Author Topic: schemes o' mice an' men  (Read 2091 times)

kenberg

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schemes o' mice an' men
« on: July 12, 2018, 02:45:03 PM »
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/To_a_Mouse

Playing with the bots
Nobody vul, matchpoints, three passes.

!S KQ62
!H AKT6
!D void
!C AKJ62

1 !C seems right. The opponents are silent. Partner responds 1 !F. And then?

I chose 4 !D. In BWS this in fact shows a void. The jump reverse  in BWS is used to show a stiff. But the bots treat 4 !D simply as a splinter, so I could still have one !D.

1 !C - 1 !H - 4NT. We can see the advantage of the BWS approach here. If partner knew of my void I could just show the number of  keys. But he doesn't know I have a void. However, 6 !D shows a void and an odd number of keys so I bid it. Surely he has one, and that should be enough.

1 !C - 1 !H - 4NT - 6 !D - 6 !H - Pass.

The opening lead is the !C 0. The bot would be the declarer but the software switches our chairs so I am declarer. I will put the bot hand at the bottom of the diagram, as usual.

  Dummy
!S KQ62
!H AKT6
!D void
!C AKJ62


Declarer (now me)
!S 3
!H Q752
!D AQ53
!C Q873

The contract is 6 !H, the opening lead is the !C 9.

Are we happy? I think so.  If hearts are 3-2, and if the opening lead isn't ruffed, we will have an easy 12 tricks regardless of where the rest of the cards lie.

Win on the board, Heart A and a small heart. Rho shows out.

Not dead yet. I can pick up the !H s by leading small toward the KT but if I draw all of the trump then I cannot ruff anything and it is not so easy to find 12 tricks. But if Lho holds the !S A all is well. I still cannot draw trump. One !S, four !H, one !D, five !C adds up to eleven tricks. So, after winning the !H Q,  I leave the trump out and lead a !S. If Lho hops up I have two spades, if he ducks then I have one spade and I can still get a spade ruff and then pick up the trump, bringing me to 12 tricks. .

But, of course, the !S A is on my right. He takes it, and the club return is ruffed. Down 1.

One person made this. How? He took the club lead on the board and cashed the AK of hearts. He now can no longer pick up the hearts without loss, leaving him with no chance at all. Well, except!. He took one more round of hearts, leaving the winning J out. He then played another club. Lho ruffed with the !H J and played...???...  the  !D K.

Playing the hearts so that I can no longer pick up the suit and then letting Lho ruff in so he can lead the !D K to my AQ is not an approach that occurred to me.

The best-laid schemes o' mice an' men
Gang aft agley,

And yes, we learned this in high school in the original old Scottish form.

Wee, sleekit, cowrin, tim'rous beastie,
O, what a pannic's in thy breastie!

I wasn't much for poetry then (or now) but I always liked that one.

6 !C is unbeatable .  That's life.

Full hand:

http://www.bridgebase.com/tools/handviewer.html?bbo=y&lin=st%7C%7Cmd%7C2SKQ62HAKT6DCAKJ62%2CSAT8H3DT98764CT54%2CS3HQ752DAQ53CQ873%2CSJ9754HJ984DKJ2C9%7Csv%7C0%7Cah%7CBoard%208%7Cmb%7CP%7Cmb%7CP%7Cmb%7CP%7Cmb%7C1C%7Can%7CMinor%20suit%20opening%20--%203%2B%20%21C%3B%2011-21%20HCP%3B%2012-22%20total%20points%7Cmb%7CP%7Cmb%7C1H%7Can%7COne%20over%20one%20--%204%2B%20%21H%3B%2011-%20HCP%3B%206-12%20total%20points%7Cmb%7CP%7Cmb%7C4D%21%7Can%7CSplinter%20--%203%2B%20%21C%3B%201-%20%21D%3B%204%2B%20%21H%3B%2021-%20HCP%3B%2019-22%20total%20points%7Cmb%7CP%7Cmb%7C4N%7Can%7CBlackwood%20%28H%29%20--%204%2B%20%21H%3B%2011%20HCP%3B%2012%20total%20points%7Cmb%7CP%7Cmb%7C6D%7Can%7COdd%20number%20of%20keycards.%20Void%20in%20D%20--%203%2B%20%21C%3B%200%20%21D%3B%204%2B%20%21H%3B%2021-%20HCP%3B%2019-22%20total%20points%7Cmb%7CP%7Cmb%7C6H%7Can%7C4%2B%20%21H%3B%2011%20HCP%3B%2012%20total%20points%7Cmb%7CP%7Cmb%7CP%7Cmb%7CP%7Cpc%7CC9%7Cpc%7CCA%7Cpc%7CC4%7Cpc%7CC3%7Cpc%7CHA%7Cpc%7CH3%7Cpc%7CH2%7Cpc%7CH9%7Cpc%7CH6%7Cpc%7CDT%7Cpc%7CHQ%7Cpc%7CH8%7Cpc%7CS3%7Cpc%7CS5%7Cpc%7CSK%7Cpc%7CSA%7Cpc%7CCT%7Cpc%7CC7%7Cpc%7CH4%7Cpc%7CC2%7Cpc%7CHJ%7Cpc%7CHK%7Cpc%7CD6%7Cpc%7CH5%7Cpc%7CS2%7Cpc%7CST%7Cpc%7CH7%7Cpc%7CS7%7Cpc%7CDA%7Cpc%7CD2%7Cpc%7CS6%7Cpc%7CD4%7Cpc%7CCQ%7Cpc%7CS4%7Cpc%7CC6%7Cpc%7CC5%7Cpc%7CC8%7Cpc%7CDJ%7Cpc%7CCJ%7Cpc%7CD7%7Cmc%7C11%7C





Added:  I just sent a message to a partner asking how we play 1 !C - 1 !H  - 3 !D and 1 !C - 1 !H - 4 !D, and what meaning we have for a 6 !D response to 4NT. These things do not come up all that often so it is easy to just slide past them but when they do arise it can be very useful to have had the discussion. With an agreement that 1 !C - 1 !H - 4 !D shows a void, partner would know that I have five clubs. Perhaps, looking at his four clubs and his stiff spade, he would opt for 6 !C instead of 6 !H. It was imps, and while 6 !H is odds on, it is 6 !C that makes. After my 6 !D the club slam is out, but if the 4 !D had already shown the void there would have been no need to show it again, therefore I could have shown my three keys at the five level.  Just a thought.



« Last Edit: July 13, 2018, 02:12:06 PM by kenberg »
Ken