Free Weekly Instant Tournament - March 15 - Board 7

Board 7
Opponents vulnerable

♠ K 2  ♥ 10 7 6 5  ♦ K 4  ♣ A K 8 5 4

I open with one club. Partner bids one heart. I raise to two hearts and buy it. RHO leads the queen of clubs.

	NORTH Phillip ♠ K 2 ♥ 10 7 6 5 ♦ K 4 ♣ A K 8 5 4
	SOUTH Robot ♠ 9 7 5 3 ♥ A K 3 2 ♦ Q 3 ♣ 7 6 3

West	North	East	South
Robot	Phillip	Robot	Robot
	1 ♣	Pass	1 ♥
Pass	2 ♥	(All pass)

This lead is probably a singleton. Leading dummy's primary suit would be strange otherwise. And that means it's a fair assumption that trumps are three-two. With four trumps, West would be more interested in tapping me than in looking for ruffs.

If trumps are indeed splitting, I will lose a club, a diamond, a heart, and one or two spades. Dummy's last trump will take care of my third spade, and I can set up a club for the fourth spade. My plan, then, is to cash the ace and king of hearts, then lead a club and duck it, preserving communication to ruff out the club suit.

Cashing the ace and king of hearts will work out poorly if I'm wrong about three-two trumps. Can I afford to cash only one trump? If I cash one heart and play a club, West will pitch. Now I can't afford to duck. If I do, I let West score a ruff with a doubleton trump or two ruffs with three trumps. So all I've accomplished by cashing only one trump is to prevent myself from being able to duck a club. True, I might manage without ducking a club, but it certainly makes my handling easier. Since I'm pretty sure trumps are splitting, I'll back my judgment and cash both trump honors.

I win with the ace of clubs. East plays the deuce, and I follow with the three. Now ace and king of hearts. West plays four, jack; East plays eight, nine.

I play a club toward dummy. To my surprise, West follows with the ten. So West was making a passive lead from a sequence? Now I'm happy I cashed both trumps. If East is the one with a stiff club, cashing only one trump could have proven awkward.

I duck as planned, and East follows with the nine. It appears West's lead was from queen-jack-ten.

West cashes the queen of hearts, and East pitches the diamond deuce. West now cashes the diamond ace. We've reached this position with dummy to play:

	NORTH Phillip ♠ K 2 ♥ 10 ♦ K 4 ♣ K 8 5
♦ A
	SOUTH Robot ♠ 9 7 5 3 ♥ 3 ♦ Q 3 ♣ 7

If the spade ace is onside, I'll lose this trick and a spade and make an overtrick. If it's offside, I'll presumably lose two spades and make my contract. Do I have any chance to avoid a second spade loser if the ace is offside? 

What if West switches to a spade and I duck in dummy? East may play the ace for fear of losing it when I have the queen. Is that possible from East's perspective? Yes, provided he doesn't know I hold the diamond queen. I can't have both queens, else I would have made a game try over two hearts. So I must avoid the lazy play of unblocking the diamond king on this trick. Fortunately, I don't need the diamond queen as a hand entry. I can always ruff the fifth club if I need to play a spade toward the king myself.

I play low from dummy on the diamond ace. East plays the six, and I follow with the three. West now shifts to the eight of spades.

The moment of truth. Do I go for the swindle or take my legitimate chance that West has underled the spade ace? I don't see how he can afford to underlead. For all he knows, I have queen third of spades and have no guess. If so, I'll take the rest.

I play low from dummy. East inserts the jack then cashes the ace. Making two.

	NORTH Phillip ♠ K 2 ♥ 10 7 6 5 ♦ K 4 ♣ A K 8 5 4
WEST Robot ♠ Q 10 8 4 ♥ Q J 4 ♦ A 10 9 5 ♣ Q 10		EAST Robot ♠ A J 6 ♥ 9 8 ♦ J 8 7 6 2 ♣ J 9 2
	SOUTH Robot ♠ 9 7 5 3 ♥ A K 3 2 ♦ Q 3 ♣ 7 6 3

Minus 110 is worth 61%. I see West's opening club lead was from queen-ten doubleton. That's a holding that never occurred to me.

The spade eight was a poor choice for West's shift. He should help his partner out by leading his lowest spade if he holds the queen and the highest spot he can afford if he doesn't. With this hand, he should lead the four. But the robots don't signal, so East could conclude nothing from his partner's spot. He simply had to work out what to do as best he can. Perhaps he thought his partner might have bid at some point with five spades. As long as the missing spades are four-four, playing the jack can't cost. He can't lose the ace even if I do have the queen.

West has a harder problem: deciding whether to lead spades at all or to exit passively after cashing the diamond ace. I have only two pitches. So if I have four spades, leading a spade can never gain. And if my four spades includes the jack, leading a spade might cost.

How can the defense solve this? West actually should have gotten this right, given the robots' peculiar discarding tendencies. The robots signal count on their first discard, so, when East pitches the diamond deuce on the queen of hearts, West knows East is 3-2-5-3 (assuming he would pitch a low spade from 5-2-3-3). Thus West knows the spades can't go away, and he should exit passively with a diamond.

