Blogger who likes book

January 4th, 2011  ~  linda  ~  No Comments 

Ray drew my attention to a new blogger.  The blog is called Robin’s Bridge Blog.  Now Robin has blogs.  A software consultant from Massachusetts with an internet name of Phasmid he has a wide range of interest from birds to opera with a lot in-between.  For example he has a blog called Robin’s Rural Rides about travel, dogs, railroads beer and many other subjects.  In his software blog I found out that Robin wrote his first line of code in 1967.  So he is probably in my age group and he had posted a picture of himself and a borrowed code-reviewing chihuaha named Madison.

Robin blogs frequently and he is not only an excellent bridge player but he likes and reviews bridge books from time to time.  His most recent blog is about a recently published and intriguing (to me and Robin) book called Bridge at the Enigma Club.  Have a look at the review.

I found his previous blogs on THE LAW and pressure bids interesting.  Actually I never really knew the meaning of “pressure bids” before although I made them.  Keep up all the good work and I imagine you sitting there hour after hour alone at the computer (or with a teeny dog) blogging all those blogs.

Big Easy Answers

January 2nd, 2011  ~  linda  ~  3 Comments 

In the previous blog I posted a set of questions about New Orleans and a bridge deal played by Bill Milgram.  So read that blog first.  Here is the answers to the questions:

New Orleans’s Quiz

Recall the deal Bill Milgram played in six spades”

North ♠ xxx ♥ AKxxx ♦ AJ9x ♣ x

South ♠ AKJ9 ♥ Jx ♦ Kxx ♣ AKQJ

The way the defense carded Bill decided that the clubs were breaking four-four.  He played off all four clubs throwing diamonds from dummy.  He cashed the top hearts and  the top diamonds ending in hand and ruffed the third diamond.   At this point Bill was trump tight.  He could lead a trump or a heart and lose the trick to West.  This ensured that he made the the last three spade tricks.  As it turned out West had four spades to the Q10 so an endplay was needed to make the hand.  This seems like quite a good line if you are certain clubs are breaking but probably not otherwise.  As you can imagine this was a great result!  Bill has a way of making these hands.

The Crescent City New Year Party

January 1st, 2011  ~  linda  ~  3 Comments 

Last night we had an awesome New Year’s party.  Our theme was New Orleans.  We had such a great time when we visited during last summer’s NABC’s.  New Orleans to my mind is the best tourist place in North America.  I would have preferred going to the Big Easy in a different season but even in the summer it was a lot of fun although we had to duck into the shade when we took a long walk through the French Quarter.  I remember somebody handing out some free ices mixed with some fruit juice and some kind of alcohol.  It was heaven – not really the liquor but the ice.

In our party we had an array of New Orleans food.  The appetizers which were all home-made included pralines.  I forgot how good they were. Among the many courses were: shrimp remoulade, jambalaya and a salad which included among other things shredded yams, cranberries and nuts.  The store-bought pecan pie, the best in Toronto, went along with a Doberge cake that Colin made from scratch.  This is a complex and wondrous creation that was professionally done.  Colin was awarded two set of Mardi Gras beads for his artistry.  Ray the chef of the meal also won a bead award.

Being games players the event had to include a quiz or two.

Here are a few questions from our New Orleans quiz for you to try:

1. When did Katrina approach New Orleans: month and year?
2. What song by the New Orleans group Dixie Cups knock the Beatles out of Billboard’s top songs in the 1960’s?
3. What does Mardi Gras mean?
4. Which three colours are used during Mardi Gras in New Orleans
5. Who composed the song City of New Orleans a) Woody Guthrie b) Arlo Guthrie c) Willie Nelson d) Steve Goodman
6. Which of the following bodies of water does not border New Orleans? a)      Gulf of Mexico b) Lake Pontchartrain c) Mississippi River
7. 11.  Who are the Creoles
8. 12.  Why were the Acadians expelled from Acadia leading to many of them moving to Orleans and becoming Cajuns?
9. 14.  What famous cathedral is in Jackson Square?

Can you name these famous people from New Orleans

• a)      Wrote novels about vampires
• b)      American left-wing playwright romantically involved for 30 years with crime writer Dashiell Hammett?
• c)      Writer of Breakfast at Tiffany’s?
• d)     Pulitizer Prize winning author of streetcar named Desire
• e)      BAM!
• f)       Famous pirate of the early 19^th century who worked in New Orleans with his brother Pierre?
• i)        One more… you can do it.. we are sweatin’ to the oldies?
• j)        American trumpeter and bandleader.^[1] He is best remembered for his million selling recordings of Java?

