The Lady has Company
The Lady has Company? Who is the Lady? Why, the Queen of Spades, that’s who.
Yesterday’s club game found that the Lady and Company were just enough to scuttle two apparently well-reached spade slams. Since one was for us and one was against us, I guess I should not complain.
On Board 8, I chose to open 1♠ on this primo 21 count, in second chair, all white: ♠AKJ85, ♥AJ743, ♦–, ♣AKJ. LHO passed and partner raised to 2♠. Now RHO, a passed hand, chose to overcall 3♦ . (As an aside, I am not a fan of West having passed as dealer; I always wonder if players who find lots of reasons not to preempt — here, the void and the four card heart suit — ever measure as a cost of such inaction the easier bidding paths they give the opponents.) I made an aggressive jump to 6♠.
When partner laid down the dummy, I was hopeful …
… but when the Lady was offside and well-accompanied, I conceded down one, sharing a bottom with the 4 of the other 16 pairs who bid 6♠. 2 mps out of 15.
Retribution of sorts was gained several rounds later when the opponents bid nicely to 6♠ on Board 18. (1♠-2♦ gf, 2♠-3♣, 3♠-6♠; my favored agreements would include a second round rebid of 4♠ by East, showing a suit that can play for at least six winners and no more than one loser opposite a small singleton, and a hand that contains less than one ace or two kings outside the good suit.) Partner led a heart and declarer took a good line. ♥A, ♠AK getting the news about the Lady being joined by an Entourage of three small, ♦KAQ pitching the ♥Q but getting ruffed in, with the ♠Q still to be lost. This result was 13 mps out of 15, sharing a top with 3 others who defended 6♠, plus one pair that managed to defeat 5♦.
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Bridge-related
Jeff, did your partner consider a jump to 4S over 1S (or even 3S if playing Bergen)? Call me old-fashioned but that hardly seems like a 2S call.
Hi, Robin,
We’re not playing Bergen.
I hope he was not considering 4S — with no singleton or void or outside control card, I think that 4S is way out of bounds — but I would not criticize Pass with the South hand. If he were not ruing 2S after he heard the opponent’s 3D overcall, I bet he was after he heard my 6S call!
— Jeff