State of the match

[gwnn]

RHO dealer, we are unfav at teams.

 

Axx

JTxx

-

AKTxxx

 

(3S)-3N-p-6N

p-?

 

Your partner is a bright guy but you havent discussed many sequences and he has not played in a while.

Do you think 3N is normal/overdoing it/insane?

How bad do you think 7C is now on a 1 to 10 scale?

 

How about if you are playing an 8 board match and in the first seven boards: you went down in a partscore when you were supposed to make game and opps bid and made a relatively thin (but good) slam and you probably let through a vulnetable game?

 

How about if 6N was slow do you think 7C is unethical as well as bad?

 

Please don't say "6H wtp?", note I made an effort in avoiding the x-factor notation.

[TylerE]

Yea, I think 3N is pretty bad. 7C would be worse.

[helene_t]

I would pass. We could easily be the ace of hearts off. Oh well we could be off two cashing diamond tricks in 6N but then maybe LHO will double and we can start thinking again.

 

I wouldn't think too much of the state of the match. We have no idea what happens at the other table and we are more likely to gain IMPs, as well as more likely to avoid losing IMPs, if we just do what we think is right.

 

I don't think a slow 6N conveys any useful information. If anything, a fast 6N conveys more information and constrains your options more.

[billw55]

Agree 3NT looks .. optimistic. But in a desperate situation such as you describe, what is there to lose?

[Free]

It looks like we've already counted the state of the match by bidding 3NT. I'd pass.

[mikegill]

I think 3N is a pretty bad bid, but it's not so bad that I wouldn't consider it if I were swinging. Enough to make clubs run + 2 tricks is an awful lot to expect from partner's hypothetical 7-count. Partner is also very likely to have 2 or fewer spades so on many of the hands where we can make game, he will be reopening (or raising 3NT!). I also think it's clear to pass 6N. Your 3N isn't THAT far off on playing strength. You might have already won the board by bidding 3N, now's not the time to unwin it.

[ArtK78]

First of all, I totally disagree with swinging in a short match (and probably any match). You have no idea what is going on at the other table. How bad would you feel if 6NT was down one and any normal action (like 4♣ over 3♠) would have resulted in a normal game making, and you find that, after comparison, you lose the match by 5 IMPs? This is not uncommon.

 

I have related in an old post about my team's second segment of 6 boards in the GNT North American finals in Chicago several years ago. On the first 5 boards, my partner (David Treadwell) and I crushed our opponents. We had what appeared to be 4 major swings in our favor (on one our opponents played game in a 5-0 fit - this was not a success) and a reasonable score on the fifth board. Then, on the sixth board, Dave lost his mind and bid a grand slam in diamonds which needed him to bring in a trump suit of 9 cards missing the king plus a 5-3 side suit fit missing the Q and 10. After that rolled in for +1440, we got to compare results with our teammates.

 

Win by 3.

 

As for the bidding problem, you have to pass 6NT. 7♣ is a wild gamble. At least in 6NT you have one trick leeway and you can get lucky. There is no wiggle room in a grand slam.

[Cyberyeti]

First of all, I totally disagree with swinging in a short match (and probably any match).  You have no idea what is going on at the other table.  How bad would you feel if 6NT was down one and any normal action (like 4♣ over 3♠) would have resulted in a normal game making, and you find that, after comparison, you lose the match by 5 IMPs?  This is not uncommon.

Oh I don't know, I'll relate 2 matches.

 

Most exciting set of 8 boards I ever played, we went into the last set of a match 5 IMPS down. Board 1 was relatively flat, boards 2 and 3 we bid 2 slams both 60%+ but on 21 and 25 counts and both failed. Now was the time for action.

 

I opened something vaguely silly in first seat, partner had a big hand with support, but used a raise that was "to 3 or better", an ill judged ToX from the opps, XX from pard and opps are staring at 3Hxx -960 as their best available result with 4H-1 coming from the other table. They went for 1700 instead.

 

I tabled a zero count opposite a somewhat bent weak no trump and partner registered +670 in 2Mx.

 

We bid like loons to a sacrifice that happened to make for a double game swing.

