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TALES OF AKARANA

“Good Prediction, Owen”

When the opposition have done well against you and say words like “obvious defence” or “everyone will do that”, you have a little hope that your world has not caved in. Last night, it felt that our bridge world had caved in completely.

You know those nights? I counted 12 wrongly placed important cards in the hands we played, the standard misguess of a two way finesse, a ruff to beat an otherwise very sound game..oh, I could throw in a few self-inflicted transgressions too. This board was typical of how the night went.

Without any opposition bidding, we bid very quickly to 4Spade-small to be played by me as North. Owen Camp, on my left, led the Heart-smallA and I surveyed dummy with a fair degree of pleasure:

Board 7
South Deals
Both Vul
K Q 7 4
10 4 2
Q 10 9 4
10 5
   
N
W   E
S
   
 
A 10 8 3
K Q 7
A K 7 5 3
4

 

“There could be an overtrick here” I thought. I suffered a full range of emotions when Owen followed up with a second heart which his partner, Anisia Shami, ruffed. “Utter dejection” came first to be followed with huge relief when Anisia cashed a high club. “Surely she could underlead to score a second ruff? I’m alive, again!” That feeling was soon erased when she returned a diamond for Owen to ruff…and within a few more seconds, me and the contract were dejected and down (-300) .

 

Board 7
South Deals
Both Vul
K Q 7 4
10 4 2
Q 10 9 4
10 5
9 6
8
J 8 6 2
A K Q 9 8 7
 
N
W   E
S
 
J 5 2
A J 9 6 5 3
J 6 3 2
 
A 10 8 3
K Q 7
A K 7 5 3
4

 

At this point, Owen came out with his “obvious defence” comment and I could even have felt a huge sense of relief if I had noticed that the opponents were cold for a vulnerable 5Club-small game. I have seen far worse overcalls than 2Club-small by Anisia’s hand though why bother when you can pick up 9 imps Swiss Pairs scoring by defending “obviously” against the opponents’ game? Four other pairs played the spade game with 10 tricks being made at each table. I would change the wording from “obvious” to “good” defence.

Writing can be good for the soul, especially after such a night. On one hand, I went to a very very (excuse me) very dark place but was rescued by an opponent (different opponents now).

We play a variable no-trump partly to avoid the horrors that can accompany partner’s vulnerable weak no trump opening when you hold just a solitary jack as an honour card. So, the story of partner’s 1NT opening when I held 5 hearts to the jack, ten and a 3532 shape (oh with the Spade-small10 but 8 cards of 5 and under) at least had us as not vulnerable. Neither were our opponents.

So, South opened 1NT with West doubling, showing hearts and another suit (10+). “Not good” I thought but I could hardly sit there and allow East to pass and then I would have to put down dummy.

tears.png

So, I set out on our escape route to the opponent’s suit, hearts, by redoubling to show a single suited hand and asking partner to bid 2Club-small. East passed ..but so did partner!

The first redoubled undertrick costs only 200 but after that they go up in multiples of 400. I was feeling..well, I had no feeling! Yet, suddenly I noticed West had bid…2Diamond-small. Feeling returned..relief! That was passed round to my partner who was finding more enjoyment in this deal than I was. He doubled, take-out or so I presumed. What to do with:Spade-small 1074  Heart-smallJT875 Diamond-small743  Club-small 53?   Any ideas?

If 2Heart-small would have ended this purgatory, then that would have been my choice. I knew it would not and so hoping that there would not be too many overtricks, I passed. I had also taken the precaution of taking East’s redouble card out of his box and had it well out of reach. Thus, we defended 2Diamond-smallx. I led Club-small5 and we (sorry, “partner”) took 4 of the first 7 tricks with trumps all gone from everyone’s hand. For a fleeting second, I had dreams that we were about to actually beat this contract..but not when you see dummy:

Board 27
South Deals
None Vul
10 7 4
J 10 8 7 5
7 4 3
5 3
A J 3
K Q 4 2
J 9 6 2
10 8
 
N
W   E
S
 
9 8 6 5
9 6
A K
A K Q 9 6
 
K Q 2
A 3
Q 10 8 5
J 7 4 2
West North East South
      1 NT
Dbl Rdbl Pass Pass
2  Pass Pass Dbl
All pass      

2Diamond-smallx made with one overtrick for -280 though was cheap compared to the standard -400 or -430 available in 3NT and an absolute bargain compared to the -1600 available in 1NTxx! In case you wondered at East’s pass of 2Diamond-small, he had been told that the redouble was “to play”. I suspect he expected that South would bid over 2Diamond-small. He was right!

fortune teller 2.png

Partner and I will some day soon have a quiet get-together about escaping from 1NTx. Owen Camp will need to brush up his predictions (no need to brush up the defence: you and Anisia took us 13 light over the course of 6 boards!) Meanwhile, when you have read this, please destroy this article just as I will try to erase the memory of an evening when the best part was allowing the opponents to score an overtrick in a part-score. Good night..not!

Richard Solomon

 

 

 

 

 

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