Sunday, 2 December 2012

Danny the Champion

Me and Anna came top at Buchanan matchpoints! Our final score was 60%, but it was a game of two halves. After much analysis I calculated that we averaged 74% in the first half, and 47% in the second half. Also there were a couple of hands that were accidentally rotated, that we benefited from, including a bad hand where both opponents and partner pointed out to me that I should have taken my Ace of Clubs.

Here's a hand from the second half, where I transformed a good board into a bottom. The opponents looked like resting in 4♥, but I kept the bidding open, forced them into 6♥, then found the lead to let them make it.


Love all
N deal
♠ J 8 3
♥ A Q T 6
♦ K Q 7 4
♣ K T
♠ K Q 9
♥ 8 7 5
♦ J T 5
♣ J 8 6 2
15
76
12
♠ T 6 5 2
♥ -
♦ 9 2
♣ A Q 9 7 5 4 3
♠ A 7 4
♥ K J 9 4 3 2
♦ A 8 6 3
♣ -
DannyAnna
WNES
1♦3♣3♥
4♣4♥ - -
5♣5♥- 6♥
-- -

North opens the bidding 1♦. Then Anna sitting East weighs in with 3♣, which shows either a six or seven card suit. Ideally without a four card major, but I think she definitely has to bid here. South has an easy 3♥ bid, and I have my first quandary as East. I went for a pitiful 4♣. "Automatic 5♣" I can hear Ben Paske saying.

North bids 4♥, and South, with a monster hand including a diamond fit, thinks for ages, picks up a bid, puts it back down, then passes. She's obviously thinking about bidding on. This is Unauthorised Information for her partner North, but is authorised for me. So I decide to take advantage of it, and bid 5♣. This is because I now know that South will bid 5♥ over it, and I'd rather defend 5♥ than 4♥. But to my surprise, it's North who bids 5♥. This is not really allowed, as bidding on has been so strongly suggested by South's long think on the previous round. South duly tops up to 6♥, and I'm in trouble. Now I've helped them get to slam I really need to take it down. This needs a killer lead.

I find the disastrous lead of ♠K. My thinking is that we've hopefully got one ace (probably Clubs), and so the ♠Q will be the setting trick. But declarer just takes my King with her Ace, draws trumps, and finally leads up to the ♠J in dummy for the twelfth trick.

The score of -980 gets us a joint bottom (two other pairs conceded 6♥). In fact, the slam can be made by South on any lead. Declarer has to eliminate the other three suits then lead a Spade to West, who is then endplayed, so declarer can always get two Spade tricks.

See this deal (Board 17), and the full results from The Buchanan here.

Friday, 23 November 2012

Anna's League Match

This is from Anna's league match from Tuesday 20th November. I didn't play in the match, but got a report when Anna got home at 11pm and woke me up (apparently they got locked in the club at the end, hence the late finish).

This was the hand that apparently lost it for them. Basically after the opponents opened 1♦ Anna bid a 2♦ Michaels bid, but her partner didn't get it and kept bidding diamonds, culminating in Anna playing a catastrophic 4♦x-7, for -1700 points, a catastrophe at total points scoring. Coincidentally, at Anna's table the final points deficit was exactly 1700 points. Over the three tables, Buchanan Bridge Club narrowly lost the match.

Here's the disastrous auction in full, with the North and South hands as best Anna remembers. Favourable vulnerability.


♠ x
♥ x x x x
♦ Q x x
♣ K J x x x
Anna
WNES
1♦2♦
2NT3♦-3♥
3NT4♦--
x---
♠ A x x x x
♥ K J x x x
♦ x x
♣ x

That auction needs an explanation. Since East opened 1♦, the 2♦ from South was a Michaels Cue Bid. It should have been alerted but wasn't. 3♦ from North was therefore a mistake. It looked like North-South might have got away with it when West bid 3NT, but still convinced of the diamond fit North now tried 4♦

I posted this hand on the Bridge Base Forums to ask what South should ethically do, read that here. Here's a summary of what the posters said:

  • South should basically "bid as if partner had properly alerted her bid", i.e. assume partner knows what he's doing.
  • So if you think an alert partner would bid 3♦ as "pick a major" you should pick a major, and if you think partner could be bidding 4♦ as natural you should pass that.
  • And if the only possible reason partner would bid 4♦ is because they've forgotten the system (and I'd say that is the case here), then you are ethically allowed to try 4♥, but this probably won't help anyway as he might then just bid 5♦ over you.