 

When the smoke cleared we'd won by 12.

 

The other, we played a very highly seeded team in the UK's premier knockout competition over 48 boards. In set 2, they bid several slams that didn't make, and we found ourselves 65 up after 16. This was forty-something by the time set 6 rolled around and they started some serious operation, and got about 35 of them back.

[Phil]

3N is kind of crazy but it might work out.

 

Once you make an eccentric bid like this I think you have to pass 6N. Partner could be doing something equally strange so to do anything else is guessing.

[pooltuna]

First of all, I totally disagree with swinging in a short match (and probably any match).  You have no idea what is going on at the other table.  How bad would you feel if 6NT was down one and any normal action (like 4♣ over 3♠) would have resulted in a normal game making, and you find that, after comparison, you lose the match by 5 IMPs?  This is not uncommon.

 

I have related in an old post about my team's second segment of 6 boards in the GNT North American finals in Chicago several years ago.  On the first 5 boards, my partner (David Treadwell) and I crushed our opponents.  We had what appeared to be 4 major swings in our favor (on one our opponents played game in a 5-0 fit - this was not a success) and a reasonable score on the fifth board.  Then, on the sixth board, Dave lost his mind and bid a grand slam in diamonds which needed him to bring in a trump suit of 9 cards missing the king plus a 5-3 side suit fit missing the Q and 10.  After that rolled in for +1440, we got to compare results with our teammates.

 

Win by 3.

 

As for the bidding problem, you have to pass 6NT.  7♣ is a wild gamble.  At least in 6NT you have one trick leeway and you can get lucky.  There is no wiggle room in a grand slam.

There is no need to get so harsh with him just because his partner's hand is [hv=s=s2h32dakqjt98c432]133|100|[/hv]

 

:(

[whereagles]

I would have passed mostly because it's 1 trick less lol.

 

And as we can see, pard already did his part of craziness. No need to compound an error ahah

[Fluffy]

7♣ wouldn't be bid to swing, it would be to recover from the swing partner and us already did, its easy to imagine hands where 6NT failst and 7♣ makes, after a bad lead at least.

 

This is a junior competition ain't it Csaba?, the other table might bring anything.

 

At the table I'd pass, with no clue of what is going on, its better that partner makes last mistake, makes things easier when explaining to team mates :)

[Cyberyeti]

I think I pass. The other question is would you try anything if partner bid 6♦ rather than 6N ?

[gwnn]

I passed of course but 7C is a nice contract.

 

x

AK9xx

KQxxx

Qx

 

well of course not a super contract but it's not worse than 6N!

 

how do you play it if LHO doubles 7C and leads the ace of diamonds?

[kenberg]

OK, idiotic line of play deleted. But I think I can make it anyway.

[kenberg]

It's a bit embarrassing to say something totally silly in public but I'm a slow learner so I will try again.

 

Ruff the D

Ace of spades

Ruff a spade

Q of clubs

Ruff a diamond

Cash two clubs throwing hearts

 

Everyone has six cards left, presumably lho has six red cards. Declarer holds four hearts, one spade, one trump, dummy holds AK9 of hearts and KQx of diamonds. Declarer needs to get the JT of hearts out of his hand.

 

Heart Jack to Ace.

KQ of diamonds, throwing ten of hearts and small heart.

 

Now everyone has three cards and, assuming that lho has no spades left, you know the shape.

If lho is out of diamonds, cash the last diamond.

If he has one diamond left and two hearts, ruff the D and play a heart to the 9 (whether rho followed or did not follow on the J of hearts to the ace, he has no more hearts if lho still holds two).

If lho has two diamonds left then he has only one heart and the hearts will cash. You could just cash them but, allowing for possibly rho holding another spade instead of a heart, ruff a D and unless your spade is now good, lead a heart.

If lho has three diamonds left (this is possible but it means that he started with seven and you would have discovered that at trick 5) then ruff the last diamond squeezing rho in hearts and spades.

 

 

This line works some but not all of the time when rho opened on six cards.

 

I hope this is better than my last effort. I will be grateful if you just forget that one.

 

As to the bidding, all's well that ends well.