Break from hiatus of weekly games

Yesterday played the Friday weekly game with Yiwen... and our partnership hasn't played for so long... given yiwen hasn't played a bridge game in berkeley and i've lost touch of scba for such a long time... evident when ppl start asking us what have we been up to these days...

And soon came to the second board, where I was sitting south and holding

AKxx
KJxx
xxx
Qx

Bidding goes:-

South opens
Pass 1C Pass 1D
Double 2C Pass Pass
Double Pass 2S 3C
3S! All pass

and ok... as I couldn't remember the exact layout (sorry if anyone could point out the mistakes), it was a bad bid to go up 3S with such a balanced hand (having shown my hand through the 2 doubles) and i should let it pass considering it is all vulnerable. Bad mistake on my part. Down 2.

Nothing spectacular took place until fortunes took over at this board (all non-vul)

I, sitting east, was holding:-

Kxxxx
AKQxx
92
x

I was pleasantly surprised when North called 1S, having me holding a 5-carder headed by king in the suit, and happily I overcalled 2H. South called 3C and my partner jumped to 4H. North soon followed with a reluctant raise to 4S. Having not known of any support from partner and my partner having some values in justifying her jump to 4H, I doubled. My partner soon pulled to 5H, attracting a double from North.

Dummy came out following a king dime lead and here it is

-Void-
J987xx
64
K6432

The North put up with a 8 dime (perhaps his lowest useless dime to showcase an odd count signal) and I put up with a 9 dime. Luckily, dime was not continued and I err-ed in covering the queen club lead with the king, only to be eaten up by the ace of club. A club is led back and soon I cross-ruffed to this position (having discovered South had 5 clubs and North had 5 spades, all are guarded).

-
J98x
6
6

Kx
AKQ
9
-

A low spade was led and horrors of horrors, south threw his club guard and my club 6 was good to cover the dime loser. Trumps broke 1-1 and 5Hx= made for a top board! Woohoo!

So it isn't hard to imagine our "beginners' luck" had brought us to the 1st position. (and tied with Jack/Chengyen)... had to play better and get rid of stupid mistakes!!! ganbatte!

And jiayou zehan for the trials!!! U can do it!

The disaster round

It was the crucial match against Forza, first match of the day. Let's look at some of the hands (this time not from me, but from my partner) and see how well you will fare.

Board 1:

You are holding
93
A5
A104
AKQ632

Your LHO opens 2D (Multi), meaning weak 2 in major or strong/balanced. Your p overcalls 2S and RHO passes. What will you bid?

Given that your partner insists on spades in the second round of auction, will you support spades or insist on your strong club suits?

This is what goes on at the table. Zehan bids 3C (new suit force) and I bid 3S, to show 6 good carder spades. A 4NT RK revealed two keycards without queen and a 6S comes.

Nothing wrong on the surface... but when the cards are shown, I'm astounded to see 6 good clubs sitting in front of me. 7C is cold. Indeed, it is with this adventurous spirit that saw the auction went to the cold 7C contract by our opps (though the bidding isn't scientific at all)

N E S W
2H 2S P 3H(1)
P 4S P 4NT (2)
P 5H P 7C!

(1) Strong, Cue Suit
(2) RK in spades

This meant a 10-imp swing to the opps, right at the first board.

On further thinking, I realised our bidding system is so scientific as compared to our dear opps. This is what I will suggest (If my dear p is imaginative and a little more daring enough, since we surely have game values)

N E S W
2H 2S P 3C (f1)
P 3S P 4C (insist)
P 4NT P 5D (1/4 kc)
P 5H P 5NT (queen with nothing else)
P 7C!

since East has

AKJ1086
KQx
x
JTx

and the 4NT asking revealed 4 keycards (aka the three aces and trump king) and 1 trump queen. This surely needs no invitation to the 7 level even if West's hand has 5 or 6 clubs.

Another board in question will be board 10.