By way of contrast, here's a hand where Anna got a fantastic result, making a slam that should never even have been close to making.


♠ J x
♥ A J T 9 x x
♦ A J x x x
♣ -
Anna
WNES
1♥-2♣
-2♥-2♠
-3♥-4♣
-4♦-4NT
-5♥-6♣
♠ A K x x
♥ x
♦ x
♣ K Q T 9 8 x x

Looking at the North-South hands, what contract do you fancy? I'd say 4♥ is probably best. It's a massive misfit.

At the table North opened 1♥, and Anna sitting South replied 2♣. North had a tricky decision, and decided to rebid his Hearts (think I'd have bid Diamonds now). South made a forcing bid of 2♠ (a game forcing responder reverse), and North again decided to show his Hearts. South tried 4♣, which probably by the system is a cuebid agreeing Hearts. North cuebid 4♦ back, and Anna blasted 4NT. Presumably her plan was to play in Clubs, but I expect North thought the trump suit was Hearts.

How safe is Blackwood? Not very! Playing RKCB 1430 if partner has one keycard then he'll bid 5♣ which can be passed out. If he has two (or more) keycards, so bids at least 5♦ you have to play 6♣. There are two problems with this. Firstly, what if one of partner's keycards is the ♥K? That's no use to you as a control. Secondly, even if North has two Aces, as was the case here, that's not enough! This was starkly demonstrated when dummy came down with no trumps.

Have a look at the North-South hands in 6♣. Looks like two trump losers and two Spade losers, for 6♣-3.

Anna needed a miracle, and she got one. West led the ♥K. Declarer won the Ace, crossed to a top Spade and lead the ♣K. West took the ace, and fatally tried to cash the ♥Q. This was doomed to fail, as from the auction there was no way South could ever have two hearts. Anna eagerly ruffed this trick, and tried the ♣Q. When the ♣J dropped she had just one trump loser, and no Spade losers as hearts were all set up in dummy.

To make the slam you need a doubleton Jack of Clubs, and a very specific misdefence, where the defence set up hearts but don't take out dummy's diamond entry. There's no way declarer can make it on her own.

Addendum: since the match someone has claimed that in aggregate scoring that -1700 deficit for 4♦x=7 should have been capped. Not sure what's happening about that.

Friday, 9 November 2012

York dork

I played like a wild Viking tonight - very erratic. All four of the boards where we got 0% had me as declarer, but I think the 0% was mostly due to the bidding.

What do you make of this Unusual 2NT disaster? No one vulnerable.


♠ A J 2
♥ T 6 4
♦ A 7 3
♣ K 7 4 2
AnnaDanny
WNES
1♣2NT
x-3♣3♠
4♣4♠5♣-
-x-5♠
---
♠ K T 9 8 7 3
♥ 7
♦ K J T 8 5
♣ 5

East opens a club. I'm sitting South and come in with 2NT. We play that here as showing Diamonds and one of the majors, and either weak or strong. I've got 7 points so decide I've got the weak hand.

West asks what my bid shows, then doubles it. Anna now decides to pass, as she doesn't know my Major. I've got the weak hand type, and I'm worried if I bid again it'll look like I've got the strong hand type. But then they do say "6-5, come alive", so I stick my oar in with 3♠, West finds a 4♣ bid then I get some support from Anna with 4♠. I'm pretty happy with this contract, until East weighs in again with 5♣. Anna doubles this, and when it comes back round to me I get scared that she's just doubling because she thinks I've got the strong hand type. So I do something foolish and bid 5♠.

