This comes up reasonably often. Your partner opens 1♣ or 1♦ (he may have only three cards in the suit), and you’ve got a pathetic collection like the one I picked up last night:

             ♠ T93         ♥ T943     ♦ JT54         ♣ K9

            Many pairs will not leave partner in what may be a three-two fit, even with zero points. Nancy and I are very disciplined in this situation. “Lie about your distribution, but never lie about your points.” This hand has four HCP. If I count half a point for each ten, maybe I can call it five-and-a-half HCP (but only the ♦T is really worth counting). If I’d had a fifth diamond (or a fifth heart), I could have added one point for the length and maybe squeaked out a response.
            However, over the years we’ve learned that a lie with this kind of hand is often punished by a jump bid from partner (or worse), and we wind up in an impossible contract down three or more. Some of the nightmares we’ve seen: 1♣ - P - 1♥ - P - 3♥ or 1♣ - P - 1♦ - P - 3NT or even worse1♣ - P - 1♥ - P - 4NT . . . .
            Moreover, the chances are very small that 1♣ will be passed out. Few duplicate players will sell out for 1♣, and the bust hand (having defined himself as fewer than 6 HCP) may have a chance to contribute something useful later in the auction.

            But here’s how the bidding went at our table:

Dealer North. Both sides vulnerable.

                North               East               South            West
                Pass                 Pass              1♣                Pass
                Pass                 Pass

 Here’s the whole hand:

                                           ♠ T93
                                           ♥ T943
                                           ♦ JT54
                                           ♣ K9
                                              N
              ♠ KJ2                                      ♠ 865
              ♥ 72                                        ♥ AKJ6
              ♦ A96           W                  E   ♦ Q83
              ♣ AJ542                                 ♣ 873
                                              S
                                         ♠ AQ74                   
                                         ♥ Q85
                                         ♦  K72
                                         ♣ QT6

            EW bid and made 2NT three times (once with overtricks). But with an opening bid, West has no place to go over 1♣. East, with 10 HCP, might be expected to make a balancing double, but the flat hand is a deterrent. If South can find six tricks, 1♣ down one for -100 would have been an above-average score (better than -120 or -180). Alas, it was not to be. Nancy took two clubs, one diamond, and two spades. The ♥Q, though well placed, got ruffed, and the diamond spot cards were hopeless. Down two (-200) was as good as could be done, but a poor result unless EW can make a game. At other tables, 1NT by South was down four (-400), and 2NT by North was down three (-300); so we did not get a bottom on the hand.
           At another table, 1♠ by South was down only one (-100) for a good result. Perhaps the bidding went 1♣ - P - 1♦( or 1♥) - P - 1♠ - all pass. Even so, I think a disciplined pass was the right bid at North’s first turn.

Results 9/2 in VH. 11 tables in play. NS 1 Dan & Nancy Cabot. 2 Barbara Besse & Sandy Lindheimer. 3 Berkeley Johnson & Bob Iadicicco. EW 1 Bob Henry & Barbara McLagan. 2 Dale & Sue Collinson. 3 Bill Blakesley & Hugh Knipmeyer

10.32 Master Points, Patricia McCornack and Gail Farrish.  8.14 (3.06 gold) Dale Collinson and Susan Collinson. 6.46  (3.06 gold) Eric Stricoff. 5.39  (3.06 gold) Rhonda Cohen. 3.82 Deirdre Ling. 2.32 Claus Buchthal. 0.20 Barbara Besse. 

Highlights, Gail and Patsy placed in several I/N events, won in C in two side games, and teamed with Dale and Sue to finish 3^rd in C in a Friday Swiss game. Sue and Dale also teamed with Eric and Rhonda to finish 2^nd in C in a Thursday Swiss game, as well as winning in C in a Saturday side game. Deirdre played on a team with friends met at another tournament to finish 2^nd in B in a Saturday Swiss game. She and Eric were 4^th in A in an I/N pairs game.

Any body bring home an interesting hand to share?

This was Board 8 on Tuesday 8/26 in Vineyard Haven. Dealer West. Neither side vulnerable.  As East you pick up:

            ♠ AJ9    ♥ AQJT86    ♦ A6     ♣A9

Here’s the way the bidding might go:

            North               East                  South               West
                                                                                     Pass
            Pass                 2♣                  Pass                  2NT*
            Pass                  3♥                  Pass                   4♥
            Pass                  4NT               Pass                   5♦**
            Pass                   ?
                         * (alerted) three controls - A & K or 3 Kings
                         ** one key card (30-14)

            You know that West has three kings, one of which is the ♥K, and at least three hearts. You can count six heart tricks plus three outside aces and two kings. 6♥ seems almost sure. Do you try 6NT? How about 7♥ or 7NT?

