Lessons from a not so good BBO Vugraph Match

Usually when you plan to watch a match on Vugraph you expect it to be very good and you hold it to a pretty high standard.  But these days many matches of lesser standard are broadcast on BBO.  Such was a match I commented on last night.  It was the first round of a Swiss qualifier and at the table I watched while neither pair shone

, one pair was particularly weak.

Still it is not a waste of time to watch and think about bridge and there were quite a few lesson hands in the 12 board match.  I am not going to name any names because I think the perpetrators of the worse errors were Juniors.  In Canada when a crime is committed by juveniles the names are withheld.  I do the same in this blog in that spirit.  One hopes they will do better in the future and one does not want to stain their record.

Here was the first hand.  I could see it coming.  Its board 1 you are East, second to speak with nobody vulnerable and this is your hand.

Q J5 A873 J107643

North opens 1 precision style so it can be as short.  You sensibly pass and South bids 1.  Your partner bids 1 and North continues with 1NT which is 11-14.  It would never occur to me to bid on this hand.  I don’t have a fit with partner.  I don’t have a lot of high cards and my suit is not robust.  What I am thinking about right now is whether to lead a spade or a club.  But you are young and so you decide to bid 2.  I don’t mind this bid too much.  The Q is likely to be a useful card and you have six clubs.  This is passed to North who bids 2.  Now if you would consider bidding again smack yourself and go to the back of the class.  Our young hero found out that 3 doubled was not a good spot.  North did well to double 3.  He held

J632
A64
104
AQ98

To finish off the story partner held

A9754
KQ3
QJ2
52

The hand should have gone down 2 but our young declarer was so flustered he went down 3.  A dull board had turned into a loss of nine imps.  Lesson: Save the heroics bidding for matchpoints.  It is really okay to defend some hands.

The next hand is quite an interesting one.  Sitting West, this is your hand

Q107
1086
AQJ62
A6

You are West in third chair and you open 1 at favorable vulnerability.  North doubles and your partner bids 1.  You raise to 2 and North bid 3, clearly a very strong hand with hearts.  Partner bids 3 and North who will not be silence bids 4 when the bidding comes back to him.  He has a strong two suiter.  South gives preference to hearts.  You are defending 4 and partner leads the K.  This is dummy

863
Q74
107532
 102

 

What is your play at trick one? Demerit points for anyone who did not overtake the diamond. Even if partner is leading from a doubleton overtaking and playing another high diamond cannot cost whatever partner’s hand is.  Somebody suggested that West should play the 2 to suggest a club switch.  Our West played the 6 (I like them?).  But that is silly.  East reasonably continued spades and the opportunity to ruff was lost when declarer won the stiff A and drew trump.  Game making. –620.  The only good thing I could think of at this point for East-West was that the score was 1-1.  They had each made a serious mistake so they were not likely mad at each other.  Partner held

KJ9542
J9
K
8543

I confess I would have bid 4 in the first place at this vulnerability but I think he was somewhat chastened by the previous hand.

Lesson: Don’t let partner make a mistake.  Take charge when you know what to do.

Lesson: At favorable vulnerability with a long suit fit with partner bid as much as you can initially

In case you think that these errors are too subtle how about this one.  Yes, this did happen.  This is an opening lead problem.  You are East and you are tied in errors 1-1 as you arrive at Board 3.  You are vulnerable against not.  North opens 1 in third and over 1 he rebids 1NT.  Your lead.

87
KQ975
752
A86

I think it is brave to lead a heart and not unreasonable and so did our hero.  But into this auction I confess I would lead a small one.  Declarer has a lot of them and a heart honor is likely to give a trick away.  It is true that if dummy has the stiff jack or ten then a high one might work but if I go this route I start low.  Anyway you lead the K and see the singleton 6 in dummy.  Partner plays the 10 standard carding and you win the trick.  I suppose I should show you the entire dummy

QJ64
6
K10984
973

You have a rush to the brain and yes you continue the Q, partner having started with the A10. The rest of the story is too grim to tell.  Suffice it to say that despite efforts by everyone at the table (accept dummy) to throw tricks away declarer some home came home with his contract.

The match didn’t get any better and from time to time not to feel left out North decided to join in and chuck some imps.  If I wanted to write a Why You Lose At Imps book I could probably start by describing a match like this.

These matches are instructive but I wonder if East West who got drilled in the end felt that way..