Can anyone advice on this slam defence

[thepossum]

Recently in an ACBL MPs tourney I was disappointed to find myself in this 6D slam due to the flaws in the bidding of diamond slams

I was even more disappointed to find that 6 out of 30 in my section had bid the unmakeable slam but only my East bot managed to defend

I include the bidding of the different options in the hope someone can advise on where I went wrong :) Sometimes I think this site is very authoritarian or moralistic or dictatorial. You didn't bid the way we like so we will punish you. :(

 

 

ME

[hv=https://www.bridgebase.com/tools/handviewer.html?lin=st||pn|thepossum,~Mwest,~Mnorth,~Meast|md|3SAKQJ2H72DKT52CJ8,S9843HA3DQ4CQ9752,S5H9654DAJ983CAK6,ST76HKQJT8D76CT43|sv|o|rh||ah|Board%201|mb|1D|an|Minor%20suit%20opening%20--%203+%20!D;%2011-21%20HCP;%2012-22%20total%20points|mb|P|mb|2S!|an|Soloway%20jump%20shift%20--%20rebiddable%20!S;%2017+%20total%20points|mb|P|mb|3C|an|3+%20!D;%2011-21%20HCP;%20!CKQ;%2012-22%20total%20points|mb|P|mb|3D!|an|Support%20for%20D;%20no%20splinter%20--%202+%20!C;%204+%20!D;%202+%20!H;%20rebiddable%20!S;%2017+%20total%20points|mb|P|mb|4N|an|Blackwood%20(D)%20--%204+%20!D;%2021-%20HCP;%20!CKQ;%2015-22%20total%20points|mb|P|mb|5H|an|Two%20or%20five%20key%20cards;%20no%20queen%20--%202+%20!C;%204+%20!D;%202+%20!H;%20rebiddable%20!S;%2017+%20total%20points|mb|P|mb|6D|an|4+%20!D;%2021-%20HCP;%20!CKQ;%2015-22%20total%20points|mb|P|mb|P|mb|P|pc|HK|pc|H2|pc|H3|pc|H4|pc|HQ|pc|H7|pc|HA|pc|H5|pc|C5|pc|CA|pc|C3|pc|C8|pc|D3|pc|D7|pc|DK|pc|D4|pc|D2|pc|DQ|pc|DA|pc|D6|mc|11|]400|300[/hv]

 

The other five tables had South bidding 1 spade and making the decision to go to slam. That's the difference :( And on those tables the bot switches to a club on trick 2 :(

 

I know I have problems with Soloway bids but this seemed perfect even with just AKQJx. Nice 2-suiter, support for diammonds, very nice spades :(

 

I should have just bid 1S and headed for game which is how I thought it would end up :(

 

Before anyone has a go I was disappointed when we ended up in 6 and not unhappy at the Bot finding the obvious defence. Sad that it couldn't find it for anyone else :(

 

I thought maybe my bid distorted the possible distributions but no, my hand is dummy. Look the Possum doesn't just have a singleton loser in hearts. He has two :(

 

Maybe my bidding distorted the possible shape of North (the hidden hand) but look at it :(

 

So how come my bidding resulted in the obvious defence but nobody else's did :(

 

So I'm thinking it thinks that the North bot ducked the Ace on trick one. But maybe in that case there is a chance of a ruff in hearts

 

LOL I have too many emoticons. I had no idea there was a limit on emoticons ROFL

 

What do I keep doing SAD

[LBengtsson]

I cannot advise but the bots do not have any idea. When the ♥K is led, West should automatically overtake with the ♥A and return a ♥. That will not confuse partner that declarer is holding up the ♥A (if declarer had that card.) Good human players will do this, so why the bot cannot defend like this I do not know.

 

As for Soloway Jump Shift, my interpretation is that the hand is just a card/honor short to bid 2♠ here with 5242 shape. It is close to a 2♠ bid and I would not disagree with players bidding like this, as you have 4 card support for your partner's minor suit and a good suit yourself, and if he has bid 1♦ on a 3 card suit, he will have 4 card support for your ♠ suit, if he is 4432.

 

The bot was very unfair when it switched to a ♣ where players bid only 1♠. You were just unlucky.

[smerriman]

I'm going to answer various questions. Ignore ones you don't want to know the answer to.

 

Should GIB beat the contract regardless?

 

Yes, of course, West should overtake the heart Ace and play another one, but with double dummy analysis it never knows the difference.

 

Why does East continue with a heart here, and not if South responds 1♠?

 

With robot logic, East reads nothing into the fact the heart king won the trick; anyone could have the heart ace. In the cases where it matters what East does, they have to switch to a club if West has the club ace, and a heart if West has the heart ace. (There's no chance of a heart ruff like you suggested, since that would give North a 1♥ opener instead)

 

In your auction, North has shown honors in clubs. This makes it very likely North has the club ace, so a heart is a clear favorite for the robot.

 

If South starts with 1♠, North will rebid 2♦. I'm not sure how the auction got to slam after that, but suppose South jumped to Blackwood and then went to slam. Now North hasn't said anything about clubs at all. There are more clubs left in the deck, so West is more likely to have the club ace than the heart ace. Thus a simulation will tell the robot the club is the best choice.

 

Could I have predicted any of this when deciding what to bid?

 

No.

 

Should I bid Soloway with this hand?

 

Without shortness, it's really too weak. GIB is extremely unlikely to be raising your spades (some people even play that you only raise with an honor), so by jumping, you're giving up on the chance to play a spade contract (diamonds are fixed as trumps unless partner raises immediately). Your spades are so nice here - and diamonds weak, along with the two doubletons - that I'd want to play in a spade contract most of the time, rather than diamonds. 1♠ will give you a chance to do so.

[LBengtsson]

Your spades are so nice here - and diamonds weak, along with the two doubletons - that I'd want to play in a spade contract most of the time, rather than diamonds. 1♠ will give you a chance to do so.

 

I agree with most of what you say, smerriman, though it may be preferable to play sometimes (as opposed as you say 'most of the time') in a 4-4♦ fit as opposed to a 5-3/5-4♠ fit as one (or two) of North's losers could be discarded on the ♠ suit. That said, I agree 1♠ is better than 2♠ here. The hand with its two doubletons is not quite right for Soloway, and you lose a round of bidding by bidding 2♠ here. I do not know the bots conventions, but humans would have XYZ, New Minor Forcing or Two Way Checkback here as options when opener rebids 1NT, and you want South to be the 'driver' in the auction discovering North's shape and possible ♠ support.

[smerriman]

it may be preferable to play sometimes (as opposed as you say 'most of the time') in a 4-4♦ fit

I agree - they aren't opposing statements :) Most + some = all.