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Tales of Akarana

WHERE THE REAL ACTION WAS.

Not on the Gold Coast, of course. Take a trip to the Akarana Bridge Club where “the cinderellas” did battle, victory in the end going to the team of Owen Camp (he came back especially from Broadbeach for this night at Akarana! No fake news here!), Mike Dunn, Hamish Brown and Kevin Hu by the huge margin of 1 imp.

This following board gave plenty of potential for swings. At one table, their own convention gave one pair a huge problem. Let’s look at it from West’s point of view with only East-West vulnerable:

Spade-small T953

Heart-small Q22

Diamond-small AK43

Club-smallAT6

The auction proceeded:

West              North            East                South

1NT1               2Spade-small 2                 3Diamond-small3               3Spade-small

Pass                4ª                  Pass                Pass

?

1   12-14

natural, may have a second suit

3transfer to hearts

With no particular support for hearts, West chose to double which proved not to be wise on the night.

At other tables, the spotlight fell on the other flattish hand after a different style auction:

West              North            East                South

1Diamond-small                  1Spade-small                 4Heart-small                 Pass

Pass                4Spade-small                  Pass                Pass

5Heart-small                  Pass                Pass                ?

or:

West              North            East                South

1Diamond-small                  4Spade-small                5Heart-small                  ?

South held:

Spade-small A86

Heart-small T854

Diamond-small Q972

Club-small75

In all three cases, the winning decision by the flattish hand was based on their own trump holding in the opponent’s suit…a four-card suit headed by the 10. In each case, West and then South could be almost certain that their partner had either a void in that suit or at worst a singleton, meaning that bidding on was correct:

 

Board 3
South Deals
E-W Vul
K Q J 7 4 2
8 6
K Q J 8 4
10 9 5 3
Q 2
A K 4 3
A 10 6
 
N
W   E
S
 
A K J 9 7 6 3
J 10 5
9 3 2
 
A 8 6
10 8 5 4
Q 9 7 2
7 5

 

4Spade-smallx made for 10 tricks thanks to the favourable club position while the fate of 5Heart-small depended on that diamond finesse (though after a normal spade lead, the contract would make even if this finesse lost).

In our first sequence:

West              North            East                South

1NT1                2Spade-small                  3Diamond-small2                 3Spade-small

Pass                4Spade-small                 Pass                Pass

?

1 12-14        2 transfer to hearts

East let system overcome practicality. East was always going to bid 4Heart-small and should have done so over 2Spade-small in what was a competitive auction rather than trying to right-side their own contract by transferring the contract to West. When West doubled 4Spade-small, East could not be sure that pulling the double was the correct action.

West’s best action over 4Spade-small was “pass” leaving East to call 5Heart-small. (5Heart-small is indeed a better contract played by East as South would hardly find a club lead..so much for right-siding the contract!)

In our other auctions, South was facing a long spade opposite, whether North had got to 4Spade-small quickly or slowly. Like West when they bid 5Heart-small over North’s 1Spade-small, then 4Spade-small, South had a fair idea of their partner’s enemy trump suit holding. It looked to South like 5Spade-small would go down thus making it wrong to bid if 5Heart-small met a similar fate. It seems to break the basic “5 over 5” rules to bid 5Spade-small though the vulnerability is in South’s favour.

The over-riding reason to bid 5Spade-small was for a cheap sacrifice but, tomorrow, when the diamond finesse fails, the player who bids 5Spade-smallmay turn from hero to villain.

High level Russian Roulette! Would you have dodged the bullets this evening..the double of 4Spade-small and the pass of 5Heart-small by South? Or were you enjoying the quiet life on The Gold Coast?

Richard Solomon

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