Part 1: Vanderbilt victory; a hand from the semi’s

Back in the first quarter of the semi’s I suspect that both the Falk team and tthe Amoils team were happy to have made it this far, but hoping for more.

Sometimes a board which looks unimportant at one table turns out to be a surprising swing.  So it must have seemed to the players in the Closed Room who played a two club partial in the Closed Room making 3 on Board 7.   While this was a decent result (as two clubs can be defeated on best defence). it hardly seemed like a “big board.”   But things took a different turn in the Open Room.  It was partly set up by a conventional double.  Lets look at the auction and play from the East West hands.

 

Cheek ♠ AK965  ♥ 96  ♦ J852  ♣ 95

Grue ♠ 4  ♥ AJ874  ♦  63 ♣ A8763

Everybody was vulnerable and South was the dealer.

Friedland, North. opened one diamond in third chair and Grue overcalled one heart.  Dahl sitting South bid two clubs.  So far the auction was identical at both tables.  But in the Closed Room two clubs was passed out.   In the Open Room Cheek doubled two clubs which very conveninetly showed five spades and two hearts (and of course some values).  Grue had a good hand try for a doubled vulnerable penalty and passed.  Now look at the West hand and cover the East hand mentally.  What would you lead?  Take your time because it is important!

Cheek led a top heart and this is the only lead that gives the defence of a two trick set.  This was the whole deal.

Dealer: Vul:	Friedland ♠ Q1083  ♥ KQ5  ♦ K10974  ♣ Q
Cheek ♠ AK965  ♥ 96  ♦ J852 ♣ 95		Grue ♠ 4  ♥ AJ874  ♦ 63  ♣ A8763
	Dahl ♠ J72 ♥ 1032  ♦ AQ ♣ KJ1042

Grue had the advantage of knowing his partner’s major suit distribution.  So it was pretty easy to make the fine play of ducking the heart king in comfort.  Now Dahl cashed the top diamonds in his hand and led a trump.  Grue won with the club ace and returned a his spade.  Cheek cashed the second spade and returned a heart.  Grue took his two heart tricks and led a third heart.  Dahl was forced to ruff the third heart high and had to lose two more trump tricks for down two.  500 for Amoils. 

In the Closed Room Falk was sitting West and Lusky, East while Les Amoils was South and Darren Wolpert was North.

Falk led the top spade which makes the communication for the defence too difficult to set the contract two tricks.  At trick two he switched to a high heart which was ducked by Lusky.  Now Amoils led the queen of clubs from dummy.  When you have a lot of trump as a defender you like to keep the top trump around for a while.  This gives you some control in the trump suit.  But here Lusky might have been able to work out that a safer defense was to rise on the club ace, cash the heart ace and give partner a heart ruff.  Falk who passed in first chair was very unlikely to hold six spades to the ace and king.  So Falk could ruff the heart, take the spade ace and give Lusky a spade ruff.  Two spades, the club ace, a heart and two ruffs would be enough to set the contract.  In any case once he ducked the club queen,

Amoils crossed to his hand on the diamond ace and played a top club.  Now Falk had no more trump so the heart ruff was gone.  Lusky got out a diamond.  Here was the position.

 

Dealer: Vul:	Wolpert   ♠ Q108 ♥ Q5  ♦ K10  ♣ –
Falk ♠ A965  ♥ 6  ♦ J8  ♣ –		Lusky ♠ –  ♥ AJ74 ♦  – ♣ 876
	Amoils ♠ J7  ♥ 102  ♦ –  ♣ J102

 

Amoils won the diamond queen.  He knew Lusky had four hearts left.  The play suggested he did not have another spade (since he could have returned one when in on the club ace).  So based on that Amoils executed a neat plan, a strip and endplay.  He cashed the top clubs and threw Lusky in on the final club throwing spades from  from dummy.  Lusky who was down to all hearts was endplayed.  He could cash the heart ace but then had to play a heart to dummy’s queen allowing Amoils to also cash the diamond king to make his contract. 

So Board 7 which might have seemed a quiet board ended up as a 12 imps win for Amoils at the start of their run to victory.