A Championship Disaster

Ray and I have once hit a loss of 24 imps.  We were playing Swiss teams with another couple who had managed to play in a redoubled cue bid.  They went for a huge number into their own vulnerable game.  They went down 6 vulnerable.  You may not be surprised to hear that only one of the two came to dinner with us.

When Singapore played Taipei in the Asis Pacific Federation Championships they didn’t do quite as well as that but they did managed a 17 imp swing.  If you want to comment with your own personal worst disasters let me know.  I can remember when I was playing with Ray and thought that one spade – four hearts was natural (not a splinter).  It was fortunately pairs so the loss did not have to be explained to partners and was limited to half a board.  It really is a neat hand with slams available in both directions.  I am naming no names though.

We are going to follow the action in the Closed Room where the auction was uncontested and the disaster was great.

Here is the auction.  In a minute you will have a decision to make.  You are not vulnerable versus vulnerable

North-South found a double fit in diamonds and hearts.  3NT was a serious slam try.  There were 3 cuebids in spades clubs and diamond.  North having heard the spade cuebid when South tried for slam North felt comfortable to just bid the grand slam in diamonds.  But West doubled.  It appeared that West had a void somewhere, probably hearts (well maybe not if it was Zia).  Its time for you to make a decision.  Do you pass, redouble, bid 7♥ or something else?

I don’t think this is an easy decision and remember … the four horseman are on the horizon.

Dealer: Vul:	North ♠ KJ108 ♥ A102 ♦ AK8532 ♣ –
West ♠ – ♥ J974 ♦ J104 ♣ QJ9654		East ♠ 976532 ♥ 5 ♦ – ♣ AK10872
	South ♠ AQ4 ♥ KQ863 ♦ Q976 ♣ 3

At the table North having heard the club cuebid decided that 7NT would be the best spot.  There was a small problem with this decision.  South didn’t have the club ace, in fact club only had one club.  7NT doubled was down 6 for 1400.  If you pass East should get it right but maybe they won’t.  Maybe he shouldn’t lead a heart.  If you have the ace its not going away and you can’t really have a void, can you?  I suppose that North-South probably have clubs since they probably wouldn’t bid a grand slam without anything in clubs and the refusal to respond to Blackwood suggests that North has a void somewhere.  So probably East would have found the spade lead, 95% I would put it.  Strange things happen in these situations.

But pulling to notrump is much worse.  If you have to pull you should pull to hearts where the hand will be played by South.  Maybe West’s void is not in hearts (as is the case) or maybe South’s hearts are good enough to pick up the suit.  But you can easily see the logic in 7NT.

Meanwhile at the other table  North-South were going to play in the small slam in diamonds.  That would have been a 20 imp swing.  But the players in the Open Room “saved” their partners when they took a vulnerable against not save in 7♣ .  This went for -200 doubled.  In fact 6♣ , 6♦ and 6♥ are all makeable in one direction or the other and 7♦ is makeable from the short suit.

Maybe you think the 7NT bid was awful but … as Marshall Miles put in one of my favorite books … there but for the grace of God go I.  (Well maybe I would have done things differently but I might have bid it exactly as he did.)