US Senior Semifinals

I am working on Internet reviews but the US Senior trials calls so I am watching instead.  In the Lynch – Schwartz match after 10 boards the score is close 24-16 for Schwartz.  But in the Larsen-Morse match the score is an incredibly low score of 13-6 after 11 boards are scored.  What do you bid when your partner opens 2S in second chair at favorable vulnerability with

Dick Morse bid 2NT and Bobby Wolff bid 3C showing a club feature.  What now?  Morse had a simple answer to this he bid 6H.  There is only one fly in the ointment.  This is Wolff’s hand

It has been a close match in this first segment.  You know that this is an important hand.  Let’s follow the play.  Bates is thinking about his lead a long time.  This hand is all about the club suit.  I am sure that he will defer the play in clubs as long as he can and gather all the information he can to make the decision.  The opening lead is a the S4.  Now if the SA ruffs out in two rounds then Morse can throw his diamond loser away and not worry about the club loser.  Bates and Sontag are playing third and fifth so it doesn’t seem possible that the SA will ruff out but it can’t hurt to try.  Morse plays a heart to the H10 and as predicted he does ruff a spade back.  On the second trump Bates shows out.  We now expect that Bates started with four spades, and one heart.  While Sontag had three spades and four hearts.  This does suggest that Bates has longer clubs.  Meanwhile he has to make a few pitches.  He throws a diamond and two spades leaving only the SA outstanding in the North hand.  The CA comes next.  Now the C10.  I wonder why Morse didn’t play the last heart first. Now the C10. The moment of truth.  He finesses and gets a great score.  Bates held

This table is finished splendidly.  We now have all the results in up to the last board.  The score is still only 13-7 for Morse.  Let’s see if Meltzer and Larsen get to the slam.  Larsen will be playing it if they do.  In the Closed Room Solodar is the dealer.  He hold the Bates (South) hand and passes. Meltzer opens the West hand with 1S.  I wonder if this will make it easier or harder to get to slam.  The auction continues

If they end up in 6C it will not be as easy to guess the suit but I doubt that they will end there.  Larsen bids 4D which got doubled by South (maybe not the best action).  Meltzer’s failure to redouble means that they are off the DA.  My guess is that Larsen will just bid 6H now.  There is a very long pause.  Someone suggested that 4D is keycard.  It isn’t clear what the pass shows then.  I have recently starting ignoring doubles over keycard.  It causes too many problems.  I am still betting on 6H as the clock continues to tick.  Several others agree with me. 

I think about what it is like to sit at the table waiting for partner.  If I held the Meltzer hand I might be hoping he doesn’t bid the slam.  Then I convince myself that I have no idea what partner’s problem is and squirm a bit restlessly.  Finally Larsen bids 6C surprising us all.  The DA is led followed by a diamond to the DK which is ruffed.  Larsen’s problem is that he has to guess clubs much earlier in the hand.  In fact he played a club to the CK and went down one.  I wonder if that double caused the problem that led them to play hearts.  So in the end the Morse ended the round with a very useful 14 imps to take the lead 27-7 in a very tight match.