Careful does it. Answer.

	NORTH 105 A J10972 AK1064
WEST A932 KQJ8642 A 5		EAST K876 — K6543 Q973
	SOUTH QJ4 109753 Q8 J82

The question was how to play 3H after North has overcalled 1H with 2NT and your 3H rebid ends proceedings.

See yesterday’s post for interesting comments on this. At the table David Beckett took Phil’s line. Big spade from hand, another to table and then back to hand for a low heart to drop the bare ace. A handy swing when 4H went three down undoubled in the other room.

By a strange coincidence I got to play 3H on a not dissimilar hand last night:

VBA
Pennant Session one
Bd 25
Dealer North
EW Vul

	NORTH A6 KQ98752 10 KQ4
WEST Q72 J1043 A8543 102		EAST K1054 A6 AKJ7 876
	SOUTH J983 — Q962 AJ953

West…..North….East…..South
…………1H……..Dble……1S
Pass…..3H……..All Pass

The opening lead was a big diamond and then a spade shift to the nine, queen and ace. Presumably the right way to play hearts is from the top, generally making when they are 3-3 or minor honour is doubleton. Yes? But I had low on the brain after watching David’s play on the weekend and, so floated a high heart pip to the ten. A spade to the king and another spade gave me this interesting option. Now I could win the spade, discarding a big club, and via diamond ruffs and the two club entries, coup RHO. This must be wrong in practice as the opponents could have shifted to a club instead of a spade and then you are an entry short…but still, I couldn’t resist and indeed it was the line to come home.

Careful does it.

WEST A932 KQJ8642 A 5		EAST K876 — K6543 Q973

Sitting West the auction is:

West…..North….East….South
……………………………Pass
1H……..2NT……Pass….3C
3H……..All Pass

North begins with the ace of clubs and then a diamond to the queen and your ace.

What’s your plan? (Comments suppressed for today)

A Cayne grandslam…the denouement.

The Cayne team was not exactly lucky last week.

Board 26
Dealer East
All Vul

	NORTH AKQ3 86 A62 KJ74
WEST 4 QJ9 KJ1054 10962		EAST 10762 1053 Q873 83
	SOUTH J985 AK742 9 AQ5

On this board our teammates got all the way to six spades. It was early in the day. They hadn’t had their weeties yet. Against us Cayne got to seven spades. Declarer took the line of diamond ruffs in dummy which goes down to the bad trump break combined with an inappropriate club layout. Double dummy you make easily by ruffing a heart high. Obviously this isn’t the right line, but it did make me wonder if there was a flexible way to start. Well, none of you have come up with one, so I guess not.

See you tomorrow.

A Cayne grandslam…or not.

Board 26
Dealer East
All Vul

	NORTH AKQ3 86 A62 KJ74
	SOUTH J985 AK742 9 AQ5

As North you reach 7S, partner having opened 1H. Not a squeak from the opponents until West doubles a 6D response to 5NT. East dutifully leads a diamond, the three, and it goes to the king. Is there anything better than the straightforward line of taking two diamond ruffs in dummy? This is NOT a trick question, I’m just checking….This line needs trumps 3-2 or 3-3 clubs or the person with the long trumps to have the long spades should they be 4-1.

Vs Cayne…I loved this.

You pick up:

Q85
AKJ1073
Q3
75

and have to decide what to open. Before you start on: ‘what do you mean, decide?’ let’s suppose you spent years listening to and playing bridge with Seres several times a week. To him this hand is flat, end of story. It’s flat, it’s rubbish. If he’d ever been made to play Acol I think 1NT would be his choice here. Every time I haven’t listened to his advice – ‘why would you want to try to take ten tricks with this hand when you could go for nine?’ – I’ve regretted it. I thought, further, something about playing the hand the right way up. Come on, kiddo, let’s protect those queens. So…1NT.

It is hard to say whether the subsequent auction development was good or bad for me. Partner bid 2NT transfer to diamonds. I bid 3D, don’t like it. And he bid 3H!!! Natural game-forcing. I raised, he blackwooded and there I was putting down my dummy in an embarrassed fashion, not least because it turns out the LAST thing I’d done is protect my queens. I had to open 1H to do that….

Vs Cayne
Board 23
Dealer South
All vul

	NORTH J63 — KJ10865 J632
WEST Q85 AKJ1073 Q3 75		EAST K Q982 A9742 AKQ
	SOUTH A109742 654 — 10984

As you can see, cold. Well, cold as long as I’m not playing it. In the other room Neil Ewart opened the South cards 2D, multi. Now West overcalled in hearts and East bid slam via blackwood. Neil lightner-doubled that, hoping partner would find the opening diamond lead. Indeed Blaine Howe did. At the time we were a few IMPs behind, but the 17 IMPs this board generated saw us take the lead which we comfortably held for the rest of the match.

