Headed up to Richardson on Saturday morning with Buddy and his expecting (due in early July) wife Mindy to play in the District 16 GNT-B finals. My feeling was that the Saturday Swiss would be a chance to iron out bugs (and shake off some rust) as the field was cut to 16 teams and then we'd have to play well on Sunday and Monday to win the knockout phase and the event. I figured we were the favorites, but probably not odds-on favorites as even if you're 84% to win each match, you're slightly less than 50% to win a 4 round knockout event.
The decision had been made to shuffle up partnerships a bit so that everyone was comfortable playing with 2 other people. So instead of playing with Mikey and Buddy I'd be playing with Jimmy and Buddy. I like playing with Mikey, but I'd heard Jimmy described as 'Everybody's favorite partner' and 'The best player that nobody's ever heard of' so the change didn't concern me much.
What concerned me a little more was when we learned that with 23 teams in the event the field would be cut to 8 teams after day 1 (if 25 teams had entered, 16 teams would have advanced.) We'd have to play well, or at least not badly.
After a set with Buddy and a set with Jimmy, we were 2-0 (6 9-board matches) with 2 solid, but not huge, wins. It was my turn to sit out. We'd be in great shape if we could get to 3-0.
Sure enough, the team was solid and we went to dinner in 2nd place, with the most important match so far to come after the dinner break against an Austin squad captained by Robert Donathan who were sitting in 1st a few VPs ahead of us.
We won that match by 12 to take the lead in the event, blitzed the 5th, and only had to tie our last match to clinch the top seed in the knockout segment.
I was really hoping for 6-0 but it was not to be. Our opponents bickered most of the match and made lots of mistakes that didn't cost many IMPs. The deciding hand Jimmy had something like QTxx AKxxx xxxx - and I held something like x xxxx x JTxxxxx. We were White vs Red and the auction started on my left 1 Diamond, Jimmy bid 1 Heart, and Righty doubled. To me 3 Hearts is way too timid at these colors and I applied maximum pressure by bidding 4 Hearts. Lefty bid 4 Spades and now Jimmy made a LAW-breaking 5 Heart call. Technically they can make 4 Spades double dummy but I think we were about 95% to beat it in practice. -300 was lose 9 IMPs and we lost the match by 5. Donathan made us pay, scoring 28 VPs in their last match and winning the top seed by 3 VPs.
I never like losing, even if it's just for a seed, but 2nd seed still put us in good shape for Sunday. (Well, as good shape as we were going to be after everyone partied until the wee hours of the AM and then I spent the rest of the night one bed over from a tiger fighting with a guy with a chainsaw.)
Buddy wanted the first sitout and so I asked for the first sitout of the semi-final match (since I wanted to be in for all the 2nd halves and the whole final.) But when we won the first half by 57 (64-7) I managed to swap out my sitout slot for the 2nd half of the quarterfinal and I relaxed while the team added a few more IMPs and we won comfortably.
The first half of the semi-final featured freakish distribution on quite a few hands and our opponents danced through the raindrops on the first 6 boards and after a couple of my (normal, but losing) opening leads didn't work out so well I figured we were down about 20 IMPs or so. We managed a couple of okay results in the 2nd quarter, but I was more than a little relieved that our teammates brought back a winning card and we won a roller-coaster set 48-37.
I felt better when I made a no-play red 4 Spades on the first board of the 2nd half, but we followed that up with 2 hands I thought we should be in game and weren't.
On the first one I doubled 1NT (values) with a 15 count and 5 bad Hearts and Jimmy decided not to drive to game (or even suggest game) with a 9 count and 5 Spades after the opponents ran to 2 Clubs. (The whole auction was 1NT - Dbl - P - P - 2C - P - P - 2S - Float.) Luckily 4 Spades goes down on a Heart ruff and we'd dodged a bullet, losing only 2 IMPs on the board.
On the second one I opened 1 Club and after a 1 Heart overcall Jimmy bid 2NT with a 12 count including JTxx of Hearts. I had 12 and 5 Clubs with lousy spots. He made 3 uptricks in 2NT.
A couple of boards later the opponents found the only (not inspired, but not automatic) lead to beat our 4 Spade contract. Yuck.
Then I opened 1 Heart and Jimmy had:
Axx A9x xxx A9xx
He bid 2 Clubs and I bid 2NT. To me, since you're short on values and 4x3 you just follow the old '9 tricks easier than 10' maxim and plug it into 3NT. Instead, he bid 4 Hearts like a shot.
