Mull of Kintyre

Last week in the Mull of Kintyre I had the pleasure of playing a few hands with Anna's family. They don't play bridge competitively but have very good card sense, and there were some interesting deals.

The makeshift bidding worked well, though we missed a few slams. This was the biggest hand:

♠ A J x ♥ K Q J 9 x x ♦ A K x x ♣ - ♠ K x x ♥ T x ♦ x ♣ A Q x x x x x 18 9 8 5 ♠ x ♥ A x x x x ♦ x x ♣ K J x x x ♠ Q T x x x x ♥ - ♦ Q J x x x x ♣ x

W N E S 2♥ 3♦ - 4♦ - 5♦ - - -

North opened a strong two and South chose to bid the Diamonds instead of the Spades. They got up to game and West lead a small Spade. Perhaps fearing a Spade ruff declarer went up with the ♠A, drew trumps, then lead the ♥K, making all 13 tricks when the ♥A was onside.

6♦ and 6♠ are both excellent contracts, though hard to get to with the low point count and Heart misfit. Note that despite having twelve clubs between them East-West can't get into the auction.

During the evening we swapped round partners; here's an example of what happened when the two overbidders were paired up:

♠ K x ♥ Q T ♦ K x x x ♣ K J x x x ♠ x ♥ A J x x x ♦ Q J T x ♣ A x x 12 12 7 9 ♠ x x x ♥ K x x x ♦ A x x ♣ x x x ♠ A Q J T 9 x x ♥ x x ♦ x x ♣ Q x

Alison Danny Ellis Dave W N E S 1♠ 2♥ 3♣ 3♥ - - 3♠ - 4♠ - - -

South took a rosy view and opened 1♠, which West was quick to overcall. I had the North hand and wasn't sure how double would be interpreted so bid a natural 3♣. East did well to support partner with 3♥ and I had a problem when it came back round. With 12 points opposite an opening hand I thought we might have game on so risked supporting parting with ♠Kx and bid 3♠. This was duly raised to game.

4♠ has some chance, as in fact we have a double fit, and I needn't have worried about the trumps. Unfortunately though we were a bit light on controls, and the defence accurately took two Diamonds, two Hearts and the ♣A before declarer claimed the rest for 4♠-2.

The consolation is that East-West could make game in Hearts, where there's potentially eleven tricks if you get trumps right.

Overall an enjoyable evening, and I'm now keen to get back to the bridge club with Anna.

Rue in Whitby

On a family holiday in Whitby we never quite made it to the bridge club. However, we did play a few hands at home. Here's two where Anna and I missed the boat:

♠ K x ♥ A Q x x x ♦ A K J x x x ♣ - ♠ J x x x ♥ x x x x ♦ Q x x ♣ x x 17 3 8 12 ♠ x x ♥ K J x x ♦ x ♣ K J x x x x ♠ A Q x x x ♥ - ♦ T 9 x ♣ A Q T x x

Anna Danny W N E S 1♠ - 2♦ - 3♣ - 3♥* - 4♦ - 4NT* - 5NT* - 7♦ -

I was sitting South and with a nice two-suited hand opened 1♠. Anna responded 2♦ and with the partial fit I decided I could risk 3♣. Of course if I'd have opened 1♣ instead of 1♠ we'd be at the one level instead of the three level. However it didn't matter as we got there anyway. After Anna bid fourth suit forcing (to game) I showed my Diamonds and she launched into Blackwood.

With total faith in my partner remembering our system I bid 5NT, showing an even number of keycards and a void. Anna worked out it was two Aces and a void in Hearts and bid the Grand Slam. The only problem with my showing a void is that I couldn't show if I had the Queen of trumps. This turned out to be crucial.

On an opening Club lead Anna put in the Queen which held the trick. That dealt with one Heart loser. She played the ♣A to get rid of another one then played a third round of Clubs. West showed out (but wisely refused to ruff) so Anna ruffed in North then ruffed a Heart in dummy. She now has 13 tricks (3 Spades, 2 Hearts, 6 Diamonds, 2 Clubs) and all that's left is to draw trumps.

With nine trumps the normal thing to do is play off the Ace-King, but there's an extra clue here. West refused to ruff a Club, which is quite normal, but the fact that she was out of Clubs indicates that she has a lot more other cards, which slightly tips the balance in favour of finessing.

Sadly, declarer played trumps from the top and the Grand Slam went begging.

Next, my turn to bodge. A classic case of not counting your tricks.

♠ A Q T 9 x x ♥ A ♦ K x ♣ K Q x x ♠ - ♥ J T x x ♦ A Q x x x x ♣ x x x

Anna Danny W N E S 1♠ 1NT - 3♣ - 3♦ - 3♠ - 3NT - - -

Anna opened the North hand 1♠ and I sensibly replied 1NT. Later I got to bid my Diamonds, and maybe should have again, but instead couldn't resist 3NT with my dodgy Heart stop. Luckily Anna had a Heart stop too, and even better West lead a Spade.

What I should have done is played the ♠A, then a top Club. Assuming Diamonds split 3-2 that gives me nine tricks, from 1 Spade, 1 Heart, 6 Diamonds, 1 Club.

Instead I stuck in the ♠T, losing to the ♠J. On the expected Heart return I played Spades again, forcing out the ♠K. I have now set up four Spade winners for myself (alongside the six Diamonds and Ace of Hearts), but unfortunately also have five losers (two Spades, two Hearts and the Ace of Clubs). I had a second stopper in Hearts but that doesn't matter once I've lost five tricks.

In the event the defence didn't take their winners but I still count it as a big bodge. The 'free' finesse on the first trick wasn't really free at all.