Most of us humans don't play that way, however. We give attitude when discarding. But that works on this deal also. On the queen of hearts, East should pitch a discouraging diamond, suggesting tolerance for a spade shift. Since East is marked with the spade ace on the auction, he wouldn't suggest a spade shift with just the ace. West needs no help finding a spade shift from queen-jack. So a discouraging diamond should show at least the ace-jack of spades, and West knows a spade shift is safe. 

So either count or attitude solves West's problem. Even though each leads to a different solution.

Free Weekly Instant Tournament - March 15 - Board 6

Board 6
Opponents vulnerable

♠ A Q 2  ♥ A 9  ♦ K Q 5 3 2  ♣ A 8 2

One pass to me. I have 19 HCP, so I open with one diamond, intending to rebid two notrump to show 18 or 19. I know some will add a point for the five-card suit and open with two notrump. But I disapprove. I think upgrading to a two notrump opening is almost always a mistake.

The two-notrump opening is one of the weakest parts of standard bidding. If partner has a good hand and you belong in a minor-suit slam, it is very difficult to get there, since you can't even introduce your suit below the four-level. And if partner has a bad hand and passes two notrump, you are probably too high. The main reason for opening two notrump--that you may miss a game if you open at the one-level and partner passes--doesn't apply when you have only 19 HCP. So what's the point of upgrading? It serves no constructive purpose. 

True, it may serve a tactical purpose. Two notrump--three notrump gives nothing away. A slower auction may help the opponents on opening lead. 

It may also serve a pre-emptive purpose. Sometimes the opponents can actually make something or have a profitable save, and a two-notrump opening will shut them out of the auction. Still, I think the disadvantages outweigh the advantages. As a general rule, I don't go out of my way to open two notrump. It's an opening I try to avoid.

Over one diamond, partner responds one heart. I rebid two notrump as planned. Partner bids three spades, showing four-four in the majors. I bid three notrump and everyone passes. West leads the three of clubs.

	NORTH Robot ♠ K 10 7 4 ♥ Q 10 4 2 ♦ J 10 ♣ K J 10
	SOUTH Phillip ♠ A Q 2 ♥ A 9 ♦ K Q 5 3 2 ♣ A 8 2

West	North	East	South
Robot	Robot	Robot	Phillip
		Pass	1 ♦
Pass	1 ♥	Pass	2 NT
Pass	3 ♠	Pass	3 NT
(All pass)

I have three club tricks, probably four diamond tricks, and four tricks in the majors. Eleven tricks in all. If spades come home or if I can execute a major-suit squeeze, I have twelve.

I play the club ten from dummy. East plays the four. I suppose there is some chance East ducked with the queen if his hand is good enough to know his partner can't have the ace. But it's more likely the club queen is on my left. And, even though the robots like three-card leads against notrump, I doubt West would lead from queen third. So I'll make the tentative assumption that West has queen fourth. I play the eight, leaving open the possibility from East's perspective that the lead is from a five-card suit.

I lead the jack of diamonds from dummy--seven--deuce--eight. Now the ten of diamonds--four--three--six.

I don't want to give away the spade position, so I come to my hand with the club ace rather than a spade to continue diamonds. East plays the six; West, the five. Now king of diamonds--heart six--heart deuce--diamond ace. This is the position, with East on lead:

	NORTH Robot ♠ K 10 7 4 ♥ Q 10 4 ♦ -- ♣ K
	SOUTH Phillip ♠ A Q 2 ♥ A 9 ♦ Q 5 ♣ 2

The robots usually give count when discarding, so the heart six is probably high from a four-card suit. That makes West 3-4-2-4, in which case I'm making six. But it's possible the six isn't as high as it looks. If it's West's lowest heart, he could be 4-3-2-4 or 2-5-2-4. Is the latter really possible? Wouldn't West have led a heart with that pattern? Partner did bid the suit, so maybe not. I'll assume either shape is possible.

Let's consider 4-3-2-4 first. If that's what West has, the run of the diamond suit will probably clue me in and I can take a finesse in the end position. What if he's 2-5-2-4? If his doubleton spade is the jack, I'm making six. If it isn't, then my only chance is to squeeze East in the majors. Since the spade threat is in front of East, my heart threat must be behind him. That means I need East to have both the king and jack of hearts, making my nine a threat.

East shifts to the seven of clubs. West plays the queen and I win with dummy's king. Now that I know for sure West has the queen, I'm confident he started with four clubs. In most scenarios, the queen, the card West was presumed to hold, would be his correct play. In this case, his low club would have been a better choice. I'm more likely to question my presumption about the club queen than I am to believe West led a club from queen third.

I play a spade to the ace. East plays the three; West, the five. The robots do not give count when following suit, so I can draw no inference from their spade spots.

Now diamond queen--heart eight--heart four from dummy. East follows with his last diamond. I still don't know if the heart six was high or low. 

