Friday, November 21, 2008

Virginia Beach Morning Compact KO: Day Two

After barely surviving both round-robins of the day before, Geoff and I entered the semi-final of the Morning Compact KO.

Match One: We met up with one of the teams that had beaten us the day before.

(A) All white


T9764
432
AK95
Q

RHO opens 2S, which gets passed around to partner. He balances with 3H, and RHO passes. What's your call?

(B) All red


T72
Q43
KT72
AT2

RHO opens 2NT, 20-21. Everyone passes. What's your lead?

We had a great time of it at both tables -- final score (for 12 boards): 54-4. Revenge is sweet.

Match Two: We played against the Grand Old Couple of Mid-Atlantic bridge, the Bloomers. Always tough but always fun, George and Judith have been winning bridge tournaments since before my parents were alive.

(C) All white


KJ9
AK5
K874
T43

The opponents have the uncontested auction of:

1NT [15-17] - 2D [transfer]; 2H - 3H; 3NT - Pass.

What's your lead?

(D) Red vs. white


J8
Q5
98542
Q964

LHO passes, partner opens 1D, and RHO bids 1S. What's your call? I bid 2D... but whatever you do, you'll be on lead against 4S when LHO forces to game. What's your lead?

(E) All white


KQJ4
A
KJ9763
A6

Partner opens 1H. You force to game with 2D, and he rebids 2H. You show your second suit with 2S, and he rebids 2NT. What's your bid?

Final score: 40-10. We were much stronger as a team on the second day, and Geoff and I had many fewer misunderstandings. Hopefully we get the opportunity to play again sometime soon.

2 comments:

McKenzie said...

(A) I decided that it might be wrong to hang partner for balancing with his known spade shortness, but there would probably be some play for the game... could there really be four top losers? 4H made exactly four on a nice lie of the cards for win 7.

(B) I led the deuce of diamonds, giving up the eighth trick immediately for a push.

(C) I led a low diamond again, but this time it was right! +50, win 10.

(D) I led the queen of hearts, which didn't work out so hot... but it only made declarer's work much easier for the ten tricks he would've pulled anyway. -620 and a push.

(E) I wanted to give pard a little leeway for a light, misfitting hand, so I bid only 4NT. Geoff made the good decision to go to 6NT -- even though he "only had a 13-count". Holding the ace of diamonds is what pushed him into it. We were off the ace of spades and the queen of diamonds, but Geoff dropped the doubleton queen offside (with a little help from the defense).

Noble said...

(A) 4h

(B) diamond

(C) diamond
More likely to work (partner has five diamonds or the dQ) than anything else.

(D) 2d; hQ
It's too weak a hand to bid 3d at unfavorable. I'll go for the aggressive hQ lead hoping partner has the sA and the hK or some such.

(E) 3d
I don't have a bidding problem yet.