A lengthy auction

[CamHenry]

[hv=pc=n&s=sk76ha9865da6ckj3&w=sa9h72dkt9543c972&n=sqj4ht43d872ca865&e=st8532hkqjdqjcqt4&d=w&v=0&b=8&a=2dpp2hpp3dpp3hpp3nppp&p=hthjhah2h5h7h4hqdqd6d3d2djdad4d7h9s9h3]399|300[/hv]

 

All calls natural; 2♦ is weak. Your challenge is to identify the single worst call, or possibly the worst play, that led to EW taking 8 tricks and all the matchpoints.

[Codo]

In the bidding: 3 NT is the worst bid, followed by north final pass.

In the play: After winning a heart, you better kill the entries to the diamonds. As a club looks too dangerous, you better try a spade.

[rhm]

3NT is crazy, followed by South final pass instead of double!

If 3NT makes North/South will get a very poor matchpoint score whether South doubles or not.

The DBL is mandatory to protect your plus and is free!

 

South is apparently a weak player.

 

When dummy comes down he can see that West bid 3NT

 

a) with nothing resembling a heart stopper

b) with a diamond suit headed by the king and nothing else.

 

So West must have at least one black ace and an outside entry to his diamonds.

With both aces he would have an opening and there is no defense.

So assume partner to have one black ace.

 

 

Win heart ace and play king of spades.

If partner has the ace of spades and declarer the ace of clubs, partner will win the second spade and switch to clubs

 

If declarer wins the spade ace, you know you have 3 club tricks. So win the second diamond and switch to the ♣3. (Declarer might have ♠AQ)

 

Rainer Herrmann

[PhilKing]

South's final pass.

 

Obviously 3NT is crazy, but we can get away with such things against soft opponents, since they don't double enough and underdefend.

[CamHenry]

South's final pass.

 

Obviously 3NT is crazy, but we can get away with such things against soft opponents, since they don't double enough and underdefend.

 

My 3NT bid (yes, I was W) was predicated on the fact that (a) we can run to 4♦ if doubled (reasonable enough) and (b) they probably won't double (demonstrably correct) and © since we're NV, we can afford to go -8 against their game. It was proposition © that momentarily escaped my notice as somewhat flawed, compared to the alternative of passing out 3♥...

 

On best defence, of course, we lose 7 tricks (3 ♣, 2♠, and two aces). The -150 is ten too many against their 3♥, assuming they play well enough to make it.

[Antrax]

Don't you lose 4♣ tricks on best defense?

[CamHenry]

Don't you lose 4♣ tricks on best defense?

 

Yes, if oppo lead a spade and unblock the K. I think even against world-class players that's not, in itself, as much of a risk as the abominable 3NT deserves :)

[lalldonn]

3nt and south not doubling 3nt (and then 4d) are the worst calls imo. The defense just strikes me as lazy. Thinking about declarer's hand should lead to south getting this right and collecting his 200, but if he looked only at his own hand without thinking beyond that then I can see why he thought yay I will set up hearts with all these entries!

[eagles123]

I agree with others that final pass and 3NT are both crazy bids, but I think 2♥ from South is a huge underbid in balancing seat

[lalldonn]

Not just underbid, but huge underbid? It looks completely normal to me.

[rmnka447]

3 NT is the worst call. When a preempt is bid, which a weak 2 ♦ is, preempter's partner is in control. That's because preempter's partner has a decent handle on what the preempting hand is, but the preempter hasn't a clue exactly what his partner has. Often, a further bid by preempter offers the opponents a fielder's choice. They get to choose to bid on or penalize the preempters.

 

After the 2 ♦ bid, the auction is fine through 3 ♥. Responder passed trying to buy the contract at 2 ♦, then with a partial ♦ fit chose to compete further.

 

After the 3 NT bid, South has a decision to make. At IMPs, the decision is easy, just pass and take a positive as the hand was a partscore hand. At matchpoints, there's more to consider. If North/South are making 2 ♥ or 3 ♥, they have to beat 3 NT at least 3 tricks to equal or better the ♥ partscore. So, South should Double the 3 NT contract to give his side the best chance for a good matchpoint result. Note that if 3 NT makes, it's hardly likely to change the matchpoint result much as it's highly unlikely anyone else will be in 3 NT. (I like to call this kind of double an "ornery matchpoint double".)

