Vikings in Space

Hi all

I got bearhugged last time at Star. Here’s the full diagram with a walkthrough.

EW ended up in an ambitious 3NT via a complicated and conventional sequence I cannot reproduce. I recall I doubled a conventional bid as lead-directing. Hoek led the Jack of via the Queen for my King. I switched a small for declarer’s Ace.

Declarer crossed the river with a small and next he ran the Jack of to Hoek’s Ace. Hoek took stock for a moment, cashed his Ten and exited with the Jack.

Can you see what’s happened? Hoek effectively transferred all controls to my hand.

Declarer took his Ace of and overtook his Queen with the King in dummy. I already have to make a sweaty discard. This is the position with another to come:

On the Jack of I throw my  Queen praying Hoek holds the Ten. My hopes get shattered instantly when declarer shows it with a dirty smile on his face. On the 9 I’m squeezed again and declarer claims the remainder with a finesse in .

Actually the squeeze for the overtrick was just insult added to injury, for no one had bid game.

Hi all

I’m not really into individual events, they’re more like a lottery instead of a real tournament. And that I tend to score badly in individual tournaments doesn’t help either. But the Dombo Individual is something I keep checked in my agenda every year. (Mostly) nice partners and opponents all the way and all day. The bridge is from another dimension I think, but the atmosphere is excellent.

Keeping things easy:

1. No weak 2’s in our arsenal and it’s too far from an opening bid
2. I have way too much for just 4

I was happy my partner raised himself to slam, it seemed I got my message across.
 

My partner ruffed the lead, drew a round of trumps and then put his attention to the suit. When West inserted a high the play was over. Claim +1430.

Later at the bar I had a small discussion how to tackle the suit. If, and I stress ”if", you play for the to be 4-1, the best play is to lead a small one to the 9 in dummy. If East has won the trick with a bare honour, you are still well placed to finesse against West’s remaining honours. Plus, you can tackle the current layout where West holds all three honours. There must be some math guy out there who can work out the odds…

Hi all

I’m slightly biased when telling stories. I like to talk about success and grand coups and big plusses, to keep a little balance here’s a disaster from our last teams match.

I’m in first hand no one vulnerable. I push my weak NT openings whenever I see fit, but this hand is just too lousy. LHO passes too and Hoek opens 1.

1. I intend to rebid an invitational 3
2. Minors
3. Small stretch, but I expect Hoek to hold very short and I like my fit a lot

East expresses his doubt with a double that must have been picked up by some seismology institutes. West kicks off with the King.

Here are a few thoughts and assumptions during this game.
– Trumps are 1-4 (I cannot handle 0-5)
– Lefty is holding something like a 1-2-5-5
– Because West started with the King I put a small mark East is holding the Ace of
– Locate the Jack of

Here’s my plan. I ruffed the lead in dummy and next I played a trump to hand to extract West single trump (disrupt communication between my opps). I ruffed another and crossed to the Queen of and finessed against the Jack of . The Jack was onside, but East ruffed and I lost control of the hand for -500 when they tapped me with endless streams of . If the had split a little bit more friendly I could have developed a and enter a crossruff for 10.

I still kick myself for not anticipating a 6-1 split.

As the hand lies I should have finessed against the Jack of immediately. You have to tread carefully but there are several routes to 10 tricks now.

Martin & Hendrik tried 5 at the other table with the EW cards, but a 4-0 trump split and 4-2 split was too much to overcome.

Hi all

Here’s one from Star. I think nothing special happened, but it did score extremely well. Why?

It’s an easy pass first hand. The auction proceeded like this:

1. I have invitational support, but there’s no rush
2. 17-19 hcp, splinter with support
3. Looking at a fit and controlrich hand I took the steering wheel
4. 3 keycards
5. Queen of trumps?
6. Yes, but no outside Kings

West started the King of and the hand played itself. Draw trumps and finesse in for the overtrick.

It’s a fine example of the power of the 4-4 fit. A lot of pairs were blinded by the fit and landed in 6. Unless you get a friendly lead, this contract is doomed.