            NOW . . . .how do you bid if your partner opens?

            North               East                  South               West
                                                                                      1♠
            Pass                 2♥                   Pass                   3♥
            Pass                  4NT                Pass                   5♦*
            Pass                  5NT**            Pass                   6♥***
            Pass                    ?
                       * one key card
                       ** asks for outside kings
                       *** two other kings

            As this East, you know a bit more. West has an opening bid (perhaps light) with five spades and at least three hearts including the ♥K, and two other kings. If West’s opening includes both the ♠K and ♠Q, you can count six heart tricks, five spade tricks, and the two minor-suit aces. If he doesn’t have the ♠K, he has both minor suit kings. He probably has at least one queen to make an opening bid, but where is it? Do you try 7♥? 7NT? or do you play it safe and pass 6♥?

            The results were that one pair bid 7NT, three pairs bid 7♥, six pairs bid 6♥, and one pair bid 4♥. All took 13 tricks. Here’s the whole hand:

                                           ♠ 53
                                           ♥ 932
                                           ♦ Q742
                                           ♣ QT64
                                              N
              ♠ KQ872                                    ♠ AJ9
              ♥ K754                                      ♥ AQJT86
              ♦ JT              W                  E      ♦ A6
              ♣ K5                                          ♣ A9
                                              S
                                         ♠ T64                   
                                         ♥ –
                                         ♦  K9853
                                         ♣ J8732

Results 8/26 in VH. 10.5 tables in play (three-quarter movement). 1 Hugh Knipmeyer & Bill Blakesley. 2 Miles Jaffe & Jim Kaplan. 3. Berkeley Johnson & Bob Iadicicco. 4 Rosalee Cohen & Rosemary Taylor. 5 Dan & Nancy Cabot. 6 David Donald & Michele Riel.

            Good luck in Nashua to the Vineyard Duplicate Team.

This was Board 10 on Tuesday 8/19 in Vineyard Haven. Dealer East. Both Vulnerable.

                                           ♠ 8
                                           ♥ T92
                                           ♦ AQJ53
                                           ♣ T975
                                              N
              ♠ AKQJT92                                ♠ 6
              ♥ 7                                              ♥ AKQJ843
              ♦ K96          W                  E        ♦ T4
              ♣ 42                                            ♣ AJ3
                                              S
                                         ♠ 7543
                                         ♥ 65
                                         ♦  872
                                         ♣ KQ86

            North               East                  South               West
                                     1♥                   Pass                  1♠
            Pass                  4♥*                 Pass                  4♠**
            Pass                  4NT                Pass                  5♠***
            Pass                  6♠                  all pass

            * long, solid hearts, no interest in slam
            ** long, solid spades, maybe no hearts
            *** two key cards plus the ♠Q

            After West’s 5♠, East is confident that 14 or more tricks in the majors are available. However, West almost certainly does not have the ♦A. Who has the ♦K? If West has it, 6♠ is almost a sure thing, but 6♥ (or 6NT) could be at risk from a diamond lead. Even if EW are off both the diamond ace and king, maybe North will lead a club or a major. Take it all in all, 6♠ is the place to play (on the bidding above, West can’t be the declarer at 6NT).

            West can make 6♠ or 6NT and will make seven if North does not lead the ♦A. East will go down at 6♥ or 6NT if South leads a diamond, and make seven otherwise. It seems likely South would lead the ♣K rather than a diamond.

Results 8/19 in VH. 10 tables in play. NS 1 Patsy McCornack & Gail Farrish. 2. Eric Stricoff & Rhonda Cohen. 3  David Donald & Michele Riel. EW 1 Rich & Pam Peia. 2 Simi Denhart & Sari Lipkin. 3 Dan & Nancy Cabot.

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.

            This was Board 21 at Tuesday bridge 7/23 in Vineyard Haven. N-S vulnerable. North deals and passes. You hold the East hand:

                 ♠ AKJ9  ♥ KQT93  ♦ Q  ♣ AK9

With 22 HCP, you open this hand 2♣. South overcalls 2♥, which is passed around to you.

