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“FREAKY” DOUBLES -Part 2.

Blood on the table..but whose?

Are you still here after yesterday? Like all good 2- part stories, we give you the highlights from Part 1 where we saw a penalty double with 5 decent trumps and a couple of aces at the 3 level back-fire when partner contributed “13 cards” and +100 was nowhere near the + 450 which was on offer. Hopefully, the partner took just a modicum of the blame for the bottom board.

So, what’s up here? We do once again have five trumps in the opponent’s suit, headed by the ace. Partner is bidding away. Do we get the calculator out to work out the penalty?

 

Again, Pairs and not just a 2-day theme but a 2-part question as well.

1. Do you agree with West’s pass of 4?
2. Assuming you did pass, what now?

It was not a flowing auction, at least not from the opposition. I would not like my partner to pass 3 without due cause, like they were a bit embarrassed by their own pre-empt. So, it took a bid in the unbid suit at the 4 level by one of the opposition to force North to bid to 4. Perhaps they bid it as a sacrifice?

Our Panel would have comfortably avoided the second part of the problem as, to a man (where are you, Julie?), they disagreed with the pass of 4 and converted the contract back to their partner’s longer diamond suit, albeit one level higher.

Matt Brown “No way - I would correct to 5 in a heartbeat.”

Bruce Anderson “No: I bid 5. In fact, I would have stretched a little and bid 4 over 3 instead of passing. Partner is now showing 6/5; surely it is right to play in a 6/3 fit with ruffing values, rather than a 5/2 fit, even if it is one level higher?”

Nigel Kearney “Prefer 5. Nine trumps instead of seven is a big difference especially if there are bad breaks.” 

Michael Cornell “I certainly don’t agree with the pass of 4. I would have bid 5 and just about expect to make it. I do not have to have an ace + Jxx. I expect partner to have five hearts and 6(7) diamonds and started with just 3 confident that there would be more bidding.”

Convinced? It seems sound advice but West did pass 4 enabling North to offer belated support for their partner. So, back to our 5 spades to the ace. Double, pass or bid 5? Those are your options, with the Panel not quite so united:

Matt Brown “I would double 4. All of our values are in their suits which is not helpful for partner in 5, plus we have so many spades that they can likely get tapped.”

“Tapping”, the nice art of seeing declarer with less trumps than you have, would not be that easy here.

Nigel Kearney “Double. Nice to be at the table and know the opponents but there is lots of bidding and we're not vulnerable. So, we should give partner some slack, maybe - KQ10xx AKxxxx xx. I'll lead A and hope for four or five tricks while  5 is probably down.”

In referring to Nigel's lead below and the fact that East-West were vulnerable, I should add that Nigel would never have been in this situation as he would have converted 4to 5.

No crime in hoping, Nigel. Some times one’s hopes can be cruelly dashed. The above views were not shared by:

Bruce Anderson “5: notwithstanding the danger signals: South may have a singleton club and there will be bad breaks. On the other hand, there was no double of 4 and partner should be a very strong 6/5 to have bid in this way. Doubling and leading a trump could well be right, but I am trying for the vulnerable game.”

or to put it very succinctly:

Michael Cornell “5. For the reasons I stated above, I would bid 5 now.

A split panel. Does that give me the casting vote? No-one actually mentioned the quality of West’s spades…or indeed the lack of it. That might have proven very important had one started with the A, to cut down dummy’s red suit ruffs against 4x.

Also, although West holds Qxx, where would they expect the other high club honours to be? Take a look.

 

The first observation one could make is why North chose to pass 3. A one-loser club suit and three card support for partner, decent three-card support at that, would make me inclined to make a 4 slam try!

Bridge...or Roulette, Russian style!

Had one doubled 4 and led the A, the outcome would be fascinating. There is no switch to hurt declarer who can cash a high club to see if East will produce singleton queen, maybe take a heart finesse, but then draw the rest of West’s trumps….and then play a bridge player’s version of Russian Roulette!

If East was really 5-7 in the red suits, the club finesse is now marked. Say they were 5-6 with 2 clubs? If they thought about West’s pass of 4, then surely West does not have 4 diamonds? Thus, East is indeed 5-7 in the reds. 4 trump tricks, 7 clubs and A (forget that heart finesse!) ..two overtricks! Yet, if East had doubleton Q, then this same contract would be 5 down, a variance of 8 tricks on the location of one queen! How are South's nerves!?

I do not like that form of Russian Roulette. Either I do not lead A or I bid 5. Sounds like my biblical namesake’s wise casting vote.

I did not ask the Panel what lead they would make to 4x. Seems a low trump might be best. Declarer cannot now draw trumps without losing control (West holds off their ace until the third round when dummy is out of trumps. Now, South can be "tapped" with diamond leads.)

At the table, West led their higher heart. Declarer played three rounds of the suit, ruffing and led dummy’s diamond. East could not risk ducking and therefore won to play a second diamond. On the table, South could have played three rounds of clubs, ruffing in hand then ruffing their last red suit loser in dummy, 10 tricks for declarer. In reality, a small error caused the contract to go one down. The same good scenario for declarer applies after a low diamond lead from West.  

So, to the calculator. 4x with 2 overtricks? My vote has to go eventually to 5, cold on a spade lead, one down on a club lead. Much better on the nerves, much easier to analyse.

So, 5 trumps to the ace is not necessarily enough. So much for “freaky” penalty doubles!

Time to defend..and predict!

Two questions again for tomorrow.

 

Well, for a while, you thought you had a decent hand. However, the more the bidding continued, you started to wonder. 2 was a game try with 3+ hearts and South bid all the way. You have three aces and the trump queen but refrain from doubling.

Your partner leads the 2 to your ace and declarer’s 5.

Which card do you play at trick 2?

What do you predict is the final outcome of the contract?

Richard Solomon

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