K Q 7 3
K 6
10 7 6
J 6 4 3
8 6 5 A 2 K Q J 5 4 2 Q 7
![[W - E]](t.gif)
A J 9 4 2 J 10 9 5 8 K 10 2
10 Q 8 7 4 3 A 9 3 A 9 8 5| 1.
| K Q 7 3 K 6 10 7 6 J 6 4 3
| |
| 8 6 5 A 2 K Q J 5 4 2 Q 7
|
| A J 9 4 2 J 10 9 5 8 K 10 2
|
| None Vul | 10 Q 8 7 4 3 A 9 3 A 9 8 5 |
Gill West 3 Pass 4
| Barbosa North Pass Pass Dbl Dbl | Shore East 1 ¹3 NT Pass All Pass | La Rovere South 2 Pass Pass |
4 x by East
Down 2 — NS +300 — Brazil +9
Total: Brazil 9 to 0
This was one of the few hands in the tournament where I had absolutely no idea what is right. We do open light, but only on shapely hands. Personally I think the East hand is slightly below my standards, but it's certainly close. He wouldn't have opened it without the good spots. As West, I can go the conservative route and make a limit raise, or I can be aggressive and bid 3D, game forcing. Generally it's better to be aggressive, and since partner will never be able to evaluate his hand opposite a limit+ raise, I think this is probably right. When partner bids 3NT and North doubles it, I have no idea what to do. Personally I think south's 2H bid is terrible (I would double or pass), and North's double of 3NT is insane. There's no reason why we can't be shoving 7 diamonds and two aces down his throat. From this double, I assumed he had diamonds locked and a heart honor (silly me). He couldn't possibly know I had spade support, and there was no reason to think that 4S wouldn't be making or at least undoubled. Anyway, maybe it was a good double, cuz it worked, getting me to leave the making 3NTX for 4SX-2. I just haven't played enough bridge with Juniors to feel comfortable in this situation. I don't think an expert would double on the north hand, nor even think about it. He might double if 3D promised spades, hoping to drive us into a 4S that was going down. But even I wouldn't be sure about that.
| 2.
| K J 6 A K 10 2 9 7 6 5 3 K
| |
| A 10 8 2 9 8 3 8 4 10 9 6 5
|
| Q 9 7 4 3 5 4 A J 10 2 A J
|
| N-S Vul | 5 Q J 7 6 K Q Q 8 7 4 3 2 |
Gill West 3 ²
| Barbosa North All Pass | Shore East 1 ¹
| La Rovere South Pass |
3 by East
Down 1 — NS +50 — NS +4
Total: Brazil 13 to 0
We bid to 3S, which kept them from bidding at all. Given that the West hand bid to 2S and stopped at the other table, this probably should have been win 2, but our teammates had an accident and got to 3D instead of 3H.
| 3.
| 9 6 5 4 3 2 Q J 8 — K Q 8 4
| |
| A Q J 7 — K J 10 6 5 4 2 7 5
|
| 10 A K 10 7 6 5 A 9 8 7 10 6
|
| E-W Vul | K 8 9 4 3 2 Q 3 A J 9 3 2 |
Gill West 2 ¹5
| Barbosa North 2 Pass | Shore East 3 6
| La Rovere South Pass Pass All Pass |
6 by West
Down 1 — NS +100 — NS +12
Total: Brazil 25 to 0
North's interesting 2S bid worked well here. East was forced to
bid to 3H to get in the suit, and now I'm kind of stuck for a bid.
3NT doesn't look playable with two little clubs and a communications
nightmare. I could bid 4D, but is that forcing? Probably, but why put
it to the test. I'm pretty sure 5D is the right spot, so lets just
bid it. Noble has a tough decision now, since he knows I have 4
spades (south didn't raise) and probably 7 diamonds, to bid this way.
If my other cards are 1-1, slam is cold, or if I have the A of clubs
instead of the A this is cold. But I had
neither of those things, so too bad, lose 12. This is one of two
hands this tournament where an important principle was validated.