And the evening wouldn’t have been complete without one bridge deal.  I was originally given a hand with mistakes so I never actually had a chance to come up with the right solution.  I know what worked but is it the right way to play the hand.  You can try it.

North ♠ xxx ♥ AKxxx ♦ AJ9x ♣ x

South ♠ AKJ9 ♥ Jx ♦ Kxx ♣ AKQJ

By some strange chance you have wandered into 6♠ with no opposition bidding.  The opening lead is the smallest club which could be fourth highest (or not).  East follows low.  How do you proceed?  How would you play 6NT while we are at it.  I will tell you that Bill Milgram did to make the contract in my next post.  But I don’t promise it is the best line.

Ray was sick and I was recovering from the same sickness.  So we wandered off to bed at midnight leaving our guests with Colin and Luise to hold the fort.

I wish all of you a wonderful 2011.  I hope you had a great evening as well.  And to any of you from New Orleans, you have a remarkable city.  You have come back a long way from adversity.  Your music, your food, your history and culture are special to all of us.  All the best.

How big is yours? I mean system book

December 28th, 2010  ~  linda  ~  7 Comments 

Do you have a system book with your serious partner?  I have recently started to mentor two talented young bridge playing women.  I was surprised to see that they played cards quite well but had only rudimentary system agreements.  Usually I find people are “way into bidding” but are not good card players at all.  So this was a bit of a surprise.  Having a talent for playing cards is a big advantage because building and learning a bidding system, understanding how to value hands and so on is somewhat easier to teach/learn than card play.   Although of course developing judgment in competitive situations takes a lot of experience.

So, I told them to start a system book.  I gave them a sort of outline and sent them off (while they go on a winter cruise) to work on one of a minor.  I explained that they needed to look at each opening bid, then the responses to each opening bid and opener’s rebid and special situations such as reverses, associated conventions.  Sometimes they should go a bit deeper and look at what happens next.  This has some problems because the deeper you go the more variations there are.  I haven’t got to this yet but it is a good idea to have some general rules for situations you don’t want to flesh out in detail.

Francine and I have done a good pass at a system book.  Oddly enough it looks much different than our “book” of four years ago.  A good piece of what we plan to play is new to each of us.  For example, despite encouragement from Marshall Miles I haven’t as a rule raised responder’s major with three card support and a 12-14 balanced hand.  I have always bid 1NT and let partner search for the fit.  But Francine pointed out that responder might not try for a game on a hand which is a stretch without knowing that there is a fit.  This does have a price of course, as do many of the decisions you make.  For example,  you can’t play 1NT which is sometimes the best place.  But Francine believes that the price is worth paying.  She does have a pretty good system of continuations after that so that responder can find out how good the support really is.  So now I have to understand (deep down) all the implications of this.  As responder with a borderline hand should I balance not knowing if partner has a three card or four card fit and so on.

A lot of it ends up in the system book but some just ends up in your own deeper understanding of the implications of each bid you make, when to take risks, when to push, when to play safe.

Is it worth developing a 150 page book of notes?  Well, my students, if you really want to be a serious partnership I think it is a good idea.  I hear that some expert pairs have hundreds of pages of notes.  Bridge at a serious level is a lot of work.  It is more than filling out a convention card.

Let’s see how the ladies do.

You know what they say … a good day at the office

December 23rd, 2010  ~  linda  ~  No Comments 

A bad day playing bridge is better than a good day at the office.  Yesterday we had a sad result in a team game.  Partly, the bridge gods seem to be in a bad mood.

On the other hand we are all about to go out to a huge Chinese buffet for Christmas and that is the end of the work day.  I think of that as a good day at the office.  This is one of the unlucky? hands.  Would you have done better?  We are vulnerable against not and this is my hand.  North  opens 4♥ in front of you.  It is your bid.

Did you do something clever or did you bid 5C (like me).  Now it is up to Francine.

You know what to do because you have seen my hand but can you logically move on Francine’s hand?  I think it would be a shot for sure.   Here is the whole hand.  Do you like North’s 4♥ bid?