It's actually not a bad contract. There's a definite loser in Hearts and one in Clubs. To make it I need to find the ♦Q and ♦Q (you could call these the pointed suit Queens, but it still takes me some time to work out which the two pointed suits are). West leads a top Heart then another Heart, which I ruff. I play ♠K and another Spade, and the Queen pops up so that's Spades sorted.

Then I decide to ruff a Heart and play a Club trick myself, to find out more about the hand, but it doesn't help. On my third Heart East plays the Queen, so I wrongly deduce that East has more Diamonds (I've forgotten that East has loads of Clubs). So I wrongly finesse East for the Queen of Diamonds, and when that fails go down one.

Given her double of my 2NT, and the fact that she hadn't shown any points yet, I should probably have got it right and finessed West instead. Also I should have been a bit smarter and tried leading the ♦J first, worth a shot.

Here's the full deal:


No one vul
E deal
♠ A J 2
♥ T 6 4
♦ A 7 3
♣ K 7 4 2
♠ Q 6
♥ K J 9 5 3 2
♦ Q 9 6
♣ T 3
12
813
7
♠ 5 4
♥ A Q 8
♦ 4 2
♣ A Q J 9 8 6
♠ K T 9 8 7 3
♥ 7
♦ K J T 8 5
♣ 5

5♣x would have gone three down. Anna certainly had her double of 5♣, with four Clubs to the King and two Aces. She said afterwards that she knew I didn't have the strong version of 2NT as there would be too many points in the pack for that.

Most other tables played in 3♠ or 4♠ also making ten tricks.

Full deals from York Bridge Club here (where I am actually West not South as shown above).

Tuesday, 23 October 2012

St Andrews Slammer

Only five pairs at the Buchanan this Saturday, so we all went across to St. Andrews. Anna got upset we had to defend so much, and she never got an opening hand (except for the board we played upside down, when I got the good hand and opened 1NT). In the end she only played four hands, but (coincidentally?) we finished top.

Here's one big hand Anna played.


♠ A T 8 2
♥ A T 6
♦ A 6 5
♣ A K 5
DannyAnna
WNES
1NT
-2♣-2♠
-6♠--
-
♠ K J 6 5 3
♥ K 9
♦ K T 4
♣ Q 8 3

Anna sitting South has a routine 12-14 1NT opener. The rule (according to Norman) is that you don't open hands like this with one of a major unless the suit is strong enough to play opposite a doubleton, which means ♠AKxxx, ♠AQxxx or ♠AJTxx. This hand doesn't qualify.

Sitting North I didn't know what to do. I've a 19 count with all the aces, but it's balanced and I actually have seven losers. Possible contracts are 3NT, 4♠, 6♠ or 6NT, depending on whether or not Anna has a minimum or maximum point count and a Spade fit.

I tried Stayman, and Anna replied 2♠. It's matchpoints, and with my flat hand I couldn't see any ruffing potential, so why have I just bid Stayman? What would 4NT now be? Me and Anna have previously agreed Invitational, but Norman's notes say Blackwood. I've got four keycards myself anyway, so have a punt at 6♠. If we make it's less points than 6NT, but has more chance of an overtrick (or fewer undertricks).

Anna gets the ♥Q lead, which she runs round to her ♥K, leaving a finesse position against West. She then cashes the two top Spades, and when the queen doesn't fall is faced with a trump loser, so has to avoid a Diamond loser. She takes advantage of the Heart lead and finesses the ♥J to discard a Diamond. 6♠ making, for 10/12 matchpoints.

