Rowan vs Wanderers

Our newly promoted Team Rowan have lost their last three matches 16-0, including this one. On our table Anna and I were up against Derek Sanders and Gints Freimanis, who I have played alongside a little in the SOL league. They gave us a sound beating, getting to and making a lot of games.

Anna and I played OK. We made two mistakes failing to get a game, plus I expect our defence wasn't as challenging as it could have been. 

However, at the start of the match I'd say we were briefly ahead. Near the start they drove to slam with a flat 10 count opposite a 2NT opener (6♥-1), then we had a go at our own slam:

My first bid of Jacoby 2NT showed a game forcing raise in Spades. Anna could have shown a second suit or a singleton, but instead went for 3NT which for us shows six losers. When I bid 4♣ I was pleased to see her cuebid Diamonds, then I signed off lacking a Heart control. Anna had one so bid on, getting us to the decent spot of 6♠.

At least it's decent until East led a Heart. At that point there appears to be two inescapable losers. There is one legitimate line of play - to play Diamonds from the top hoping that one defender has ♦Jxx and also has the ♠A singleton. When they ruff your fourth Diamond away goes your last Heart. Anna instead went for sneaking a trump through before playing Diamonds, but it didn't work. Three of the four tables played 6♠-1, the other 4♠+1. The leads were a Club or a Spade, after which declarer must have thought they were going to make 12 tricks until they found the bad Diamond split.

Next I found myself in a tricky 4♠.

The auction is confusing but we ended in a decent spot. West led a Heart and you can see dummy and declarer have mirror distribution. This suggests an endplay.

After East took his two Hearts he switched to a Club. I won with the Ace (saving the ♣J), drew trumps, got the Diamonds right, and finally conceded a trump to West. He had the choice of leading Clubs round to my ♣KJ or giving me a ruff and discard. Either way it's 4♠=.

Except that's not what happened. After taking the first Heart East found an immediate Club switch. Now I'm scuppered. When West gets back in he can safely play another Heart across to East who plays the killing second Club. One off. It was great defence from both of them.

On the other tables it was 4♠-2 twice (declarer getting the Diamonds wrong) and once 5♣-4 from the Wanderers North-South. So in fact this board was a rare profitable one for Team Rowan.

Not making that game (but knowing how to) was the high point for me. After that we slipped somewhat, culminating in a 6000+ point defeat overall. 

Although the defeat was comprehensive there was some luck involved, both for us and against, as these two hands demonstrate:

Gints and Derek play a relatively simple system, and 2♦ was natural (and not game forcing). Anna therefore felt she could weigh in with 2♥. It's one of those occasions where bidding 3♥ might actually have been safer (as I won't play her for having so much defence). When the opponents got to 3NT, I fancied a double. I know that they've chosen to bid 3NT, but I figure with my Spades and Clubs sitting over declarer (and presumably partner has smoe Diamonds over West) it's not going to play well at all.

Plus, on the last hand they doubled me in 4♥ when things were sitting badly and I went two off, giving me more confidence it was the right thing to do.

However, here the Diamonds are running and declarer has 10 tricks in 3NT (the Spades are blocked but after taking all his winners declarer can play a Club from dummy and ends up with a tenth trick).

West passed the double of 3NT but East removed to 4♣. I felt obliged to double that, and also 4♦ when that came round.

This needs us to find at least one ruff to beat it, and we did. Anna led a Club to my Queen, and I returned a Heart and got a ruff. I still have my ♣A for one down, a great relief as I thought they were about to make 4♦x. As Anna pointed out afterwards I can give her a Club ruff, and maybe should have, but thought it might be declarer with a singleton Club so didn't want to risk trying to cash my ♣A getting it ruffed and letting the contract make.

On the other table West opened a very strong 3♦ and played there. The defence did get both ruffs for one off, so our gain was not what I hoped (but better than them making 3NTx+1).

