The Yanks are coming

I watched a USA versus Canada match with members of our ladies and seniors team taking on some players from their ladies team and some prominent American players.  The Canadians were Doug Fraser and John Zaluski Karen Compstone and Pamela Nisbet.  The American ladies were Sylvia Moss and Judy Radin.

The Americans definitely had the best of it.  Would you bid on this hand?   You have S6 H 1062 D A109743 C K95,  You are not vulnerable against vulnerable and RHO opens 1H.  Karen Cumpstone passed.  I might have bid 3D although I wouldn’t argue with pass.  (It’s the vulnerability that I like)   If you pass you hear 1S on your left and 2S on your right.  I think we are all definitely passers now and it gets passed out in 2S making 3.  But at the other table John Solodar bid what I would consider a comic 2D and he struck gold when his partner with SAJ74 H A987 F QJ5 C J10 but 3NT.  With the cards lying well it was cold.  Is that luck or skill?

Not to be outdone in the luck department here is a hand the Canadian’s won big:  Here is Ed Zaluski and Doug Fraser

	Doug
	S AK62
	H J109
	D AQ7
	C K65
	John
	S QJ5
	H AQ8
	D K8
	C Q9832

Here was their auction

Dog	John
1C	2NT
4NT	5D
6NT	all pass

 

This was worth 11 imps when the heart was onside and John guessed which side had the stiff CA.  Would you want to be there?  Hamman would.

The Canadians had another 10 imp pickup on this declarer play hand.  Let’s keep the declarer anonymous at the other table for this very interesting hand.  Here is the hand:

 

	North
	S J103
	H AQ
	D J1085
	C AK108
West		East
	South
	S A764
	H J1042
	D A94
	C 96

At the men’s table  North received a high diamond lead ducked to the DK and West continued with the DK giving North-South nine easy tricks.

Play at the women’s table was much more interesting.  East lead a low club and

West opens 1H and North arrives in 3NT with no further opposition bidding.  The opening lead is a club and the CJ forces your CA.  You are going to have to do something with the diamonds so you start by ducking a diamond to West.  West returns a club which you duck.  East now makes a good shift to a small spade.  You duck this as well to West’s King.  Here is the position:

	North
	S J10
	H AQ
	D J108
	C K10
West		East
	South
	S A76
	H J1042
	D A9
	C

West leads a club which you win in hand.  It seemed to the kibbitzers who could see all four hands that with only 15 high card missing and East already having shown up with the CQ West was very likely to have the remaining high cards.  West is at this point known to have three clubs and at least 5 hearts.  It seems quite likely that might have a doubleton KQ in one of the two pointed suits so you could try for that by playing a diamond to the DA just in case but let’s say you play a diamond to West’s diamond Q and West now comes back a heart you HQ winning.  Here we are now.

	North
	S J10
	H A
	D J10
	C 10
West		East
S K?
H Qxx?
D ?
	South
	S A76
	H J10
	D A
	C

You know 4 of West’s card and all the important ones.  Suppose that you now play a diamond the DA.  West shows out in diamonds so but when you cross back to hand with the HA East shows out.  West started with 2 spades, 6 hearts, 2 diamonds and 3 clubs.  So playing for the SKQ looks very attractive.  But let’s say that West had three spades so we have this ending.  Can you see the lovely squeeze to make the rest of the tricks

	North
	S J10
	H A
	D J10
	C 10
West		East
S Kx
H Qxxx
D
	South
	S A76
	H J10
	D A
	C

 

North is on lead and leads the C10 to discard the DA from dummy and can now arrive at a crisscross!  I love those squeezes.  Colin did see the possibility at the table.  You cash the top diamonds the two spades from dummy.  What three cards does West keep.  If she keeps one heart you cash the HA and then cross to dummy on a spade and if she keeps to hearts and one spade you cross to dummy on a spade and then return to hand with the HA.  Anyway our declarer never had any of this fun.  She just took another spade finesse when she was in on the club and lost to the doubleton KQ.  Shrug.

The Americans did have the best of this match and it was wild and wooly as you can guess.