Chicago at Home

This week Anna and I hosted two other members of our Glasgow League team for an evening of bridge. Anna and I played only one match for the team this year (and played it poorly) but have kept in touch as we secured our place in the second division.

We played Chicago scoring. On most of the hands the contracts were low and the number of tricks taken by declarer was even lower, but there were a few high points. In fact, there were more slams bid than games.

Early on we had a misunderstanding which didn't get resolved to the six level, when Anna finally converted my 6♣ bid to 6♦ and I realised she actually had Diamond support. I'd mistaken her earlier jump-raise as a splinter, but as she pointed out after the hand "you don't splinter in partner's suit". Heather and David agreed. As it happened my dodgy slam still made, on a finesse, for a lucky gain for the home team.

Since our guests weren't drinking tea Anna and I had extra to compensate, and we were both enjoying our third mugs when we blundered into another slam:

No Vul E deal ♠ K Q x ♥ Q T x x ♦ J T x x ♣ A x ♠ x x x x ♥ J x x ♦ J x x ♣ K x x 12 9 5 17 ♠ A x x x ♥ x x x ♦ K Q x x x ♣ x ♠ x x ♥ A K J ♦ A ♣ K Q T x x x x

David Danny Heather Anna W N E S - 1♣ - 1♦ - 3♣ - 3NT - 4♥ - 6♥ - - -

Anna opened the strong South hand 1♣, natural, and I replied 1♦ (with a weak hand I would have replied 1♥). Anna now jumped to 3♣, which is technically not forcing but I'm unlikely to pass. I bid a heavy 3NT, and was glad when Anna reached for another bid. I was expecting 4♣ or 4NT, and was surprised to see 4♥. Seeing as I had underbid so far, and never shown my Hearts, I seized on this second opportunity and immediately plonked down 6♥.

Then Anna explained to the opponents that her 4♥ bid wasn't natural, it was a control showing bid, presumably agreeing Clubs with herself. Her 4♥ bid could have been just a singleton or void, but as it happened she had a very strong control in Hearts.

West cashed the ♠A then switched to a Diamond which Anna won. I then watched with increasing relief as she played the ♥A, ♥K and then the ♥J. Just for good measure the Hearts also split, so she could claim after one round of Clubs.

This was another lucky escape. 6♣ also makes, as does 6NT.

On the final hand I had one more bash at the six level, our third auction to slam without using Blackwood at all. Controls weren't the problem here, just tricks. I've rotated the deal so declarer (me) is South

All Vul S deal ♠ A T x ♥ A T x ♦ K Q 9 8 7 ♣ T x ♠ x x x x x ♥ K x x x ♦ T x x ♣ x 13 3 11 13 ♠ K J ♥ Q x ♦ A J x x x ♣ 8 x x x ♠ Q x x ♥ J 8 x x ♦ - ♣ A K Q J 9 x

Heather Anna David Danny W N E S 1♣ - 1♦ -; 1♥ - 3NT - 6♣ - - -

I opened the South hand 1♣, without having decided yet what to rebid. Anna responded 1♦ and I considered 3♣ (not enough points) or a bold 3NT (not enough tricks). I stalled with 1♥, then when Anna bid 3NT overcompensated by leaping to 6♣. Anna is at the lower end of her range for this bid (13-18), and has lots of wasted points in Diamond opposite my void (I could have seen that coming) but the slam still has some play.

West lead a small Spade, and I played low. If this ran round to my Queen I'd have a decent chance of setting up Diamonds for one loser. Unfortunately East won his ♠K, and so I needed the rest.

I have two Spade tricks, six Clubs and one Heart, meaning I need three tricks from the Diamond suit. My plan was to lead a low one from dummy, and if East had the ♦A (but not the ♦J) he might be tempted to play it to try and take the setting trick. That didn't work as East just played the ♦J, which I ruffed. I was fixated on trying to drop the ♦A so crossed to dummy again and ruffed another Diamond; no luck. In fact once the ♦J is gone a better line (which works here) is to try and drop the ♦T in three rounds, by leading a high Diamond on the second round. This also requires the ♦A onside, which it is, so would have been glorious.

Overall Anna and I had the run of the cards, and bid to some interesting contracts. Surprisingly, given that it's her who hasn't played much for six months it was me who bodged in the bidding a couple of times, but I made up for that with some excellent defence and home made chocolate biscuits.

Blyth Valley Bridge Club

During our week's holiday in Southwold we managed not just one but two trips to a local Bridge Club, a triumph with a small baby to look after. Our second trip was to Walberswick, where a good turnout of nine tables met in the Town Hall. This time we were extremely prompt, and had plenty of time at the start for some chat, mostly grumbling about the Parish Council and commenting on what a glorious sunny day it was.

Today was a return to traditional duplicate, meaning Anna and I would be playing together. Our system was mostly the same as the local standard, except for they played Strong Twos whereas we play Weak Twos, and weak jump overcalls.