On this last board I felt hard done by as it was the one board that the opposition didn't bid game on, despite having the values for it:

Anna's cheeky 1♠ opening left them in only 2♥, but the 5-0 trump break means 9 tricks are the limit. At the other table Colin and Sheena did well to find 4♥ but lost out as it went one off.

HSOG Bridge Christmas Party

For the Juniors Christmas party I made up some boards that had already been played at the Buchanan Bridge Club. That meant even if we played a board only once I could generate a score for each pair by comparing with people who had played it previously. I chose hands from a Matchpoint evening with 26 tables, so each deal had a maximum score of 50 (2 points from beating each of the other 25 pairs), so I could double those scores to get a percentage.

For example:

When this deal was played our East-West pair duly made 3NT+2. So they get the same score as the other pairs who made 3NT+2, 27/50 or 54%. That turned out to be from our most experienced Junior pair, Niamh & Rachel, who won the event with 64%.

Although the double-dummy solver says the optimum contract is 7♥ it needs trumps 3-3, so is far from wise. 7♣ is better, but actually (as is usually the case) you can forget about the grand and bidding any slam will get you a good score.

Perhaps West opens 1♦, North ovecalls 2♠ East doubles, West bids 3♣ then East can drive to 6♣. Would our Senior pairs have bid it? Maybe.

The full results of hands from the Buchanan club can be found here: Buhcanan Results 10th May (then click on Travellers).

Rowan vs Stirling

The Glasgow league matches consist of four tables. In this match against high-flying Stirling when the first two tables had finished we were 310 points up. But when the second match, featuring Anna and I, finished, we were 5000 points down. It's fair to say we were not on top form, or even on medium form. 

It was a demolition. Of the 24 boards there were only two where we achieved a result above par. I was guilty of pushing too hard, against some very disciplined opponents. They defended well, we played poorly, and the result was inevitable. 

Here are three of the worst:

Against 2NT Anna lead a Diamond to my Queen and I returned a Diamond to the Ace. Declarer then ducked a Spade to me. I don't really want to lead any suit, but had worked out that declarer likely only had two Hearts, possibly ♥KQ, so a Heart return was safe. I tried the ♥9, which declarer ducked to Anna's Queen. She cashed her Diamond and that was four tricks to the defence.

At this point I strongly suspect declarer is down to a singleton King in Hearts, so if Anna returns a Heart it's one down, and a great defence. But I foolishly threw a low Club, encouraging Clubs. I was just thinking about Anna making a safe exit, rather than realising we actually had enough tricks to beat the contract straight away. The result was therefore 2NT=, when it was nearly one down. A missed opportunity.

On other tables East-West variously made 2NT and 3♥.

This part-score battle soon became irrelevant, as we gave away a few large penalties and one massive one. Here is an example of fine judgement by the opponents:

My 5♦ bid is a calculated overbid, luring West into 5♠, which goes off one. But instead he doubled me for -500.

At the other tables the results were 4♠=, 5♦x-2 and 4♠x=.

Finally one where I thought the opponents were lucky, but actually I misdefended:

My 4♣ is another 'pressure-bid' that backfired as they got to 5♦. Anna cashed the King of Clubs then switched to a Heart. Declarer naturally finessed, and I correctly switched to a Spade. But declarer immediately went up with the ♠A, and was able to draw turmps via a finesse, then cross to dummy's Hearts to discard all his Spades. Note it doesn't actually matter that Hearts split 5-1, as on the run of trumps North has to discard a Heart (or the King of Spades).

The correct defence now appears simple. We need three tricks to beat the contract, so need a Spade. On Anna's ♣K lead I should overtake and return a Spade. Then it's surely one off.

On the other tables the results were 3♦=, 4♦= and 3♣+1 the other way.

Overall, a crushing defeat.

Adamson vs Smith

For our last match of the league we needed a win to avoid relegation. We didn't get one. From my perspective there were four interesting hands:

In this one John and I got our best board of the first half:

After South opened a weak NT John doubled for penalties. I have a flat hand so passed this. North's 2♦ shows Diamonds and Hearts, and South's subsequent pass at least three Diamonds. It looks like they've made an effective escape, but John doubled again and I passed (with slightly more doubt).