The full deal:


EW vul
E deal
♠ A T 8 2
♥ A T 6
♦ A 6 5
♣ A K 5
♠ Q 9 7
♥ Q J 5 2
♦ Q J 7 2
♣ J 2
19
90
12
♠ 4
♥ 8 7 4 3
♦ 9 8 3
♣ T 9 7 6 4
♠ K J 6 5 3
♥ K 9
♦ K T 4
♣ Q 8 3

The Heart lead from West was unfortunate, and gave declarer a trick. In fact you can make all thirteen tricks on any lead, if you get trumps right (no reason you would though), then steal another trick with a squeeze. After you win all your Spades and Clubs West will have to unguard either Hearts or Diamonds - he can't keep QJx in both suits, and will have to come down to just QJ in one of the suits. You'll then be able to win three tricks in that suit with the Ace, King and Ten.

Since playing this hand we've had a class on Slam Bidding with Norman. I told him about this hand and he wasn't impressed with my bidding.

See the hand on St. Andrews Bridge Club here, Hand 21 (rotated).

Saturday, 29 September 2012

Buchanan - matchpoint mishap

Normally it's total points at The Buchanan, but tonight with 5.5 tables it's Matchpoint. Therefore, the change in mentality is:

  • Favour playing in NT and Majors
  • Be aggressive in part score bidding, but don't stretch for games or slam
  • In defence limit overtricks

What do you make of me and Anna's auction below, favourable vulnerability?


♠ 7 6 5 4
♥ -
♦ A J 5 3
♣ K J T 5 4
AnnaDanny
WNES
1♥
-1♠-2♥
-2NT-3♦
---
♠ A K
♥ A 9 8 7 6 3
♦ K 7 6
♣ 9 2

I opened the South hand 1♥, no problem there. Anna replied 1♠, She's not strong enough to bid 2♣ then introduce Spades later (that would be a game forcing responder's reverse), and replying 1NT denies four Spades.

After I rebid 2♥ Anna should probably pass, but with a Heart void chanced her arm with 2NT. This ought to show an invitational semi-balanced hand, something like 10-11 points with 1-2 bad Hearts, which she doesn't have.

The danger of her bidding 2NT is that I don't pass, and with my 14 point hand I planned to accept the invite, and was just trying to work out which of 3NT or 4♥ was better. At the time I wasn't sure I had definitely shown six Hearts (but actually the only hand I can have without six hearts is e.g. ♠Axx ♥AKQxx ♦xx ♣xx), so decided to confirm a sixth Heart with a creative bid, thereby giving Anna a choice of games.

I bid 3♦, showing a hand with six Hearts and four Diamonds. A bit cheeky with only three diamonds, but what's the danger? The danger was, Anna passed!

We were lucky to have landed in a semi-decent contract. The full deal was:


EW vul
S deal
♠ 7 6 5 4
♥ -
♦ A J 5 3
♣ K J T 5 4
♠ J T 9 8
♥ K J 2
♦ Q 8 2
♣ 8 6 3
9
710
14
♠ Q 3 2
♥ Q T 5 4
♦ T 9 4
♣ A Q 5
♠ A K
♥ A 9 8 7 6 3
♦ K 7 6
♣ 9 2
AnnaDanny
WNES
1♥
-1♠-2♥
-2NT-3♦
---

I got a Club lead, lost the first two tricks to the ♣AQ offside then won the third Club in dummy. Then over to the ♠AK and ♥A (throwing a Spade). That's four tricks so far. Wasn't sure whether to draw trumps with established Clubs or play a cross ruff, so to kill time tried a trump finesse. This won, and could now see my way home. Spade ruff, Heart ruff, and I have taken seven tricks and still have the ♦AK left.

I thought this was a pretty good result, but actually the analysis shows that ten tricks are available in Diamonds (if I don't draw any trumps can get one more ruff in), and even eleven in Clubs if South plays it (so can't get a trump lead). These contracts are a bit unlikely though, the real comparison is with 2♥. This ought to make I think, you lose only two Clubs and three Hearts. But results from other tables were mostly 2♥-1, so we got a good board for 3♦=.

