|
Today's
deal, from the 1999 Canadian Teams Championships, was a difficult one for the
North-South pairs.
Consider
South's problem after West's 3
opening is followed by two passes. Possible solutions are a conservative pass, a
flawed takeout double (poor club support), an overcall in spades (to prepare an
economical second bid) and a 4
cue-bid, usually reserved for strong two-suited hands. Some experienced pairs
prefer to use the cue-bid to introduce a major two-suiter of indeterminate
strength, an agreement that caters well to hands of this type.
North-South vulnerable
West deals
| |
6
K 3 2
A 8 3
A 10 9 7 4 3 |
| |
A Q 9 8 7
A 10 8 7 6
5
6 2 |
|
West |
North |
East |
South |
|
Blank |
ML |
Blank |
FC |
|
3 |
Pass |
Pass |
3 |
|
Pass |
3NT |
Pass |
4 |
|
Pass |
Pass |
Pass |
|
Opening Lead:
8
Martine Lacroix (North) and Francine Cimon (South) had a clear agreement
that 4
would show a powerful two-suiter, so
Francine's practical choices were 3
or double. Many players in her position
preferred to double (optimistically, in our
view) and most of them finished in 5
doubled, down as much as 500 points.
Francine chose 3
and soon found herself in the best game
contract when Martine passed Francine's
conversion of 3NT to 4.
When East followed to the first trick with the
5
under dummy's
A,
declarer was virtually certain West had led
a singleton and was most likely to be
3-2-7-1 or 2-3-7-1. The K
was a favourite to lie in East's hand on the
auction. Declarer based her play on these
inferences.
She finessed the Q
successfully, and cashed the A,
both following. When she continued spades,
West uppercut with the four of trumps. If
declarer's reading of the distribution was
correct, West had ruffed in from a three-card
trump holding.
Francine
discarded a second club from dummy, allowing West to win the trick.
She won
the diamond switch with the ace, and played king-ace of trumps, collecting the
remaining lurkers. Dummy still had a trump to ruff a spade and declarer had ten
tricks: five trumps in hand, two spades, a spade ruff in dummy, and the two
minor suit aces; plus 620.
At the
other table, West opened 4,
which was passed out; down 150. 10 IMPs to Francine and Martine's team, the
eventual winners who will represent Canada in the Women's series at the 2000
World Bridge Teams Olympiad in Maastricht, the Netherlands, next fall.
The four hands
were:
| |
6
K 3 2
A 8 3
A 10 9 7 4 3 |
5 4
J 5 4
K Q J 10 7 6 4
8 |
 |
K J 10 3 2
Q 9
9 2
K Q J 5 |
| |
A Q 9 8 7
A 10 8 7 6
5
6 2 |
|