Dealer: Vul:	North ♠ 6 ♥ KQ76542 ♦ A73 ♣ 98
West ♠ A93 ♥ A98 ♦ QJ842 ♣ J4		East ♠ K1075 ♥ 10 ♦ – ♣ AKQ107632
	South ♠ QJ842 ♥ J3 ♦ K10965 ♣ 5

Francine and I discussed the merits of 3♥ and 4♥ and 1♥ and pass.  I had more sympathy for North’s bid.  He is at favorable vulnerability in first chair and he has this decent seven card heart suit.  But then he has this side ace.   It seems too good for a not vulnerable three level preempt and not good enough for an opening one bid.  He was in the middle and he took the aggressive path by opening at the four level… and he got us.  I suppose some of you might have got to the club slam but it is awful lot easier when north opens at the three level.  In the other room North did open 3♥ .   Over 3♥ I might just bid 5♣ and if I do Francine with the West hand may well push on to 6.  The other option is to double.  East doubled and when West showed some values with 3NT East made a bid that worked but frankly I don’t like … he jumped to the club slam.  OVer double and then 3NT I would have bid a forcing 4C.  We would have quickly found that we had the cards for the small slam but not the grand.  But anyway, we lost a bunch of imps.

I can’t look at this board and think of anything we did wrong.  We made reasonable bids.  Did our North make the better bid?  You know what, as I look at it now I kind of like it.

But even when the cards don’t cooperate … it is still more fun to be playing bridge than eating a terrific Chinese buffet with your work buddies … (not!).

Don’t stay within the lines

December 18th, 2010  ~  linda  ~  3 Comments 

I am not a point count kind of gal.  When I evaluate the hand I do count my points but that is not always the major consideration in choosing my bid.  For example, how good a hand is this?

It is not a bad hand starting out.  I like aces and ace kings and kings in long suits.  I have as they say prime cards.  But a lot depends on finding a fit.  I opened 1C and Francine bid 1H.  Now my hand got a lot better.  I made the strongest raise we have I bid 3S, as splinter which shows game values, a control in the fourth suit and a four card heart raise.  Do you think I have overstated my hand?  I was wondering if I had fallen for a handsome guy who would have been much better looking with some club spots.

Francine bid 4♦ which showed serious slam interest and I just blackwooded our way to 6♥ .  Do you think I overbid?  Francine didn’t when she saw dummy.  Here was the whole hand.

North ♠ 7 ♥ KJ83 ♦ A75 ♣ AK743

South ♠ K108 ♥ AQ1052 ♦ K98 ♣ 62

I can always count on Francine to give every hand a good play and she duly made 6♥ when clubs broke, even with the ♠ A offside and a 3-1 heart split.

We both thought it was a pretty good slam to get to.

Now here is some negative evaluation.  I held this hand

Francine opened a strong notrump and I have a 10 count.  There is an argument for just bidding 4♥ .  But then again I don’t really like this 10 count at all.  On the positive side I have a six card suit.  On the negative side I have a bunch of quacks.  I invited in hearts.  Francine accepted with a 15 count but with AKx of hearts and a ruffing value.  It was on the heart hook which lost.  So it was right to be there vulnerable at imps but I think I was right not to like the hand and not to treat it as 10.  What do you think?  Do the 10’s and the 6 card suit make up for the general quack like nature of the hand?

When I complained a bit and suggested that I didn’t even want to invite (after we went down in 4♥). Francine just said; ” Ah come on you have 10 points.”  She’s right of course.  But I really don’t like jacks in short suits.

Sometimes a very good play is doing nothing

December 12th, 2010  ~  linda  ~  1 Comment 

When Francine and I talked today I told her that I had written up the squeeze on declarer in 1♣ doubled.  Francine told me that her favorite defense from Saturday was a different hand.  When I looked at it I had to agree with her.  it is pretty because it is a quiet play but not easy to find at the table.  See what you think.

	East ♠ Q10 ♥ A10963 ♦ K963 ♣ Q5
Francine ♠ A853 ♥ KQ84 ♦ 75 ♣ 643

I led the ♣J, declarer played the ♣ Q which held.  Now declarer led the ♠10 off dummy overtaking with the ♠ J when Francine ducked.  Declarer played a heart to the ♥ 10 and Francine won her ♥ Q as I followed.  She returned a club.  Declarer won the ♣ A and played another heart.  As we will see this was a normal play but fatal.  I showed out and declarer popped with the ♥ A.  We have arrived at this position.

Dealer: Vul:	Linda ♠ 6 ♥ – ♦ QJ102 ♣ K108
West ♠ K974 ♥ J ♦ A84 ♣ –		East ♠ Q ♥ 963 ♦ K963 ♣ –
	Francine ♠ A85 ♥ K8 ♦ 75 ♣ 3

Now declarer led the ♠ Q from dummy and Francine made the simple play of ducking the spade.  She did this even though dummy would now be void and had lots of trump to ruff spades.   But rising would be fatal allowing declarer to set up three spade tricks in hand.  When she ducked declarer did not have the entries to set up spades.  Try as he might West cannot come to more than two diamonds and two hearts to add to the five tricks he already had taken.  Here is the whole hand.