 

So, South's pass is the 2nd worst call.

 

As to the play, Eddie Kantar's advice from Advanced Bridge Defense about what a defender should do when dummy is tabled is most apropro. Eddie recommends a lot of counting -- count the points between dummy and your hand, starting working on counting the distribution, but most importantly count your tricks and count the opponents tricks.

 

Looking at dummy, it has 2 tricks in ♥, possibly 3 ♠ tricks, 1 ♦ trick, and likely no ♣ tricks. If 3 NT is to make, then the opponents must set up and access long ♦ tricks in declarer's hand. With a doubleton ♦ in dummy, South can stop direct access to the long diamonds by holding up the ♦ A.

 

The key to defending this hand then is to immediately attack the entries to declarer's hand. South can't attack a ♣ entry, but can attack a ♠ entry. At trick 2, it is imperative that South lead ♠s. (If declarer has the ♣ A, partner is virtually certain to have the ♠ A.)

 

So the worst play is the return of a ♥ by South at trick 2.

[eagles123]

Not just underbid, but huge underbid? It looks completely normal to me.

 

I am probably wrong it's all about learning :) Thought 2♥ there would just be a balance as apposed to actually a pretty decent hand with 15 points.

[Stephen Tu]

I am probably wrong it's all about learning :) Thought 2♥ there would just be a balance as apposed to actually a pretty decent hand with 15 points.

 

A balancing call doesn't deny a decent hand. If someone taught you that you always have to balance with double holding say 13+ then unlearn such nonsense.

 

Also, over a one bid (1d-p-p-?) one stretches to bid quite a bit (the "borrow a K" overbid principle), because RHO is known to be extremely weak, and your side rates to have at least close to half the deck. Over a preemptive opener, this is rather unwise because:

1. RHO can be quite strong just misfit for his partner's preempt, bidding on weak hands may get you into trouble.

2. Being higher by a level, your side has less room to raise and invite game so you don't want your ranges to become too wide or it becomes unmanageable.

3. Being higher, the opps may be high enough for you to set them already, less need to push them higher into a settable contract.

 

So balancing seat overcall of preempt IMO should only be very slightly lighter than direct seat.

 

So over 2♦ this is totally normal 2♥, well within minimum range. Over 1♦ this is stronger than minimum 1♥ call, but still not really strong enough to want to double first.

[Fluffy]

People here are crazy, how can so many people say that a bid that turns an ave-- into 100% is the wrose call of an auction?, its the best call by far.

[eagles123]

A balancing call doesn't deny a decent hand. If someone taught you that you always have to balance with double holding say 13+ then unlearn such nonsense.

 

Also, over a one bid (1d-p-p-?) one stretches to bid quite a bit (the "borrow a K" overbid principle), because RHO is known to be extremely weak, and your side rates to have at least close to half the deck. Over a preemptive opener, this is rather unwise because:

1. RHO can be quite strong just misfit for his partner's preempt, bidding on weak hands may get you into trouble.

2. Being higher by a level, your side has less room to raise and invite game so you don't want your ranges to become too wide or it becomes unmanageable.

3. Being higher, the opps may be high enough for you to set them already, less need to push them higher into a settable contract.

 

So balancing seat overcall of preempt IMO should only be very slightly lighter than direct seat.

 

So over 2♦ this is totally normal 2♥, well within minimum range. Over 1♦ this is stronger than minimum 1♥ call, but still not really strong enough to want to double first.

 

Thanks for this very useful.

[eagles123]

People here are crazy, how can so many people say that a bid that turns an ave-- into 100% is the wrose call of an auction?, its the best call by far.

 

Again probably being daft here but is it not total fluke that 3NT turns out to be a good score?

[CamHenry]

Again probably being daft here but is it not total fluke that 3NT turns out to be a good score?

 

I agree. 3NT was the most successful call of the auction, but had the highest chance of turning a decent score into a bad one. Saying it was a good call is, I think, resulting.

[Codo]

Gonzalo was joking....