I cash the spade queen to save time if the jack falls. It doesn't. West plays the eight; East the nine.

Now the ace of hearts--five--ten--seven. So the six was high, which means West began with four hearts. If I've read the position correctly, West was 3-4-2-4 and this should be the layout:

	NORTH Robot ♠ K 10 ♥ Q ♦ -- ♣ --
WEST Robot ♠ x ♥ x ♦ -- ♣ 9		EAST Robot ♠ x ♥ x x ♦ -- ♣ --
	SOUTH Phillip ♠ 2 ♥ 9 ♦ 5 ♣ --

Could I be wrong? Let's recheck my assumptions. I suppose it's possible West did lead a club from queen third after all. If so, he holds two spades and a heart now. If that's the case, perhaps his heart is the king and he will be squeezed when I cash the last diamond. But if he pitches a low heart, I'm not finessing the spade. If I'm wrong about the club lead, I'll pay off.

I cash the diamond. West pitches the heart three. East removes all doubt by pitching the six of spades. I claim. Making six.

	NORTH Robot ♠ K 10 7 4 ♥ Q 10 4 2 ♦ J 10 ♣ K J 10
WEST Robot ♠ J 8 5 ♥ 8 6 5 3 ♦ 8 6 ♣ Q 9 5 3		EAST Robot ♠ 9 6 3 ♥ K J 7 ♦ A 9 7 4 ♣ 7 6 4
	SOUTH Phillip ♠ A Q 2 ♥ A 9 ♦ K Q 5 3 2 ♣ A 8 2

Plus 490 is worth 75%, which seems generous for what should be a flat board. Since jack third of spades is onside, there is no guess in the spade suit.

It turns out the two-notrump openers were punished. After a two-notrump opening and a Stayman auction, West doesn't find out about North's heart suit, so he has a natural heart lead, holding the contract to five.

Despite the fact that I don't approve of the two-notrump opening, this result does seem unfair. As I mentioned in the opening paragraphs, one possible gain in opening two notrump is that the auction will be less revealing. For the two-notrump opening to work out badly precisely because the auction is less revealing is cruel. But I'm not complaining. Sometimes the bridge gods work in mysterious ways.

Free Weekly Instant Tournament - March 15 - Board 5

Board 5
Our side vulnerable

♠ A K 8 3  ♥ A 6 2  ♦ Q 10 5  ♣ A 4 2

Two passes to me. I open with one notrump, and partner bids two hearts, a transfer to spades.

I believe one should pre-accept on almost any hand with four spades. This hand, with four trumps and four-plus honor tricks, should meet anyone's standards. 

I bid three spades, partner goes on to four, and West leads the queen of clubs.

	NORTH Robot ♠ Q J 9 5 2 ♥ Q 10 5 4 ♦ J 4 2 ♣ 10
	SOUTH Phillip ♠ A K 8 3 ♥ A 6 2 ♦ Q 10 5 ♣ A 4 2

West	North	East	South
Robot	Robot	Robot	Phillip
	Pass	Pass	1 NT
Pass	2 ♥	Pass	3 ♠
Pass	4 ♠	(All pass)

I have two diamonds losers, so I need to hold my heart losers to one. If I can strip the hand, I might manage an endplay. There are two ways to play the heart suit in the end position. I can play a low heart from my hand, guess whether to play the ten or queen, and hope, if I guess wrong, that East has both honors and is endplayed. Or I can cash the ace and lead to the ten or queen, hoping, if I guess wrong, that East is out of hearts and must give me a ruff-sluff. For either plan to work, however, I need to have a trump left in each hand after drawing trump and ruffing two clubs. So I will need trumps to be two-two.

Should I ruff a club now while it's convenient? Let's see if I need to. If I win the second trump in my hand and trumps are indeed two-two, I can ruff one club at that point. Then, assuming from the opening lead that East has at least one diamond honor, I can always reach my hand with a diamond to ruff the second club. Since I have no entry problems, there is no need to ruff a club now. An early, gratuitous ruff might prove embarrassing if trumps don't split.

East plays the seven of clubs at trick one. I take the club ace, play a spade to dummy, and a spade back to my hand. They split.

Now a club ruff. West plays the three; East, the five.

I lead the deuce of diamonds. East hops with the king; West follows with the seven. East continues with the ace of diamonds. I play low, and West following with the eight. East continues the nine of diamonds to my queen, as West discards the nine of hearts. We've reached this position:

	NORTH Robot ♠ J 9 ♥ Q 10 5 4 ♦ -- ♣ --
	SOUTH Phillip ♠ K 8 ♥ A 6 2 ♦ -- ♣ 4

The nine of hearts is presumably count. If so, West is 2-4-2-5, and I'm cold. All I have to do is ruff a club, play a heart to my ace, then play a heart to the queen or ten. It makes no difference which, since if it loses, East has only minors left and is endplayed.

I ruff a club to dummy and play a heart. East plays the jack. I take the ace and claim ten tricks.

