Bridge Match 1 - Board 132

Board 132 – Dealer West – All Vul

My hand: ♠ A J T 4 2 ♥ J T 8 ♦ A 8 6 4 ♣ 5

West opens 1 club. East responds 1 heart. I double. West bids 1NT, partner bids 2 spades, and East bids 3 clubs. I bid 3 spades which gets passed out. East leads the 3 of clubs.

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

West	North	East	South
1♣	Pass	1♥	Double1
1NT	2♠	3♣	3♠
Pass	Pass	Pass
14-5 Spades, 4 Diamonds?

Interesting alert of my double. I mean, it's what I have almost every time I double but I'd have phrased it as takeout or not alerted it at all.

At any rate, I have 3 spades, 1 club, and 1 diamond. I can set up another 2 diamonds and a heart and a spade with various plays. I have 1 or 2 spade losers, 2 heart losers, 1 club loser, and maybe a diamond loser. If I'm going to make I need to pick up spades for 1 loser and diamonds for no losers.

The club. 3-5-A-7. West shifts to a heart. 2-9-A-8. East shifts to a diamond. I can't see a reason to hop with the A. 7-4-K-Q. Oh well. West cashes the K of hearts. K-Q-3-T. Then a club. 4-K-8-6 of diamonds.

Time to draw trump. If they split 2-2 it doesn't matter how I play the suit but A and out is safest. If East has 3 then finessing is right no matter how the honours split. If West has 3 then finessing can't hurt or help. I should finesse. 9-Q-A-5. Guess I only have 1 spade loser. Down 1.

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

Professor Jack agrees with me all the way!


At the other table my hand starts with 1 spade but still end up in 3 spades. Declarer finds a way to avoid the diamond loser. Unfortunately for him he gets rid of the diamond loser by just throwing away a club trick. Down 1.

Nick: -100
Jack: -100
IMPs: 0 (-43 total)

Bridge Match 1 - Board 131

Board 131 – Dealer South – EW Vul

My hand: ♠ 9 6 5 ♥ T 7 5 ♦ K 9 8 3 ♣ Q 5 3

West opens 1 club in 2nd seat. East responds 1 diamond. I stay silent and they end up signing off in 5 hearts and then wandering to 6 hearts anyway. Intriguing. Partner leads the A of clubs.

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

West	North	East	South
			Pass
1♣	Pass	1♦	Pass
1♥	Pass	4♦1	Pass
4♠2	Pass	4NT3	Pass
5♦4	Pass	5♥	Pass
6♥	Pass	Pass	Pass
1Control in Diamonds for Hearts
2Control in Spades for Hearts
3Ace Asking for Hearts
4One Ace

A-4-3-7. T-J-Q-K. Declarer plays a third club. 6-2-Q of hearts-5. And now he draws trump. 3-5-K-4. And now a spade. 4-3-T-5. And now a diamond! A-3-5-2. Q-K-6 of hearts-6. Declarer switches to a club. 8-9-A of hearts-6 of spades. He draws another trump. 8-7-9-2. J-7 of spades-4 of diamonds-T. Man, that was risky of him. If partner had the T of hearts he'd have been down the reckless way he played. He is up now, though.

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

Professor Jack disagrees with my club signal. He wants me to signal with the 5 to show the Q. I only want to show the K with an encouraging signal, so I want to play small. He then disagrees with my diamond signal, where I showed odd instead of even. I didn't see any point in signalling correct count either. I'm lying to declarer more than partner here.


On the replay the auction goes the same up until the very end, which West fails to bump the bid to 6 hearts. North doesn't cash his A of clubs and they end up holding them to 5.

Nick: -1430
Jack: -650
IMPs: -13 (-43 total)

Bridge Match 1 - Board 130

Board 130 – Dealer East – NS Vul

My hand: ♥ K J ♦ A T 9 7 3 ♣ T 9 7 5 4 3

East opens 1 heart. This looks like a terrible unusual NT to me! West jumps to 4 hearts (looks familiar) but East continues with 4NT. West shows 1 ace and East goes to 6 hearts which gets passed out. I think we will set this with my A of diamonds and K of hearts.

I'm on lead. The only way it can be wrong to cash my A is if they're void, and it sets up a pitch, and partner has a trick they can pitch away. Seems unlikely.

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

West	North	East	South
		1♥	2NT1
4♥	Pass	4NT2	Pass
5♦3	Pass	6♥	All Pass
1Unusual
2Ace Asking for Hearts
3One Ace

A-J-2-8 of hearts. Ok, two of the bad conditions are true. How is number 3? Declarer cashes the A of clubs. A-3-6-2. Then he shifts to a spade. When can ruffing win? Well, it wins when partner has Qx of hearts. It wins when I can give partner a club ruff too I guess, which again requires the Q or maybe the 9. It loses when declarer has a spade loser which I ruff instead of letting him lose it. But with 2 free pitches sitting on board that can't be possible. I guess I should ruff.

