This spectacular hand had absolutely no effect on the results, but both the bidding and the play are interesting.
Board #5
North dealer
North-South vulnerable
| | North
♠ 7 6 5 4 2
♥ Q J
♦ K Q
♣ K 5 3 2
| | West
♠ 9 8
♥ A
♦ 10 9 7 6 2
♣ Q 9 8 7 4
| | East
♠ ——
♥ K 10 9 8 7 6 5 2
♦ J 8 5
♣ A J
| | | South
♠ A K Q J 10 3
♥ 4 3
♦ A 4 3
♣ 10 6
| |
|
| | | | |
| South | West | North | East |
| | P | 4♥ |
| 4♠ | P | P | P |
| | | |
I held East's cards. After North passed* I wasted no time in placing the 4♥ card on the table. One thing that experts agree on is that preempts work. Many also emphasize that one should not lie about the number of cards in the trump suit. With eight of one suit it is usually best to bid at the four level, especially at favorable vulnerability. Talk of "suit quality" went out of fashion more than two decades ago.
South went into the tank before placing the 4♠ card on the table. With six losers, including three worthless clubs, this is a gutsy call. On the other hand South can expect to take no more than a couple of tricks on defense. In this layout, in fact, South can only take one lousy trick if hearts are trump, so 4♠ looks like a great bid.
West had nothing to say, and North could hardly believe that his partner just introduced at the four-level a suit in which he was holding five pieces. Knowing that three of his eleven points were almost certainly useless, he was happy to pass.
West led the ♥A, and I played the deuce to discourage a heart continuation on the off chance that West had another heart. I also wanted a club lead, and my wish was fulfilled. When declarer played low from dummy, I had to choose the lady or the tiger. Could declarer possibly make that bid missing the ace and all the face cards in clubs? I doubted it. So, I tabled the ace and then the ♥K, and declarer claimed the last ten tricks.
As it happens, East-West, despite the fact that they hold only fifteen high-card points, can easily gather in ten tricks in hearts. The law of total tricks predicts that there are twenty tricks on this hand, but neither East nor West is in a position to guess that a 5♥ bid would be profitable. West, who has only one defensive trick, might have guessed to try 5♥, and he surely should do this in a team game to protect against a vulnerable game.
Of course, it would have been even more profitable if I had played the ♣J. It wasn't until several minutes of the post mortem had elapsed that I realized that the error was entirely my partner's. Any competent player would have known to lead the queen from West's club holding. Fortunately for us, incompetence was evidently rampant in Simsbury on the feast of St. Joseph – all three declarers made the 4♠ contract.
Suppose, however, that West traded one of his small clubs for East's jack. In that case the lead of the queen would have been much easier to find. On the other hand, West, with a slightly stronger hand, might have surrendered to the impulse to bid 5♥, which has no chance.
* If North had decided to open 1♠, South would be faced with a very different decision after my 4♥ overcall. Who can say what would have happened?