North      East     South     West
Pass        2♣         2♥        Pass
Pass         ?

            What now? You and your partner play controls as artificial responses to 2♣. If she held two controls (an ace or two kings), she would double 2♥, because that would have been her bid. With three or more controls, the overcall is no problem - all the higher bids (2♠ and up) are still available. She has passed, which means she has zero or one control (at best one king). Reevaluate your hand. 4♥ is clearly a lost cause, but if diamonds are not a disaster, you may have 3NT. Assuming all the missing hearts are to your left, you can count on only two heart tricks. If the opening lead from South is a heart (likely), there may be three heart tricks to go with two spades and two clubs. That’s seven tricks. If West has nothing at all, 3NT is probably dead, because you’ll have to lead everything out of your hand. But she could have the ♦K and maybe the ♠Q or ♠10 or the ♣Q. Should you bid 3NT? It’s pretty much a guess, which is exactly what weak overcalls are supposed to do to you - make you guess. Five Easts played 3NT. Three made it and two went down. Another East bid and made exactly 2NT. So NT took nine or more tricks only half the time. A fifty-fifty proposition.
            Now look at defending 2♥. You figure to set it, vulnerable, but how far? If you could play 2♥ doubled, the choice would be easy. But if you double, your partner will surely take it as a reopening double, and she will bid something (spades would be nice, but probably diamonds).  What will happen if you just pass? Playing in hearts, count on two spades and two clubs (if any of those cards is trumped by declarer, one of your trumps is promoted). You can count on three trump tricks, maybe four, and your partner may have a trick. Declaring at 3NT is an iffy proposition, but defending 2♥ is a sure positive score. At our table, 2♥ undoubled was down four (+400), the same as making the questionable 3NT, which gave us a tie for third best (8.5 out of 11). Here’s the whole hand:

                                           ♠ 83
                                           ♥ 7
                                           ♦ A7652
                                           ♣ JT632
                                              N
              ♠ T65                                         ♠ AKJ9
              ♥ 8                                             ♥ KQT93
              ♦ KJT843     W                  E      ♦ Q
              ♣ 754                                         ♣ AK9
                                              S
                                         ♠ Q742
                                         ♥ AJ6542
                                         ♦  9
                                         ♣ Q8

            With “normal” bidding (2♣ - 2♦ - 2♥ - 3♦ - 3NT) the expected ♥5 lead against 3NT  wins on the board. East can try the spade finesse (he must play the jack), establishing both a third spade trick and an entry to the board, but South can spoil that plan by refusing the trick.  If South takes the ♠Q and now leads another low heart, East will make 4NT. East can overtake the ♦Q and force out the ace. But if South refuses the first spade finesse, careful play will endplay him in hearts and spades. With an opening heart lead, East will always make 3NT and an overtrick or two if the defense is not perfect.

            However, if the South who overcalls 2♥ realizes that East’s 3NT bid probably indicates excellent hearts, he may lead something else. Best would be the ♣Q, but even a low spade will cause entry problems to the diamonds. Against best defense (i.e. without a heart lead), East should lose two hearts, a club, a spade, and a diamond.

            Bottom line: the right choice for East is to defend 2♥ undoubled.

            PS: What will happen to old-fashioned players who open this hand 2♥ (strong)?

Winners on Tuesday night 7/22 in Vineyard Haven. NS 1. Gail Farrish & Patsy McCornack. 2. Eric Stricoff & Rhonda Cohen. 3. David Donald & Michele Riel. EW 1 Dan & Nancy Cabot. 2. Hugh Knipmeyer & Bill Blakesley. 3. Steven & Claus Buchthal.

There was no game on 7/8 (Tisbury Street Fair was using the town)

There were 10.5 tables in play on Tuesday, 7/15. NS 1. David Donald and Michele Riel. 2. Bob Iadicicco & Berkley Johnson. 3. Ency & Robert Fokos. EW 1. Mack Whiteman & Al Shrive. 2. Joe Ashcroft & Molly Whalen. 3. Miles Jaffe & Audrey Egger.

Nancy and I are back from Alaska. Great trip, but I brought back the ship’s cold, which I have quarantined in West Tisbury. See you next week

            The Vineyard Trophy has, without my being aware of it, become a very serious thing.

