Misadventures In Manhattan

The dealing machine engaged its slam option the other night. I was playing with an occasional partner who doesn’t manage bidding much more sophisticated than major suit transfers. He compensates by punting when we seem to be in the ballpark, so we had some notably short slam bidding sequences.

This one came up in the first round.

E-W Game, dlr E

            ♠ Q
            ♥ A 10 7 5 4
            ♦ 9 6 5
            ♣ Q J 8 7
♠ K J 10 9 7 2           ♠ A 8 6
♥ K 9 8        [ ]       ♥ Q J 3
♦ K Q                    ♦ A 10 7 3
♣ K 9                    ♣ A 6 3
            ♠ 5 4 3
            ♥ 6 2
            ♦ J 8 4 2
            ♣ 10 5 4 2


N    E    S    W
     1NT  pass 4♣
pass 4NT  pass 6NT
all pass

South tried a short-suit lead, so the ♥A appeared at trick one. I agonized over which high spade to cash, and eventually got it wrong by cashing the king (I was tricked by the opening lead, honest). Fortunately, North had the right singleton to make the slam cold, and we got a top because everybody else chose to play in spades for some reason.

This one came up for the opponents in the second round.

E-W Game, dlr N

           ♠ K 7 6 5
           ♥ A 6 5 4 2
           ♦ -
           ♣ A Q 7 6
♠ 8 4 3                ♠ J 9
♥ 9 8 7      [ ]       ♥ Q 3
♦ A 8 5 4              ♦ K Q J 10 7 6 3
♣ J 4 2                ♣ 10 5
           ♠ A Q 10 2
           ♥ K J 10
           ♦ 9 2
           ♣ K 9 8 3


N    E    S    W
1♥   3♦   ?

I’m not sure how N-S should proceed. Our opponents made no real effort, and played quietly in 4♥, wrapping up 13 tricks in no time as declarer nonchalantly dropped my doubleton trump queen. We had some company, but that was below average as only one pair managed to bid a slam, any slam. Thirteen tricks are available in spades, hearts and clubs: bidding a small slam should be possible, surely. If South doubles, North cuebids 4♦, South shows heart support. Now North has to be interested in 6♠. He knows that there is a double fit, and he has first round control of the other suits. Maybe a jump to 5♠ would ask about the quality of the spade suit at this point (because North has already cuebid the enemy suit). South should have no worries on that score.

In the third round, it was our turn again.

E-W game, dlr S (rotated for convenience)

  ♠ A 9 4
  ♥ -
  ♦ A 9 7 6
  ♣ K Q J 7 5 3

  []  
   
  ♠ K Q 8 2
  ♥ Q 7 2
  ♦ K Q 10 3 2
  ♣ 2


S    W    N    E
1♦   pass 2♣   pass
2♦   pass 6♦   all pass

The diamond rebid on a 5-card suit is a matter of personal style – I know some people would prefer 2NT, and 2/1 bidders might bid 2♠ (not showing extra strength, just shape). But using primitive bidding, 2♦ seems like the simplest and most honest bid to me, even without 6 cards. With all his controls, that was enough to push partner to slam. And with diamonds 2-2 and clubs 3-3, there were no obstacles to 12 tricks. Only one other pair bid this slam, and I’m not entirely sure why. It’s true that I only have an ace-less 12-count, but that hand’s an opening bid every day of the week. E-W might have spoken up in hearts, and that might have put some people off. But at the vulnerability, they wouldn’t go leaping about, and seeing a void in their suit ought to have interested North. So I don’t know.

This one came up on the last hand of the evening. The dealer had gone quiet for a couple of rounds, so as we pulled the cards from the board, partner said “OK Richard, let’s finish with another slam”.

Love all, dlr S (rotated for convenience)

  ♠ A J 7 6 2
  ♥ A K 7 4
  ♦ 10 3
  ♣ A J

  []  
   
  ♠ K 8
  ♥ Q 9
  ♦ A K 8 7 6
  ♣ K 9 5 3


S    W    N    E
1NT  pass 6NT  all pass

I nearly fell off my chair laughing when he made his bid. There was no hesitation at all. “Let’s have a slam”. Bang, 6NT.

As usual, he bid like this when my 15-17 1NT was at the 15 end of the range. But this time, we didn’t quite have a suit fit, although all the suits had some possibilities. West thought for a long time, and finally produced the ♥5 – 4, 10, Q.

I wasn’t sure what to make of that lead: it didn’t feel like a simple 4th-highest. But anyway, there are only 9 top tricks, and spades might supply all 3 extras if this was to be a really lucky hand. So the obvious plan was to test them first: ♠K, ♠8 to the ♠J, ♠A and East discards a small club. I cleared the spades, discarding two diamonds as East gave up a second club. Another long pause from West, and the ♦J eventually appeared – 3, 4, A. And I wondered how to proceed.

  ♠ 7
  ♥ A K 7
  ♦ 10
  ♣ A J

  []  
   
  ♠ -
  ♥ 9
  ♦ K 8
  ♣ K 9 5 3

You need all 7 tricks, and you have 6 winners. Obviously the club finesse seems a fair bet, West having discarded a couple. But he’s good as well as tricky – could he have started with 5 clubs? You have good menaces in hearts and clubs, and a weak menace in diamonds. Maybe if you cross to the ♣A, cash the ♠7, come back to the ♣K, cash the top hearts. That would give you the right configuration for a double squeeze, assuming the long heart is to your left and the long club to your right.

But I really didn’t believe that was the situation. And if the squeeze wasn’t double, then I wasn’t confident that I knew what simple squeeze I could go for. So in the end, I decided that if I believed that the clubs were on my left, I should go with the simpleton line of the club finesse.

Love all, dlr S (rotated for convenience)

            ♠ A J 7 6 2
            ♥ A K 7 4
            ♦ 10 3
            ♣ A J
♠ Q 10 9 4             ♠ 5 3
♥ J 6 5       []       ♥ 10 8 3 2
♦ J 5                  ♦ Q 9 4 2
♣ Q 10 7 6             ♣ 8 4 2
            ♠ K 8
            ♥ Q 9
            ♦ A K 8 7 6
            ♣ K 9 5 3

Actually, East would have been squeezed in the red suits if I cashed all the black suit winners. I probably should have figured it out, but it was the end of the evening and my brain was seizing up. The club finesse was right anyway, so 12 tricks rolled home and we got another top – nobody else bid this one.