In fact we have plenty to beat it. John started with a couple of top Hearts, then drew trumps, and in the end declarer was limited to just four tricks (one trump, two Spades, on Club). Even though they were non-vulnerable 2♦x-4 for +800 was a good score.

On the other table South opened 1♣, and East-West played in 3NT. This could go down, but with few good options South led the ♠A and 3NT made for -600, still a small gain.

Shortly after we gave back all those IMPs and more:

North's 2♦ showed both majors, and South's 3♦ at least five Spades. I have a great hand to overcall Clubs, but didn't think it was right to come in as high as 4♣, so let the opponents bid and make 4♠.

On the other table on a more natural auction East-West won the board by getting to 5♣, and when our North-South bid 5♠x-1 it was a heavy loss.

This next board was my highlight:

Even though I was dummy, and watched John make 4H, it's a highlight as I clearly saw the winning line.

At first it looks like a possible missed slam, but with trumps 4-0 it gets tricky. On both tables South led a top Club, which declarer won and started on trumps. What do you do after play the Ace of Hearts and finding the 4-0 split?

After taking the ♥AK declarer just needs to play Clubs to set up dummy's Jack, for throwing a Diamond. You lose just two trumps and a Club.

When it was my turn to actually be declarer I didn't do so well:

After a not-completely-clear auction I got to 4♦. West began with two top Hearts, the second ruffed in hand. If I draw trumps and get Clubs right I have 11 tricks, but since I was only playing 4♦ (but wondering if I should be in game somewhere), I thought it was safer to play on Clubs while leaving a trump out (so if I lose the lead I could ruff the Heart return in the North hand, not with my top trump in South).

So After drawing two rounds of trumps I led a Spade up, and took a losing Club finesse. West did well to then play Ace and another Spade giving partner the ruff and one down.

I think I was sort of right to delay drawing trumps, but an early round of Clubs (dropping the Queen) would have really paid off here.

In the end we lost the match by 26 IMPs.

Interschools League: Glasgow vs Eton

Last night there were two matches in the InterSchool League. In Division 2B it was the match I'd been waiting for, as two High School of Glasgow teams faced each other. In the end it was a victory for the senior pupils, as the Lion Kings beat the Spy Kids 26-16.

In the evening two undefeated teams from Division 1B played on RealBridge, as Glasgow Alpha hosted Eton. From the early boards it was clear that Eton were a good side, as their careful card play gave them an advantage. Board 3 was a good one for us though:

Game EW S deal ♠ Q T 9 4 ♥ A K Q 8 ♦ J 4 2 ♣ J T ♠ K 2 ♥ J 9 7 6 5 ♦ Q 5 ♣ A Q 4 2 13 12 7 8 ♠ 8 7 5 ♥ T 4 3 2 ♦ A K 9 7 ♣ 7 5 ♠ A J 6 3 ♥ - ♦ T 8 6 3 ♣ K 9 8 6 3

Kevin Michael W N E S - 1♥ - 2♥ x - 2♠ - - -

After the opponents started 1♥-2♥ Michael sitting South risked a takeout double with a weak but shapely hand. Kevin kept things low with a 2♠ response, which is where he played.

There are potentially lots of losers, but luckily East made the normal Heart lead. Kevin threw away three Diamonds from dummy, then set about ruffing Diamonds in dummy, and Clubs in his hand. In the end he couldn't be prevented from making 9 tricks.

On the other table our West made nine tricks in Hearts for a 7 IMP gain.

