Source: www.qldbridge.com As previously noted, when Boye Brogeland gives you a hand it is a good time to listen.
This hand is from a match between Norway and Japan in the Bermuda Bowl (Round Robin) in Paris in 2001:
My Australian friend David Stern has done a computer simulation on balanced NT hands with three card support when partner transfer and jumps to 3NT.
Playing teams, should you pass or correct to 4 of the major? Looking at 10.000 deals he found that despite eight trumps there was a better chance making the nine trick game. So pass is apparently the winning action in the long run.
I didn’t have that information back in 2001, but the main reason why I bid 4
rather than passing was that the Japanese West had seemed keen to bid both over 1NT and 2. So I assumed he had a long diamond suit which might be cashing against 3 NT.
Quite right, lefty starts with ace-king of diamonds, and East discards a heart. How do you play when West continues with the jack of diamonds? You need five spade tricks to have any hope of winning this contract, so rather than ruffing, you should pitch a losing club from dummy at trick three. West switches to a heart which goes to East’s queen and your king. With 5-1 break in hearts, which East’s first discard indicates, I am still a trick short. My only chance is to find East with both king-queen of clubs so I will be able to squeeze him in hearts and clubs. I cash my ace of clubs and pull trumps to reach this ending:
On the last spade East was squeezed into giving up one of the suits. A neat 620.