Festive Pairs

Anna and I started rather slowly, as is often our way. On Board 1 Anna missed my encouraging signal of the Seven of Hearts (we play reverse attitude but the 2,3,4,5,6 were all visible so the 7 was actually an encouraging low card). It's quite understandable that she missed this, as she was upstairs seeing Zoe who had lost Mini-Monkey. On Board 2 I could have been more competitive in the auction, but was helping Alex who had dropped Bunny over the side of the cot.

At the half way stage we had only two positive boards, one of which was when everyone passed and that gave us +1.1 IMPs.

Things picked up a bit after that, but mostly through the good fortune of the opponents underbidding. They played 3♦+2 (giving us +4.8 IMPs), 4♠+2 (+7.8) and 3♠+1 (+4.9). So our good scores were mostly lucky, our bad scores self-inflicted.

This was a very strange board:

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Anna opened 1♥ and after the double I have a fairly automatic 4♥ bid. I don't really like it, but it's got to be done. When that got passed around to East he doubled, with four tricks in his own hand, probably expecting his partner to pass. West had four Spades he hadn't mentioned though and removed the double to 4♠.

I thought about doubling this - I do have quite good Spades, but for all I know Anna has ♥AKQJxx and not much else and 4♠ is making with an overtrick. I passed, but with expectation of beating it.

In fact, we have four trump tricks. Declarer drew these, played some Clubs and finally lead a Diamond up. This finesse was bound to win, but as a bonus for declarer both Anna and I were hanging on to a Heart for some reason so came down to a doubleton Diamond, meaning declarer won the last trick with dummy's ♦5.

Our score of 4♠-1 was worth -2.4 IMPs, 4♠-2 would have been about 0. The reason we don't do better is that, rather surprisingly, 4♥ actually makes. With East on lead declarer can discard two Diamonds from hand on dummy's Spades.

The good thing about doing quite poorly at the start of the evening is that it takes the pressure off. On the last board I decided to try a manoeuvre I've read about in a book by Ely Culbertson. You overcall in your second best suit, get doubled, then remove to your best suit. The opponents of course double you again, but now you go ahead and make the contract.

When East opened 2NT (20-22) I decided not to be put off and swung into action, "Six-five, come alive".

I overcalled 3♣, and West doubled. I wasn't not sure what his double showed, and I'm not sure him or his partner did either. When it came back round I duly bid 3♥, doubled again. I was praying that Anna wouldn't have the sort of hand to correct me back to Clubs (that is the flaw in Culbertson's plan), but luckily it was passed out.

3♥x has at least five losers: one Heart, two Spades, two Clubs. So there's a chance of off one. As it happens Clubs are 4-2 and Hearts 3-1 so I can do no better than two down, still a good saving (-300) to their making game (4♠+1 for -450). My antics gained us 1.4 IMPs. Needless to say we were the only North-South pair declaring the contract.

Overall our IMP score of +6.95 was good enough for 15th out of 36.