2-J of hearts-3-6. I return the T of clubs. T-5 of hearts-Q-8. Declarer plays a heart and finesses into me. T-2-4-K. I guess that's another win for the ruff, eh? I return another club. 4-6 of hearts-K-J. Declarer is now up. Down 1.

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

Professor Jack disagrees with my club signal. Pretty sure declarer makes if I actually signal proper count here, so I'm happy he disagrees. He next disagrees with ruffing. Another happy occurrence for me I guess!


On the replay the auction is different. My hand bids 2 clubs instead of 2NT. This builds a cue-bidding auction that culminates in 6 hearts. My hand leads a club and not the A of diamonds. Declarer wins and draws two rounds of trump, ending in my seat's hand. My seat finally tries to cash the A of diamonds, setting up two tricks for declarer. Declarer using the two pitches to clear out his spades, and then he ruffs a spade to set up 3 more tricks on which to pitch his clubs. Making 6. Bang!

Nick: 50
Jack: -980
IMPs: +14 (-30 total)

Bridge Match 1 - Board 129

Board 129 – Dealer North – No Vul

My hand: ♠ J T 9 8 7 4 ♥ A 9 3 ♦ Q 4 ♣ A 7

Partner opens 1 hearts and East jumps to 2NT showing the minors. I bid 4 hearts which gets passed out. East leads the 5 of clubs.

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

West	North	East	South
	1♥	2NT1	4♥
Pass	Pass	Pass
1Unusual

I have 2 clubs and 5 hearts. I can easily set up a diamond and a lot of spades. Unfortunately I have 4 losers. 2 spades and a diamond for sure, and maybe the K of hearts. They're all top tricks except the heart which I can only avoid by finessing for it or dropping it. East has 10 cards in the minors so it's almost inconceivable that West could have a stiff K. I can play a round of spades pretty safely first to find out. I hope the club. 5-A-8-2. I fire out a spade. 4-K-Q-3 of clubs.

Well now. West does have one heart. It's still 1 in 4 that he has the king though, so I should still finesse. He returned a diamond, anyway. 9-K-A-4. East plays another club which I win in hand. 4-7-J-K.

I lead a trump and East covers. Q-K-A-7. Now I just need to manage my entries and I'm good. Actually, I just need to ruff the club and I'm up. So I play a heart to the J, ruff the club back, cash the high diamond and concede a spade. Making 4.

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

Professor Jack disagrees with ducking the spade. He wants me to play a club instead, probably to ruff a club or maybe to take the heart finesse right away. In retrospect while I gained information by playing the spade it wasn't information I was willing to act on (I was going to finesse even with hearts 1-3) so it was probably wrong.


On the replay the auction and lead are identical. Declarer wins the opening lead in hand and finesses hearts. He doesn't finesse in a way he can repeat though, so he has to play a diamond to try to build another hand entry. It fails. Declarer is forced to hope for a 2-2 heart split and luckily for him it works. Also making 4, but I feel screwed.

Nick: 420
Jack: 420
IMPs: 0 (-44 total)

Bridge Match 1 - Board 128

Board 128 – Dealer West – EW Vul

My hand: ♠ A J 7 3 ♥ K Q J 6 5 ♦ T 9 8 ♣ T

Partner opens 1 club and East doubles. I redouble. West bids 1 diamond and partner jumps to 3 clubs. I bid 3 hearts and partner goes to 3NT which gets passed out. East leads the A of diamonds.

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

West	North	East	South
Pass	1♣	Double	Redouble1
1♦	3♣	Pass	3♥
Pass	3NT	All Pass
110+ Points

Ok, so partner has a bare minimum and no diamond stopper. What was 3 clubs? Why bid 3NT with absolutely no stopper? I defended Jack on the weekend when Sky was saying he thinks Jack is pretty atrocious after 1 spade doubled was for penalty. I don't know if we can keep talking, Jack.

At any rate, I have 5 heart tricks and 2 spade tricks after I lose all the diamonds and maybe the A of clubs. Diamonds split 4-4 and they immediately cash the club A so I'm down 1.

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

Professor Jack disagrees with my redouble. He'd rather I just bid hearts myself. Then he wants me to pass 3 clubs. I guess it was preemptive? His comment was "Jack would have bid pass himself but he seriously considered your call and can live with it."


At the other table my hand bids 1 heart which somehow makes West shut up. North still jumps to 3 clubs which really removes any chance that it's preemptive. My seat bids the 3NT. West finds a diamond lead so they take 4 tricks off the top. He then shifts to a spade so they'd make if declarer hadn't pitched his spade away. Instead they take just 3 spades and 5 hearts and concede a club on the end for a push board.

Nick: -50
Jack: -50
IMPs: 0 (-44 total)

Bridge Match 1 - Board 127

Board 127 – Dealer South – NS Vul

My hand: ♠ A T 4 ♥ 5 3 ♦ A J 5 ♣ K Q J 8 5

I open 1NT. West interferes with 2 clubs and partner jumps to 4 hearts. Are systems on over 2 clubs? If they are, would Texas even be on? Am I even playing Texas? I don't think so, so I pass. East leads the T of clubs.