When partner fixes you, assume he knows what he's doing. Here I took
up all Noble's room to explore a slam, but I was right. We lost
another board later in the tournament because I made this mistake
also.
| 4.
| J 8 Q 2 A J 10 8 A Q J 10 5
| |
| 5 3 K 10 8 7 5 5 4 2 7 3 2
|
| K 10 6 4 2 J 3 Q 9 7 3 9 8
|
| Both Vul | A Q 9 7 A 9 6 4 K 6 K 6 4 |
Gill West Pass Pass | Barbosa North 1 ¹6 ²
| Shore East Pass All Pass | La Rovere South 1
|
6 by North
Made 6 — NS +1370 — NS +12
Total: Brazil 37 to 0
It's a 50% slam, so I really can't fault our teammates for not bidding it. Slam was bid 8 times and made 5 of those at other tables.
| 5.
| 4 10 2 Q 7 6 4 3 2 J 9 4 3
| |
| K Q 8 2 K J 9 7 — K 10 6 5 2
|
| A J 10 7 3 A Q 6 5 3 K J Q
|
| N-S Vul | 9 6 5 8 4 A 10 9 8 5 A 8 7 |
Gill West 1 ²5 NT³ | Barbosa North Pass 5 Pass | Shore East 1 ¹Pass 6
| La Rovere South 1 Pass All Pass |
6 by East
Made 6 — EW +980 — NS +6
Total: Brazil 43 to 0
Opposite partner's forcing pass, I really can't let him out below slam with extra HCP and shape. I probably would have pulled opposite a double too, but it would have been tougher. It's not clear what his hand should do. He knows I have a diamond void unless the opponents are insane. We still lost IMPs on the board because our teammate who was south doubled 6S, which I don't care for. Maybe their auction made double more reasonable, but you still can't think you're setting more than a trick, and you might well get redoubled if you're wrong.
| 6.
| 8 7 5 4 8 4 Q 9 4 3 Q 7 2
| |
| A K 3 2 J 10 9 3 J 10 5 2 8
|
| Q 9 6 5 2 8 6 A K 10 6 4 3
|
| E-W Vul | J 10 A K Q 7 6 A K 7 J 9 5 |
Gill West Pass Pass All Pass | Barbosa North 1 ²1
| Shore East Pass Pass Pass | La Rovere South 1 ¹1 ³2 4 |
2 by South
Made 2 — NS +110 — NS +1
Total: Brazil 44 to 0
Our teammates found their way into 2D making, not sure how, so lose another 1.
| 7.
| 7 6 K 7 6 5 2 J 8 7 8 6 5
| |
| Q J 5 4 A 4 3 K Q 6 5 Q J
|
| K 10 3 2 9 8 A 10 4 3 10 7 2
|
| Both Vul | A 9 8 Q J 10 9 2 A K 9 4 3 |
Gill West Pass All Pass | Barbosa North 2 ¹
| Shore East Pass | La Rovere South 1 NT 2 |
2 by South
| Trick 1. W | Lead 3
| 2nd | 3rd | 4th |
I decided to lead a trump holding a smattering of everything. Declarer won in his hand and played a small club, partner playing high to show count. I can play back another club here to get a club ruff and hold to 2, but I decided to play A and another trump, and declarer made 3. Lose another 1.
| 8.
| 10 7 A 9 2 J 7 4 3 K 10 9 6
| |
| K 9 8 5 2 K 4 3 A 9 8 2 5
|
| Q 3 Q 8 6 5 K Q 6 A J 8 4
|
| None Vul | A J 6 4 J 10 7 10 5 Q 7 3 2 |
Gill West 1 ¹2 2 NT | Barbosa North Pass Pass Pass | Shore East 2 2 ²3 NT | La Rovere South Pass Pass All Pass |
3 NT by West
| Trick 1. N | Lead 6
| 2nd | 3rd | 4th |
This contract was not a thing of beauty by any standards, and
required 3 misdefenses and a squeeze to make 9 tricks. For starters,
north led the 6 instead of the T. This allowed me to stick in the 8 from dummy and force the
Q. South now switched to the J, which rode to
the Q. At this point, I stared at the ceiling for inspiration, and
finding none, led the 3 to the 8, losing to the
T. North now, I guess expecting his partner to have 4 hearts, banged
down the A, and played another heart, giving me my K. I now played a
spade to the Q and South won the A. At this point if he just returns
a diamond, I can't get to my hand to cash the K
and keep my squeeze entry to my hand in diamonds. But no, he exits with a spade, which I don't finesse (I have a single squeeze against either opponent here if diamonds aren't breaking 3-3 at this point). Win 10.
| 9.
| A K Q J 4 2 Q 5 3 J 4 3 6
| |
| 10 8 6 3 9 4 10 6 Q 10 5 4 3
|
| 9 K J 10 2 K 7 2 A K J 8 2
|
| E-W Vul | 7 5 A 8 7 6 A Q 9 8 5 9 7 |
Gill West Pass Pass | Barbosa North 1 2 4
| Shore East Dbl Pass All Pass | La Rovere South 1 NT 3 |
4 by North
Made 5 — NS +450 — Push
Total: Brazil 45 to 10
Nothing much to say about this board. It was pretty flat around the room.
| 10.
