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For me, the highlight of the Hilton Head, SC regional was
playing on the team that put my teammate, Mike Passell, over
60,000 masterpoints.
This month, we feature the wild and wacky deals.
Next
month, I'll dig into the more serious lesson deals.
On one deal we saw a rare number. My teammates, Jeff
Meckstroth-Eric Rodwell, collected an unusual +700. Their
opponents had a big accident and played in 2♦, undoubled, down
7. After a Meckwell strong club, one opponent thought 2♦ showed
hearts, the other thought it was natural. This resulted in a 3-0
fit. This was the full deal and the auction:
|
|
|
North |
|
|
♠
|
KJ109 |
|
♥
|
1085 |
|
♦
|
J32 |
|
♣ |
963 |
|
|
|
|
West
|
|
|
East
|
|
♠
|
AQ43 |
♠
|
87 |
|
♥
|
A |
♥
|
932 |
|
♦
|
KQ9754 |
♦
|
A1086 |
|
♣
|
A2 |
♣ |
QJ74 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
South |
|
♠
|
652 |
|
♥
|
KQJ764 |
|
♦
|
-- |
| ♣ |
K10853 |
|
West |
North |
East |
South |
| 1♣* |
Pass |
1♦** |
2♦& |
| Pass |
Pass |
Pass |
|
| * Precision
(Strong) |
| ** Negative (0-7) |
|
&Intended as transfer to hearts |
West led the
♦K, cashed the ♥A, and continued with a diamond to
East's Ace. The defense took 12 tricks for down 7 and a 7-IMP
gain (the other table made 400 E-W in 3NT).---------------
On one deal, I made the worst analysis in my 40+ years of
playing bridge (I started in 1st grade):
This was my hand:
|
♠
|
1095 |
|
♥
|
-- |
|
♦
|
76 |
|
♣
|
AJ1098754 |
Neither side vulnerable, my RHO dealt and opened 1♥ . My
philosophy is to preempt to the 4-level with an 8-card suit, so
I tried 4♣.
LHO bid 4♦, and RHO raised to 5♦, the final contract.
My partner led the ♥K and I saw:
|
|
|
North |
|
|
♠
|
|
|
♥
|
K |
|
♦
|
|
|
♣ |
|
|
|
|
|
West
|
|
|
East
|
|
♠
|
|
♠
|
42 |
|
♥
|
|
♥
|
A76543 |
|
♦
|
|
♦
|
AJ108 |
|
♣
|
|
♣ |
3 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
South |
|
♠
|
1095 |
|
♥
|
-- |
|
♦
|
76 |
| ♣ |
AJ1098754 |
That's a light 1♥ opener, but once East's partner bid diamonds,
his hand was quite good. The ♥K lead was covered by the ace and
I ruffed. I returned a spade.
This was my analysis: If my partner has a spade trick we will
defeat them. Additionally, if declarer started with two hearts, he has
an inescapable heart loser. I was wishing I had doubled.
Even worse, I was wondering what our side could make in spades.
What if my partner held, for example:
|
♠
|
A Q J 8 7 |
|
♥
|
K Q J 10 9 |
|
♦
|
5 |
|
♣
|
6 2 |
How would our side do in 4♠ or 5♣? Quite well, thank you. We
might lose only 2 tricks (one in each minor). Surely we might be
cold for 4♠, right?
Very wrong. This was the full deal:
|
|
|
North |
|
|
♠
|
A63 |
|
♥
|
KQJ1082 |
|
♦
|
32 |
|
♣ |
Q6 |
|
|
|
|
West
|
|
|
East
|
|
♠
|
KQJ87 |
♠
|
42 |
|
♥
|
9 |
♥
|
A76543 |
|
♦
|
KQ954 |
♦
|
AJ108 |
|
♣
|
K2 |
♣ |
3 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
South |
|
♠
|
1095 |
|
♥
|
-- |
|
♦
|
76 |
| ♣ |
AJ1098754 |
No, I don't agree with West's bidding, but in the postmortem she
said: "I was planning to bid 4♠ over East's expected 4♥."
Unluckily for her, we beat 5♦ a trick (heart ruff and 2 black aces). What
about my brilliant analysis about the missed spade game? I was
half right. There was a spade game in the cards, but it was for
the opponents!
---------
On the final strange deal from Hilton Head, I held:
|
♠
|
2 |
|
♥
|
Q J 4 2 |
|
♦
|
A K 8 7 5 |
|
♣
|
Q 6 2 |
Neither side vulnerable, I dealt and opened 1♦. LHO jumped to 2♠
(weak), passed back to me.
I consider this a routine balancing double. Any time I am short
in their suit (even with a dead minimum hand such as this), I
reopen with a double.
However, my partner took a long time (less than a minute, but
clearly a break in tempo) over 2♠. The "law" states that I must
not take advantage. If, however, my call (double) is 100%
action, I am still entitled to take it.
Is double 100%? For me, yes, but not for everyone. I probably
could have lived with myself if I doubled, but I decided to
pass. Maybe I was influenced by having just read: The Lone
Wolff (see review in this month's newsletter). Bobby Wolff
rants endlessly about avoiding such incidents (slow pass and then
partner's dubious action). Passing was probably an overreaction on
my part. How did it work out?
|
|
|
North |
|
|
♠
|
-- |
|
♥
|
10 9 8 3 |
|
♦
|
10 9 6 2 |
|
♣ |
K 10 9 8 4 |
|
|
|
|
West
|
|
|
East
|
|
♠
|
A K J 9 7 3 |
♠
|
2 |
|
♥
|
A K 5 |
♥
|
Q J 4 2 |
|
♦
|
3 |
♦
|
A K 8 7 5 |
|
♣
|
A J 3 |
♣ |
Q 6 2 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
South |
|
♠
|
Q 10 8 6 5 4 |
|
♥
|
7 6 |
|
♦
|
Q J 4 |
| ♣ |
7 5 |
|
West |
North |
East |
South |
| -- |
-- |
-- |
1♦ |
| 2♠ |
Pass* |
Pass |
Pass** |
| * Slow |
| ** Too much of an
overreaction |
My poor partner. He was sitting and waiting for a double by me.
He's still waiting. Next time, he'll just have to try to pass in tempo. On the
other hand, I have sympathy. That 2♠ bid by
South (yuk!) created
quite a surprise for West. He thought of bidding 6NT, but
eventually made that slow pass. We beat 2♠ 6 tricks for plus
only 300.
At the other table, with East-West silent, West played in 6NT
down one and our team won 8 IMPs. Next time, though, I'm
doubling--I'd be able to live with myself (like I said, I would
double 101 times out of 100 with a singleton in their suit).
Read about 4 "serious/lesson" deals from
Hilton Head next month.
Return to Larry's
website
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