Big Hand Overcall — Results 8/5

Big Hand Overcall - 8/5 Results

This was Board 9 on Tuesday 8/5 in Vineyard Haven. Dealer North. EW Vulnerable.

                                           ♠ KJ864
                                           ♥ 63
                                           ♦ Q3
                                           ♣ KQ63
                                              N
              ♠ A97                                         ♠ Q5
              ♥ AKQ                                       ♥ 52
              ♦ AK7          W                  E      ♦ JT9642
              ♣ JT42                                       ♣ A97
                                              S
                                         ♠ T32
                                         ♥ JT9874
                                         ♦  85
                                         ♣ 83

            At most tables, one would expect a normal auction:

            North               East                  South               West
            Pass                 Pass                 Pass                 2NT*
            Pass                 3NT                 all pass

                        *20-22 HCP, balanced

       If the opening lead is the ♠6 (and because the ♦Q drops), West should take two spades, six diamonds, three hearts, and a club - making six for +690. If the lead is the ♣K, West can take the ace and give up a club, easily taking 12 tricks for the same result. (One West managed to make seven. That North, having led a spade, may have felt squeezed at trick 11 and choosing to protect the ♠K, blanked the ♣K. An easy mistake to make, because North has no easy way to know his partner has the ♠10 and not the ♣J.)

            Should the NT slam be bid in this auction? I don’t think so. East has a nice hand opposite a 2NT opening, but knows that his side has fewer than 30 HCP.

            Now what happens if North chooses to open his skinny 11 HCPs? The bidding will go

            North               East                  South               West
             1♠                   Pass                 Pass                 Dbl
            Pass                 2♦                    Pass                   ?

            What should West bid now? For all his partner knows, he has made only a balancing double and could have as few as 10HCP. Since he has more than twice that, he needs to make a strong bid now. 3♦ will almost certainly be passed. 2NT (after a double) would mean a balanced hand and 18-19 HCP. So West should bid 3NT (a balanced 20+ HCP). If instead West chooses to jump raise to 4♦, East will bid 5♦, showing a decent hand and five or more diamonds. At this point West has to think about the field. If everyone is making 4NT or 5NT, 5♦ will be a bottom, and so West might as well bid 6♦.

            The play at diamonds is essentially the same as at NT, except that if a spade is led (likely, on the bidding), East has to dump a spade on the hearts before working on the clubs. 6♦ bid and made is +1370. A lucky result because the ♦Q falls, but probably not unusual for duplicate bridge. Oh, by the way, it was not our result! We played diamonds and made six - but we bid only 3♦.

Results 8/5 in VH. 12.5 tables in play. NS 1 David Donald & Barbara Besse. 2 Duncan & Jocelyn Walton. 3 Rosemary Taylor & Bob Iadicicco. EW 1 Sue Collinson & Nancy Neil. 2 Bill Blakesley & Hugh Knipmeyer. 3 Dan & Nancy Cabot.