75.7% Game, Part 3

Reprints of score recaps from the recent 75.7% game in case you are just tuning in to the story...

Here are the last 4 boards of the 75.7% Daylong MP game I won recently. Looking them over for brilliant bidding and play, I just don't see it.  More likely is that the stars aligned and everything fell my way for one brief 12-board session!

Bd. 9

It seems pretty straightfoward to get to 4S on these cards.  I have a 4 loser hand and actually consider 4S to be an underbid.  Bidding with the robots, however, requires that all bids be relatively simple.

The HQ was led and won by South, my hand. On BBO, playing with robots, the human is always the declarer (luckily!) when possible. I won in my hand and made what could be described as the key play in the hand--I ducked a spade. I expect to have two spade losers and need to retain trump control.  This is accomplished by ducking a spade, then later cashing the SA--leaving one trump outstanding. This play generally gains in the long run.

The spade trick went 2,3,8 with East winning the S10.  Now East shifted to the 6D which I trumped in my hand.  Now I led a spade to the ace, leaving the SK outstanding, and started playing clubs.  On the third club honor I discarded a heart from the North hand.  Now I just cross ruffed, with East taking the high trump whenever he chose.  

Making 4S, 420 was worth a 79.5% board.  As it turns out, only half of the pairs in my section got to game and only two pairs made it!

Bd. 10

After I opened 1D and partner responded 1H, I elected to bid 2H which was passed out. I received a favorable lead with the CA, followed by a club continuation which I won on the board with the queen.  A heart to the Ace followed by a heart to the King revealed that I had no heart losers.  The hand was coming together nicely.  I drew the last trump, cashed the last club and gave up two spades and one diamond. The S9 was doubleton so I had two spade tricks.

Plus 140 was another 79.5% board.  Most of the pairs were in hearts, with only about half making their contract.  The breakdown: one 170; three 140; two 110, with the remainder being minus scores in 2H, 3H and 4H.

Bd. 11

Not too difficult to get to 3NT, with the monster hand I held.  I elected to rebid 2NT with my singleton CA, and after a Stayman auction, settled in 3NT.

The S10 was led which I won in my hand and, needing heart tricks, then led a heart to the queen and ace. Now East shifted to the CK.  Luckily dummy had a club stopper, and I won the CA, perforce. I now continued with the HJ, won by East.  The CQ was cashed, followed by a diamond shift. I now have only 3 tricks and the opponents have 3 tricks--I'm scrambling for 6 more!

I cashed the remaining two diamond honors and played the SK.  LHO followed with the S9 and I started hoping that spades were 3-3.  When I led my last spade toward the Q, all followed. The deuce of spades was my 9th trick! I led a heart back to my hand hoping for another heart trick, but it was not to be.

Plus 400 was worth 73.75%.  Another good score.  Most pairs got to game but most pairs failed to make it.  One pair got a top score playing the 4-3 fit in spades. Some played in a heart game and went down.  Others went down in 3NT.

Bd. 12

After many really good scores, amazingly, the best score was on the last board!  Like I tell my bridge students:  first, you have to get to game; and secondly, you have to make it!

After two passes, East opened 1C and I overcalled 1S.  West made a negative double and partner made a very interesting bid:  2D! Wow. I figured the odds were good that I no longer had any diamond losers, and all of a sudden my hand shot up from a good 5-loser hand to a tremendously powerful 3-loser hand.  East bid 2H and I needed to find a way to get to game.

Uncertain of the best strain, and trying to keep the bidding simple, I decided to try a jump to 3S.  Surely that would be a show of strength.  I was delighted when partner, North, raised to 4S.

I got a club lead and dummy was suitable.  East won the CK and made the losing play of trying to cash another club, which I ruffed.  I crossed to dummy and successfully finessed the SQ.  I then cashed the SA and saw that I had a spade loser.  That was fine as the hand was shaping up nicely.  Now all I had to do was keep playing diamonds until East ruffed in.  My losing heart would go on the long diamond in dummy, and that is what happened. Note that if East doesn't ruff the diamond until the fourth time they are played, then I will have to lose a heart.

Anyway, all was well that ended well.  I made 5 and the score of 650 was worth 90% as no other pair in my section made 5. Actually, only 3 pairs out of 12 even got to game!  There were several part scores in both spades and diamonds.

I thought I had a good game, but was dumbfounded to learn later that my score topped the field with a 75.7% game.

Keep striving.  An early partner of mine from Louisville used to say modestly about her bridge:  "Even a blind squirrel finds an acorn sometimes!"

See you at the virtual tables!