You are holding

K10
AQJx
xxxx
xxx

Your p opens 1D, you bid 1H and your LHO bids 2S. Partner bids 4H and after a long thought, RHO bids 4S. Should you bid 5H, double or pass?

The answered will be revealed at my next post.

Updates about ASEAN Open Pairs

Date: Third day in Manila.

Event: Mixed Pairs (which zehan and i happily did not need to take part)

Let me update about the ASEAN Open Pairs that took place yesterday, which compromised of the afternoon and evening sessions. Overall, it was riddled with little mistakes which could have been avoided, but these are points where we know we can learn from. (Since we are in the process of learning and re-learning about our play and defence)

The first session ended well... Though some mistakes could have been avoided (1st session with zehan)... but did badly in a board where the opps psyche and i failed to cover the 10 in dummy, resulting in 5D= for the opps where it shld be cold down 2 by the normal lead of A, K spade and a small spade for ruff? This in fact acted as a wake-up call for us as we moved to the next board.

East-west = us (non-vul against vul)

Sitting east and as the dealer, I'm dealt these hand:-

AK984

A76432

Q

8

Oh! What a hand! A 5-loser hand, with a beautiful 6-5 shape and 11 of 13 pts in the main suits, it may appeal to some as a 'reverse' strong hand. However, looking at this hand, I decided that I shall call 1S first in the event where there might be a mis-fit and thus I will show my 'second' suit at a cheap level. This might cost though, if my partner had 3 hearts and 2 spades. But, this will come at an advantage when opps interfere and my heart suit can be afforded to be announced (given that opps interference is most likely in the minor suits)

And this move paid off. South passes, and my p bids 2S. North comes in with 3C and here comes the bid 3H. In the event when West had both heart and spade support, 3S will be an awkward bid esp given my p's strength is 6-8 pts. Next comes 5C and my partner, seeing a double fit in hearts and spades passes, allowing me to decide. My hand with so much offensive values, will certainly not tolerate that. A 5H bid here shows 6 spades and 5 hearts, and without any doubt, my partner raises me to 6S on a maximum of 8 pts! Of course, with so little high-card values, South doubles.

And South is supposed to lead from this hand:-

652

10

AK82

J6542

An A dime lead sees the dummy as follows:-

Q109x

KJxx

xxx

xx

... and the Queen dime fell. North of course played a low card, showing a discouraging signal. South is supposed to lead again. the question is:- a dime continuation or a club? East could easily be a 6-5-2-0 hand a the club lead may give away a ruff, while queen dime play here from doubleton by East is common to dissuade North from cashing his winning trick. With this mentality, East continued with a dime and 6S doubled makes! A nice yet hard-earned top board!

With this board, our confidence swung up and it was to no surprise that we were in fact leading our section at the break...

Boards to be discussed for the second half:-

My Mistakes:-

Board 1: 2NT+1 by opps

Board 4: 2Hx-4 by me (corresponds to my p's blog name ya?)

Nice boards played:-

Board 18: 6S=

Board 24: 6C+1 (how come not top?)

At Philippines

Hello everyone!

Long time no blog!

Haha... at the advice of our great pros Jack and Kelvin, I shall resume blogging over here!

First up, I will just bring you a hand randomly shuffled by me.

I was holding this hand (assuming no interference)

AKQJ109
AKJ875
void
6

Partner opens 1D. You called 2S, as a strong jumpshift, promising 16+ and 5+ spades. Parnter calls 3C. What do you respond?

1. 3H, part of 4th suit forcing?
2. 3S, insist on your own suit.
3. Give up! 3NT!
4. Quantitative raise to 4NT. Or asking for keycard, depending the way u play it?