Hi all

Here’s a tiny game from last week.

1. Garozzo
2. relay
3. 8-11 hcp, stiff

After Hoek had shown a mini-splinter in I hardly could suppress my slam ambitions, it looks like a magic fit. But I analyzed Hoek holding the Ace of and both King and Ace in would have entered a normal (11-15) splinter-sequence. So I settled for game. And again there was no play to it.

I like games on very marginal values. Both sides can claim ten tricks in a Major with hands on their backs. But any 5-level contract will suffer defeat on an enemy ruff. I like this kind of symmetry, especially when I’m holding the boss suit.

Hi all

Some Dombo butler night a while ago I played with Frank. Here’s my hand together with the auction.

1. Unbalanced, 4+

I had extras after Frank’s 2 signoff, so I invited for game with 2NT. I expected Frank’s 3 (master!)bid to be a maximum with a good three card fit, and no large (and wasted) values in the round suits. With those values he would certainly opt for 3NT. I had a very easy raise to 4. There was no real play to it, so I’ll show you the full diagram.

There are a couple of things I like about this game. I don’t bid to a Moysian fit voluntarily that often. On the lead I drew two rounds of trumps before taking the finesse in and I didn’t care if it would win or lose. Dummy’s trump protects me against a attack so I could safely develop my side suit. Of course it gained us zilch, for the Queen of was onside all the time, so 3NT … yawn …

Hi all

I’m looking at a lake, it’s black and smooth like a mirror. My pale reflection throws me a furtive look.

My RHO opens 1 and I have to decide if this hand (it’s pairs) is worth a bid. I have full values but the suit is terrible. The idea partner cannot bid in fourth position because of shortness pushes me to 2, I’m glad nobody’s vulnerable. Three quick passes follow and LHO starts with a .

Hoek puts down a nice dummy. Such a hand is close to a bid in my opinion, but I’m glad he passed. This is difficult enough already.

East takes the lead with the Ace and fires back the Queen. I take it and West completes the doubleton lead. All looks straightforward, cash the Ace of , cross to the Ace of for a discard on the King. Everything cool, but I get surprised when I play the last from dummy, East discards the Jack of . So far any ruffs in dummy.

My nail breaks the surface. A ripple of unrest leaving me, my consciousness travelling along. Suddenly I see all.

I exit with a small discarding the last from dummy. West ponders for some time and plays a fourth round of (the Queen). I ruff with the King in dummy and East overruffs. East brings in a in the triple void, I ruff with the 4 and West overruffs with the 9. This is the position when East puts the Queen on the table:

I play small from dummy, East throws another and I ruff with the 5. The picture is complete, East is 5-4-3-1 and has only trumps left. So I can exit with a small trump and end with a fork over East.

I’m not alone anymore, a lonely elk across greets me with a triumphant sound.

The lake is still again.

 Hi all

"Change my pitch up, smack… " With this Prodigy-song in my head I sit down against one of my alltime favorite opponents. A walking pile of gold and too much make-up, wrapped in tight clothes she’s about 20 years too old for.

LHO opens 2, either some strong hand or weak with both Majors. My goldplated RHO bids a preference 2 (no surprise with my holding). Everybody is silent after that and I throw trump Queen on the table.

Declarer takes it with her Ace and finesses in for Hoek’s King. Another trump is for the Jack in dummy and declarer tries the Ace of .

Ruffed.
By.
Hoek.
And again a trump.

Declarer now tries a  from dummy and finesses into my Queen. I take one high  looking for a signal, Hoek throws something discouraging in .

I exit in for Hoek’s Ace and a smart Jack of hits the table. We play two more rounds of the lucky black suit and dummy ruffs the last one. But now dummy is thrown in and has to play a  into my 9-7 fork. The result is brutal, down four. She just made her four trump tricks, that’s all. By the way, did you notice the  position? EW got exactly zero tricks from that suit.

Why didn’t we double? Why weren’t they vulnerable? Or both? I let out a small sigh and hope for better times.