	NORTH Robot ♠ Q J 9 5 2 ♥ Q 10 5 4 ♦ J 4 2 ♣ 10
WEST Robot ♠ 10 4 ♥ K 9 8 7 ♦ 8 7 ♣ Q J 9 8 3		EAST Robot ♠ 7 6 ♥ J 3 ♦ A K 9 6 3 ♣ K 7 6 5
	SOUTH Phillip ♠ A K 8 3 ♥ A 6 2 ♦ Q 10 5 ♣ A 4 2

I guess East hopped with the jack to save himself the embarrassment of being endplayed.

Plus 620 was worth 82%. Strangely, quite a few players didn't pre-accept and languished in two spades.  

I see some declarers did ruff a club at trick two. Once I saw that the immediate ruff was unnecessary, I didn't bother to check if it might cost. Let's do that now.

Suppose I ruff a club at trick two, then draw trump. If trumps turn out to be three-one, I must draw three rounds. Then I drive a diamond honor, and the defense leads a third club to tap dummy, reaching this position:

	NORTH Robot ♠ -- ♥ Q 10 5 4 ♦ 4 2 ♣ --
	SOUTH Phillip ♠ 8 ♥ A 6 2 ♦ Q 10 ♣ --

I drive the other diamond. Now they tap my hand with a fourth club and I'm out of trumps. Even if I guess hearts correctly, I'm still going down if the hand with the heart king has the long club. So an immediate club ruff is an error. I could go down when I'm cold if I guess hearts.

Ruffing a club at trick two is the kind of error an expert can easily fall into when he's being lazy. Stripping the hand looks like a good idea. So why not ruff a club now, when you have the chance? Stopping to work out whether you're short of entries and need to ruff a club early is too much work.

Sometimes playing by instinct is unavoidable. You don't always know enough about the layout to tell whether or not you need to make some preparatory play, such as taking an early ruff or ducking a trick to prepare for a squeeze. So you have to rely more on instinct than on analysis. But this deal isn't one of those cases. If you bother to check, you can see easily enough that you aren't short of entries, so there is no hurry to ruff a club. 

Incidentally, I did misbid this hand, because I was unfamiliar with the robots' methods. I discovered later that they play two notrump over the transfer as a maximum with four trumps and "4333" distribution. So that's what I should have bid. It might allow partner, with a different hand, to choose three notrump rather than four spades.

Free Weekly Instant Tournament - March 15 - Board 4

Board 4
Opponents vulnerable

♠ K 4  ♥ K Q 8  ♦ K 8 4  ♣ J 9 8 6 3

RHO opens two diamonds, weak, in third seat. I pass, LHO raises to three diamonds. Partner, despite being a passed hand, chimes in with three spades, and RHO passes.

Personally, I would never bid this way. If I had a suit I'm willing to introduce at the three-level, I would do something on the first round of the auction. Obviously partner doesn't agree with this approach. So what does he have? Why is he willing to bid three spades now when he wasn't willing to bid on the first round?

I suspect he has a two-spade opening, or possibly a three spade opening, but was deterred by a four-card heart suit. If so, my hand is golden. I have three cover cards for him. (The king of diamonds is probably opposite his singleton, so I'll ignore that card.) Still, if three cover cards were enough for game, partner would have a six-loser hand. A six-loser hand with ten cards in the majors is an opening bid. Another concern is that his fourth heart may be an unexpected loser, since he won't be able to ruff it in dummy. Despite the fact this is quite a good hand on the auction, it doesn't appear to be enough to raise.

I pass, as does LHO. RHO leads the heart six.

	NORTH Phillip ♠ K 4 ♥ K Q 8 ♦ K 8 4 ♣ J 9 8 6 3
	SOUTH Robot ♠ Q J 10 6 5 2 ♥ A J 9 3 ♦ 2 ♣ 4 2

West	North	East	South
Robot	Phillip	Robot	Robot
		Pass	Pass
2 ♦	Pass	3 ♦	3 ♠
(All pass)

I called it! A weak two-spade bid with four hearts and seven losers. So my three cover cards are just enough to make three. Fortunately, partner has the heart jack, so the fourth heart isn't a problem. Although a heart ruff by an opponent might be. This lead looks suspiciously like a singleton. If so, is there anything I can do about it?

I could try winning the heart in dummy and leading a low spade from the table. But what if East hops with the ace, leads another heart, and West follows? Then there was no heart ruff after all. But now spades are blocked. I can't get to my hand to draw the last trump. So if West has it, I've gone down in a cold contract.

In fact, if West has three spades, the ploy can't work anyway. Even if East ducks the spade ace, he can still give his partner a ruff on the next round. So the ploy works only when West is specifically 2-1-6-4 and East choses to duck the spade ace. And I go down in a cold contract whenever West is three-two in the majors and East hops. The swindle is clearly a bad bet.

