Fun with Colin

If you are going to play with Colin you better get used to playing tough contracts.  Here is one from last night that was fun and my thoughts while playing it.

In third chair at unfavorable vulnerability I held:

AK1076 

AJ1062

K

K8

The auction started pass by Colin, 2 by RHO showing hearts and a minor.  Hearts were always five long but the minor could be four.  (This will be relevant later).  Well this was rather a surprise.  I bid 2 anyway.  Colin raised to 3.  Should I go on?

Are you kidding?  Does it matter if I “should”, you know I will.    LHO doubled and I started to think again about the “should”.

LHO led the 3 and this was the situation (rotated for convenience)

	943 void A109742 1096
	AK1076  AJ1062 K K8

See what I mean about playing dummy well.  Actually Colin’s hand wasn’t that bad for me.  I decided that   Now what was East’s shape.  He held five hearts.   What was his minor..  I had six clubs and seven diamonds so he could have had either.  West certainly had the QJxx of spades but maybe more likely all five of them.

There is no doubt I have to just take tricks.  I won the A as East play the Q.  It looked like West might hold the K. If both diamonds cashed as seemed likely and I could make two heart ruffs I was up to seven tricks.  To have any realistic chance I thought I needed to make two more spades in hand (in addition to the ace-king) and the K

If East held clubs he was likely to hold the A since it looked like he didn’t have much in hearts but then again he could have anything at this vulnerability.  I did also have the problem that if I played clubs early and he held a spade he could win the club and lead a spade which wasn’t going to make me happy.

Do you have a plan now?  This is what I did.  I cashed the K and ruffed a heart.  I cashed the A and ruffed a heart,  I cashed the  K.  From their carding I was now certain that the diamonds were splitting and that was very good news.  I ruffed a diamond and I ruffed a heart with West following to the K, I was almost certain now that West had two clubs and five spades left.  I had to arrived at this position with the lead in dummy and six tricks in.

	9 void 1097 1096
QJ852 void void ??		void 98 void ?????
	AK107  J   K8

Who has the A.  If West has it my best shot is to play a diamond now throwing a club.  He can ruff the diamond and okay clubs but I ruff the third round for trick seven, play the heart and he cannot stop me making three trump tricks with the AK10 and the 9 in dummy.  What if he gets out the trump queen instead of giving me the club ruff.  No that doesn’t work either.  However if East has the A I better lead a club from dummy since this plan will not work. 

Well West had enough for his double without it..  It does seem more likely doesn’t it.  So I led the club from dummy and put up the queen when East ducked and it held.  Now it was easy.  I led the J and nothing West could do could stop me from making three trump tricks.  That was 14 imps when they failed to make the same contract at the other table.

You see bridge is like a box of chocolates.  You never know what you are going to get.

Box_of_chocolates.wav (you can hear the original quote here).

So even though I made mistakes and I didn’t know the system and I kept playing 3-3 fits I can still have fun.