Blue's Anatomy Part I

23.	K 3 2 Q 10 4 10 4 A 9 7 3 2
		10 8 7 A 9 7 5 2 J 8 7 6 5 —
None Vul

West 2 All Pass

North Pass Dbl

East Pass Pass

South 1 2

2 by South

Trick 1. W 2. E 3. W 4. E

Lead K 2 3 5

2nd A 6 10 J

3rd 7 K A J

4th 8 4 8 Q

Made 3

I had a tough decision at trick 2. There were 2 key pieces of information available. 1) The doubler intended his bid as Drury (not my choice to be sure) but opener believed it was negative. Thus the 2S bid suggested no 4 card red suit. 2) Declarer was quite taken aback when I ruffed at trick one suggesting a stiff club. A diamond back at trick 2 looks automatic, and it could be right, but I took a moment rather than make a reflex play (something I wish I did more often). I will not be in a position to ruff another club so there is no need to reach partner immediately for that. Given that bidding declarer does not have 4 cards in a red suit so figures to be 5332 or 6331 pattern. If so, there is no need to lead a diamond immediately; our tricks are not going anywhere. There is one layout where a heart was critical at trick 2 so I played for it and I struck gold. Bill was able to get a heart ruff (note that a small doubleton heart and SA would do just as well) for a key trick. We were off to a great start.

Blue's Anatomy Part I

25.	Q 9 8 5 4 3 3 A K 5 4 K 4
J 10 7 6 5 2 — A 10 8 6 5 3 2		A A J 9 7 J 9 8 7 Q J 9 7
None Vul	K 6 2 K Q 10 8 4 Q 10 6 3 2 —

West 3 5 Dbl!

North 3 5 All Pass

East 4 Pass

South 1 Dbl Pass

5 x by North

Trick 1. E 2. E

Lead A 7

2nd 4 2

3rd 2 7

4th 3 4

Down 2

By agreement; when a preemptor doubles it indicates unexpected defense in context of the auction. Here with 3 other strong hands, it must be a void somewhere. I was tempted to bid 5D over 4S X, gambling the opponents would bid 5S but that forces us to 6C so I took the middle road. Bill had the trump ace so he was able to safety play the opening lead with the heart ace. Then he could be pretty sure I had a diamond void for the double. I was able to get a 2nd ruff when Bill won the SA.

Blue's Anatomy Part I

2.	9 10 6 4 A 6 4 2 A Q 9 7 5
A Q 8 7 2 A Q 9 3 2 7 5 6		J 5 4 3 8 7 Q J 10 J 10 8 2
N-S Vul	K 10 6 K J 5 K 9 8 3 K 4 3

West 2 4

North 3 Dbl

East Pass 3 All Pass

South 1 Pass

4 x by East

Trick 1. N

Lead 3

2nd 5

3rd A

4th 10

Down 1

The South hand could be the ugliest 13 count in recorded history. The infraction occurred when South indicated that 3C was alerted while on opening lead (a no no but not relevant here). He claimed to have alerted during the auction though neither Bill or I heard it which by definition means that an alert was not given. It turned out that 3C showed an invitational diamond hand (or was supposed to, doesn't look like it to me). I had chosen a somewhat anti-systemic action by bidding 2C at my first turn. Many pairs, including Bill&I;, play Michaels as either extremely weak or extremely strong. This hand does not qualify. I chose to do so in light of Bill being a passed hand and the favorable vulnerability. With a natural club bid it was more attractive to me to bid 4S immediately putting pressure on LHO. Had I known what 3C actually meant, I would have passed (and told the director so at the table). The hand played out and Bill got out for down 1. The director returned and said no adjustment would be forthcoming; the failure to alert did not lead directly to the result. I appealed the ruling and we wound up in committee. My first appeal on any level, and it was at a Nationals. This is an option available at all tournaments if you disagree with a director's ruling (most directors do a good job but some terrible rulings can be made). I had to fill out a form and the appeal was held after the evening session. In my mind, the decision was clear, but perceptions are different and not everyone will necessarily agree with you. I don't believe I argued my case well; ultimately the committee ruled against us feeling that my hand would be inclined to bid 4S anyway (my actual statement is not considered as it is colored by the fact we were doubled). Also, since Bill/I play that 3C showed invitational values, as do many others, it was my responsibility to ask if there was any doubt. It was a good learning experience in any case.

Blue's Anatomy Part I

9.	E-W Vul
7 5 K Q 10 3 Q 10 3 2 Q 6 4

West Pass 3 ?

