Hi all
At the Dombo tournament last week my team performed solid. Martin and Hendrik bid a nice grand in just a couple of bids. We didn’t make any big mistakes (if I recall correctly) and with the slight breeze our way we finished up 8th out of 49 teams, just a few vip from the money. The guys from Apih had a strong gust of wind helping them, they outscored the rest by a fair margin.
Here’s a game with a lot of tricks for both sides.
1. Forcing
We bid voluntarily to a vulnerable game, so Hoek’s pass is forcing. But what to do over 5? I don’t know if I’m right here, but Hoek surely would have doubled 5 had he held a lot of defensive power. And second, if I confidently bid slam, maybe they’ll save again. They sure have the vulnerability in their favour.
So 6 it is, I decide. My RHO doesn’t waste a second and returns to 6. Enough is enough, I double.
Though the penalty is just a meager +100, I’m glad I bid 6 over 5. For us it’s the polar express to 12 tricks and there’s no way we can defeat 5. A blistering total of 23 tricks combined. Martin and Hendrik were allowed to claim 11 in 5, so it was a double-digit gain for my team.
I’ll leave you with a picture from the Dombo tournament. It’s really my natural habitat, can’t you see?