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Never Give Up!

In his book Bridge My Way, Zia offers seven pieces of advice for tournament bridge players. The seventh on that list is "never give up." The following hand is from a recent team-of-four game in which I found myself in a difficult situation. Thankfully, I was able to keep my wits about me, following Zia's excellent counsel.

Not a whole lot of fun playing 3 NT doubled and vulnerable in a team game after a messed-up auction. It's ugly: your combined partnership assets are a humble 20 high card points, and to make matters worse, your only 8-card fit breaks 5-0 and you have no spot cards there. Perhaps justice is being served for your partnership's atrocious bidding. Still, although perhaps it wasn't strictly speaking "fun" at the time, I think this is one of those hands which is quite funny in retrospect...

In a Swiss team game (7-board match), you pick up this modest assortment, with both sides vulnerable:

S: A98xx   H: x   D: 987x   C: Qxx  

Here is our embarrassing, but true, auction: suffice it to say that my partner and I were not "in synch" on this one:

East      me       West      partner
1C pass 1S double
1 NT 2D 2S 3C
pass 3D pass 3H
pass 3 NT pass pass
double All Pass  

A low spade is led and this "glorious" dummy appears:

Dummy
S: K  
H: A10xxx  
D: 10x  
C: AKxxx  

me
S: A98xx  
H: x  
D: 987x  
C: Qxx  

 This is truly horrible. Partner makes a takeout double, a cue bid, and then bids a new suit on this dreck? Oh well. Since it's a team game scored by Victory Points, my goal is to try to avoid three down (-800) if possible. I have two spade tricks, one heart trick, and some number of club tricks, depending on how they split. If they split 3-2, that will be great, I will be only down one. If they split 4-1, communications are difficult; I can establish the fifth club but how can I can't enjoy my spade ace without setting up spade tricks for West -- and I'll only be in my hand once, with the Q of clubs. By then the whole heart and diamond suits may be out against me anyway. Well, it looks grim. East's double is ominous. Maybe I should just duck a club right now to keep communications and accept down two. Time passes. Finally I decide I might as well just pray the clubs split 3-2 after all. Have to play a card at some point, you know...

Dummy
S: K  
H: A10xxx  
D: 10x  
C: AKxxx  

me
S: A98xx  
H: x  
D: 987x  
C: Qxx  

 I play the spade K from dummy and not surprisingly the Q drops on my right. I cash the A of clubs and West shows out (double yuck!) My club spots are so bad there's nothing I can do but face up to the fact that I now have neither four nor five club tricks, but three. -800 is looking more and more probable. What to do? Somehow an idea rises to consciousness, stolen from my friend Fred Donald - attack your weakest suit! I duck a diamond to West (remember I bid the suit twice, so they can't believe I have 987x) hoping he continues spades. West wins the J of diamonds and plays the J of spades. Great - now I'm up to 7 tricks again (since I still have the Q of clubs as entry to my hand!) I win the A and return the 9 of spades to set up my 8 but West ducks. Meanwhile on this trick East throws a club!


Here we are:

Dummy
S: ---  
H: A10x  
D: x  
C: Kxxx  

me
S: 8x  
H: x  
D: 987x  
C: Qx  


Now I can make my fifth club good for an eighth trick, so I play Q of clubs, K of clubs, club. East wins and West throws a heart (to keep his Kx of diamonds guarded, I would imagine). Now East exits with the K of hearts, crashing his partner's J. I win in dummy with the A, and cash my long club in the following position...

Dummy
S: ---  
H: 10x  
D: x  
C: x  
        East
        S: ---  
        H: Qx  
        D: AQ  
        C: ---  
me
S: 8x  
H: ---  
D: 9x  
C: ---  


On this club East discards the Q of diamonds. I endplay him with the diamond off the board and make my 10 of hearts in the dummy at trick 13 for 3 NT doubled, bid and made.

Thank you, Zia, for your advice to -- "Never Give Up!"

(Bridge is a very weird game...)



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