Monday afternoon March 3, 2008

Lead: seven of spades (!)

Sometimes you just get lucky. Even with partner's 2H opener, North decides to develop her own worthless five-card spade suit and dutifully leads fourth from longest. South takes the ace and leads the king of hearts; but it's too late. A heart lead sinks the contract. West can see eleven tricks but has no prayer getting the twelfth trick in spades. Down one.

Monday afternoon March 3, 2008

Lead: ten of diamonds.

It's North that must have courage and "trust your partner". Anything but a diamond lead from West gives declarer all 13 tricks. The problem was; this slam wasn't bid by the four teams that played it. South's jump to 3C shows at least a 5-5 hand in hearts and clubs, ruling out NT and spades. With two honors in clubs North could even raise to 4C instead of 3NT. Playing cuebids South could bid 4H indicating a lack of a diamond stopper, followed by North bidding 4S showing the ace of spades. South could then re-check by asking 4NT. In any case, North needs to eat meat for breakfast instead of tofu.

Thursday evening March 6, 2008

Lead: nine of spades

On this hand I violated two cardinal rules in duplicate bridge; number one, Trust Your Partner. Number two, Go for the Field Score. Partner understood the jump in hearts to mean I had 15-18 HCP and a real heart suit. Having 4 hearts herself, she immediately raised, setting the trump suit. I showed control in diamonds by bidding 4D, she showed control in clubs with the 5C bid. Without the control she would have bid 4H and the contract would be up to me to place. I in turn threw a curve by bidding 5NT which I hoped she'd understand as Blackwood asking for kings. Being the good partner she is, knowing I enjoy playing NT especially with long suits and perhaps not a controlling amount of points, dropped me into 6NT. I in turn took the partnership out of a cold top board and attempted an Out-of-Field bid of 7H, down 1.

With a spade lead I had 13 tricks in NT, twelve if either clubs or diamonds was led. I didn't think about what the other players might be bidding on the hand. If I had, I would have realized that 6 hearts would be the "field" bid, that is what most other teams would be bidding. My good partner had placed us into the right contract; six hearts makes six for 1430 while 6NT making 7 is 1470. Even if it only made 6, we'd still have a top board by 10 points.

Monday afternoon March 10, 2008

Lead: queen of spades

If South is in five diamonds, he makes 7 because the club finesse doesn't hurt. However, playing for a slam is different. A losing finesse means the contract goes down one. South takes the ace of spades and draws trumps, careful to leave the king of diamonds on the board. The top two hearts are played, then the third ruffed in hand. South goes to the board with the king of diamonds and ruffs the fourth heart; then back to the board with the ace of clubs and sluffs the losing spade on the three of hearts; concedes a club for the slam.