End of Day 3 - 17 matches played - 2009 CNTC Penticton

Things have improved somewhat over the last five matches. We are now back in 8th place - and looking forward to day four of the round robin.

Keith and I sat out the match before dinner and the boys brought home a plus 20 imp victory. That was worth 21 VP's. I believe by dinner time we had now climbed to 10th on the leader board - which was a marked improvement over the 16th place we occupied this morning !

One hand I liked was when North (Jeff Smith in our match) held Q2 K95 AJ Q85432, red versus white.

His LHO opened 1S, and this was passed around to Jeff who bid 2 clubs. Paul, his partner cue bid 2 spades, and Jeff bid the immediate 3NT - correctly diagnosing that Paul had spade length and hoping between them their holdings constituted a spade stopper. This was exactly the case when Paul tabled 10863 A763 43 AK10. There was no way to beat 3NT which was doubly sweet when John and Herve stole the contract at 2spades in the other direction.

John had AKJ954 QJ4 876 J and opened 1 spade and rebid 2 spades over Herve's 1NT response.

This sparked a heated discussion over dinner over whether Jeff's hand should in fact enter the live auction of (1S) - (1NT) with his moth eaten suit. The majority opinion was that you just have to swallow hard and bid 2 clubs - the game bonus is to good to pass up.

After dinner, Keith and I played with Paul and Jeff at the other table. We had a dream set, where everything we did was right. Teammates came to the comparison after the match looking crestfallen. They had gone down 3 in a freely bid reasonable slam (I think - I only know they were -300 and I didn't ask); and watched the opponents bid and make an inferior 7H grand slam on a black suit squeeze; and also watched their opponents avoid a 4-4 heart fit and play 3NT making, when hearts split 5-0 against them.

We actually won the match by 36 imps for a blitz - scoring the maximum 25 VP's. We had also beaten the slam two tricks; we had bid and made the better grand slam in diamonds; we HAD avoided the 4-4 heart fit and made 3NT; we made 2 of a major doubled twice during the match and a couple of other good things to boot ! It was quite a rush that set of boards.

Two highlights. My RHO opened 1 spade; we were white they were red. I held QJ53 AJ432 K43 A. I overcalled 2 hearts. This was passed around to my RHO who made a takeout double - but everyone passed !

The lead was a low club, and dummy was a sweet sight - Keith held 986 K7 A8752 and Q73.

North

986
K7
A8752
Q73

South

QJ53
AJ432
K43
A

So I won the club lead; and cashed king then ace of diamonds. They lived - no enemy ruff. Now I ruffed a club to my hand; played a heart to the king; and ruffed another club in my hand. Then I exited the queen of spades and eventually I had to make the AJ of hearts to score five hearts; two diamonds; and a club for +470 - winning 13 imps on the trump end play.

The hand of the tournament for us (well so far anyway) was the grand slam in diamonds. It was all about figuring out what was best - 6H, 6NT, 7D, 7H, or even 7NT.

I held A108 A109 KQJ4 1098. We play weak NT but this looked much more like a strong NT to me - notwithstanding the 4333 shape - so I upgraded and opened the bidding 1 diamond.

Keith jump responded 2H which we play is a game forcing hand - either hearts and diamonds - or a strong one suiter in hearts. My RHO now overcalled 2 spades. I could bid 2NT I suppose or even bid 3 hearts, but I saw no rush - let's hear what partner has to say. So I passed and Keith now bid 3 spades.

Great - this confirmed he had hearts and diamonds and in fact a stiff spade in our methods. So all of a sudden my upgraded weak NT could bid Blackwood. Keith responded 5 hearts - showing two key cards for diamonds (not hearts - I had never confirmed that fit)

He was unlimited and we had all the key cards, so I now bid 5NT to sniff around for a grand slam. Keith bid 6 clubs now - showing the king. That was nice but I needed more than that to bid a grand - so I signed off in 6 diamonds.

But Keith continued with 6 spades ! Was this torture? I knew he could not have the KQJxx of hearts - since he would have jumped to 7 clubs at this point - we had a hole somewhere. On the other hand; he was confident we could make 6NT - or he would not have bid 6 spades. Maybe he had the stiff king of spades?

Anyway, I was 4333 with no extra high cards and no fifth diamond so I bid 6NT and Keith now bid 7 diamonds ! So I had invited a grand and he had not bid the grand, but rather made two 6 level bids and then bid a grand anyway after I signed off twice. This could only mean he always intended to bid a grand but was really not sure in what strain.