Dealer: Vul:	Linda ♠ 62 ♥ 5 ♦ QJ102 ♣ KJ10872
West ♠ KJ974 ♥ J74 ♦ A84 ♣ A9		East ♠ Q10 ♥ A10963 ♦ K963 ♣ Q5
	Francine ♠ A853 ♥ KQ84 ♦ 75 ♣ 643

If I had just lead a top diamond the hand would have been impossible from the get go.  I talked myself into a club lead for no sensible reason as I look back at the deal.

Going for 1400 at the one level

December 11th, 2010  ~  linda  ~  5 Comments 

No silly, it wasn’t me.  It was the robots.  Francine and I were practicing.  We actually have most of a system worked out and we are playing against the “good” robots.  We do this some time so we can discuss things.

I admit this would never (?) happen against humans.  Here is Francine’s hand.  She was South white on red.

East opened 1♣ and Francine naturally passed.  West passed and her lovely partner (moi) doubled.  This got passed out.  She started the ♦ A and I played low (even).  Here was the dummy.

Dealer: Vul:	West ♠ 7542 ♥ J74 ♦ Q9632 ♣ 4
Francine ♠ 108 ♥ Q2 ♦ AK8 ♣ KQ10932

Presumably a human West would have bid something when one club doubled was passed to him.  Francine continued diamonds and I ruffed the third round with the ♣ 8, played the ♠ K and then returned ♣ 6 suggesting three clubs.  Declarer ducked the first club and won the second showing up with the expected three clubs.  Now this is the really fun part.  Declarer cashed the ♥ K and exited with a club.  This is the end position.

Dealer: Vul:	North ♠ AJ3 ♥ 98 ♦ – ♣ –
West ♠ 54 ♥ J ♦ Q9 ♣ –		East ♠ Q9 ♥ A105 ♦ – ♣ –
	♠10 ♥ Q ♦ – ♣ 1032

When Francine ran her clubs I kept the top two spades.  On the last club declarer had to throw either the ♥ A or a spade.   Francine said; “He was squeezed.” And he was.  So now I know there is another reason to play against robots you can gloat a bit.  Here is the whole deal.  In the end declarer took only two of his three top tricks.  I haven’t seen a squeeze by defenders in quite a while.  Nicely done, partner.

Dealer: Vul:	North ♠ AKJ3 ♥ 9863 ♦ 105 ♣ J86
West ♠ 7542 ♥ J74 ♦ Q9632 ♣ 4		East ♠ Q96 ♥ AK105 ♦ J74 ♣ A75
	♠108 ♥ Q2 ♦ AK8 ♣ KQ10932

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Visiting a great museum and thinking about mentoring

December 10th, 2010  ~  linda  ~  No Comments 

Ray and I drove down to Washington about 10 days ago staying overnight and then taking the autotrain in the early afternoon the next day.  The US Marine Corps museum is near the Amtrak station in Quantico, Virginia.  You will notice the building is designed to suggest the picture of the marines raising the flag at Iwo Jima.  The museum is quite incredible and worth a visit or two.  You can also have a virtual visit, USMC Museum.  I thought I would show you a picture of me as a latter day marine (well a very tiny one).

The museum has so much to offer but one area that fascinating me was the one about training marines.  It made me think about teaching and the responsibility it brings.  I think each of the bridge students I have been mentored have been looking for something a bit different.  Cathy and I will soon be done and her request was for me to explain exactly what I was thinking about when I bid or played a hand.  It is not as easy as it sounds.  Maybe other people have clearer ways of thinking about things when they play.  Some times I do.  But I admit that to some extent on complex hands I think it out as I gather information.  So here I was trying to explain my thinking on this deal to Cora yesterday.  (I have rotated the deal).

North ♠ 9762 ♥ K32 ♦ 103 ♣ K1063

Linda ♠ A4 ♥ AJ985 ♦ AK42 ♣ 82

Let me start with the bidding and my explanation. I opened 1♥ in fourth and Cora raised to 2♥ .  Now I guess I could make a game try, maybe you think I should.  But I really don’t need all that much.  I wasn’t sure about a useful game try I could make so I did what I usually do.  If game is possible at imps, I generally bid it.  That was my explanation.  Do you think it helps my student?