The next board featured excellent defence and declarer play:

Game EW E deal ♠ T 9 8 6 4 2 ♥ Q J 3 ♦ 5 ♣ J 6 4 ♠ A J 7 ♥ K T 9 8 4 ♦ A ♣ A T 9 3 4 16 9 11 ♠ Q ♥ 6 5 ♦ K Q 9 8 7 6 2 ♣ Q 8 5 ♠ K 5 3 ♥ A 7 2 ♦ J T 4 3 ♣ K 7 2

Kevin Michael W N E S 3♦ - 3NT - - -

East opened a Weak 3♦ and the Eton West had a tricky bid. 3NT feels wrong with the Diamonds blocked, but he tried it anyway. North led the ♠T, to the ♠Q, ♠K and ♠A and declarer immediately unblocked his ♦A and looked for a way to get to dummy.

He tried the ♣T, ducked all round, then the ♣3. If North covers this the suit is blocked, but he didn't know this and played low. Declarer put in his ♣8 from dummy. South had to take this with the ♣K, and now declarer has an entry to dummy. But all is not lost for the defence as you can see the Diamonds don't run.

After winning his Club trick South played Spades, ducked to North, then the defence played another round of Spades. Declarer won, crossed to dummy, tried the Diamonds, and although they didn't work out he still collected 9 tricks, via 2 Spades, 3 Diamonds, 3 Clubs, 1 Heart when the Ace was onside.

In fact, to beat the contract the defence need to give up on Spades and establish their Heart trick, which is not easy to see.

On the other table after a 3♦ opening our West bid 3♥, which East passed. Declarer played well to make 3♥, but still a 10 IMP loss. At the half way point were were 7-20 down.

In the second half this was the most interesting board, and featured my first director ruling.

S deal ♠ 8 7 5 2 ♥ A Q J 5 4 2 ♦ T ♣ A 8 ♠ Q 4 ♥ K T 9 8 6 ♦ 9 8 3 ♣ 7 5 2 4 16 9 11 ♠ A J 3 ♥ - ♦ A Q 6 5 4 ♣ Q J T 9 6 ♠ K T 9 6 ♥ 7 3 ♦ K J 7 2 ♣ K 4 3

Alexander Harry W N E S - - 1♥ 2NT* 3NT x - - -

North opened 1♥ and East overcalled 2NT. South asked what it meant, waited a while with no response, then decided to bid 3NT anyway. Just then West announced that the 2NT overcall was 20-22 points, and doubled 3NT! It should have been clear to West (and everyone else) that there weren't enough points for East to have 20-22 points, and his bid shows the minors.

South believed the explanation though and asked to change his bid. I decided not to allow this (as though he thought he'd been damaged actually he hadn't), and let him play the hand.

On a Heart lead he finessed successfully, and established 2 Spade tricks, to go with this 3 Hearts and 2 Clubs. Then, he ran the Ten of Diamonds, which held. That gave declarer eight tricks. For the ninth he needs to read the distribution and give East a Club at the end, after which East will be forced to return a Diamond into declarer's waiting ♦KJ. Although close to it he missed this endplay so the result was 3NTx-1.

After the hand and with some discussion I ruled that the result should stand, as East-West had basically damaged themselves by West thinking that his partner had a strong hand and doubling. Perhaps a more just result would have been if 3NT made, but here Eton got a bit lucky as East actually had a very nice 15 points so 3NT was beaten.

On the other table North played 4♥ very nicely to go just off one. We ended up losing the match 22-33 overall, which in a 12 board match translates to 6-14 VPs.

Rowan vs Hamilton

Last night Anna and I took on Hamilton in what is likely to be a relegation battle in Glasgow Division One. We had a pretty good game, albeit with a few mistakes. Early on we bid aggressively to push them into 5♦, which I then doubled:

You can see that declarer has three losers, a Spade, Heart and eventually a Club, but the defence has to be very careful. Anna made a good start with a Club. Declarer won in hand and drew trumps (I threw a discouraging 9 of Hearts), then led a Spade up. Anna took her Ace and it's decision time.

The King of Spades is now a winner in dummy and declarer is likely out of Spades in hand, so has a discard. Anna therefore took her Ace of Hearts. This turned out to be fatal, as it set up declarer's ♥K for a Club discard in dummy. Three losers became two and the game made.

