Sunday, December 14, 2014

Bridge Match 3 - Board 36

Board 36 - Dealer West - All Vul

Opponents convention card: Standard American Yellow Card
Opponents playing strength: Advanced

My hand: 9 6 3 2 7 4 Q T 5 4 3 T 4

Partner opens 1 heart and East doubles. My hand is garbage, so I pass. West bids 2 clubs, partner bids 2 diamonds, and East bids 3 clubs. That diamond bid changes things a little. Queen fifth is a real thing when partner is willing to bid diamonds on his own. So I bid 3 diamonds. West bids 3 no trump and partner thinks for a while and decides to bid 4 diamonds. This feels like it has to be wrong... If our diamonds are as solid as they need to be to play 4 diamonds vulnerable then we should be able to destroy 3 no trump. East and I pass and West goes really crazy and bids 5 clubs. Partner doubles and that's that.

Partner leads the A of diamonds.
NORTH
A
EAST
A K J T 7
K 8
7 2
A K J 5
SOUTH
9 6 3 2
7 4
Q T 5 4 3
T 4
WestNorthEastSouth
Pass1DoublePass
2233
3NT4PassPass
5Double1PassPass
Pass
1Penalty

With dummy having 2 diamonds I guess I need to hope partner made all those bids with AKxx. He tries to cash the K but West ruffs in. Now they draw trump. 6-3-J-4. 5-T-Q-9 of diamonds. Ok, so West started with 6 clubs and 1 diamond. And with that spade suit on board being 5 sure tricks we have no hope here. Unless West attacks hearts, I guess, which he does. 3-A-8-4. No, we still have no hope. Dummy is pretty much up here. Declarer cashes 2 spades, partner drops the Q, and they are up. Making 5, doubled.
NORTH
Q 8
A Q 6 5 2
A K J 9 8
3
WEST
5 4
J T 9 3
6
Q 9 8 7 6 2
EAST
A K J T 7
K 8
7 2
A K J 5
SOUTH
9 6 3 2
7 4
Q T 5 4 3
T 4
This result is a flat bottom. Other results were 5 clubs making 6, 5 clubs making 5 (x3), 2 spades making 6, 3 spades making 6, and our side going down one in 4 diamonds doubled.


Jack disagrees with my 3 diamond bid because it promises 6 to 9 fit points. In what world does that make sense? I passed over 1 heart doubled! He then gets bitter at my signal in diamonds on the first trick. Yeah, fair. And then I missignaled in hearts too, after it was obvious the enemies were taking all the tricks. I don't care. And then I missignaled in spades. Still don't care. And for the record, if partner passes the 3NT East passes as well. And we get to take 6 tricks off the top for a clear top board. (Well, actually not, because partner doesn't cash diamonds. Instead he cashes one diamond, doesn't think the 5 of diamonds is high, and then leads his stiff club giving them 11 tricks.) Oh, and that double of 5 clubs? Possibly the worst bid of this hand. There is NOTHING about partner's hand that should make him think we have 3 tricks. I actually think he should bid 5 diamonds (if he isn't willing to let them play 3NT he shouldn't let them play 5 clubs either) but passing and giving me the decision would also be a reasonable thing to do. But doubling has to indicate that partner thinks 5 clubs doubled is a better place then 5 diamonds doubled and there's no reason for him to think that with his hand.

Ranking after board 36/60: 8/16 with 52.58%

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