That decision didn't appear to work out so well as I held:
Axx A9x xxx A9xx
Kxx KQTxx Ax Jxx
9 apparently-top tricks in NT and not much hope of a 10th trick in Hearts unless Clubs were 3-3. Clubs were 5-1 (KQTxx behind the Ace) and Hearts were 4-1 (stiff J) but very favorable defense let the contract through and we'd dodged another bullet (win 1 vs -400.)
A couple of hands later I blew an easy uptrick in 2NT for my first clear mistake and I just hoped we didn't lose the match by 1 or tie. All-in-all I thought we had a neutral card and when you only have an 11 IMP lead, that isn't too comforting. Our opponents saw it differently and wished us luck in the final. Maybe I was being too pessimistic.
The boys brought back a win 15 card and we won the set by 19 and the match by 30. I headed for the room, hoping to get some rest before the tiger and lumberjack came back.
We grabbed some breakfast and after everyone ordered ... 'That'll be $6.66, please pull up to the ...'
'Order something else! Order something else!' came the instructions from our captain. They'd messed up the order anyway and after we cleared it up at the window $7.84 had a decidedly better ring to it.
The final against Donathan (who had come back from a 6 IMP deficit at the half in their semi-final) got off to a rocky start. I made a very thin 1NT on an endplay but we followed that up with a lose 11 position when Buddy fell in love with his hand which was something like: AQJTX AQTx KQJx - and after an uncontested 1S - 1N - 3H - 4H decided to take another call. Could have been right but with 5 of my 6 points in Clubs, 5 Hearts had no play and we ended down 2.
Buddy played 4 other hands that set: 2 Spades down 1, 2NT down 1 (on 25 high,) 3 Clubs down 1, and 4 Spades making 7 claimed at trick 1 (off a cashing AK at least.) Not exactly what the doctor ordered. He did find a nice lead to beat 3NT though and then there was this hand:
T8xxx Axxx AKx x
I opened 1 Spade and Lefty doubled. The team likes BROMAD so Buddy bid 2 Clubs showing a constructive 3-card Spade raise (and presumably transferring captaincy to me.) Righty bid 2 Hearts and I (of course) signed off in 2 Spades. Lefty passed and now Buddy bid 3 Diamonds.
Sigh.
I hate auctions like this. Why are we voluntarily bidding to the 3 level with an 8 card fit and presumably at-best half the deck? This auction doesn't exist, grumble, grumble. Yes, I see my AKx of Diamonds but I also see an 11 count opposite at most 9 over there. Call me crazy, but I don't play 5-3 fits in game with horrible trumps on a combined 20 high. I bid 3 Spades. Float.
Lefty led a Club and here's what I bought:
Axx x QJxxxx xxx
T8xxx Axxx AKx x
After a Club and a Club, ruffing, I couldn't see a way to make this if Spades were 4-1 so I just hoped for the best and played a Spade to the Ace and a Spade back, claiming 4 when they broke 3-2 (6 Diamonds, 1 Heart and 3 Spades.) I actually got some grief from my team for not bidding 4, but that's nuts. Takes a 3-2 trump break AND a favorable lead (game has no play on a Heart lead or even a Heart switch at trick 2.) In hindsight, though, I'm thinking that maybe the auction does exist, but I'd rather see something like:
Kxx x KQxxxx xxx
We lost 11 on the 'lose 11' board, and 4 IMPs on each of Buddy's down 1 partscores. We picked up 12 on the 3NT that Buddy found the killing lead and 5 each on 2 other partscore hands (one we beat and one we passed out) and were down 2 at the half. I actually didn't mind that score, I've had bad luck lately being up at the half in finals and down 2 meant that whoever won the 2nd half would almost certainly win the event.
Jen sat out for the final segment. She'd played well all tournament and the first half of the final was the only blemish on her otherwise perfect record (she'd been on the sidelines for our loss in the Swiss.)
As I sat down opposite Jimmy for the 2nd half, I just hoped for hands where good bridge and percentage decisions in my seat were the decisive factor. I got my wish.
The first board we rightsided 3N and made 5.
Next the opps overshot to 4 Spades and we beat it a couple of extra tricks.
Next a rare agreement came up when I opened 2 Clubs, pard bid 2 Diamonds, I bid 2NT and he bid 3 Spades.
We agreed for the sake of simplicity that that would be a relay to 3N and that a subsequent bid of 4 of a minor would be keycard in that minor. Jimmy bid 4 Clubs, I showed him my 4 keycards and he bid 7 Clubs. 13 toppers (7NT is best, but this is IMPs.) +1440
On the next hand, Lefty lost a card and passed my Spade overcall with an 11 count. +80 on 15 combined HCP is usually an okay score.