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

West	North	East	South
			1NT
2♣	4♥	All Pass

I have 1 diamond, 3 heart, and 1 spade. That's a start... I will set up 2 clubs trivially after this lead. A diamond can be brute forced as well. I might get a spade if the K is onside. Maybe if West has KT or QT I can cut out a heart loser?

Unfortunately West has 6 clubs so I'm pretty sure I'm going to get something ruffed here. Unless I duck! I can ruffing finesse later to pick up the A. Yeah! T-5-9-6. West shifts to a spade. This gets me my spade trick! 2-4-5-7.

At this point I think I just want to draw trump and suck up my losers. A-7-3-6. 4-2-5-T. I guess I might actually have 3 heart losers, eh? West returns a spade. J-Q-K-A. Unfortunately I have no way to hand to draw to draw 2 trump at once. I think I should just play for down 1 anyway. I play the K of clubs. K-4-9 of spades-Q of hearts. And now I realize I'm screwed since I pitched the spade. Oh well. East returns a diamond. I need to brute force a second entry to board now, so I duck. 3-5-7-9. I draw out the last trump. 9-4 of diamonds-8 of clubs-K. West returns the A of clubs, so I can ruff, play up to the A of diamonds and claim. Down 1.

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

Professor Jack wants me to cover the club lead. I think that would have been a pretty big mistake. I strongly disagree with 4 hearts, though. We could have 24 points and a 7 card fit. Come on Jack. Invites are legal! So is double!


On the replay the auction goes the same. Declarer covers the club lead. West returns a club which gets ruffed. But then East gives him extra entries to his hand by playing spades twice which lets him draw trump for 1 loser. Making 4.

Nick: -100
Jack: 620
IMPs: -12 (-44 total)

Bridge Match 1 - Board 126

Board 126 – Dealer East – No Vul

My hand: ♠ 9 ♥ 9 4 3 ♦ K J T 7 4 ♣ T 9 8 4

East opens 1 spade. West jumps to 4 spades which gets passed out. I lead the 9 of spades.

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

West	North	East	South
		1♠	Pass
4♠	Pass	Pass	Pass

9-2-A-3. Partner shifts to a diamond. 6-5-K-3. I guess I should return a diamond in case partner has the A. J-8-2-A. Declarer plays a heart. 2-3-A-7. He cashes a club. A-2-5 of hearts-4. So partner had 7 clubs and didn't act. Huh.

Now a heart back. 6-T-J-4. A diamond. 9-4-Q-7 of clubs. So partner had a stiff A of spades? He must have been 1-3-2-7? A heart back. 8-Q-K-9. It turns out declarer is just up. I wonder if I can make Jack claim? He makes 5.

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

Professor Jack disagrees with my opening lead. He wants me to lead a club, not a spade. He then complains that I signaled incorrectly in clubs. Declarer showed out, Jack. You know my count. I should signal completely randomly here.


On the replay the auction is the same. My hand leads the T of clubs. Declarer still has 2 guaranteed losers and still picks up the Q of hearts. Making 5.

Nick: -450
Jack: -450
IMPs: 0 (-32 total)

Bridge Match 1 - Board 125

Board 125 – Dealer North – All Vul

My hand: ♠ J 8 3 ♥ J T 7 2 ♦ K 9 ♣ K 9 8 5

East opens 1NT in 2nd chair. You don't interfere with 4-4-3-2 hands, so I pass as does everyone else.

I lead the 5 of clubs.

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

West	North	East	South
	Pass	1NT	All Pass

5-T-A-6. Partner fires back a club. 2-3-? I should pop the K when partner has the Q left, but if he started with AQx he would have returned the Q I would think. How about AQxx? And could he have Ax? With Ax I need to duck. With Axx it doesn't matter. And with AQx or AQxx I need to win. I don't think he has the Q. 2-3-8-J.

Declarer shifts to hearts. 3-Q-A-2. K-7-6-2 of diamonds. Sorry declarer! He throws me in with a heart. 4-J-8-2 of spades. Partner has pitched low cards in every suit. I cash the K of clubs and declarer shows out, so partner did have the Q. Why not return that for me? Boo! I cash my heart and play a club to partner. He returns a spade to my J and dummy's A. I get my K of diamonds but nothing else. They're just in.

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

Professor Jack disagrees with ducking the club. It only hurts when partner underled his Q which he should do unless I lead the 5 from 9853 or a shorter suit. Come on, partner. Have more faith in me than that!

He then wants me to signal an even number of hearts. Yeah, lets tell declarer about the 4-1 split before he screws up and sets up my hearts. That seems wise. (Why was he 'setting up' hearts and not diamonds anyway?)


