Strip Tease
Following the premise that stripping a hand in a suit contract is usually wise play, Board 1 in today’s club game bore play interest.
Even the bidding was interesting. Playing 12-14 notrump, I opened 1♦. When partner responded 1NT, denying a four-card major, I knew both that the opponents had a minimum of 8 hearts — maybe more – and that we had to have at least an eight card fit in one of the minor suits. Hence, I chose to rebid 2♣. Partner raised to 3♣, which I chose to pass.
The opening lead (somewhat oddly, you will later see) was the ♠2. The opponents are playing fourth best. I chose to insert the ♠8 from dummy and RHO played the ♠9 quickly. To me, this suggested the ♠K was offside. I won the ♠J.
Best play (alas not quite what I did at the table) to strip the hand is now ♥A and a small heart. RHO would win and likely continue a spade (perhaps not best). Backing your judgment about the position of the ♠K, you rise with the spade ace and continue with two top clubs from dummy, probably underplaying the ♣9 on one of them. Clubs split 2-2. Now you ruff the third heart and exit with a spade. As you anticipated, LHO wins the ♠K and is endplayed, in this position:
At the table clubs were indeed 2-2. Alas, real bridge hands are not always like book hands: the ♦K was onside all along and just about any line of play would produce +150. The strip was a tease.
On the good news front, LHO did have a natural heart lead and you are rewarded with a good score on the board by having avoided notrump, when most declarers guessed to take a losing finesse in spades, where two extra tricks might be available, rather than a winning finesse in diamonds, where only one extra trick is available.
Board 2, against the same pair, continued the theme of strip tease.
As dealer at favorable vulnerability, I chose to open 1♥ on
After LHO’s pass, partner raised to 2♥ (not constructive) and RHO doubled. This is exactly the auction I had hoped for. I re-raised to 3♥, hoping that partner would not take my bid as a game try. After two passes, RHO shrugged and passed. Good. Or so I thought.
The opening lead was the ♦4.
The ♦J was topped by the ♦A. RHO returned a club. Similar to the strategy for Board 1, I hopped with the ♣A and continued a club. LHO won the ♣K, helpfully cashed the ♦K and then led another club, which I ruffed in hand. Now I led a diamond to dummy’s queen, completing the strip of the minor suits. When I led a heart from dummy, RHO ducked, a poor play … but then it is hard to score well in a club game unless your opponents make a few bad plays. I won the ♥K and continued the ♥Q. Both opponents followed suit, and RHO had been teased into being endplayed, my being down only one trick, as the entire board was:
Down one for -50 felt good, as not only had I won one trick more than I am entitled, it seems the opponents can make +110 in clubs. Alas, most NS pairs got overboard on the hand and we scored below average.
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I seem to get results like the last board. Partner and I bid bravely and get a small minus when it is clear that our opponents can easily get a plus by winning the part score battle. But then we find that half or more of the field have bid too high and returned a number of -50s or -100s.
Should we play against stronger fields?
LOL, Timmy.
The records for that date have disappeared from the club website, so that I cannot now reconstruct what contracts NS reached. The only sane auction that strikes me, other than the one we conducted, is one that starts with a 2H opening bid followed by two passes and a balancing double. If the NS pair is playing lebensohl, I would expect that the auction would continue 2NT-3C and they arrive at their best contract. But if the pair is not playing lebensohl then I can see the NS pair overreaching to 3NT, which is down at least two tricks assuming a heart lead.