| 10 6 J 10 8 6 5 A 10 9 8 5 3
| |
| 4 9 5 2 A K J 9 4 3 K Q 4
|
| K 9 3 2 A K Q 7 4 10 7 2 7
|
| Both Vul | A Q J 8 7 5 6 3 Q 8 J 6 2 |
Gill West 3 4 4 NT³ | Barbosa North Pass Pass Pass | Shore East 1 ¹3 NT 4 ²5
| La Rovere South 2 Pass Pass All Pass |
5 by East
Made 6 — EW +680 — EW +1
Total: Brazil 45 to 11
We got to the 5-level needlessly, and were lucky not to pay for it. Noble probably got a little overexcited here, since his hand is really not that good, and I don't necessarily show a slam try bidding this way.
| 11.
| A K J 10 7 6 5 10 9 6 5 9 2
| |
| Q J 7 4 K Q 9 2 J 10 7 4 3
|
| 9 6 2 A 4 Q J 8 3 A K 8 6
|
| None Vul | 10 8 5 3 8 3 2 A K 7 4 Q 5 |
Gill West Pass 2
| Barbosa North 2 ¹All Pass | Shore East Dbl | La Rovere South Pass Pass |
2 by West
Down 1 — NS +50 — NS +4
Total: Brazil 49 to 11
Their 2H opening made life very difficult for our side to reach our
best spot here. North led the J against 2S. I
won in dummy and played a spade to the Q and K. North played the T, covered by the Q and A. South returned another
heart, which I won, and played a club to the A to play the 9 off dummy. South covered, and now I have to figure
out to duck, which maybe I should. If I believe North's
"constructive" preempt in 3rd seat then maybe I should. But then who
ever believes Juniors, particularly those in 3rd seat?
| 12.
| A 4 A J 8 4 3 10 A Q 10 4 2
| |
| K J 10 5 Q 10 6 A 9 8 7 K J
|
| Q 9 6 3 K 5 K J 3 2 9 8 5
|
| N-S Vul | 8 7 2 9 7 2 Q 6 5 4 7 6 3 |
Gill West 1 NT¹ Pass Dbl³ Pass All Pass | Barbosa North Dbl 2 Pass 2
| Shore East Rdbl² Pass 2 ?Pass | La Rovere South Pass Pass Pass 3 |
3 by North
Made 3 — NS +110 — NS +6
Total: Brazil 55 to 11
Noble should bid spades, not diamonds over the takeout double, and then bid them again over 2H if he didn't the first time. When they bid to 3C, we could still hold it to lose 1 if he leads a non-club, but he thought it likely that he needed to cut down ruffs in dummy, so he led a trump which pickled my KJ unfortunately. Lose another 6.
| 13.
| K Q 9 7 4 9 6 A J A K J 3
| |
| J 3 2 A 10 7 5 4 K 3 Q 10 9
|
| 10 8 6 J 8 Q 10 9 7 6 2 8 4
|
| Both Vul | A 5 K Q 3 2 8 5 4 7 6 5 2 |
Gill West Pass Pass | Barbosa North 1 ¹1 3 NT | Shore East Pass Pass All Pass | La Rovere South 1 1 NT |
3 NT by South
Made 3 — NS +600 — EW +2
Total: Brazil 55 to 13
On this board, I led the 9 (0/2 higher) since I have sort of a blind lead against 3NT, and south showed 4+ hearts. Declarer went up with the A, I guess because he feared a diamond shift, and then decided not to finesse later, so we won 2.
| 14.
| K 7 3 Q 6 2 J 7 4 K Q J 4
| |
| Q J 10 A K 9 8 5 A Q 8 7 6
|
| A 9 5 2 7 4 3 5 3 A 9 3 2
|
| None Vul | 8 6 4 J 10 K 10 9 8 6 2 10 5 |
Gill West 1 ¹1 NT³ 2 ³3 NT | Barbosa North Pass Pass Pass All Pass | Shore East Pass 1 ²2 43 5 | La Rovere South Pass Pass Pass Pass |
3 NT by West
Made 4 — EW +430 — Push
Total: Brazil 55 to 13
North led the K against 3NT, and I ducked in dummy. When he continued with a small club, I was pretty sure of the club layout, so I ducked in dummy again. South won with the T and has a tough decision about what to return. He knows that I knew East held a doubleton diamond and bid 3NT anyway, and he has no idea I suppressed a 5-card heart suit here. So, not unreasonably, he switched to the J of hearts. I ducked, of course, and North probably even encouraged, so South continued with the T. I now merely have to take the spade finesse to guarantee my 9 tricks, whereas 4H needs the diamond finesse to make 10 tricks. Unfortunately it was on, so the board was a disappointing push against 4H making.
| 15.