I win with the heart king; East plays the deuce. I lead the spade king--eight--deuce--ace. Oh. Somehow I didn't think of the pre-empter's holding the spade ace. The swindle is worse than I thought. It works only if West is 2-1-6-4 and East holds the spade ace and chooses to duck it.

West continues with the heart four. I have three unavoidable losers left. Making three.

	NORTH Phillip ♠ K 4 ♥ K Q 8 ♦ K 8 4 ♣ J 9 8 6 3
WEST Robot ♠ A 7 3 ♥ 6 4 ♦ Q J 10 6 5 3 ♣ Q 7		EAST Robot ♠ 9 8 ♥ 10 7 5 2 ♦ A 9 7 ♣ A K 10 5
	SOUTH Robot ♠ Q J 10 6 5 2 ♥ A J 9 3 ♦ 2 ♣ 4 2

Everyone played three or four spades and almost everyone took nine tricks. Plus 140 was worth 61%.

One declarer tried a ploy I didn't think of. He won the first heart in his hand with the ace and played a spade toward dummy. If East holds five hearts, this leaves open the possibility from his perspective that the opening lead is from jack-nine-six and declarer holds ace doubleton. Unfortunately, declarer's imaginative play was punished. West ducked the first spade, won the second, and played another heart. Declarer had no way to get off dummy to draw the last trump, so he went down one.

This might have worked if East had the spade ace. But even then it seems unlikely. If declarer has ace doubleton of hearts, why wouldn't he cash his hearts and pitch his stiff diamond before driving the spade ace? Still, I like the idea of trying to convince East the lead isn't a singleton.

Perhaps there's a better way to accomplish that: Play the heart king from dummy and overtake with the ace. You can always hook against the ten later, and this sequence might make it appear to East that you have ace-jack third and are retaining an additional hand entry.

Again, it seems unlikely this will work. It's not as if East has anything better to do than to try to give his partner a heart ruff. But it can't hurt to try. Unlike the other two ploys, there is no risk if the six is an honest card. If West unexpectedly has the ten, you will find out in time, since he will play the seven on the second round. So why not? I wish I'd thought of it.

Free Weekly Instant Tournament - March 15 - Board 3

Board 3
Opponents vulnerable

♠ K Q 5  ♥ Q 8 6  ♦ A K 9 7  ♣ J 8 7

I open one notrump in first seat and buy it. LHO leads the three of hearts.

	NORTH Robot ♠ 7 3 2 ♥ 10 4 ♦ Q J 10 6 3 ♣ K 9 2
	SOUTH Phillip ♠ K Q 5 ♥ Q 8 6 ♦ A K 9 7 ♣ J 8 7

West	North	East	South
Robot	Robot	Robot	Phillip
			1 NT
(All pass)

I play low from dummy and West wins with the king. What should I do if East continues with a low heart at trick two? A priori, East is twice as likely to have the jack as to have the ace by restricted choice. Yet one could argue that I should go up with the queen anyway, since East would lead the jack if he had it to smother dummy's ten.

But would he? He certainly would if he had the nine. But if he doesn't, then I might have it and leading the jack takes my guess away. True, leading low from jack-empty risks letting me take a trick I'm not entitled to. But if I'm going to hop whenever he leads low, leading low from jack-empty doesn't cost. 

But if I decide East will reach this conclusion and will therefore lead low from jack-empty, it becomes wrong for me to hop. I should go with the a priori odds and duck. But if I'm going to duck, East can no longer afford to lead low from jack-empty. But that means it is right for me to hop. And so on ad infinitum.

How do you escape this vicious circle? What's the right answer? It so happens I wrote a Bridge World article about this suit combination years ago. If you're interested, you can find my solution there. In this case it's moot, since East continues with the ace at trick two, and West follows with the nine.

At trick three, East leads the jack of hearts. I win with the queen, and West follows with the seven. I still haven't seen the deuce. Hearts could be four-four or either opponent could have started with five hearts.

I have six tricks. I need one more. If East has the spade ace, my contract is safe. I can lead a spade toward my hand. If East ducks, I'm home. If he hops, there is no scenario where the defense can take seven tricks. If East has five hearts, they can take four hearts and two aces. If West has five hearts, they can't cash them unless East leads a club to West's ace, solving my club problem. And if hearts are four-four, the best they can do is to take three hearts, a spade, and two clubs.

If West has the spade ace, however, I could have a problem. Say I play a spade to my hand, and West wins, cashes two hearts, and leads a low club. I'll need to hope West has a club honor and will have to guess which one in order to make my contract.

I could run all my diamonds before playing a spade to maximize my chance of guessing clubs. But then I won't be able to lead up to my spades twice. I'd like to do that, since if East has both aces and no more hearts, I can make an overtrick by taking two spade tricks.

It's not clear how much I will learn by running all my diamonds anyway. So I'll compromise by cashing three diamonds before playing a spade toward my hand. If the spade wins, I'll finish the diamonds and play another spade. If it loses, at least I'll have some extra information from having cashed three diamonds.

I pitch a club from dummy on this trick and cash the ace and king of diamonds. On the second diamond, West pitches the five of clubs. There are two lower clubs out. I can't tell whether that's a high club or a low one.

