poorbridge.com
Poor Bridge of the Week
How to Win a Match in Style
By Steve Rayner

For Poor Bridge of the Week, might I suggest a hand from last night's Kempson Cup match (the North-East teams-of-four Championship). I held:

S6
HK Q 4
DA K 10 7 3
CJ 9 7 2

All non-vulnerable. Partner is dealer and opens 1D. RHO overcalls 2C. I'm not entirely aware of partnership understandings, but on the principle that 2NT is never natural in a contested auction, I decide to bid that to show a sound raise. Partner, unfortunately is more awake/aware and decides (correctly) that 2NT is a useful natural bid when the partnership doesn't have a major and raises to 3NT. A small club is led and dummy hits with:

SA K Q 3
HA J 8
DJ 9 8 5 2
C6

The first reaction is oh bollocks - 6D is obviously frigid and 3NT doesn't have a prayer. Fortunately for the forces of injustice, the clubs are breaking 6-3, so when RHO takes the CK and returns a small one, LHO can either go up with the CQ and return one, establishing my CJ, or block the suit, which is what he chooses. So far so good +430 is still going to be ~ -9 IMPs compared with the 920 at the other table. Now it transpires that the forces of injustice are really working overtime, because when I lead a diamond from dummy, RHO shows out. The diamonds are breaking 3-0 with the Q offside, so 6D is one off after all.

To make matters worse, at the other table, a sensible auction leads to the 'routine' bid of 6D, but now teammate holding the cards my RHO had notes his diamond void and decides to make a lightner double, neglecting the fact that:

a) diamonds are trumps, and
b) he is on lead anyway - doh!

Net result +400 at one table (stupid contract, flukily safe), +100 at the other (sensible contract idiotically doubled, murdered by a highly unlikely trump distribution) - a swing of 11 IMPs to us precisely because we are rubbish at bridge at both tables. Final margin of victory was 7 IMPs, so our opponents have every right to feel a bit cheesed off!