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Hand played on |
3rd January 2008 |
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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 |
Nigel & Alaric Cundy |
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North ♠K98532 ♥T82 ♦4 ♣QJ9 |
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West ♠JT4 ♥A9 ♦KJT32 ♣532 |
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East ♠A ♥K653 ♦Q6 ♣KT8764 |
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North |
Bidding:
East |
South |
West |
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South ♠Q76 ♥QJ74 ♦A9875 ♣A |
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2♦ 3♠ |
x End |
3♣ |
3♦ |
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North / South were playing the Multi 2♦ style whereby an opening bid of 2♦ shows one of either two or three (depending on partnership agreement) hand types. Here it was a 'three-way' 'Multi', the options being: a weak 2 opening in either major (5-9 HCPs, 6-card suit) or 8 playing tricks in either minor, or 20-22 balanced / semi balanced with a 5-card major.
East faces an awkward bid over the 2♦ opening - given the 4-card heart suit to go alongside the long clubs. Personally, I would not have doubled on this hand - I would favour a 3♣ bid, or pass and see what happens would be an alternative ploy. South's 3♣ bid showed game invitational values opposite a weak 2 in either major. West's 3♦ was automatic in this situation. With a minimum opener, North has a choice of bids - either pass or 3♠. I favour 3♠, because if he passes and East raises diamonds, South may be left guessing at to which major North holds.
It is very tempting with that South hand to push on to game regardless of the minimum hand opposite. This was, after all, a minimum VULNERABLE opening... I always say that if you play a system you should stick to the system and if partner fails to accept an invite then do not bid it for him...
East led the queen of diamonds and Declarer surveyed the scene. The plan was to take two minor suit aces, trump two clubs in Dummy, and then so long as the trumps broke 2-2 there would be 5 natural trump tricks. If that went wrong, then the fall-back was that a 3-3 break in hearts could provide a trick in that suit. The first trick was won by Dummy's Ace, and this was followed by the Ace of clubs, and then a diamond was ruffed in hand. A club was ruffed in Dummy, and another diamond led to hand and ruffed small. East chose to discard a heart. Declarer then ruffed the last club in Dummy, and played the queen of trumps, taken by East. East tried a forcing game by leading another club, on which West discarded and Declarer ruffed with the 8. A heart was led to the queen and Ace, and the heart return was won by East. When another club was led West was powerless to prevent Declarer from making both his remaining trumps - contract made exactly.
This result was repeated at several tables, but not at all... One pair bid one too many, and another bid two too many and were doubled. The best North / South score was achieved by the pair who made 10 tricks in a spade part-score. Certainly, Double-Dummy ten tricks can be made: assume that the play goes as above for the first three tricks. At trick 4 Declarer takes a ruffing finesse in clubs, and when that succeeds he then ruffs the remaining club. Now there are still two trumps in Dummy with all the clubs taken care of. Declarer crosses back to hand courtesy of another diamond ruff, and if East fails to over-ruff then the play of a small trump towards Dummy takes out East's Ace cheaply, and the trump losers can be kept to one East west have two chances to break this line: there is a heart ruff to be found, or alternatively if East over-ruffs the diamond with the singleton Ace then partner will have a natural trump trick established.
The moral of this story? Believe partner if he rejects a game try...