The weak 2D opener strikes twice

Played in a sectional KO yesterday in Toronto.

Overall, Keith and I played quite well, and we won all our matches so that part was good

One hand I held AQJx   K10   K109   AQJx

Keith opened 2D weak, and I responded 2NT

He bid 3C which means we are in a GF and he denies a second suit

I bid 3D, and he bid 3H meaning stiff heart

I bid 3S and he was kind enough to bid 4S showing the king

So I blackwooded and we got to 6D

Lead was a club and he had

Kx   x   AQxxxx   10xxx

Nice slam !

You rise with the Ace of clubs – but to make; you have to play DK from your hand as diamonds are 4-0

The opening lead was a sneaky 8 of clubs from K8x

Another hand he opened 2D and I had

AKQ1076  AJ76  Void   AQ9 – quite the power house!

I could bid 2S forcing and Keith thinks I am nuts for not doing so

I elected to bid 2NT again, and he bid 4C – showing 6-5 in diamonds and clubs

Wow !

He could have a perfecto and we could be on for 7C but I figured (a) partners rarely have perfectos; (b) it looks good that we found our club fit (c) perhaps we have done well just bidding a making slam and avoiding spades at too high a level

So I bid 6C

Keith had   xx  void  Axxxxxx   K10xxx

Clubs were 4-1 but no diamond lead, and spades broke so we scrambled home – at the other table they got to 6C on the auction

3D (!!)   – 3NT

5C    –     6C

but the guy mangled the play and went down 

What about 6 spades, Ross? or even 7 spades

Yes had he not shown the 6-5 I planned to get his shape via 3C-3D and then place the contract in spades – I eschewed that once I knew he only had two cards in spades and hearts

Clearly 6S is a very nice contract and we have all been in worse than 7S – which doesn’t make this time – so I was fairly lucky overall here

 

Later I held

Void    107xxx    KJ9xxxx   8

RHO opened 1S equal red

What would you bid?

I bid 3D – I now feel I should have bid 4D – a bit kamikaze, but likely more effective

Anyway, LHO bid 4D

Keith bid 5D

RHO bid 6S

I bid 7D

LHO bid 7S – claim!

Had I bid 4D they would not have all the room they need – LHO has a fifteen count with an AK and two aces including A109 of spades – what does he bid over 4D?

Real early on I was still sleepy and on cold meds (while practising against Daniel and Darren) and held

QJxx   J8xxx   Jx   xx

Keith opened 1D and RHO bid 2C

I said negative double (skinny I know)

LHO said 3C, and Keith said double (takeout)

RHO said 3NT – all pass – your lead

I believe the right lead is the SQ. I led the diamond jack (real weak) and declarer now had 9 tricks – including 3 diamond tricks with 109xx in dummy and AKx in his hand (talk about a wake up call!)

Leading either major leads to +400 as we take the first nine tricks

This auction is analagous to a gambling 3NT so you gotta try to attack and lead through dummy. Keith is marked with length in both majors – The spade is through dummy’s king.

Also, declarer and dummy were 2-2- in hearts with 10x opposite Qx in declarer’s hand

Finally a defensive problem

You hold A76   A97   K873   K64

RHO opens a strong NT and you pass. LHO transfers to spades, and then jumps to 3NT. RHO pulls to 4 spades, and it’s your lead. (You play upside down attitude and regular count)

You lead a trump and dummy is

K108xx

Qxx

x

Q98x

Declarer wins the spade in hand and fires back another spade. You win the Ace as partner sheds an ambiguous diamond 6. You play back your last spade and partner now plays the heart 4. Partner does not have much of course, so is trying to be helpful while relatively in the dark about the hand.

Declarer wins the spade in dummy and leads a low club to his jack. Partner playing the 5 which would be count if you can figure it out. You realize ducking the club is not an option as you did not do so in tempo, so you win the club with your king and you are back in again.

Staying passive seems to still be right. A heart looks very risky. A club could pick up the club ten in partner’s hand and or eliminate a guess for declarer if he began with AJx of clubs.

So a diamond looks right. But not so fast. If you exit a low diamond and partner has the queen, and declarer say the AJ10(x), you will now create a ruffing finesse situation in diamonds – yielding a needed heart discard from dummy for declarer’s tenth trick.

So all in all, the right play, I felt, was the diamond king from my hand at this point. Sure enough, all worked out well after that. Declarer had actually begun with AJ alone in clubs, so a club may have worked too.

Furthermore, partner was kind enough to have the QJxx of diamonds, so no heroics were necessary – but you get the point. And for what it is worth, the defense at the other table was not passive and our team mates Daniel and Darren chalked up the game