Bridge Match 1 - Board 31

Board 31 – Dealer South – NS Vul

My hand: ♠ Q 5 3 ♥ A Q T 6 ♦ Q T 5 3 ♣ 6 3

I pass. West bids 1 NT which gets passed around to me. I don't have a Cappelletti bid here so I pass. I guess maybe I could double but I don't see a good place to land. Our best chance at a plus is probably to set them here. Partner leads the 3 of hearts.

	NORTH ♥ 3
		EAST ♠ 6 2 ♥ K 7 ♦ J 9 8 7 ♣ Q J T 8 4
	SOUTH ♠ Q 5 3 ♥ A Q T 6 ♦ Q T 5 3 ♣ 6 3

West	North	East	South
			Pass
1NT	Pass	Pass	Pass

Guess we should start by taking as many hearts as we can. 3-K-A-5. Q-9-2-7. T-2 of diamonds-8-2 of spades. 6-6 of diamonds-4-6 of spades. Or maybe not? Why would partner possibly duck his J of hearts here? He must have an entry and want me on lead. Dummy looks to have both clubs and diamonds locked up solid so it must be spades. Should I lead the Q? Probably. Q-7-9-7 of diamonds. 5-A-4-8 of diamonds.

Declarer now taunts us by leading the 7 of clubs which floats around. Then the K. Then the A. Then the 9, as partner pitches the J of hearts. Declarer also has the A of diamonds and gets his J of spades at the end when partner pitches his K for no reason. Making 2.

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

Declarer has 7 top tricks and no right to get an 8th. Partner blew us out two different ways to make that happen, so I expect to lose an IMP here.


Professor Jack disagrees with my Q of spade shift. If I lead a spade I should lead the 3, apparently. He'd rather I lead the 3 of diamonds. I don't think that makes sense given that partner did everything in his power to keep me on lead. Why diamonds as opposed to spades? I guess I 'know' he can't have 4 spades since he didn't make a Cappelletti bid, but then it turns out he did have them.


The replay has an identical auction. They take their 7 tricks and go home. North ducks his heart trick here too, but South returns a diamond which forces declarer to cash out.

Nick: -120
Jack: -90
IMPs: -1 (-6 total)