What do you lead on this one? Concluded.

The question was, on the West hand, what would you lead after the following auction:

West…….North…..East…..South
Pass…….Pass…..2H…….Pass
Pass……3C………Pass…..3NT
All Pass

Cayne match
Board 24
Dealer West
Nil Vul

	NORTH K9 42 842 KQJ973
WEST 87642 A5 A63 1065		EAST AQ5 Q109863 J95 4
	SOUTH J103 KJ7 KQ107 A82

What a fascinating array of comments (see yesterday’s post). There was lead a heart to keep partner happy. There was the perverted – from Ben – lead a heart to keep partner unhappy. I should have mentioned a partnership style of not being lousy. Is this not a perfectly acceptable 2H opening? Sartaj – please agree with me twice in a row. Then there was Richard’s nicely considered estimate of what the average North American would do. And Jonathan didn’t even see a problem.

My partner, David, tried the heart ace. He shifted to a spade, but too late, of course.

In the other room:

West….North…..East….South
Pass…..Pass……1H…..Pass
1S……..2C……..Dble….2H
2S……..3NT……Pass….Pass
Dble…..All Pass

Now a heart lead through the KJx beat 3NT comfortably by two tricks. Ouch.

We still won the match. David and I have had a great run. Four matches against Cayne over the last 4 weeks for 3 wins and a 3 IMP loss…Come back on Monday for a psyche or two.

What do you lead on this?

(comments on this will be suppressed until tomorrow)

Not vul vs vul you sit West and hold:

87642
A5
A63
1065

The auction proceeds:

West…….North…..East…..South
Pass……Pass……2H…….Pass
Pass……3C……..Pass…..3NT
All Pass

What do you lead?

What’s the right action with this? Concluded.

Sorry for being slow in putting this up. I’ve been trying to work out what’s gone wrong with my suit symbols, which I especially use because Sartaj likes them….

Weekend match vs Cayne
Board 18
Dealer East
NS Vul

The question was, what to open with the East hand:

	NORTH miamiwiz A Q6542 KJ2 KQ85
WEST Dave Beckett K652 98 64 A7432		EAST Chua Q1074 7 AQ109753 J
	SOUTH JEC J983 AKJ103 8 1096

Well, I can’t begin to say how excited I am. I opened 4D and that worked a treat as you can see. We bought it there while our teammates easily bid to 4H after East opened 1D and South overcalled 1H.

I’d kind of assumed, though, that if Sartaj got wind of it that I’d get strips torn off me….but, as you can see in yesterday’s comments, he’s for 4D too. Hi Sartaj!! Please come back again, this is fun having you on my side.

Chris, sorry, I  know you started with this bid too…forgive me for not finding that exciting. I must say, I was sorely tempted by 5D, only because that’s what I would have done 20 years ago. In the end, though, that seemed like a good enough reason not to.

The reason I was nervous about opening at the four level is having the ace of the long suit makes it dangerous to bypass 3NT. Yes? Does anybody have an opinion on that?

Another deal from this match tomorrow.

What’s the right action with this?

First in hand not vul vs vul you pick up:

Q1074
7
AQ109753
J

What do you think?

Doing a Ponting

What a way to lose the Ashes. Did you watch Ponting run himself out last night? Well, I did that against Cayne on Sunday. Never mind the details, I want to show them to you about as much as Ponting wants you to watch reruns of his walk back to the pavilion.

It did, however, set the scene for a fascinating last board. We were three IMPs behind.

Bd 28
Dlr W
Vul NS

	NORTH K42 9632 A2 K874
WEST 107 AK1085 Q1064 A2		EAST A65 74 J985 Q1095
	SOUTH QJ983 QJ K73 J63

David and I bid

1H……1NT
2D……All Pass

I made +130. We finished first, went to the other table to see that the auction had started the same way, but in passout Neil Ewart had balanced with 2S.

This looked cold and suddenly we were going to win easily on the last board. But look at what Irka did to beat it. She cashed two hearts and shifted to the two of clubs! Neil looked at that, found out that her 2D bid was 3+, thought…and thought…and thought… and then played low. AAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. That’s no way to save a Ponting! Two spades was now one down via the club ruff. Well done Irka and well done Neil for coming so close to doing the ‘right’ thing.