Taking the Ace of Hearts is essential if declarer started with a singleton Heart, but that relies on me starting with seven Hearts which is unlikely (though I did have six). Cashing the Ace of Hearst doesn't cost if I have the King (though I'd signalled that I didn't), but does costs on this layout. That meant we conceded 5♦x= for -550.

On two other tables North-South made 4♦= and 5♦-1 (at the same crunch point West played another Club), and on the fourth East-West were allowed to play the contract, in 5♥, which went four off after a failed Spade finesse. So not a good board for Team Rowan.

When you open 2NT and it gets passed out you are normally in trouble, as 20 points opposite 0-3 is not a good combination. On this one I put down a 0 point dummy:

2NT is not a good contract. You have five top tricks in your hand, with hope of developing a long Spade and maybe a Diamond or Club.

The defence led the ♥7, to the ♥2, ♥J, ♥A (should South know from the lead that partner has the ♥8 and play low?). Anna set to work on the Spades, starting with a low one (it is better to play the Ace?). Although Spades didn't break, her Ten of Hearts in dummy somehow became high, giving her an extra trick there, and the entry for a Spade finesse, and when she managed a long Club too that was eight tricks. That felt like a great result, 2NT= when it could easily have been two off vulnerable.

What's funny though is that on all four tables the result was 2NT=. It is really so hard to defend against? Maybe it is.

In the second half we beat them in a couple of games and stole a 4♠, when they were easily making 4♥/5♥/6♥. They bid a tight 6♥ which needs trumps 2-2 (they were) so things felt about even.

Our most pleasing board was the very last one:

I considered passing out 1NT but decided to show my 5-4 shape with a natural 2♣. Anna liked this very much and took it to 4♠. This got a Heart lead and has excellent chances. I tried to play it carefully, setting up the Clubs before drawing trumps (if Clubs are 3-1 and they get a ruff I don't mind), but actually everything sits nicely and I couldn't fail but make 4♠+1. The other tables played 2♠+3, 2♠+3 and 1NT=.

Overall we lost the match 12-4.

Adamson vs BShenkin

As we approach the crunch point of the season John and I needed a good result. We nearly got one, with a narrow loss to Barnet Shenkin's team. There was some good stuff, but also a couple of howlers. At the time this looked like the worst of them:

John opened a fairly standard six-card weak three Diamonds and West bid an immediate 3NT. I have a few options, including Double, 4♦ and 4♥. I went for a cautious pass. Time for the opening lead.

You can see that a top Heart works rather well, and we can take the first six Heart tricks. In fact, whatever I lead, declarer only has eight tricks (2 Spades, 1 Diamond, 5 Clubs). So there's not much chance of making the contract. Except...

...I led a low Heart. A grateful declarer grabbed the Queen and claimed nine tricks. Although I normally don't discuss the hands during the play, I felt this was worth an immediate "sorry" to my partner.,

Here are the arguments in favour of a high Heart:

• It won't give away a cheap trick if declarer has ♥Q or ♥Qx in one hand.
• If it's clearly wrong (e.g dummy shows up with good Hearts) I have time to switch to a Diamond.
• On many layouts it lets us defeat the contract with the first six tricks.

Afterwards John suggested I should hae led the King of Hearts, after which he would have given count. I suppose after that I assume he's got three, and play my King expecting him to unblock his Jack. If I start with the Ace instead he would presumably encourage, after which I could either play a low Heart to his Jack or again another high Heart for him to unblock.

But although it seems easy enough for us to take our six Heart tricks I could well see something going wrong.

These are the arguments in favour of a low Heart:

• John might have ♥Qx (or ♥Q) in which case we need a low lead to get all our tricks.
• Declarer could have a stop like ♥Jxx opposite ♥Qx in which case we need to lose a trick, and keep our entries open.
• Declarer could have a Heart suit like ♥QJxx in hand (opposite a singleton) and it needs the second Heart to come through from John's side.

What would you have lead?