed out. Uh oh. So they have 7 hearts and the club ace. They make 2NT…in a peculiar twist, they are cold for 2NT, no matter which side is declaring because the DK is offside for us.
Result on that board? Win 2. The opponents took a hook in diamonds to try to hold the damage to down 3, and went down 5…same auction, same essential result. SO, my prediction is a beating, and it was - 33-2. Finally, a victory! Sky is happy, and so is the rest of the squad…and importantly, that is 35 points in the bank….to which ‘Sky informs me it is not the points that are important, but rather it is the W…
So, onward to the Sat-Sun KO.
Sat-Sun KO - Afternoon session
We end up in a three way in the afternoon today. I come in for the second half, and we’re ahead of one team by 32, and the other by 4. So, so far, so good. In the first six board set, against what appears to be the stronger of the 2 teams, we have a tough card. You have to play 3NT on the following hand:
J3
J762
Q9863
K4
AKQ2
853
A5
AJ72
South opened 1C. North bid 1D. This is a bit of a weird call for us (but not the weirdest of the auction) as I was under the apparently mistaken impression that we were playing a Walsh-style 2/1 which bypasses diamonds to bid a four card major if the hand is worth essentially one bid (and this barely 7 count isn’t worth much more). Anyway, I rebid 2NT. North now bid 3H. WTF is that? I have no clue. SO I bid 3NT. Perhaps he is 6-5 in the reds, and I should raise to 4H…but just in case he’s doing something weird, I will bid 3NT as my black suits suggest that they can’t run them at me. The opening lead is the HK, and at the second trick, they switch to a medium spade. Over to you..
Then, a balancing decision. Your LHO opens 1S playing precision (note: since the opener’s hand is limited by the inability to open 1C, RHO is able to take some liberties that standard bidders may not be able to take…). After two passes, you have to make a decision holding these cards, equal white:
872
10762
A108
AQ10
Are you doing anything? I didn’t….and gave up a quiet 110 for a push. Some folks might appreciate a 1NT balancing bid (stoppers are for p*ssies)…some might think a T/O double is more appealing….I thought pass was the right call. BB agrees, which means it is right in my book….
There was this hand:
Q1087
void
KQ42
AQJ42
So I open 1C which could be short in third chair. We’re white, they’re red, and LHO bids 4H. Pard passes, and RHO lifts to 5H. What the hell is going on? Certainly if partner had a penalty double of 4H and was waiting for me to reopen (we play negative doubles through the roof), he will know what to do over 5H. It goes all pass. We give up a delightful 650 when our 2 aces cash and that is all we get. At the other table, the auction was the same, except your partner made a negative double of 4H. Now this hand drove to slam in spades. That was down 1 and our teammates collected 50. Lose 12. Oops. So we lose this set by a total of 29-5 as I find out they made the 3NT hand above in which I went down 1. Have you thought about your line of play yet? Let me know and I’ll be happy to tell you if you made it.
It felt like we lost this set, so we better protect the 32 IMP lead in the other set. And off we go. Third board out of the gate and there is no action so far…but, I pick up:
542
4
K872
AQJ95
As south, I am the dealer at none vul, and pass (objections?)….
W…..N…..E…..S
--…..--…..--…..P
P…..1H….P….1NT
2S…3C….P…??
Now what? At this point in our partnership, QP is more than aware that I do not take jokes in the bidding very well. I have a great hand. How great? If 920 is there, we’ll miss it, but we’re not missing 420. I bid 5C. My righty smacks this. Again, going back to the ‘taking a joke’ thing…there is NO WAY he is going down in this contract, right? WRONG! But I shipped it back anyway because -100 and -200 are probably the same result
W…..N…..E…..S
--…..--…..--…..P
P…..1H….P….1NT
2S…3C….P…5C
P…..P…..X…..XX
(all pass)
The opening lead is, somewhat surprisingly, a trump. I was sure a spade was hitting the table…RHO must have spades, too. Ready for partner’s eccentric 3C bid?
A2
KJ10653
J
K876
When QP and I played together in San Francisco, my opponent doubled him in 5D after I had opened 1NT, rejected his game and slam try. I was not, however, even the slightest bit worried that game was going down. I sent it back and we collected +1000 for making. In Toronto, I had a strong NT type hand when my RHO opened 1D…I don’t quite remember the flaw in my hand, and thus my reason for not overcalling 1NT, but when LHO bid 1H, partner bid 2S. Now, again, I cant take jokes well, and with three trumps and fairly prime cards, I shot out a game in spades. This was viciously doubled and I sent it back. -1600 later, I was making mental notes of the electro-shock therapy I had just received.
