Holding 
A4
J8762
KJ86
63,
You hear (and participate in) the following bidding. I'm sitting west, this hand. (The board was flipped when it arrived and nobody noticed until after the hand).
East South Me North -------------------- 1C X 1N 2S 3C[1]3S P P P[1] Just competing .... (you hope). [Yes, I should play Good/Bad 2NT to cover these situations.]
So, what do you lead?
|
QT87 3 QT543 QJ7 | ||
|
A4 J8762 KJ86 63 |
 |
J63 K5 A2 AT9542 |
|
K952 AQT94 (7 K8 |
I led my top club. We got one club, two diamonds and a spade to hold three spades to three. But the computer (double dummy) analysis swears we can set 3 spades (looking at all four hands) with perfect play. With perfect knowledge I should have just started with the ace of trumps to protect my heart tricks. But that still isn't clear to me. Letting 3 spades make was worth 1.5.
Time for another monster.
AKJ86
KQT86
A
Q4
As I gazed happily at this formidable collection ... partner opened 1 Diamond. I responded 1 Spade ... and partner bid 2 Hearts.
Amazing.
Pd Me -------- 1C 1S 2H 4N* [*Roman Key Card in Hearts] 5H* 7H** [*2 Aces] [**See below]
Partner held Q
AJ94
KQ975
A65
Of course my 7H bid was way too fast. If partner really can reverse, then she should have a) 16+ HCP and b) 5-4 in the reds, which means that I should consider 7 No-trump, to get those extra ten points. But I just figured that she probably had a stiff or two small spades, and then we'd need to ruff to set up my spades. I think 5N-6D;6S may ask for the spade queen but that's easy to interpret as "long spades, picking the slam" so perhaps 7H or shooting 7NT is a practical bid.
My opponents were bitterly complaining about their bad luck to have us bid a grand. But honestly, I'm not sure how I can stay out. Assume I bid hearts first (which may correct). I can see something like this.
1D - 1H 3H* - 3S [*not strong enough for 3S splinter] 4C - 4D 4S - 4N 5H - 5N 6D - 6S* [SQ ask] 7D - 7N
In any case, nobody found Seven No trump, and half the field missed the grand. One missed the slam.
The last hand is embarrassing.
West deals, N/S vulnerable.
|
J94 3 AKQJ642 KT | ||
|
Q73 KQ984 9753 A |
|
AK6 J652 8 QJ872 |
|
T852 AT7 T 96543 |
Honestly, I can't remember if West opened or not. I do know that we got to four hearts, and that north bid 5 Diamonds. I think West passed, North opened, I doubled, west bid 2D, North bid 3D, west bid 3H, North bid 4D, I bid 4H and then North bid 5D.
But maybe west opened and was worried that she'd shaded it.
Clearly someone should have doubled. Sigh. So we got 2 points on the final board, instead of a clear top.
Anyway, in looking back on the session (from a few weeks distance) it wasn't quite as interesting as I'd made out, although there were still plenty of bizarre little hands....
Related Posts (on one page):
On your 5-5 hand, your proposed 6S bid will ask for the King of spades, not the queen. At least it does assuming that 6D showed the DK, not one total king. If you are responding number of kings, it probably offers a choice between 6NT and 7H.
Don't worry so much about 7H vs. 7NT. There are very few matchpoint events in the world where it is important to get to the higher-scoring grand. Bidding and making a grand is nearly always worth a fine score. Yeah, there are those hands where everyone bids 1NT-7NT or 2C-2D; 2NT-7NT or some such, but you aren't thinking about other grands on those hands. Even on this hand, you got about a 75% score.
By the way, partner's reverse is rather thin. Two better ways to handle that hand are to open 1D and rebid 2C or just to open 1NT directly. After 1D-1S; 2C-2H; 3H, you are in roughly the same sitation as your auction, except that you know partner has spade shortness.
Who ought to double? Someone, clearly, because if North thought he could make 5D, he would have bid it much earlier. So he thinks he's saving, which means you are in a force. Do you have a forcing pass in direct seat? Do you think your hand has any chance to make 5H opposite a passed hand? I wouldn't. Then again, partner might well open her hand (maybe she did) and really needs to drive to game after your takeout double. If she really underbid her hand, you should think you have no chance at 5H, so you should double 5D. Of course, she can't pass out 5D, either; you have just bid a game to make and they have saved.
"Negative," on the other hand, is just weird. Before Contract, all takeout doubles were called "Negative" doubles, for reasons I don't know. That changed to "Informatory" doubles, which is not especially informative. "Takeout" seems far better; "takeout" is short for "take [the contract] out of this suit" in contrast to "leave in" the penalty double. I have no idea why the modern Negative Double resurrected the usage. I doubt anyone knows how or why the transition occurred. If I had to guess, it might have been a Cold War anti-Soviet issue; maybe during the Goldwater years bridge players were afraid to be heard saying the word "Sputnik."
I didn't know that takeouts were originally called Negative Doubles. That's pretty interesting.
There's also Negative Slam Doubles, which deny a defensive trick; there "negative" really means "I don't have it." Most "negatives" just deny "positives." For example, 2D Negative to 2C denies a positive response, roughly an ace and a king. Herbert Negatives deny positive values. "Double Negatives" deny even as much as half a positive, typically two queens or a king. There are gobs of such usage throughout bridge literature.
But Negative Doubles and "Negative" takeout doubles appear to be of a different origin.