Eastern States

The Eastern States Regional is turning out as disastrously as I feared, for me. First, Agent 99 cancelled on me. We were supposed to play Thursday, and that was the only day she was available. Then I played a round-robin teams with Elwood on Friday, and that was hopeless. After the first four matches, we had a grand total of 3VPs – very discouraging. It was not just us. Elwood and I didn't produce any very good results, but our team-mates had a terrible day also. Between the four of us, we couldn't get anything right. I knew we were screwed after the first match. Not only was it a complete blitz – not even 1 IMP on our side of the sheet – but signs were there that things were wrong at both tables

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When you look at this layout double-dummy, it seems obvious that E-W is booked for a big score one way or another. 6S and 6D each have 14 winners, so whether they make 6 or 7 depends only on whether we take the HA at trick one. And if they choose to defend 5H, there are not only 4 top tricks in aces and kings, but also a couple of ruffs to make the butcher's bill 800. In practice, West started with the DAK, so I was able to draw trumps for -300. A good result? Lose 5 IMPs. Teammates also chose to defend (and misdefend) 5H, but neither one of them seemed to have a red card in the bidding box. And they actually felt OK in the post mortem – another bad sign.

Our one victory of the day was against the team that was (on paper) probably the best in the bracket, headlined by Uday Ivatury. For just one match, nobody did anything stupid, and we squeaked out a win by a couple of IMPs. Small comfort.

The next thing to go wrong was a call from Elwood this morning, cancelling our plans for the Goldman Pairs. Which is why I have time to write this post, but I would prefer to be playing. We'll go along tomorrow and see if we can find some teammates in the Goldman failed-to-qualify pool, or maybe try an A/X pairs. I'd like at least one decent result from something, so that the whole Regional doesn't feel like a waste of time.

Miscellaneous Misadventures

The Eastern States Regional is less than a week away. It is one of the two regionals played within the bounds of New York City, and therefore one of the highlights of my year. This year, Elwood and I will try our luck in the Goldman Pairs. This is the most prestigious pairs event in the New York calendar, taking place over two days with a two-session qualifier and a two-session final. When all is said and done, we remain a flight B pair, and can hardly hope to threaten the top pairs. Of some concern, then, is that for the past two or three weeks we have both been struggling, and in the routine club games where we used to consistently win, place or show, we have been struggling to break average. If we continue to perform like this in the Goldman, we will certainly not need to show up for the second day.

We raised a maximum barrage on this hand, to no avail.

   

Encouraged by the favorable vulnerability, I ventured a minimal weak 2 as dealer, which North managed to double with his 20-point hand. Elwood diagnosed slam and raised to 5 hearts, which I thought was a worthy effort. South, however, rose to the occasion, finding a cue-bid, and North selected his trump suit at the 6 level. Just another flat board, in the end.

A session at Honors produced a couple of interesting hands.



As he put down the dummy, South remarked that he hoped he didn't have too much. This lost the post mortem immediately, as North started to berate him before even playing a card. But I held some sympathy for South. North's opening sally was “You know I have game in my own hand. Of course you should go on.” But, absent an Acol 2 opening, or Namyats, or something, I wouldn't know that – I almost never have game in my own hand when I open at the four level. Apparently nobody had a bidding approach up to the task, as the board was flat at +480. Could you have bid the slam?

Another slam hand.



Student's raise to game struck me as being a tad aggressive, but it's ok according to the Losing Trick Count and actually worked well. Student hasn't learned Roman Key Card yet, and Gail Greenberg (sitting North) commented that if I knew I was missing 2 keycards I probably wouldn't bid the slam.

North-South missed a save here.

 

Again Student wasn't shy in the bidding, but my hand was powerful enough to make up for any shortage of high cards. I had considered opening 2C, which probably wouldn't have been a great success if N-S could get busy. Half the field made 5H, and most of the rest conceded 300 in 5Sx or 6Sx. One pair managed to go down in 5Hx, I don't know how.

HelLo

Elwood has expressed his dissatisfaction with Cappelletti (which we were playing against weak notrumps) several times over the past couple of weeks. I'm no fan of it myself, so I was looking for a replacement gadget that would be acceptable to us both. Elwood isn't too interested in Lionel, which is probably better suited against strong no-trumps anyway. Eventually, I came across HelLo, the improved version of Capp that Jerry Helms has invented. So we're playing that now, against weak no-trumps.

The scheme is:

double = penalty, usually balanced 15+, could be fair strength with a good suit as a source of tricks.

2C = either diamonds or a major-minor 2-suiter. Advancer must accept the transfer by bidding 2D, and Overcaller can pass or raise with diamonds or bid his major holding a 2-suiter. As with Capp, Advancer can then use 2NT to ask for the minor.

2D = hearts

2H = both majors

2S = spades

2NT = clubs

3C = both minors

This arrangement keeps a traditional penalty double, which is pretty much de rigeur against a weak no-trump, allows Overcaller to show all varieties of 2-suiter, and introduces a transfer element that Cappelletti doesn't have. Using 2H to show both majors isn't any better than using 2D as in Capp, but at least with this arrangement you get to show a major single-suiter straight away, and you get the partial transfer style.

I'm not entirely sold on the value of the transfer business. I wonder if keeping 2D as both majors and using both 2H and 2S as natural might not be just as good? Still, we'll keep it as specified for now.

Of course, since making this decision, we haven't encountered a weak no-trump, but there are some around. I'll post any interesting results.

Visiting Honors

A student asked me to play at the Honors club, which (perpetually) vies with the Manhattan for the title of being the best club in New York. Rather like rival football teams in the same city, each has its supporters, and most of the time there is little to choose between them. I prefer the Manhattan, but by a very slim margin, and I have no problem with visiting Honors sometimes. After playing well for a stretch, I have found myself in a slump for a couple of weeks. I found the defence on this hand especially gratifying, therefore.

  

I paused for thought. We have three tricks, but the situation is grim. Declarer probably started with six trumps, and even if he didn't the suit is breaking. There's no hope in hearts – declarer certainly has the ace. It's just possible declarer is false-carding and has a third club, but I don't really believe it. That leaves diamonds, but leading a diamond at this point is not without risk. If declarer has the nine, we're leading into a tenace. Is it right to play passively now, returning a club and waiting for the diamond trick later? No: counting tricks, declarer has five spades, two hearts, two diamonds and a club – that makes ten. Wait a minute. Six spades, two clubs, and three diamonds only leaves room for two hearts. A diamond lead now takes out dummy's entry while the heart suit is blocked.

 

Declarer was too fond of finesses, and Student's passive returns gave him enough rope. Even so, a careless club return at the end would have let him wriggle free. I was pleased to work it out, despite being in poor form.

The good luck that seemed to have deserted me recently returned full force on the next hand.

 

But there was still some of the bad stuff around.

 

I really did hesitate before bidding 6, because the flat distribution and the weak diamonds are ominous even before you see dummy. But in the end, I decided that the field would probably be in 6 and went with it. At least we scored average, because that assessment was correct.