In fact even 2NT makes if I decide to pass Anna's 2NT rebid. To hold it to eight tricks the defence needs to lead Hearts, to get their three Heart tricks and two Clubs. If they never touch Hearts declarer has plenty of tricks, and on e.g. a Spade lead the defence get only two Spades and two Clubs, so in fact 3NT probably makes.

Wednesday, 5 September 2012

BBO Tourney

It's Tuesday evening. Anna's working, so we'll watch Great British Bake Off tomorrow and tonight for half an hour's free fun I've entered a BBO Tourney. Six hands, maximum 30 seconds per bid play, slow players get replaced by Robots. No chat allowed. Strictly business.

The Robots play BBO standard (which is now 2/1), see here.

On the first hand my partner timed out and a robot took over. The 'bot was bidding a lot, and since they're usually timid I should probably have guessed he had a great hand and doubled the final contract. No one vulnerable. You sit East with:

♠ Kxx ♥ Jxx ♦ xx ♣ JTxxx

Botdkham
WNES
1♦1♥--
x-2♣ 2♥
x-3♣-
-3♥--
-

Partner opens 1♦, which North overcalls with 1♥. I pass this as I've only five points. Now partner doubles, so I make a cheap reply in clubs. Now South comes in with 2♥, partner doubles again so I trot out 3♣. North bids 3♥ over this. I think about doubling, but pass and hope that partner doubles. He passes though and it goes two off for +100.

This was only worth 33% of the Matchpoints (as we can make more than 100 making our contract). If I double and we instead get +300 it's worth about 80%. I should double for two reasons. Firstly, I've got a maximum (I've shown 0-5 and I've got 5). Secondly, both opponents have stretched, South was happy to pass out 1♥, North only bid again to protect.

The rest of the boards were above average and I finished on 61%, for tenth place out of 28. Originally 40 people joined, but it seems a few left, shows these rapid tournaments are not taken very seriously.

The hand below was my best result, 88%. I didn't do anything clever, but my partner did.


♠ A K
♥ A Q J
♦ Q J x x
♣ K Q x x
Partnerdkham
WNES
-
-2NT-3♦
-3NT--
-
♠ x x
♥ K T x x x x
♦ x x x x
♣ x

I had the South cards. I dealt and passed, rather than opening a mad weak two. Partner opened 2NT, which by Bridge Base standard is still 20-22. I wanted to play 4♥, but rather than bidding it directly, which would mean the wrong hand plays it and might even be taken as a Texas Transfer, I just transferred at the three level with 3♦, with the intention of then raising partner's 3♥ to game. But partner ignored the transfer and just bid 3NT. I thought this meant he only had a singleton heart, and had opened an off-shape 2NT anyway (as sometimes happens). This sort of 3NT never works though. But in fact he'd bid 3NT with a good heart fit, knowing he had all the other suits stopped.

East helpfully led the ♦AK then later took the ♣A, so we had ten tricks for 3NT+1. On any defence we can get nine tricks though so 3NT is solid. As West has a doubleton Diamond he can get a Diamond ruff, so there are four defensive tricks in 4♥, and indeed at most other tables the result was 4♥-1.

Saturday, 1 September 2012

Buchanan in Glasgow

Anna's not officially a member of Buchanan bridge club yet, despite attending Norman's class for two years running and playing League Matches with Tony. She's a bit bitter about this and takes it out on me by saying I'm not allowed to come to the club with her. But tonight we're both going. Of course I can't actually play in a pair with Anna, she's training with Tony for the next match, but I can enter the standby pool. I ended up playing with Horst, a middle aged German who turns out to be quite good (League 1 Player).

Me and Horst agreed to play standard Benji, weak NT, checkback, Michaels, 1430 and not much else. We also chivalrously agreed to sit East-West (which means we have to move tables, which the less mobile members of the club don't like doing), the same direction as Anna and Tony. This means we won't get to play against them directly which is a shame, but at least we can compare scores at the end.

A bit of excitement on the first table, against Norman.

