Mark Horton
The Red Dragon
The Welsh Bridge Union Swiss Teams in Llangollen takes place in the middle of November. The venue, the Royal International Pavilion, is just a short walk from the town center and plays host to a number of major events throughout the year, not least the world-famous Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod.
My partner has made the long journey from Sante Fe and has his eye on a finish in the top three. As the Russian proverb says, “It is better to travel hopefully than to arrive.”
In the opening match I pick up a decent hand as dealer right at the start (both vulnerable):
♠ 8
♥ A 8 7 4 3
♦ A 6
♣ A K Q 4 3
I open 1♥, West passes and my partner jumps to 3♥, which we play as an old-fashioned limit raise. The technical bid now is 4♣, hoping to see partner bid 4♦. Aiming to keep everyone in the dark, I bid 4NT to ask for key cards. When partner bids 5♠, promising two key cards plus the trump queen, I can place him with the ♠A and the ♥K Q. He can hardly have anything else of use, so I settle for 6♥.
West leads the ♠Q, and partner puts down a borderline hand:
♠ A 7 5
♥ K Q 6
♦ J 9 5 2
♣ 10 9 5
♠ 8
♥ A 8 7 4 3
♦ A 6
♣ A K Q 4 3
Although I am not convinced by our bidding (I would prefer a fourth trump for a jump raise), our hands fit well and this should be a straightforward affair.
I take the spade with dummy’s ace and cash the ♥K and ♥Q, pleased to see both defenders follow. I draw the last trump and start on the clubs, but to my dismay East discards on the second round. I have to lose a club and a diamond so I am one down. The complete deal:
| ♠ A 7 5 | ||
| ♥ K Q 6 | ||
| ♦ J 9 5 2 | ||
| ♠ Q J 3 | ♣ 10 9 5 | ♠ K 10 9 6 4 2 |
| ♥ 10 9 5 | ♥ J 2 | |
| ♦ K Q 8 | ♦ 10 7 4 3 | |
| ♣ J 7 6 2 | ♠ 8 | ♣ 8 |
| ♥ A 8 7 4 3 | ||
| ♦ A 6 | ||
| ♣ A K Q 4 3 |
Post Mortem
A bad break in trumps would have been fatal, but once both defenders followed to dummy’s high hearts, I could have taken precautions against a possible 4–1 break in clubs. I should leave the last trump outstanding and cash two top clubs. If both opponents follow, I can draw the last trump and claim. If clubs are 4–1 and the player with the singleton club does not have the outstanding trump, I can cash a third club and ruff a club with dummy’s remaining trump. I then return to hand to draw the outstanding trump and cash the established club.