Was I going with the odds?

I received a filthy matchpoint score on Board 22 of Friday’s club duplicate.  Was the bad result deserved or unlucky?

Partner and I are playing weak (12-14) notrumps.  With the opponents silent, pard opens 1♦ in third chair, I respond 1♠, and partner rebids 1NT, showing 15-17.

What is your rebid with ♠AT762  ♥J53  ♦7653  ♣T?  Your agreements are such that you cannot, unfortunately, sign off in 2♦, although you can sign off in 3♦.

Focusing heavily on partner’s choice of minor suit opening, I feared the club suit in a notrump contract.  Accordingly, I chose to rebid my five card suit, bidding 2♠.  That ended the bidding.

The ♦9 was led by one member of the middling opponents, not among either the best or worst pairs in the room.

 

West ♠   85 ♥   AQ76 ♦   AKJT ♣   J97

East ♠   AT762 ♥   J53 ♦   7653 ♣   T

 

Well, I am thankful I did not pass 1NT as the clubs are wide-open, but then I did not draw well when it comes to trump support.  Maybe 3♦ would have been a better choice.

Can’t worry about that now.  I am in the normal contract, although from an abnormal side as I expect that at most tables partner’s hand will open 15-17 1NT, my hand will transfer to spades, and the same contract will be played from the opposite side.  I am not too troubled by the siding of the contract, since only a diamond lead from Q-third by North probably gives up a trick.

Speaking of diamonds, that suit was led and was the suit of the opening bid of my partner.  Would you put South on a stiff diamond?

I did, winning the ♦K in dummy but choosing nonetheless to lead a spade from dummy and to duck when seeing North’s ♠J, South following small.  North then played the ♣2 to his partner’s ♣Q.  South continued the ♣A and I chose to ruff.

Next I played the ♠A, seeing the Q from North and a second small spade from South.

Now what?

I don’t know if there is much to this, but I chose to guess that South was 4=3=1=5 and North 2=3=4=4.  I abandoned trumps and took a heart finesse, the queen losing to North’s ♥K.  North continued a third round of clubs, the king, and I ruffed again as South followed suit.  I next played the ♥J and ♥A, everyone following suit.  I played the thirteener heart next as North discarded a club, I a diamond, and South ruffed with the ♠9 for the fourth trick of the defense (1 club, 1 heart, 1 high spade, and now a heart ruff).

South now played ♦4.  Uh-oh, now looks like South was 3=3=2=5 and North 3=3=3=4.  Eventually I lost a diamond and the high outstanding trump for down one -100.

 

Dealer: East, #22 Vul: EW	North ♠   KQJ ♥   K98 ♦   Q82 ♣   K832
West ♠   85 ♥   AQ76 ♦   AKJT ♣   J97		East ♠   AT762  ♥   J53 ♦   7653  ♣   T
	South ♠   943 ♥   T42 ♦   94 ♣   AQ654

The board was played 17 times.  2♠ was the contract 14 times, two of them by East, the rest by West.  One West played 2♦ and two Souths declared 3♣.  The other East who played 2♠ went down one trick also, as did two of the Wests who played 2♠.  Every other EW pair, however, beat our -100 meaning that we scored 1.5 out of 16 available matchpoints.

Did I misplay?  Or is the result that other players played for trumps to be 3-3 and thus made their contracts?  I think that had South owned a stiff ♦9 and K943 of spades, playing for spades to be 3-3 would result in down three and -300, as the defense can draw my spades and then run a bunch more clubs.  I looked at the results, hoping to see that the other declarers who went down one trick were among the better players at the club; but the group of unsuccessful declarers was not distinctive.  So, my excuse of being unlucky is pretty tentative, waiting to see if others have some insight that I missed at the table.