I play a diamond to dummy, and West pitches the ten of spades. That one's high. The robots like pitching count cards. So it appears West is 4-5-1-3 or 4-4-1-4. If he turns out to be 4-5-1-3, I'm going to play him for the club ace. I doubt his first discard would be a club from queen third.

We've reached this position with the lead in dummy:

	NORTH Robot ♠ 7 3 2 ♥ -- ♦ J 6 ♣ K 9
	SOUTH Phillip ♠ K Q 5 ♥ -- ♦ 9 ♣ J 8 7

I lead a spade from dummy. East plays the jack, and I play the queen. West takes the ace and cashes the five of hearts. I pitch a spade from dummy. East pitches the six of clubs. I'm happy to see that card. If East had both club honors, he wouldn't be pitching clubs. He would be hoping to run the club suit. So I'm sticking with my assumption that West has the club ace. Presumably this is the current layout.

	NORTH Robot ♠ 7 ♥ -- ♦ J 6 ♣ K 9
WEST Robot ♠ x x ♥ 2 ♦ -- ♣ ? ?		EAST Robot ♠ x x ♥ -- ♦ -- ♣ ? ? ?
	SOUTH Phillip ♠ K ♥ -- ♦ 9 ♣ J 8 7

West cashes the last heart. I pitch a spade from dummy, and East pitches the club three. East's coming down to a doubleton club was an error. I can now pitch a club from my hand safely. Even if I misguess clubs, I'm down only one. East would have done better to hold all four clubs. Then, if I think East has both club honors, I might decide to pitch a diamond from my hand and concede down one. Pitching a club retains the possibility of making but risks going down three.

I pitch a club, intending to play West for the club ace if he leads a low one. But he doesn't put me to the test. He shifts to a spade, and I claim three tricks. Making one.

	NORTH Robot ♠ 7 3 2 ♥ 10 4 ♦ Q J 10 6 3 ♣ K 9 2
WEST Robot ♠ A 10 9 6 ♥ 9 7 5 3 2 ♦ 2 ♣ A 10 5		EAST Robot ♠ J 8 4 ♥ A K J ♦ 8 5 4 ♣ Q 6 4 3
	SOUTH Phillip ♠ K Q 5 ♥ Q 8 6 ♦ A K 9 7 ♣ J 8 7

Plus 90 is worth 61%. Most declarers ran all their diamonds before playing a spade. I think that's a mistake, though it didn't matter this time.

West's spade exit at the end was strange. That was simply giving up. But I see what he was "thinking." Since robots assume you are double-dummy, they will never put you to a guess if they have another option. West was hoping his partner had the last diamond and I had no way to get to dummy except to lead a club to the king, in which case he could win and cash a spade. In the robot's opinion, I'm more likely to have completely butchered the play earlier than I am to misguess a queen now.

Free Weekly Instant Tournament - March 15 - Board 2

Board 2
Our side vulnerable

♠ K  ♥ J 10 9 8 4  ♦ 10 3  ♣ A K Q 8 3

RHO passes. I open with one heart. Partner responds one spade. I rebid two clubs. Partner bid two diamonds, artificial and game-forcing. I bid three clubs, and partner leaps to four hearts.

The tooltip says this shows heart support and 13 to 14 total points. That makes no sense. It's classic Eastern Science Fiction. 

You need some way to show slam interest in hearts. If three hearts promised extra values, then you could play fast arrival: Bid three hearts with slam interest and four hearts with a minimum. But three hearts can't promise extra values, because you haven't established the strain yet. If you have heart support but are willing to play three notrump if partner suggests it, you need to be able to bid three hearts even with a minimum. Since three hearts can't promise extras, playing four hearts as fast arrival would leave you with no way to show slam interest below game. In general, fast arrival should apply only when strain has already been established. In a game-forcing auction, jump preferences, like jumps in notrump, should show about a king more than you have already promised.

One might argue that this auction should be an exception. After opener has shown five-five in hearts and clubs, it's wildly unlikely he will suggest three notrump over three hearts. But making exceptions is dangerous. The rule as stated above makes sense most of the time. A partnership will be less apt to have an accident if it applies such rules consistently.

With this hand, I have a pass whether four hearts shows extras or not. I pass, and LHO leads the diamond ace.

	NORTH Robot ♠ A Q 10 3 2 ♥ K 3 2 ♦ K J ♣ 7 4 2
	SOUTH Phillip ♠ K ♥ J 10 9 8 4 ♦ 10 3 ♣ A K Q 8 3

West	North	East	South
Robot	Robot	Robot	Phillip
		Pass	1 ♥
Pass	1 ♠	Pass	2 ♣
Pass	2 ♦	Pass	3 ♣
Pass	4 ♥	(All pass)

East encourages with the eight. West continues with the diamond nine, and East follows with the six.