So now I had to make it.  I got the lead of the ♠ 5 and East put up the ♠ K.  Should I duck or should I win?  Generally it is right to duck if you can’t draw trump right away (and other times too).  It makes it harder for the defense to get a ruff.  The only time it would be bad is if West has the stiff ♠ 5.  But East did play the ♠ K so West probably has the ♠ Q to some length.  Besides with the KQ to six spades West would have bid in third chair.  I duck.

I have lots of losers and not all that many tricks.  To make this I am going to need the ♣ K onside or a friendly hearts and friendly distribution.  I have to lose two black winners no matter what and I have to keep the rest of my losers to one.  I have trump to deal with and two diamond losers besides a potential second loser in the club suit.  I win the continuation of the ♠ 3.  What is West’s spade holding?  He started with Hxx or Hxxx.  Placing him with the ♠ Q, he probably doesn’t have the ♠ J.  He seems more likely to hold the♠ 10 then East since with KJ10x East might well have continued with the ♠ 10.  This doesn’t seem all that important right now anyway.

So now to plan.  I could try to ruff two diamonds in dummy but for that to work I am going to need a club trick or the ♥ Q doubleton.  If the ♣ A is onside I have more options and it might help with my communication as I travel back and forth to make ruffs.  If the ♣ A is offside I am going to need a look of good things to happen but if it is onside I have some choices.  I play a club from hand.  Is this the best play?  Even now I have no idea.  It seemed okay at the time and it still does.  West won the ♣ A which was nice and continued with the ♠ Q felling East’s ♠ J.  It really does look like West started with ♠ Q10xx.

I ruff and things are looking up.  I could crossruff now.  Ruffing diamonds in dummy and black cards to hand.  When you crossruff you really need to count tricks so I have four winners outside trump and need six trump tricks.  If I get one diamond ruff through, I am pretty sure I can make a spade ruff and I still have the top two hearts.  If I can make one more ruff or even exit to West in the end game I should be able to take one more heart in hand holding the ♥ AJ9.

I can’t think of a better plan.  I really want to cash my ♣ K before anybody discards any so I do that  East surprises me by dropping the ♣ Q.  While that could be a false card with the ♣ 10 in dummy he probably either started with Qx or QJx.  More likely the former.  So if I am right East started with five black cards and eight red cards with at least three diamonds.  He won’t likely have six diamonds because West would have led a stiff one and with KJx of spades and six diamonds the QJ he would not have passed in third chair.

Dealer: Vul:	North ♠ 9 ♥ K32 ♦ 103 ♣ 106
West ♠ ♥ ♦ ♣		East ♠ ♥ xxx?? ♦ xxx?? ♣
	Linda ♠ – ♥ AJ98 ♦ AK42 ♣ –

I really want to cash my ♣ K before anyone discards.  As I look at it now it seems best to cash the top diamonds and ruff a diamond.  East is going to have to follow to all of that and West probably can’t do me much harm.  West might throw away a spade though.  At the time I was more worried about getting a safe spade through so I led a spade from dummy.  East discarded a diamond and I ruffed.  I cashed the top diamonds as both followed.  West played the ♦ J on the second one.  I lead another diamond and West follows with the ♦ Q.  If East is out of diamonds he is trump tight.  He can ruff and return a heart giving me a finesse.  I don’t think he can stop me from making the rest of my trump.  So I ruff low and East follows.  Now I am home.  I lead a club from dummy and East can ruff but I overruff.  Cross to dummy by ruffing a diamond with the ♥ K and take a heart finesse to make five, a great score.

So should I have figured that all out at the beginning?  Can I explain it better?  Is any of this any use to a student?  Here is the whole hand

Dealer: Vul:	North ♠ 9762 ♥ K32 ♦ 103 ♣ K1063
West ♠ Q1085 ♥ 7 ♦ QJ9 ♣ AJ954		East ♠ KJ3 ♥ Q1064 ♦ 8765 ♣ Q7
	Linda ♠ A4 ♥ AJ985 ♦ AK42 ♣ 82

This is my penultimate session with Cora.  We have one more next week.  I hope she learned as much as I did.  The folks at BIL tell me they really need some new mentors.  I urge you to go over to the BIL website and sign up.  You won’t be sorry you did.

Back!

December 9th, 2010  ~  linda  ~  3 Comments 

My back still hurts from sleeping with Ray on a teeny tiny hard bed on the car train from Orlando.  All in all the car train was a good experience and one that would be very nice if you live near Washington and are visting near Orlando.  When we got off the train and got our car which was almost last, we still had a nine hour drive home.