North Pass 1 3

East Pass 2 All Pass

South 1 2

After the board was completed during the first session; we left the decision to appeal til after the session so we could focus on the task at hand. Then came this tactical situation in a competitive auction. We have a huge heart fit and it's tempting to jump to game. The sterile distribution and slow cards suggest against it. Also consider that it's likely to push the opponents into 4S, if they don't decide to double. Another option is to pass, concealing the heart fit, perhaps slowing down the opponents. That leaves a lot of room for invitations. I opted for the middle ground; a blocking 3H raise. It takes up an entire round of bidding. This worked out well when LHO had a max 3S bid and RHO had a max as well but didn't want to hang partner. As it turned out, they were cold for 6! You have to catch a few breaks like this to do well in this event. We caught another break when the opponents underbid again. I misdefended, not dreaming that declarer was as strong as he was; but it was still a fine result. A few rounds later we were facing Fantoni-Nunes.

Blue's Anatomy Part I

25.	A 6 A J 10 7 3 9 4 A 9 8 4
Q 9 8 7 5 9 8 5 10 K J 6 2		10 4 2 Q 6 4 Q 7 5 3 Q 10 7
E-W Vul	K J 3 K 2 A K J 8 6 2 5 3

West All Pass

North 1 NT

East Pass

South 3 NT

Trick 1. E 2. W 3. N 4. S 5. S 6. S 7. S 8. S 9. S 10. N

Lead 3 2 9 A K 8 6 K 2 A

2nd 2 A 5 5 8 J 7 9 K 10

3rd 10 7 J 3 4 8 9 7 A 3

4th 4 3 5 7 Q 2 4 4 6 8

Won 10

This was an interesting hand on many levels. On a blind auction, Bill made a lead which at first glance looks like a disaster, but on closer inspection, proved to be great for our side. After the diamond lead, Fantoni stared forever at the dummy. Holding the DT, I knew what his problem was, he was debating ducking to his presumed 9. Nunes got up after the auction and left the table. When he returned, Fantoni had not played yet; he immediately grasped the situation as well. Fantoni made the correct play; but I could tell he didn't want to. He ducked, playing for Bill to have QTxx, his percentage move. When I won the T, Nunes burst out laughing. He knew what had happened. It lessened my tension at the table; auctions with Fantoni-Nunes bidding 1N-3N generally don't result in a good score for you. There was more to the play however, we needed to be alert in the endgame. Fantoni won the obvious club shift and ran winners. Bill's spade discards indicated Fantoni had at most 3 spades so I only needed to keep 3. My heart discards told Bill to hang onto his. All that remained was for me to unblock the CK lest I be endplayed into leading spades. Holding them to 4 was a great result. Unfortunately, I was not as alert on the next hand.

Blue's Anatomy Part I

26.	10 8 5 4 J 8 7 3 7 3 A 9 8
9 3 K Q 10 9 6 5 J 5 2 J 4		A Q 7 2 4 K 10 9 10 7 5 3 2
Both Vul	K J 6 A 2 A Q 8 6 4 K Q 6

West 2 Pass

North Pass 3 NT

East Pass Pass All Pass

South 1 2 NT

Trick 1. W 2. S 3. E 4. S 5. S 6. E 7. S 8. W 9. N 10. N 11. N

Lead Q K 3 J 6 5 2 10 10 A 8

2nd 3 3 K 9 5 Q K J 7 10 9

3rd 4 4 4 5 8 J 7 2 6 6 8

4th A A 8 2 Q 9 7 4 6 2 9

Won 9

1C was artificial showing either clubs and unbalanced or strong and balanced. The play unfolded normally, entry problems preventing Nunes from leading up to his spades. I could see 9 tricks early and mentally checked out of the hand. What I should have been doing was giving Nunes a problem. Suppose I keep 2 hearts, and discard the D2 and DJ. I could easily have the DK and discarding to avoid an endplay. It might have worked, it might not have, but it was mandatory for me to do so. Every time you fail to test the opponents, it is one less opportunity for them to misguess or make a mistake.

Blue's Anatomy Part I

30.	J 9 A J 10 9 7 K J K Q 6
A 8 6 4 2 K Q 5 10 8 J 9 3		K 5 3 8 6 4 Q 7 5 4 10 5 2
None Vul	Q 10 7 3 2 A 6 3 2 A 8 7 4

West 1 Pass

North 2 3 NT

East Pass 2 All Pass

South Pass 2 NT

Trick 1. W 2. E 3. W 4. S 5. N 6. N 7. N 8. S 9. S

Lead 4 5 2 3 K Q 6 8 2

2nd 9 Q 9 K 2 5 10 5 8

3rd K A 3 A 4 7 A 7 J!

4th 7 J 10 4 9 3 J 6 Q

Won 7

This is the kind of hand that amuses me. Declarer falsecards on the 2nd trick; as if I can possibly misread the suit. I went along because I want to remove partner's spades leaving him as the safe hand. I want declarer to play for split heart honors (which wouldn't work if Bill had a spade left) leading to an easy down 1. Declarer can make the hand by playing on diamonds, but the diamond pitch from dummy was a killer (another reason to play 3 rounds of spades). There is no chance now and declarer went down an extra trick by taking the diamond finesse. Despite the missed opportunities we had a great 1st session score of 61%. That made qualifying for the 2nd day all but certain.