Early on I made a bodge, when defending a 1NT contract and Anna lead the ♠J and I had the ♠KQ2. I fumbled around a little while then decided to overtake, which ended up costing an overtrick, which could be costly at Matchpoints. Then we had a bidding misunderstanding, staying out of game with 27 points. I said to Anna "Why didn't you raise if you were maximum?" and she said "Yes I know stop going on about it" but after that things picked up and we got a series of good results.

Here's one where we could have done better, but I'm not quite sure how we could have bid it differently:

All Vul W deal ♠ J x ♥ x x ♦ K T x x ♣ A Q T 9 x ♠ x x x x ♥ Q x x ♦ J x x ♣ J x x x 10 4 11 15 ♠ x x ♥ A K J x x x ♦ x x ♣ K x x ♠ A K Q x x ♥ x x ♦ A Q x x ♣ x x

W N E S 1♠ - 2♣ 2♥ 3♦ - 4♦ - 5♦ - - -

I opened the South hand 1♠ and Anna replied 2♣, then East weighed in with 2♥. This didn't bother me too much as after partner's 2/1 I was planning to make a game forcing bid anyway. Anna raised my 3♦ to 4♦, which is probably forcing though we hadn't agreed it, so I raised to game anyway.

When dummy came down I was glad we had avoided 3NT, but saw straight away that 5♦ would likely depend on the Club finesse, which would likely fail, as indeed happened. In fact by the time it came to take the Club finesse I was so convinced it would lose (as East must have points for the overcall) I actually played the ♣A, which didn't work either. 4♠ is the place to be, but not sure how you get there.

At the break I volunteered to get the tea, and had a Gold Bar. Anna had a Mint Club.

After the break there was a brief hiatus when we all realised that with nine tables there was no need for the East-Wests to skip, so we moved back one table. Anna and I had shaken off the cobwebs now and were scoring well. In defence I drew declarer's trumps to beat 1♠ by three tricks, vulnerable. Buoyed by this I made a terrible 4♥ overcall at favourable vulnerablitiy with ♠x ♥ KJ98xxx ♦ Kx ♣xxx and hit partner with a weak hand with no Hearts at all. Four off undoubled wasn't too bad, but Anna quietly advised that next time 3♥ would be enough.

Although it covers no one in glory this was probably the most interesting deal

EW Vul N deal ♠ x x ♥ A K Q x ♦ A Q J ♣ A J x x ♠ x x ♥ x x ♦ T x x x ♣ T x x x x 23 0 12 3 ♠ A K Q J T x ♥ J x x x ♦ x ♣ Q J ♠ x x x ♥ T x x ♦ K x x x x ♣ x x

W N E S 2♣ 2♠ - - x - 3♦ - - 3♠ - - 4♦ - -

Anna opened the big North hand 2♣. East overcalled 2♠ which I think is a good idea, as it's always good to interfere with the opponent's strong auctions. Anna and I hadn't discussed interference to 2♣ so I just passed with my weak hand. For the record, we have now agreed that responder's bids are 'natural' including a double for penalties, so my bid was correct by that logic too. Anna doubled as takeout, and I showed my Diamonds. She then astonished everyone by passing, having made a game forcing opening. But looking at the North hand she knows that no game is likely, so it's a reasonable bid. East then pondered for a bit before bidding 3♠, which is madness vulnerable when the opponents are happy to play in a part score. I should have doubled this as South to make life easy for partner - I have a relatively good hand in defence with three trumps and a King - but felt sure she'd double anyway so passed. To my surprise, she bid 4♦, passed out.

The defence begain with two Spades and after another Spade I had to ruff high in dummy, so ended up losing a trump trick too. Those were my only losers though so 4♦ made. Considering that North-South don't have any obvious game that might have been an OK result, but not nearly as good as beating 3♠x by at least two tricks (three on a trump lead).

My final featured hand showcases some surprisingly accurate bidding.

NS Vul W deal ♠ K Q J ♥ A K J x x x x ♦ x x ♣ J ♠ x x ♥ x ♦ A K Q 9 8 x x ♣ K x x 15 12 8 5 ♠ A T x x x ♥ Q x x x ♦ x ♣ Q x x ♠ x x x ♥ T ♦ J T x ♣ A T x x x x

W N E S 1♦ 1♥ 1♠ - 3♦ 3♥ - - 4♦ - -

The Australian gentleman sitting West opened 1♦ and Anna with the big North hand overcalled 1♥. East bid 1♠ and I passed. West now decided to rebid 3♦, which I think makes sense. Anna pondered for a bit then bid 3♥. I was still not going to raise her and 3♥ was about to be passed out, until West came back with 4♦. When this came round to me I thought about doubling, as I know Anna has a really strong hand (she now looks at the vulnerability on nearly every board) and I have a singleton in her suit (good for defence) and an Ace, but on the other hand West is advertising a lot of Diamonds.