            It began as a shorthand way of saying which of the duplicate players had the best off-Island tournament. On the ferry home, or perhaps at the Tuesday bridge game the next week, we would ask one another, “Who won the Vineyard Cup?” It may have been Hugh Knipmeyer who coined the phrase “Vineyard Cup” or “Vineyard Trophy.” There was in those days no trophy at all. Bridge players, being competitive types, were just comparing master points to see who had been the best at that particular tournament. It was all very friendly, and the “winner” was always warmly congratulated by the others. We enjoyed each other’s successes, and while winning the imaginary cup was a goal, it was not the main goal.

            Going to off-Island Tournaments, at least in the numbers that often go now, is a relatively new phenomenon. Twenty or thirty years ago, Margaret O’Neill used to go (she was, I believe, the first year-round Vineyarder to make Life Master), and Betty Sabin, Eileen O’Neill, Rita Moniz, perhaps a few others. Starting about ten years ago, it was Art Flathers who made the expeditions what they are today, when as many as 14 players descend on Newton, Hyannis, Falmouth, or Cromwell, Conn. Tournaments are social events as well. Large groups of players often go out to dinner together, gather for a nightcap after the evening session, or breakfast together. Always with the ubiquitous hand-records and score-cards: “What did you bid on Board 29?”

            About four years ago the idea surfaced that maybe there ought to be a real Vineyard Trophy. I may be wrong about this, and somebody can correct me, but I remember the conversation at the Saybrook Fishhouse (near Cromwell) as very light-hearted, something like, “Wouldn’t it be funny if there were a trophy we could present at the next club game?”

            Bill Blakesley volunteered to make a trophy, and Hugh Knipmeyer provided a Barbie Doll liberated from one of his granddaughters. You can see a picture of it where you click on this blog. It’s delightfully funny and kitsch. I think it perfectly captures the spirit of the friendly, tongue-in-cheek competition for top honors. I was happy to display it in my house when Nancy and I won it. It gave our guests a chuckle because it’s really a kind of parody of serious hardware.

            However, the trophy comes with a set of rules. Because Bill made the trophy, he also made the rules. New rules are added from time to time. If there were meetings to vote on what the rules should be, I missed them all. Perhaps there is a “mermaid’s cabinet” to decide such things. Perhaps Bill does it ex cathedra, as it were.

            At Sturbridge this month Claus Buchthal was the top point-getter in the Vineyard gang with 9.58 master points. This is remarkable for two reasons: first, Claus will be 95 years old this summer; second, he played several sessions with pick-up partners. Winning with a stranger for a partner is hard. Winning consistently is amazing. I like to think that in the days before there was a physical Vineyard trophy, we’d have gathered on the ferry and rejoiced in our congratulatory way that Claus had won the mythical cup this time.

            However, one of Bill’s rules is that the winner, who must be a Vineyard year-round or seasonal resident, must play at least one session with a Vineyard partner or teammate. I’ve tried to think why there is such a rule, and I conclude that it is to prevent someone like summer resident Barbara McLagan, who plays often with a team of her off-Island friends and usually does very well, from winning the trophy when she wasn’t part of the gang that traveled together, ate together, and originally invented the idea of a Vineyard trophy. One could argue about whether Barbara perhaps should be the winner anyway, or whether she would even care if she were passed over, but that’s not the point here.

            Under Bill’s rules, Claus is disqualified and the winners of the Vineyard Trophy were Gail Farrish and Dottie Arnold with 9.14 master points. This was Gail’s fifth time winning. Yes, five times! More than any other winner, by far (next frequent are Bill and Knip). I was surprised to learn that this was Dottie’s first win. She plays often with Gail at tournaments, but I guess the other four times Gail snuck off and won some points with somebody else. Way to go Dottie this time.

            On Tuesday night last week Gail and I conspired to vote Claus the Vineyard Trophy. Neither of us consulted Dottie, and for that I am sorry. If we had, I’m pretty sure she would have agreed with us, but we didn’t. Neither did we consult Bill.

            Well, it turns out that the vote was illegal. The Vineyard Trophy is not democratically awarded. Bill Blakesley decides what the rules are and whether there will be exceptions. He has ruled that Gail and Dottie are the winners after all, and that Claus is only an honorary recipient (sort of like a “lifetime achievement” award).

            So be it. Bill made the trophy, he gets to make the rules. Now I think I liked the imaginary trophy better.

            Nancy and I are off to Alaska on Monday. No bridge blog for at least two weeks.