On the replay they also play 1NT. My hand leads the 5 of clubs, North again returns the 2 of clubs but my hand wins it. After clearing clubs they work on spades, but declarer wisely decides to set up diamonds for a push.

Nick: -90
Jack: -90
IMPs: 0 (-32 total)

Bridge Match 1 - Board 124

Board 124 – Dealer West – NS Vul

My hand: ♠ Q 8 ♥ 8 4 2 ♦ A Q 9 5 ♣ A J 8 7

East opens 1 club in 3rd chair. I have no bid. West responds 1 heart and East bids 1 spade. I could double to ask for a diamond lead and show some values. Will this help declarer more than partner? I doubt it. West bids 1NT which gets passed to me. My hand is way too balanced to bid again.

Partner leads the 2 of diamonds.

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

West	North	East	South
Pass	Pass	1♣	Pass
1♥	Pass	1♠	Double1
1NT	Pass	Pass	Pass
1Penalty

2-3-A-6. I return a diamond. 5-J-K-4. Partner shifts to the T of clubs. T-2-8-K. If partner gets in again and plays another club I have 5 tricks. Declarer plays a heart. 5-3-A-2. And another. J-4-7-9. Unlucky. 6-8-K-T. I guess declarer has 7 tricks. It turns out partner only had 3 diamonds so I don't have an entry to his hand and am endplayed into giving declarer his Q of clubs. Making 2.

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

Professor Jack disagrees with my double since apparently it was for penalty. I don't know how that can possibly make sense. Does anyone else think that was penalty?

He then disagrees with ducking the club lead. I guess he doesn't think partner can have the K of clubs or another entry?


On the replay my hand shuts up. East bids 2 hearts over 1NT. West bids 2 spades which gets passed out. They end up taking 9 tricks. A great MP result for my double, at least!

Nick: -120
Jack: -140
IMPs: 1 (-32 total)

Bridge Match 1 - Board 123

Board 123 – Dealer South – No Vul

My hand: ♠ J T 9 8 5 ♥ K 7 6 3 2 ♦ A J T

I pass and West opens 1 club. Partner overcalls 1 diamond and East bids 2 clubs. I bid 3 clubs which I'm hoping is Michael's but I have a sinking suspicion it isn't. West bids 4 clubs and partner doubles. I have to imagine that's for penalty but I can't see sitting for it. I pull to 4 hearts. Partner goes to 5 diamonds which gets passed out. East leads the 3 of spades.

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

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

West	North	East	South
			Pass
1♣	1♦	2♣	3♣1
4♣	Double2	Pass	4♥
Pass	5♦	All Pass
1Constructive Raise
2Penalty

I have 4 diamonds and 2 hearts. I can probably set up a couple more hearts and maybe I can set up spades. Alternatively I can just try to cross ruff the black suits. Loserwise I could lose 1 diamonds, I will lose 1 spade, and I may lose a heart. I'll probably lose trump control at some point and lose some other stuff too, sadly. I think my plan is going to be to try to set up spades.

3-5-A-K. West shifts to the A of clubs. A-2-9-T of diamonds. I play out the J of spades. West plays low. Should I ruff or take a ruffing finesse? If I take the finesse and it fails East will return a club and I'll end up losing the K of diamonds for sure for down 1. I could hope East has Qxx of spades and try to ruff out the Q. This lets me take the diamond finesse which will let me pick up specifically Kx onside only. I can't see 11 tricks this way. So I think I need to just pitch a club and hope. J-2-5 of clubs-Q. East returns the 8 of hearts for some reason. 8-2-Q-A. I now have 5 major suit tricks set up. If I can avoid a diamond loser I'll make. They have 5 diamonds between them, and I can only possibly pick up stiff K or Kx in East. Kx is way more likely, so I go for that. 2-5-J-K. Oh well.

West comes back with a club. Q-7-4-A of diamonds. I'm actually going to lose another diamond now, unless the 9 is now stiff. I cash a spade to pitch my last club and then need to find a way back to board. If East has the last spade I can ruff a spade to board and draw trump. If hearts aren't 4-1 I can just play a heart to board. East's heart shift has me worried about the heart being ruffed, so I play a spade. 8-6 of clubs-4 of diamonds-7. I cash the Q of diamonds and East shows out. West has two trump left. They're actually the 9 and 8 of trump, so they're both high and I will lose 2 more trump tricks. But this time I'm not going to repeat the mistake from a few boards ago and will cash winners, forcing him to ruff in. I get 2 of the last 4. Down 3.

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

Professor Jack disagrees with pulling the penalty double. On the play he disagrees with my method of getting to board to try to draw trump at the end. He would have just pitched a heart winner on the spade. Seems weird, but I guess he's playing for 4-1 diamonds.


On the replay my hand makes the same cue-bid, knowing what the bid actually means. He doesn't pull the penalty double, which could be good. There is a line to make 4 clubs doubled, lets hope Jack finds it. (Actually, I think I'm wrong and the best he can do is down 1... Frowns.)

