The 25th Annual ACBL-wide InstantInstant MatchpointMatchpoint ; k Game l ' Wednesday Evening September 14, 2011 Dear Bridge Players, I’m honored to have been invited back for the fifth straight year to write the analysis for the 2011 ACBL Instant Matchpoint Game. The mere fact that you are reading this tells me that you are interested in learning more about our wonderful game of bridge. Reading the analysis of deals you’ve just played is, in my opinion, the best way to learn. We all make mistakes; to understand why, and to get it right next time puts you on the road to becoming a better player. Two-over-one Game Forcing is slowly becoming the new “Standard.” I’ve recently urged all teachers to start beginners with the notion that 1;-2l (for example) is 13 points and not 10 points. The analysis in this booklet assumes a 2/1 GF system. However, there aren’t too many 2/1 deals this year (nor many forcing notrump responses). There is little discussion of conventions (one of my pet peeves is that conventions are way overrated—and not too important). Sure, it is assumed that the field is playing the staples such as Blackwood, Jacoby Transfers, Negative Doubles and Stayman. You won’t see any mention of the Upside-Down Fire-Breathing Dragon convention (please don’t send letters asking about this—it is just a joke). I’ve also assumed a 15-17 notrump framework. If you use a weak 1NT, hardly any of the auctions will match yours. Sorry—I have to cater to the vast majority. One of the frustrating parts of duplicate bridge is getting a poor score when you do nothing wrong. There are enough mistakes and self-inflicted wounds in a session that you don’t need to get bad boards for just sitting there. Especially in so-so fields, if your opponents simply bid and make their proper contract, you can expect only 25% or so of the matchpoints. There are many deals in this booklet where simply “doing the normal thing” will lead to 75% one way and 25% the other way. It seems though, that the cards run both ways, so that you will get your chance on half—and just have to hope your opponents don’t play perfectly on their half. The matchpoints are taken from an overseas event played more than a decade ago. Of course, there will be griping about the matchpoint scores on nearly every deal. Don’t blame the messenger; blame the people who first played the deals—although you’ll never know who they are. I hope you enjoy the analyses herein, and maybe, for once, you can prove to your partner that he was wrong and you were right. If you’d like to contact me, or read any of the hundreds of free bridge articles/features I’ve written, you can do so through my website: http://www.larryco.com Larry Cohen Larry Cohen of Boca Raton FL is one of the leading players, teachers, and writers in the bridge world. He has won 25 North American Championships, most with partners Marty Bergen and then David Berkowitz. He has taught at land and sea all over the world. His books have been translated into eight languages, and he is best known for his best seller on the LAW of Total Tricks. He is a contributor to many bridge magazines, including two columns in ACBL’s Bridge Bulletin (The Real Deal, and It’s Your Call). Larry is conducting a Holiday Caribbean bridge cruise this December as well as a luxury South American bridge cruise in 2012. Please see www.larryco.com for details. Board 1 MATCHPOINT TABLE N-S Match- Dealer: North Score points Vul: None … 100 980 99 … 97 690 96 650 96 550 95 500 94 480 92 450 75 420 53 300 46 … 44 100 43 -50 31 -100 12 -150 4 … 3 -300 2 West North East South -470 1 ; ; -500 1 1 Pass 2 … 3l 4k Pass Pass 0 Pass Okay—let’s get this out of the way. The auction shown is only a guess. It doesn’t mean that if you bid differently that you made a mistake. North’s 1; is clear (never open the lower-ranking suit with 5-5 intending to reverse). South is a little heavy, but most will raise to 2;. With his 7-4 shape, West wants to get in, though he would prefer better diamonds. If he bids 3l, North has several options. He might just blast to 4; (to conceal the nature of his hand) and would pay the price. Better is to