Two special moves made this Four Spade declaration by me stand out. Out of 15 tables 14 went down. Only I made it.
The first was a careful small play on the second round of hearts from East, from my hand Kx. This proved vital when W ruffed.
The second was visualizing my complete elopment with one trump outstanding. The fact that West would have to win a club exit and not have a trump to return was quite an amazing spot (or hope).
From the get go, this three notrump will make if you read all cards right. My special trick was ducking the club King, holding the CAQ. I thought this would add to my endgame pressure chances. I had made my play more complex than needed but the last clubs kept west out, and put pressure unbeknownst to me on E who held the long spade and the master diamond. You see, he had to shed hearts otherwise, if he shed the spade, I needed to play a H to the Ace and exit with a diamond, (reading E for stiff J) and enforcing the return into my K9 tenace.
When the first round of trump went Jack, King, Ace, three. On the next round I crossed to the King of spades (my second spade entry for playing trumps off the table) and finessed against the ten. You see, West had bid clubs, and I could afford one trump loser not two. Other tables must have laid down the Queen of hearts losing to the ten eight
I guess there were two actions on this board that might be deemed non-standard. The first was the shape for the double. I risked a double because at Instant IMP, the South hand is the highest in HCP. Next, over LHO's raise to Two Spades, Partner jump bid FOUR CLUBS. What should I do now? I reasoned that my xxxx of spades must face a void or a singleton, and my hand was rich in controls for a club contract. I shot out FIVE CLUBS. I saw that the contract depended on a Heart finesse, which the kind opponents took for me. Or else I would have done so myself, making the contract on any lead.
In a Instant IMP tournament on BridgeBaseOnline, After partner responded One Spade to my One Diamond, RHO got frisky with FOUR CLUBS. My rushes of blood to the brain were operative and I deemed my AQx worthy of a raise to six. When I saw that declarer had merely JT98xx of trump, I needed the finesse. All was well when I could discard two losing diamonds on top HAQ after unblock of the HK. Making six for a reward of 13.3 crossIMP
E might have, given his diamond void, desperately tried to underlead his eight-bagger, AKxxxxxx. Partner, in with the Club Quack will give him his ruff for one down. Lucky for me, they were not upto this defence
This was a pushy four spade bid on the last (12th) board of a 15-player event on BBO
Once I misguessed by playing the HT on opening lead, I was headed for a one-trick set. When the robot E came to my resscue by covering the SJ. Since my T 9 were high, I could play on a high elopement. I handled the rest well for a sizeable IMP pickup on the vul game
When I, perhaps, inadvisedly indicated Spade support, partner took me for three carder and went off into Blackwood land. It was not the most numerous card-contract at the six level, this seven card fit, but I played on normal lines. I could afford a late trump loser, as it turned out
When I inquired RKCB, the reply was unexpected. The jump to SIX HEARTS showed a spade void and an odd number of keycards. I played it safe in six while I was itching to gamble seven.
When my somewhat deficient heart suit bid got raised via a three spade splinter bid after a one spade overcall, a wild idea occurred to me. I cue-bid FOUR DIAMONDS, and drove relentlessly off the cliff into slam. A prayer was answered when trumps broke 2-2 with A onside.
A balancing action by me -not without risk- launched us into the Moysian. Plan play on the HA, HQ continuation where the ruff with the deuce holds, West luckily having two of East's suit. In replays at fifteeen tables the contract was going down two and three. I guessed everything right
After a loaded pass, Three Spades was one of those hang partner high bids. Here, it worked out
Other table played a meek 3C.
A friend and former bridge partner commented, when I sent him this deal, I wonder, on that auction what the odds are that East would have HKx, HQx, HKQx (or, of course, HKQ, as he actually had). I'd guess the odds are pretty high. Nicely bid!
Three noteworthy features. 1. the robots 0play this intermediate strength invitational 1S-3H which makes no sense. 2. This time my jump was not addiction - a symptom where I think chance-taking superior to investigation that is systematic 3. Finally, the OT emerged because the 8 was singleton and the 4 3 of trump had to underruff and present the trump 5 with a trick
I could have gotten fancy with Exclusion keycard blackwood, I suppose, asking for keycards outside of clubs, but in some cases - as here- CA K can come in handy. I launched into RKCB and partner showed two of the five keycards (4 aces and trump K) without the Queen of trump (Of course, since I held it). I took a shot at seven which was almost a claim
An ominous lead of T of spades goes to SJ which holds. Obviously a singlton.
I lose the trump finesse, win the D return (covered J, Q and A, and draw trump in two more rounds. (Note: GIB or double dummy engines suggest taking fewer than three rounds trump and playing West for the club King and a doubleton trump, when you can make 12 tricks, but this is not for the feint of heart. After you take three trumps and "test" the spades, the following paragraphs are accurate.)
Setting up Spades has insufficient entries. Clubs are fraught unless there is an endplay.
I find the only exit that works. My losing diamond. When West leads a third round of the suit, I avoid ruffing in either hand, taking a ruff sluff and encouraging another diamond play which will not help defense.
He is forced to play a club and I stick in the queen, and have obtained 10 tricks when I am able to ruff my last spade loser with dummy's trump having pitched the penultimate spade loser on the CQ.