Well I was sure that only diamonds made sense so I passed, and there we played. Dummy was a thing of beauty.

North

Q
KQ543
A652
AK6

South

A108
A109
KQJ4
1098

1D (P) 2H (2S)
P (P) 3S (P)
4NT (P) 5H (P)
5NT (P) 6C (P)
6D (P) 6S (P)
6NT (P) 7D (P)
P (P)

This was the best grand slam by far to be in. Trumps were 4-1 on my left, but with hearts 3-2 I wrapped up thirteen tricks ......and lost 2 imps !!

The opponents had bid to an inferior 7 hearts - which required hearts to break and still only had twelve top tricks.

However, East, the poor fellow (Paul), had KJ9654 J62 10 QJ2 and got caught in a black suit squeeze, and declarer deliriously rode that pony for thirteen tricks and +2210.

As a defender, it doesn't get much more sickening than that - the bridge equivalent of a baaaad beat in poker.

Don't write in to tell me Paul could have broken up the squeeze if only he had led the King of spades at trick one ! Yes that is true but that would be the play of the decade, if not the play of the century !!

Anyway, our team decided Keith and I should play the last match of the day too, as we seemed to be hot. John and Herve played at the other table. We played the wily veterans from Edmonton - Kai Chang and Bob Crosby. Kai complained before the match he was tired and didn't want to play; but when Bob and his subsitute partner could not produce a convention card between them, I vetoed that idea and Kai was "forced" to play.

Funny, but at the time I said this might haunt us - he'll probably play like Garozzo. And he pretty much did - his personal highlight reel being an improbable 4 hearts with the layour as follows:

North

K865
A532
K9
AK9

South

AJ9
Q84
10872
Q106

Kai was white versus a red weak 2 diamond opener by me on his left. Bob said double, and Kai responded 2 hearts. Others might respond 2NT - but there you have it. Bob raised to 3 hearts, and Kai bid a confident (!) 4 hearts. All passed - no double - maybe no trouble.

I led a club, and he won in dummy, and played Ace of hearts and a heart to the queen which held, as I followed with the 10 and Jack. He now led a diamond up and I rose with the Ace to play another club.

Kai won in dummy and played the king of diamonds which Keith ruffed with the 9 of hearts. Keith cashed the HK and got out a club. Three rounds of spades, with a finesse against the onside queen, and with the suit splitting 3-3, Kai had his ten tricks and plus 420.

Just a push of course, as John and Herve bid and made the saner 3NT making 4.

Keith and I actually had nine plus scores of the ten boards we played - we were pretty precise in the part score zone. However, our methods failed us this match on a potential slam hand. Like the grand earlier, the key here was to play 6 diamonds on a 4-4 fit, and NOT play in the 5-3 spade fit - where there are only 11 tricks on a club lead.

We stayed in 4 spades making 5, but our opponents bid and made 6 diamonds (well done) and they won a deserved 11 imps on the board. The hands were as follows:

North

Q93
KQ9
KQ64
J53

South

AKJ86
83
AJ52
A9

Keith opened a weak NT and I bid 2D - Forcing Stayman. Keith replied 2NT - no 4 card major. I bid 3 spades and unfortunately Keith had support and a minimum type hand and was forced to raise to 4 spades - thus ending our chances of locating a 4-4 diamond fit.

I knew from his failure to cue bid that we could not make slam in spades, so I confidently passed - which at the time felt ok as this looked like a problem hand for us.

Other pairs play an old convention called Baron Corollary in these types of auctions - a 3 club bid over Keith's 2NT would ask for his shape, and then we would be off to the races - but we do not have that bid available.

Needless to say we have now modified our methods to cope better with this hand type. Anyway, when the smoke cleared we lost the match by 10 imps. Our boys had 4 plus scores of their own to go with our nine, but the results didn't mesh that well - and the opponents at John and Herve's table did even better than us on the slam hand and on another hand where they bid and made a game we elected not to bid.

But things could be much worse - hell they were earlier today. We have now moved back into the elusive top 8 - 8th to be precise. 27 VP out of first, and only 1 VP ahead of two strong teams tied for 9th. This field is really bunched up - and anything can happen tomorrow and probably will. Stay tuned.

The results so far can be found on the CBF website at

http://www.cbf.ca/BWeek/09files/BWeek09_CNTCArr3.html

If anyone would like to contact me directly I can be reached at rosstaylor999@hotmail.com