If one bids 3H, a 4C/4D bid will come next and 4NT may come to find aces/kings. As for a 3S bid, your partner would be unlikely to give up and bid 4C/4D, propelling one to a final 4NT ask, or perhaps a stop in 4S? (Heart suit surprisingly not shown at all!) 3NT? Unless you are so pro and know that a disaster might be coming? I would prefer 4NT directly though! (it makes little difference here... haha)

And after all the keycard asking, your partner bids his 2 aces and 1 king. And you decided that maybe due to communication problems, 6NT will be a sensible spot. However partner may decide he has much more values than promised as he is holding:

x
void
AKQxxxx
AJxxx

Well it seems a 7 that could not be avoided and doomed, where 6NT is the best possible contract with 12 top tricks... what a interesting hand! (Of course it is because my deck was new and little shuffling has been done... :-) )

More updates soon after the Open Pairs (if my p lets me blog more!) Maybe pictures! And anyway the Filipinos are very friendly in their reception! We even got some 'garlands'... haha... Great thanks to them!

Slam Galore

Ok... shall start updating my bridge corner since Jack insisted he is the most loyal supporter of my blog... haha... anyway shall update the few slams that I've seen these few days... See how u will bid it!

Friday game (20/07/2007)

Board 10 (Dealer East, Vul: Both)

You are holding West hands:

AQ964
AQT9
AK54
-Void-

And surprise out of surprises, your partner preempted 2S! Given that South does not interfere or double, how do u intend to bid and find a possible slam in your hands?

If one plays ogust which is quite common due to the occasional weak suit preempts, a 2NT call will beget a 3H response, which shows upper range of preemptive points and poor suit quality. This shouldn't deter u from continuing the enquiry of his hand. But would you choose 4C, which is cue-bid, 5C, which can be taken as voidwood or other bids that you may think is relevant here?

If one plays 1st/2nd round control (meaning only A/K) cue bid, a 4C bid would be best to see whether your partner holds the King. However if 2nd round control includes singleton or only 1st rd control is to be shown, I would prefer a 5C bid to enquire regarding the King spade and if East does have it, continue the heart enquiry with 5NT (specific king ask) or 6H (direct asking). Then it would be a decision between 6 or 7.

In the Friday game played, Yiwen bids a 6S directly over the double due to our lack in partnership understanding. Still it is a good move considering two tables reach only 4S though all tables made 13 tricks.

However, let's imagine if South has called a 5C bid. What would you bid on?
X - obviously as a "I am strong. Pls bid on!" signal
5S- Hmm... I'm not sure whether your preemptive is sound. Just wanna make sure our game isn't snatched away...
6C- I would seriously prefer this bid. Hopefully partner will take it as full support for spades, club void and pls bid any 1st/2nd rd control in hearts/dimes u have(considering no wasted values in clubs as well). Thus a 7S will be reached.

For your information, East's hand:

KJ8532
K
Q6
J973

Shall update more!
Gotta sleep le!

Some Lead Questions

Today was a disappointing outing at the League Cup Losers' Section match, against NUS(B), which we are expected to win against. In the end, it only ends up us as 44-11X... Kenna THRASHED!

Anyway here are some lead questions which led to like a total of 50 imps swing:-

1. You are holding this hand:-

S Axxxx
H AK
D Qxx
C xxx

The bidding has gone like this: After opening 1S as the dealer, LHO bids 2S which is alerted as Michaels' Cue Bid. Your partner, without any hesitation, bids 4S, which even without interference is taken as a weak bid holding a super fit in spades. RHO bids a 4NT, which signals asking for minor suit. You passed and LHO bids 5D, showing dimes as the long minor suit. Your partner doubles and RHO rescues the bidding to 5H, which u doubled based on your two heart tricks and a possible third trick in Ace of spade. Then it is all passed out.

So what shall you lead?

Anything u lead will be fine except a club/spade lead. Here my partner has made a fatal mistake of leading the Ace of spade, hoping to cash out the trick if dummy/declarer happens to be singleton. However, he forgot the simple idea that it would not still be late to cash that trick, providing that he could lead Ace of heart and see the dummy's hand before continuing. 5Hx= where the other table is 4Sx-2. A -80imp instead of a potential +700imp swing...