North leads a diamond to his partner's A. South returns a diamond and declarer ducks and ruffs. He then tries to draw trump, finding the 4-0 break. He then drops the stiff K of spades, ruffs his last diamond, and then exits a heart. North cashes a heart on which declarer pitches his last spade loser. He has 5 winners in hand and can draw all the trump. Making 4, doubled. Guess there was a way to make!

Nick: -150
Jack: -510
IMPs: +8 (-33 total)

Bridge Match 1 - Board 122

Board 122 – Dealer East – All Vul

My hand: ♠ J 7 ♥ K 7 3 ♦ T 9 6 5 3 ♣ A 7 2

West opens 1 heart in 3rd seat. Partner overcalls 2 diamonds and East bids 2 hearts. Now, if we're going to make anything in no-trump we probably want it played from my hand what with the K of hearts here and all. We should have 7 tricks in no trump with 5 diamonds and my 2 high cards. Could partner have two more (including a spade stopper) to make 3NT a good spot to be?

I think I'll start with 2NT, showing my stopper, and see where we go from there. West bids 3 hearts, partner bids 3NT, and everyone passes. West leads the A of hearts.

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

West	North	East	South
		Pass	Pass
1♥	2♦	2♥	2NT
3♥	3NT	All Pass

Well, partner doesn't have solid diamonds and he doesn't have a spade stopper. I hope they don't switch! The heart goes A-Q-5-7. West switches to a spade. 3-2-K-7. East doesn't switch to a heart, he stays with spades. 8-J-Q-5. A-9-4-3 of hearts. T-2 of diamonds-6-3 of diamonds. Back to hearts, which I win in hand.

If I can find the K of diamonds I'm down just 1. Can it help to cash the clubs? I doubt it. It could hurt, if I lose the diamond and they can cash the 13th club.

I lead the T of diamonds and West plays the K. I am therefore up. Down 1. Which, I believe, is good bridge.

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

Professor Jack disagrees with my bidding 2NT. He wants me to bid 3 diamonds instead.


On the replay my hand overcalls 3 diamonds. West bids 3 hearts, North bids 4 diamonds, West bids 4 hearts. Declarer screws up, taking a double finesse he can't repeat. This causes him to lose both the K and Q of hearts, and goes down 2 instead of down 1.

Nick: -100
Jack: 200
IMPs: -7 (-41 total)

Bridge Match 1 - Board 121

Board 121 – Dealer North – EW Vul

My hand: ♠ A T 9 4 2 ♥ Q 6 3 ♦ K 9 8 ♣ T 5

East opens 1 club in 2nd chair. I double. West bids 1 heart and partner jumps to 3 diamonds. East bids 3 hearts. I bid 3 spades and partner raises to 4. East doubles for penalty. Should I run to 5 diamonds? Diamonds is probably a better spot but I doubt it's two tricks better so I pass as does everyone else.

West leads the 9 of clubs.

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

West	North	East	South
	Pass	1♣	Double
1♥	3♦	3♥	3♠
Pass	4♠	Double1	All Pass
1Penalty

Huh. I guess we don't have a double fit. I wonder why partner decided to raise. I was just competing. I have 3 spades, 1 club, and 2 diamond tricks. I don't exactly have a lot of play for more tricks. I might be able to pick up a spade honour, or ruff a heart, or maybe win my T of clubs if West lead the 9 from J9(x).

That doesn't seem very likely. 9-K-A-5. East returns the A of hearts. A-6-2-5. East shifts back to clubs. J-T-3-Q. I can get my heart ruff now, so I go for it. 7-K-3-4. Guess I don't need to get a ruff after all, since my Q is now good.

East comes back with yet another club. Could clubs really be 5-2? Yes, I think they are. Can I gain by pitching a diamond loser instead of ruffing? Not really, since West will just pitch too and East will play another high club afterwards. So I ruff highish. 8-9 of spades-5 of diamonds-4. I think it's time to put a stop to that by pitching my last club. I cash a heart. Q-T-6 of clubs-8.

I play a diamond up to board so I can finesse spades. 8-6-A-T. 3-5-T-K. West fires back a diamond. Q-2-J-K. My diamond in hand is actually high now, once I finish dealing with spades. Cashing the A is only terrible when spades split 4-1, but nothing is good when that's true. So I do it anyway. A-6-J-Q. West still has a high spade. Down 2, doubled. Oh, what's this? Spades actually were 4-2 since we didn't have a fit. Right. West has two high spades and I didn't force him to ruff a diamond so I'm actually down 4. Oops.

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

Professor Jack disagrees with my double. He says it promises 11 points and wants me to overcall instead. I don't like that thought process. I can see the case for saying I should pass, but double vs overcall shouldn't be a points thing. It should be a distribution thing. And with reasonable support for all 3 other suits and no concentration of power in spades, well, I like double. He then dislikes 3 spades and wants me to pass. My think was I wanted partner to know my distribution in case he had a good sac over 4 hearts since we're white on red. Clearly we were on different pages here, since he sacced before they even made it to 4 hearts and didn't have a good sac since he only had 2 spades.

