Six Goose Eggs

On December 30^th my daughter-in-law has left the kids at home with Colin and is joining me for some duplicate at the bridge club.  Luise is an inexperienced bridge player but she is a logical thinker and has some natural talent for the game.

Nevertheless, Luise and I are having what Colin used to call a risqué pajama game.  A pajama game is tops and bottoms and the risqué version is short the tops.  By the last round of the evening we have five goose eggs, five cold zeros on our scorecard.

The first board is decent and we have an average plus.  Then on the final deal sitting South, vulnerable against not, I hold

 

 

I open 1♠  and Luise bids 3♣ , which we are playing as a four-card limit raise.  At IMPs I generally push for all vulnerable games but at matchpoints this is not a good strategy.  I like the high cards I have and the spot cards are generally pretty good.  I probably should bid 3♠  but it is late, I am tired, we haven’t had a good game, also it is a full moon… I can probably think of more excuses… anyway I bid the spade game. 

 

 

 

The ♥4 is led.  I have three losers in the minors off the top.  I have a pretty good chance of avoiding a spade loser.  I have a potential heart loser but if I can work out clubs I might have a discard for the third heart in my hand. 

Anyway this hand fits right in with a pajama game – it’s going to be a top or a bottom.

There is no point in doing anything but putting up the ♥ Q, and it holds the trick.  When I lay down the ♠ A, West follows with the ♠ J.

The dreaded restricted choice – missing the queen, jack, after either of them appears on the first round in the offside hand then it’s twice as good to finesse as to play for the drop.  Yes, but the odds have been playing fast and loose all night.  And I have no quick entry to dummy.  Still, I lead the ♣ 9 towards dummy and put up the ♣ J.  When that holds the trick, I lead a spade from dummy and put in the ♠10 and for the first time that evening something goes right: West shows out, throwing the ♦ 7.  I cash the ♠K, fetching the ♠ J from East and the ♦ 3 from West.

Now all that remains is to play the club suit for three winners.   I can’t cross to dummy on a spade and lead clubs that way since if the ♣ A is third or fourth the defender can just duck and the long club in dummy will be stranded. So I lead the ♣ Q from my hand.  East wins and plays the ♦ K and then the ♦ J.  West wins the ♦ A and returns the ♥ 7. It is possible that West is underleading the ♥ K — he might be endplayed with only red cards left.  But I don’t think it is likely so  I play low from dummy and the ♥  9 forces my ♥  A. 

 

 

At this point it can’t hurt to play off another spade or two. I lead the fourth round of spades and both defenders play diamonds.  On the next trump West throws another diamond and now East plays the ♥ 6, the last remaining heart spot.

When I lead the ♣ 2 West plays the ♣ 7.  Should I finesse or play for the drop?  I know one of East’s last two cards is probably the ♥ K.  But is that last card a diamond or the ♣ 10?  I play the ♣ 8 and …

 So did I get a top or a bottom? Did the goose lay the sixth egg?

  

Looking at all four hands the defense seems, well, excellent.  East’s duck of the ♣ A was very far sighted.  I think leading the ♣ 9 and putting up the ♣ J was too helpful.  In retrospect it would have been harder to duck the ♣ K. 

Should have, would have, could have. It was all irrelevant.

The goose had laid the sixth egg.