September 2020 - 53

Intermediate Players

The Real Deal
BY LARRY COHEN

larryco.com

Accidents happen
This deal is from the 2016 North
American Bridge Championships in
Orlando where I temporarily revived
my partnership with Marty Bergen.
Enough years have gone by to publish
this embarrassing deal from my notes.
In a team game, with neither side vulnerable, I dealt as South with:
♠Q J 10 9 2 ♥K 10 9 ♦A 5 4 3 ♣8.
With that good five-card suit and
the beautiful 10-9s, I opened 1♠. LHO
overcalled with a strong notrump, and
Marty jumped to 3NT.
What's that? If he wanted to be in
3NT, he would have doubled. So, this
must be some sort of raise? What page
of the notes was this on, I wondered. I
must have had a very confused look on
my face. I retreated to 4♠ and everyone passed. A high club was led, and
dummy surprised me:
♠K
♥AQJ2
♦QJ982
♣Q43
♠ Q J 10 9 2
♥ K 10 9
♦A543
♣8
Huh? It seems a penalty double
wasn't available to Marty; it must have
been on one of those pages of notes I
hadn't fully comprehended. He had no
forcing bids available, so he bid what
he thought he could make.
Had I been on the same page (pun
intended), I would have passed and

nothing good would have happened.
The defense would have led clubs and
we'd have no chance, losing four clubs
and the ♠A.
How about 4♠ with fewer trumps
than our opponents? Let's take a look
at the Real Deal:
♠K
♥AQJ2
♦QJ982
♣Q43
♠A84
♠7653
♥875
♥643
♦ K 10
♦76
♣AKJ92
♣ 10 7 6 5
♠ Q J 10 9 2
♥ K 10 9
♦A543
♣8
West led a high club. What next? He
tried another high club, which was
as good a defense as any. I ruffed and
played a spade to the king which held.
I came to the ♥10 and drove out the
♠A. West played a club to dummy's
queen, but I came to my hand and drew
trumps, happy to find them 4-3. I had
10 tricks without the diamonds - four
in each major and one in each minor.
Had West never continued clubs, I
would make my 10 tricks by losing only
the black aces and the ♦K. 4♠ was
undefeatable.
Bidding accidents usually lead to
poor results, but in this case, luck was
on our side. The 5-1 major-suit game
was cold! Note: The more prosaic 4-3
heart fit would also have produced a
makeable game.
◾

West hands for the
September Bidding Box

Bid these hands with a partner.
The East hands are on pg. 55. The
North-South players are silent unless
otherwise noted. Scores on pgs. 32-35.
Problem 1. North deals. None vul.
♠A J 7 6 3 ♥A 2 ♦J ♣A K Q 7 6
Problem 2. East deals. N-S vul.
♠A ♥7 5 ♦K J 9 6 3 2 ♣Q 10 9 2
Problem 3. South deals. E-W vul.
♠K Q 10 7 4 ♥A ♦Q 6 5 3 2 ♣10 3
Problem 4. West deals. Both vul.
♠A J 6 2 ♥K 10 ♦A K 9 6 3 ♣A 5
Problem 5. North deals. N-S vul.
♠A 10 9 8 ♥K 7 6 5 ♦Q 3 ♣Q 9 4
Problem 6. East deals. E-W vul.
♠K 4 ♥K Q 10 9 6 3 ♦Q 9 5 ♣8 6
Problem 7. South deals. Both vul.
South opens 1♦. North bids 3♦ (preemptive) if possible.
♠8 6 ♥K J 10 9 8 2 ♦- ♣A K 5 4 2
Problem 8. West deals. None vul.
North overcalls hearts at the one or
two level. South raises one level if
possible.
♠A K 5 ♥6 3 ♦8 5 ♣A J 9 6 4 3
September 2020 Bridge Bulletin

53
http://www.larryco.com
September 2020

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