Duriing the play, Jack doesn't want me to pitch a club when I cash my heart Q. He wants me to pitch a very irrelevant diamond. I don't see why. He then doesn't want me to draw trump. He wants me to just run diamonds. Finally he disagrees with exiting a low trump at the end which was clearly wrong. I just lost count of spades when I did it. That one's on me for sure.


On the replay they get to 3 hearts and stop. It turns out this is actually too high for them, and they go down 1.

Looking at it again, why did my partner jump to 3 diamonds? I took it as being weak which is why I was thinking of needing to sac over 4 hearts. But he did have a 10 count, and a misfit 10-count at that since most of his power is in the suit I doubled for takeout.

Nick: -800
Jack: 100
IMPs: -14 (-34 total)

Bridge Match 1 - Board 120

Board 120 – Dealer West – No Vul

My hand: ♠ T 9 5 ♥ K 8 6 3 ♦ A 9 5 ♣ T 9 8

Partner opens 1 spade. I raise to 2. Partner bids 3 clubs which is presumably some sort of help suit game try. My hand is terrible, so I bid 3 spades which gets passed out.

East leads the 2 of diamonds.

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

West	North	East	South
Pass	1♠	Pass	2♠
Pass	3♣	Pass	3♠
Pass	Pass	Pass

I have 4 spades, 1 club, and 1 diamond. Theoretically I can pick up extra tricks in every suit with finesses but I need 3 of them to come home. Unfortunately I have no entries to board at all, except the ace of diamonds and if I use that as an entry I can't finesse diamonds. I could also get a trick from the 4th heart, or the 4th club, or ruff the 4th club. Or I could dummy reversal and ruff 3 red cards on board.

Loserwise I'm going to lose maybe a spade, 2 or 3 hearts, 1 or 2 clubs, and maybe 1 diamond.

I think I'm going to go way down if the heart finesse isn't on, but I'm going to go for it. I play low. 2-5-K-Q. West returns a diamond. Huzzah! J-2 of hearts-4-A. I ruff my last diamond. 9-T-2 of spades-7.

I cash one round of trump just to see if the Q drops. A-4-5-7. I play a heart but don't even need to finesse. 5-A-3-9. East returns another heart. 4-K-Q-T. I like the look of that queen. I play another heart. 6-3 of diamonds-3 of spades-7.

Given that I pretty much have to lead a club off board, is there any layout I can play for that's favourable? Well, I'm pretty sure East started with 3 diamonds and 4 hearts, so he had 6 black cards. He signaled an odd number of spades, so he should be 3-3 in the black suits. That means West also has 3 clubs. If East has both honours and I duck a club he wins and returns the last heart. I ruff, draw trump, and have to lose the last two tricks for down 1 unless West has the Q of spades. Which he actually probably does with them both not bidding.

If the honours are split I have no play.

If West has both honours I need to play anything but the A to start.

So, I lead low. 5-2-T-J. West returns a trump. I hop with the K since I can't see any winning line with finessing. 6-K-Q-T. Interesting. So East had only 2 spades. He must then have 4 clubs. Maybe I can drop West's now stiff K. A-7-8-3. Oh well. I duck a club. 6-4-9-K. I guess the wrong assumption was that diamonds split 5-3. West returns a diamond into a ruff and sluff and I get the last two tricks on a cross-ruff. Making 3.

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

Professor Jack disagrees with ruffing the heart at the end. He wants me to just finesse clubs which is probably right since I had a hard time finding a winning play after running a heart, though if they split 3-3 it would have been ok-ish. Maybe.


On the replay West gets into the auction by bidding 3 diamonds over 2 spades. North just blasts straight to 4 spades. East leads a diamond like before. Declarer ducks like I did, losing to the K. West switches to a club, ducked to the 8. Declarer cashes the diamond, pitching a heart. He then finesses in spades, losing to the Q. East cashes the A of hearts but declarer knows the club suit is working so his hand is up. Making 4.

Nick: 140
Jack: 420
IMPs: -7 (-27 total)

Bridge Match 1 - Board 119

Board 119 – Dealer South – All Vul

My hand: ♠ J 8 4 ♥ A 7 ♦ A Q 9 7 ♣ K 9 3 2

I open 1 club. Partner responds 1 heart, Walsh. East overcalls 1 spade which gets passed out. I lead the A of hearts.

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

West	North	East	South
			1♣
Pass	1♥1	1♠	All Pass
1Walsh

A-3-2-5. Partner doesn't want me to return a heart. I don't know that I care. I want my ruff, and if he has a high spade I get one. 7-4-T-K. Declarer draws trump. Q-4-5-6. K-8-T-2. A-J-3 of diamonds-7. And now back to hearts. 9-2 of clubs-6-J. Partner tries to cash his last heart. Q-3 of spades-7 of diamonds-8. Declarer shifts to a club. 6-9-4-T. Partner shifts to a diamond, establishing one for declarer. 5-2-A-6. I give declarer his diamond. 9-K-T-8. Declarer ducks a club. 5-A-7-3. I get my Q of diamonds and declarer gets his trump at the end. Just in. I guess pretty much any other lead and we can set them. Doh.

