Impressions At the Bridge Table
The truism that you never get a second chance to make a good first impression should never blind one to the fact that it is proper subsequent actions and behavior that leave a good lasting one. This applies to bridge too. We are all human and make mistakes, but annoyance at ourselves for an error made in the early play of a hand should not blind us to opportunities for winning lines as the hand develops.
Here is a case in point:
North | ||
♠ A 10 9 8 7 4 | ||
♥ J | ||
♦ K 7 | ||
♣ A 7 5 2 | ||
South | ||
♠ 3 | ||
♥ A K 8 7 5 4 3 | ||
♦A 4 3 | ||
♣ 9 6 |
I was sitting South in an online match-point pairs competition and found myself as declarer in a 4 ♥ contract after my partner had opened the bidding with 1♠ in the North seat. I received the lead of the ♦J which I unthinkingly won with the ♦K in dummy. In quick succession I cashed dummy's ♠A, ruffed a spade in my hand, won the next trick with the ♦A and ruffed my last diamond with the ♥ J on the table. I now led a third round of spades and when East discarded the ♥ Q, realized I no longer had enough entries to the table to both get back for another spade ruff to establish dummy's long spades and to subsequently re-enter dummy to enjoy the ♠10 for a discard of my club loser.
I won my eighth trick with dummy's ♣A, conceded a club trick to East's ♣Q and ruffed the ♠J return, leaving my hand with ♥ A K 8 7. I now cashed the ♥ A, West following with the ♥ 9 and East with the heart deuce. I now played the ♥ K, hoping to drop the ♥ Q but when West showed out, discarding a club, I had to concede the last two tricks to East. Although I had made my contract, I was keenly aware of my failure to make the all-important over-trick, resulting in a relatively poor score for us.
Match-point scoring is based on one's score relative to the results achieved on the same hand by the other North-South pairs: Two points are scored for every pair you beat, one for every pair with whom you tie. In the hand in question, one of the North-South pairs out of the 10 competing made 12 tricks – it's difficult to imagine how – for a score of 18 points out of a maximum of 18, or 100%; two pairs made 11 tricks, for 15 points – 83%; and the rest of us made 10 tricks, getting 7 out of 18, a feeble 39%. Had I made 11 tricks, we would have scored a healthier 14 match-points on the board – 78%.
I apologized to my partner for playing too quickly on the first trick, contending that had if I'd won it in my hand with the ♦A, I would have preserved the ♦K in dummy for the extra entry needed. As the cards lay, this would not, in fact, have helped. The full hand was:
North | ||
♠ A 10 9 8 7 4 | ||
♥ J | ||
West | ♦ K 7 | East |
♠ K Q 6 2 | ♣ A 7 5 2 | ♠ J 5 |
♥ 9 | ♥ Q 10 6 2 | |
♦ J 10 9 6 2 | South | ♦ Q 8 5 |
♣ K 8 4 | ♠ 3 | ♣ Q J 10 3 |
♥ A K 8 7 5 4 3 | ||
♦A 4 3 | ||
♣ 9 6 |
After winning the first trick in hand, I would have played to the ♠A in dummy and then led a small spade from the table to ruff in my hand. The ♦K would now provide a second entry to dummy to ruff another spade. However, a wary East would have discarded the ♦Q on the third round of spades so that when I tried to enter dummy once more by ruffing my last diamond with dummy's ♥ J, East would have over-ruffed with ♥ Q, thereby not only depriving me of the extra entry but, in fact, also killing any chance of my making 11 tricks.
No, actually my real mistake came later. I was so angry with myself for my play to the opening lead, I failed to see that an 11th trick was there for the taking. After entering dummy with the ♣A, I should have led a fourth spade and ruffed in hand for my 9th trick rather than playing a club. I would then still have had the two top hearts for 11 tricks in total.
Even then, I had another chance to recover: Playing as I did to the first 10 tricks, left me with ♥ K 8 7 in hand. West had followed with the ♥ 9 to my play of the ♥ A, so I should now have played the ♥ 7. If both opponents had held another heart, I would have won the last trick, my eleventh, with the ♥ K. If the hearts didn't break, as was the case, the defender who won the trick with the ♥ 10 would have been end-played, having to lead away from the ♥ Q, 6 into my ♥ K, 8.
That, as it happens, would have given us first place in the tournament. My partner accepted my apology but I was surely left with a less-than-favorable impression of my declarer play.
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