I made a thin 3NT on board 5, an uppie in 2 Spades on board 6, 3 uppies in 3NT on a combined 30 high on board 7, and we beat a thin 3NT on board 8. I figured we'd be up about 20 or 25 if we were playing IMP pairs and we'd won every board. Righty wanted a break so we took 5 with 4 to go.
After the break, the pendulum swung the other way a bit and the opps took all their tricks in a Diamond partscore, -130, and then made a thin (but cold) 3NT of their own, -600.
2 boards to play and I felt like if we pushed them that we had the event won (I was right, but as it turns out only by 2 IMPs.) No time for a letdown.
On the penultimate board I picked up:
Qx Ax Q9xx KJTxx
Jimmy opened 1 Spade, Righty bid 2 Diamonds. I can bid 3 Clubs, but why tell the opponents everything about your hand when you're on your way to 3N anyway? Yes, 4 Spades might be right. If I bid 3N confidently they might not lead a Diamond though or maybe even lead a Club. I bid 3NT. Float. Diamond lead.
JT8xx Kxxx A A9x
Qx Ax Q9xx KJTxx
On a Club misguess I have 4 Clubs, 2 Hearts and 1 Diamond. Spades offers potential extra tricks and I'll almost surely score a 2nd Diamond if the opps continue their attack on Diamonds.
I switched to a low Spade off dummy at trick 2. When the Queen held I was in pretty good shape. I didn't think Lefty would be able to duck the Jack of Clubs smoothly (if she had the Queen) if I played Clubs now and sure enough she tranced for a second and looked at dummy's holding. I let the Jack ride and it held. A Club to the 9, Righty showing out, and I was cold. I scored the Queen of Diamonds later and scored up +430 (I actually scored it +460, must have been thinking I had 2 more tricks than what I might have been entitled to.)
And then there was:
ATxxxxx Qx xx Ax
Righty passed and I opened 1 Spade at unfavorable. Lefty doubled and a familiar 2 Club call (3-card constructive raise) hit the table. Righty passed and I pondered my options:
I can bid 2, 3 or 4 Spades. I don't think I can make game, but it sounds like Lefty has a big hand and I'm not crazy about letting her back into the auction, at least not comfortably. I consequently ruled out 2 Spades.
Between 3 Spades and 4 Spades it's more or less a coin toss. I eventually reasoned that if I bid 3 Spades and it goes 4 Hearts on my Left passed back to me I'm bidding 4 Spades anyway, so I might as well bid it now when it sounds like I might be bidding to make. 4 Spades it was. Float. Ace of Hearts lead.
I was not too happy with Dummy:
KJx 9xxx Axxx Qx
ATxxxxx Qx xx Ax
They might be cold for 4 Hearts, but maybe not, and even if they are it's virtually unbiddable. Meanwhile 4 Spades looked almost hopeless absent a grossly misguided Club switch away from the King. Lefty switched to a Diamond, and I won the Ace.
The only legitimate shot seems to be if Righty has JTx of Hearts. Against that, if anyone's void in Spades it's probably Lefty and so you'd like to start Spades with the King. If you play a 2nd Heart now (while you still have 2 entries in Dummy) you might also get uppercut in Diamonds (unlikely but possible.)
I played a Spade to the King, hoping the Queen would make an appearance (so I'd still have 2 entries to Dummy.) When she didn't, I drew trumps and exited a Diamond. Lefty won and played a 3rd round of Diamonds. I ruffed and now I fell from grace.
J / 9xx / x / Qx
Txxx / Q / - / Ax
I was still fixated on the JTx of Hearts possibility so I exited the Queen of Hearts, hoping that Lefty didn't have the last Diamond and would have to lead away from the King of Clubs or set up a Heart trick for me while I still had the Spade entry.
The bad news is that I'd just gone down in a cold contract. All I had to do at that point was play a Spade to the Jack, ruff the last Diamond, and play all my trumps. In this ending:
- / 9 / - / Qx
- / Q / - / Ax
I just have to work out if Lefty has stiffed her King of Clubs or not. If she has then I play the Ace. If she hasn't then I throw her in with a Heart to lead away from her Kx of Clubs.
The good news is that when I played the Queen of Hearts, Lefty flickered for a moment and ... ducked!
Phew! +620 never felt so good.
'We had a f***ing mountain!' I muttered to Jimmy as we walked over to where Jen was waiting.
The boys brought back an essentially flat card with the exception of missing the thin 3NT on board 10 (they ended in 4 Clubs) and we won the 2nd set 36-12. Woot!
See you in Vegas.