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

Professor Jack wants me to open 1 diamond.


On the replay my hand opens 1 diamond but the auction ends the same way. My hand leads the A of hearts off the top, too, and they also make 1.

Nick: -80
Jack: -80
IMPs: 0 (-20 total)

Bridge Match 1 - Board 118

Board 118 – Dealer East – EW Vul

My hand: ♠ A T 9 6 2 ♥ A T 4 ♦ 3 ♣ Q J 8 6

East opens 1 diamond. I double. West bids 1 spade and East jumps to 3NT which gets passed out. I lead the 6 of clubs.

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

West	North	East	South
		1♦	Double
1♠	Pass	3NT	All Pass

6-A-2-5. Declarer floats a diamond around. 6-5-7-3. 2-2 of spades-T-4. Q-3 of spades-8-6 of spades. Declarer has 4 more diamonds in hand and stranded himself on board. Presumably he has an entry to his hand (K of clubs) and will make regardless. He does in fact play a club to the K, so I have 4 winners in hand. I pitch my losers and am up when he's out of diamonds. Just in.

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

Professor Jack disagrees with my double. He wants me to just bid 1 spade. I feel like I'm happy if partner wants to play in any of the non-diamond suits so I like doubling.


On the replay my hand overcalls 1 spade. This causes West to bid 1NT. East still goes to 3NT but they're playing it from the other side and don't know to avoid a spade lead. North leads a spade, setting up 2 spade tricks for declarer. Unfortunately it turns out my side can run hearts if they lead the A crashing the stiff Q on board, which they know to do since the stiff Q is open at their table. They take 7 tricks off the top for down 3. Ouch.

Nick: -600
Jack: 300
IMPs: -14 (-20 total)

Bridge Match 1 - Board 117

Board 117 – Dealer North – NS Vul

My hand: ♠ A K Q J 9 7 4 ♥ 9 ♦ K J 6 4 ♣ T

So... Nice hand, eh? I open 1 spade in 3rd seat. West doubles and East bids 2 spades, alerted as an unassuming cuebid. Partner's probably completely broke here, so they're probably making 4 hearts. I don't rate to go down much in 4 spades, if any, so I will bid at least that. Should I go to 5 spades right now? At any other vulnerability maybe, but red on white I'll wimp out and just bid 4. West doubles again, this time for penalty. East pulls to 5 clubs.

If 5 clubs is making they'll score up 400 points. West will certainly double me again, so if I go down 2 it's 500 points. Down 2 seems pretty likely and I may end up pushing them into a making slam so I pass. West bids 5 hearts which gets passed to me. I pass again. Maybe I should have started with 5 spades after all?

Partner leads the 3 of spades.

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

West	North	East	South
	Pass	Pass	1♠
Double	Pass	2♠1	4♠
Double2	Pass	5♣	Pass
5♥	Pass	Pass	Pass
1Unassuming Cuebid
2Penalty

3-6-A-2. Do I want to let partner get some pitches or should I try for a club ruff? I can't see us taking 2 more tricks unless partner has the A of clubs, so might as well. T-2-3-Q. Oh well. Declarer draws trump. 4-9-A-6. 3-2-Q-4 of spades. 8-7 of spades-J-T.

Declarer shifts back to clubs. 9-6-K-9 of spades. And now a diamond. 2-4-A-7. Clubs again. A-J-4-J of spades. A heart to board. 5-5 of spades-K-Q of spades. Dummy's clubs are up. Making 6.

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

Professor Jack disagrees with my 4 spade bid. It's too aggressive and wildly optimistic. I bid it as a preemptive sacrifice, Jack. It was supposed to be aggressive.

He then disagrees with winning the first trick with the A of spades. He wants me to play the J to let partner know I have the suit locked up. I'd think partner already knew that. And I don't want him ever returning a spade if he has more than 1. (Leading the 3 from 4 small? What?)

He then wants me to return a spade. I almost did, think partner's lead had to be stiff. How could he possibly have 3 or 4 spades on this auction? It would have given them a ruff and sluff which might have been the only way they could make on a different layout.


On the replay my hand only bids 3 spades. West bids 4 hearts which gets passed to my seat who then bids 4 spades. If you were going to bid 4 spades over 4 hearts why didn't you start with 4 spades and take away their bidding room!?! West doubles for penalty and East pulls to 5 hearts. It also makes 6 for a push.

Nick: -480
Jack: -480
IMPs: 0 (-6 total)

Bridge Match 1 - Board 116

Board 116 – Dealer West – All Vul

My hand: ♠ 8 2 ♥ A J 4 ♦ Q 9 5 4 ♣ T 8 7 5

West opens 1 club which gets passed to me. I can't find a bid. Partner leads the 6 of diamonds.