2. What will you lead from this hand against 4H?

S Qxx
H Jxxx
D AQJxx
C x

RHO opens 1H, which you gladly overcall 2D. LHO bids 3C and Partner raises u to 3D and after some competition, RHO bids 4H.

Here, a spade lead will potentially give a trick if declarer holds AKJ, while a heart lead may diminish the heart loser. A dime lead may potentially give away a trick if king dime is not with p while a club lead may help establish their strong suit and discards dime losers. Hard choice isn't it?

Answer: I was holding this hand and I got scolded by my p for the only mistake that I felt I have made on today. Sadly the answer is a dime lead as my partner has the king of dime, while I have led a spade that allows the declarer to have no spade loser, establishing the last spade to discard a dime, allowing 4H to make. If the king of diamond in my p's hand becomes king of spade, how different the complexion of the game it will be? Still I'm the one who has to make that tough decision. Anyway club is the best lead, pointed out by yh...

3. Okay last qn...: Tough bidding qn

Imagine you are holding this hand:-

S 876
H 109x
D KQ976
C Q9

Partner opens 1C, which u play as short clubs while RHO interferes with a 2D weak bid. Passing seems to be a correct decision here and LHO bids 2H. Your partner doubles!

OMG! A double here which is passed by RHO. Normally a double would signal a takeout for spades and clubs, and it would be at least 4 clubs and 4 spades. So the question is:- what are the rest of my partner's cards?

It can be 2 diamonds at most, if you trust the opps bidding of 2D. Then he would surely at least 2 hearts as with 6 clubs and 4 spades (can't be more than 4 as he would have bid 1S on opening), he could have an easy bid of 3C. So it could be 5-2-2-4, 4-3-2-4 or other more freakish shapes.

Would you try a pass playing with a possible 5 trumps in between u and your p, a 2NT bid to show dime stop (your p is more likely to have a heart stop than dime stop based on the distribution) or 3C, hoping to sign off?

And my p chose 3C. This led to me thinking he has at least 4 clubs and 5C can be a good option, which went down 2 eventually. A 2NT bid would be more sound here if the thinking process is thought out more carefully.

Other mistakes were missing a 6S where we stopped in 4H-1 (could have made on an outside chance, but could have reached on further forcing and evaluation), zh mis-declaring a 3NT board and my p (again!) mis-defending a 4S contract which can go down by 3. Nuff said abt the day! Haix... Shan't really blame him and must work with him to improve on our mistakes!

Vesak Day Special

Finally had a reunion with my dear partner Zehan after a close-to-one-month of hiatus... Dunno how we did (coz we left for our SICC League match soon after the special) but it was quite a comfortable performance...

Our first top board came as a result of opps mistake rather than good play on our part:-

East was holding:

S 4
H AKQJ6
D A953
C JT2

Usually this warrants an opening of 1H, but Liu chooses to open on a 1NT, considering it is N-S Vul and an opening of 1NT may find our side missing game coz it is usually hard to overcall on 1NT. His partner bids a 2H (jacoby xfer to spades) and Liu bids 2NT as no spade support, minimum hand. His partner seeing no fit in spades and yet having values bid 3NT.

And I, sitting south, was holding this hand:

S KQJ83
H 974
D 4
C 9863

A lead of King spade saw him ducking the first trick and I continued thereafter with the Queen of spade taken by the ace, at the same time shocked that he has only a spade in his 1NT balanced opening. After cashing the other top 8 tricks, he has to concede control to my p who has a totally wondering dime holding. +600 for this board for them!

Looks like a whole good deal when 5H is making.

West was holding:

S AT762
H T532
D Q7
C AK

One dime and one spade to be lost on normal play. In this case, West could have called a 2C (stayman) to ask for a possible heart fit. In any case, 4H could have been easily found.

Our next board came as a result of some luck which gave us an unbeatable top. (Board 13, more to be discussed)