The 2015 Player of the Year II

by Phillip Alder

Cédric Lorenzini from France is the American League's 2015 Player of the Year because he won more platinum than anyone else. Platinum points are awarded only in the main national championships. First, though, a declarer-play problem from the Norman Kay Platinum Pairs.

North Dlr: South ‰ K 10 8 7 Vul: E-W Š A 10 3 ‹ Q J 8 5 2 Œ 6 Opening lead: Œ 2 South ‰ A Q 9 4 2 Š K 5 2 ‹ K Œ A 10 9 3 West North East South 1‰ Pass 2NT (a) 3Œ Dble (b) Pass 4‰ Pass 4NT (c) Pass 5Š (d) Pass 6‰ Pass Pass Pass (a) Jacoby Forcing Raise (b) Penalty (c) Roman Key Card Blackwood (d) Two key cards (one ace and the spade king, or two aces) but no spade queen

West leads the club deuce. South takes East's club jack with his ace, ruffs a club in the dummy, and plays a diamond. East wins with his ace and leads the club king, West following again. After trumping in the dummy, how would you continue?

Here is a bidding problem from the von Zedtwitz Life Master Pairs. With neither side vulnerable, you are the dealer holding:

‰ Q Š K 10 9 7 6 ‹ A 5 Œ A K 8 4 3 The bidding starts: West North East South Partner You 1Š 2Œ 2Š Pass ??

What would you do now? The answers are below.

1 Lorenzini gave the ACBL Bulletin three deals from his successes last year, including one of those in my last article. Here are the other two. The first is from the Norman Kay Platinum Pairs in New Orleans, which he won with Thomas Bessis.

North Dlr: South ‰ K 10 8 7 Vul: E-W Š A 10 3 ‹ Q J 8 5 2 Œ 6 West East ‰ J 6 5 3 ‰ – Š Q 9 7 4 Š J 8 6 ‹ 10 7 ‹ A 9 6 4 3 Œ 8 7 2 Œ K Q J 5 4 South ‰ A Q 9 4 2 Š K 5 2 ‹ K Œ A 10 9 3 West North East South Bessis Lorenzini 1‰ Pass 2NT (a) 3Œ Dble (b) Pass 4‰ Pass 4NT (c) Pass 5Š (d) Pass 6‰ Pass Pass Pass (a) Jacoby Forcing Raise (b) Penalty (c) Roman Key Card Blackwood (d) Two key cards (one ace and the spade king, or two aces) but no spade queen

After West led the club deuce, declarer did not anticipate any problems unless trumps were 4-0. He took East's club jack with his ace, ruffed a club in the dummy, and played a diamond. East won with his ace and led the club king, trumped in the dummy. Lorenzini pondered East's three-club overcall at unfavorable vulnerability when his opponents were in a game-forcing auction. Surely he had an unbalanced hand. Declarer, backing his judgment, played a heart to his king, led a spade to dummy's ten, cashed the spade king, ruffed a diamond in his hand, drew West's other two trumps (discarding a heart and diamond from dummy), and claimed the last three tricks with dummy's heart ace and diamond queen-jack. Plus 980 was worth 23.5 matchpoints out of 27. Not as good as 25.5 from the possible plus 1100 against three clubs doubled, but not bad. Finally, note that East could have destroyed declarer's timing by leading a low heart or low diamond after winning with his diamond ace.

2 After winning the Platinum Pairs with Bessis, Lorenzini started to partner Jean-Christophe Quantin. They won the von Zedtwitz Life Master Pairs in Chicago on the last board, before which they were sec- ond behind Zia Mahmood of New York City and Giorgio Duboin from Italy.

North Dlr: South ‰ J 8 7 5 Vul: None Š 8 5 4 3 ‹ K 8 6 Œ J 5 West East ‰ A 6 3 2 ‰ K 10 9 4 Š A Š Q J 2 ‹ Q 3 ‹ J 10 9 7 4 2 Œ Q 10 9 7 6 2 Œ – South ‰ Q Š K 10 9 7 6 ‹ A 5 Œ A K 8 4 3 West North East South Quantin Lorenzini 1Š 2Œ 2Š Pass 3Œ Pass 3Š All Pass

If West had not bid, South would have rebid four hearts. But after West's club overcall, the South hand with all of those club losers is much nearer a pass than four hearts. However, Lorenzini thought that game might be possible and he also wondered what the opponents might be making in spades. (Here, they can make three spades if they guess the play well.) So he made a three-cl