Witness to the Gainesville SWISS
The Kibitzer is Shirley Wright
Witness to the
By Jon Shuster,
Jon: Shirley, I know you enjoyed watching the exciting Gainesville Sectional June 22-24,2007 , which averaged 35 tables per session over its six sessions. Everyone enjoyed the free daily lunches and the great company. I understand you were particularly interested in a hand played in the Sunday SWISS Team event.
Shirley: That is “Wright”. I will present the hand and what happened, and see if you can spot the faux pas committed. Neither side is vulnerable, and South deals.
North:
S-Q3
H-KJ84
D-KQJ9
C-AJ5
West: East
S-1062 S-J985
H-Q9 H-10763
D-103 D-A52
C-K108763 C-42
South
S-AK74
H-A52
D-8764
C-Q9
The bidding at Table 1 went:
West North East South
- - - 1D
P 1H P 1NT
P 4C P 4S
P 6NT
At Table 2, it went
West North East South
- - - 1D
P 1H P 1S
P 2C(1) P 2H
P 4NT P 5H (2)
P 6NT
- (1) 4th suit forcing for one round.
- (2) 2 Keycards without the HQ
The play at both tables was similar:
At Table 1, West led the S2, to dummy’s Q. Declarer forced out the DA, East winning and returning a second Spade to South. South now led the CQ, covered by the K and A. The South hand was reentered in Hearts and the SA was now cashed, throwing a Club from dummy. Next, declarer took the successful Heart finesse, but was left with a losing Heart at the end, when the suit divided 4-2.
The play at Table 2 was almost identical, with East leading a Spade. No swing resulted.
Supplemental Bidding Quiz:
You hold, playing 5 card majors, neither side vulnerable:
S-AKQ3 H-J765 D-8642 C-9
North East South West
P P ?
Solution:
Bidding issues.
At Table 1, South should have bid 1S and not 1NT over 1H. A 4-4 Spade fit might have been missed, especially if the North hand had a weak hand and would pass 1NT. The 4C bid (Gerber) was a clear overbid. With 12-14 points facing 17 balanced, the combined point count is at best 31, two points short of a good slam. I prefer a simple 3NT over 1NT. Slam figures to be at best a 50-50 proposition. Having decided to bid slam, the third error at Table 1 was placing the contract at 6NT, rather than 6D. Notice that although both contracts require a decent Diamond break (Hope East does not have D-A10xx), and both the Club and Heart finesses to be “Wright”, there is one ruff, and therefore the 3-3 Heart split is not as critical.
Recommended auction at Table 2, who were not playing inverted minors
West North East South
- - - 1D
P 1H P 1S
P 2C(1) P 2H
P 3D P 3S
P 3NT P P
P
(1) 4th suit forcing for one round.
I agree with the first four calls, but after that, the North player overbid the hand (and erred if a slam is to be bid by choosing NT, rather than D). Instead of 4NT North should have bid 3D. Even if the 4th suit was forcing for one round, 3D is 100% forcing. At this point, South does not know if this is a cue-bid with hearts trump or if it is a real suit. South has the perfect call of 3S at this point, and with North bidding 3NT, the description of that hand is complete. Since the hand was placed in NT, and not Hearts, the Diamond suit must be real. Since so many bids were made, rather than a jump to 3NT over 1S, the North hand must be a borderline slam hand. Movement is now up to South, who clearly is glad to pass 3NT.
Having bid 4NT, and hearing partner’s 5H response, North did not take the time to figure out the hand. It is clear that missing one Ace and the HQ, the outlook is poor in 6NT. North can have one of these two shapes: 4S-3H-4D-2C or 4S-3H-5D-1C. If North has just one Club, unless it is an unlikely singleton honor, a Club lead seals your fate in 6NT. If partner has the DA and SA, you will have to be extraordinarily lucky to avoid two losers in Hears alone. Otherwise, you will have to drive out the DA or SA, and the defense now has at least two tricks in NT, even if you can score 4H and 5D. In 6D Diamonds, if you assume the HQ is offside (50%), you will need to have at least two discards to avoid a Heart loser, a better shot than 6NT, however. A strong case can therefore be made for bidding 5S over 5H to get partner to bid 5NT, assuming you have a sharp partner. Note that 5S cannot be natural, since you failed to set trump by bidding 3S over 3H. Also, 5S cannot be asking for the HQ, since partner already denied it. By elimination, 5S demands 5NT.
Play issues:
The hand can and should be made! They both came oh so close! Both declarers correctly took the C finesse when in with the second Spade. But both erred by failing to cash the second Club, once the Diamonds had been run.
Here is the situation when the critical juncture occurs. The CJ play right now is the winner. East must discard a major suit card, so South captures all of the remaining tricks, whichever suit East unguards. Unfortunately, both declarers, without cashing the CJ, crossed to the HA at this point, and went down. It is true, a multi trick set may be risked if the HQ is wrong and East can cash some Clubs. But that is only 50 points a trick. Getting +990 is certainly worth the effort.
North:
S-
H-KJ84
D-
C-J5
West: East
S-10 S-J9
H-Q9 H-10763
D- D-
C-1087 C-
South
S-K7
H-A52
D-
C-9
Solution to Supplemental Bidding Quiz:
The optimal bid here is 1S, with Pass as a distant second choice, and 1D an awful selection. If you bid 1S, the final contract will be 5C doubled, down 2 for +300. If you passed, the final contract is 4H making for -420. If you open 1D, the final contract is 5C doubled, making for -550. At the other table, East opened a weak 2D, and EW reached 4H on a silent auction, off one for -50.