So coming into this tournament, we were net -600 for our redoubled contracts. You’ll see that on a spade lead, partner has no chance…BUT…on a trump lead, there’s the hope that the two red aces are on your left, and they are…you can do it! +800 and win 12 IMPs. More importantly, two things…
a) I still like to friggin redouble so have your bid…
b) we’re now net +200 for our redoubled game contracts.
I am not sure when QP will get to the point in his bidding when he realizes that huge swings are possible when we bid this way…This was a 19 IMP swing on the opening lead - we won 12 instead of losing 7. Life goes on.
Now, you get to play 3NT as south when the opponents were silent and partner bid spades twice…
AK9732
4
Q4
AJ72
5
AK32
A8762
K43
North showed 6-4 in the blacks during the auction. So, the lead is the 8 of hearts, and RHO plays the 9 on this. What are your general thoughts? See if you can make 3NT double dummy…
………………..AK9732
………………..4
………………..Q4
………………..AJ72
QJ1086………………..………………5
86………………..…………………….QJ10975
K1053………………..………………..J7
54………………..…………………….Q986
………………..4
………………..AK32
………………..A9862
………………..K63
So you win this set by the total of 19-8. Winning by 43 IMPs. Now, if you blow the 19 IMPs back on the redouble, we win by 24…JUST ENOUGH to hold on to a victory… We are moving right along to the dinner hell playoff for 3rd place…here’s hoping it goes fast, as well as in our favor.
Dinner Hell KO - playoff for 3rd.
This was very cool. Our opponents, Janine Bibb, Peter Petruzellis, Joe Sauro and his partner agreed to play a four board match - winner take all. There was essentially nothing to the match, except for a hand with 33 combined HCP and nine diamonds…our teammates bid the odds-on six diamonds. Our opponents bid 3NT. Trumps went 4-0….this was a 90% slam…but we lost 11 IMPs, and there goes the match…c’est la vie! Fourth place!
Mars did have a difficult decision on one of the hands when his RHO opened 1D, and he held: Q4…AQ95….AQJ1054….A
He chose double. This is not close for me - it is a pass. With both VUL, hopefully you will be able to pound out something and rock them….Mercifully, I didn’t bid any black suits. His LHO jumped to 2S weak…pass pass back to him. Mars bid 3S…two wrongs making a right? I bid 4H and it went all pass. They defended quite well. They are entitled to 2 spades, a diamond ruff, and the King of trumps. I cannot take the trump finesse because I have no entry to do so. C’est la vie, no?
J105
J10762
32
J32
Great hand, huh? At least we survived the auction. The other table played 4D-X and went down for 300…so at least we picked up IMPs on the board…but not enough to recover from the non-making diamond slam.
On to dinner.
Sat-Sun KO, Evening sesion
I sit first half, ‘Sky sits second half. Off we go…First board out, I am feelin’ it. Invincibility is mine - or at least I hope it is because I was pretty hungry the first board out of the box:
QJT87
J4
103
A872
QP opened 1H as the dealer at favorable vulnerability. RHO overcalled 1NT. I pounded it. Not everyone’s choice, but I have 4-5 tricks on a spade lead - and if they can run their 7 before we get our 7, it’s only 180….
LHO redoubles for rescue, so we’re okay so far. They arrive in 2D doubled, and QP leads the Jack of trumps which holds, dummy having two small. He now plays the DQ which holds. I guess it’s easy enough to figure out the diamond position. So he switches to a spade, and we collect our 7 tricks for +500. We have 8 tricks against 1NT, so the same result….+500 and win 3 only IMPs. Teammates? They found their way to 3NT, undoubled! Down 4. I bet they didn’t expect to have coverage on this board.
The next hand is a tough one to bid. Assign the blame, if you would, to east and west in missing the following game, much less the slam…
A42………………….K753
Q653………………..void
4………………..……K87
K9872………………AJ10543
North opens 1D. East overcalls 2C. South passes. West bids 2D. North passes. East bids 2S. West bids 3C after another pass by South…and that ends the auction.
There was a hand where we were the benefactor of a misplay by the declarer - pulled the wrong card - and he actually did - it wasn’t some story he gave his partner…if he DID do it deliberately, it was quite possible the singular worst play in bridge history, so it was reasonable to conclude that he actually pulled the wrong card. There was a hand were we didn’t bid a slam, which, if partner has 2 or fewer clubs is on a hook…If pard has 3 or more clubs, it requires honor doubleton onside…so it was not a good slam…it also requires the 3 missing trumps, all small, not to lie in the same hand. We lost 13 imps on that. Life goes on…
Despite being up a few at halftime……nah, just kidding, we win this match…the second half was 39-29 in our favor. 19 of their 29 came from us not bidding the above game (the ‘assign the blame’ game) and not bidding the poor slam. On to the semi-finals…and we’re in another money round. This puts ‘Sky over 50 points…