Whatever heart losers I have are unavoidable. But I might be able to do something about my club loser if clubs are four-one. I could cash the spade king, then, if I reach dummy with the heart king, pitch my clubs on the ace and queen of spades. That runs the risk of having my spade queen ruffed when clubs were three-two all along.

A priori, a five-two break is less likely than a four-one break. But I have reason to believe clubs are splitting. West might have led a singleton club. And, if he has the heart ace, he might have shifted from at least some four-card holdings, since he would know from the auction that his partner had a singleton. Given that inference, I'm inclined to play for clubs to break rather than risk a spade ruff.

Of course the inference isn't 100%. So if I can cash spades safely, I'd prefer to do that. Can I? Let's assume trumps break. To cash spades safely, I would need to reach dummy with the heart king after trumps are drawn. If West has the heart queen, I can't manage that. He can cover the first or second heart hand and force to me play the king early. If West has the heart ace, however, I can. If he takes the ace early, I can win the third round of hearts with dummy's king. If he has ace third and ducks twice, I can win the second round with the king, and the only heart outstanding will be the ace, which I don't mind his ruffing with.

I play a spade to the king. East plays the six; West, the four. Should I lead the heart jack or a lower heart? I don't see that it matters. I choose the jack as a discovery play. If West has the queen, I'd like to see what holding he does or doesn't cover from for future reference.

West covers my jack with the queen. I play dummy's king, and East wins with the ace. OK. Cashing spades is out. I have to rely on a club break.

East shifts to the club six. I take the ace, and West follows with the five. Everyone follows to the heart ten. This is the position with one trump outstanding:

	NORTH Robot ♠ A Q 10 3 ♥ 3 ♦ -- ♣ 7 4
	SOUTH Phillip ♠ -- ♥ 9 8 4 ♦ -- ♣ K Q 8 3

If clubs break, I have the rest. What if they don't break? If the hand with club singleton is out of hearts I can cash two clubs and ruff one in dummy to make five. It costs nothing to try. If the club king gets ruffed, I still make four. I'm simply trading a club loser for a trump loser. 

I lead the club king. Everyone follows, and I claim. Making five.

	NORTH Robot ♠ A Q 10 3 2 ♥ K 3 2 ♦ K J ♣ 7 4 2
WEST Robot ♠ J 9 8 5 4 ♥ Q 5 ♦ A 9 7 ♣ J 9 5		EAST Robot ♠ 7 6 ♥ A 7 6 ♦ Q 8 6 5 4 2 ♣ 10 6
	SOUTH Phillip ♠ K ♥ J 10 9 8 4 ♦ 10 3 ♣ A K Q 8 3

Plus 650 is worth 61%.

West covered with queen doubleton, apparently worried I would lead the jack from something like J107xx. I'll keep that in mind.

Some declarers led the heart eight rather than the jack and found themselves with an interesting problem. West played low, and East took the ace and switched to the club six. Declarer won and played a heart to the queen and king, reaching essentially the same position as above except that the lead is in dummy. Now what?

If East has the last trump, declarer can guarantee his contract by playing spades. If East doesn't ruff, he gets his clubs away. If East does ruff, he overruffs and has a trump in dummy to ruff a club with. The only time cashing spades fails is if West is short in spades and has the last trump. On the other hand, the only time you need to cash spades is if clubs aren't breaking, and it seems likely they are. If East had shifted to the ten of clubs, it would be a different matter. But when he leads the six, how can clubs be four-one? Did West really chose to lead the diamond ace holding either a stiff club or J1095?

Most declarers who reached this position played on spades. I think I would have played for clubs to break. Since both lines work, it's hard to say who's right. Although perhaps I did make a mistake in leading the heart jack rather than a lower one. Ensuring West doesn't play the queen on the first round does give you extra options, even if you decide not to take them.

Free Weekly Instant Tournament - March 15 - Board 1

Board 1
Neither side vulnerable

♠ K Q 2  ♥ J 7  ♦ A J 10 7 5  ♣ K Q 5

RHO opens with one spade. I overcall with one notrump. Partner bids two clubs, Stayman. I rebid two diamonds and partner invites game with two notrump. With 16 HCP and a good five-card suit, I have an obvious acceptance. I bid three notrump, and West leads the spade ten.

	NORTH Robot ♠ 8 7 6 ♥ A K 9 ♦ 8 2 ♣ J 9 7 6 2
	SOUTH Phillip ♠ K Q 2 ♥ J 7 ♦ A J 10 7 5 ♣ K Q 5

West	North	East	South
Robot	Robot	Robot	Phillip
	Pass	1 ♠	1 NT
Pass	2 ♣	Pass	2 ♦
Pass	2 NT	Pass	3 NT
(All pass)

If clubs come home, I have nine tricks. Can I do better? If East has all the high cards (the queen-ten of hearts and the king-queen of diamonds), I can triple squeeze him. After I cash my black-suit tricks, I'll be down to

	NORTH Robot ♠ -- ♥ A K 9 ♦ 8 2 ♣ --
	SOUTH Phillip ♠ -- ♥ J 7 ♦ A J 10 ♣ --

To keep three hearts and the king-queen of diamonds, East must throw all his good spades away. I can then duck a diamond to take a tenth trick. I have no reason to believe East has all the high cards, but I'll keep this ending in mind as a possibility.