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

West	North	East	South
1♣	Pass	Pass	Pass

6-2-Q-K. Declarer continues diamonds. T-4 of clubs-3-4. Partner fires back a low heart. 3-2-A-7. Time to kill board. I return a diamond. 5-J-6 of clubs-7. Partner draws trump. J-2-5-3. Q-8 of diamonds-7-A. 9-K-8 of hearts-8. I have the only remaining trump. If we have one more trick in the majors we set them.

Partner finds a trick by playing the K of hearts. K-9-4-5. 6-5 of spades-J-Q. Declarer goes to spades. 3-Q-7-8. A-9-2-J. I ruff the next spade and have to give dummy his A of diamonds. Down 3.

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

Professor Jack agrees with me all the way!


On the replay the auction is the same. The play starts the same, However every time my hand plays a diamond he plays a high one (I always played low, hoping that would be suit preference for hearts). Partner seems to agree, as at the other table North cashes the A of spades, giving them a spade trick. But then declarer ruffs an extra diamond for no reason, removing the endplay that existed at my table. Down 3.

Nick: 300
Jack: 300
IMPs: 0 (-6 total)

Bridge Match 1 - Board 115

Board 115 – Dealer South – EW Vul

My hand: ♠ J T 4 2 ♥ K ♦ A Q J T 7 ♣ A 5 4

I open 1 diamond. Partner responds 1 spade. I raise to 3 and he goes on to 4 which gets passed out. East leads the 3 of hearts.

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

West	North	East	South
			1♦
Pass	1♠	Pass	3♠
Pass	4♠	All Pass

I have 3 spades, 2 hearts, 1 club, and 1 diamond. I have lots of ways to set up extra tricks in the minors with ruffs or finesses. As far as losers go I have a spade loser and maybe a club and maybe a diamond. My plan is to draw a couple rounds of trump, find out if spades are 3-2 or not, and then set up diamonds. 3-K-9-4. I play trump. J-3-6-A.

East shifts to a club. If I duck this then I may get ruffed back if clubs were 5-1. That doesn't seem that likely and ducking guarantees me at least 1 extra club trick. 6-4-2-7. Interesting. I go back to trump. K-2 of hearts-2-5. So West had 4 trump after all. Can I afford to draw them all? If I draw trump and finesse a diamond then even if it loses I'm only in trouble when diamonds split 5-1 as I then lose 2 diamonds and a club to go with the spade A. Or I can finesse right now. This is only bad if West ruffs? No, then I can ruff for an extra trick. Lets do that up. 5-2-T-6. Now I can make by just ruffing two diamonds in hand. A-8-4-3. 7-9-7 of spades-K. I now have 2 good diamonds, two aces, and 2 high trump as long as I don't get ruffed coming to hand to draw the last trump. I don't. Making 6.

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

Professor Jack disagrees with my 3 spade bid. I'm too good to invite and he wants me to jump straight to 4 spades.


On the replay my hand jumps straight to game and North passes. At least they're on the same page, but I'd seriously consider driving to slam when I have a 13 count and partner jumps to game after my simple response. Jack fails to untangle his entries and cash his tricks properly and ends up having to lead away from Ax of clubs at the end with the stranded A of hearts having been pitched the trick earlier. He makes 5.

Nick: 480
Jack: 450
IMPs: +1 (-6 total)

Bridge Match 1 - Board 114

Board 114 – Dealer East – NS Vul

My hand: ♠ Q 9 8 ♥ Q 8 2 ♦ K J 9 8 ♣ T 8 6

East opens 1NT. West transfers to Spades and East bids just 2 spades which gets passed out. I lead the 9 of spades.

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

West	North	East	South
		1NT	Pass
2♥1	Pass	2♠	All Pass
1Transfer

9-3-A-4. Partner shifts to the A of hearts. Are we cashing out? Should I signal high to show my Q? I suppose so. A-7-8-3. 5-K-2-4. Declarer shifts to a club. K-6-J-9. A-8-6 of hearts-3. And now diamonds. A-9-4-3. 2-K-6-5. I switch back to clubs. T-5 of spades-4-2. Declarer ruffs a diamond. T-7-T of spades-8. And now draws trump. J-Q-K-2. He cashes the high diamond, throws me in with a spade, and then has a trump left. Making 3.

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

Professor Jack disagrees with my opening lead. He wants me to lead my small heart. Every lead seemed dangerous and I kinda wanted to keep declarer from ruffing in his hand. If partner had returned a trump I think we might have held him to just in by preventing him from setting up diamonds. Oh well.


On the replay the auction is the same. My hand leads the 8 of diamonds! Declarer inserts the T and wins. He crossruffs and manages to induce North to ruff in with his A on a trick South was going to win. They end up making 4.

Nick: -140
Jack: -170
IMPs: +1 (-7 total)