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Hand played on |
7th June 2007 |
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Board number 13 |
Red Section |
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Dealer |
North |
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Vulnerability |
Both |
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Submitted by |
Alaric Cundy |
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North ♠ J75 ♥ 3 ♦ KT8765 ♣ A97 |
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West ♠ AT63 ♥ K98762 ♦ 42 ♣ 2 |
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East ♠ Q94 ♥ JT4 ♦ Q9 ♣ KJT86 |
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North |
Bidding:
East |
South |
West |
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South ♠ K82 ♥ AQ5 ♦ AJ3 ♣ Q543 |
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No 1♦ 3NT |
No No End |
1♣ 1NT |
No No |
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I make no secret of the fact that I am a great admirer of the late Rixi Markus. One of her books was entitled 'Bid boldly, play safe', and certainly the 'Bid boldly' bit of that philosophy had relevance on this hand....
North / South were playing a 12-14 HCP 1NT opening, so South's bidding showed a balanced 15-16 HCPs including four or more clubs. North rightly upgraded the hand to allow for the fifth and sixth diamond, together with the certain outside entry, and boldly raised directly to 3NT.
At the table, West understandably started with a heart, but now when Declarer correctly guessed the diamonds and then correctly read East's discards as a signal for clubs, ten tricks materialised for a shared 'top' for North / South. In total Declarer made two hearts, six diamonds, and two clubs.
So how could have East / West fared better? Clearly, if South guesses the diamonds incorrectly Declarer will only make 9 tricks at the most, but setting that one aside...
East's discards asking for clubs steered Declarer towards the tenth trick, courtesy of the Queen of clubs rather than, for example, trying the spades. East / West's lead style was such that West led the nine of hearts initially as the top of an internal sequence. Given that understanding, perhaps East should give preference in the discards to showing heart support, and now Declarer is down to two guesses - the initial one in diamonds, and the second one as to which black suit to try for the tenth trick. One correct guess out of two - it happens! Two out of two - much less likely!
Some West players may have boldly intervened over 1♣, despite the flimsy values. Some players may have viewed the hand as a 'weak jump overcall', even though the text-books advocate not doing that with a supplementary 4-card major. However, just 1♥ might be good enough to derail Declarer. Now when Declarer bids no trumps despite a heart bid from West, West might be able to find the devastating singleton club lead against 3NT. East is likely to win, and should now shoot back the jack of hearts - reasoning that if partner overcalled hearts and then didn't lead them, he / she must be crying out for a heart lead through Declarer... Now Declarer has to guess the diamonds correctly even to make the contract, and if he / she guesses wrongly, the defence potentially could collect 8 tricks... (five hearts, a club, a diamond, and a spade). That didn't actually happen at any tables. The hand was almost universally played in 3NT - making 8, 9,or 10 tricks.
Bid boldly - but preferably guess well too!