The best news when we got home was that it had snowed all last week, we missed it and that the service we hired this year to shovel the snow actually came.  It always makes me feel good when we travel to warm places and it is cold at home.

While I didn’t actually play in Orlando the tournament seemed to be very good.  I liked the free orange juice and coffee, free parking (provided by the organizers not the hotel), the beautiful hotel and very good space.  Although I didn’t attend any the tours looked great, I have been to all of the places visited and enjoyed them and the prices wouldn’t have covered the gas.

But, the hotel is near nothing.  You would have to drive a car to go anywhere.  The food which did have a subsidy in the food court was expensive.  And I did hear a few complaints about that.  Mostly I saw a lot of friends having a good time.

I had a terrific time with my family in Disney.  The Hollywood Studio park and Magic Kingdom were both well suited to young children.  So it was a good holiday and I stayed away from the computer, no blogging, no writing, editing, emailing, no anything.  Bliss.  It’s not that I don’t like those activities, its just that it is good to have a break.

Lots of interesting results at the NABC.  Congratulations to Brad Moss on winning Player of the Year.  I see that Jimmy Cayne won the Reisinger with Michael Seamon and four great Italian players:  Versace-Lauria and Duboin-Sementa.

I had a look at some of the boards on BBO.  It is hard to follow since you don’t have the names of the players or teams as they move around after 3 boards.  But it is interesting to look at some of the boards still and see what happened on them.

Sementa-Duboin were sitting East-West and Garner-Weinstein North-South on this board played by the eventual winners, Caybe against the runners-up.  Team Cayne had the best of this board against Smirnov.

Personally I think the bidding East-West on this board is not Board a Match thinking.  But then I have very little experience playing board-a-match.   It is certainly a total tricks hand.

Here is the deal.

West ♠ KJ1043 ♥ KQ52 ♦ 76 ♣ 87

East ♠ Q976 ♥ 1098 ♦ AK53 ♣ K4

East, Sementa opened 1♦ with all vulnerable.  The East hand is a borderline opener.  But the good spots and the nature of the high cards I believe most players today would open.  West, Duboin, bid 1♠ and East had a normal raise to 2♠ .  So now what?  Do you think West, Duboin, has a game try?  Would you bid again at imps?  matchpoints?  Board-a-match?.  It seems to me that the only game that it is right to think about bidding is imps.  Here vulnerable the payout is so great that you only need about a 33% chance to make game.  At the table, Duboin made a game try with 3♥ .  Should East go?  I don’t think so.  Do you?   Apparently Sementa always accepts!

Dealer: Vul:	North ♠ 2 ♥ J4 ♦ QJ984 ♣ AJ1093
West ♠ KJ1043 ♥ KQ52 ♦ 76 ♣ 87		East ♠ Q976 ♥ 1098 ♦ AK53 ♣ K4
	South ♠ A85 ♥ A763 ♦ 102 ♣ Q652

If the ♣ A is offside your chances are slim to none.  So that puts the contact at 50%.  Even then you have to play hearts for one loser.  Even at imps this is borderline at best.   But guess what, luck is an important factor in winning and here all was fine.  The ♣ A was onside.  Declarer had to guess hearts but he could play that suit last.  By the time he had a heart guess North, Garner had shown up with the club ace,  diamond queen and diamonds jack, club jack and a singleton spade.  If he had the ♥A too he likely would have bid something.   In the Open Room, West was prepared to pass out two spades.  But North came back in with 2NT asking for a minor.  South chose clubs and when West competed with 3♠ bid 4♣ .  This was doubled.  This went down one when the ♣ K was offside.  So had the ♣ K been switched around, East-West (with all else the same) then 4♠ would have failed and 4♣ doubled would have made.  Either way one team was going to have a good result in both rooms, just a different one.

Maybe another argument for making a game try on the West hand is to keep the opponents out of the auction.  Suppose that Sementa had not accepted the 3♥ bid (as would be the case for most of us).  Then North would have had to balance at the four level and East-West would probably have bought the hand.  Now wherever the ♣ K was East-West might well have had a decent result.

And what if East had passed in first chair.  Could it have been passed out?  I can imagine all sorts of results.

Anyway, this all proves several things: a) luck is very important b) bridge is a bidders game (well we all knew that) c) I don’t know squat about board-a-match

If I made any mistakes in the analysis just remember that my head is still in Disney; “It’s a small world after all”.