EDIT: Final note as this goes to print. I would be down if the C finesse failed. Instead, I can even make 11 tricks. After drawing trump, there is a beautiful loser on loser line to set up the spades. Overtook the SK with the SA and play the S9, pitching dummy's losing diamond.
Partner opens Three Clubs in front of you and you hold a top fullhouse among your 13 cards. I shot out SIX CLUBS since partner tends to have good seven card suits, and they may not guess to lead spades.
Partner's hand surprised me, our total trump assets mean we needed a slightly against odds break. We got it.
I proudly showed my real life partner this hand, saying see what an imaginative raise I made. He replied dryly:"Indeed, quite imaginative! And very lucky not to lose two spades off the top."
I was South in a robot pairs cross IMP event with fifteen other human South players in competition on BridgeBaseOnline. I raised partner's TWO HEARTS to FOUR HEARTS. (All pairs got to 4hearts one way, or anther). I had to move over to the North seat to declare for the robot. After the lead of the DQ, I played another top diamond pitching a club from the North (declarer's) hand. I took stock. Despite South's huge complement of high cards, the possible losers were 2 clubs, an inevitable Ace of spades, and a possible HQ. Against normal breaks, although I have a two way finesse (assuming reentries will be safe) I was loath to take an immediate trump position. I thought out of the box. If i exited, in clubs and repeatedly exited in black suits, I could better count out their high cards, distribution and then figure who was more likely to hold the HQ. So I exited with a club which West won. West thought that I was trying to score ruffs in dummy, from my failure to draw trumps. Innocently he returned a trump from xx picking up the queen of his angry robot partner whose circuits were fusing
The traveler showed that I was the only declarer to make 4H. 15 declarers failed by one or two tricks.
On the following deal, when they landed in 5 Clubs after a competitive auction, partner showing the majors, I almost made a lightner double. I wonder if partner would have duly led a spade for me to put him in with a H and to collect a second spade ruff? However, as things unfolded, partner got off to a H lead, now we could not get three off the top, he shifted to a diamomd, my King and declarer's Ace. Declarer after drawing trump in three rounds ending in hand, advanced the Spade 6 and when partner drowsily played small, played the five from dummy! the trick had been six, four, five, and I was void in the suit! Now he made 12 tricks easily. Note the play if North covers. Declarer must now duck in dummy and leave north on play. He should finish the last two trump in dummy, and then the diamond finesse of the ten and the DQ is the squeeze card. North is squeezed between S:KJ and H:Q, dummy having S:Ax and declarer S:x H:Q
Me and my bidding. I had torn it again, I thought. Still, one has to wear the mask. I won the trump lead, andd advanced SQ, covereed and won in dummy. Cheap attempt one was to make East duck his presumed Jack and sneak the 12th trick by playing small from T9x toward my 8. It failed but West made the last mistake, fearing to open from his Kxx clubs, and who could blame him, he had nearly an opening hand and we had bid to slam. My partner, with whom I shared the deal thought West had to try clubs. My play would have been strange with Ax of clubs the only way West could lose playing into the tenace.
Playing online against Robots on BBO, I held the South hand and played in 2NT. After CA and CK brought the bad news, i decided to make something of the Txx in spades in dummy to build tricks. At the same time, I did not want to go all out with Ace and Queen from hand. I got incredibly lucky when I chose to lead out the SQ, and West, reasonably not placing me with AQx(x) (surely the idiot would have crossed to CQ to finesse) ducked. I continued with Spade Ace and the King fell. I set up the S winner, and diamonds (not 4 4 as I had hoped) were at least blocked. I brought in 2nt making my own luck as it went down all over the field
I arrived in Four hearts, and knew from the bidding that west had long Spades and Clubs. After the SK and a small spade, East unaccountably made a mistake, a rookie mistake of not ruffing. However, the rest of the play was interesting. Visualizating and counting East's hand, I threw him in (with my last trump) to give entryless dummy an additional diamond trick, making.
This was one of the more exciting 3NT contracts with many points in the play. When west tried to win the second Heart trick cheaap (he needed to look ahead and crocodile) his partner found himself on lead. (My leading their suit was an attempt to throw sand in their eyes, but also to set yp a late endplay for the ninth trick)
I retained a fourth round spade entry to hand, the finesse having worked, the idea in the ending was to have west give me a trick after taking two
I pontificated, in an email to my bridge partner that, Much ink is spilled on gadgets like serious 3NT non-serious 3NT, but more important IMHO, is simple co-operative bidding when level allows.nHere partner produces a funny limit raise. I accept, but en route, I bid 4C, a cue. This is all partner needs to put me in slam. I ruff with small trumps and am able to catch the T98 void break.
He responded " Weird that you didn’t have company in slam. Partner has an obvious 4D response to 1S, and with nothing wasted in diamonds and controls in the other suits, you’d seem to have an easy route to slam. But I agree that 4C was a good bid given your auction." Which is fair enough. Why didn't robot partner splinter
A spade lead might have attacked the entries, but eventually I play up to the CQ and have many chances. As the actual defence went, I was not even tested
Barometer scoring, and I was in pole position with one board to play. When partner invited me to 6NT, I let it go hoping to have company and also hoping the slam would fail. And boy, did it?