Against 4♦ Anna lead a top Heart, then paused. Declarer has eight top tricks, plus a certain ninth in Clubs, so any false move could give the tenth trick and give away the contract. On another layout a low Heart for me to ruff might promote a trump trick, but here Anna went for her singleton ♣J. Declarer played low from dummy and I thought about overtaking this to give a ruff, but decided it wasn't necessary (and could backfire if partner had a doubleton Club) so played low, and eventually came to two Club tricks anyway. With careful defence we beat the contract by one.

If East-West somehow get to 3NT it needs very careful defence to beat it. Again there are eight top tricks and if the defence are too aggressive they could set up a Heart for dummy, or if they are too passive declarer can get a ninth trick in Clubs. The only winning defence is for North to start with Spades, so the defence get two Spades, two Hearts and a Club.

After 21 boards there was a vote as to whether we should play one more round. Everyone voted yes, except Anna I who had a babysitter waiting (Nana and Grandpa), so we played three more boards. On the first our opponent went down not drawing trumps in a cold contract; unlucky that the side-suits had split 6-1 and 5-1, allowing Anna and I to take a flurry of ruffs for 4♥-2, where drawing trumps lets him make 4♥+2, as his wife pointed out to him.

As the club has no website we may never get the result, but it was a very enjoyable afternoon in some fine company.

Southwold Bridge Club

Last week Anna and I were on holiday for a week in Suffolk. We'd previously visited the Sole Bay Bridge Club in Southwold, but that meets in the evenings so isn't possible any more; with a baby we need more careful planning. So while the grandparents looked after the little one we went to the afternoon game at Southwold Bridge Club. We were a bit apprehensive as it was to be Rubber Bridge which we'd never played before, but when we turned up it was in fact a Bridge Drive with random deals and Chicago scoring (which we'd also not played before).

We arrived five minutes late, but thankfully there was a half-table already so we were welcome to make up the numbers. As I was informed, "when it says 2pm most people get here by quarter two". Within four hands we found ourselves 1700 points down, as our opponents quickly bid three games then we went off in a hopeless vulnerable game.

It took a little while to get used to all of the shuffling and cutting that comes with not playing duplicate, and it was strange to think that each deal would be played only once. Our bridge instincts were fairly good though, and I'm not sure there was much we could have done to avoid that bad start. Then we moved round the room changing partners each round, and things picked up. In fact the worst round for both Anna and I was when we were partnered each other.

Here's a nice little deal from when we were opponents.

No Vul S deal ♠ A K x ♥ Q x x x ♦ x x x ♣ x x x ♠ J x x ♥ x ♦ K J T x x x ♣ K J x 9 9 7 15 ♠ x x x x ♥ K T 8 x ♦ x ♣ A x x x x ♠ Q x x ♥ A J 9 x ♦ A Q x ♣ Q T 9

W N E S 1♥ - 2♥ - - -

Playing a Weak NT and four-card majors, I opened the South hand 1♥. North made a modest raise of 2♥, which I passed. Although we have 24 points between us and an eight card fit we have two flat hands, so we've done well to stop at the two level.

West lead th ♦J, which gave me an extra trick. Surely the contract is in the bag now? I crossed to dummy with a Spade, and lead the ♥Q, covered by the King and Ace. In order to lose no Heart tricks I now have a choice of either playing the ♥J to drop the ♥T or crossing to dummy again for a finesse. I played the ♥J, which didn't work out well. I can still make the contract easily by continuing with trumps, but I was foolishly thinking about trying to make maximum tricks so decided to 'eliminate Diamonds' and cashed the ♦A. This got ruffed, and the defence still had a 2nd Heart trick to come, along with another Diamond and three Clubs. Somehow, I had gone down.

Playing in an individual tournament like this was a novelty for me, and a slightly different challenge. Whereas some people sat down with a flood of questions about agreements, I decided to say nothing and play it cool, as did most of my partners. This actually worked fine, and we didn't have any misunderstandings. It's actually quite nice having virtually no agreements. I was also able to bid fairly quickly, as I resigned myself to making awkward decisions quickly, as this deal shows:

No Vul S deal ♠ x x ♥ 7 ♦ Q T 9 x x x x x ♣ A K ♠ Q x x x ♥ A x ♦ K x ♣ J x x x x 9 10 4 17 ♠ J x x x ♥ T 9 x x ♦ J x ♣ Q x x ♠ A K x ♥ K Q J x x x ♦ A ♣ x x x

W N E S - 2♥ - 3♦ - 3♥ - 4♥ - - -

South opened a traditional Strong Two. I had the freakish North hand, and needed to come up with a reply. I'm not too familiar with the proper responses to Strong Twos, but thought that bidding Diamonds couldn't be far off. North rebid 3♥, and I had a choice of games to bid. I was worried about too many trump losers in Diamonds so just bid 4♥, passed out. South made eleven tricks by drawing trumps (losing two tricks), then setting up the Diamonds.

The club was very friendly, and they were fully supportive of us leaving the kid behind (especially the men). By the end of the evening I had recovered to above zero points, but was a long way off the 4,000 points required for winning. There were also some random 'spot prizes' from the Compere Doug for happening to be opposite the piano, but we didn't win those either. However, we did have a lovely afternoon away from our baby.