Wernher Open Pairs, first final: what goes up …

My partner, Barry Purrington of Eagan, MN, and I scored average in the finals of the Wernher Open Pairs, rated a national championship, in Toronto.  How we scored average, however, was a little annoying and embarrassing: we scored 63% in the first final, and 37% in the second final!

First, stories about the good luck and skill in the first final, then, on a separate and sadder blog, perhaps some stories about the bad luck and skill in the second final.

Dealer: 1-N Vul: none	North ♠ K4 ♥ Q86 ♦ A653 ♣ KJT9
West ♠ AT985 ♥ 532 ♦ J82 ♣ 65		East ♠ QJ ♥ T97 ♦ Q94 ♣ 87432
	South ♠ 7632 ♥ AKJ4 ♦ KT7 ♣ AQ

West	North	East	South
—	1♦	P	1♥
1♠	2♥	P	4♥
All pass

My 2♥ raise is explained by my consenting to partner’s request not to play support doubles.  What role that agreement played into partner’s decision to blast to 4♥ directly, I am not sure.  Barry smartly played so that a third round of trumps could not be drawn, allowing him to score a spade ruff in dummy and then complete drawing trumps.  +480 beat the notrump declarers and scored 56.5 on a 64 top.

Dealer: 2-E Vul: NS	North ♠ 842 ♥ AQT96 ♦ A5 ♣ K52
West ♠ A97 ♥ K8752 ♦ — ♣ Q9874		East ♠ J65 ♥ 3 ♦ QT843 ♣ JT63
	South ♠ KQT3 ♥ J4 ♦ KJ9762 ♣ A

West	North	East	South
—	—	P	1♦
1♥	3♥	P	3♠
P	3NT	All pass

Barry is a fine player and partner, but we are not a practiced partnership and so too often produced auctions where one partner thought we had an agreement and the other did not.  Over the 1♥ overcall, I produced a 3♥ jump cue bid, under the premise that we had agreed that the cue bid forced partner to bid 3NT (and results in placing the overcaller on lead).  When Barry did not alert but instead bid 3♠, I was fortunate to hold a hand that would bid 3NT without regard to the UI of the failure to alert.  Some interesting byplay was produced when, before the opening lead by East, I explained what I thought was our agreement on the meaning of 3♥.  You see, we had played these opponents in a qualifying round and had then to explain a missed alert of a 2NT call that was purported by the bidder to be a “good/bad 2NT”.   “We’re not quite as bad at this as it seems”, I meekly explained to the pro sitting East.  I doubt he was convinced.  Some soft defense by the client sitting in the West seat allowed me to score up eleven tricks for 39 mps.

Dealer: 9-N Vul: EW	North ♠ AK93 ♥ A ♦ A986 ♣ K976
West ♠ 7 ♥ T8432 ♦ KQ543 ♣ 42		East ♠ QT842 ♥ Q765 ♦ 2 ♣ T83
	South ♠ J65 ♥ KJ9 ♦ JT7 ♣ AQJ5

West	North	East	South
—	1♦	P	2♣
P	2♠	P	2NT
P	3♣	P	3NT
P	4♣	P	6NT
All pass

2♣ was agreed not to be game forcing; thus a 3♣ raise by North would be passable.  We would seem to be on our way to a fine 6♣ contract.  However, the wheels, well, maybe they did not come off, but they surely loosened, because the final contract was 6NT.  No matter: the Play is the Thing.  With nice diamond spots and at least one honor onside, Barry had eleven top tricks and proceeded to squeeze East out of one of this major suit queens for a twelfth trick.  61 mps.

Dealer: 19-S Vul: EW	North ♠ QT2 ♥ K ♦ A8765 ♣ J983
West ♠ A763 ♥ 932 ♦ KJ9 ♣ 764		East ♠ 984 ♥ A875 ♦ Q432 ♣ T2
	South ♠ KJ5 ♥ QJT64 ♦ T ♣ AKQ5

West	North	East	South
—	—	—	1♥
P	1NT	P	2♣
P	2NT	P	3NT
All pass

The opponents failed to commence a diamond attack and so I took ten tricks in the other three suits before cashing the ♦A.  56.38 mps.

Dealer: 25-N Vul: EW	North ♠ 4 ♥ 965 ♦ QJ753 ♣ K983
West ♠ QJ ♥ J73 ♦ T986 ♣ AT65		East ♠ AT97532 ♥ T ♦ 2 ♣ J742
	South ♠ K86 ♥ AKQ842 ♦ AK4 ♣ Q

More luck.  Somehow we landed in 6♥ (with no BW call, obviously).  When the opponents cashed the ♠A but not the ♣A, the ♠K became the twelfth trick.  62.5 mps.

Dealer: 26-E Vul: Both	North ♠ K952 ♥ Q732 ♦ K2 ♣ AKT
West ♠ J76 ♥ JT5 ♦ Q93 ♣ J963		East ♠ AT43 ♥ AK98 ♦ T75 ♣ Q7
	South ♠ Q8 ♥ 64 ♦ AJ864 ♣ 8542

West	North	East	South
—	—	1♦	P
1NT	Dbl	All Pass

West’s 1NT response is an overbid, IMHO.  I doubled for takeout and partner decided to pass.  Holding two card diamond length, I was pretty confident that the pass connoted excellent diamonds.  I led the ♦K and then, after cashing a high club to simplify the defense after partner ran the diamonds, continued my other diamond.  When declarer surprisingly won the ♦Q at Trick 4 and then proceeded to produce the heart cards that allowed him to win four heart tricks, I was quite concerned.  Four hearts, one diamond and the ♠A totals six tricks.  Declarer led a club to my remaining honor.  North has to hope that his partner owns the ♠Q.  In the four card end position, North holds Kxx of spades and the ♣T, while South has his original spade holding and two good diamonds.  A small spade from North will ensure the defeat.  A harrowing +200 and 58 mps.

On another hand, the opponents overbid on a partial, going for three (undoubled) vulnerable tricks.  And on another a declarer revoked, giving us a couple of additional undertricks on defense.  Yes, there were a few fixes the other direction, such as our opponents finding a cold grand slam and playing it in notrump to boot.  But there was no doubt that much of our first final success was due to good fortune.