Month: September 2006

Hi all

Lack of nice games this week. So here’s one I can remember from the Open Pairs last year. And big thanks to Hoek for helping me out with bidding diagrams. Best viewed in Firefox.

I was holding a fairly nice hand:

The bidding was quite jumpy (me sitting South):

1. Preempting them out of their contract
2. Showing a “good” raise, four card support

I got a diamond lead and dummy hit the table with:

The diamond lead went to my Queen and I took stock. A crossruff seemed like a good idea and I played my small Heart, East winning cheap. He played back a trump but I rose and initiated my crossruff. Leading to this position:

I was in my hand with six tricks in my pocket. I cashed the Ace of (maybe trumps are 2-2) but East showed out. Now I had a complete count of the hand, West is 3-3-4-3 and East is 1-5-4-3, also suggested by the bidding. I cash the Ace and play a small to the King. West has to play small or he gives me my tenth trick immediately, but now I’m in dummy to ruff the last . Now West has two choices: discard and grant me my tenth trick with the 8, or overruff and being placed in .

Here’s the complete deal:

Hi all

Yesterday René (playing with Nira) got his hands on the next gem. It’s beautiful.

I don’t know about the bidding, but looking at the freak distributions, there must have been some action involved.

René was on play in 6 and he got the lead of the Ace and another one. He discarded a on the King and led the Ten of (some good vibrations at the table), ducked all the way, West discarding. Next he cashed his Ace and King of and West discarded again on the second round. He grabbed his chance with both hands: a ruff, win the King of and then a small one to his Ace. He ruffed another and now a from dummy, overruffing East’s small trump. He had reached this position:

He ruffed his last with the King of trumps, and now he was in dummy for the Grand Coup. I guess East must have felt sick underruffing four times!

Hi all

Last night at Star. This is why I play a relay-system.

 

1. 10-12 balanced
2. Stayman, or initiating a GF relay
3. GF relay
4. Showing four spades
5. Relay for distribution
6. 4-4-2-3
7. Aces?
8. Two Aces, or
9. That’s all I wanted to know

I boldly leaped to the slam. With the Queen of trumps smiling in dummy it’s a grand on a finesse (and some more). Even with a trump lead there was no play to it, I just ruffed a in dummy, only losing a trick to the King of .

This one looks hard to bid in a natural system, no?

Hi all

Here’s a deal I just cannot keep to myself. René played this one on a pairs night at BC Star. That also justifies his bidding… kind of.

East led the Ace of and switched to a for West’s Ace. Two more rounds of , and look what happens to East. He’s squeezed in some weird kind of way! He can miss one , but the third round of just kills him, he has to let go of his guard.

It hurts to have too many trumps, doesn’t it? René ended up with eight tricks, losing three a trump and just one . Nice!