introduce hearts, either on the three level (which since 3; would be competitive, would be the only game try available), or on the four level as shown. South would surely be tempted to go on over 4k, so the Pass in the bidding diagram is quite conservative. It could be bad news for any greedy East players who double a “final” contract of 4;, only to chase their opponents into 5k making! Slam in hearts depends on the ;A being onside (and no spade ruff). Played from the likely North side, declarer loses only two spade tricks. Played from South, a spade lead (and subsequent ruff) holds it to 10 tricks. Some East-West pairs might find the good 5l sacrifice. Board 2 MATCHPOINT TABLE N-S Match- Dealer: East Score points Vul: N-S … 100 100 98 50 94 -140 91 … 90 -400 89 -420 88 -430 86 -450 82 -460 77 -480 71 -490 62 -510 49 -520 38 … 37 -980 33 -990 25 -1010 11 -1020 1 West North East South … 0 1; Pass 1NT Pass 3k Pass 4' Pass 4NT Pass 5l Pass 5k Pass 6k Pass Pass Pass This auction needs lots of explaining. East’s 1; is normal (it would be a needless distortion to open 2NT with 5-4 in the majors). West’s 1NT is forcing (see booklet introduction). East jump shifts to show his second suit (again, anything else would be a distortion). Now, West has a great hand for hearts. What should he do? It is a good agreement to play “no new suits on the four level.” This applies to our constructive auctions–here, it is “too late for clubs.” It is more likely that responder has this type of hand (a nice heart raise with a club control), than a hand where he wants to play in clubs opposite a major two-suiter. If 4' is a control-bid (for hearts; with spades, West would raise spades), East can use Roman Key Card Blackwood in hearts. West shows 0 or 3 (assuming 1430 responses) and East signs off in 5k (just in case it is zero– admittedly unlikely). With three, West is permitted to go on (how can three not be enough)? Most declarers will easily take 13 tricks. With spades 3-3 and the king onside, there is really no way to go wrong. It really is a shame that some North-South pairs will get an 11% board just because their opponents bid 6k and make seven. Board 3 MATCHPOINT TABLE N-S Match- Dealer: South Score points Vul: E-W … 100 500 99 470 98 400 97 300 96 … 95 200 92 … 88 140 84 110 75 100 63 90 55 80 52 … 51 -50 38 -80 26 -90 23 -100 14 -110 6 West North East South -120 5 1' -130 4 … Pass 1; 1NT Pass 3 -200 2 Pass Pass -300 1 … 0 In the auction shown, East bids 1NT to show a strong notrump (and stoppers in the opponents’ suits). His alternative was to double, surely a viable choice since he is 4-4 in the red suits. However, if 1NT is available as natural, that feels more descriptive—it gets the point count and balanced nature across. A double could be made with a much wider variety of hand-types. Just make sure you and your partner know if 1NT is natural, as opposed to a weak takeout in the sandwich position. I used to play it as weak takeout, but now prefer it as strong (too many opponents out there are trying to steal, and you need this natural alternative). Against 1NT, South will probably lead his “big” club card. Many use the ace to ask for attitude and the king for count/unblock. South will likely switch, probably to a spade (that is what North bid, after all). Declarer will eventually play diamonds and North can poke through another club to hold declarer to his contract. If South somehow finds a heart switch at trick two, declarer will have to guess well to make his contract. Many South players won't be able to pass a 1NT overcall. Playing support doubles, they will have to double, and now North might play in 2;, making. Board 4 MATCHPOINT TABLE N-S Match- Dealer: West Score points Vul: Both … 100 500 99 … 98 200 96 … 94 110 90 100 81 90 74 … 73 -90 65 -100 42 -110 28 -120 23 -150 16 -180 15 -200 8 -300 1 … 0 -110 6 West North East South -120 5 Pass Pass 1' 1k -130 4 … 2' Pass Pass Pass 3 -200 2 -300 1 … 0 This partscore auction can go in many directions. Some East’s might open the chunky four-card heart suit in third seat, probably resulting in 1NT by West. Over the more likely 1', South overcalls 1k.