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For Less Experienced Players.

The Good, The Bad and the Greedy!

Today’s story is about the play of a board. Yet, we left you yesterday with a bid to make. So, let’s see which contract you are going to play. Oh, you may be setting the contract for your partner. Go on. Give them a challenge!

It’s Pairs and its your bid!

 

1 promised at least a 5-card suit with your 2NT agreeing spades as trumps with the values at least for game, maybe with higher aspirations. (Jacoby 2NT).

3NT showed 15-17 balanced with 5 spades.

4NT was Roman Key Card Blackwood (a great convention if you do not yet play it). 5 showed 2 of the 5 key cards (four aces and K) and the Q. 5NT asked for kings outside the trump suit and 6 said “one”.

Your partner has the KQ, A and the K, for that is the only king missing. They have more as well since they have 15-17 high card points. Go for Gold. Go for Grand! Which one? Playing Pairs, you know 7NT scores that bit more. Well?

This is the story of three declarers:

The Good, The Bad and the Greedy!

The Greedy

Mr Greedy really went for gold and bid 7NT. Not only going for gold but they were the one who would deliver it. There was no double (always a good sign.."we got our ace-asking right!")  and they received the 9 lead. Plan the play and when you have done that, plan the play in the contract at the other two tables where the contract was 7 by South. That’s right. You may not be declarer at the table but you are here and now! The lead in that contract was 10 from West.

 

Neither lead was particularly helpful for any of the declarers. In 7NT, North could count five spade tricks, two top tricks in hearts, two more in diamonds and three in clubs. That total only came to 12. Realistically, the only chance of trick 13 could come from the heart suit, probably the heart finesse.

However, Mr Greedy remembered the tip from yesterday’s “Jan’s Day” article and delayed the finesse as long as they could to see if any clues came from the opposition’s carding.

So, 5 rounds of spades were followed by three rounds of clubs and two top diamonds. West had started with three spades and maybe three clubs, since on the third round, they played J. Thus, East had one spade and maybe five clubs. No clues came from the diamond suit. So, no clues this time. Finally, a heart to the ace and a heart to….

The Bad (maybe The Sad)

North had chosen well and could relax as they did not have to play the 7 contract. South was less relaxed. They had not played many contracts at such a high level before. They started counting tricks, loosely, after that 10 lead and came to the same number as Mr Greedy. Such was South's worried state of mind that they blocked the cashing of the club honours by winning A at trick one. This was not terminally wrong but an unnecessary problem and summed up the anguish of needing all 13 tricks.

They, too, did nearly what Mr Greedy did, running four rounds of spades, the top three clubs, throwing a diamond from the South hand,  AK and then A and a heart to the jack and……

What was the score for 7NT and 7 at these two tables? No difference! -100!

The Good

 

 

Mr Good did not panic, not even when they started counting winners. They, too, came to 12 but they made a very wise deduction. Dummy, North, had only two diamonds. The third diamond could be ruffed in dummy! Therefore, they could discard that annoying third heart on the third round of clubs.

Win the opening lead with Q, draw trumps in three rounds and play AK discarding the 2. A, then K and ruff the third diamond and South nervously exposed the rest of their hand….two trumps and AK taking the remaining tricks. Relief, smiles, a “well played, partner” and a top board.

Yes, the results from other tables saw 7NT and 7 fail, another declarer making only 12 tricks in 6 and a couple more making 13 tricks but from just 6. Bid and play safely. Plan and in a grand slam, or any other contract really, do not panic!

A tiny piece of sympathy

We must be a little sympathetic, but only a little, to Mr Greedy. Had the Q been the Q, then there would have been 14 tricks in 7NT, a very nice result. However, it is very rare that bidding and making any grand slam gives you a poor result. Gambling 7NT was not a good bet since there was quite possibly a safer grand slam in spades which would have scored quite adequately, as long as the declarer had planned and executed the plan well. Hence, therefore, our unsympathetic nickname!

Would you like to be there?

 

 A slight change from normal in that we will ask you and the Panel what they think of the bidding and the final contract. If the answer is negative, which bid(s) most contributed to reaching the final contract?

The above sequence is a normal Acol based sequence with 1 being 5+ spades. 5 showed 2 key cards and no Q. 

Richard Solomon

 

 

 

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