| A K 8 2 7 7 6 4 2 7 4 3 2
| |
| 10 9 A K Q J 8 5 3 K 5 A 6
|
| Q 7 5 4 6 4 A Q 8 Q 10 9 8
|
| N-S Vul | J 6 3 10 9 2 J 10 9 3 K J 5 |
Gill West 1 ¹3 4
| Barbosa North 1 !Pass All Pass | Shore East Dbl² 3 NT | La Rovere South Pass 2 Pass |
4 by West
Made 5 — EW +450 — Push
Total: Brazil 55 to 13
Really not much to this one. I was a little worried because my hand does have 8.5 tricks in it that we might be missing a slam, but I really didn't have a good way to investigate. Plus, since I'm 7222, partner would need a whole bunch of controls, and would have bid on himself.
| 16.
| J 3 J 10 5 4 2 9 7 3 K 4 2
| |
| A K 9 8 5 Q 8 6 A Q 5 4 7
|
| Q 4 2 A 7 K 10 8 6 A Q 10 3
|
| E-W Vul | 10 7 6 K 9 3 J 2 J 9 8 6 5 |
Gill West 1 ¹2 4 ³
| Barbosa North Pass Pass Pass | Shore East 2 ²3 4
| La Rovere South Pass Pass All Pass |
4 by West
Made 6 — EW +680 — NS +13
Total: Brazil 68 to 13
This is one of the few boards where we had a misunderstanding in the tournament about our agreements. I looked at the West hand and decided that despite being maximum, I didn't really care for my hand that much, with my stiff in partner's "suit" and Qxx in hearts didn't look too valuable either. Anyway, given our system, my hand is much better known and should show what it has. 3NT by me would have shown "maximum" and let partner decide and that's what I should have done. this would have gotten us to the slam, which was bid at about 1/2 of the tables.
| 17.
| Q 9 Q 10 6 4 2 10 8 2 A 7 5
| |
| K 3 2 A 8 5 9 6 4 Q 9 6 3
|
| A 10 6 5 K J 9 K Q K J 10 2
|
| None Vul | J 8 7 4 7 3 A J 7 5 3 8 4 |
Gill West 1 ²2 4
| Barbosa North Pass Pass Pass | Shore East 1 ¹1 NT³ 3 NT | La Rovere South 1 Pass All Pass |
3 NT by East
Made 3 — EW +400 — EW +10
Total: Brazil 68 to 23
Apparently south's diamonds were good enough to bid but not good enough to lead. Or maybe he believed us a little too much. Once he led a spade, it was all over.
| 18.
| J 4 10 4 3 A J 10 4 3 J 10 7
| |
| A K 7 A J 2 K 9 5 K 9 4 3
|
| Q 10 9 8 5 3 Q 6 Q 7 6 5 2
|
| N-S Vul | 6 2 K 9 8 7 5 8 6 2 A Q 8 |
Gill West 2 NT² 3 NT | Barbosa North Pass All Pass | Shore East 2 ¹3
| La Rovere South Pass Pass |
3 NT by West
Made 3 — EW +400 — Push
Total: Brazil 68 to 23
I was sort of wishing for a swing here against 4S down 1 if the A of clubs were offsides, but they were, of course in 3NT too and it didn't matter because it was onsides anyway. There were lots of tables in 4S in the rest of the event, and they deserve to be down 1.
| 19.
| K 9 3 7 2 A 9 4 3 2 8 7 6
| |
| J 8 4 2 J 8 5 K Q 6 J 4 2
|
| 10 7 6 5 K 6 4 J 5 A K 10 3
|
| E-W Vul | A Q A Q 10 9 3 10 8 7 Q 9 5 |
Gill West | Barbosa North | Shore East | La Rovere South All Pass |
Passed Out
No score — NS +4
Total: Brazil 68 to 27
Apparently South lost an A somewhere here. Mmmm. 4 free IMPs.
| 20.
| A Q 9 7 3 2 10 A 9 J 7 4 2
| |
| J 8 5 K 6 4 2 J 10 8 3 A 6
|
| K 10 A 9 K Q 6 2 K 9 8 5 3
|
| Both Vul | 6 4 Q J 8 7 5 3 7 5 4 Q 10 |
Gill West Pass 3 NT | Barbosa North 1 All Pass | Shore East 1 NT | La Rovere South Pass |
3 NT by East
Made 3 — EW +600 — EW +13
Total: Brazil 68 to 40
All it takes for this 3NT to make is for the opponents to 1) not lead spades on the go, 2) not lead spades when they're in the 2nd time, and 3) not lead spades when they're in the 3rd time either. I guess they were both giving off "don't lead spades" vibes to each other... Even so, Noble still had to figure out the club suit to make this and save us some VPs.