I play a low spade from dummy, and East encourages with the five. East can be pretty sure I have the spade king, but he may be less sure about the queen. So I win with king, the card I'm known to hold.

I lead the king of clubs--three--deuce--ace. East cashes the spade ace, and West drops the nine. East continues with the spade four, and West discards the heart deuce. This is probably from a five-card heart suit.

Here is the current position:

	NORTH Robot ♠ -- ♥ A K 9 ♦ 8 2 ♣ J 9 7 6
	SOUTH Phillip ♠ -- ♥ J 7 ♦ A J 10 7 5 ♣ Q 5

West is out of spades. So I can develop a diamond trick if he has a diamond honor and I can arrange to lose a diamond to him. I can cash the club queen, lead a club to dummy, and play a diamond. No, I can't. East simply puts up his diamond honor, forcing me to take the ace, and I have no way back to my hand after I drive the other honor. 

If I'm going to develop a diamond trick, I have to do so while I still have a club entry to my hand: Heart to dummy immediately. Diamond. East rises with his honor. I win with the ace and play the diamond jack. That works if the diamond honors are split. But if East has both honors, I go down. It's not all that unlikely East has both diamond honors. In fact, there is a slight inference that he does. Clearing the spades suggests he has an entry. So I like playing for the triple squeeze better.

Maybe I can improve my chances for the squeeze, though. Suppose I lead the heart jack. If West has the queen, he will probably cover. Now all I need for the squeeze to work is for East to have both diamond honors and the heart ten. If West doesn't cover the jack, no harm done. I'll go up with the ace and play East for everything.

I lead the heart jack. West covers. Great! I take the ace, and East plays the four. 

Let's take stock now. How likely is the squeeze to work? If East is balanced, he needs at least the diamond king to come up to 12 HCP. Both diamond honors would bring him up to 14. Either is possible, so the squeeze isn't necessarily working even if East has the heart ten. But I now have another option. I can simply finesse West for the heart ten. I'll run the clubs first, then decide which line to take.

I lead a club to the queen. East plays the ten; West, the eight. Now a club back to dummy. West discards the diamond six. If I'm right about his holding five hearts, that gives West 2-5-4-2 and East 5-3-2-3. The doubleton diamond does not bode well for East's having both diamond honors. There are four ways for him to hold Kx but only one way to hold KQ. The diamond queen is four to one to be on my left.

I cash the nine of clubs, and East pitches the heart five. A good player might be stiffing his heart ten here. But I don't think my robot opponent would do that. I suspect the heart ten is onside. I pitch the five of diamonds. West pitches the heart six.

On dummy's last club, East pitches the four of diamonds. West, the nine of diamonds. If I've read the deal correctly, we are down to this position:

	NORTH Robot ♠ -- ♥ K 9 ♦ 8 2 ♣ --
WEST Robot ♠ -- ♥ 10 x ♦ Q x ♣ --		EAST Robot ♠ J x ♥ x ♦ K ♣ --
	SOUTH Phillip ♠ -- ♥ 7 ♦ A J 10 ♣ --

I lead a diamond. East plays the king. I take the ace and lead a heart to the nine. It holds. Making four.

	NORTH Robot ♠ 8 7 6 ♥ A K 9 ♦ 8 2 ♣ J 9 7 6 2
WEST Robot ♠ 10 9 ♥ Q 10 6 3 2 ♦ Q 9 6 3 ♣ 8 3		EAST Robot ♠ A J 5 4 3 ♥ 8 5 4 ♦ K 4 ♣ A 10 4
	SOUTH Phillip ♠ K Q 2 ♥ J 7 ♦ A J 10 7 5 ♣ K Q 5

Plus 430 is worth 86%. I thought it would be better, but quite a few players made four, which surprises me. It takes a bit of foresight to make four, and the field doesn't often have foresight.

It turns out at most tables, East, after taking the club ace, cashed the spade ace then shifted to the king of diamonds, making it easy to make four. Why was the defense so soft at the other tables?

Most other declarers won trick one with the spade queen. It shouldn't matter. Either way declarer knows I have the remaining honor after he cashes the ace, since West would unblock from honor-ten-nine. But robots don't draws inferences from the play. So my East must have thought his partner had the queen left. At the other tables, East thought it unlikely his partner had the king left, since that meant South had overcalled one notrump with queen doubleton of spades. Looking at no entries, they gave up on spades and shifted to the diamond king.

As declarer, I almost always try to play the card that is most apt to keep the defense in the dark. But that's lazy of me. Sometimes you don't want to keep the defense in the dark. Here, I would welcome any shift, so I should be advertising my spade strength, not trying to hide it. Winning with the spade queen at trick one is the correct play. By playing routinely, I made the deal harder for myself than it should have been.