DannyNormanHorst
WNES
1♦2♣x
-- -

Norman opens and Horst overcalls 2♣, which is followed by a takeout double which Norman passes out. Norman had ♠x ♥A ♦KJTxxx ♣KJT93 and wanted to defend. Unfortunately, his partner had nothing and Holst was able to skilfully endplay Norman to make his 2♣. On Anna's table the same North-South hands bid the misfit up to 5♦, which went off one.

Now a deal where me and Anna, both sitting West on different tables, took different views:


NS vul
S deal
♠ Q J x x x x
♥ Q x
♦ x x
♣ x x x
♠ x x
♥ A J x x
♦ K J
♣ A Q x x x
5
1510
10
♠ A
♥ x x
♦ Q x x x x
♣ K J x x x
♠ K T x x
♥ K T x x x
♦ A T x x
♣ -
DannyHorst
WNES
1♥
1NT1♥ 3NT 4♥
x---

On my table South opened the bidding with a distributional 1♥. For me sitting West this was an easy 1NT overcall. Then North made the cheeky decision to raise hearts. Horst sitting East wasn't messing around and bid a direct 3NT, knowing I had 15-17 and a good heart stop. Then, after a considerable pause, South bid a speculative 4♥. Maybe he hadn't noticed the vulnerability, but I did and gleefully doubled.

I led a low Heart. In the end declarer won two high Hearts, two Club ruffs in hand, the ♦A and two spades. West I had to pto not ruff in until I knew declarer was leading his last spade, to prevent dummy's Spades being established, which required some slow (but accurate) counting. 4♥x-3 gave us +800.

How would our 3NT have done? We have seven top tricks, and can establish two more in Diamonds. But if the defence leads spades (unlikely on the auction) or switch to Spades (also I think unlikely) we go down. Otherwise you can get to nine tricks easily by knocking out the ♦A.

On Anna's table South also opened 1♥. But Anna sitting West she eschewed 1NT and went for a 2♣ overcall, raised to 4♣ by Tony and topped up to game. 5♣ is a much better game than 3NT, and made nicely.

Now here's a zinger of a hand that tested me and Horst's fragile agreements.


EW vul
E deal
♠ 7 2
♥ J 9 4 3
♦ A J 6 3
♣ T 4 2
♠ K J T 9 5 3
♥ -
♦ Q 9 4
♣ A Q 8 3
2
1612
6
♠ A Q
♥ A K Q 6 5 2
♦ 8 2
♣ J 6 5
♠ 8 6 4
♥ T 8 7
♦ K T 7 5
♣ K 9 7
DannyHorst
WNES
1♥-
1♠-3♥ -
4♣-4♥ -
4♠-- -

East opened 1♥ and sitting West I was immediately uncomfortable with the heart void. I replied 1♠ and predictably Horst rebid 3♥. I thought about raising him to 4♥ just to end the auction, or maybe bidding 3♠ (and hoping he wouldn't pass), or chancing my arm with a unilateral 4♠. I also considered 3NT, but thought my diamonds were too weak. In the end I kept things open with 4♣. Horst thought this was a cuebid agreeing hearts (and maybe it should be), but bid only 4♥, then was nice enough to pass when I bid 4♠.

I was pleased when dummy came down. His spade support is certainly better than my heart support. I got a trump lead, so could throw away all my diamond losers on dummy's hearts and made 4♠+2.

On Anna's table the auction started the same, but over 3♥ she went for a direct 3NT bid to end the auction. The defence found the diamond lead but they split 4-4, so 3NT made too (but scored worse).

During the evening there were no disasters from my table, and the only memorable mistakes I made were not doubling the opponents once or twice. Once they got to 3NT and I had ♥AKQxxx in defence. The 3NT bidder had began with a takeout double of my 1♥ opener, so was probably short in hearts, but I was too meek to double.

At the end of the night it was announced that the top East-West pair were Anna-Tony. But wait! After a recount they were demoted to second, and actually me and Horst won.

Famous win.