Routine Hand Becomes Tortuous

Every year in February New York City has a very special event - the Betty Kaplan teams.  This unique event admits teams of exactly 4 players, and each member of the team has to play 1/3 of the event with every other team member as their partner.  Therefore, it is a much more social than most team games, and is a welcome change.  We entered the team of Gail Greenberg, Laurie Vogel, Jack Greenberg and myself.

This year we played 6 matches of 9 boards each.  The first two matches were 3-way matches.  IMPs were converted to victory points.  After the first two matches, the leading teams played each other in regular Swiss teams.

We had very strong results in our first 3-way match, and this was the first board in our second 3-way match:

 Before bidding 2NT, I considered passing.  But since partner could have up to 17 or even 18 points for the 2¨ rebid, and we were playing IMPs and the potential of a vulnerable game with my source of tricks in clubs is very realistic, I tried for game, and Gail happily accepted.  There is a potential communication nightmare on the hand, however.  I looked at the convention card of the opponents, and saw that the ª9 could be from ª98xxx, or similar holdings.  The spade opening lead is attacking my entries to my club suit.  If I play the ªJ at trick one from dummy, I can get 3 spade tricks.  But I will not have an entry to my long club suit, so I could imagine being able to win 3 spade tricks, 3 heart tricks, 1 diamond and 1 club.  That is not enough to make my contract.  However, if clubs break 3-2 and I play the ªA on the first trick from dummy, I can guarantee a minimum of 2 spades, 5 clubs, and 2 red aces.  So, I won the ªA in dummy and led the §6 to my §K, which was topped by the §A.  Now the ªQ was led by West.  I was feeling pretty good, and won the ªK (East discarded the ©4).  I then led the §Q, and was very unhappy when West discarded the ª4.

This was the situation, I had taken 2 spade tricks and the §Q.  The italicized underlined cards to-the-right have already been played.

I could cash the high spade and club, but then I would have 5 tricks and could win 2 more red aces.  This play has gone very badly - what would you do?  Think about it, as this is your problem this month.

Probably the best thing going for you, is that the opponent's also have a nightmare situation defending.  And, you have only lost one trick so far.  You take time to estimate East's likely distribution.  East began with 8 red cards.  East could have begun with 4 diamonds and 4 hearts.  You don't think East began with 5 hearts and 3 diamonds, as East didn't know that you were void in hearts, and would be unable to lead hearts to set up the heart suit.  East also could have begun with 6 hearts and 2 diamonds. 

This hand is easiest to figure out now by process of elimination.  If you cashed a the §J discarding the ¨5 from dummy and led a diamond to the ¨9, East upon winning it, could cash a club squeezing dummy.  You would have to throw a heart from dummy, and then the defense would lock you in dummy.  The defense could lead a heart to dummy, then win their ©K when you lead hearts, and throw dummy on lead again in hearts.  Eventually you would have to lead diamonds from dummy, giving the defense 2 diamond tricks, 1 heart trick, and 2 club tricks.

You could do very much the same thing if you cashed the ª10 and then led to the ¨9.  For that play to work, you would need the ¨Q10x or ¨K10x with West, the hearts to break 4-4 with the king in East's hand, and for West not to find the brilliant play of second hand high when you led the diamond.  If West played his high honor in diamonds, you would again get dummy-locked, losing 2 diamonds, 2 hearts, and a club.

Apparently if you cash a winner in your hand, you can't make the hand unless the cards are ridiculously lucky (West could have a singleton ©K or West could have a singleton ¨10 and East could have the ©K98 tripleton).

Can you make it if you don't cash a black winner and lead diamonds from your hand?  Supposing the ¨9 loses the the ¨Q or ¨K?  East would be on lead, and would have to lead either a heart or a diamond to dummy, or lead a club to your hand.

As that seems to be the most advantageous option, you play the ¨4 to the ¨9 and it loses to the ¨Q.  East chooses to lead the ©3 to West's ©8 and dummy's ©10.  Now good things are happening.  You cash dummy's ©A and lead the ©Q, East winning the ©K, and returning the ©6 to dummy's ©7.  You now have 4 heart tricks, and your first 3 black tricks.  Furthermore, all the hearts have now been played, as East had begun with 6 hearts and had discarded earlier on a spade lead.

All you need now is 2 diamond tricks or an entry to your hand to get some black winners to make the contract.  So far, you have lost 1 club trick, 1 diamond trick, and 1 heart trick.  What do you do now?

Back to the old joy of counting.  East began with 1 spade, 6 hearts, 2 diamonds and 4 clubs.  You now guarantee the contract by leading a small diamond from dummy.  If East wins it, he must play a club to your hand.  And if West wins it, West must lead a diamond and you finesse with the ¨J.  You make 9 tricks.  This was the entire hand:

  When teammates played the hand, West opened 2ª, and North overcalled 3©.  South bid 3NT and won the ªJ at trick one, and played the ªA, ©A and ©Q.  The defenders won the ©K, and also had problems leading anything.  West won the §A next, and declarer already had 3 heart tricks, 3 spade tricks, 2 club tricks and 1 diamond trick.  When the diamond suit behaved, declarer made an overtrick. 

Bridge is a strange game sometimes.  I took a very long time to play the hand and emerge making my contract, only to lose an IMP when the opponent's easily make an overtrick.  Sometimes you have to be very careful to minimize loses. 

There is good news in that our team won the event.  Congratulations to my teammates Jack Greenberg, Gail Greenberg, and Laurie Vogel.